Susan Warner

“ Daisy repeated, uttering the words as if they contained a simple impossibility.
"My little lady not know the big world yet. There be ways, that the Lord know and that the people not know."
"What do you mean, Juanita?"
"My lady will find it," said the black woman folding her arms. "When all the world go one way, then folks not like to go another way and be looked at; they be ashamed of Christ's words then, and they only think they do not want to be looked at."
A colour came all over Daisy's face—a suffusion of colour; and tears swam in her eyes. ”

“ Daisy gave her thanks and took leave.
"As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men." There was a little warm drop of comfort in Daisy's heart as she drove away. If she could not go to Sunday-school herself, she might teach somebody else yet more needy; that would be the next best thing. Sunday afternoon—it looked bright to Daisy; but then her heart sank; Sunday evening would be near. What should she do? She could not settle it in her mind what was right; between her mother's anger and her father's love, Daisy could not see what was just the plumb line of duty. ”

“ Poor Daisy almost felt as if she had the affairs of a nation on her hands, when she saw Mr. and Mrs. Stilton, dressed in their best, coming near through the trees. But the spirit of kindness was so thoroughly at work in Daisy, that it made her reception of her guests just what it ought to be, and she was delighted a few minutes after to see that their eyes were kindling with gratification. Logan looked at the table as if he had some right to take an interest in it; the hay-makers were open-mouthed; the women in a flutter of ribands and propriety ”

“ Juanita was watchful and thoughtful. When Daisy had very soon checked herself, she said in the same low, gentle way in which she had before spoken, "What do the Lord say—to do that some good thing,—or to keep his words?"
"To keep his words."
"Then keep 'em—and the Lord will do the good thing himself; that same or another. He can do what he please; and he tell you, only keep his words. He want you to shew you love him—and he tell you how."
Daisy sat quite still to let the tears pass away and the struggle in her heart grow calm; then when she could safely she looked up. She met Juanita's eye. ”

“ Daisy was silent.
"What is supposed to be going on here?" said a stronger voice behind them, which brought both their heads round. It was to see another head just making its way up above the level of their platform; a head that looked strong and spirited as the voice had sounded; a head set with dark hair, and eyes that were too full of light to let you see what colour they were. Both children came to their feet, one saying, "Marmaduke!" the other, "Mr. Dinwiddie!"
"What do two such mature people do when they get together? I should like to know," said the young man as he reached the top. ”

“ Daisy looked at Capt. Drummond.
"It's pretty much so, Daisy," he said; "all over the south of Europe, at any rate."
"Why over the south and not the north?"
"People in the north haven't anything to fight for," said Gary. "Nobody wants a possession of ice and snow—more than will cool his butter."
"A good deal so, Daisy," said Capt. Drummond, taking the silent appeal of her eyes.
"Besides," continued Gary, "great men don't grow in the north. Daisy, I want to know which is the battle-field you are going to die on." ”

“ Daisy first smiled at her; then the little pale face grew grave, the eyelids fell, and the black woman saw tears gathering beneath them. She stood looking somewhat anxiously down at the child; till after a few minutes the eyelids were raised again and the eyes gave her a most meek and loving response, while Daisy said faintly, "Yes, Juanita."
"Bless the Lord!" said Juanita with all her heart. "Then my love can bear it, the hot day and the pain and all. When his little child trust him, Jesus not stay far off. And when he giveth quietness, then who can make trouble?" ”

“ And this time with a very great effort she did succeed in swinging the bait by a gentle motion to the very spot. No statue was more motionless than Daisy then. She had eyes and ears for nothing but the trout in the brook. Minutes went by. The brook leaped and sang on its way the air brought the sweet odours of mosses and ferns; the leaves flapped idly overhead; you could hear every little sound. For there sat Daisy and there stood Sam, as still as the stones. Time went by. At last a sigh came from Daisy's weary little body, which she had not dared to move an inch for half an hour. ”

“ The breeze died down; the moon and the stars shone steadily over the lower world; and Daisy slept, and her two watchers were still. By and by, another light began to break in the eastern horizon, and the stars grew pale. The morning had come.
The birds were twittering in the branches before Daisy awoke. At the first stir she made, her father and Mrs. Benoit were instantly at her side. Mr. Randolph bent over her and asked tenderly how she felt.
"I feel hot, papa."
"Everybody must do that," said Mr. Randolph. "The breeze has died away and the morning is very close." ”

“ For a voice was heard shouting at a little distance, "Drummond!—Ho,
Drummond! Where are you?"
"It's Mr. McFarlane!" said Daisy. "He'll come here. I'm very sorry."
"Don't be sorry," said the Captain. "Come,—let us disappoint him. He can't play hide and seek."
He jumped up and caught Daisy's willing hand, with the other hand caught up her shawl, and drew her along swiftly under cover of the trees and shrubbery towards the river, and away from the voice they heard calling. Daisy half ran, half flew, it seemed to her; so fast the strong hand of her friend pulled her over the ground. ”

“ Might it not be possible that a good knowledge of geography might have something to do with the use or the improvement of her talents? And if a knowledge of geography, why not also a knowledge of history, and of arithmetic,—and of everything! There could not be a reasonable doubt of it. What would Preston be,—what would Mr. Dinwiddie or Capt. Drummond be,—if they knew nothing? And by the same reasoning, what would Daisy Randolph be? What could she do with her talents, if she let them lie rusty with ignorance? Now this was a very serious thought to Daisy, because she did not like study. ”

“ A thrill went through the woman, like an electric spark firing a whole life-train of feeling and memory; but the lines of her face never moved, and not the stirring of a muscle told what the touch had reached, besides a few nerves. She had done her charge no good by her officiousness, as June presently saw with grief. It was not till Mrs. Randolph had thoroughly satisfied her displeasure at being thwarted, and not until Daisy was utterly exhausted, that Mrs. Randolph stayed her hand. ”

“ And Daisy Randolph!—the heiress of Melbourne and Cranford!"—
The heiress of Melbourne and Cranford lifted to her aunt's face a look strangely in contrast with the look bent on her; so much worldly wisdom was in the one, so much want of it in the other. Yet those steady grey eyes were not without a wisdom, of their own; and Mrs. Gary met them with a puzzled feeling of it.
"Do you understand me, Daisy, my dear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you see that it is desirable never to look ridiculous, and well-bred persons never do?" ”

“ Daisy found she could not overcome him. She was fain to go, where she had just begun to learn she might go, "to the Strong for strength." She ran away from the porch to her room, and kneeled down and prayed that the King would give her help to keep his commandments. She was ashamed of herself now; but so obstinate was her feeling of displeasure against her brother, that even after she thought she had forgiven him Daisy would not go downstairs again nor meet him nor her father, for fear she should speak words that she ought not, or fail of a perfectly gentle and kind manner. ”

“ Pale cheeks, and weary features, and the tokens of past tears. Juanita stood and looked, and twinkled away one or two from her own eye-lashes; and then knelt down at the head of the bed and began a whispered prayer. A prayer for the little child before her, in which her heart poured itself out, that she might be kept from evil, and might walk in the straight path, and never be tempted or driven from it. Juanita's voice grew louder than a whisper in her earnestness; but Daisy slept on. ”

“ My love is a little child. The good Lord shall 'stablish her and keep her from evil. Now she must not talk no more, but trust the Lord, and go to sleep."
"I can't sleep, Juanita—my leg aches so."
"That will be better. Is my love thirsty again?"
"Very thirsty! I wish I had some oranges."
"They would be good," said Juanita, bringing another glass of jelly and water for Daisy. And then she sat down and sang softly; hymns in French and English; sweet and low, and soothing in their simple and sometimes wild melody. They soothed Daisy. ”

“ The eyelids closed, and Juanita's stealthy examination found that quiet soft breathing was really proving her fast asleep. The singing ceased; and for a while nothing was to be heard in the cottage but the low rush and rustle of the wind which had driven away the storm clouds, and the patter of a dislodged rain drop or two that were shaken from the leaves. Daisy's breathing was too soft to be heard, and Juanita almost held her own lest it should be too soon disturbed. But the pain of the hurt foot and ankle would not suffer a long sleep. Daisy waked up with a sigh. ”

“ It was most unlike Daisy to make protestations of feeling; just now she was speaking to the one person in the world who could help her, whom in this matter she trusted; speaking to him maybe for the last time, she knew; and moreover Daisy's heart was full. She spoke as she might live years and not do again, when she said, "I'll die on the field of battle."
"That is as the Lord pleases," returned Mr. Dinwiddie; "but how will you fight, Daisy? you are a weak little child. The fight must be won, in the first place." ”

“ Sometimes a flowering bush of some sort broke the general green with a huge spot of white or red flowers; gradually those became fewer, and were lost sight of; but the beautiful grass and the trees seemed to be unending. Then a gray rock here and there began to shew itself. Pony got through his gallop, and subsided again to a waddling trot.
"This whip's the real thing," said the young driver, displaying and surveying it as he spoke; "that is a whip now, fit for a man to use."
"A man wouldn't use it as you do," said Daisy. "It is cruel." ”

“ Sandford," said Daisy, feeling very much disappointed and a little aggrieved.
"Am I? No, Daisy—if you had ridden seventy miles to-day, you might be tempted, but you would not feel like laughing. Business is business, I must remind you again."
"But you do not mean that the sun is dark?" said Daisy.
"I mean precisely what I say, I assure you."
"But it is so bright we cannot look at it," said Daisy.
"Something is so bright you cannot look at it. The something is not the body of the sun." ”

“ Daisy was silent, feeling puzzled.
"And," said Preston, binding his fly, "when you talk of the Crimea you will not know whether the English came from the east or the west, nor whether the Russians are not living under the equator and eating ripe oranges."
"Don't they eat oranges?" said Daisy seriously. But that question set Preston off into a burst of laughter, for which he atoned as soon as it was over by a very gentle kiss to his little cousin.
"Never mind, Daisy," he said; "I think you are better without geography.
You aren't just like everybody else—that's a fact." ”

“ But Daisy shed a good many tears during Juanita's prayer that night. I do not know if the black woman shed any; but I know that some time afterwards and until late in the night, she knelt again by Daisy's bedside, while a whisper of prayer, too soft to arouse the child's slumbers, just chimed with the flutter and rustle of the leaves outside of the window moving in the night breeze. ”

“ I shall carry away some ideas."
"Keep all you can get," said the Captain. "Now there's Europe."
"And here were the battles,"—said Daisy, touching the little spot of wet sand which stood for the Crimea.
"The battles!" said Gary. "What battles?"
"Why, where the English and French fought the Russians."
"The battles! Shades of all the heroes! Why Daisy, Europe has done nothing but fight for a hundred thousand years. There isn't a half inch of it that hasn't had a battle. ”

“ Drummond?"
"I know by the signs," said the Captain.
"What is an old rock? how old?"
"I am sure I can't say, Daisy. Only that a young rock is apt to be a good deal older than Adam and Eve."
"How can you tell that?"
"When you see a man's hair grey, can't you tell that he is old?"
"But there are no grey hairs in rocks?" said Daisy.
"Yes, there are. Trilobites do just as well."
"But I say," said Daisy laughing, "how can you tell that the rock is old? You wouldn't know that grey hairs were a sign, if you saw them on young people." ”

“ How were the rich to do good to the poor, if they never come together? A question which Daisy thought about while she was dressing. Then she doubted how her feast had gone; and she had been obliged to tell of Ransom. Altogether, Daisy felt that doing good was a somewhat difficult matter, and she let June dress her in very sober silence. Daisy was elegantly dressed for her birthday and the dinner. Her robe was a fine beautifully embroidered muslin, looped with rose ribands on the shoulder and tied with a broad rose-coloured sash round the waist. ”

“ Daisy looked, a little wondering but entirely respectful; the whole aspect of Juanita commanded that.
"Does my little lady know, that the presence of the King makes a poor house fine?"
"I don't quite know what you mean," said Daisy humbly.
"Does my little lady know that the Lord Jesus loves his people?"
"Yes," said Daisy,—"I know it."
"But she know not much. When a poor heart say any time, 'Lord, I am all thine!'—then the Lord comes to that heart and he makes it the house of a King—for he comes there himself. And where Jesus is,—all is glory! Do not my little lady read that in the Bible?" ”

“ Now, Daisy, you'll give it up?"
"Give what up?"
"Give up your nonsense, and sing."
"That?" said Daisy, and a slight flush came into the pale cheeks.
"Aunt Felicia wants you to sing it, and she will make you do it, when you get well."
Daisy made no answer.
"Don't you see, my dear Daisy, it is foolish not to do as other people do?"
"I don't see what my broken ankle has to do with what you are saying,
Preston."
"Daisy, what will become of you all these six weeks? We cannot go a fishing, nor have any fun." ”