Mysie

“ But Mysie and her fate would not be banished from his mind, and he lay and tumbled and tossed, a terrible anxiety within him, for youth is apt to pity its own sufferings, and give them a heroic touch under the spell of unrequited love. ”

“ What do you think of Mysie?"
"She has grown and developed wonderfully."
"She is most intelligent—able to talk with me on any subject, and a most interesting companion. But she has a very strong will of her own."
"Like her father," said Rowena mischievously.
"Yes, but women are not required to have as strong wills as men."
"Oh, you old-fashioned person! If a strong will is a good thing why should we not share it? A weak woman very often makes a bad man! Don't try to eradicate the strength in Mysie's character." ”

“ There sounded ‘coo-roo-oo coo-roo-oo’ in the verandah, and Mysie cried—
‘Oh, the dear doves!’
Miss Hacket said she had been just feeding them when the G.F.S. girl arrived, and as Mysie came to a halt in delight at the aspect of a young one that had just crept out into public life, the sister was called to the window. She was a great deal younger and more of the present day in style than her sister, and had pensive-looking grey eyes, with a somewhat bored languid manner as she shook hands with the early visitors. ”

“ The very fragility and timidity of Mysie were at once the cause and consequence of her confidence. She would cling to him and cover him with the blossoms of her affection; nay, if there were unsoundness in the stem, these very blossoms would cover the rottenness.
This change in the life of the little sempstress could not fail to produce some corresponding change at home. We read smoothly the play we have acted ourselves; and so the mother read love in the daughter's eyes, and heard it, too, in her long sighs ”

“ Mysie smiled and kissed her mother—Gillian cleared somewhat, but observing, ‘I only wish it wasn’t clothes;’ tried to dismiss the subject as the gong began to sound, but Mysie caught her mother’s dress, and said, ‘Mayn’t I tell Fly, for a great secret?’
‘No, my dear, certainly not. Fly is a dear little girl, but we don’t know how she can keep secrets, and it would never do to let the Rotherwoods know; papa and Uncle William would be exceedingly annoyed. And only think of Miss Hacket’s feelings if it came round. ”

“ Rowena was never shocked by Mysie's questions.
"God Almighty has no birthday, for He was never born. There never was a time when He did not exist. But don't puzzle your head over that mystery. Let us talk of other things."
"Dad's birthday is in November," said Mysie after a moment's pause. "Mine is in November too. Isn't that funny? Mine is on the 10th. His is on the 20th. Will you be here on our birthdays? Do you think you could come to tea with us? You could come across the loch in your fiat boat. That would be fun, wouldn't it? And we'd have a birthday cake as good as Granny's." ”

“ Next morning, for want of a better plan, they resolved to look for Mysie in the thoroughfares, the father taking the New Town and the brother taking the Old Town. The unhappy old man spent most of the day in wandering up and down the streets, looking in vain amid the throng of strange and unsympathetic faces for those familiar kindly eyes that had been the light of his home. ”

“ And Rowena tried to do it, but at present Mysie was not interested in religious talks.
"You're good, and Dad is good, and Miss Panton is good, but you're all grown-up. I shall get like it one day, but not just yet," she would say. Then she would add hastily, "I do pray always when I get into a fix, and God hears me sometimes. But I can't be always thinking about heaven. I do love my dear earth so much; and as for the loch, I adore it, and if heaven has no lochs, I don't think I shall be happy there at all!" ”

“ And Gillian’s tears were choked in the scurry to avoid a smoking-carriage, while Harry could not help thinking—half blaming himself for so doing—that Mysie expended more feeling in parting with Sofy, the kitten, than with her sisters, not perceiving that pussy was the safety-valve for the poor child’s demonstrations of all the sorrow that was oppressing her. ”

“ It’s nonsense to say so.’
To her surprise, Mysie turned round to Lady Merrifield, who was looking at some exercises that Miss Vincent had laid before her.
‘Mamma,’ she said, ‘is it fair that Dolores should read our books, if she won’t give you up hers to look over, and be like ours?’
‘Mysie,’ said Lady Merrifield, ‘you can’t expect Dolores to like all our home plans till she is used to them. No, my dear, you need not be afraid; you shall keep your books in your own room, and nobody shall meddle with them. ”

“ But Mysie, following her guide to the house, felt quite sure of their conveyance; and, in fact, barely sufficient time elapsed for the hostess to possess herself of the leading facts in her guests' history, before the carriage was announced, and our travellers hastened down the lane, and found there awaiting them the evident model of the Autocrat's "One-Hoss Shay," in its last five years of senility;—to this was attached a quadruped who immediately reminded Mysie of a long-forgotten conundrum.
"What was the first created animal?" ”

“ But if any mischief does happen, or accident, I promise you, Dolly, you shall have the telling of it, if you have had ever so little to do with it, and then mamma will write to Uncle Regie that you have proved yourself truthful.’
Dolores did not seem much consoled by this curious promise, and Mysie’s childishness suddenly gave way to something deeper. ‘I suppose,’ she said, ‘if one is true, people find it out and trust one.’
‘People can’t see into one,’ said Dolly.
‘Mamma says there is a bright side and a dark side from which to look at everybody and everything,’ said Mysie. ”

“ Mysie had not a genius for correspondence, and dealt in very bare facts. There was an enclosure which made Lady Merrifield somewhat anxious:
‘My Dear Mamma, ‘This is for you all by yourself. I have been in sad mischief, for I broke the conservatory and a palm-tree with my umbrella; and I did still worse, for I broke my promise and told all about what you told me never to. I will tell you all when I come home, and I hope you will forgive me. ”

“ He began to "show her attention" at every opportunity, to walk home with her from church, and to go frequently to her shop in the evening. At first, Mysie was surprised and not a little amused. She joked with him, telling him that if he was often seen with her his many admirers would hate her, and, what would be more dreadful, his reputation as a judge of female beauty would be gone. ”

“ With every possibility of being an idle young lady Mysie was really useful and industrious, good, and pious—in the simplest meaning of that much abused word. She was a far more developed person than her lover, young as she was ”

“ And that is the bed-rock with Mysie. I must shatter some of her ignorant prejudices before I can start to build."
"Don't shatter her faith. It's such a precious quality."
"Would you have a clever child believe in witches, and incantation, and barbaric superstitions?"
"Yes, I would," said Rowena with a little laugh, "till they can replace them with other things. A child ought to have strong faith when she is young. You'll turn her into a critical unhuman little prig if you make her sceptical of all the beautiful childish imaginary folk-lore we have here." ”

“ Walker, an' Mysie an' me want to ken if ye can gie us a job on the pitheid?" and Walker noted with amusement the manly swagger in the boy's voice and bearing.
"We dinna' usually start lasses as wee as Mysie," replied Walker, eyeing the children with an amused smile, "but we need twa or three laddies to the tables to help the women to pick stones."
Mysie's face showed her keen disappointment. She knew that it was not customary for girls to be employed as young as she was; and Robert noted her disappointed look as well. ”

“ But Fly had been courted enough by all the cousinhood to have become exacting and displeased at having any rival to the honour of her hand—so she pouted and said, ‘I don’t care about it, if you have her. I shall sit between Val and Jasper.’
One must be thirteen, with a dash of the sentiment of a budding friendship, to enter into all that ‘sitting by’ involves; and in Mysie’s case, here was her compassionate promise standing not only between her and the avowed preference of one so charming as Fly, but possibly depriving her of the chances of the wonders of the Butterfly’s Ball. ”

“ But Mysie would do so much. While the mother should go to Miss Allardice, Mysie would proceed to Miss Anabella; and so it was arranged. They went forth together, parting at the Nether Bow; and Mysie, in spite of a weakness which threatened to bring her with her burden to the ground, struggled on to her destination. At the top of Advocate's Close she saw a man hurry out and increase his step even as her eye rested on him; and if it had not appeared to her to be among the ultimate impossibilities of things, natural as well as unnatural, she would have sworn that that man was George Balgarnie ”

“ Mysie lay wondering how the village gossips at home would discuss her disappearance. She knew how Mag Robertson, and Jean Fleming, and Leezie Johnstone and all the other "clash-bags," as they were locally called, would talk, and what stories they would tell.
But her mother would be different—her mother who had always loved her—crude, primitive love it was, but mother love just the same, and she felt that she would never be able again to go back and take up her old life—the old life which seemed so alluring, now that it was left forever behind. ”

“ James's Square—the fee to Mysie; and then—and then, could it be that Alison had begged for secrecy in their engagement, had deprecated the frequency of his visits to the Potterrow, bidden him come on certain evenings and at certain hours only, because she played a double game, and fooled him in it? But no, this was monstrous, and he did not believe it in his soul—not yet at least. Only, in his bitterness, he said to himself that all women were the same; they all deceived, prevaricated, lied and hid, and this seeming-true, fair creature that he had taken to his heart was only a woman after all. ”

“ Everybody flocked to the door to bid him good-bye, and then Aunt Lilias stooped down to ask Dolores if she were quite rested and felt quite well, Mysie standing anxiously by as if she felt her a great charge.
‘Quite well, quite rested, thank you,’ the girl answered in her stiff, shy way.
‘There is half an hour to spare before Miss Vincent comes. The children generally spend it in feeding the creatures. ”

“ Do bring her Stories They Tell Me, and On Angel’s Wings.’
‘But is not that Mysie’s?’
‘Oh yes, but I know Mysie would let her have it. Mysie always let Maura have everything of hers, because the boys teased her.’
‘I will bring it; but I think Mysie ought to be written to before it is lent.’
‘That is right, Gillian,’ said Miss Mohun; ‘it is always wiser to be above-board when dealing with other people’s things, even in trifles.’
Why did this sound like a reproach, and as if it implied suspicion that Gillian was not acting on that principle? She resented the feeling. ”

“ He departed, but Rowena gave a little sigh as she looked after him and noted the tired bend of his shoulders, and his rather uncertain steps.
"Poor lonely unhappy man!" she murmured. "Why, Shags, you and I must try to bring some zest for living into his soul. I rather fancy Mysie will have a say in that."
Shags cocked one ear and looked wise. He had already had some experience of Mysie. She had certainly contributed towards his pleasure, for she and he invariably had a romp together when she came over.
Two or three days passed. Then one morning Mysie arrived over on her pony. ”

“ And then came an invitation for Mysie to spend part of her holidays with the young Holts and their Grandmother. Marion said she was not particularly anxious to be at home at Christmas, and would willingly wait, and take Mysie with her later.
At first Rowena had difficulty in getting her husband to consent to this arrangement.
"What does the child want to go away from home for!"
Mysie was enchanted with the invitation. She had never been away alone before, and Milly Holt was her "bosom friend." So she informed her father.
"It does her good to get away from us, sometimes," said Rowena. ”

“ And certainly I never saw any one more taking than Sister Angela. She is so full of life, and of a certain unexpectedness, and one knows she has done such noble work. I want to see more of her.”
“You will,” said Mysie. “Mamma is going to ask her to come, for Phyllis says there is no one that Bernard cares for so much. She was his own companion sister.”
“Magdalen might have the little cornstalk,” said Valetta.
“Well,” said Mysie, “it is rather funny to have two—what shall I say?—willow widows, and a child that is neither of theirs! How will they settle it?” ”

“ Jasper called her so when he wanted to lash her up, till at lash she got hold of his ‘Holiday House’ and threw it into the sea, and it was in Malta and we couldn’t get another,’ said Mysie.
‘And haven’t you one?’
‘Yes, Gill and I save for it; but mamma only let us have it on condition we made a solemn promise never to tease nurse about it.’
‘And does she go at you with that dreadful thing—what’s it name—the tawse?’
‘Ah! you’ll soon know,’ said Wilfred.
‘No, no; nonsense, Fred,’ said Mysie, as Dolores’ face worked with consternation. ‘She never hits us, not if we are ever so tiresome. ”