Mrs. Cole

“ Cole an' Mr. Cole. I thought I'd like to hear. Now I'll be going back up the mountain. Violetta an' Rosalinda are pulling fodder and mother is ploughing for wheat. I do the spinning mostly. You've got lovely china asters, Mrs. Cole. They have a flower they called magnolia down 't Richmond—like a great swe [Pg 585] et white cup, an' they had pink crape myrtles. I liked it in Richmond, for all the death an' mourning. Thunder Run's so far away. Good mahnin', Mrs. Cole. Good mahnin', Mr. Cole."
The slight homespun figure disappeared around the bend of the road. Sairy sewed in silence. ”

“ Concluding from these premises, Mrs. Cole observ'd that a character of this sort was ever lawful prize; that the sin would be, not to make the best of our market of him; and that she thought such a girl as me only too good for him at any rate, and on any terms.
She went then, at the hour appointed to his lodgings in one of our inns of court, which were furnish'd in a taste of grandeur that had a special eye to all the conveniences of luxury and pleasure. ”

“ Cole, being rang for by him, came in, and was made acquainted in terms of the utmost joy and rapture, with his triumphant certainty of my virtue, and the finishing stroke he had given it, in the course of the night; of which he added, she would see proof enough, in bloody characters, on the sheets.
You may guess how a woman of her turn of address and experience, humour'd the jest, and play'd him off with mix'd exclamations of shame, anger, compassion for me, and of her being pleas'd that all was so well over ”

“ Little tidies and what-nots are so skillfully arranged that one almost forgets that he is in a heathen land. Indeed, everything is inviting, and when her husband returns after a walk or boat-ride through the hot tropical sun from his labors among the heathen he finds his wife waiting and everything in readiness to make him happy and to give the rest so necessary in that climate. Often, too, she accompanies him and leads the singing before and after preaching. Mrs. Cole has her school of sixteen children to teach. They love her as if they were her own children. ”

“ She did not have time to exchange another word with the maid, for she had fled from the room as quickly as she had entered it, and she was left alone with her conflicting thoughts.
The window was open, and she threw the contents of the glass out on the pavement below.
She had scarcely set it down, before Mrs. Cole glided into the room.
"Ah! you have drunk the lemonade. That's right!" she added in a triumphant tone. "But I won't sit down to talk to you to-night; you look sleepy. ”

“ After having consumed the morning in the dear endearments and instructions of my new acquaintance, we went to dinner, when Mrs. Cole, presiding at the head of her club, gave me the first idea of her management and address, in inspiring these girls with so sensible a love and respect for her. There was no stiffness, no reserve, no airs of pique, or little jealousies, but all was unaffectedly gay, cheerful and easy. ”

“ Cole herself, and introduc'd into her bed-chamber, where, in an old fashion'd bed of her's, I lay, fully undress'd, and panting, if not with the fears of a real maid, at least with those perhaps greater, of a dissembled one, which gave me an air of confusion and bashfulness that maiden modesty had all the honour of, and was indeed scarce distinguishable from it, even by less partial eyes than those of my lover, so let me call him, for I ever thought the term cully too cruel a reproach to the men, for their abus'd weakness for us. ”

“ Cole is very bilious. No, I would not be the means of giving them any pain. My dear Emma, we must consider this. I am sure, rather than run the risk of hurting Mr. and Mrs. Cole, you would stay a little longer than you might wish. You will not regard being tired. You will be perfectly safe, you know, among your friends.”
“Oh yes, papa. I have no fears at all for myself; and I should have no scruples of staying as late as Mrs. Weston, but on your account. I am only afraid of your sitting up for me. I am not afraid of your not being exceedingly comfortable with Mrs. Goddard. ”

“ As soon then as the evening began, and the shew of a shop was shut, the academy open'd, the mask of mock-modesty was compleatly taken off, and all the girls deliver'd over to their respective calls of pleasure, or interest, with their men: and none of that sex were promiscuously admitted, but only such as Mrs. Cole was previously satisfied of their character and discretion. ”

“ Cole was at last sent back to his rectory, he went under strict instructions from Pembroke to keep his misfortune to himself. But alas for poor Cole! What stung him most was that Madame Koller should have seen him in that condition—for the two hard slaps that she had given him had by no means cured his infatuation. On the contrary, her strong nerves, her fierce temper, her very recklessness of conventionality, irresistibly attracted his timid and conservative nature. ”

“ Both the Coles said together. Mrs. Cole
Added: “You can judge better after seeing.—
I want you here with me, Fred. Leave him here,
Brother Meserve. You know to find your way
Out through the shed.”
“I guess I know my way,
I guess I know where I can find my name
Carved in the shed to tell me who I am
If it don’t tell me where I am. I used
To play—”
“You tend your horses and come back. ”

“ The Showman:
It was my fault, I always tell my wife
I put too great constraint upon his will;
Things would be changed if he were with us still.
I ought not to have forced him to the trade.
King Cole:
"A forced thing finds a vent," my father said;
And yet a quickening tells me that your son
Is not far from you now; for I am one
Who feels these things, like comfort in the heart.
The couple watched King Cole and shrank apart,
For brightness covered him with glittering.
"Tell me your present troubles," said the King,
"For you are worn. What sorrow makes you sad?" ”

“ King Cole moved softly in the Ring again,
Where now the owls and he were left alone:
The night was loud with water upon stone.
He watched the night; then taking up his flute,
He breathed a piping of this life of ours,
The half-seen prize, the difficult pursuit,
The passionate lusts that shut us in their towers,
The love that helps us on, the fear that lowers,
The pride that makes us and the pride that mars,
The beauty and the truth that are our stars. ”

“ Thus, however, I lost him; and as no condition of life is more subject to revolutions than that of a woman of pleasure, I soon recover'd my chearfulness, and now beheld myself once more struck off the list of kept-mistresses, and return'd into the bosom of the community, from which I had been in some manner taken.
Mrs. Cole still continuing her friendship, offer'd me her assistances and advice towards another choice; but I was now in a state of ease and affluence enough to look about me at leisure ”

“ I was now restor'd again to my former state of a kept mistress, and us'd punctually to wait on Mr. Norbert at his chambers, whenever he sent a messenger for me, which I constantly took care to be in the way of, and manag'd with so much caution that he never once penetrated the nature of my connexions with Mrs. Cole, but indolently given up to ease, and the town-dissipations, the perpetual hurry to them hinder'd him from looking into his own affairs, much less into mine. ”

“ The proposal was approved, with only one restriction of Mrs. Cole, that she, on account of her age, and I, on account of my titular maidenhead, should be excused, at least till I had undergone the forms of the house. This obtained me a dispensation, and the promotress of this amusement was desired to begin.
Her name was Emily; a girl fair to excess, and whose limbs were, if possible, too well made, since their plump fulness was rather to the prejudice of that delicate slimness required by the nicer judges of beauty ”

“ Tired, however, at length, with such athletic drudgery, my champion began now to give out, and to gladly embrace the refreshment of some rest. Kissing me then with much affection, and recommending me to my repose, he presently fell fast asleep, which, as soon as I had well satisfied myself of, I with much composure of body, so as not to wake him by any motion, with much ease and safety too, played of Mrs. Cole’s device for perfecting the signs of my virginity. ”

“ Cole acting admirably the good old prating gossip, who lets every thing escape her, when her tongue is set in motion, cook'd him up a story so plausible of me, throwing in every now and then such strokes of art, with all the simplest air of nature, in praise of my person and temper, as finish'd him finely for her purpose, whilst nothing could be better counterfeited than her innocence of his ”

“ They had met by the yellow barn.
“Well, no,” answers Cole, when he could get a word in, “I don’t think that any murderer is at North Villa; do not see one about, but there’s a baby.” “A baby!” shrieks Miss Timmens, as she pushed back the bunches of black curls from her thin cheeks with their chronic redness, “a baby!” “Yes, a baby,” says Cole, “a new baby.” “Good mercy!” cries she, “a baby! a black baby! Is it a boy or a girl, Mr. Cole?” “It’s a boy,” says Cole. “Good mercy! a black boy!—what an extraordinary sight it must be!” Cole says nothing to this; only looks at her as meek as a lamb. ”

“ And Annie Grey you needn't think
I didn't see you spill the ink.
And find your thimble Maggie More,
And mind your sewing Jennie Shore;
And Linda Cole you know 'tis wrong
To make a stitch two inches long.
And you Kate Ross, stop pinching there,
Don't scratch! nor pull your sister's hair;
And you, you naughty Lucy Moyes,
Must not be talking to the boys.
And Bridget Mace don't make that face;
And Norah Finn keep your tongue in.
Don't be a Tom-boy Emma Pyke,
You really must act lady-like. ”

“ Cole's carriage-horses returning from exercise, or a stray letter-boy on an obstinate mule, were the liveliest objects she could presume to expect; and when her eyes fell only on the butcher with his tray, a tidy old woman travelling homewards from shop with her full basket, two curs quarrelling over a dirty bone, and a string of dawdling children round the baker's little bow-window eyeing the gingerbread, she knew she had no reason to complain, and was amused enough ”

“ Cole and me, the same morning, not without the visible remains of the fear and confusion she had been in, still stamp'd on her countenance, Mrs. Cole's remark was, that her indiscretion proceeding from a constitutional facility, there were little hopes of any thing curing her of it, but repeated severe experience. Mine was that I could not conceive how it was possible for mankind to run into a taste, not only universally odious, but absurd, and impossible to gratify, since, according to the notions and experience I had of things, it was not in nature to force such immense disproportions: Mrs. ”

“ Cole crouched lower in her chair.
"I knew it would come. I've been a-feelin' it here for a long time—a long time," one thin hand groping for her heart. "Yes, he'll pine fer his freedom an' the mountings when he's shut up in jail. Oh, I've begged him not to be a moonshiner—not to make whiskey on the sly. They all have to suffer fer it sooner or later." Her wandering, tearful eyes fell on the waiting supper. "How hungry he must be!" ”

“ Cole's house, where Louisa and Emily still continu'd in the old way; and my great favourite Harriet, us'd often to come and see me, and entertain me, with her head and heart full of the happiness she enjoy'd with her dear baronet, whom she lov'd with tenderness and constancy, even though he was her keeper; and what is yet more, had made her independent by a handsome provision for her, and hers. ”

“ I think her charming,” replied my companion warmly, “she is so very good-natured.”
“She is something beyond that,” returned I; “mere good-nature is a quality I rate very low: a person may be good-natured, yet thoroughly selfish, for nine times out of ten it is easier and more agreeable to say 'yes' than 'no'; but there is such an entire forgetfulness of self, apparent in all Mrs. Coleman's attempts to make those around her happy and comfortable, that, despite her eccentricities, I am beginning to conceive quite a respect for the little woman.” ”

“ Cole, in opposition to this, assured me, “that the gentlemen I should be presented to were, by their rank and taste of things, infinitely superior to the being touched with any glare of dress or ornaments, such slick women rather confound and overlay than set off their beauty with; that these veteran voluptuaries knew better than not to hold them in the highest contempt: they with whom the pure native charms alone could pass current, and who would at any time leave a sallow, washy, painted duchess on her own hands, for a ruddy, healthy firm fleshed country maid ”

“ Cuddle crossed his arms on his breast, and exclaimed, “And is it, indeed, my friend Jack Cole?”
“Don't you know me, when I speak even?” growled old Cole, “or d'ye think somebody has borrowed my voice?”
“'Tis Jack, himself!” cried Cuddle; “honest Jack! and I did not see him!—These glasses I cannot help stigmatizing as an egregious nuisance.”
“Well, Mr. Cole, what say you, will you join us?” inquired Homer.
“No, sir,” replied Cole; “sing by yourself; one ass at a time is bad enough; but three braying together, are insupportable.” ”

“ Cole, after the old gossipery, on those occasions, us'd to young women abandon'd for the first time to the will of man, had left us alone in her room, which, by-the-bye, was well lighted up, at his previous desire, that seem'd to bode a stricter examination than he afterwards made ”