John Hopkins

“ So for some while we stood silent, and I saw the gold and the red fade from the clouds, and the clouds themselves were gone, deep banks of indigo, into the east. Then the western sky was grown violet and a green like the curl of a wave, till, overhead, it became the night. And I looked at Eve, and her look smote upon my heart, for it was troubled. But I might not say the thing I would; for shall a fisherman so speak to a governess to the Rich? Even a governess to the Rich may have her woes, it seems, and it is no fisherman’s part—
“Eve,” I said. ”

“ And, having made the test, I hurried to the house.
“Eve,” I shouted—I must needs shout, with the spring rioting in my veins. “Eve, the spring is here!”
And Eve laughed—and came out a door at my elbow. “Why do you shout it so, Adam? Have I not known it this last month? For the song sparrows came long since, and the bluebirds, and it is weeks since I saw the first robin. And now the birds are coming fast. Why shout it? As well come in and shout that the sun is shining.”
“Truly that would be well done, too,” I answered, “for the sun shines as it has not shone these many months. ”

“ Shall a man not hold his wife’s hand, in going along the shore? And shall he not kiss her if he will—and if she will? Though in such matters we should, no doubt, bow to convention. And, as we went, the Great Painter spread his colors as he was wont to do, and the still waters were covered with all manner of reds and purples. We saw our flats just awash and now and then there broke upon them a wave that [213] ran across in ripples of color, and left the wet sand shining in a coat of shimmering green. ”

“ She is proud and she is stubborn—but they come a month early. No, I have no fear.”
And I looked out to my pine, where the hole was scooped in the ground and the seat was builded against the tree. The hole was filled full with dried leaves and other rubbish, and the seat needed some repairing.
[211] “It behooves me to see to my oven,” I said, “for as it seems to me, we are like to have a clambake soon. And I have a mind to ask Judson—and his wife.” Eve beamed at me for that. “And I may have to get some new stones.”
Eve slipped her hand within my arm. “Do the stones grow cold, Adam?” ”

“ HOPKINS, JOHN (fl. 1700) , verse-writer, second son of Ezekiel Hopkins [q. v.] , bishop of Londonderry, and younger brother of Charles Hopkins [q. v.] , was born on 1 Jan. 1675. A John Hopkins graduated B.A. in 1693, and proceeded M.A. in 1698 from Jesus College, Cambridge. Hopkins published in 1698 two Pindaric poems: ‘The Triumphs of Peace, or the Glories of Nassau ... written at the time of his Grace the Duke of Ormond's entrance into Dublin,’ 8vo, and ‘The Victory of Death; or the Fall of Beauty,’ &c., 8vo, on the death of the Lady Cutts. ”

“ Hopkins.
"Mr. Whipples," continued John, "wore his new spring suit down to-day. I liked it fine It's a gray with—" He stopped, suddenly stricken by a need that made itself known to him. "I believe I'll walk down to the corner and get a five-cent cigar," he concluded.
John Hopkins took his hat and picked his way down the musty halls and stairs of the flat-house.
The evening air was mild, and the streets shrill with the careless cries of children playing games controlled by mysterious rhythms and phrases. Their elders held the doorways and steps with leisurely pipe and gossip. ”

“ So she stood beside me, which was a marvel, and the sun rested his red rim on the bearded hill, and we saw him sink. And as the last thin line of red vanished behind the hill, I saluted, and so did she. And then she laughed. I love a ready laugh,—mine is not ready, but has to be pumped out, with a great noise,—and such an one as hers—
“Now, Adam,” she said, “we must dig. We have wasted time.”
[31] “No,” I answered, “for the beds are but now uncovered. See the colors, Eve. What would you give to paint like that? There is but one Painter.” ”

“ But Eve held her peace. And we two watched the rock, with its leaning spindle, and ever it leaned the more, but it kept fast hold on the rock, though it was nearly buried in the foam. And ever the tide came higher, until it was buried in every sea that came. So it was come to dinner time; and I felt a great hunger that gnawed within me. For a clammer must eat, even as other men.
“Eve,” I said, “it is my dinner time, and I am hungry.”
“Oh, Adam,” she cried, “can you think about eating—with this to see? ”

“ I am not cold. It is horrible to think of a man's being blotted out so utterly—as if he had never been."
"There are many horrible things," William Henry observed, "but that particular thing does not seem so bad. It's better than—oh, well, many things—some ways they have of putting a man out."
Lydia turned and glanced at him, at his scarred face. Then she stared forward again. The schooner drove through the seas, throwing the spray high at every plunge. Helena and even Gotthard had been giving more attention to William Henry than to the boat and her way upon the waters. ”

“ I said. “Even the stones grow cold.”
“Adam,” she cried, “why will you be so contrary? It is not ended. I will not have it so.”
“The Rich may have what they will,” I said, “nearly, but not quite. I was not made for a plaything for the Rich.”
“You are bitter, and you are not fair,” she said softly. “It is not like you, Adam. There is something more. Why will you make it hard?”
“I will not make it hard,” I answered. [75] “There is nothing else. What has a fisherman to say to a Daughter of the Rich, or she to him? So, for that other matter, Miss Goodwin, I absolve you from an answer.” ”

“ But Old Goodwin, with his quiet smile, was yet Goodwin the Rich. It was a marvel.
“You are good children,” he said. “Good-night,—and bless you.”
So he ambled off, up the path that was beginning to show, even in that dim light. For a path is made by walking upon it, and even once a day [104] will serve for that. And that path was walked on more than once a day. As he reached a turn, he waved his hand to us, and we to him.
“Eve,” I said, musing, “there goes a good man.”
She turned to me. “He is,” she said. “And I am glad to have you think that, Adam. There are those—who say cruel things of him.” ”

“ The professor saw it go; then doubts began to assail him, and his cheerfulness ebbed. He stood irresolute until he heard the train. It was useless to stand irresolute longer. It is always useless to stand irresolute for any length of time whatever. The professor knew that very well. With a quick compression of the lips, he turned homeward. He was no longer cheerful.
No doubt I was wrong in speaking of him as the professor that last time. He was, henceforth, to be Mr. Ladue. His professorial career had been cut off by that letter to the provost as cleanly and as suddenly as by a sharp axe. ”

“ For there is but one guest.”
“There will be two, Adam.”
“Two!” I cried. “I have asked but one. If it is that certain rich man, I give you warning he shall have no [67] clams of mine, but I will cast him into the sea.”
“It is my father, Adam,” she replied. “He is here and would see a clambake, so I asked him.”
“Your father, Eve? Do governesses have fathers? And is he here to help you?”
“I hope that he will help me,” she said. “I think he will.”
And she smiled brightly.
My heart grew cold, and froze beneath my ribs. “Then,” I said, “you will not need help from a fisherman, governess.” ”

“ But Eve was not there. I marveled somewhat at it.
“She is gone to see her mother,” he said, answering the thought unspoken. “She will be back presently. And how are the clams, Adam?”
I laughed, it was so exactly what I expected of him. “Pretty well, I thank you,” I replied; “or they were, two weeks ago. I have not seen them lately, for I have been busy. You may dig whenever you will. They thrive, I think.”
He smiled again—his thanks. “And the stones—you have put some fresh ones in, I see—they are all ready?”
[224] “They are all ready,” I answered, “and the weed lies in heaps along the shore. ”

“ The author of Amasia was no poet, but he possessed the faculty of writing with exactitude about himself. He prattled on in heroic couplets from hour to hour, recording the tiny incidents of his life. At first sight, his voluble miscellany seems a mere wilderness of tame verses, but when we examine it closely a story gradually evolves. We come to know John Hopkins, and live in the intimacy of his circle. His poems contain a novelette in solution. ”

“ I smiled to myself—there was nobody to see me if I chose to smile at an absurdity—and my hoe went more and more slowly, for there was no power behind it. And I listened shamelessly to Harry Lauder's last whisper and his last mellow laugh, so that I did not hear the light steps behind me; but I heard the voice that I loved.
"Adam! Adam!" said the voice, chiding. "Listening to Harry Lauder—and enjoying it! Take shame to yourself."
And I turned, and saw Eve, and Tidda with her. Eve was smiling, and I smiled back at her.
"Surely, Eve," I said, "a man may [Pg 138] rest when he is weary. ”

“ And indeed I know no other I may trust—but one.”
“A governess advised in matrimony by a fisherman!” I said. “And who is that one, Eve?”
“You shall hear. And do not jest, Adam, or my laughter may turn to tears. They are near enough. And [59] now for the story, which is a short one. Old Goodwin’s wife would marry me to a certain rich man,—for my worldly good, as she says.”
“A certain rich man,” I said, musing. “And will he enter the Kingdom of Heaven?” ”

“ At last Old Goodwin spoke, and he was looking at the smoking dome.
“Adam,” he said, “will there be another clambake after this?”
“I fear not,” I answered. “For it [144] gets on toward winter, and it will be too cold. But when summer comes again we may have many, we three.”
He looked at me and smiled. “I feared this was the last,” he said. “But when summer comes again we will have many—God willing. You are good to please an old man so. I thank you, Adam.” ”

“ I guess he does. An ensign's pay is pretty good for a boy of twenty-one."
"And his father," Eve pursued; "what does he do? Is he in some great office, grinding away for Jack?"
Elizabeth smiled again. "No. He is a country doctor, and a very good one. I don't know what the town would do without him. But a [Pg 153] country doctor, you know, can't make much."
"I'm glad," said Eve.
"Why? Because he can't make much?"
Eve laughed. "Glad that he's a doctor. I wish I could manage to swell his income."
Tidda and the Sands girl had been pursuing the elusive clam with some success. ”

“ He waved his hand about. “That is much to be thankful for. But I—the memory of those baked clams is all that has carried me over many a hard place. For I realize—sometimes—that I am an old man; but when I am here”—
“You are not,” I finished for him. “And that is reason enough for staying. You have a roof over your head—such as it is—and a crust of bread—with a chop or two when there is need. No man, however poor, can ask more—and no man, however rich, can get more. So I foretell”—
[225] Old Goodwin was roaring with laughter. ”

“ Her eyes were filled with light, but she veiled them quickly, and Bobby wandered over to us. Old Goodwin had sat him down on the bank, and Tidda had put into his hands some more clams dripping mud, and was asking his advice, her elbows on his [Pg 159] knees; and he listened soberly and with interest.
Eve told Bobby of the meeting of our company for the next week and the party.
He turned to me. "Doesn't that notice have to be in writing?" he asked.
I shook my head. "You'd better accept it. The whole company will turn out. It's to be a party for Ogilvie—birthday party." ”

“ There is a man in this house who has treated me with insult and abuse. I have complained to my aunt, and she laughs at me. Armand says you are brave. In these prosaic days men who are both brave and chivalrous are few. May I count upon your assistance?"
John Hopkins thrust the remains of his cigar into his coat pocket. He looked upon this winning creature and felt his first thrill of romance. It was a knightly love, and contained no disloyalty to the flat with the flea-bitten terrier and the lady of his choice. ”

“ But what know I of women’s boots?
“My stock is small,” I answered. “I had no other size.” And that was true, too.
So I showed her how to dig, and when her hoe broke through a shell, she almost wept. But she dug six.
“I am tired,” she said then. “I will dig no more to-night. Does your back get tired, too?”
“Not now,” said I, “but it did at first.”
Then she sat behind the tree and changed the boots, and we hung them in the tree against another time. And then we sat upon the bank, for the colors had not faded. And Eve sat silent, gazing at the water and the western sky ”

“ I think I had better go over to the new house."
"To see whether the men are doing their work right?" she asked.
"You see, I have to help the mortar man," he explained. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye, dear," she said. Then she kissed him. "Be very careful."
"Yes, I will."
Then he went out, and he got his cart, and he put his shovel and his hoe in it, and he called his cat; but no cat came. And he called her again, but she didn't come then.
So he took up the handle of his cart, and he walked over to the new house, dragging his cart behind him, with his shovel and his hoe rattling in the bottom of it. ”