Margaret Wade Campbell Deland

“ When Lydia Wright said, “Oh my, what an awful snow-storm!” dear Miss Ellen was displeased. “Lydia,” said she, “is there anything ‘awe’-inspiring in this display of the elements?”
“No, ’m,” faltered poor Lydia.
“Then,” said Miss Bailey, gravely, “your statement that the storm is [Page 7] ‘awful’ is a falsehood. I do not suppose, my dear, that you intentionally told an untruth; it was an exaggeration. But an exaggeration, though not perhaps a falsehood, is unladylike, and should be avoided by persons of refinement.” ”

“ But one must not be too hard on Mrs. Cyrus. In the first place, she was [Page 17] not born in Old Chester. But, added to that, just think of her name! The effect of names upon character is not considered as it should be. If one is called Gussie for thirty years, it is almost impossible not to become gussie after a while. Mrs. Cyrus could not be Augusta; few women can; but it was easy to be gussie—irresponsible, silly, selfish. She had a vague, flat laugh, she ate a great deal of candy, and she was afraid of— But one cannot catalogue Mrs. Cyrus’s fears. ”

“ North’s generation, who by-and-by began to smile at one another, and say, “Well, Alfred and Letty are great friends!” For, because Captain Price lived right across the street, he went most of all. At least, that was what Miss North said to herself with obvious common-sense—until Mrs. Cyrus put her on the right track....
“What!” gasped Mary North. “But it’s impossible!”
“It would be very unbecoming, considering their years,” said Gussie; “but I worry so, because, you know, nothing [Page 43] is impossible when people are foolish; and of course, at their age, they are apt to be foolish.” ”

“ But when Alfred Price fell in love with Miss Letty Morris, he was not indifferent to his waistcoat, nor did he weigh two hundred pounds. He was slender and ruddy-cheeked, with tossing red-brown curls. If he swore, it was not by his grandmother nor her nightcap; if he drank, it was hard cider (which can often accomplish as much as “rum”) ; if he smoked it [Page 5] was in secret, behind the stable. He wore a stock, and (on Sunday) a ruffled shirt; a high-waisted coat with two brass buttons behind, and very tight pantaloons. At that time he attended the Seminary for Youths in Upper Chester. ”

“ Lavendar, always making excuses for wrong-doing! “Which,” said Mrs. Drayton, “is a strange thing for a minister to do. For my part, I cannot understand impoliteness in a Christian female. But we must not judge,” Mrs. Drayton ended, with what Willy King called her “holy look.” Without wishing to “judge,” it may be said that, in the matter of manners, Miss Mary North, palpitatingly anxious to be polite, told the truth; and as everybody knows, truthfulness and [Page 22] agreeable manners are often divorced on the ground of incompatibility. Miss North said things that other people only thought. ”

“ Mrs. Cyrus had a headache, so it was necessary for Cyrus to hold her hand and assure her that Willy King said a headache did not mean brain-fever.
“Willy King doesn’t know everything. If he had headaches like mine, he wouldn’t be so sure. I am always worrying about things, and I believe my brain can’t stand it. And now I’ve got your father to worry about!”
“Better try and sleep, Gussie. I’ll put some Kaliston on your head.”
“Kaliston! Kaliston won’t keep me from worrying. Oh, listen to that harmonicon!”
[Page 48] “Gussie, I’m sure he isn’t thinking of Mrs. North.” ”

“ He got up, and plunged [Page 50] into his coat, and tramped out, slamming the door heartily behind him—for which, later, poor Cyrus got the credit. “Where you bound?”
“Oh—down-street,” said Cyrus, vaguely.
“Sealed orders?” said the Captain, with never a bit of curiosity in his big, kind voice; and Cyrus felt as small as he was. But when he left the old man at Mrs. North’s door, he was uneasy again. Maybe Gussie was right! Women are keener about those things than men. And his uneasiness actually carried him to Dr. Lavendar’s study, where he tried to appear at ease by patting Danny. ”

“ The Captain beamed. “Poor Alfred! and there’s a button gone! that daughter-in-law of yours [Page 72] can’t sew any more than a cat (and she is a cat!) . But I love to mend. Mary has saved me all that. She’s such a good daughter—poor Mary. But she’s unmarried, poor child.”
However, it was not to-morrow. It was two or three days later that Dr. Lavendar and Danny, jogging along behind Goliath under the buttonwoods on the road to Upper Chester, were somewhat inconvenienced by the dust of a buggy that crawled up and down the hills just a little ahead. ”

“ Lavendar would—”
“I’ll have no dealings with Lavendar,” the Captain said, with sudden stiffness; “he’s like all the rest of ’em. I’ll get a license in Upper Chester, and we’ll go to some parson there.”
Mrs. North’s eyes snapped. “Oh, no, no!” she protested; but in another minute they were shaking hands on it.
“Cyrus and Gussie can go and live by themselves,” said the Captain, joyously, “and I’ll get that hold cleaned out; she’s kept the ports shut ever since she married Cyrus.”
“And I’ll make a cake! And I’ll take care of your clothes; you really are dreadfully shabby” ”

“ Cyrus stammered, “you know, Dr. Lavendar, as Gussie says, ‘there’s no fo—’”
“You needn’t finish it,” Dr. Lavendar interrupted, dryly; “I’ve heard it before. Gussie didn’t say anything [Page 52] about a young fool, did she?” Then he eyed Cyrus. “Or a middle-aged one? I’ve seen middle-aged fools that could beat us old fellows hollow.”
“Oh, but Mrs. North is far beyond middle age,” said Cyrus, earnestly.
Dr. Lavendar shook his head. “Well, well!” he said. “To think that Alfred Price should have such a— And yet he is as sensible a man as I know!” ”

“ North; then her spirit wavered. “Mary is so foolish; she says she’ll—she’ll take me away from Old Chester. I laughed at first, it was so foolish. But when she said that—oh dear!”
“Well, but, my dear madam, say you won’t go. Ain’t you skipper?”
[Page 66] “No, I’m not,” she said, dolefully. “Mary brought me here, and she’ll take me away, if she thinks it best. Best for me, you know. Mary is a good daughter, Alfred. I don’t want you to think she isn’t. But she’s foolish. Unmarried women are apt to be foolish.”
The Captain thought of Gussie, and sighed. ”

“ Gussie nodded. The joy of action and of combat entered suddenly into her little soul; she never looked less vulgar than at that moment. Cyrus had disappeared.
Mary North, white and trembling, hurried out. A wheezing strain from the harmonicon followed her into the May sunshine, then ended, abruptly—Mrs. Price had begun! On her own door-step Miss North stopped and listened, [Page 60] holding her breath for an outburst.... It came: a roar of laughter. Then silence. Mary North stood, motionless, in her own parlor; her shawl, hanging from one elbow, trailed behind her ”

“ Clothes were packed, savings-banks opened, and a chaise abstracted from the Price stable.
“It is my intention,” said the youth, [Page 13] “to return to my father the value of the vehicle and nag, as soon as I can secure a position which will enable me to support my Letty in comfort and fashion.”
On the night of the elopement the two children met at the minister’s house. (Yes, the very old Rectory to which we Old Chester children went every Saturday afternoon to Dr. Lavendar’s Collect class. But of course there was no Dr. Lavendar there in those days) . ”

“ Lavendar, looking at him over his spectacles. (Dr. Lavendar, in his wicked old heart, always wanted to call this young man Cipher; [Page 51] but, so far, grace had been given him to withstand temptation.) “What’s wrong?” he said.
And Cyrus, somehow, told his troubles.
At first Dr. Lavendar chuckled; then he frowned. “Gussie put you up to this, Cy—rus?” he said.
“Well, my wife’s a woman,” Cyrus began, “and they’re keener on such matters than men; and she said, perhaps you would—would—”
“What?” Dr. Lavendar rapped on the table with the bowl of his pipe, so loudly that Danny opened one eye. ”