Nataly

“ Santon's reply; and we heartily respond, "May she have her reward!"
Never a word did Mrs. Santon receive from the Sea-flower, in return for her ungenerous treatment of her, other than tones of kindness; and Natalie was happy under this new dispensation, for she said within herself,--"I am but bearing a part of the burden which would crush dear Winnie's heart;" and so she sang and played with her usual glad spirit, gliding about the house with simple dignity, with a cheering word for every one, and, as Biddy said,--"she was an escaped ray of light, too bright for the darkness to hide." ”

“ Natalie's whole being is now only a strained, longing listening. Why does her heart beat so loudly? Why does her strong imagination charm up things in the stillness which do not exist? Or--no--no; she hears a sigh, a step, slow, slow! Who can that be? No man walks so slowly who after long, oh, how long absence, returns to wife and child! ”

“ O, it is so hard! if I only had a mother to love me, I could endure anything else!" and her excitable nature getting the better of her, she burst into tears. Natalie threw her arm about her neck, and, her own voice tremulous with the pity which she felt for her, she tried to soothe her spirits; "you shall have a mother! My mother shall be your mother! for are you not to be my sister? and she will love you as did your own gentle mother! but Mrs. Santon will yet become reconciled to you, for when she finds what a good heart you have, she cannot but treat you with kindness." ”

“ After Natalie had greeted Lensky with her usual friendliness, she laid the flowers on the table and arranged them in the vases which an Italian chambermaid had brought her.
"Ah, Natalie, why will you have none of them?" sighed the princess.
"Little mother, I can love but once," replied Natalie, bending her brown head over the flowers. "I have told you I will not marry until I have found some one quite extraordinary--a hero or a genius." ”

“ Then Old Daylight heard the door open, and the subdued voice of the servant as she presented the card.
“Forster!—don’t know such man,” said Natalie. “Whose like is he?”
“A stout gentleman,” or some such words, was the answer; for Natalie said—
“Stout! what means stout?”
“ Fat— gras, brave homme, comme moi ,” said the first voice. “Some one come to make you an offer of marriage, Natalie.”
“Very good—tell him wait.” And she added, firmly, “ He must be a rich man and a nobleman. I do not ally myself with common people—I, who am artiste .” ”

“ I told Miss Mason that the sooner all such fol-de-rol was dispelled in a girl’s mind the better. And these eight sensible young girls will help dispel the nonsense.”
“That’s right, Jimmy! Since I find myself thrown on the mercy of the world, I begin to see how unfounded is one’s faith in money or position. One day it is yours and the next it is gone!”
“Rather precocious views for so young a maid, Natalie,” said Mrs. James, smiling indulgently at her protégée. ”

“ Would that my executioner were now come, that he might see in you the heroine, Natalie, and not the sorrow-stricken woman!”
“Ah, your prayer is granted; hear you not the rattling of the bolts, the roll of the drum? They are coming, Ivan, they are coming!”
“Farewell, Natalie—farewell, forever!”
And, mutually embracing, they took one last, long kiss, but wept not.
“Hear me, Natalie! when they bind me upon the wheel, weep not. Be resolute, my wife, and pray that their torments may not render me weak, and that no cry may escape my lips!” ”

“ Natalie will enjoy seeing herself as a screen star, won’t you, Nat dear?” laughingly replied the teacher.
“Oh, I don’t know, Miss Mason! Nothing is worth while any more. I just wish I were dead!” sighed the girl.
“No you don’t, Honey! It is just morbid sorrow that’s fastened itself in your heart. The moment you change your entire present state of mind for a more harmonious one, you will feel like a new being. Now run along with your chums and have a real—r-e-e-l—happy time.” Miss Mason’s joyous nature was contagious, and smiles appeared where intense feelings had drawn faces awry. ”

“ I don’t believe Natalie can comprehend the fullness of the cup of opportunity that is handed her, until she sees the place with her own eyes. It is often difficult to visualize the possibilities in an idea from another’s description. If you girls want to have a little outing on Saturday, I shall be delighted to drive you to Green Hill Farm in my brother’s car. ”

“ Sometimes I have fancied that some good angel had not forgotten me, and had breathed her soul into those pure eyes!"
"And the child?" asked Natalie, in a suppressed breath, scarcely above a whisper.
"Her child was but a tiny babe; her features were not sufficiently developed to leave its memory on my mind; yet they told me the little creature was like her mother. This, the Madonna's child, is from life. In my wanderings I visited the island of Nantucket. ”

“ Brand sat and listened, recognizing here and there a proud, pathetic phrase of Natalie's, and knowing well whence the inspiration came; and as he listened he almost felt as though that beautiful old place in Buckinghamshire was slipping through his fingers. The sacrifice seemed to be becoming less and less of a sacrifice; it took more and more the form of a duty; would Natalie's eyes smile approval?
Brand jumped up, and took a rapid turn or two up and down the room.
"I won't listen to you, Evelyn. You don't know anything about money-matters. You care for nothing but ideas. ”

“ The time has come when our dear little Sea-flower, for so many years the sunshine of our home, shall test the strength of her affection for those who will ever regard her--a blessing from that heavenly shore. Say to the author of the Madonna and child, that I would earnestly wish that he may accompany you home, as he may be informed of that which so nearly concerns his happiness. Adieu, my daughter, until I shall see you once more. From your affectionate mother."
Natalie folded the letter, and repeating aloud, "can I ever love my mother less?" she leaned her head upon her hand, and wept. ”

“ Then why not offer to chaperone a number of paying girls of Natalie’s age for the season? There are so many parents who would like their girls to benefit by a summer in the country, but neither mother nor father can leave home, so the girl has to remain also, because of no suitable guardian to chaperone her!” declared Miss Mason.
“I’m sure your idea is practical. And I will speak to Mr. Marvin about it. If only Natalie would think favorably of the farm plan.” Mrs. James sighed as she thought of the protests and tears she had to contend with whenever the subject was broached to Natalie. ”

“ Delwood," said she, raising herself to her full height, her slender fingers clenched together, every nerve 'roused to action,--"if you would not insult me, never again call the woman who has had the heart to cast such a slur upon the character of her whom we know is innocent, my mother! It is not to injure your feelings that she has invented such a vile scheme, but it is by injuring Natalie's character in your eyes, she may banish from her heart all future happiness. ”

“ Aubrey is a dear child; as warm-hearted and lovable as one could desire; and in time—in good time—she will develop into a charming woman. Only be on the watch while with her lest her ‘fun’ should lead you into mistakes. For Natalie, I may say the same, except that Natalie is a follower as naturally as Aubrey is a leader. One afternoon has made you close friends with two of your mates—a mutual ‘scrape’ seems to be a certain bond between girls—and before long you will know them all. The same sorts of persons you will meet, by and by, in the world at large. ”

“ Brand again assented.
"Very well. He discovers that you and she are attached to each other. Probably he does not consider it a very serious affair, so far; but he knows that if you remain in London it would probably become so. Now, Natalie is a girl of firm character; she is very gentle, but she is not a fool. If you remained in London she would probably marry you, whether her father liked it or not, if she thought it was right. He knows that; he knows that the girl is capable of acting on her own judgment. ”

“ And now that I see you Natalie, it is not a bit better: I can't tell you; I am so happy to be near you, to be beside you, and hear your voice, that I don't think I can say anything at all."
"I am refused, then?" said she, shyly.
"Refused!" he exclaimed. "There are some things one cannot refuse—like the sunshine. But do you know what a terrible sacrifice you are making?"
"It is you, then, who are making no sacrifice at all," she said, reproachfully. "What do I sacrifice more than every girl must sacrifice when she marries? England is not my [Pg 239] home as it is your home ”

“ Then I will be able to go right along when we do join Miss Mason’s girls.”
“That’s a good ambition, Natalie, and let the future take care of itself. You only have to take one step at a time, you know, and no human being ever lives more than one moment at a time. But how many of us plan for the future and worry about to-morrow or next week! People would stop worrying and hoarding if they understood the only right way to think and live.”
Natalie smiled, for she knew Mrs. James desired to help humanity stop its worries. ”

“ Santon received the Sea-flower with a mother's tenderness, but being weary with her journey, Natalie retired early, to dream of those far, low murmurings of the deep, which she had so missed, in lulling her to rest."
"I am so disappointed in her, mother! she is such a gentle, delicate creature! I know I shall love her! And such spiritual eyes! Did you notice when you asked about her mother, what a sweet expression she wore?"
"She is a beautiful creature, and if I mistake not, she has a heart to match; but she does not resemble her mother at all, in features ”

“ The things she had thrown aside on coming in from her morning walk still lay there; she hastily put them on; and she herself led the way down-stairs. He put her into the hansom, and followed; the man drove off. She held her lover's hand tight, as a sign of her gratitude.
"Mind, I depend on you, Natalie," he said.
"Oh, do not fear," she said, rather wildly; "why should one fear? It seems to me all a strange sort of dream; and I shall waken out of it by-and-by, and go back to the house. Why should I be surprised to see her, when she is my constant companion? ”

“ But instead of disapproval she was encountered with outstretched hands and their friendly pressure; and, as with this reception there came upon her the recollection of the sweet graciousness of her former mistress, and with it the consciousness of her requital of the kindness of past days, her heart was like to fail.
"I bring you a message," she gasped, "from your husband."
"My husband!" For the moment Natalie forgot that she had no husband. Then the recollection came upon her, and with it a premonition of evil. ”

“ Some of those countenances denoted men of much strength of character, amounting almost to a fierceness, but in nearly every female face Natalie discerned that same gentleness of spirit, which, unknown to herself, was the expression of her own spiritual countenance. ”

“ I started with my own money, then added Natalie’s, then some from Mr. Bradish, and it [241] wasn’t until then that I went to mother and induced her to risk her money.”
I was astonished at the manliness of his look and tone—as unlike him as possible. “Marriage seems to have improved you,” said I.
“Yes—it’s Natalie,” he replied, his face taking on the foolish look a man gets when he is under the thumb of some woman. “She’s very different from what we thought—or from what she thought herself. She’s made me into a new sort of man.” ”

“ It matters not! Should he disinherit me, I will seek her society! I must love her even though she look upon me coldly. I will see her again this very day!" with these resolves he threw himself upon his couch, if he might get a little rest, before he again went forth into the busy day, with feelings how changed!
Natalie was awakened from her late slumbers, by a kiss from Winnie, whose merry voice made the apartment ring. "So, ho! Miss Natalie," she exclaimed, "you have been holding late revels with the water nymphs by moonlight! ”

“ Natalie scarcely breathed, her hot blood crept slowly through her veins like chilling metal, her ears no longer buzzed, on the contrary her hearing was uncommonly sharp; only she could not take in the music, but listened to all kinds of other things. The rustling of a dress, the rattling of a fan, the whispering of a voice caused her such excitement that it seemed to her, each time, as if she had been shot through the heart by a pistol. The unexpected result of the overture had increased her nervous tension still further. ”

“ The most beautiful women in Paris crowded around him. He received their homage quite coolly, and while Natalie, smiling and polite, did honor to his fame, he played with his boy, whom he overwhelmed with caresses, without being at all confused by the presence of strangers. "Admire this if you must admire something!" he burst out once, angry at the intrusive enthusiasm of a very pretty American woman, and with that he raised the child on a table to show him to her. "He is worth the trouble," he growled, and truly such was the case! ”

“ My poor Natalie, my poor, unwise but always charming sister, you are like children who see that they are wrong and are ashamed to acknowledge it. Well, we will not press you too much. At first it is always painful to be undeceived; but time cures everything, and when you are married to a distinguished and reasonable young fellow--un garçon distingué et raisonnable--who will rationally cure you of your romantic ideas, you will only think of this youthful foolishness with a smile. ”