Mrs. North

“ Certainly these two persons bore no resemblance to the boy and girl torn from each other's arms that cold December night. Alfred had been mild and slow; Captain Price (except when his daughter-in-law raised her finger) was a pleasant old roaring lion. Letty had been a gay, high-spirited little creature, not as retiring, perhaps, as a young female should be, and certainly self-willed; Mrs. North was completely under the thumb of her daughter Mary. Not that “under the thumb” means unhappiness; Mary North desired only her mother's welfare, and lived fiercely for that single purpose. ”

“ Rane, madam."
Mrs. North sat on a couch by the fire. In the house she was called Madam--out of the house, too, for that matter. A severely handsome woman, with a cold, pale, imperious face, the glittering jewels in her black hair looking as hard as she did. A cruel face, as some might have deemed it. When Mr. North married her, she was the widow of Major Bohun, and had one son. Underneath the chandelier, reading by its light, sat her daughter, a young lady whose face bore a strong resemblance to hers. This daughter and a son had been born since her second marriage. ”

“ North.
“No more than you are to your daughter,” Captain Price defended himself; and Mrs. North sighed.
“We are just real foolish, Alfred, to listen to 'em. As if we didn't know what was good for us.”
“People have interfered with us a good deal, first and last,” the Captain said, grimly.
The faint color in Mrs. North's cheeks suddenly deepened. “So they have,” she said.
The Captain shook his head in a discouraged way; he took his pipe out of his pocket and looked at it absent-mindedly. “I suppose I can stay at home, and let 'em get over it?” ”

“ Mary North, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway, gave a questioning sniff, and the Captain's hand sought his guilty pocket; but Miss North only said: “How do you do, sir? Now, mother, don't talk too much and get tired.” She stopped and tried to smile, but the painful color came into her face. “And—if you please, Captain Price, will you speak in a low tone? Large, noisy persons exhaust the oxygen in the air, and—”
“Mary!” cried poor Mrs. North; but the Captain, clutching his old felt hat, began to hoist himself up from the sofa, scattering ashes about as he did so. ”

“ The love of the North, like the fiery kiss of genius, is a sorrowful gift, and none can say whether it is greater in joy or pain. She is an exacting mistress, this white-bodied, rude-muscled North, and, of times, she breaks and hurts a man till he drags his brokenness away to die. ”

“ Betty, like all brilliant women who love passionately, had over-imagined, in her solitude and excitement. It is true that North had felt the bitterness of defeat, that his mind had dwelt upon the miserable and blasting thought that after years of unquestioned statesmanship and leadership, of hard work and unremitting devotion, his will had had no weight against hysteria and delirium. ”

“ That's why, and enough! You can't play any such gay and festive skeletons on this poor baby for flesh and blood parents. No, sir!"
"I think you judge them hastily, Miss Bessy," said North, secretly amused; "my aunt may not, at first, favorably impress strangers, yet she has many friends. But surely you do not object to my cousin Maria, the young lady?"
"What! that dried cuttle-fish, with nothing livin' about her but her eyes? James North, ye may be a fool like the old woman,—perhaps it's in the family,—but ye ain't a devil, like that gal! That ends it." ”

“ Mary North stood, motionless, in her own parlor; her shawl, hanging from one elbow, trailed behind her; her other glove had split; her bonnet was blown back and over one ear; her heart was pounding in her throat. She was perfectly aware that she had done an unheard-of thing. “But,” she said, aloud, “I'd do it again. I'd do anything to protect her. But I hope I was polite?” Then she thought how courageous Mrs. Cyrus was. “She's as brave as a lion!” said Mary North. Yet had Miss North been able to stand at the Captain's door, she would have witnessed cowardice.
“Gussie, I wouldn't cry. ”

“ I did not expect it would be quite so soon."
"It mostly come when it's not expected," murmured poor John North: "many of us seem to be going very near together. Edmund first; then Bessy; now you, Fanny: and the next will be me. God in His mercy grant that we may all meet in a happier world, and be together for ever!"
Richard North had remained below in the dining-room with Ellen Adair. ”

“ How they did go dashing down the road, and what wonder that excitement was rife in the town that afternoon as to what member of the community was lying at the point of death that the doctor was going at such a rate to see him!
They were on the porch to greet her when she pulled up at the door, Mrs. Northmore and Virgie, with Aunt Milly gorgeous in her best cap and kerchief at the rear; and such a hugging and kissing, such a laughing and crying followed as might have made one wonder what would have happened if the girl had stayed away a year instead of a single summer. ”

“ Between ourselves she is as great an heiress as Miss North.”
“You don’t say so!—well, she looks as if she deserved to be. Come, Wallis, introduce me, and Miss North may go to the dickens.”
“I am sorry I can’t oblige you; but as I have merely talked to Miss Thompson, myself, as a fellow-boarder, I am not privileged to introduce a stranger.”
“No matter, we men of the world can manage such things. They are in that room, aren’t they? and by good luck Cupidon has sneaked in. I’ll go after him.” ”

“ Already Ned had begun to readjust some of his ideas in regard to the North. It was no longer easy to believe that his father had exaggerated its beauty and its appeal, its desolation and its vastness. It was a strange thing for a man used to cities to go day upon day without seeing scarcely a village beside the sea, a single human being other than those of his own party. Here was one place, it seemed, that the hand of man had touched but lightly if at all. ”

“ North's generation, who by and by began to smile at each other, 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 is impossible when people are foolish; and of course, at their age, they are apt to be foolish.” ”

“ Oh, I’m afraid there’s no hope of him as a lady’s man, if that’s what you mean, Miss North. It is understood that he’s by no means a hardened misogynist, but neither is he looking for a wife. He is simply waiting quite dispassionately to see whether the feminine counterpart of his perfections will ever present herself. Year after year at Calcutta and Simla he has surveyed the newest young ladies out from home and found them wanting, and their mothers go away into corners and call him names, which is unjust. ”

“ Mrs. Northmore was seated on the cool veranda with her hands in her lap, and that look of tired content which tells of a busy but successful day. A generous hospitality had left her a little worn. Esther sat down on the step at her feet and leaned her arms across her lap in a childish fashion she had never outgrown.
“I wish I didn’t get so tired of people whom I really like,” she said. “It would break Aunt Milly’s heart if she knew how she bores me. It seems to me sometimes I get tired of everybody—everybody but you, mother dear.”
Mrs. Northmore looked into her daughter’s eyes with a smile. ”

“ He knew more about the young man than he would have cared to tell his daughter, since he believed it would be better for her to make her own discoveries where North was concerned. He had not opposed his frequent visits to Idle Hour, for he felt that if Elizabeth was interested in the young fellow opposition would only strengthen it. Glancing at North as he greeted Elizabeth, the general admitted that whatever he might be, he was presentable, indeed good-looking, handsome. ”

“ This is Mr. North's address. Do not try to communicate with me again. I shall know if you succeed, and if—but I dare not think of the other alternative."
She held out her hand; her face was white her lips trembled.
"You are a brave man," she said. "I feel somehow that you will succeed. Go, you must be out of this house before our little servant returns."
That evening between ten and eleven o'clock I found myself at North's lodgings. The landlady herself opened the door. I inquired if North was in, said that I had come with an urgent message from Dufrayer, and asked to see him at once. ”

“ In 1579, after the union of Utrecht, North went to the Netherlands with Sir John Norris (1547?–1597) [q. v.] , and took service as a volunteer in the cause of the provinces. He returned to England in 1580, and probably married. He may be the Mr. North who visited Poland in 1581 (Dee, Diary, p. 19) , and who, after returning in 1582, had an audience of the queen, who had been sumptuously entertained at Kirtling in 1578. He was returned M.P. for Cambridgeshire to the fifth parliament of Elizabeth in 1584. He again went to the Netherlands with Leicester and Sidney late in 1585. ”

“ Haida⁠⁠ WHEN North's son wanted to marry Southeast's daughter, there was no wind. He spoke to his mother. He spoke also to his father: "I want to marry Southeast's daughter." North said to his son, "What will you wear when the weather is bad?" Southeast was such a dreary, rainy wind that North did not want his son to marry the daughter. The son said, "Oh, that's all right. Give me something to wear when it rains." North said, "I have nothing for it. But marry her." ”

“ Gass, nodding her head wisely. "Miss Mary, if ever there was a Christian man on earth, it is Richard North. His whole life has been one long thought for others. Who else has kept up Dallory Hall? Who would have worked and slaved on, and on, not for himself, but to maintain his father's home, finding money for madam's wicked extravagance, to save his poor father pain, knowing that the old man had already more than he could bear. ”

“ In fact, it was almost like getting acquainted with him over again; and to add insult to injury, as he took my hand for an instant at parting, he said, 'Good-night, Miss Northrup.' Oh! what shall I do, mamma—advise me! Ought I to give him up?"
"No," said Mrs. Northrup, sternly, "that would never do. That marriage must take place!" [Pg 94]
Chapter XVI. WHAT OUGHT A GIRL DO IF THE MAN SHE LOVES CARES FOR ANOTHER?
"Do you hear me, Gerelda?" repeated Mrs. Northrup. ”

“ Northover. "You can have adventures and no great harm done; but us women, if we try for adventures, we come to a bad end."
"Nobody's more adventurous than you," answered Raymond. "Look at your gardens and your teas for a bob ahead. Wasn't that an adventure—to give a better tea than anybody in Bridport?"
"I believe women have quite as many adventures as men," declared Sarah
Northover, who was waiting for her aunt, "only we're quieter about 'em."
"We've got to be," answered Mrs. Northover. "Now come on to your mother's, Sarah. There's Mr. Roberts waiting for us outside." ”

“ Then, noting that Nan had entered the room, she turned toward her as she said coldly: “Anne, I shall be obliged to leave for New York on the early morning train. A wealthy aunt has passed away, leaving a large fortune to my sister and myself, but unfortunately, the will is to be contested, which necessitates the presence of an heir who has some knowledge of legal matters. I may be away for several months, and so I will have to leave you in my sister’s care, trusting that she will see the advisability of sending you to a convent school as soon as a suitable wardrobe can be prepared. ”

“ Money and position will cover up a good many indiscretions in a married woman or a widow, but the world always has demanded that a girl shall be immaculate; and if she permits Society to think she is not, it punishes her for violating one of its pet standards. Mr. North can be nothing to you. The day is sure to come when you will want to marry. No woman is really satisfied in any other state."
Betty turned and looked squarely at her mother, who had lost even the semblance of nervousness in her deep maternal anxiety. ”

“ A few minutes later when the pleased little old lady was sitting up among comfortably placed pillows, Nan with arms akimbo, inquired, “Is there anything more ye’ll be afther wantin’ this mornin’, Miss Barrington?”
“Oh, Nan darling,” the little woman replied brightly, “I truly did think that I wouldn’t be able to get on without Norah, but I believe that after all my new maid is going to prove a much handier young person. Have you breakfasted, my dear?” ”

“ AN ENEMY.
During the dinner hour Phyllis glanced often at her dearest friend wondering, almost troubled, at the change that had so recently come over her. Across the wide refectory, two other pairs of eyes were also watching Nan and in the proud face of Muriel Metcalf there was a sneering expression.
“How guilty Nan Barrington acts,” she said softly to the girl at her side.
“She dreads having the truth found out, I suppose,” Daisy Wells replied, “but probably we are the only ones who know it and of course we would not tell.” ”

“ Jenny clasped her hands, as she exclaimed: “No one knows how I have always longed to have a sister. I have never had friends—girl friends, I mean—I have been Miss Dearborn’s only pupil, but often and often I have pretended that I had a sister about my own age. I would wake up in the night, the way girls do in books, and confide my secrets to a make-believe sister. Then, when I went on long tramps alone up in the foothills, I pretended that my sister was with me and we made plans together.” ”