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 or ILLINOIS 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
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•JSoofeg 6j) ^lant!)c Willis JJotoarU. 
 
 ONE SUMMER. A Novel. Illustrated by Augustus 
 Hoppin. i6mo, ^1.25; in Notable Series, i6mo, $1.00. 
 
 ONE YEAR ABROAD. European Travel Sketches. i8mo, 
 
 THE OPEN DOOR. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 AULNAY TOWER. i2mo, ;^i.5o. 
 
 AUNT SERENA. i6mo, ^1.25. 
 
 GUENN. Illustrated. i2mo, 50; in Cambridge Classics, 
 Crown 8 VO, gilt top, $ 1 . 00 . 
 
 NO HEROES. A Book for Boys. Illustrated. Square 
 i2mo, 75 cents. 
 
 A FELLOWE AND HIS WIFE. By Blanche Willis 
 Howard and William Sharp. i6mo, 1^1.25. 
 
 SEVEN ON THE HIGHWAY. i6mo, ^1.25. 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY, 
 Boston and New York. 
 
UP5J/>i?Y 
 Of THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS. 
 
I'vll 
 

 
ONE SUMMER 
 
 BY 
 
 BLANCHE WILLIS HOWARD 
 
 AUTHOR OF “gUENN,” “ ONE YEAR ABROAD,” ” AUNT SERENA,” 
 
 “aulnay tower” 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 BY AUGUSTUS HOPPIN 
 
 “Sunshine’s everywhere, and summer too^’ 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 ($l)e fiiljerBiae <Tam6ribaf 
 
Copyright, 1875 and 1877. 
 
 By JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO. 
 
 AU rights reserved. 
 
 The Riverside Pressy Cambridge y Mass.y IT. S. A 
 Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company. 
 
T^^OpS' 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. . 
 
 Pagb 
 
 15 
 
 2G 
 
 43 
 
 56 
 
 62 
 
 71 
 
 84 
 
 98 
 
 100 
 
 114 
 
 136 
 
 153 
 
 . 168 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 viii 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 190 
 
 CHAPTER XV 207 
 
 CHAPTER XVI . 224 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 238 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 25T 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 258 
 
 CHAPTER XX 266 
 
‘‘ Plunged the apex of her umbrella directly into the face and eyes 
 of an unwary pedestrian who was approaching from the op- 
 
 posite direction Frontispiece. 
 
 Head-piece. Contents vii 
 
 Tail-piece. Contents viii 
 
 Head-piece. List of Illustrations ix 
 
 Tail-piece. List of Illustrations xi 
 
 Leigh Doane at the window HG 
 
 A figure armed with an umbrella and well wrapped in a waterproof ” 25 
 
X 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Head-piece 26 
 
 ‘‘ Round both eyes, if you please ” 30 
 
 “ Then pinned it up on the wall, and studied the effect” 38 
 
 Tail-piece 42 
 
 “ Jane Maria was a silly child ” 47 
 
 Head-piece 56 
 
 “ Jimmy Holbrook seated himself on the fence ” 59 
 
 “ Having left his card with the antique maiden ” 75 
 
 “ He took it up and examined it with pardonable curiosity ” 79 
 
 “ When you have quite linished your inspection, sir, I will trouble you 
 
 for my sketch-book ” 85 
 
 Tail-piece 92 
 
 “ Gem, it ’s too long ” 101 
 
 “ On they w'alked, swinging the basket between them ” 109 
 
 “ Gem rolled on the grass ” 113 
 
 “ He was whistling in a pleasantly subdued way ” 122 
 
 ‘‘ You are my little' knight ” 128 
 
 “ Miss Doane leaning in assumed nonchalance against a great rock ” 131 
 
 Philip glanced at her as they bounced and jolted along ” 142 
 
 ‘‘ Leigh sat watching him ” 151 
 
 Head-piece 153 
 
 Tail -piece 167 
 
 “ She turned away hastily, and taking some great pieces of bark ” 179 
 
 Head-piece 190 
 
 “ Tom sat and smoked ” 205 
 
 ‘‘ Miss Phipps coming into the room at that moment with hot rolls ” 222 
 
 Head-piece 224 
 
 ‘ I beg you will not say another word,’ said Philip ” 229 
 
 “Went off down the road to the cottage” 237 
 
 “Gem steadily improved” 238 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 XI 
 
 “ As he passed Leigh her candle ” 250 
 
 Head-piece 251 
 
 Head -piece 258 
 
 “ Morton has just caught a forty -five pound cod ” 207 
 
 “ He felt the light, timid touch of her lips 277 
 
 Tail-piece 27 ^ 
 
ONE SUMMER 
 
/ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 OHAPTBE I. 
 
 “ The world’s male chivalry has perished out. 
 
 But women are knights -errant to the last. 
 
 And if Cervantes had been greater stiU, 
 
 He had made his Don a Donna.” 
 
 Mrs. Browning. 
 
 ITH a half-amused^ half-impatient expression, 
 she slowly turned from an unsuccessful attempt 
 to see through the blackness of darkness out- 
 side the window, and looked about the quaint 
 old room. It was furnished with that profound regard for 
 angles which characterizes the New England country-house 
 adorned by the taste of fifty years ago. An uncompromising 
 sofa loftily elevated its antique back, and contemplated with 
 austere approval a line of rigidly upright chairs placed at 
 exact distances upon the parallelograms of the carpet, and 
 fianked by two triangular footstools. Everywdiere was solid- 
 ity, regularity, the quintessence of stiffness, except in a deep 
 recessed window where a pretty modern Vandal, with fiuffy 
 
l6 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 golden hair^ was curled up upon the faded damask cushions^ 
 and gazing with wide-open saucy eyes upon the treasures of 
 time surrounding her. 
 
 Such a hopelessly heavy rain ! I would like to he a man 
 just long enough to run down to Pratt^s for that book^ but no 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 17 
 
 longer, O no, not a moment longer ! And she complacently 
 glanced down at the lace ruffles falling over her pretty wrists, 
 with conscious satisfaction shook out her soft draperies, and 
 meditatively eyed the tips of her delicate French kid boots. 
 
 Eenounce these delicious feminine belongings and be trans- 
 formed into a great man in an ugly tall hat and a dress all 
 straight lines and angles like that odious room ? Never ! 
 Not for all possible wealth and glory and renown would she, 
 even if it were within her power, depart from that state of life 
 into which it had pleased God to call her.^^ It was lovely to 
 be a woman. She knew so many brave, patient, noble ones. 
 And her mind wandered to friends far away, and, dwelling 
 affectionately upon their sweet and gracious womanhood, she 
 forgot the storm without and the prim, cheerless room, lighted 
 by one kerosene-lamp, which stared down at her from the high 
 wooden mantel like a sullen eye gloating over the loveliness 
 of the forlorn little maiden. Eoused from her brief revery by 
 “ A wind that shrieked to the window-pane, 
 
 A wind in the chimney moaning/’ 
 
 she rose and slowly paced up and down the room. The coral- 
 branches on the whatnot, the grim mahogany skeleton that 
 haunted a shadowy corner, seemed to beckon with their white 
 ghostly arms. From the queer paintings on the walls, the 
 beady eyes of shepherdesses with brick-red feverish cheeks 
 watched her fixedly. ^^Did anybody ever really enjoy life 
 here ? she wondered. One might drag out a weary exist- 
 ence in such a place, but one could not live. Ah, no ! the 
 joy of living is far removed from this desolation. Thus in 
 the naughty impatience of youth did Miss Laura Leigh Doane 
 
i8 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 dare to heap all manner of abuse upon good old Mother 
 Jackson^s best parlor/^ where were arrayed her most ven- 
 erated Penates, cherished objects handed down from past 
 generations or gathered together through the long years )f 
 her monotonous life, and always sacredly guarded from’ the 
 approach of the profannm vulgus. The ornaments, if one 
 may be permitted to use so frivolous a term in regard to the 
 smaller relics, were taken up tenderly, lifted with care, when 
 the momentous event of a yearly tea-party rendered sweep- 
 ing and dusting imperative ; the more massive treasures were 
 moved but slightly, and by the priestesses own hands, and 
 then gently pushed back upon the identical spots in the 
 carpet where she herself had first placed them in admiring 
 awe half a century before. Dear old lady, who closed her 
 eyes peacefully and was gathered to her fathers, little dream- 
 ing that erelong the sacred precincts of her best room 
 would be invaded by this contemptuous young thing ! 
 
 ^^If I could only have a grand incantation-scene, and 
 conjure up the departed widow^s wraith,'^'^ the girl thought 
 wickedly, how I should revel in giving her a few modern 
 ideas in regard to beautifying her homestead ! Even a ghost 
 would be a relief to my feelings. And with a despairing 
 sigh she drew from her pocket a letter which she had read 
 and reread many times since it had arrived late that day, 
 and which at each perusal conveyed fresh aggravation to 
 Miss Doane^s perturbed spirit. 
 
 , July 2, 18—. 
 
 My dear Leigh, — Sorry to say that some business complica- 
 iions have just turned up which may detain me here three weeks, 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 19 
 
 and possibly longer. Bessie thought at first she would join you 
 immediately, but dreads the long journey with nurse and baby, and 
 so eoneludes to wait for me to pilot her through. You must there- 
 possess your soul in patienee, and do try some of your winning 
 ways on the austere Phipps, that the household wheels may run 
 smoothly before our advent ; and above all, impress upon the worthy 
 spinster’s mind the virtue, nay, the neeessity of moderately late 
 breakfasts. My six-o’cloek penance the morning I was there still 
 lingers in my shuddering memory. I was not prepared to mortify 
 the flesh so cruelly. Triumph over this abuse, my child, and you 
 will receive my tearful blessing, and also the reward of an approv- 
 ing conscience, having overthrown one evil in this naughty world. 
 
 The box of books I have forwarded to-day at Bessie’s suggestion. 
 She declares you would be a miserable girl without your German 
 and the rest of your hobbies. I saw some pamphlets down town 
 this morning, — “ Alone ” and “ A Waif ” and ‘‘ Forlorn ” and 
 “ The Wanderer,” — and I ordered half a dozen to be sent up to 
 the house, the titles were so touching and so suggestive of your 
 situation ; so if you find them you will know whom to thank, but 
 it is possible Bessie has scornfully rejected my humble contribu- 
 tion to your comfort. Do not be discouraged if the box puts in a 
 tardy appearance in those remote wilds. Somehow I feel con- 
 science-stricken that I left you in the forsaken old place ; but how 
 could I deny my wilful sister when she insisted, not without reason, 
 upon going down with me, “to make things comfortable for Bes- 
 sie ” ? I cannot help reproaching myself that I did not bring you 
 back ; still you are safe enough, after all, Leigh. Dragon Phipps 
 would be a host in herself in case of anybody daring to “ molest her 
 ancient solitary reign,” and I would trust that dear little head of 
 yours the world over. 
 
 By the way, Harry Blake teiis me that our old chum Philip 
 
20 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Ogflen is straying about somewhere in your vicinity in search of 
 health and quiet. Something has given out, — eyes, I believe. 
 Perhaps you may stumble against him somewhere. I really wish 
 you might meet him. He would make it more agreeable for you 
 till we can get down, which you may be very sure will be just so soon 
 as I can arrange matters. Ogden is exactly the style of man you 
 like. If I can learn his retreat, and he is sufficiently near, I will 
 drop him a line and tell him to call and pay his respects to the 
 second-best little woman in the world, who is in a woful plight 
 just now, thanks to the stupidity of her affectionate brother, 
 
 Tom. 
 
 Scrawled languidly in pencil beneath Mr. Tom Otises dash- 
 ing chirography was 
 
 Is it not too ridiculous, you poor dear, for you to be left all 
 alone in that horrid place ? I do not know whether to laugh or to 
 cry, and Tom feels really dejected, though he puts on mannish airs, 
 of course, and talks about inexorable fate, and says that you are 
 equal to any emergency, and, moreover, that nothing so startling 
 and unexpected as an emergency ever did or ever will happen in 
 Edgecomb. But do be careful about fastening the doors and win- 
 dows. There might be stragglers even in that innocent village, I 
 suppose. And air our rooms from morning till night so the sweet 
 sunshine will conquer the mouldiness. My baby must not inhale 
 the breath of past ages. I know you have everything ready for us 
 even now, dear, so there ’s no more unpacking and arranging 
 to occupy you, unfortunately ; but Tom says the place is very 
 beautiful, which is the only consolation I have in thinking of you. 
 You will at least have something to look at, and three weeks will 
 come to an end some time. But, O dear, it ’s so perfectly absurd 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 21 
 
 for you to be there alone ! I almost wish we had decided to stay 
 at home all summer. 
 
 I ’ll write more when I feel a little strong^er. Tom stands over 
 me like an ogre and threatens to take away my pencil. 
 
 Very lovingly, 
 
 Bessie. 
 
 V\^ith a comical look of resignation the girl replaced the 
 letter in its envelope. The situation was unpleasant^ yet after 
 all it might have been worse. The persecutions of the early 
 Christians had unquestionably been less endurable^ she thought 
 smilingly ; and then for nearer examples there was poor Rob- 
 inson Crusoe, and that unfortunate young woman of Charles 
 Readers, whom the eccentric novelist deposits upon a lonely 
 island with a transcendental impossible lover for her only com- 
 panion. Phipps was a priceless boon compared with him. 
 Three weeks, — only three little weeks, — not such an inter- 
 minable, time as it had seemed in her first disappointment when 
 the stage-coach had lumbered along and brought the letter in- 
 stead of her dear ones. And Bessie was right. The place was 
 very beautiful. She would indeed have something to look at. 
 Edgecomb was full of languid stately beauty, and rich with 
 memories of days gone by, before the vicissitudes of change- 
 ful time had swept away its commerce and its wealth, the 
 tlirobbing life from its busy marts and crowded wharves. It 
 hid a history. It was not always so silent and so staid. The 
 city-bred girl, with her quick intuitions, had breathed in the 
 story told by the few grand old residences, with their rows of 
 superb and ancient elms, half unconsciously, as she had in- 
 liaied the sweetness of the new-nown hay, the heavy fragrance 
 
22 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 of tlie rich ripe strawberries in the fields near hy^ and the 
 delicious saltness brought by the evening breeze from the not 
 far distant sea. Even in the confusion of unpacking huge 
 boxes^ arranging their contents^ and making sagacious little 
 plans for the comfort of the invalid^ Edgecomb^s quiet loveli- 
 ness had spoken to her deeply appreciative nature in the tender 
 language of a benediction. The place was perfect in peace. 
 
 She would be an ingrate to rebel against her fate when she 
 could wander about at her own sweet will^ walk on that long 
 open bridge at sunset, take a book to the summit of one of 
 those pretty hills, and read or idly glance down on the silent 
 river widening to the bay. Why, the prospect positively be- 
 gan to grow inviting. Certainly it was an unprecedented state 
 of affairs. No one ever heard of a girl left entirely to her 
 own devices in just this way. It was all strange. Odd that 
 Tom had heard of the house and of its one inmate, and that 
 his letters had prevailed upon her to move out of her accus- 
 tomed grooves sufficiently to agree to take them for the sum- 
 mer. Such a big queer old house, and two such very queer 
 old women had lived in it by themselves so long. The 
 widow was a kind soul to reward her faithful Phipps — who 
 in the good country-fashion had ministered to her as a sister 
 rather than as a servant — by leaving her the old homestead, 
 that she, like her mistress and friend, might die where she 
 had lived. Two women shall be grinding at the mill ; the 
 one shall be taken, the other left.'^'^ How strange the world 
 was ! Strangest of all, it seemed to her just then that she, 
 Laura Leigh Doane, should be where she was, wondering how 
 many cups of tea those two boon companions had drunk to- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 23 
 
 getlier. Two apiece^ regularly^ three times a day, no! count- 
 ing extras. That made twelve each day. Eighty-four a week. 
 Three hundred and thirty-six a month. Twelve times three 
 liundred and thirty- six ? — Here she was obliged to abandon 
 mental calculations, and resort to a pencil and the corner of 
 an envelope. — Four thousand and thirty -two in a year ! And 
 how many years ? She dared not estimate. Miss Phippses 
 appearance would indicate a century or two. But how de- 
 lightful to be in a house where for forty, fifty years at the 
 very least, two lonely women had, amid the mildest of gossip- 
 ings, solemnly swallowed every twelvemonth four thousand 
 and thirty-two cups of tea all scalding hot and superlatively 
 strong ! It was charming — unique, and — the lamp sput- 
 tered and the rain beat against the panes. Again she was 
 suddenly recalled to herself. Ah, yes ! everything in the world 
 was enjoyable except that dismal room. Three weeks in Edge- 
 comb at large, with its wealth of beautiful hills and trees and 
 waters and invigorating salt breezes, was one thing ; one even- 
 ing in that room, another, altogether different and rapidly grow- 
 ing insupportable. She heard a step on the plank sidewalk. 
 She looked out, could see nothing, but listened to the heavy 
 tramp coming nearer and nearer. Tramp — tramp — the man 
 liad passed the window. He had been somewhere, was going 
 somewhere. Circumstances had not conspired to imprison 
 him in an apartment rendered hideous and sepulchral by a 
 certain honest but mistaken widow now defunct. Thrice- 
 happy man ! 
 
 No doubt men are blessed in some respects beyond their 
 deserts,^^ she said to herself, petulantly. The intricacies of 
 
24 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 j)olitics were as Hebrew to her ; she experienced no irresisti- 
 ble longing to be an indepetident voter^ no mysterious mag- 
 netic drawing to the rostrum ; but at that moment^ which 
 was, unknown to her, a critical one in her career, she did 
 thoroughly covet the masculine privilege of defying storms 
 without also defying the proprieties, and for the second time 
 that evening came the absurd little wish to be a man for only 
 a wee half-hour. 
 
 What would the storm and darkness be to her then? 
 Trifling annoyances merely, not insurmountable obstacles as 
 at present. So easy to pull on a heavy overcoat, draw a soft 
 hat well down on the head, grasp an umbrella with one 
 muscular hand, thrust the other in a warm pocket, and, with 
 no petticoats fluttering in the wind and impeding progress, 
 carelessly stalk ofl‘. 
 
 The fascinating picture suggested a certain possibility. 
 Why should she not go out if she wished ? Why might she 
 not go down for the novel she had noticed that morning in 
 the window of the little bookstore where she had been on some 
 trifling errand ? She had wondered then how anything so new 
 had strayed there, and would have taken the book, but needed 
 no entertainment with the immediate prospect of seeing Bessie 
 and baby and Tom. But why should she not have it now ? 
 She looked at her watch. 
 
 ^^Not yet half past eight. I'^m not afraid, she thought. 
 
 Nothing could harm^me here, and nobody knows me. It 
 will not take two minutes to slip into my waterproof and rub- 
 bers. I know I shall not take cold. It will be a new 
 sensation to be out alone in the evening, and in such a tre- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 25 
 
 ineiidous storm too. If I meet with an adventure, all the 
 better. Why, it's a real Walpurgis Night. I shall feel 
 like a witch ! " 
 
 And she looked like one as 
 she started up with her new 
 resolution shining out through 
 mischievous eyes and oddly 
 compressed lips. 
 
 She was young. She had 
 health, inexhaustible spirits, 
 and energy. Her own ideas 
 were apt to interest her. She 
 was in that state of idleness 
 in which Satan is proverbially 
 said to be devising mischief 
 still" to cause our downfall. 
 
 And she wanted the book. 
 
 These are the reasons, if rea- 
 sons they be, why shortly 
 after a figure, armed with an 
 umbrella and well wrapped in 
 a waterproof, the hood drawn 
 up snugly over a close little 
 turban, ran lightly down the 
 broad old-fashioned staircase, 
 
 \rith a gay disregard for the possible consternation of the wor- 
 thy Phipps, should she know of the wild and wayward exploit, 
 and gently opening the massive door, s})raiig with a sense of 
 rare exliilaration and deliglit out into the wind and rain. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 “ ’T is not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church-door ; hut ’t is enough, 
 ’t will serve.” — Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 OEBIDDEN fruit being ever to our fallen natures 
 the richest and ripest and sweetest^ Miss Doane 
 experienced vivid satisfaction in executing her fan- 
 tastic scheme. She hilariously floundered off and 
 on the narrow sidewalk^ always insecure^ and on this mem- 
 orable night rendered unusually treacherous by occasional 
 streams of running water and deep hidden pools^ she joyously 
 welcomed the cold rain-drops as they beat persistently against 
 her cheeky and was intoxicated with the pleasure of struggling 
 with all her might against the constant efforts of the wind to 
 seize and whirl away lier umbrella^ — efforts which she inter- 
 preted as the playful frolics of a friend^ so jovial was her 
 mood. She skipped along^ stumbled along^ blew along. The 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 27 
 
 mode of progression signified notliing to her. She only felt 
 that the storm was superb^ that the great elms whose swaying 
 branches she barely could distinguish in the darkness were 
 sobbing and sighing around her^ that a mighty wind was al- 
 most lifting her bodily from the ground. She pitied giiis^ 
 her former self among them^ who had only ventured forth in 
 decorous drizzles^ and who knew nothing of the rapturous ex- 
 citement of a mad^ wild^ tempestuous night like this. 
 
 She reached the bookstore^ bought the coveted pamphlet. 
 The man stared as he passed the book to her. Visions of tall 
 girls with glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes and numerous 
 streamlets trickling from their apparel^, half-breathlessly de- 
 manding light literature at nearly nine o^clock on the stormiest 
 of evenings^ were not frequent in his limited experience^ and 
 
 eyes were made for seeing.^'’ The gaze of the grim librarian 
 did not disconcert Miss Doane in the least. She grasj)ed her 
 novel and umbrella and passed out swiftly into the flood like 
 a nineteenth-century Undine. 
 
 The buoyancy^ the champagne-like frothiness of spirit still 
 electrified her ; but alas^ champagne loses its sparkle^ and for- 
 bidden fruit must some time turn to dust and ashes on the 
 lips that taste it ! As she drew near an exposed corner^ it 
 seemed as if all tlie winds of heaven had broken loose^ were 
 rioting madly^ and seeking whom they might devour. Twice 
 they beat her back in spite of her struggles^ twitched violently 
 at the closely fastened waterproof^ and put a fiendish desire to 
 soar away over the dusky tree-tops into her hitherto trust- 
 worthy umbrella. She retreated a step or two^ stopped a mo- 
 ment to regain her breath, then, taking advantage of a partial 
 
28 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 cessation of hostilities^ gathered herself together for a final 
 mighty effort^ and^ with head bent forward^ umbrella tightly 
 clinched in both hands and held at an angle of a;bout thirty 
 degrees^ made a grand spring, charged valiantly through the 
 warring elements, triumphantly turned the corner, and, with 
 singular precision of aim, plunged the apex of her umbrella 
 directly into the face and eyes of an unwary pedestrian who 
 was approaching from the opposite direction. 
 
 Miss Doane^’s momentum was great, — great also the sever- 
 ity of the blow she had unwittingly administered, and great 
 the surprise and dismay she experienced at finding her freedom 
 so suddenly brought to an inglorious end. In the confusion 
 caused by the abrupt fall of her spirits from extreme excite- 
 ment and elation to real regret, mingled with a ludicrous sense 
 of the absurdity of her unprovoked assault, the I beg your 
 pardon, sir,^*’ which sprang from her heart found no utterance. 
 After a truly feminine fashion, she ran away frantically a few 
 feet, then stood still and speechless at a short distance from 
 her victim. 
 
 Who was he ? What was he ? If it were only light 
 enough for her to judge by his looks whether she had better 
 olfer him assistance ; for an exclamation of pain at the mo- 
 ment of the umbrella^s direful deed, and now the stranger^s 
 motionless attitude, gave sufficient evidence that he was suf- 
 fering. After all, whatever lie might be, whether fierce des- 
 perado — a growth not indigenous to Edgecomb soil, she knew 
 well — or innocent plougliboy, which was much more likely 
 to be the case, in ordinary kindness she could not leave him 
 without a word of syni})atliy. Prudential motives for declin- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 29 
 
 ing to enter into conversation with a stranger in utter darkness 
 and the instinctive womanly desire to be of service if she were 
 needed, together with unusual difficulty in knowing what to 
 say, struggled for mastery in the girks mind during the agitat- 
 ing minute whicli followed the accident. A half-suppressed 
 groan from the subject of her reflections made her ashamed of 
 her silly scruples, and she moved towards him with an expres- 
 sion of sincerest regret upon her lips. Her remark was how- 
 ever unspoken, for the stranger at the same moment advanced, 
 and in a gentlemanly voice said, — 
 
 My good woman — 
 
 Good woman, indeed ! she thought indignantly and with 
 a sudden revulsion of feeling, her sympathies giving way to 
 wounded pride of station. ‘^^Does he take me for a milk- 
 maid ? Then, common-sense coming to the rescue : Well, 
 
 am I not a good woman ? Naughtier than usual to-night, no 
 doubt,'"'' with sundry misgivings as to the strict propriety of 
 her conduct, but a good woman, nevertheless. Certainly 
 there is nothing offensive in the words in themselves. No- 
 body ever happened to call me so before, and there is a good 
 deal in association ; but the poor man is in a dilemma, too ; 
 how in the world is he to know in what manner to address 
 me ? 
 
 He evidently was somewhat embarrassed. He had hesitated 
 after first using the obnoxious phrase ; but, reasoning that 
 the Madam which would be his involuntary mode of ad- 
 dress under other circumstances would be wholly out of place 
 applied to a servant or to any woman out unprotected on such 
 a furious night, he went on in a kind, reassuring tone,' — 
 
30 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Do not be alarmed. Let me speak with you a mo- 
 ment.^'' 
 
 This seemed to be an invitation to approach^ as the violence 
 of the storm rendered conversation at her present distance 
 from him a difficult matter. There was in his manner a quiet 
 dignity^ — almost a command^ — to which she found herself 
 at once responding. 
 
 May I trouble you to assist me ? he asked as she drew 
 near^ and saw that he was trying to tie his handkerchief round 
 
 his head^ and that the wind 
 and the necessity of hold- 
 ing his hat in his hand 
 made this ordinarily sim- 
 ple operation a difficult 
 one. Without a word^ she 
 mechanically put her um- 
 brella into his outstretched 
 hand^ took the fluttering 
 handkerchief^ folded it 
 compactly^ and tied it 
 firmly^ in accordance with 
 his direction^ Eound 
 botli eyes, if you please, 
 — not too tighV'’ then 
 stood as if in a dream, awaiting further orders from this un- 
 known and extraordinary individual. Eecovering herself, she 
 rentured to say, — 
 
 Are you much hurt, sir? I am very sorry.'^'^ 
 
 Not seriously, I hope, although I am in some- paiii,^^ he 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 31 
 
 replied. However^ it is my own fault. With such mean 
 and miserable eyes^ I ought not to have come out to-night/^ 
 he continued^ addressing himself rather than the supposed 
 young rustic. 
 
 Singular coincidence ! Neither ought she thought. 
 
 My good girl/'’ — an indefinable something had told him 
 that it was a young girl whose gentle^ dexterous hands had 
 touched his hair, — do you think you could — "" He 
 paused, then with some reluctance said : The fact is, I 
 
 hardly know what I M better do. Your umbrella has nearly 
 put out my eye, — has injured it enough to make it exceed- 
 ingly painful, at all events, — which is not in the slightest 
 degree your fault, of course,'’^ he added, courteously. I am 
 sorry to ask so much of any woman, particularly of a stranger ; 
 but could you be my guide home? Would you object to 
 walking to my boarding-place with me ? ” 
 
 No untutored peasant-maiden could have faltered, in reply 
 to this somewhat astounding proposal, a more bashful I 
 d-o-n^-t k-n-o-w than came faintly from the lips of the self- 
 possessed and elegant Miss Doane. 
 
 These country girls are always shy,'’'’ he thought, and no 
 wonder she is afraid of me under the circumstances. Poor 
 little thing ! 
 
 Then, very gently, as if encouraging a frightened child, 
 he explained : Indeed, I would not trouble you if I could 
 
 help it. My eyes have been almost powerless of late, and I 
 hardly dare strain them by trying to grope my way back when 
 one eye is so inflamed and irritated by that hostile weapon of 
 yours that the other is suffering in sympathy. Perhaps some 
 
32 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 man might be induced to go. The difficulty would be in find- 
 ing anybody. The shops must be closed at this hour.'^'^ Then, 
 with the utmost courtesy : You need not be afraid. My 
 
 name is Ogden. I am staying out at the Holbrook Farm. 
 Pardon me if I ask you once more if you will be good enough 
 to walk there with me. It is possible for me to go alone, of 
 course ; but difficult, and likely to be w^orse for me in the 
 end — And he drew a long breath as if the bruise pained 
 him, and as if it wearied him to make so careful an explana- 
 tion for the benefit of this extremely taciturn young country 
 woman. 
 
 She started when he gave his name. She was seized with a 
 violent impulse to seek safety in flight. Such an incredible 
 state of things ! she thought ; then bravely accepted the sit- 
 uation, and said quietly, — 
 
 I will go with you, sir.^^ 
 
 I thank you. Will you take my arm ? I hope the extra 
 walk will not fatigue you ; yet, if you dare venture out at all 
 to-night — He stopped abruptly, fearing his remark might 
 seem rude. 
 
 In her interpretation, his unspoken thought gained tenfold 
 severity. 
 
 A common, coarse country girl like me, who dares venture 
 out at all to-night, cannot be injured by walking an additional 
 mile,^'’ she thought, in much vexation. Does he need to be 
 formally presented to one by Mrs. Grundy, before he recog- 
 nizes one as a lady ? Ought I to be labelled, ^ This is a gen- 
 tlewoman,^ that the stupid man may know me when he sees 
 me ? Then, rej)enting, But the poor man has not seen 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 33 
 
 me, and I have hardly opened my lips. How should he 
 know ? xifter a moment she waxed indignant again. But 
 he ought to know. He ought to know without hearing or 
 seeing me. I never will excuse it in him, never ! 
 
 Thus, her heart full of conflicting emotions, pity for her 
 silent companion as a fellow-creature in pain alternating with 
 unreasoning wrath against him as Mr. Philip Ogden, who had 
 presumed to adopt towards her a tone of calm and dignified 
 superiority, and who had not had the superhuman discern- 
 ment to recognize her, in spite of the obstacles, as his social 
 equal. Miss Doane walked by Mr. Ogden^s side, inwardly 
 rebellious, outwardly guiding his steps with praiseworthy 
 meekness. 
 
 And he with that sickening pain in the eyes which sends 
 a throbbing to the brain and intense nervous irritability over 
 the whole system, and makes it difficult for the gentlest nature 
 to bft patient, thought but little of her after the brief conver- 
 sation recorded. She was the means ; the speediest possible 
 arrival at Parmer Holbrooke’s, the end he had in view. So 
 through the storm these two, whom Pate had so curiously 
 thrown together, pursued their way. 
 
 She knew perfectly where the farm was. She had seen it 
 on the main road as she entered the village. Prom her lofty 
 pinnacle on top of the stage, she had looked admiringly upon 
 its soft undulating fields, thrifty orchards, snug cottage, and 
 great barns ; and Tom had inquired the ownePs name of the 
 stage-driver, who had responded with the eager loquacity pe- 
 culiar to the genus. The place was nearly a mile from Miss 
 Phippses mansion, for whose friendly shelter she now sighed. 
 
34 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 deeming even that much-derided parlor an unattainable bower 
 of bliss. 
 
 Once the idea of announcing herself to this cool and self- 
 sufficient gentleman^ of witnessing his inevitable embarrass- 
 ment should she mention her name and Tom^s^ and .^f so 
 revenging herself^ occurred to her. But she recalled the shade 
 of authority which she had observed in his manner^ in sjnte 
 of the extreme gentleness of his tone^ and also the wonder he 
 had implied^ that any decent country girl should brave the 
 severity of so stormy a nighty and unseen in the darkness she 
 blushed crimson with mortification^ and bitterly lamented her 
 senseless whim and its consequences. She could not declare 
 herself. She had been guilty of an act^ indiscreet^ according 
 to this man^s code^ in the ignorant village girl for whom he 
 had mistaken her. Should she then stop by the roadside^ 
 withdraw her hand from his arm^ make a profound courtesy 
 before his bandaged^ unseeing eyes^ and^ after the fashion of 
 the sultan in the Arabian Nights^ throw off her disguise^ and 
 exclaim in a melodramatic manner^ Pause^ vain man ! Be- 
 hold in me^ Miss Laura Doane, a person not entirely unknown 
 in the polite circles in which you move^ and of whom^ doubt- 
 less^ you have frequently heard ? 
 
 No ! she was in a false position^ but she had placed herseK 
 there by her own folly^ and there must she remain till that 
 fatal promenade was over. 
 
 After leaving the village^ sidewalks ceased and their path 
 lay through the muddy road. No sound was heard but the 
 voice of the storm, until Mr. Ogden, wdio had apparently been 
 forgetting his companioids very existence, said kindly, — 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 35 
 
 I hope I am not taking you too far out of your way. 
 This road is hard travelling in wet weather/" 
 
 It is not too far/" she answered in a low voice^ and with 
 a twofold meaning of which he was unconscious. She was 
 actually taking grim delight in her penance. She felt that 
 the tiresome walk was no more than she deserved to endure. 
 To his mild conversational effort she responded by a brief in- 
 quiry as to the condition of his eyes. 
 
 Eyes are obstinate things when hurt/" he said pleasantly. 
 
 Probably I suffer more from this evening"s accident on ac- 
 count of their previous weakness. There "s a wretclied fatality 
 about sensitive eyes. Everything is certain to get into them^ 
 — cinders in the cars and umbrellas dark nights_, for instance. 
 But I assure you they are infinitely less painful than they 
 would have been had I been forced to expose them to the 
 wind and rain and grope my way alone. It was the strain of 
 trying to keep this invalid fellow on the alert which I dreaded, 
 and so I ventured to trouble you. I am very grateful to you 
 for the relief your presence affords me."" 
 
 She knew that he must be still suffering. Evidently he 
 would not permit the rude girl who had caused the injury to 
 perceive how much harm she had done. That was generous 
 in him ; yet he spoiled it all by that indefinable tone in his 
 voice. It was not condescension, — nothing so disagreeable 
 as that. It was more like the over-punctiliousness with which 
 one remembers to thank an inferior who does one a service. 
 It was too careful, too formal for equality, and it piqued her. 
 She did not therefore feel amiable, and she made no reply to 
 his acknowledgment. 
 
36 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 They walked on in silence,, and soon she saw a light in a 
 house which they were approaching. It was the Holbrook 
 cottage. All the lights were out except this one at a chamber 
 window. His room,, she thought^ as she noticed a porcelain 
 shade softening the glare. 
 
 They reached the door of the cottage. She stopped. He 
 quickly pushed up the bandage. Are we here at last?^*^ 
 Then as he glanced up to his window^ he gave a slight excla- 
 mation of pain. I beg your pardon/'" he said, the lid 
 seems quite helpless, and an acute pain took me unawares 
 as I looked up.""^ She turned to go. There was a slight 
 awkward silence; then her warm heart conquered her pride 
 and pique. 
 
 I am very sorry. I hope it will be better soon.-"^ She 
 spoke in a low, constrained voice. He said, — 
 
 Thank you. I imagine it will amount to very little.""^ 
 Then rapidly, as if fearing interruption, You have done me 
 a great service. Do not think I offer this in payment, only 
 perhaps you know of a book or — apparently doubting the 
 intellectual aspirations of his guide — a little ribbon you 
 may fancy, and if you will buy it in remembrance of my grati- 
 tude, you will make me still more indebted to you.*"^ Put- 
 ting her umbrella in her hand and with it a bank-note, with a 
 iiasty good-night, he opened the door, passed in, and closed it 
 again before the girl had recovered from the overpowering 
 amazed indignation into which the last and most unexpected 
 turn of affairs had plunged her. 
 
 Money ! Had he dared give her money ? Insulting ! Im 
 credible ! She could liave screamed with rage and humilia- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 37 
 
 tion. She never once thoaght of dropping it where she stood. 
 After the first paroxysm of hurt and angry pride had passed, 
 she held it crushed feverishly in her hand, and accepting it as 
 tlie most cruel discipline she had yet undergone, the crowning 
 torture of this wretched evening, but in no way to be escaped 
 from, she turned from the hateful spot and started towards 
 the village. 
 
 Her walk was sadly fatiguing. The excitement which had 
 before sustained her and enabled her to struggle gayly with 
 the storm was succeeded by extreme depression. The reaction 
 had come. The rumbling of distant thunder warned her to 
 hasten. The condition of the road, her weary feet and 
 drenched clothing, made her progress slow. At last, as a 
 vivid fiash of lightning, accompanied by an ominous peal, 
 illumined her path, she reached the house. The door was 
 unfastened. The lamp still stood upon the parlor mantel. 
 Cold, almost exhausted, enraged with herself, and bitterly 
 denouncing the obtuseness of Mr. Philip Ogden, she wearily 
 ascended the stairs and shut herself in her room. 
 
 She removed her wet clothing, put on a warm wrapper and 
 slippers, let down her hair, and seated herself in a low rock- 
 ing-chair for a resume of the evening^s woes. Hei* present 
 physical comfort began to influence her views. Things did 
 not look so utterly disgraceful as when she was wandering, 
 forlorn and fatigued, out in the black night. Ahy but the 
 money ! How it had burned her hand all the way back ! 
 She rose and took the crumpled bill from her dressing-table. 
 She smoothed it out with scrupulous care. She examined it 
 with cynical interest on both sides. She turned it up and 
 
38 
 
 ONE SUMMER, 
 
 down^ laid it upon her toilet-cushion^ then pinned it up on 
 the wall^ and studied the effect. Two dollars Mr. Ogden had 
 munificently bestowed upon her in token of his grateful ap- 
 
 preciation of her services. She looked in the little mirror 
 with a sarcastic smile that said : Leigh Doane^ you have not 
 
 lived in vain. You have turned an honest penny. You have 
 fairly earned two dollars.^'’ What should she do with it ? 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 39 
 
 Keep it for a time as a reminder of the Valley of Humiliation 
 through which she had passed^ and then drop it in the char, 
 ity-box at the church-door ? Yes, that would do. She laid 
 it in her writing-desk and sat down again to think. 
 
 A scene from one of Madame d^Arblay^s novels flashed into 
 her head. It was that thrilling moment in Cecilia where 
 the adoring lover flnds himself alone with his charmer in a 
 storm. The aristocratic maiden becomes pallid, imbecile, and 
 limp, according to the invariable custom of the heroine of the 
 old-fashioned romance, when the slightest mental or physical 
 exertion is demanded of her. He is nearly frantic with excess 
 of emotion at actually being in the presence of his adored one, 
 with no lady^s-maid, companion, or stately duenna to protect 
 her from his timorous advances. The storm increases. She 
 trembles with fear. Her step falters. The lover observes 
 this with exceeding solicitude, and the exigencies of the case 
 tempting him to disregard conventional barriers, the rash im- 
 petuous youth ventures upon the unheard-of familiarity of 
 offering his arm as a support to the gentlest and most ineffi- 
 cient of her sex. Aware that the license of his conduct, 
 though palliated by the unprecedented circumstances, was, 
 nevertheless, open to censure in its departure from the code of 
 etiquette in vogue in the painfully rarefled atmosphere of ex- 
 tremely high life, yet quite overcome with the rapture of 
 having her finger-tips resting confidingly upon his coat-sleeve, 
 in tones of subdued ecstasy he exclaims, Sweet, lovely bur- 
 den, 0, why not thus forever ! 
 
 When this picture of the astounding difficulties attending 
 the course of true love in the olden time had first presented 
 
40 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 itself to her^ it had been a source of great amusement. In- 
 deed^ many novels^ dear^ no doubt^ to her grandmother^ were 
 wont to convulse her with irreverent mirth. Could anything 
 be funnier than the stilted phraseology of those lovesick^ per- 
 plexed swains^ and the laments of the lachrymose heroines 
 who wTing their hands frantically on all occasions^ and evince 
 a chronic incapacity for doing anything of the least use to any 
 human being ? She had sometimes congratulated herself 
 upon being commonplace Leigh Doane in the present state of 
 society, instead of a Sophronia Belinda Araminta Clarissa 
 Mac Ferguson under the old regime. But never had the con- 
 trast between then and now, between the lifeless but highly 
 decorous demeanor of the model girl of the past period 
 and the extravagant wilfulness of her own conduct, struck her 
 so forcibly. Madame d^Arblay^s representation of maidenly 
 propriety, the ever-lovely Miss Beverly, had nearly fainted 
 in the fiery ordeal of walking a short distance with an es- 
 teemed gentleman friend in broad daylight. She, on the con- 
 trary, a girl most carefully reared according to modern ideas, 
 had manifested sufficient discreditable vigor to nearly annihi- 
 late an unknov/n man, and had then walked by his side 
 and guided his steps over a long, rough country-road, in in- 
 tense darkness and a violent storm. She remembered mild, 
 timid, clinging Cecilia, and smiled. She thought of fearless, 
 self-confident Leigh, and groaned. 
 
 Now if he had only thrust an umbrella into her eye, how 
 much better it would have been ! It is woman^s province to 
 suffer, and it would have been the most natural thing in the 
 world for her to meet with an accident ; quite romantic had 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 41 
 
 she been obliged to accept the escort of an unknown gentle- 
 man, who would eloquently protest that he never could forgive 
 himself for his awkwardness, and who would prove to be 
 Tom^s old friend. But how unnatural, how ridiculous, for 
 her to savagely charge at him, and then in silence, like a 
 bashful, stupid rustic, take the wounded man to his destina- 
 tion ! The former case would have been like some piquant 
 little adventure in a book. As it actually happened, it was 
 grotesquely transposed, and all wrong. What would Bessie 
 say ? Tom should never know. He would tease her too un- 
 mercifully. And as for his friend, Mr. Ogden, whose mental 
 vision must be as blind as were his outward eyes, she would 
 never, never meet him if she could help herself, and she would 
 despise him, upon principle, all her life. ^‘^My good girl — 
 Here an overwhelming consciousness of the utter ludicrous- 
 ness of the affair from beginning to end rushed over her, and 
 she laughed aloud. Peal after peal of nervous hysterical 
 laughter burst from her lips, until the tears rolled down her 
 cheeks. Luckily Miss Phipps was too remote to be roused 
 by this untimely merriment, or she would have risen in alarm, 
 fearing for the sanity of her young guest. The ebullition 
 proved a relief. It carried away much self-reproach and cha- 1 
 grin from the giiPs mind. It left regret and some humilia- 
 tion, but also the more cheerful tendency to look upon Mr. 
 Ogden^s uncalled-for generosity as an enormous joke rather 
 than as the personal insult she had been inclined to consider 
 it, and she laid her head on her pillow more happily than she 
 would have deemed possible an hour before. But immuta- 
 bility is not a characteristic of one^s emotions at twenty. Her 
 
42 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 experience that evening had been a varied one^ and she had 
 passed through a thousand phases of feeling. 
 
 Her last thought as she closed her eyes was^ ^ Perhaps 
 you may stumble against him somewhere/ — O you wise^ pro- 
 phetic Tom ! "" 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 “ He would have passed a pleasant life of it in despite of the Devil and all his 
 works, if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity 
 to mortal man than ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, 
 and that was — a woman.” — Washington Irving. 
 
 HEEE are eyes and eyes. Popular prejudice leans 
 towards fine eyes in works of fiction, but as a faith- 
 ful historian this chronicler must dispassionately 
 state that Philip Ogden'^s were not such as should 
 appertain to the hero of a love-story. They did not glare fiercely 
 from beneath shaggy brows, like those marvellous deep-set 
 gray ones of a certain school of romance, nor were they in the 
 habit of assuming a cold and inscrutable expression to the world 
 at large, and then melting dangerously,^^ whatever that may 
 mean, for the especial delectation of one favored mortal ; 
 neither could they fiash, nor burn, nor frighten people with a 
 steady ominous glow, nor, in short, execute any feats of a pyr- 
 otechnic nature. At their best, viewed in the friendliest light, 
 they were ordinary blue eyes, with a sufficiently sensible and 
 agreeable expression, in which, perhaps, lurked a remote sug- 
 gestion that Mr. Ogden might not need to have the point of a 
 joke explained to him. It may also be said that they were ex- 
 
44 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 tremely near-sighted^ and apt to feel weary and overworked 
 nnless used with care. As they were not likely to recover 
 easily from violent shocks^ it is evident that Miss Doane^s 
 umbrella made an injudicious selection of a victim. In this 
 opinion Mr. Ogden would no doubt have fully concurred. 
 
 The fair summer morning stole into his room and found 
 him sleeping in serene unconsciousness of coast-storms^ PRg" 
 nacious girls with umbrellas^ his disfigured countenance^ and 
 all sublunary ills. But the crowing and quacking and lowing^ 
 and the other noises whose distant echoes sound so sweetly in 
 pastoral poems^ and ^Woices of men and voices of maids/^ 
 and more especially the far-resounding twang of the mistress 
 of the farm mustering her forces^ conspired to rouse him at an 
 early hour from his blissful ignorance. With the aid of a 
 hand-mirror and his one available eye^ he examined the puffed- 
 out^ angry-looking cheek and swollen^ closed lid which marked 
 the ravages of the destroyer. 
 
 That was a fell swoop^ but the blow was admirably aimed. 
 If you had struck higher you would have put out my eye ; 
 lower^ you would have loosened a few teeth. You punched 
 better than you knew^ my fair Phyllis.*^^ 
 
 He carefully closed every blind and drew every curtain^ 
 shutting out the jocund day/^ whose ever-increasing radi- 
 ance he had no eyes to see ; and^ like a boy afraid of ghosts, 
 who whistles in the dark to keep up his courage, he hummed 
 the cheerful and appropriate ditty. 
 
 There was a man in our town, 
 
 And he was wondrous w'ise ; 
 
 He jumped into a bramble-hush, 
 
 And scratched out both his eyes,” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 45 
 
 as lie renewed his bandages and placed a bottle of arnica — 
 which he regarded as his only friend — at a convenient distance 
 from the sofa upon which he finally threw himself^ painfully 
 aware that he was a doomed man for that day^ and for how 
 much longer he knew not. 
 
 Time and arnica make a powerful combination^ and will 
 heal my woes as they have healed worse ones before now. 
 ^ From him who hath not shall be taken away even that which 
 he hath.'’ ^ Grin and bear it/ is sound philosophy^ and is^ after 
 all^ only Epictetus condensed. Grin, I may. Bear it, I must. 
 Upon the whole, I think I will grin.'’^ And something of the 
 nature of a smile played about his distorted features, giving 
 him a sardonic and unamiable aspect of which he was quite 
 unconscious, and quickly followed by a very unphilosophical 
 yawn and sigh. The circumstances were not conducive to 
 philosophy, and the young man did not feel like a hero. 
 Things looked uncommonly doleful. He was not sublime. 
 He was not pathetic. He was simply ridiculous, and he knew 
 it. It occurred to him that not one of the grand old philoso- 
 phers could have posed much for future generations, situated 
 as he was. Philosophy is a delusion and a snare,^*’ he 
 thought. It is easier to write sage truths and be stoical on 
 paper, than to evince much grandeur of spirit lying in dressing- 
 gown and slippers on a hard sofa in a commonplace farm- 
 house, with an aching head and a black eye. Now I might 
 summon Jimmie up here, and, folding my toga solemnly about 
 me, show him ^ how sublime a thing it is to suffer and be 
 strong,^ but Jim has not that meek and lowly spirit which is an 
 ornament to youth. I fancy my visage might excite unseemly 
 
46 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 mirth in the little rascal^ and moral maxims^ issuing from 
 arnica bandages, would be apt to lose their potency. How in 
 the name of all that is wonderful did the girl manage to do so 
 much mischief without doing more ? he asked himself. If 
 that umbrella — may the foul fiend fly away with it ! — had 
 had a pointed end — Why, how did the thing end ? It 
 was small, light, a lady^s umbrella. Where his hand had 
 rested there w^as a cross. He now remembered feeling the 
 horizontal piece of metal, — was it not ? It all came back 
 to him plainly. A pretty little umbrella, probably, with a 
 silver cross on it, perhaps, and some sort of an ornament 
 on the other end, — which was, thank Heaven, blunt ! — in 
 short, an umbrella such as city girls carry. Odd for this 
 girl to have such elegant belongings. Yet life is an enigma. 
 Jane Maria Holbrook went to the pasture to call the cattle 
 home with a black lace mask veil strapped tight over her 
 sharp nose. She too, poor child, has aspirations ! 
 
 At this moment Jane Maria knocked and giggled at the 
 door. It is perhaps superfluous to say she giggled. She 
 knocked, is sufficient. The giggle accompanied and followed 
 every act and speech of the ingenuous Jane Maria. She was 
 nineteen, and she read the New York Ledger. Mr. Ogden 
 was not an Adonis, under the most favorable circumstances : 
 but Jane Maria thought him perfickly splendid,^^ he was so 
 much like Lord Eomaine Cecil Beresford in the Haunted 
 Homes of Hillsdale ; or. The Thrilling Three.*^^ Mr. Ogden 
 told her to come in, and the girl ventured to open the door, 
 then stood in real distress to see the man so like her favorite 
 hero in the H. H. of H.,^^ etc., lying on a sofa with a ghastly 
 
1 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILUNOiS 
 URBANA 
 
 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 49 
 
 white handkerchief spread over his aristocratic features^ and 
 revealing to her troubled gaze only a portion of that noble 
 brow which was the counterpart of Lord E. C. B/s in the 
 electrifying romance before mentioned. Mr. Ogden spoke in 
 his ^sual tone^ thereby dissipating any vague fears that he 
 had been cruelly wounded by base ruffians while wending his 
 way over the gloomy heath. 
 
 Miss Jennie^ I ran against something last night, and hurt 
 my eye a little. Please tell your mother I do not wish any 
 breakfast, and that I have everything I need."^^ 
 
 Jane Maria was a silly child, no doubt, but she had a good 
 heart, and she was very sorry to see Lord Eomaine, that is, 
 Mr. Ogden, in so helpless a condition, and she did not believe 
 he was comfortable, and she stood swinging the door and agi- 
 tating her elbows and blushing violently; all of which Mr. 
 Ogden knew quite as well as if his eyes had been wide open 
 and fastened upon her. He did not know, however, that her 
 very soul overflowed with gratitude every time he addressed 
 her as Miss Jennie,'’^ a kindly softening of the detested 
 Jane Maria which he had chanced upon only because Miss 
 Holbrook failed, he had discovered, to distinguish the 
 daughter from the mother. 
 
 ^^If there is anything I could do, Mr. ^ she faltered, 
 almost saying Beresford, and, in her confusion, not daring to 
 attempt Ogden. 
 
 Nothing, thank you. Miss Jennie, unless'’^ — feeling her 
 disappointment — ^^you would have the kindness to bring me 
 some fresh water.'’^ 
 
 She left him and soon returned with the water and the ma- 
 
50 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 ternal Holbrook^ wlio came up with the evident intention of 
 staying an hour or two and learning all the particulars of the 
 accident. It required the exercise of much tact and irresisti- 
 ble gentleness of manner^ which was perhaps his peculiar 
 charm^ to undermine the curiosity of his hostess and baffle 
 her cross-questioning without giving offence^ and to plead a 
 nervous headache and increased inflammation of his eye if he 
 were not left in perfect quiet. He knew enough of Edgecomb 
 ways to feel tolerably certain that a plain statement of the 
 facts of the case would be more than sufficient to cause the 
 circulation of marvellous fables in which perhaps would flgure 
 a legion of young Amazons armed with gigantic umbrellas^ 
 and there would be nothing whatever left of him. Mrs. Hol- 
 brook went down to her household cares hardly realizing^ until 
 her departure^ that she had gained no information concerning 
 Mr. Ogdeffls affairs^ and then formed a theory of her own^ 
 that her city young man had fallen down and hurt himself^ 
 and was ashamed to tell of it^ which wise conclusion she boldly 
 advanced as an historical fact ; while poor little freckled Jane 
 Maria went about in a dream all day^ and looked upon Lord 
 Eo — Mr. Ogden^s accident as a beautiful mystery into which 
 she could not and would not penetrate. 
 
 As for the young man himself^ he enjoyed the encounter, 
 but was thankful that it was brief, and, as Mrs. Holbrook 
 Anally twanged out her adieus and left him weak yet victorious, 
 he applied his arnica and water with a placid smile, and 
 thought that after all there were evils in life worse than a 
 bruised eye and solitude. Yet the woman meant well. She 
 was shrewd enough too. Considerable strategic ability was 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 51 
 
 necessary to turn her questions out of their course without 
 letting her see what he was doing. She probably could as- 
 sist with cool nerve and steady hand at the amputation of a 
 maids leg^ but what does she know of the aesthetics of a sick- 
 room ? She would drive one into a nervous fever^ with her 
 questions, her diabolical voice, and her heavy step. And Jane 
 Maria too, poor girl, how she giggles, and rattles the door- 
 knobs, and works those elbows ! Thus he mused, more in 
 sorrow than in anger. He had supposed there were some 
 things which all women knew by intuition. That refinement, 
 training, were non-essentials in a sick-room, that the wmmanly 
 heart was the one thing needful. Well, it was only another 
 lost illusion. Holbrook, mere, might have a womanly heart. 
 He certainly knew nothing to the contrary. But she could 
 never be anything but elephantine. He was inclined to believe 
 too that little Jennie could never learn to pour water without 
 deluging everything ; still, she was young and might admit of 
 reform. 
 
 Through the long day he lay dozing, thinking, smoking, 
 listening to the busy sounds from below, occasionally pacing 
 up and down his room, but returning gladly enough to his 
 couch, finding more relief there than elsewhere. He was a 
 man who knew little of wliat he had called the mstlietics of 
 a sick-room, except from vague recollections of his childhood 
 and from theory ; but, falling towards the close of the day 
 ^into a mildly sentimental revery, he fancied that it might be an 
 agreeable sensation to have soft hands quietly, and unsolicited, 
 moisten his bandage when the fever in his face heated it ; that 
 a favorite poem or attractive essay, read with the sweet and 
 
52 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 appreciative intonation which wonld unquestionably be a special 
 cliarm of that not impossible she/'* would be not only an in- 
 describable relief to the monotony of such a day^ but a blessing 
 for which he thought he should know how to be sufficiently 
 grateful. Yes_, his ideal woman would have all the graces of 
 the art of ministering. Her boots would never creak. Her 
 dress would never rustle. She would not annoy him with a 
 perennial giggle^ nor shake the rafters with her massive tread. 
 She would^ in shorty he concluded^ disgusted with his own 
 poor performance of the role of sister of mercy, be a perfect 
 woman nobly planned, to administer cool bandages with skill 
 and despatch, and without sending rivulets to penetrate his left 
 ear, as he was then doing. How would the mingled fumes of 
 arnica and an unlimited number of cigars impress this paragon 
 whom he was in imagination introducing into his apartment, 
 he wondered, as he ventured, now that the sun had almost set, 
 to throw open the blinds of an east window. She would man- 
 age in some way to make things pleasanter, no doubt. Girls 
 knew how, he supposed. She might sprinkle eau-de-cologne 
 on his pillow and about the room, perhaps. A man would 
 not think of coddling himself, but he was not sure that he 
 might not like that sort of thing well enough if it were done 
 for him, he admitted with that gracious condescension men 
 sometimes evince towards ways essentially feminine. At all 
 events, he could testify that the room was unpleasantly close, 
 and the smell of arnica inhaled steadily for more than a dozen 
 hours an unmitigated bore. Where was it lately he had 
 noticed an especially delicate perfume? Not last night, was 
 it ? Ah, yes ! He recalled the circumstance now. It was 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 53 
 
 when that shy damsel was tying the handkerchief for him^ and 
 again as he stood near her a moment down at the door. He 
 reflected^ smilingly^ that he had felt savage^ infuriated^ like any 
 other wounded animal he supposed^ consequently in no mood 
 to appreciate perfumes^ were they wafted from Araby the Blest, 
 or to speculate upon evidences of refinement in an Edgecomb 
 belle; but it struck him now, lying smoking and musing at 
 his leisure, as singularly incongruous that she should fancy a 
 faint, delicious odor. Now if it had been musk, — double 
 extract of musk, — Jane Maria would like that, he was sure. 
 Was it violet ? Of that he could not be quite certain. But 
 whether it fioated from her hair, from glove or ribbon, some- 
 thing dainty and lady-like there had been, he was positive. 
 And — starting up suddenly — was he a fool that he had not 
 thought of it before ? — she walked like a lady. He had es- 
 corted Jane Maria to meetin^ one evening. She had taken 
 his arm as if it were a remote and dreaded contingency. This 
 girl, on the contrary, had accepted it as an arm simply, and 
 leaning slightly upon it, had moved in spite of wind and rain, 
 and the poor condition of the road, with the elasticity and 
 firmness of a person whose feet are used to city pavements, and 
 w^hose mind is used to the friction of city life. Her gait was 
 a forcible contrast to the slow, heavy, aimless step, prevalent, 
 he had observed with surprise, in Edgecomb. Eor where 
 should one look for health and energy, if not among country 
 girls ? he wonderingly asked himself. Yet the rapid, vigorous 
 step, the fresh color which he would have frequent occasion to 
 admire, a cool, clear day, on any pleasant avenue in a city, h^ 
 had not once seen in this breezy village, where the air was so 
 
54 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 pure and invigorating it was almost enough to make the lame 
 walk. To which class^ then,, did she belongs this mysterious 
 escort with the erects spirited carriage^ the mystical^ faint 
 fragrance^ the gloved hands^ the elegant though vicious um- 
 ,brella^ and the accent^ — yes, unquestionably, the accent of a 
 lady ? Although her words were few, any man not an egre- 
 gious dolt would have observed, in spite of personal discom- 
 fort, her manner of speaking. How, then, did she happen to 
 be out ? That was not his affair, certainly. She must have 
 thought his coolness satanic. Gave her some money too ! 
 ffm ! And he lay back on his sofa in mute, inglorious despair, 
 for the consciousness that the girl was a lady had burst upon 
 him like a revelation, with overwhelming force. He could 
 not doubt it. His conviction now was as strong as his utter 
 obliviousness had been before. He muttered a few energetic 
 imprecations upon his selfish stupidity, but was nevertheless 
 intensely amused at the unconscionable aspect of affairs. 
 
 A woman ! A woman, of course, or all would yet be well ! 
 A man would have defined his position at once in some way. 
 A man would have declined taking the extra walk, or he would 
 have taken it as a friend in need, or he would have gone with 
 the hope of reward, had he belonged to the class that pockets 
 fees. In either event there would be no more trouble. But 
 now! No more free enjoyment of the lavish summer for him! 
 No more lying about lazily, yet with a clear conscience, feeling 
 that it is enough for him that the leaves are green,^^ and 
 that skies are clear and grass is growing/’ Ah, what a huge 
 humble pie it would soon be his doom to swallow ! 
 
 I must find her and ask her pardon on my knees ; but what 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 55 
 
 is an apology^ after dragging her a couple of miles and paying 
 her like a coachman ? My mission in Edgecomb is revealed^ 
 at all events. Fortunately^ in this communicative hamlet^ it 
 will not be difficult to ascertain who she is and where she is 
 staying. It is curious/'’ he said aloud^ and with great de- 
 liberation and emphasis^ ^^how completely a man will some- 
 times stultify himself ! Blind^ imbecile coxcomb ! 
 
CHAPTEE IV, 
 
 “ The prudent penning of a letter.” 
 
 Edgecomb, Friday, July 6, 18 — . 
 
 SWEETEST, my sister, was it for this I toiled and 
 suffered? Was it for this I turned Miss Phipps’s 
 theories and rooms topsy-turvy, and hammered my 
 fingers, and tore the trimming off my sleeve? The 
 talent I have displayed as an upholsterer and general decorator is 
 surprising, and my acrobatic feats, if I may so classify balancing 
 myself upon chair-backs and certain inevitable results which might 
 reasonably be called “ lofty tumbling,” truly admirable in an inex- 
 perienced performer. And if you could have the faintest idea of 
 what I have been able to accomplish with that commonplace and 
 insignificant thing, an umbrella, you and Tom would be perfectly 
 amazed. But, as the books say, “ we anticipate.” 
 
 Bessie, it grieves me to the heart to think that before you come 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 57 
 
 the first bloom will have vanished from my triumph of art, the 
 great high-backed chair upon which I have nearly exhausted my 
 genius and my chintz. Yesterday afternoon I drew it up to a 
 window where one looks out on a charming little picture framed by 
 the branches of two beautiful elms that stand near the house, — the 
 pretty, sloping common, and old, old sun-dial in its centre, and its 
 other edge bordered by elms, and behind them a row of quaint 
 cottages, beyond, a glimpse of the river, and still beyond, the hills 
 with their lovely, changing lights. In a few moments you would 
 be there. Everything did look so pretty, Bessie. I turned on the 
 threshold to give a parting glance into your room before I went 
 down to the door to wait for the stage. A liglit breeze just rustled 
 the fresh chintz curtains, gently shaking their pretty, pale blue 
 morning-glories and humming-birds, and carried through the room 
 a faint fragrance of mignonette and pansies, and there was the dear 
 old chair waiting to receive you, and looking positively expectant. 
 It really has a great deal of expression, and it had such an inviting, 
 hospitable air, such a benevolent and expansive smile, that I had 
 to give it a little pat of approval every time I went near it. Every- 
 thing vras ready, and I was so happy, and was fancying how de- 
 lightful it would be to usher you up to your nest, and, pointing to 
 the curtains and toilet-table and the various things I had prepared 
 for your comfort and pleasure, modestly, yet with pardonable pride, 
 say, “ These are my jewels.” Just then I heard the stage. Out 
 of the house I “ flung,” — why may I not say it if Eobert Brown- 
 ing does ? — I stood at the gate and watched that ancient vehicle 
 toil up the hiU. Imagine my distracted state of mind when it 
 actually went lumbering by. I could not believe my eyes. No 
 Bessie, no baby, no Tom ! Like that pathetic “ dove on the mast 
 as we sailed fast,” I did “ mourn, and mourn, and mourn.” With 
 a desolate, moated-grange sensation, I turned and went into the 
 house. At the door stood Miss Phipps, eying me curiously. 
 
58 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 “ Oh ! yer folks did n’t arrive, did they ? Oh ! ” 
 
 I replied with some dignity, and a huge lump in my throat, that 
 something apparently had detained my friends. I passed up stairs. 
 What a ehange in those few moments 1 The sky had grown cloudy. 
 The breeze was chilly and damp. The distant hills looked cold and 
 gray. The curtains suggested the vanity of all human hopes. The 
 chair stood a great clumsy, melancholy monument to the transitory 
 nature of happiness. 
 
 For an individual who has always professed to doubt the efficacy 
 of tears, I had a singularly strong inclination to cry. The disap- 
 pointment was so sudden, so bewildering, you see. I could not 
 stay up there. I grew too homesick. I closed the windows and 
 door and wandered about drearily, and then I sat down in the 
 porch, watching the clouds gathering fast, and waited there “ ex- 
 ceeding comfortless,” until a small boy for whose trustworthiness 
 Miss Phipps vouches, and whom I have engaged to bring my 
 letters, appeared with Tom’s document, and I learned my fate. 
 My Mercuiy, otherwise Jimmie Holbrook, seated himself on the 
 fence, whistled “ Shoo Fly,” swung his feet vigorously, and stared 
 at me intently as I opened my letter. I glanced up, and said sol- 
 emnly, — 
 
 “ That will do, James. I do not want you any longer.” 
 
 Could any one have received a more direct dismissal ? You im- 
 agine that he at once retreated respectfully from the presence, do 
 you? 
 
 On the contrary, he smiled in an imperturbable manner, and re- 
 sponded cheerfully, — 
 
 “ Well, you ain’t likely to have me any shorter. Fences is free, 
 and I like yer looks ! ” 
 
 This astounding declaration silenced me. Keflecting that Jim- 
 mie probably had not a judicious mamma, and feeling rather grate- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 59 
 
 ful to the child for diverting me in my sadness by his good-humored 
 impudence, I read and reread Tom’s letter and yours, and medi- 
 
 
 tated gloomily until the silent mist came up and hid the land,” 
 and the air grew more damp and more salt every moment, . and 
 
6o 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 finally down came the rain. Down also came that terrible child 
 from his post of observation. He responded to niy “ Good night, 
 Jimmie,” with singularly explosive shrieks and uncouth pirouettes, 
 and started off in a rapid and impish manner for his home. And 
 I went in to my lonely supper, a cold, forlorn, homesick, wretched 
 girl. 
 
 And afterwards — O Bessie, I could a tale unfold ! But I will 
 not, because you have a Tom who hears all your secrets. If I dis- 
 grace the family while I stay here, remember it will be his fault, 
 for he left me. Do not be alarmed. Phipps and I have not come 
 to blows yet, though what may result from my sojourn remains to 
 be seen. I have certainly developed some hitherto latent traits, or 
 “ tricks and manners,” perhaps I should say, and it is impossible 
 to tell where I shall stop. There is a room here that is positively 
 maddening if you stay in it long enough, and there are electric 
 cal currents in the Edgecomb atmosphere that make “gleams and 
 glooms ” dart across one’s brain in an inexplicable way, and m^ 
 conduct has been most strikingly original, — wherein lies a pointed 
 joke, and yet no joke. 
 
 As you must see, there is a burden on my conscience. I shall 
 never rest until I make my confession. But not to-day. It is too 
 soon, and then, there ’s Tom. 
 
 It is a glorious morning. You will enjoy the air here so much, 
 and the views, which are charming in every direction. I am going 
 out directly to mail my voluminous letter, and to discover the 
 pleasantest walks in this pretty neighborhood. I have resolved to 
 be as cheerful as circumstances will permit. I am not yet “ recon- 
 ciled,” but have recovered from the first crushing effects of my 
 grief. I am “ beginning to take notice,” as some one said about 
 our friend the pretty widow. Something has partly turned my 
 attention from my disappointment, and set my thoughts running 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 6l 
 
 in curious channels. My secret is on the tip of my pen, and 
 (lying to drop off. To-morrow, perhaps I will disclose my guilt 
 in its enormity. Bessie, of course I have done nothing darkly and 
 desperately wicked, but do come quickly. I am not so reliable 
 as I thought I was. Tom’s confidence in what he is pleased to call 
 my “ clear little head ” is sadly misplaced. Everybody has been 
 mistaken in me always. 
 
 Have I told you what a furious storm there was last night ? It 
 made a greater impression on me than ever a storm did before, and 
 I am not the only person in Edgecomb wdio has reason ta' remem- 
 ber it. 
 
 Grow strong very, very fast, kiss baby for me, and make Tom 
 bring you soon to Edgecomb and 
 
 Your loving 
 
 Leigh. 
 
 Accompanying this epistle was the following : — 
 
 Thanks for your letter, my dear Tom, and I may eventually 
 thank you for allowing your “ business complications ” to detain 
 you, but I must confess I do not feel grateful yet. There is, I 
 suppose, a law of compensation, and no loss without some gain, 
 they say, and Edgecomb may have something beautiful in store 
 for me, but it has not begun well. Do hurry, Tom; that’s a 
 dear boy. Never mind business. And, Tom, you need not give 
 yourself the trouble to hunt up that friend of yours, that Mr. Og- 
 den, and send him to call upon me. I do not think I would like 
 him. I know I should not. I am convinced he is “ exactly the 
 style of man ” I always heartily dislike. Please don’t, Tom ! 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 You lazy, not very clean, good-for-nothing, sensible boy ! ’’ — Thackeray. 
 
 HE umbrella catastrophe enforced upon Mr. Og- 
 den a week^s seclusion^ in which the stupidity of 
 one day differed but slightly from the stupidity of 
 another. An avalanche of questions from Mrs. 
 Holbrook^ concerning the smallest details of his previous his- 
 tory as well as his intentions for the future, threatened daily to 
 overwhelm him, but, thanks to his mental agility, he escaped. 
 He gradually learned to consider each contest with her a matu- 
 tinal tonic, unpleasant but strengthening. Before her advent 
 he fortified himself. He studied an unsatisfactory and mysti- 
 fying style of conversation. He intrenched himself behind 
 the longest words in his vocabulary, and when they failed he 
 did not hesitate to coin longer ones. The subterfuges to 
 which he resorted in order to shorten her visits were invented 
 with rapidity and ease, and displayed a neatness of execution 
 upon which he congratulated himself, being but a novice in 
 the art of finessing. 
 
 Upon one occasion, when Mrs. Holbrook entered his room, 
 she found him lying with a handkerchief over his face, his 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 63 
 
 hands clasped peacefully on his breast^ while his gentle^ regu- 
 lar respiration^ placid as that of a sleeping infant^ pleaded 
 eloquently in his behalf. Her step became no lighter^ her 
 voice no less harsh and discordant out of consideration for 
 the invalid^s nap^ and Jane Maria as usual convulsively played 
 her Rondo Capriccioso upon the door-knob^ but nothing ap- 
 parently could disturb that beautiful repose. Though this 
 artifice routed the enemy^ Mr. Ogden felt that a repetition of 
 it might create suspicion in the least astute mind, since Mrs. 
 Holbrookes colossal presence would have awakened the Seven 
 Sleepers ; and then/’ he thought, a man who from the 
 nature of his position idly dozes through a good deal of the 
 day and who has openly confessed to his tormentors that he 
 habitually sleeps well nights, cannot reasonably be at it again 
 at eight o^clock in the morning. There ^s a limit to all 
 things. He forebore, and developed other resources. 
 
 Once he greeted her with rambling, incoherent w^ords and 
 confused utterance. He endeavored to arrive at a golden 
 mean between delirium and idiocy. In this temporary de- 
 rangement of the intellect, he did not aim at wildness that 
 would alarm her, and cause her to summon her husband and 
 the laborers, the long sweep of whose scythes he could hear 
 near the house. Hopeless, impenetrable dulness, absolute in- 
 capacity to receive or impart ideas, was his artistic design. 
 This he at first regarded as magnificent strategy, and decid- 
 edly his best effort, but modified his views when, to his horror, 
 she came again that day. His faculties were so benumbed by 
 her unexpected appearance, that, had she but appreciated her 
 advantage and pursued it skilfully, it is probable that he would 
 
64 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 have told her everything he knew. He blessed the unknown 
 voice which called her down to her own domain^ and real- 
 izing that this time fate^ and nob as before^ his own exertions, 
 had extricated him from his danger, consoled himself with the 
 reflection that there must be one unguarded moment in the life 
 of the craftiest diplomatist. 
 
 These trials of skill were somewhat enlivening. He also de- 
 rived a mild excitement from observing the new and startling 
 hues which the variegated cheek assumed as his swollen face 
 gradually regained its natural outline, and the endangered eye 
 feebly yet gladly beheld again the light of day. 
 
 Jane Maria blissfully served her wounded knighbs repasts, 
 and evinced a sincere though tremulous desire to do all in her 
 power for his comfort. One morning, when she inquired, as 
 usual, if he wished anything more, he abandoned his formula. 
 
 Nothing, thank you. Miss Jennie,^^ and surprised her by 
 saying he thought he should enjoy a call from Jim, if the boy 
 did not object. Why any person, not forced to submit to the 
 infliction of her mischievous brother's presence, should deliber- 
 ately seek it, was beyond her comprehension ; but Mr. Og- 
 den^s slightest wish was law to this adoring soul, and inwardly 
 responding, I fly, my lord, to execute thy mandate,*^'' she 
 went to And Jimmie. 
 
 Some time elapsed before he appeared. He had first to be 
 ^ discovered. This the loyal Jane accomplished after a vigorous 
 search in his most frequented haunts, and Jimmie was torn 
 with a ruthless hand from the innocent pastime of trying to 
 induce two superannuated roosters to pick out each other^s eyes, 
 and was half dragged, half coaxed into the house. Here Jane 
 
OKE SUMMER. 
 
 65 
 
 Maria resigned the command^ and the child^ thanks to his 
 mother^s efficient generalship^ after a sound of scuffiing at the 
 foot of the stairs and other indications of a family jar^ finally 
 presented himself before Mr. Ogden. 
 
 It was evident that the prospect of a tete-a-tete with the in- 
 valid, in what he had a moment before distinctly and turbu- 
 lently called that darn poky old room/’ was not alluring to 
 Jimmie. 
 
 Mr. Ogden appreciated the boy^s feelings, and did not won- 
 der at the somewhat morose aspect of his young visitor. 
 
 Ah, Jimmie, is that you ? How are you to-day ? 
 
 Well enough,^'’ was the brief response. 
 
 Sit down, won^t you ? 
 
 Can^t stop. Ain^t got time,^^ the child replied, with an 
 uncompromising air. His terse style of conversation was a 
 refreshing contrast to Mrs. Holbrookes volubility. Mr. Ogden 
 had certain profound reasons for desiring to propitiate Jimmie. 
 Ignoring the boy^s dogged manner, he said carelessly, — 
 
 Any candy-shops in Edgecomb ? 
 
 Eather ! e*’ Jimmie replied with emphasis. 
 
 Jim, do you like taffy ? was the next significant inquiry. 
 
 You bet ! 
 
 Here a silent transfer occurred. 
 
 Jimmie pocketed the filthy palimpsest with a very slight 
 increase of cheerfulness. His was not one of those base na- 
 tures with which money is all-powerful. He still sighed for 
 his freedom, for his roosters. He was mollified, not com- 
 pletely subdued. Mr. Ogden, observing this, played his high- 
 est trump. Eemoving the damp cloth which he still wore 
 upon his face, he said, — 
 
66 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 What do you think of that for a black eye^ Jimmie ? 
 
 Liveliest interest was instantly depicted on the child^s coun- 
 tenance^ as he eagerly asked^ — 
 
 Who did yer fight ? Did yer lick him ? 
 
 Here was a dilemma. But Mr. Ogden could not afford to 
 lose the point he had gained. With Machiavelian policy^ he 
 solemnly remarked^ — 
 
 Jimmie,, I always lick when I fight. 
 
 Do yer^ though ? Honest ? Let ’s feel yer muscle.*^^ 
 
 With much inward amusement but with a perfectly grave 
 face^ Mr. Ogden submitted his arm to the critical examination 
 of his young visitor^ who manipulated his biceps with the air 
 of a connoisseur^ and admiringly expressed unqualified ap- 
 
 Eeggler stunners, ain^t they ? 
 
 Jimmie was won. 
 
 From that moment he was 
 
 “ Rapt 
 
 By all the sweet and sudden passion of youth 
 Towards greatness in its elder,” 
 
 and looked upon Mr. Ogden as Lavaine upon Launcelot with 
 that 
 
 “ Reverence, 
 
 Dearer to true young hearts than their own praise,” 
 or, to descend abruptly from Tennysonian heights to Jimmie^s 
 level, and use a comparison within his grasp, Mr. Ogden be- 
 came as glorious in his eyes as a champion prize-fighter, and 
 the boy went freely in and out of the room during the two re- 
 maining days of the captivity, with a glad conviction that he 
 had found something more precious than roosters. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 67 
 
 Mr. Ogden promised to tell Jimmie some time how lie 
 had received the bruise. Just now he wished nothing said 
 about it.^^ Jimmie gave a knowing wink^ and unhesitatingly 
 swore secrecy. 
 
 Then^ not only to advance his own interests^ because 
 Jimmie himself was a safer person to catechise than any of 
 Jimmie^s kinsfolk^ but because he found the child^s bright face 
 and sturdy, honest ways attractive, Mr. Ogden became fasci- 
 nating in the extreme, by asking about trout-streams, and how 
 far out they had to go for mackerel, and by talking of wher- 
 ries, of the impending circus, of bird^’s-eggs, and finally he ap- 
 proached the important and long-delayed topic. 
 
 Are there many strangers in Edgecomb this summer, 
 Jimmie ? 
 
 Well, there ""s you,'’'^ said the boy, and there '"s some folks 
 down to the tavern, and there *^s my girl, and that *^s about all 
 there is now, I guess. Sometimes there ^s more/^ 
 
 And who might your girl be ? 
 
 Why, the one I take letters to,^“^ said Jim, drawing himself 
 up with dignity. She gits a heap. She ^s had four, and she 
 ain^t been here two weeks yet.*^^ 
 
 Then you know her name, of course ? 
 
 Once it was Miss L. L. Doane, and twice it was Miss 
 Doane, and the last time it was Miss Laura Leigh Doane.'’^ 
 Doane, — Doane,^^ thought Mr. Ogden. Who was it 
 married a Miss Doane while I was abroad ? If I am not mis- 
 taken it was Otis. But it may not be the same family. Nor 
 Jimp’s young lady, my young lady.'^'^ 
 
 Jimmie went on, — 
 
68 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 She to ole Miss Phippses^ yer know. Her folks was 
 a-comin^^ but they ain^t come yet. She ^s mighty anxious to 
 get hold of her letters. Ain^’t she spry^ though^ about pullin^ 
 ^em open an^ readin^ ^em quick ! 
 
 Mr. Ogden^ having passed some weeks in Edgecombe could 
 appreciate Miss Doane^s eagerness to hear from her friends. 
 It was however yet to be proven if it were she who had made 
 upon him so lasting an impression. 
 
 I should imagine your young lady would be lonely.*^^ 
 
 She was kinder doleful at firsts but my ! she chipper 
 as a cricket now. You M oughter see her a-startin^ off over 
 the bridge. She just goes it ! She don^t act much like our 
 Jane MYia^ always a-hangin’ on to things/^ said the boy, 
 scornfully, an^, by thunder, ain^t she a beauty ? 
 
 Why, Jim, I had no idea you were such a critic of the fair 
 sex,^^ said Mr. Ogden, laughing. 
 
 I rather guess I know when folks is good-lookin\ Jane 
 MYia says she ^s the image of the hotty Lady I-mer-gin. 
 She ^s in one o^ them Ledger yarns, yer know. I never see 
 I-mer-gin, an^ I don^t want ter, but this one '’s got yaller hair 
 an^ big black eyes. She an^ I gits along first-rate,^”^ the little 
 fellow continued confidentially. I showed her the way to 
 the ole fort ; an^ she takes lots o^ things and goes over most 
 evYy day.^^ 
 
 What do you mean by lots of things, Jimmie ? 
 
 Well, she takes a reading-book, an^ a drawing-book, an^ a 
 basket for leaves an^ things, yer know, an^ most ginrally a 
 ombrell.^^ 
 
 Ah, she carries an umbrella, does she, this Miss L. L. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 69 
 
 Doane ? A wise precautionary measure^ certainly. She is 
 no doubt a prudent young person. And what kind of an 
 umbrella ? Did you ever happen to notice it particularly ? 
 
 It ^s got a shiny ball on top. Pewter^ I guess. An^ a 
 pewter cross-piece on the handle. It ^s a real jolly little 
 ombrell.^'^ 
 
 Very jolly/'^ said Mr. Ogden^ with decision. 
 
 ^^Why^ yer ain^t seen it, have yer?*’'’ asked Jimmie, in 
 surprise. 
 
 ^^No, I cannot say that I have ever actually seen it. But 
 I have a remembrance of once holding in my hand an umbrella 
 similar to the one you describe. And I coincide with your 
 opinion that it is jolly, — very jolly indeed. And, Jimmie, 
 you are a fine boy. You shall go down the river m my 
 wherry as often as you like when I get out again. I think 
 we are going to be excellent friends. Shake hands, Jimmie, 
 and then you may run away.'^'^ 
 
 Jimmie blushed with pleasure. He had never before been 
 called a fine boy. He had never been in a wherry. He with- 
 drew in a beatific state, and Mr. Ogden was left to his reflec- 
 tions. 
 
 Circumstantial evidence is frequently at fault, but the 
 chances are ten to one in favor of Jimmie^s Miss Doane and 
 my incognita being one and the same person.'’'^ 
 
 He gained additional information when he received, the next 
 day, this note. After reading it he gave a long, low, and ex- 
 pressive whistle. 
 
 My dear Philip, — I have just learned with great rejoicing that 
 you are rusticating in Edgecoinb, the very place where I have just 
 
70 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 left my fair sister, Miss Doane. I am detained here by business, and 
 my wife and I cannot get down for a few weeks, which leaves Miss 
 Doane in an unexpectedly lonely condition, and fills Mrs. Otis’s 
 heart with anxious forebodings. Under the circumstances, she ven- 
 tures to send her compliments and say that she shall feel extremely 
 grateful, and infinitely safer about Miss Doane, if you will have- the 
 kindness to call occasionally upon her, and if you would telegraph 
 us in case of any accident or trouble of any kind, which we do not 
 apprehend, of course ; but Miss Doane does not know a person in 
 the place, and it is not agreeable for us to think of her as an exile, 
 and we consequently hail you joyfully. 
 
 Harry Blake says he shall bring his yacht round there during 
 the summer, and that he expects you to join him. We shall all be 
 glad to see you again, and we ’ll have a magnificent reunion on the 
 Idlewild. 
 
 As ever, yours, etc., 
 
 Tom G. Otis. 
 
CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 Dost thou think I care for a satire or an epigram ? ” 
 
 Much Ado About Nothing. 
 
 HE Saturday of the week following the accident 
 was a gray day/^ with that soft^ moist atmos- 
 phere which^ inland^ might predict rain^ but which 
 in Edgecomb was often but a mild intimation of 
 the proximity of old Neptune. Grateful for the cloudiness 
 which favored his eyes and his plans^ Mr. Ogden ventured 
 out. He was in a cheerful frame of mind, and physically in 
 a tolerably good condition, wearing only a black and blue 
 spot of moderate size as a memento of Miss Doane^s jolly 
 little ombrell.^'^ 
 
 Having inquired of Jimmie which was Miss Phippses house, 
 he started off at a brisk pace down the road which he had last 
 traversed under the peculiar circumstances recorded. 
 
 Jimmie^s admiring face watched him from the porch. 
 
 Suddenly the young man^s course was arrested by an — 
 
 I say, wait for a feller, won^t yer ? 
 
 He waited, and Jimmie came springing towards him. 
 
 Look here. If it ^s my girl you “^re after, she ain^t likely 
 to be ter home mornings. The fort '’s yer best dodge.*^"^ 
 
72 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Looking pleasantly at this wise young judge^ Mr. Ogden 
 said^ — 
 
 Jim^ you are ^ a youth whom fate reserves for a bright fu- 
 ture."^ Thank you for giving your information as you did^ 
 instead of from the steps^ at the top of your voice.^'^ 
 
 I ainT in the habit o^ tellin^ much to the women-folks^ 
 they make such a darned gabble.*^^ 
 
 His lofty air and precocious assumption of manly superioity 
 were irresistible. Mr. Ogden laughed and asked him his age. 
 Thirteen next July/'’ was the prompt answer. 
 
 Just twelve^ then ? 
 
 Well^ no^ not percisely, I s^pose.'’^ 
 
 Here Mr. Ogden did Jimmie a momentary injustice. He 
 concluded that the boy^s genius as a profound observer of hu- 
 man nature was more remarkable than his knowledge of 
 arithmetic. With a kindly^ but wholly superfluous desire to 
 straighten the little fellow^s tangled ideas^ he said^ — 
 
 Why not ? What day of the month was your birth- 
 day ? 
 
 '’T was nT no day. It ^s goin^ to be. It ’s a creepin'’ 
 along thunderin^ slow. It'’s the thirty-first. 
 
 Indeed ! You count more rapidly than most persons. 
 As it is about the middle of July, I should say you were twelve 
 years old, and an uncommonly smart boy at that.'’^ 
 
 It depends on how yer looks at it,'’"’ Jimmie returned coolly. 
 
 Thirteen next July is about my kalkerlation.'’^ 
 
 If you wish to grow old so fast, why do you not say you 
 will be twenty-one, eight years from the thirty-first day of 
 next J uly ? It would be according to your principle^ and 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 73 
 
 might be still more encouraging than your view of the mat- 
 ter.^^ 
 
 Jimmie knew that the gentleman was quizzing him^ but 
 adhered to his original line of argument. 
 
 Cos 't ain^'t reasonable/^ he said stoutly^ and i’ other 
 way is. Yer see,” he explained, reckon from the Fourth. 
 It '’s a jolly good day to start from. When the bells begin 
 to ring next Fourth-of-July mornin^, and the old cannon blazes 
 away on the Common, I shall say to myself, ^ Ole feller, you Ye 
 fourteen next year, sure Y yer born,^ an^ it keeps my spirits 
 up wonderful.^^ 
 
 You deserve to be a second Methuselah, if you want to 
 be. Good by, Jim. We understand each other, do we ? 
 
 Mum ’s the word, sir,'’^ said the discreet boy ; and Mr. 
 Ogden resumed his walk. 
 
 OtisY letter, he thought, had lessened some of his difficul- 
 ties. Presenting himself and his abject apologies before Miss 
 Doane was less formidable now that her family sanctioned 
 their acquaintance, — even begged him to take a friendly in- 
 terest in her. I shall plead guilty, but recommend myself 
 strongly to mercy. There is no getting round the awkward- 
 ness of the affair ; but perhaps she T1 be forgiving.'’^ 
 
 In this sanguine mood he approached Miss PhippsY abode. 
 Miss Doane was out. Having left his card with the antique 
 maiden, who at once put on her spectacles and severely scru- 
 tinized the name and the gentleman who bore it, he lighted a 
 cigar and passed down the hill which led to the bridge. This 
 ancient and honorable structure was nearly a mile in length 
 and wide enough for three old-fashioned stage-coaches to drive 
 
74 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 abreast. It connected Edgecomb with an island^ from which 
 a second open bridge extended to the opposite village of 
 Romney. The chain formed by the two bridges and the island 
 was two miles and a half long ; so that one, by going from 
 Edgecomb to Romney and returning, could take a pleasant 
 constitutional of five miles over the bridges, with their 
 charming views both up and down the river, and through the 
 fragrant wood-road that ran across the island. 
 
 In Edgecombe’s golden days its bridge was a famous prome- 
 nade and place of resort. There at sunset the people would 
 gather, — old and young, rich and poor, — to walk, to talk, 
 to see and be seen, to watch the long light sweep across the 
 wide river and fade away behind the hills. 
 
 “ There youths and maidens dreaming strayed.” 
 
 There rose castles in the air without number. There hearts 
 were broken, sweet and bitter words were said, and many sad 
 farewells. It was a gloomy old bridge crowded with phan- 
 toms ; but not one ghost of the past disturbed Philip Ogden^s 
 peace of mind. .He was glad to be a free man again. The 
 outer world looked pleasant to him after his dull week in the 
 farm-house. The dead past was nothing to him, and his 
 thoughts of the bridge were altogether practical and common- 
 place. He noticed that its timbers were rotten, its railing 
 feeble and tottering, — dying of old age, and the selectmen 
 would not give it any Elixir of Life in the shape of energetic 
 repairs. He saw one patch of fresher wood, where a heavily 
 laden stage-coach went through some years previous. Com- 
 fortable predicament for the passengers. I believe somebody 
 
L1P''*'?Y 
 Of IHE 
 
 UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 77 
 
 told me the accident had not a tragical termination. No lives 
 were lost nor bones broken, but I am not surprised that 
 stages cross Edgecomb bridge no more."^ It probably was 
 not really worth repairing. To let it alone or rebuild it com- 
 pletely was the only thing to be done, and Edgecomb had 
 apparently decided upon the former course. How long before 
 it would fall ? He leaned over the railing and looked at the 
 mouldering trestle-work, then glanced idly at the countless 
 initials, carved years and years before, — some perhaps by 
 laughing children trooping noisily down from school, some by 
 happy lovers who stood there dreamily watching the moon rise 
 over the hills, and asking blindly of the future what it would 
 never give them. The quaint letters and symbols spoke a 
 language which Philip, in his tranquil mood, failed to inter- 
 pret. He regarded unfeelingly a heart pierced by numerous 
 arrows, — a pitiful design, emblematic, no doubt, of much 
 suffering. An old farmer in a creaking wagon, jogging over 
 to Edgecomb, nodaed familiarly, after the country fashion, to 
 the young man, who responded pleasantly and went on his 
 way. 
 
 He reached the island, and turned off from the main road 
 which crossed it into a winding path which ran through the 
 woods. Soon he came to an opening. Here the land began 
 to rise perceptibly towards the southern point of the island, 
 where a curious excavation, an old embankment, and frag- 
 ments of a wall marked the site of the fort. 
 
 He had not before visited this spot, and was surprised at 
 the extent of the view. West was Edgecomb, thick with elms 
 on its hill-slope, crowned by a row of stately, sombre houses 
 
78 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 and three white church-spires. On the east^ Eomney; and 
 beyond each village the pretty hills rising higher and higher 
 in the distance ; while from his elevated position he could 
 follow the graceful shore-line many miles. 
 
 This is fine^ but I presume I lose, half of it. I must bring 
 a glass over here to-morrow.*^^ He turned^ walked a few steps 
 leisurely in the direction of Eomney^ when he saw directly 
 before him an object which he needed no glass to appreciate. 
 Leaning against a rock, looking as guileless as if it had never 
 been an instrument of torture, was an umbrella , — the umbrella 
 he could not well doubt. He took it up and examined it with 
 pardonable curiosity. It was a small black silk one, with an 
 ebony stick, having on one end a silver cross, on the other the 
 silver ball that did millions of mischief ; and the missing 
 link in the chain of evidence stared him in the face from a 
 silver band on which was engraved, L. L. Doane.*’'^ 
 
 He was extremely amused. He struck the palm of his left 
 hand lightly with that ornamental ball, estimated its weight, 
 and felt that he was a lucky man. If I were in reality Miss 
 Doane^s guardian,^^ he thought, smilingly, ^^I would take 
 effectual measures to keep her in the house stormy evenings, 
 not only for her own sake, but out of regard for the safety of 
 the public. 
 
 He inferred that she must be in the vicinity. She probably 
 had gone into the wood for flowers. He might miss her 
 should he seek her there. He would await her return. Thus 
 he reasoned, and serenely anticipated making a pleasant ac- 
 quaintance. 
 
 Birch Point, one of the loveliest spots on the shore below 
 Edgecomb, was seen from the fort to the best advantage. 
 

UNIVERSiry ofiLLINOIS. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 8l 
 
 Perhaps Miss Doaiie will allow me to take her out rowing. 
 She might like tliat quiet little cove over there. Ladies do not 
 generally fancy too much current.'^'’ Certainly she might rely 
 upon him for any amusement he could afford her. She had 
 the strongest claim upon his services. There was nothing that 
 he would not do for Obis, and nothing half good enough to do 
 for her, in atonement for his insolence. He presumed she 
 would be an agreeable girl. Otises wife^s sister ought to be. 
 That was, to be sure, a woman^’s method of reasoning, but he 
 fancied it would prove correct in this instance. A strong 
 ludicrous element at the beginning of an acquaintance was 
 often of use. It gave one a foundation to build upon. 
 
 In this state of benign composure, making plans as to drives 
 and rows which he hoped would meet with Miss Doane^s gra- 
 cious approval, he seated himself on the rock and took a cigar 
 from his case. As he turned to strike a match, an open sketch- 
 book suddenly arrested his attention. The grayish tint of its 
 leaves blended with the rock on which it was lying, and 
 had it not been near him it would have escaped his notice. 
 He gazed as if spell-bound. He was a man of honor, scrupu- 
 lous in trifles, yet he took that book in his two hands and in- 
 tently scrutinized each line on the pages before him. Every 
 man has his price,'’"’ is an unpleasant misanthropical doctrine. 
 It is more agreeable, and perhaps as wise in the end, to forget 
 it, and dwell kindly upon the vast amount of temptation poor 
 human nature is sometimes enabled to resist. Here was, no 
 doubt, a real temptation to Philip Ogden, and it would have 
 been highly creditable to him had he, with his usual delicacy, 
 virtuously closed the book. But that vigorous, dashing style 
 
82 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 of drawing was his price. He did not resist. He succumbed 
 completely. He was even guilty of the enormous misde- 
 meanor of reading what was written as a motto for the sketches. 
 And then this misguided naaix threw back his head and laughed 
 loud and long^ laughed as he had not since he was a boy and 
 f had successfully carried out some madcap prank at school. 
 
 She '’s a veritable genius ! he said. She would make 
 a fortune for any illustrated newspaper in the world. It is 
 the richest thing I ever saw.*^*^ 
 
 At the top of the page were^ wickedly misapplied, Shelley^s 
 lines, — 
 
 “We look before and after, 
 
 And pine for what is not.” 
 
 Before 
 
 was the title of the first sketch, which depicted this scene ; — 
 A pouring rain. A sharp corner where two village streets 
 meet, the one with an ascending, the other with a descending 
 slope. Upon what might be called the down-grade, advancing 
 furiously, was a female figure drawn with much spirit. Her 
 draperies were flying in the wind. Her umbrella, grasped in 
 both hands, had a malignant, evil look, — an umbrella ram- 
 pant, — her resolute poise told of contest with the storm, and 
 strong determination to go on in spite of it. While upon the 
 other street, unconscious of his doom, sauntering complacently 
 to meet it, was a man, and such a man ! It was here that the 
 genius of the artist had most forcibly asserted itself. A 
 dandy. A Turveydrop. A man with his hat set jauntily on 
 the side of his head. A man whose buttonhole bouquet re- 
 sembled a display of mammoth vegetables, who looked as 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 83 
 
 if he pointed his toes when he walked and had devoted an 
 hour to his necktie^ and whose face was devoid of all meaning 
 except the unutterable self-sufficiency shown in the lines about 
 the mouth. In this picture collision was imminent^ and upon 
 the next page its results were portrayed in 
 
 A roughs hilly country-road^ with gloomy woods on both 
 sides. Through wind and rain walk^ arm in arm^ the two 
 figures described. The surprised, indignant remonstrance of 
 the girks face was a study. The man, the upper part of his 
 face being concealed by a handkerchief bound round his eyes^ 
 still disclosed the turned-up corners of his odious mouth and 
 minced well along pompously, while — most malicious touch, 
 of all ! — he held an umbrella over his own head, and in ex- 
 actly the position that would entail constant dripj)ings on his 
 companion's. In the corner of each sketch was plainly writ- 
 ten, L. L. Doane. Thus had she revenged herself. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 ^ What, my dear Lady Disdain ! Are you yet living P 
 
 Much Ado About Nothing, 
 
 |(HILIP^ engrossed by this masterly work of art^ did 
 not hear a step on the soft turf. 
 
 When you have quite finished your inspection, 
 sir^ I will trouble you for my sketch-book/*^ said a 
 voice behind him dryly^ and with a sarcastic inflection that 
 was unmistakable. 
 
 In an instant he tlirew away his cigar, sprang to his 
 feet, turned, took off his hat, and saw what he never in 
 after years forgot. A slight graceful figure in soft brown, 
 standing erect before him, with a wide flat basket filled with 
 wild-flowers, ferns, and mosses. Beneath a brown shade-hat, 
 pushed back from the face, w^avy fair hair, a pale olive skin, 
 great dark eyes looking coldly at him, and a mouth at that 
 moment set haughtily in a manner that boded no good. 
 
 Politely and inquiringly he said, — 
 
 Miss Doane ? 
 
 She was a truthful girl, but her good angel forsook her, and 
 she told a wdiite lie. 
 
L!BR«RV 
 
 UNIVERSilY U(- iLLiNO 
 URBAiYA 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 87 
 
 You have the advantage of me, sir/^ 
 
 She could not swear, possibly, that his name was Ogden, 
 but she had every reason to think that it was. Did not that 
 discolored cheek prove his identity ? He was not appalled 
 by her icy demeanor, which involuntarily reminded him of the 
 hotty Lady I-mer-gin,'^ and, restraining a smile which he 
 felt would not be well received by this severely statuesque 
 young lady, he replied, — 
 
 Pardon me. The advantage was certainly yours before. 
 It is yours now. It must of necessity always remain with 
 you.""' 
 
 Miss Doane in her varied reading had never met with the 
 Lady Imogen, whom she was supposed to resemble, and she 
 misinterpreted the cause of the faint smile upon Mr. Ogden^s 
 lips. Neither his cordial voice, nor his genial allusion to 
 their first meeting, nor the eminently conciliatory character of 
 his remark, found favor with her. Without replying, without 
 indeed glancing at him, she stooped, took from the rock a 
 small volume which had been concealed by the sketch-book, 
 and which, carefully lifting her violets and ferns, she placed 
 in her basket. She then passed by him for her umbrella. 
 Her movements were deliberate, and, it was evident, prepara- 
 tory to departure. 
 
 Philip realized that she was going because he had come. 
 His intentions in visiting her favorite haunt were, as has been 
 shown, most amicable. The weapon that had wounded him 
 he had surveyed in a forgiving, even in a quizzical spirit. 
 The caricature, so clear an exponent of Miss Doane'^s impres- 
 sion of him, he had examined with imperturbable good-nature. 
 
88 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 admiring the humorous talent it displayed^ and sympathizing 
 with the incensed artist. I do not wonder that she thought 
 me a prig/'’ was his amiable comment when studying the un- 
 flattering sketches. But her continued silence^ under the cir- 
 cumstances aggressive in itself^ her indescribable frigidity^ and 
 her affectation of ignoring his presence^ were enough to irri- 
 tate the meekest man. The genial look faded from his face. 
 And she quite exhausted his patience when stie Anally said in 
 an exasperatingly indifferent way^ standing before him and 
 looking, not at him, but with still eyelids and a fixed gaze far 
 beyond him down upon the river, — 
 
 Will you have the kindness to give me my book ? 
 
 He had unconsciously retained it. 
 
 With more serious apologies, he felt that to ask her pardon 
 for examining her sketches might not be superfluous. He 
 thought also of Tom^s letter, and of his own object in seeking 
 her, an honest desire to atone so far as possible for the past 
 by the proffer of unlimited service in future. But her hauteur 
 forbade the expression of his sentiments. It seemed that an 
 allusion to things of the past was precisely what she wished to 
 avoid. 
 
 So be it, then. A man cannot talk to a statue cut in ala- 
 baster. Any reference to Tom is out of the question. She 
 scorns to conceal that I am repugnant to her. Having 
 no merits of my own, I have no desire to prop myself up 
 with Otises. The briefer the interview the better for both 
 parties ! 
 
 Such were his hasty reflections as she demanded her prop- 
 erty. Bor one moment he looked steadily at her, then placed 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 89 
 
 the book in her hand^ and in a tone quite as cold as her own, 
 said simply, — 
 
 ^^It is my place. Miss Doane, not yours, to withdraw/*^ 
 Lifting his hat with grave courtesy, he walked rapidly away 
 and soon disappeared among the trees. 
 
 So they met again, and so they parted. 
 
 Had she received him with that gentle effusion and highly 
 flattering manner which most men esteem an excellent thing 
 in woman,^'" had she tenderly sympathized with his misfortune, 
 deprecatingly explained why she was out in the storm that 
 night, disarmed him with an appealing look from under her 
 long lashes, and a Was it so very naughty ? in an infan- 
 tine, confiding tone, she might have impressed him with the 
 idea that she was the sweetest, most artless girl in existence ; 
 that wandering about alone dark, stormy nights was, in her, a 
 praiseworthy act, and destroying people^s visual organs a fas- 
 cinating accomplishment. Eesults equally astounding have 
 been attained by young women less clever than Leigh Doane, 
 with men quite as sensible as Philip Ogden. But she was 
 twenty, and well grown, and she did not know how to assume 
 ways which are, as was Richard III., too childish-foolish for 
 this world.'^'^ Her cleverness did not lie in a knowledge of 
 such tactics. She had not studied them, nor did she, as do 
 some women, know them intuitively. There was, however, 
 another, a medium course, and one that would have been in 
 accordance with her nature. She could have been frank and 
 sufficiently gracious. She might have accepted his apologies 
 and made her own. Though disliking him, she could at least 
 have been civil. Por reasons best known to herself, she was 
 
90 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 not. And these two, who might have engaged in a bland 
 conversation upon topics of mutual interest, — the weather, 
 the scenery, why Tom did not come, why Mr. Ogden had, 
 how queer Miss Phipps was, and what rare specimens of hu- 
 manity were revealed in the Holbrook family, — lost their 
 opportunity. One was left alone. The other, having aban- 
 doned the regular path, was going through the woods with 
 great strides, accelerated by indignation, trampling over the 
 underbrush, and pushing away low branches with marked 
 energy. His course, as he had anticipated, brought him 
 out at a point in the main road not far from the Eomney 
 bridge, and presently its loose planks were rattling beneath 
 his tread. He crossed it, and in a long ramble on the 
 east side of the river walked off his vexation, and coolly de- 
 cided that Miss Doane and her vagaries were of small conse- 
 quence. 
 
 He had been prepared to blame himself wholly, her not at 
 all ; but her ungracious reception had led him to think that 
 the scales might be more evenly balanced, that his week of in- 
 convenience and pain, his hearty desire to make reparation for 
 his blundering, might justly have some weight in his favor. 
 As a gentleman, he must always regret having caused her so 
 much discomfort and annoyance ; but, since she had not even 
 allowed him the satisfaction of calling himself a brute, since 
 she had rendered expiation impossible, he washed his hands of 
 the whole matter. He had done his part. Angels could do 
 no more. 
 
 Edgecomb air was as healthful, Edgecomb waters afforded 
 as fine facilities for rowing, as before the advent of this Miss 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 91 
 
 Doane^ who was^ by the way^ a charmingly agreeable person 
 to take out in his wherry. Should the boat upset^ she would 
 float about in the water like any other iceberg. His feeling 
 towards her gradually merged into quiet disapproval. What 
 he knew of her he did not admire^ except^ of course^ her beauty. 
 That^ he admitted^ was of a rare order. It was not the style 
 he liked best. It had not the sweety winning ever-varying 
 expression that he preferred. But in an artistic sense simply. 
 Miss Doane^s face was the most beautiful he had ever seen. 
 And whether it was on account of its intrinsic beauty, or 
 because he had not before noticed a lovely girl in Edge- 
 comb, or because she was the flrst woman who had rendered 
 it quite evident to him that in her opinion he was intolerably 
 disagreeable, it haunted him. In spite of what he assured 
 himself was pure indifference to her, like a familiar picture 
 he could see, well deflned before him, the background of 
 trees, the dull skies, the soft brown of her dress, the great 
 basket laden with cool green things from the woods, the long 
 vines trailing over its edge, and, most distinct of all, the fair 
 young face, so fresh in its coloring, so inflexible in its frozen 
 repose. 
 
 What can she want of violets ? It was winsome Persephone 
 who gathered flowers on the meadow, — not an ice-maiden 
 like this. Even Eappacinf s daughter, nourished upon poison, 
 and withering flowers with her fatal breath, was less chilling 
 and unlovely in manner. 
 
 Meanwhile the forbidding, repellent, self-poised creature sat 
 in a dejected heap on the grass, — elbows on the rock, face on 
 her hands, sad eyes looking off absently across the water at 
 
92 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Birch Point. Already the iceberg, humanized, was suffering 
 the cruel pangs of remorse. She had been inexcusably rude 
 to Mr. Ogden, and she liked neither him nor herself* any the 
 better for that. 
 
 O dear, I wish they would come ! she sighed. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 “ So we met 
 
 In this old sleepy town, at unaware. 
 
 The man and I.” — Browning. 
 
 Edgecomb, July 15, 18 — . 
 
 EAE TOM AND DEAEEST BESSIE, — Let us 
 play “ Consequences.’’ I ’ll begin. 
 
 Miss Laura Leigh Doane and Mr. Philip Ogden 
 met in Edgecomb, on a street-corner, a dark, stormy 
 night, to the physical distress of one and the mental agony of the 
 other. 
 
 He Said, — 
 
 “ My good woman, your insignificant umbrella has had the pre- 
 sumption to put out my majestic eye. Shall I graciously allow you 
 the supreme honor of trudging through two miles of mud with 
 me?” 
 
 She Said, — 
 
 (meekly, but with rage, hate, rebellion, and various other deadly 
 sins warring in her heart,) — 
 
 “ Yes, sir.” 
 
 The World Said, — 
 
 (or would have said, had it known anything about it, what it has 
 ever said since Adam introduced the custom of accusing “ the 
 woman,”) — 
 
 “ She had only herself to blame.” 
 
94 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 The CoNSEquENCES Were : — 
 
 Mr. Ogden retired from the world for a season, and Miss Doane 
 indulged in hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. She never, 
 never wished to meet him again. And when at last he loomed up 
 suddenly before her, she was unpardonably rude and disagreeable ; 
 yet not so utterly lost to every semblance of good feeling that she 
 could thus ill-treat a friend of Tom without repenting in sackcloth 
 and ashes, and longing for her dear people to come and brush 
 away her cobwebs. 
 
 Bessie, dear, this is true, or nearly so, and it is what you have 
 thought only my nonsense when I have just touched upon it or 
 fluttered over it in my letters. I ought to have told you before, 
 but it did seem too ridiculous to write. Indeed, I will reserve 
 the details of my escapade until I can talk with you ; but I did go 
 out in the rain. I did run against him. I did hurt him. And he 
 thought I was a nobody, and coolly requested me to tie a bandage 
 over his eyes and take him home, which I did, to my own profound 
 amazement. He thanked me, and feed me well. (And when you 
 come, Tom, you must give the odious creature his ill-timed offer- 
 ing.) This was the evening of the day you did not come. You 
 cannot understand it, nor can I ; but it all happened. I went for 
 a book, you see, and everything worked against me, — even the 
 powers of the air, — and it was all so very uncomfortable for me 
 afterwards, I could not help attributing it to Mr. Ogden ; and that 
 was why I told you, Tom, not to send him to see me. 
 
 I have reversed the usual order of things. First I made war, 
 then I declared it. I have been detestable; but, Tom, what you 
 can find to admire in that man is beyond my feeble compre- 
 hension. 
 
 He was confined to his room a week or more, so my little Jim* 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 95 
 
 mie-boy reported. During that time I became quite softened. I 
 could not like his Grand Mogul ways, but I was so sorry, so very, 
 very sorry that I had actually hurt bim, and that he was suffering 
 some pain, no doubt, and much loneliness, and all through my 
 evil-doings. Then came your last letters insisting earnestly upon 
 my knowing him, telling me that he was such an “ uncommonly 
 good fellow ” (Tom, if he ’s “ uncommonly good,” commonly good 
 is more to my taste), and assuring me that you would feel much 
 relieved about me if so fine, high-toned, honorable, efficient, alto- 
 gether charming and admirable individual would deign to keep 
 himself informed of my movements, and would telegraph to you in 
 case I should fall from a rock and break my neck, or lean too hard 
 upon the railing of the dear dilapidated old bridge. Perhaps I 
 did not fully appreciate the practical utility of this plan ; but since 
 you really wished me to know him, and especially since you an- 
 nounced that you had written to him desiring him, formally, to call 
 upon me, I grew decently amiable. I reasoned with myself. I 
 decided to meet him frankly, to express my regret for the accident, 
 to treat the matter of my performing escort-duty for him as of no 
 consequence at all, in short, to be very good during his visit, which 
 I naturally thought would take place here, at the house ; and after- 
 wards I would see him as little as possible, I determined. 
 
 I was prepared to do all that could be expected of me ; to sit 
 like a model from a Book of Decorum, with my reluctant vertebrae 
 leaning against one of Phipps’s perpendicular chair-backs ; to con- 
 verse as well as I knew how upon any topic which might prove 
 agreeable to my guest. But I was not — I was not prepared for 
 the sight that met my eyes yesterday at the fort. 
 
 I had been in the woods for flowers, and returning to my favorite 
 resting-place saw a gentleman — Mr. Ogden, I knew instinctively 
 — intently regarding my sketch-book. His back was turned, so 
 
96 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 that I could not see his face, but I knew he was laughing, for his 
 shoulders fairly shook. Indeed, I have the impression that he 
 must have shouted over my designs, for I heard something of the 
 kind when I was in among the trees. I will do him the justice to 
 say that the book was lying open when he found it. And, Bessie, 
 fancy at what ! — (the influences, as the mediums say, must have 
 been sadly against me that morning,) — at some absurd sketches 
 illustrative of our flrst meeting. I did them the day after the accident, 
 and he was as ridiculous as I could make him. It was for your amuse- 
 ment, not his. He had no right to laugh ! Yesterday my work 
 was only an innocent, amiable little sketch of Birch Point, a fascinat- 
 ing subject I am constantly attempting. Why did he not see that 
 instead ? Why did the leaves open to the malicious, naughty carica- 
 tures I had almost forgotten ? Why did I not close the book ? I 
 usually do. Because the man is my evil genius. Before he ap- 
 pears I do some unfortunate, unnatural thing. When I am with 
 him I am completely transformed. I do not recognize myself. 
 Scold me, Tom, as much as you like. I deserve it, but if you love 
 me, come down and keep him away. 
 
 Where was I? O, — just coming from the woods. Bessie, I 
 am sorry, too soiTy for what I did. I do not seek to excuse the 
 inexcusable. If patient Griselda’s liege lord — tyrannical old 
 Turk that he was ! — had chosen to swing her about by the hair of 
 her head as a light exercise and pastime, I presume, from all ac- 
 counts, the poor thing, for whom I never had the faintest spark of 
 admiration, would have meekly borne it, and sweetly encouraged 
 him in it, so long as there was a hair left for him to grasp ; but I 
 am not sure that even she would have seen a perfect stranger ex- 
 amining at his leisure her own private property, without making a 
 mild protest, and to me the sight was intolerably provoking. 
 
 There he sat on my rock, surrounded, like a Choctaw chieftain. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 97 
 
 with trophies of victory. My Idyls at his right. My umbrella 
 leaning against the rock at his left. My sketch-book open in his 
 hands. It was too much. The tide of memory rushed over me. 
 I was again seized by the intense unreasoning dislike I had felt for 
 him. Was I always to appear at a disadvantage before him? I 
 am ashamed to tell you how disagreeably I advanced and demanded 
 my book. I wickedly hoped he would be confused. He never 
 dreamed of such a thing. He is always so unpleasantly superior.” 
 He rose to meet me with a cordial expression, as if I were an 
 old and valued friend. I determined to ruffle that beautiful com- 
 posure. I did not know I could be so detestable; but a latent talent 
 of that description, I suppose, like courage mounteth with occa- 
 sion.” By my manner, I said as plainly as by words, “ Do not 
 apologize. Do not introduce yourself. Do not speak. You are 
 odious. I am going.” 
 
 I pretended not to look at him, but I saw perfectly well his 
 expression changing from smiling ease to gravity, severity, as it 
 dawned upon him that my inimical bearing was with malice pre- 
 pense. He gave me one long, steady look as if to discover tc. 
 what species of created beings I belonged, then with a word left 
 me. Your Mr. Ogden has quick perceptions, Tom. Any man of 
 sense would have understood me ; but I think some men would 
 have insisted upon speaking. 
 
 And, after all, he had the best of it. He was still “ superior.” 
 He went through the words, it is true, with great rapidity, sugges- 
 tive, it may be, of inward wrath, but he made his exit from this 
 dramatic scene with calmness, grace, and dignity. He did not for-? 
 get that an impressive deportment is always the best policy. His 
 final remark was a rebuke in its cool civility, for you see I was cool 
 incivility personified. He meant to conduct himself as irreproach- 
 ably as a Bayard, whatever caprice my waywardness might develop, 
 
98 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 and I was capricious and unreasonable as a child with a grown-up 
 capacity for being disagreeable. He was right, I was wrong. 
 My head tells me this, while my heart rises up in wrath against 
 him. How sorry you will both be ! Would you believe it ? I 
 tried not to care when I saw that great purplish mark in his cheek. 
 I could not help feeling distressed, though I endeavored to look as 
 stony as a sphinx. 
 
 If it were not for him, Edgecomb would be Paradise. But I 
 suppose an earthly one must always have a serpent, and every little 
 Miss Muffit, a great black spider to come in the way. He is the 
 spider that drives me from my curds and whey. Won’t somebody 
 have the kindness to step on him ? 
 
 These long, quiet days here are too beautiful. I find some 
 lovely spot and read a little, draw a little, dream a little, and think 
 that you will be here soon to intensify my happiness ; and the 
 trees and hills and waters are so noble, “ the birds and the 
 flowers are so kind,” that it all seems like an enchanted life, until 
 suddenly I remember my misdeeds, and the beautiful illusion is 
 destroyed. I cannot be happy here any more. Jimmie is my 
 only human comfort. He is, I tell him, a rough diamond, 
 and hereafter I shall spell his name with a G. He is not, 
 perhaps, “ of purest ray serene,” still he is precious and 
 sparkling, though unpolished, and he shall be Gem, not Jim. 
 Dear child ! He seems to have the most incomprehensible fancy 
 for me. He left a handful of columbines with Miss Phipps for me, 
 long before I was awake one morning ; and he went ever so many 
 miles for a pretty species of fern which he had heard me say I was 
 sorry I could not find in this vicinity. He is very bright, merry, 
 and amusing, and has a loving heart and an appreciative nature ; 
 though he seemed to me in the first place nothing more than a 
 comical, impudent little ragamuffin. Now I perceive ^espect for 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 99 
 
 me and affection shining out through the outward roughness, — 
 the marvellous language and want of training. 
 
 When do you think you will come ? If you do not intend to 
 start in a day or two, may n’t I, please may I not, go home ? I 
 could act as escort for you, Bessie, and bring you down quite as 
 Avell as Tom can, if he would only think so ; and it would be so 
 much better than staying here, and dreading to stir for fear of 
 meeting Mr. Ogden, and doing or saying some fatal thing which it 
 never entered my head to do or say before. 
 
 “ Up the airy mountain, 
 
 Down the rushy glen, 
 
 We dare na go a-huntin^ 
 
 For fear of — ” P. Ogden. 
 
 I wish he would go away ! I am penitent, very penitent, but I 
 never wish to see him again. Literally, 
 
 ‘‘ Every prospect pleases, and only man is vile.’’ 
 
 Come to me, or let me go to you, is the prayer of 
 Your loving 
 
 Leigh. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 “ Still harping.” 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 ISS LEIGH^ we got this in a field to Birch Point. 
 Yer don^t want it^ do yer ? Yer would n^t like 
 it^ would yer ? Yer could n^t stick it in yer hat^ 
 could yer ? Say ! 
 
 Miss Doane took the long black feather from the boy^s 
 hand^ and smiled at his eagerness. 
 
 It is very pretty^ Gem. What is it ? 
 
 A eagle^’s.'^'^ 
 
 An eaglets, really ? ^ As a feather is wafted downward 
 
 from an eagle in his flight/ she repeated dreamily^ standing 
 in the open doorway and glancing far up above the elm-tops^ 
 as if she could see the slender thing descending through the 
 air. Then^ to the boy : Certainly, I would like it. Gem, and 
 
 thank you very much. I never saw one before. How very 
 glossy it is, and even as if its edge were cut with a knife ! 
 
 I s'^pose yer don^t want to put it in yer hat, do yer ? 
 said Gtem, with pleased, smiling eyes, while his mouth twitched 
 violently in his effort to look indifferent. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 lOI 
 
 Who was it who wore an eaglets plume ? Rob Roy ? 
 Far better it would suit a brave Highland chieftain than 
 
 a commonplace young woman 
 
 black hat and her work-basket^ and^ seated in the doorway, 
 with Jimmie on a lower step, she tried the effect of his last 
 offering at her shrine. 
 
102 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Gem^ it too long. I shall look as tall as Mrs. Giantess 
 Blunderbore.^^ 
 
 Let '’s cut it.^*^ 
 
 It would be a pity to do thaL unless I could use both 
 parts. I do not like to throw away what a friend brings me. 
 It is neither pleasant nor polite^ is it^ Gem ? Ah^ I know ! 
 The tip I will put in my hat, quietly, you see, with an unob- 
 trusive, deprecating expression, so any mighty eagle soaring 
 about will not spy it and feel insulted, and pounce down and 
 peck my eyes out ; and the other I will make into a most 
 beautiful quill pen. However it may write, the association of 
 ideas will be very high-toned indeed. A great, glorious eagle, 
 — how much more inspiring his quill ought to be than that of 
 a common goose ! There, Gem, how is that ? And she put 
 on the hat, with the little black tip standing up jauntily behind 
 some bows. Is it about right ? Then I T1 fasten it.*^"^ And 
 off came the hat. 
 
 I told him yer M like it. I said yer ^d put it in yer hat, 
 and now yer have, have idt yer ? said Jimmie, ecstatically. 
 Miss Doane bent her face over her work. 
 
 Told whom. Gem ? 
 
 Mr. Ogden. He picked it up an^ was a-goin^ to drop it 
 over the bank, an^ I said I wanted it for you."^^ 
 
 Miss Doane colored furiously. It would be too childish 
 not to wear it now ; but how she did want to pull it out ! 
 After all, she reflected, it had really nothing to do with Mr. 
 Ogden. She would wear it, and only remember little Gem^s 
 kindness. 
 
 He ^s tip-top. Miss Leigh. You an^ him are the best fellers 
 I ever see.^^ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 103 
 
 Gem/^ said the girl_, gravely^ I “'m not a feller^ and you 
 should say saw instead of see/'’ 
 
 Unabashed, Gem continued, — 
 
 Mr. Ogden, he got off a mighty queer yarn yesterday when 
 I told him I knowed yer '’d like the feather cos yer allers liked 
 the things I had brung. He thought as how yer would n^t 
 want it, yer know, and says he — 
 
 Knew, not knowed, and brought, not brung,'’'’ said Miss 
 Doane, oracularly. 
 
 The importance of improving Jim^s English was at cer- 
 tain moments singularly urgent. The tide of her criticism, 
 however, seemed to ebb and flow in a spasmodic, eccentric 
 manner. 
 
 Sometimes he would chatter by the hour with never a word 
 of correction from her. 
 
 Yes ’m/’ said Gem, dutifully. Says he, ^Did yer ever 
 read about — '’ ^bout a — wait ai/ I '’ll tell yer — it was real 
 funny — says he — ■’'’ 
 
 Gem, how would you like to ramble off somewhere with 
 me ? This is too fine a morning to waste in the house, or even 
 out here on the steps. We '’ll have a lovely outing, you and I ; 
 and if Miss Phipps will give us some lunch, we '’ll go off for 
 the day. Would you like it ? '’^ 
 
 Would nT I though ? ^'’ 
 
 Very well ; wait till I get my shawl and pack a basket. 
 A small and select picnic like this will be charming. You 
 shall go where you like. My fate is in your hands. I want 
 to see an entirely new spot.'’^ 
 
 All right,'’^ said Gem, cheerily. I guess I know what 
 
104 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 will hit your case. Him an^ me was down there^ an^ he thought 
 as how it was a pooty likely sort of a place. Says he — 
 
 Excuse me^ Gem^ but I must go and beg Miss Phipps for 
 some things for our basket.'’*^ And Leigh sprang up quickly 
 and vanished through an inner door. 
 
 Gem sat down on the steps, scowled, and thought vigorously. 
 Presently he shouted, I say ! Miss Leigh ! She appeared 
 at the dining-room door. As well hope to stem a torrent with 
 a straw as to interpose such trifles as grammatical errors and 
 lunch-baskets in the way of Gem^s inevitable recital. 
 
 Well, dear,"^*^ she said patiently. Perhaps after the child 
 had freed his mind he would be willing to turn his attention in 
 some other direction. 
 
 Kim-eleon was the word. Kimeleon. Says he, ^ Did yer 
 ever read about a kimeleon ? ^ Says I, ^ No."^ Says he, " It "^s 
 a curious animal, an^ you may look in my dictionary for it 
 when we go home, an^ then you fll know another fack in nat- 
 ural history, my boy.^ Says I, ^ Is it like a eagle ? ^ Says he, 
 ^ Not in the least. It is a animal that changes its color more 
 or less with the color of objects about it, aiP with its temper 
 when disturbed."^ He said it to me twice, an^ I saw it in his 
 big dictionary afterwards, an^ I learned the spellin^ an“^ the 
 meanin'^. There was a plaguy long word — 
 
 ^^Gem,^^ said Leigh, reprovingly. 
 
 Well, awful long, then. It was pre-hen-sile. Its tail is 
 prehensile. That means it can hang on to things like blazes. 
 Mr. Ogden said that fack did n’t interest him pertickerly. 
 What he liked to meditate upon was, that its color varied as 
 its temper was disturbed. I was a-studyin^ of it out loud up 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 lOS 
 
 in his room^ yer know^ an^ he was a smokin^^ an^ he larfed an^ 
 larfed. He said some folks was like the kimeleon/”* 
 
 Miss Doane bit her lip^ stood very straight^ and waited for 
 the boy to communicate his newly acquired knowledge. 
 
 Yes, dear ; that is very interesting. Perhaps I may be 
 able some time to give you equally valuable information. At 
 present our basket is the more important topic. If you and I 
 are hungry, we won^t feel like improving our minds, will we. 
 Gem? You may come in, if you like, and help me. Here I 
 am like Charlotte, cutting bread and butter.”*^ 
 
 Charlotte who ? 
 
 Charlotte — I ^m sure I do not know what her other 
 name was, and it does not matter, my dear ; for her story 
 would make you neither so merry as that of Mrs. Giantess 
 Blunderbore, nor so wise, as the dictionary definition of a cha- 
 meleon, so I shall not tell it to you, Jimmie-boy.'’'^ 
 
 ^^Do yer want that hunk o^ meat, an^ them cookies an^ 
 things in ? 
 
 Child ! Child ! Not without a napkin. Things one eats 
 should look pretty. There, — this is the way. Pirst the nap- 
 kin, then the meat, sliced thin, so, between two plates. Why, 
 Gem, could you really eat it, dumped in your way ? 
 
 Course, I could. What *^s the use o^ yer napkins ? Yer 
 canT eat ^em.'^^ 
 
 Gem, you are an untutored little savage. Why, do you 
 know I am sometimes very much ashamed to eat at all, right 
 m the face and eyes of a beautiful landscape ? It seems so 
 presuming, such a desecration. But there ^s something in the 
 air here that gives one an unconscionable appetite. — Miss 
 
io6 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Phipps^ you are exceedingly kind. The cream will be very 
 acceptable. — Gem^ run out and get me a little bunch of sweet- 
 peas. We cannot eat them^ but the bit of bright shall serve 
 to beautify our feast^ and to elevate your ideas^ you benighted 
 boy. — I may have them^ may I not^ Miss Phipps ? Nothing 
 more, thank you.^"^ 
 
 They started off merrily. Miss Phipps gave a shrill parting 
 charge from the door : — 
 
 You be keerful about bringin^ back them things, will yer ? 
 
 O, certainly ! replied Leigh, smilingly. We will take 
 excellent care of everything. And,"’"’ turning to Jim, ^^you 
 are going to take care of me, are you not ? Do you know. 
 Gem, you should offer to take my shawl and the books and 
 the umbrella, as well as the basket. I should not think of 
 allowing you to carry them all, of course, but the offer ought 
 in propriety to be made. The shawl, you see, hangs easily 
 over my shoulder, the umbrella I wish to use ; you and I to- 
 gether can swing the basket as Jack and Jill did the pail when 
 they went up the hill ; and the strap, if you please, you may 
 take in your other hand. Still, Gem, you must offer to carry 
 everything."^^ 
 
 What for ? said the matter-of-fact Jimmie. Jest as 
 lief lug “^em all as not, but I ainT got but two hands, an^ ef 
 yer Ve fixed things '^bout as yer want “’em, what ^s the use of 
 talkin^?^^ 
 
 Gem, Gem, you have yet to learn the use of the beautiful. 
 Courtesy, my child, demands that you offer and that I decline. 
 Exactly why, I am not sure that I know myself. It is a little 
 polite social fiction, you see. However, I will excuse you till 
 next time.^^ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 107 
 
 The boy listened with a bright, admiring look. Her words 
 were new^ and strange to him. Her meaning he rarely fallen 
 to grasp. 
 
 Miss Leigh, you an^ him talk jest percisely alike.'^'^ 
 
 ^^Gem,^^ said she, abruptly, I think’ I never saw more 
 beautiful clouds. They look like great snowy mountains, do 
 they not? Alpine summits.^^ 
 
 I know all about ^em,'’"’ was the complacent response to 
 this burst of enthusiasm. He told me. Them ^s the cumu- 
 lus. Heaps an^ heaps on "'em, aiiiT they, and jolly white ? 
 
 Leigh sighed despairingly. Could she never be free from 
 this incubus ? Did it extend even to the clouds ? 
 
 Why, Gem, it is towards Birch Point we are going, is it 
 not ? 
 
 ^^It is to Birch Point, if yer donT mind the walk. We^re 
 goin^ the short cut. '’T ainT more ^n three or four miles this 
 way. Him an^ me went P other way, an^ he — 
 
 You dear little Gem, I would be delighted to go ! I 
 have tried to sketch Birch Point from the fort. Now I can 
 see how the fort looks from the Point.'’^ 
 
 There ^s a cave there. Him an^ me went down in. He 
 is awful knowink He ^s learned me a pile of things. Says 
 he — 
 
 Taught me,'’^ instantly corrected the oracle. 
 
 I ruther guess you an'’ him together will make a stunnin^ 
 scholar of me,^^ said Jim, wdth a chuckle. 
 
 ^^^You an^ him together!^ Worse and worse,^'’ thought 
 she. Severe criticism had failed to divert Jimmie^s ideas. 
 Would a downright compliment be of any use, she wondered. 
 
io8 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 It is a pleasure to teach you anything^ you are so bright 
 and remember so well/'’ she graciously remarked. 
 
 "^Welb he says I^m bright. I ^m a awful blockhead at 
 school, though. Punny^ ain^t it ? 
 
 I think you are very bright/^ said Leigh, resolutely, ignor- 
 ing the ever-present ^^You ought to make a very 
 
 clever man. There may be a few things I can teach you now, 
 but if you work in the right way, you will know ever so much 
 more than I do when you are twenty.'’”’ 
 
 Twenty? Are you twenty? He ^s thirty.'’^ Leigh 
 groaned in spirit. asked him, an^ he told me, but he 
 
 larfed and said I must nT ask folks how old they was, per- 
 tickerly ladies, so I did nT ask you — but I wanted to know 
 awfully, cos yer kinder young and kinder old, yer know. 
 Sometimes yer donT seem no older '’n me, an^ sometimes yer 
 act as old as the parson. I asked him how old he s^posed 
 you was, an^ he said he s^posed nothing whatever. ^ Far be 
 it from me,'’ says he, ^ to persume to have any opinion on that 
 subjeck.^ An^ he kinder larfed. Odd talkin^ chap, ainT he ? 
 
 Leigh, in utter hopelessness, remained silent. It was evi- 
 dently useless to attempt to turn the conversation into any 
 channel which would not immediately lead to her bugbear and 
 Gem^s hero. 
 
 On they walked, swinging the basket between them. Sud- 
 denly, Gem said, — 
 
 Be said ‘ clever.^ I told yer, him an^ you talked alike. 
 He said, with the right trainiiF I ^d make a clever feller.^^ 
 
 0 Gem, Gem, if you only would not, quite all the time ! 
 thought Leigh. 
 
L 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 An^ I thought clever meant kinder good-natured^ but he 
 told me it was jest the same as knowin\'’‘^ 
 
 A smile was her only response. 
 
 Yer see, I '’m considerable ^stonished, cos I kinder got 
 settled into thinkin^ I was a noodle/^ confided Jimmie, with 
 his head on one side, and casting a curious little canary-bird 
 look up into her face. Jones, he stuck to it three winters,^^ 
 continued Gem, laughing, an^ I begun to think pY^aps he 
 was right about it, if he was most geiiYally a darn fool."^^ 
 
 Jimmie, really this is dreadful. You promised not to 
 use such words,'’^ said Miss Doane, with dignity. 
 
 Well, I wonY, then,'’^ said Jim, half in penitence, half in 
 mischief. I ^m awful sorry.'^'^ Then, the mischief pre- 
 dominating, I wonT say ^em about any other feller if yer T1 
 let me ^bout Jones, an^ I don’t care pertickerly for darn if yer 
 like pesky any better, or thunderin^, or any sech.” 
 
 Jim’s naivete, as usual, proved irresistible. The dignity 
 vanished, and Leigh, laughing, inquired, — 
 
 Who is this poor Mr. Jones who is doomed to be called 
 such naughty names ? ” 
 
 He ’s the schoolmarster,” replied Gem, with sublime con- 
 tempt. He don’t know so much as once. The biggest 
 noony yer ever did see,” said he, with tremendous energy. 
 
 He cum down from Ayerville College with his hair parted 
 in the middle. He talkth thith way, an’ thays ^ my de-ah ’ to 
 the girls. Kisses ’em too, by thunder, when he thinks folks 
 ain’t round, an’ lots of the big fellers licked him last winter, 
 an’ I ruther guess he ain’t a-coming this way again. Not 
 much, old doughface ! ” he added with a sneer. 
 
II2 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 LeigVs spirits rose. Here^ at last^ was an all- engrossing 
 topic upon which Gem should dilate at his pleasure. Con- 
 tempt for the schoolmaster should be encouraged. 
 
 So Mr. J ones thought that you were not bright. He was 
 mistaken. Gem, utterly mistaken.'’^ 
 
 Well, yer see I was kinder young an^ small when he be- 
 gun,^^ said Gem, drawing himself up and looking as tall as 
 possible. It was considerable time ago, — three years last 
 winter. Bein^ only a little shaver, I was mortal Afraid if he 
 learned me anything he knowed, I M grow up into jest such 
 another noodle. So I kinder got into the habit of losin^ my 
 books, an^ never knowin^ nothin" at all, an" runnin" away every 
 chance I got, an" I kep" it up pretty stiddy all the time the old 
 donkey stayed."" 
 
 Leigh was aware that she ought to remonstrate, but she 
 felt a surprising sympathy with Jim, sharing his dislike for 
 the absent Jones, and she laughingly said, — 
 
 What a comfort you must have been to the poor man ! "" 
 Euther guess I was. Heaps o" comfort. He forgot to 
 tell me so, though,"" said Gem, with a queer expression, as if 
 recalling days gone by and scenes with the marster."" I 
 can"t help it,"" he exclaimed vehemently ; when I don"t like 
 folks I won"t learn a blessed thing, an" that "s the end on it ; 
 but,"" he added with immense enthusiasm, if you an" Mr. 
 Ogden, you an" him, both of you together — "" 
 
 Leigh had been breathing freely for a few moments. Here 
 she actually shuddered. 
 
 If two reggler bricks like you an" he want me to peg 
 away at books an" things, I "11 do it sure "s yer born."" 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 II3 
 
 Miss Doane threw her shawl upon the grass and sat down. 
 
 Tired ? 
 
 ^‘'Not physically tired^ Gem^ but mentally stunned. As the 
 French say^ ^ I can no more.^ And she contemplated Gem 
 with mingled amusement^ admiration^ and dismay. O Gem, 
 you funny child ! she exclaimed, and, looking directly into 
 his merry eyes, began to laugh heartily. Her mood was con- 
 tagious. She sat upon a little mound, and Gem rolled on the 
 grass and shouted and shrieked, and the two good comrades 
 laughed in utter abandonment and foolish unison. There was 
 small sense in it, perhaps, but they enjoyed it, and no rigid 
 wise person was there to see or hear or condemn them. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 “ 0 brave new world. 
 
 That has such people in it ! ” 
 
 The Tempest. 
 
 IRCH POINT will not come to us^ Gem/^ 
 ainT likely/^ 
 
 Then if we mean to arrive at that haven of rest 
 before high noon^ we must bestir ourselves. Hop 
 up^ child^ and assume your half of the burden. Would any 
 one believe it could seem so heavy ? Lift it, Gem. This fable 
 teaches us that we must not loiter by the wayside and laugh 
 till we are weak, the next time we go on a pilgrimage with a 
 heavily laden basket.'^'^ 
 
 She lifted the cover. See, Gem. It is actually full to 
 the brim. What could have possessed me? We might 
 lighten our load a little. Gem, you cannot eat all of those 
 doughnuts, unless you have the appetite of an anaconda, can 
 yom, now ? 
 
 ^^Do yer ask honest Injun, no cheatin^ nor nothin^ ? 
 Certainly. Perfectly ^ honest Injun/ 
 
 Well, then, I guess if I was you, I would nT throw nothin’ 
 out, except them napkins and p’r’aps the plates if ver want ter 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 II5 
 
 very bad. Cos I kalkerlate tliem doughnuts is pretty fair 
 eatiiik I never seed that ere thing yer said^ an^ I don^’t know 
 nothin^ about its appetite^ but I reckon I can eat doughnuts 
 faster "^n ole Phipps can fry '’em^ anyhow.'"'^ 
 
 I withdraw my objection out of respect to your powers. 
 Not a crumb shall be wasted.'’^ 
 
 Miss Leigh^ I can carry this ere basket just as easy as 
 stealinh aiiPt heavier ^n nothin'^. You jest let ^o on it. 
 Come.^^ 
 
 ^^No, sir. You will carry your half and I mine. But it 
 was right to say that^ dear, because you thought I was tired 
 and warm. You were kind and thoughtful, Gem. Always 
 to be so is what makes a man a gentleman.'’^ 
 
 I s'^pose he ^s lugged heaps 0^ baskets an'’ things for girls. 
 He ^s awful kind, anyhow. Jest your sort. Beal keerful-like 
 you know.'’"’ 
 
 Leigh^’s attention was engrossed by a refractory glove-button. 
 He gave me a reggler talkin^ to cos I put a snail on to the 
 oack of Jane M'^ria^s neck when she was a-comin^ across the 
 barnyard with two big pails o^ milk. O, my ! Yer ought ter 
 have seen her ! Warn^’t she fun, though ? She hopped, an^ 
 she yelled, aiP she dropped the milk, an^ one of the pails tipped 
 clean over, an^ marm she rowed it awful strong, an^ I hid in 
 the hen-house, an^ marm got over her feelings, an^ then I come 
 out. But yerM ought to a heerd him. Didn^the give me 
 fits, and all so quiet like, too ! Don^t yer never tell, hope ter 
 die, an^ I ’ll tell yer sumthin’.” 
 
 I will not tell. Gem.” 
 
 He made me cry like blazes,” said Jim in a shamefaced 
 
ii6 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 way. Marm^ she pulls my ears when she ’s mad^ an’ Idn 
 ketch me, an’ she allers rows it considerable, yer know, an’ I 
 get used to it. An’ dad, he don’t keer much about nothin’, 
 an’ lets me alone pretty much ; an’ when the marster got red 
 in the face and called names, I thought it was jolly good fun ; 
 but yer see he warn’t like ’em. No feller could n’t stan’ it ” 
 — apologetically. He made me cry. He jest did. Dead 
 earnest and no mistake.” 
 
 Perverse Leigh was interested, but not a word w^ould she say. 
 
 He sot me down by the table in his room,” continued the 
 boy, in an awe-struck voice. Yer see I did n’t keer about 
 Jane M’ria, an’ marm she did n’t mind nothin’ except the milk 
 bein’ spilled, an’ I done worser things than that to make Jane 
 M’ria jump, lots o’ times. But he did n’t seem to be a-thinkin’ 
 about the milk at all.” 
 
 Jimmie looked thoughtful as he went on. 
 
 He talked kinder quiet like, yer see. He was a-sittin’ by 
 the table too, an’ sometimes he looked across at me ; but he 
 was mostly a-markin’ with a pencil, an’ he warn’t very long 
 about it, neither ; but no feller could n’t stan’ it. Miss Leigh.” 
 
 No, dear,” said Leigh, softly. 
 
 He said it was onmanly to put a snail on to Jane M’ria. 
 He said as how a boy could have his jokes. Jokin’ was good 
 for boys. But this was pooty mean jokin’. That was when he 
 was a-beginnin’, yer see, an’ I did n’t know how he was a-goin’ 
 on, an’ that I couldn’t stan’ it anyhow, an’ says I, ^Well, 
 Jane M’ria need n’t go a-walkin’ along with her mouth open, 
 an’ a-lookin’ as if her senses had gone off a- visitin’. If she 
 warn’t so queer I would n’t ’a’ wanted to put a snail on her.’ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 II7 
 
 An’ he tol’ me when I fit^ ter fight a hoy my own size^ or 
 bigger ’n me^ if I wanted ter. Says I, ^ Puttin’ snails on ter 
 Jane M’ria ain’t fightin’ anybody.’ ^ Yer right/ says he. ^ It 
 ain’t fightin’ ; it ’s persecution^ Jimmie.’ He said he presumed 
 I would n’t keer if snails crawled all over me. Says he^ ^ Yer 
 have n’t got no nerves, Jim; but yer sister is timid an’ ner- 
 vous, so anything of this kind is onfair, onmanly, mean and 
 cruel.’ Them ’s the words he said. Hittin’ a feller when he 
 was down, an’ puttin’ snails on to delicate, nervous girls, was 
 all about the same. An’ then he said I was pretty manly, 
 an’ men did n’t do sech things, an’ he ruther thought I warn’t 
 a-goin’ to no more. 
 
 An’ I kinder choked up, an’ that was all I said. An’ 
 says he, ^ Shake hands on that, Jim.’ He was kinder smilin’, 
 yer see. An’ sumthin or ruther made me boohoo right out. 
 An’ he said he was goin’ to look up his fishin’-rod, an’ when 
 he come back he asked me to go a-troutin’, an’ he did n’t say 
 nothin’ more, yer know. We never come home till nigh sun- 
 down. Got nine ; beauties they was, too. Queer what made 
 me bawl, warn’t it ? He ’s the only feller that could ’a’ made 
 me. Could n’t stan’ it, nohow. Nobody could n’t.” 
 
 The child related his experience in a dramatic way that 
 commanded Leigh’s close attention. He spoke at times in 
 unconscious imitation of Mr. Ogden’s manner. Involuntarily 
 n suspicion of amusement would creep into his tone whenever 
 ])e alluded directly to that snail and the luckless Jane M’ria. 
 lie also manifested his usual faith in Mr. Ogden’s infallibility, 
 and liis own tears he evidently regarded as a natural phenom- 
 enon. 
 
Ii8 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Mr. Ogden was perfectly rights Gem."^ Leigh felt that 
 this approval of the enemy evinced a greatness of soul to 
 which poor erring human nature rarely attains. But you ^11 
 never do so any more/^ she said lightly. Do you know you 
 have been entertaining me so well the basket has grown light 
 again ? And here we are at the Pointy are we not^ you mag- 
 nificent Gem ? Take me to the cove. If I have a special 
 desire for anything in the worlds at this moment it is for a 
 good comfortable rock with a back to it, and cool water rip- 
 pling at my feet.-” 
 
 Past the thickly wooded hill, through fields wdiere were oc- 
 casional clumps of poplars and pretty young birch-trees, over 
 a rustic bridge which crossed a little winding creek, Jimmie 
 led Miss Doane, who expressed enthusiastic delight at every- 
 thing. 
 
 Was there ever such soft velvety grass and such wavy land ? 
 The woods look lovely off* there, but nothing can destroy my 
 allegiance to the cove. The cove, my Gem, is at present my 
 heart’s desire.” And soon she gained it. Nothing was want- * 
 ing. The rock with a back to it, or the water rippling at her 
 feet. 
 
 Leigh raised her umbrella. Gem threw himself on the 
 ground and leaned against the rock. Both were silent. The 
 low ripple of the water as the incoming tide crept nearer, the 
 chirp of grasshoppers, and the distant note of a wood-bird, 
 were the only sounds. 
 
 Gem, as usual, was revolving something in his mind. 
 
 Miss Leigh, what was it yer said about them doughnuts ? 
 
 Doughnuts, Gem ? ” with a slightly wandering air. I ’m 
 sure I do not know. When ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 II9 
 
 Yer said I could n’t eat ’em all up unless I had a appetite 
 like a sumthin or ruther. I never seed one. I thought I 
 would ask yer.” 
 
 Did I say anaconda ? ” 
 
 That ’s the chap. What is a anaconda ? ” 
 
 Leigh’s features suddenly and singularly changed their ex- 
 pression. The air of delicious languor^ the dreamy^ far-off 
 look^ vanished. Thoroughly roused^ with a gleam of satisfac- 
 tion on her face and a wicked sparkle in her eye^ she replied : — 
 First class in natural history^ stand up. You display a 
 thirst for knowledge concerning the anaconda. It will afford 
 me pleasure to impart to you my small stock of information 
 upon this important topic. The anaconda, my dear young 
 friend, is a snake. Its distinguishing characteristic is its ca- 
 pacity for swallowing anything and everything it sees. It can 
 swallow objects morally and physically greater than itself, — 
 even as large as a young lady and her umbrella. Umbrellas 
 do not agree with the anaconda. Gem. The anaconda belongs 
 to the Boa family, which is spelled B-o-a, but strongly suggests 
 B-o-r-e. Some persons, James,” she added sententiously, 
 resemble the anaconda.” 
 
 Gem eyed her curiously. 
 
 Jokin’, ain’t yer ? ” 
 
 No, dear, not exactly ; but if I have given you false ideas, 
 you can correct them when you study about snakes one of 
 these days. I ’m not wise enough to repeat a definition from 
 an unabridged dictionary, but I don’t like anacondas. Gem. 
 They take more than their share of things. Some persons are 
 exceedingly like the anaconda. Altogether a very disagreeable 
 species. Ugh ! ” 
 
120 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Having thus viciously given a Eoland for Mr. Ogden’s 
 Oliver^ she felt appeased^ and turned in a jubilant way to the 
 lunch -basket. Lunch was soon served and soon over. Gem 
 swallowed Miss Phipps’s dainties and Miss Doane’s aphorisms 
 apparently with equal relish, and the beauties of nature did not 
 materially affect the young lady’s appetite, whatever may have 
 been her inward misgivings with regard to the propriety of 
 having one. 
 
 What a lovely, long, lazy afternoon we are going to have. 
 Gem ! ” And she settled herself comfortably again, after 
 having repacked the basket, and looked smilingly at the boy. 
 
 If our consciences are clear, we ought to be perfectly happy.” 
 ain’t done nothin’,” remarked Jim, with an air of con- 
 scious rectitude. 
 
 You are fortunate,” said Leigh, amused, and wondering a 
 little about the snail and the pre-snail period. 
 
 I s’pose you ain’t never done nothin’ yer had n’t ought 
 ter.” 
 
 The green banks of an island up the river rose solemnly 
 and accusingly out of the water, and stared at guilty Leigh. 
 
 I ? 0, frequently. Gem ! Constantly, I might say.” 
 
 Gem looked incredulous. He would believe anything she 
 could tell him about long words, strange animals, and the 
 habits of polite society, but this was too much. His goddess 
 had no human attributes. She had never put snails on people, 
 nor robbed orchards, nor tied saucepans to cats’ tails. 
 
 Leigh knew that he was puzzled. 
 
 My dear, I mean that I do things that are just as naughty 
 in me as putting snails on Jane Maria was in you. My snails 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I2I 
 
 are of a different kind^ but they are very snaily sometimes. 
 It is a perverse worlds Jimmie-boy^ and when you and I feel 
 like throwing snails at people we ’d better shut our teeth to- 
 gether hard and run away. If we stay where the snails and 
 the people are^ we shall surely do what we ’ll be sorry for. 
 All of which is a very poor sermon. I do not preach well^ 
 dear. My strongest talent^ I have just discovered^ lies in lec- 
 turing upon natural history.” 
 
 Chatting lazily^ Leigh passed the long summer afternoon. 
 It seemed singular that she had become so attached to this 
 curious child that she did not weary of his presence and inces- 
 sant questioning. She knew that a long, perfectly quiet day 
 like this would be intolerable with an uncongenial companion. 
 What torture to sit upon a river-bank for hours with a watery 
 smile and educated whisker,” the typical society-man in a 
 certain set at home, she thought. There are some things one 
 must enjoy alone or with a perfectly sympathetic nature. 
 People who are n’t responsive are so tiresome. And this funny 
 little friend. Was he responsive? Sympathetic? Unques- 
 tionably. She looked at him earnestly, trying to fancy what 
 manner of man he might become. He was whistling in a 
 pleasantly subdued way, and employing his superfluous energies 
 in fashioning a boat, with his knife, from a piece of wood he 
 had picked up. Gazing at the clouds and the river running 
 by, and building air-castles might do for Miss Doane. Sturdy 
 Gem preferred whittling. 
 
 Leigh noticed the well-shaped head bent over his work, tlie 
 breadth of the slightly projecting brow, the strange keenness 
 of the deeply set gray eyes, the flexible, refined lips. He kept 
 
122 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 them closed^ too. She believed he was the only boy in Edge- 
 comb who did not habitually go about with his mouth open. 
 The thick mass of his bright brown hair was cut in a jagged 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 125 
 
 and incomprehensible way^ — possibly by the maternal Hol- 
 brook’s sheep-shears. His face was sunburnt and freckled and 
 scratched ; his hands torn by brambles and rough fences. Yet^ 
 in spite of everything^ he was a bonnie^ bonnie bairn.” 
 
 Gem glanced up and met her intense gaze. 
 
 What is it^ Miss Leigh ? ” 
 
 What is what ? ” 
 
 Gem laughed. 
 
 I don’t know exakly. Yer looks said sumthin.” 
 
 ^^Did they, dear? I v/as wondering what I should have 
 done down here without my Gem.” 
 
 Gem’s brown cheeks grew rosy with pleasure. 
 
 If folks was like you an’ he, an’ if folks warn’t continoo- 
 ally a-callin’ other folks names an’ a-pullin’ of other folks’s 
 ears, there ’d be more fun in it,” he muttered. 
 
 Possessing the key to Gem’s enigmatical remarks, Leigh 
 interpreted this speech as a graceful acknowledgment of her 
 kindness and a discreet allusion to home-difficulties. 
 
 Gem, would n’t you like me to tell you a story ? ” she 
 said kindly. What kind of a one do you prefer ? ” 
 
 Most anythin’, I guess, only I ain’t fond of Sunday-school 
 books. Them pious boys allers gits hurt or sumthin. I ain’t 
 fond on ’em. Miss Leigh. S’pose yer tell a bear-fightin’ yarn, 
 ^lake the bear awful big, an’ monstrous ugly, an’ hungrier ’11 
 nothin’, cos he ain’t had a scrap of a thing ter eat fur eight 
 Jays.” 
 
 What a dreadful vision. Gem ! I can almost hear him 
 growl. My education has been neglected, I am afraid, for 
 bear-hunting is Sanscrit to me. You may tell me a bear-story 
 
124 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 some time. To-day I will tell you something very old and 
 sweety that I used to read when I was your age^ and that I 
 like just as well now.'^^ 
 
 Fire away. Guess I shall like it^ if T ainT about them 
 pious chaps what gits crushed under wheels an^ says hymns 
 an^ dies happy. I ainT fond on ^em, yer know.'’'’ 
 
 DonT be alarmed^ Gem/'’ said Leigh^ laughing. It is 
 nothing of that description, I assure you. I am afraid I know 
 even less of such boys than of bears.'’^ 
 
 Then she began : — 
 
 Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a great, 
 strong, beautiful, wise, good king, and he lived far away over 
 the sea. It was ages ago, and far, far away, but his country 
 was a little like this, perhaps.'’^ 
 
 Amused at herself, yet eager to discover the resemblance, 
 Leigh rose, and, shading her eyes with her hand, threw a long, 
 searching look upon the surrounding landscape. North and 
 south, east and west, she gazed, then with a satisfied air, as her 
 glance fell on the gleaming river, It might be flowing down 
 to Camelot,^^ she said. Only a wee bit of magic. Gem, and 
 we ^d have four gray walls and four gray towers over on the 
 island, and sleepy white lilies all around it, and the heavy 
 barges moving slowly up and down the river, and gay little 
 boats dancing by ; and over there would be the winding road 
 where the red-cloaked market-girls would pass, and where 
 stately knights in shining armor would ride, and sometimes a 
 lazy old abbot, and sometimes a dainty, graceful page. And 
 there,^'’ pointing down the river, would rise the towers of 
 beautiful Camelot, the royal city. Yes, I know it was like 
 this ! she exclaimed. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 125 
 
 Gem calmly whittled. No person conld have been more 
 ignorant nor more indifferent than he concerning the scenery 
 in the suburbs of Camelot^ and Miss Doane might air her 
 little poetical comparisons undisturbed by doubt or sneer. 
 When this greats beautifub wise^ good king — 
 
 ^^Strong/'’ instantly corrected Gem. ^^You said ^strong/ 
 before^ and this time you said all the rest of ^em an^ left 
 ^ strong ^ out.'’^ 
 
 My dear^ if I were an accomplished story-teller I should 
 know how to vary my adjectives. However^ he was strong.” 
 ‘‘ How strong ? ” 
 
 This simple inquiry, in a business-like tone, was a wet- 
 blanket on Leigh’s enthusiasm. She did not know how strong 
 a modern Samson ought to be in order to find favor with Gem. 
 It was impossible for her to form any estimate of the number 
 of pounds avoirdupois that her shadowy hero of the past had 
 been able to lift. Puzzled, she said, — 
 
 Why, really. Gem, I do not know. He was as strong and 
 as brave as it was possible to be.” 
 
 ^^Bet Mr. Ogden could ’a’ licked him, and done it easy, 
 ’thout harf tryin’. Bet yer ten cents. Come, now ! ” 
 
 Indeed he could not,” said Leigh, with indignant emphasis. 
 ^‘’Now, Gem, you must not interrupt, please, for I have ever 
 so much to tell, and it ’s growing late. When this glorious 
 king — his name was Arthur — came to his throne, there were 
 cruel wild men whom he had to conquer, and cruel wild beasts 
 that he must kill.” Gem stopped whittling and looked up. 
 Thus encouraged, Leigh went on boldly. There were bears. 
 Gem, and dragons, and snakes, and lions, and tigers — ” 
 
126 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 My eye ! ’’ exclaimed Gem^ in ecstasy. 
 
 — And every kind of a horrible^ growling, howling, gnash- 
 ing thing you can imagine. And there were maidens to be 
 taken out of deep dark dungeons where wicked tyrants had 
 thrown them, and castles and lands to be restored to their 
 rightful owners, and altogether much need of the good king, 
 and much work for him to do. And he gathered the young 
 men of his kingdom about him, and made some lovely laws 
 for them. And these men were brave and fierce in battle, but 
 gentle and courteous to each other and to all women. If a 
 man were lame, deformed in any way, they would forgive him 
 if sometimes he was rude and ungentle in speech or manner. 
 They thought it was a part of his infirmity. But they were 
 so strong and brave and beautiful, they believed there was no 
 excuse if they were not always kind and courtly to the lowliest 
 person as to the king himself, and especially to any woman 
 who needed aid and comfort. They thought strength should 
 be generous to weakness, and men are stronger than women, 
 you know, dear. Sir Launcelot was the most famous knight. 
 In a very old book this was written of him : ^Ah ! Sir 
 Launcelot, there thou best that wert never matched of earthly 
 knights’ hands. Thou wert the fairest person and the good- 
 liest of any that rode in the press of knights. Thou wert the 
 truest friend to thy sworn brother of any that ever bestrode 
 horse. Most courteous wert thou and gentle of all that sat in 
 hall among dames. And thou wert the sternest knight to thy 
 mortal foe that ever laid spear in the rest.’ 
 
 There were ever so many knights. Gem, and such lovely 
 stv^^rios : You will read them all some day. Only, dear, you 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 127 
 
 see that they were not ashamed to do little trifling kind things 
 for people. They forbore their own advantage. They never 
 used roughs hard words.'’’ 
 
 Gem sat with drooping eyelids^ nervously opening and shut- 
 ting his knife. 
 
 Say that again^ will yer^ about that chap with the spear.” 
 Leigh again repeated^ There thou liesL Sir Launcelot.” 
 Gem’s face worked queerly. 
 
 Leigh was amazed at the effect her words had produced. It 
 was difficult even for her to realize how utterly new these ideas 
 were to Gem. It was indeed another world opening before 
 poor pagan Jimmie^ whose ideas of right and wrongs of the 
 wildest description^ were derived from sickly narratives in 
 which virtue was clothed in revolting colors and invariably 
 came to some pitiful^ mangled end ; and so it happened that 
 he had dreaded holy people as one dreads disease^ and never 
 for one moment in his lawless little life had he wanted to be 
 an angel.” There was^ then^ according to Miss Leigh^ a theory 
 of goodness that would not make him like stuffy old Deacon 
 Potter^ nor yet like the suffering heroes in the Sunday-school 
 books. 
 
 Was the little fellers like the big ones ? ” 
 presume so.” 
 
 Gem looked unhappy. 
 
 What is it^ dear ? ” 
 
 Snails/’ was the laconic response. 
 
 Gem^ we will bury those snails out of sight. The knights 
 of the Round Table would undoubtedly have put you in 
 durance vile for that little eccentricity. But they believed that 
 
128 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 big men^ and little men too^ need not be naughty always be- 
 cause they were naughty once. And if they could see you 
 taking such good care of a forlorn damsel far away from friends 
 
 and home^ showing me the sweet- 
 est spots in the worlds bringing 
 me ferns and mosses when you 
 care nothing for such things your- 
 self^ leading me so carefully over 
 boggy places and rough roads, 
 amusing me and making my days 
 so much less lonely and less long, 
 and being altogether such a faith- 
 ful little squire, such a tender and 
 true little friend, why. Gem, they 
 would be proud of you, as I am. 
 They would forgive the snail epi- 
 sode, provided your good sister 
 would, and by and by they would 
 make a Sir Gem of you, and you 
 would be my knight.” 
 
 Gem was more moved than he 
 cared to show. Still the knife-blade snapped and the little 
 boat lay idly by his side. 
 
 You are my little knight. See ! here are my colors.” 
 She took off her hat, untied a narrow violet ribbon from her 
 hair, and, quickly fashioning it into a knot with floating ends, 
 pinned it to the boy’s rough jacket. The old days are gone, 
 but people are the same, I suppose, after all. You will have no 
 dragons to slay, nor anything dreadful to do for me, but you 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I 2 g 
 
 may keep my colors^ and they will say to you that I love and 
 trust you^ and believe that you are a brave little man who 
 is going to be gentle as well as strongs gentle because he is 
 strong/^ 
 
 A month before Gem would have looked with impish derision 
 upon a scene like this^ and received the colors and LeigVs 
 little presentation-speech with a demoniac howl. Now it all 
 seemed right and natural enough. It was Leigh^s way of 
 doing things^ perhaps ; or it may be Jimmie had found his 
 soul. 
 
 Casting a pleased look at his badge of honor^ and passing 
 his hand over it with a grimy caress^ not likely to improve the 
 delicate hue of the ribbon^ he said^ — 
 
 How long did them fellers keep it up ? Was they allers 
 keerful about fightin^ hard an^ talkin^ easy ? 
 
 'No, dear. Evil crept in among them finally.'^^ 
 
 What became o^ the smart chap ? 
 
 Arthur was borne away to fairy-land in an enchanted 
 barge^ and — 
 
 He ain^t the one I mean. I like V other feller best.'’^ 
 Gem, it is odd, but I always liked Launcelot better, myself. 
 But we ought n^t. He was not nearly so good as Arthur.'’"' 
 Can^t help it,^^ persisted Gem. I ^11 bet on the chap 
 with the spear every time. He ’s jest like Mr. Ogden, 
 percisely.'’^ 
 
 Leigh tried to imagine the stately Launcelot marching a 
 luckless maiden several weary, wretched, muddy miles, and 
 leaving her to trudge back alone as best she nlight, or taking 
 a two-dollar bill out of his vest-pocket, or prying into a young 
 
130 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 lady’s sketch-book. Ile^ the anaconda^ like Sir Launcelot, 
 indeed ! 
 
 Gem at that moment sprang to his feet with a spirited^ By 
 thunder ! there he is ! and pranced down to the water like a 
 mad creature. Ship ahoy ! he shouted^ making a speaking- 
 trumpet of his two hands. Ahoy, I say ! Mr. Ogden-n-n-n ! 
 He^s put about. He'^s a-comin’/’ he said, turning and nod- 
 ding encouragingly to Leigh. 
 
 She would if possible have curbed Gem’s impetuous move- 
 ments ; but that brilliant youth had flashed like a meteor be- 
 yond her reach and influence before she realized his intentions. 
 The fatal deed was done, Mr. Ogden summoned, and his boat 
 swiftly approaching, and she could only make ready her weap- 
 ons, offensive and defensive. The wherry turned into the cove, 
 making for that point on the shore where a small figure was 
 capering about wildly, and sending characteristic shouts of 
 welcome over the water. 
 
 Ain’t she a beauty ! Ain’t she a bird ! Here ’s me, an’ 
 here ’s her, an’ here ’s every blessed one of us.” 
 
 Philip brought the boat plumply up on the shore. Turning 
 his head just enough to see the inimitable Jim, but not suffi- 
 ciently to command a view of that dignified young person who 
 stood with an air of elegant unconcern farther up the bank, 
 he said carelessly, Jump in, old fellow,” never dreaming but 
 that Jim was alone, and that he wished to avail himself of the 
 opportunity of a row home. Blind and obtuse man, who had 
 caught but a part of the child’s remarks, and fancied here ’s 
 her ” referred id the wherry. 
 
 0, come now, take her ! She ain’t a mite afraid. She ’d 
 like to go first-rate, would n’t yer. Miss Leigh ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 133 
 
 No^ I thank you^ Gem, not to-night, if you please,^^ ‘'"a 
 voice replied far up the height,^^ — a voice which sounded 
 mischievous in spite of itself, and which gave Mr. Ogden his 
 first intimation of the presence of a third person. Surprised, 
 he turned quickly, and saw Miss Doane leaning in assumed 
 nonchalance against a great rock. In her hand was the famous 
 umbrella, which, like the snow-white plume of King Henry 
 of Navarre, was always in the thickest of the fight. The low 
 light from the western sky behind her, shining through her 
 pretty hair, made a golden halo round a head which, it is 
 evident, was not that of a saint. 
 
 He was for an instant thrown off his guard. Leigh saw it 
 with wicked joy. 
 
 beg a thousand pardons. Miss Doane. I did not see 
 you until this moment. 
 
 That is not of the slightest consequence, Mr. Ogden,*^^ she 
 returned with ineffable dignity, putting on her hat and throw- 
 ing her shawl over her shoulders. 
 
 Gem, are you coming with me, or do you prefer to row 
 back? ” she calmly inquired. 
 
 Gem looked blank. 
 
 “ A child may say ‘ Amen ’ 
 
 To a bishop’s prayer, and see the way it goes ” ; 
 
 and Gem, though all unused to the inscrutable ways of society, 
 and to the method by which young ladies and gentlemen cere- 
 moniously scratch out one another's eyes, could yet perceive 
 that a heavy cloud hung gloomily between his two bright pai% 
 ticular stars. 
 
134 
 
 ONE SUMMER, 
 
 Looking with disappointed^ wondering eyes from his beloved 
 boatman to Leiglu he said sadly^ — 
 
 I brung yer here^ an“^ I ’ll see yer home ; but. if yer ’d 
 only jest get into his wherry an'’ — ” 
 
 Come, dear, said Leigh, impressively. It is growing 
 very late.” 
 
 She felt that at last her star was in the ascendant. While 
 the enemy, unconscious of her presence, had drawn up to the 
 shore and sat with back turned and unconscious mien, she had 
 had time to observe the ludicrous elements of the scene as well 
 as to prepare for battle. This temporary advantage she fully 
 appreciated, and, together with poor Gem^s bewilderment and 
 comical chagrin, it had the effect of somewhat diminishing the 
 resentment she had previously cherished towards Mr. Ogden. 
 Still, it was with a superb and lofty air that she condescended 
 to make a slight inclination in the direction of the boat, and 
 a most majestic Good evening, Mr. Ogden,” that she deigned 
 to bestow upon him. 
 
 Good evening. Miss Doane,” was the stiff response. 
 
 Come up to my room when you get back, will you, Jim ? ” 
 All right,” said the boy, subdued beyond belief. 
 
 The two figures climbing the bank, as before swinging the 
 basket, stood out boldly in the mellow sunset light. 
 
 Philip could hear their voices, and the free, merry laugh 
 with which Leigh greeted some of Gem’s philosophy. 
 
 The vials of her wTath she delights to empty on my head ; 
 while to my friend Jim she is all softness and sunshine. She 
 honored me this evening by calling me by my name, which is 
 more than she deigned to do at our last interview of refriger- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 135 
 
 ator memory. Yet^ ^ To err is feminine^ to forgive impossible/ 
 is5 no doubt her motto. Did Edgecomb throw a glamour over 
 her_, or had she in propria persona that picturesque^ wood- 
 nymph look ? How she manages to start up suddenly out of 
 the ground and make a picture of herself! ” he thought^ re- 
 calling her attitude as she stood with her hat in her hand^ her 
 lovely face slightly flushed by her long day of wanderings and 
 her shining hair roughened by little breezes. Likening her 
 to the Loreleis and feeling like begging his own pardon for so 
 execrable a pun^ he pulled with strongs steady stroke out of 
 the cove and up the river. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 **The gentler-born the maiden, the more hound. 
 My father, to be sweet and serviceable 
 To noble knights in sickness, as you know. 
 When these have worn their tokens.” 
 
 Elaine, 
 
 OBEET, Eobert^ toi que j^aime/^ sang Leigh^ with 
 operatic abandon^ as she dusted her books^ ar- 
 ranged a few flowers^ and shook her table-cover 
 vigorously out of a window. 
 
 Loud and clear and happy sounded her mofning-carol to 
 Philip Ogden’s ears as he passed under the elms and up the 
 old-fashioned paved walk that led from the gate to the door. 
 Wide open were the three windows of the girl’s room. In 
 came the sunshine and light morning breeze, and out went the 
 flood of melody. More extravagant and audacious grew the 
 singer every moment, until, after improvising a marvellous ca- 
 denza, the like of which was never attempted upon any known 
 stage, and executing what might be called an impossible trill, 
 she concluded her efforts with a defiant little shriek on the 
 highest note she could reach, and stopped to regain her breath. 
 And Philip, standing down at the porch, feeling like a wretclied 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 137 
 
 intruder^ or as if he had been again discovered gazing in her 
 sketch-book^ knowing well that he was the last person in the 
 world whom Miss Doane would have selected to represent an 
 enraptured audience^ thought that a kindred impulse to that 
 which made Jim stand on his head and turn handsprings was 
 animating this many-sided young lady. 
 
 The sunshine and warmth_, her sweet fresh youth and health, 
 and a dash of childlike fun, were all expressed in the glad 
 notes she poured forth with such delicious freedom as she 
 moved about her room. The gentlemanly anaconda, following 
 the instincts of his nature, swallowed the hapj^y tones and the 
 picture they suggested. 
 
 The girl’s voice sounded childlike and innocent. He was 
 sorry when she stopped. He liked to hear her, as one likes 
 anything joyful and fresh and free. The chameleon had never 
 before presented to his gaze so attractive a hue. 
 
 Not wishing to deliberately put himself in the way of meet- 
 ing Miss Doane, he had come there that morning most unwill- 
 ingly, and only because he could not in kindness refuse. Now 
 he was not sorry. He was quite unused to girls and their 
 little home-ways, and he felt kindly and cordially, for the 
 moment, to this girl of the happy voice with the ^^fun/” in it, 
 who busied herself about her room and sang in the morning 
 sunshine for pure gladness of heart. He was grateful for the 
 glimpse she had all unconsciously given him of her real self, 
 although he knew it was highly probable that she would clothe 
 herself with pride as with a garment, and descend that quaint 
 old staircase with all the majesty of a line of kings. 
 
 Eobert, Eobert,’^ began the girl with renewed energy. 
 
138 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Philip had knocked once^ and patiently waited for somebody 
 to appear. 
 
 No one came. 
 
 Bees buzzed about the honeysuckles by the porch, the fra- 
 grance of sweet-peas and great white lilies stole round pleas- 
 antly from the garden at the side of the house, the sun shone 
 in through the open door on the faded oil-cloth, and above, 
 Leigh was attempting another extravaganza. He ventured 
 once more to raise the heavy knocker. Leigh, deeply absorbed, 
 heard nothing but her own voice, of which the volume of tone 
 was no slight thing. 
 
 Miss Phipps at last opened a door at the end of the hall and 
 peered out curiously. 
 
 Oh ! she said, advancing. My hands was in the dough, 
 an^ I did n^t know but she was round somewheres. Oh ! 
 You he the one as was here before, ain’t yer? Be yer any 
 relation o’ hern ? ” 
 
 have not that honor,” said the young man, amiably. 
 
 Will you be kind enough to give this to Miss Doane? ” 
 extending his card. 
 
 Miss Phipps slowly drew her spectacle-case from her pocket, 
 the spectacles from the case, and, as on the previous occa- 
 sion when Mr. Ogden had appeared at her door, subjected 
 him and his card to a severe scrutiny, which he bore unflinch- 
 
 . ingly- 
 
 ^^That ’s her up there a-hollerin.” Having communicated 
 the self-evident fact, she added : She allers screeches mornin’s 
 
 when she ’s a-fixin’ her flowers. Thought she ’d make me deef 
 when she first come. Used to it now. Like to hear her goin’s- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 139 
 
 on. Sounds kinder clieerful-like^ don’t it^ now?” And a 
 smile actually hovered for a moment over her grim features. 
 
 Philip civilly said Very ” and mildly renewed his sugges- 
 tion that his card should be presented to the attic warbler. 
 
 Whereupon Miss Phipps shouts from the foot of the stairs^ 
 with force sufficient to interrupt Leigh in one of her most' 
 elaborate and impassioned flights. 
 
 Yes^ Miss Phipps^ what is it ? ” comes pleasantly down in 
 her ordinary voice. 
 
 It does not occur to her to move from her apartments^ know- 
 ing the usual tenor of Phipps’s remarks. Does she want the 
 apple-pies sweetened with sugar^ or molasses^ and will she have 
 caraway-seeds in the cookies^ or something of similar import^ 
 Leigh expects to be asked. 
 
 Instead^ distinct and shrill from the foot of the stairs ascend 
 these ominous words^ — 
 
 Mr. Phillup Ogdin ” — ^ 0-gden ^ she called it^ reading 
 from the card^ and suggesting ogre ” to her listeners — is 
 a- waitin’ down here to see yer.” 
 
 Gone are the merry roulades^ and ^^all the air a solemn 
 stillness holds.” 
 
 The silence above can be felt. 
 
 Below^ the ancient Phipps remarks audibly^ — 
 
 Her door ’s open. She ’s up there^ an’ she ’s heerd. I 
 don’ know why she don’t answer^ but I s’pose she ’ll come 
 down when she gits ready.” With which eminently cheering 
 and sagacious announcement after inviting Philip to come 
 in an’ take a cheer/’ and imparting the valuable information 
 that sittin’ ’s as cheap as standin’/’ her talt gaunt fig'‘ire 
 
140 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 vanishes from his gaze^ and she goes where her dough awaits 
 her. 
 
 Presently Leigh^ with lady-like composure^ comes down the 
 broad staircase. Certainly no mortal could accuse that demure 
 damsel of ever raising her voice above regulation rules and 
 shouting for joy. 
 
 She realized that he must have heard her musical uproar^ 
 and had wished somewhat impatiently that once in a while he 
 might appear in an ordinary fashion^ if it were^ as it seemed 
 to be^ an unalterable decree of fate that she and ^Hhat man” 
 must meet. Having only taken sufficient time to assume, as 
 photographers say, the expression she wished to wear, she ap- 
 peared before Philip, feeling as if she were acting a prominent 
 part in a genteel comedy. 
 
 The expression was well chosen. It conveyed no idea of 
 her wonder as to his object in coming, nor yet of her strong 
 desire to laugh out frankly because she had been discovered 
 making the morning hideous. 
 
 Not the faintest hint that he had heard anything which he 
 was not expected to hear appeared on his countenance, as 
 he responded to her Good morning.” 
 
 I am sorry to disturb you so early. Miss Doane, but Jim- 
 mie sent me. I come at his urgent request. As the little 
 fellow ’s ill, I could hot refuse.” 
 
 ^^Gem ill ! ” she exclaimed. ^‘^Is it possible! Is he very 
 ill ? ” she asked, anxiously forgetting that she was talking to 
 the anaconda, and must remember her dignity. Frankly the 
 great brown eyes, full of sympathy for her little friend, looked 
 down at him as he stood on a lower step. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 141 
 
 They call it a low fever. He is not seriously ill at present^ 
 but I presume he may become so. He seems weak and listless, 
 and once in a while his mind wanders a little. The people at 
 the cottage are n’t used to sickness, and don’t make the boy 
 any too happy, and this morning he begged so piteously to see 
 you, that I could do no less than tell you.” 
 
 0, certainly ! ” Leigh said. Poor little Gem ! I will go 
 at once.” 
 
 have a wagon out here,” began Philip. 
 
 And you are going to drive me down ? That will be ever 
 so much better than walking,” Leigh said hurriedly. I will 
 be ready in a very few moments.” And she ran rapidly up 
 to her room. 
 
 Not a vestige of her former wrath appeared, yet Philip 
 could not flatter himself that he personally had in the remotest 
 degree caused this change of manner, which was nevertheless 
 welcome. No man of tolerably good intentions enjoys being 
 treated as an obnoxious, hardened sinner by a young and pretty 
 woman. And Philip was pleased that the happy, singing girl 
 had not been transformed, by the sight of him, into that in- 
 comprehensible being whose frigid majesty of deportment he 
 vividly recalled. 
 
 Leigh soon appeared with her hat on, and a small travelling- 
 bag in her hand. She had changed her morning robe for the 
 memorable brown dress she had worn at the fort. He fancied 
 the old manner must of necessity accompany it, the two were 
 so closely allied in his mental photograph of her, and was 
 relieved that he saw no indications of an immediate relapse, 
 am sorry to put you into this jolting vehicle,” he said. 
 
142 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 as they passed down the walk. It is the best the Holbrook 
 stables afford. 
 
 How long has he been ill ? And Leigh stepped into the 
 old wagon with an abstracted air. I have not seen him in 
 three days. Has he been ill so long? ’’ 
 
 Philip^ amused^ decided that the sooner he realized that 
 he was a nonentity the better. Except that he could answer 
 
 questions about Gem^ he apparently had no more existence in 
 Miss Doane’s mind than if he were an automaton driver. It 
 occurred to him that her former treatment of him was^ upon 
 the whole, more flattering ; yet, not being inordinately vain, 
 he enjoyed playing dummy.” The girl’s simplicity of man- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 143 
 
 ner and directness of purpose pleased him^ and altogether he 
 found her a curious study. 
 
 I believe it was the day after he was at Birch Point with 
 you, Miss Doane, that he complained of his head. He has 
 been indulging in what the doctor called an intemperate use 
 of water. The boy swims like a fish, and has been in the river 
 oftener than usual of late, and remained in too long. It '^s 
 too far north for much of that sort of thing.” 
 
 Leigh said nothing. Philip glanced at her as they bounced 
 and jolted along. All in quiet brown, with a thoughtful look 
 on her face, the Puritan maiden Priscilla could not have seemed 
 more sweet and staid. The hot sun was pouring down upon 
 her ungloved hands. They were white and small and ringless, 
 he saw. 
 
 Man-like, he thoughtlessly said exactly the wrong thing. 
 
 This is a broiling sun. It is a pity you did not bring 
 your umbrella ” ; and instantly could have bitten his tongue 
 out for his maladroit speech. 
 
 Leigh colored to her temples. Her umbrella ! Once upon 
 a time, ages upon ages ago, she and this man had climbed that 
 very hill together. If this fact had occurred to her during the 
 drive, it had been in a vague, shadowy way. All her vexation 
 and dislike, her extravagant denunciations of him, had seemed 
 so far off and unimportant. Sympathy for Gem had out- 
 weighed everything else. But that fatal umbrella ! Again 
 had it thrust itself forward and done an evil deed. 
 
 She did not know whether his remark was intentional or 
 not, but she felt disturbed, and fully conscious of the unpleas- 
 ant past. 
 
144 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 She made an effort to speak amiably. She was not ungen- 
 erous enough to wish to be less than gracious to the enemy 
 who plainly admitted that he was acting as her escort solely 
 at the request of a sick child^ but the voice that replied^ The 
 sun does not trouble me in the leasts and we shall soon be 
 there/’ was not the caressing voice of the girl who walked off 
 swinging the basket and chatting with Gem in the sunset light 
 at Birch Pointy nor yet the careless^ merry voice of the singer, 
 nor that of the calm and thoughtful Puritan maiden. It was, 
 it must be confessed, painfully conventional, and remotely sug- 
 gestive of the atmosphere of the Arctic regions. 
 
 Both felt ill at ease, and silently congratulated themselves 
 that the beauty of the raw-boned nag, which cheerfully and 
 clumsily galloped up and down the hills, was surpassed by his 
 speed. 
 
 Philip ushered Leigh into the ponderous presence of Mrs. 
 Holbrook, who, not being in the habit of devoting much time 
 to the amenities of life, did not thank the young lady for com- 
 ing. Giving her a hard stare, she remarked, — 
 
 Jim allers was onthrifty. Never had no sense. An’ now 
 ef he ain’t gone an’ chosen the most onconvenient season to 
 up an’ be sick in, right in the midst of the hayin’, an’ me to 
 my ears in raspberry jam.” 
 
 Philip perceived that Leigh must have had some previous 
 knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of Jimmie’s mamma. The 
 young lady did not manifest the faintest surprise at the tender 
 motherliness of Mrs. Holbrook’s sentiments, but quietly said 
 that she had no doubt Mrs. Holbrook was extremely busy, 
 and she should be glad to relieve her of the care of Jimmie 
 for a while, and might she go to him. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 145 
 
 ; Her manner was^ as it needed to be, the perfection of tact, 
 for she had come to beard the Holbrook in her den. 
 
 Preceded by the sorrowing mother, followed by Philip, 
 with the shrinking Jane Maria bringing up the rear of the 
 procession, Leigh entered the large cheerless room on the first 
 floor, where Gem lay. He usually occupied a loft in the roof, 
 but the air up there was so stifling, Philip had offered an in- 
 tercessory prayer to the grim deity who ruled the household, 
 and had succeeded in inducing her to allow him to bring the 
 child dowoi where he at least would not die of suffocation. 
 
 She had no intention of being inhuman, but her manner from 
 the beginning of Gem’s illness had given Philip a savage desire 
 to shake her, although he told himself he might as well at- 
 tempt to shake Mount Washington. Had her youth been such 
 a ^^demd horrid grind,” he wondered, that it had crushed 
 every possibility of kindly sympathy out of her nature ? She 
 made no special effort to worry the boy. She had a natural 
 aptitude for making people miserable, and her invincible ob- 
 tuseness in this respect was her stronghold. When what 
 Philip termed her nagging ” was more than usually intense, 
 in pity he would devise some means of sending her from the 
 room, and had befriended the boy in many ways. Mrs. Hol- 
 brook saw no necessity of consulting a physician, until Philip 
 urged it upon her. When the doctor had made his visit, pro- 
 nounced Oimmie veritably ill, with danger of congestion of the 
 brain, prescribed his remedies, and departed, then arose that 
 formidable woman, not wishing to be outdone in her own 
 house, and threatened the invalid with a heavy dose of castor- 
 oil, which was to be followed at once, she volubly declared. 
 
146 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 by a large bowl of saffron tea. Moved to desperation by Jim- 
 mie’s horror-struck, disgusted face, as she came towards the 
 bed with the castor-oil bottle in one hand and brandishing a 
 huge pewter spoon in the other, a forcible counterpart of the 
 immortal Mrs. Squeers, the young man sprang to his feet and 
 exclaimed, My dear Mrs. Holbrook, is it — can it be — your 
 jam burning ? Let me give that to Jimmie.” And, looking 
 profoundly anxious to assist her, he took from her hand the im- 
 plements of torture. Telling him the tea was all ready on the 
 mantel-piece, she withdrew, uttering violent imprecations upon 
 
 Jane M’ria’s shiftlessness.” Whereupon the arch hypocrite 
 surprised the hollyhocks growing just outside the window with 
 a liberal deluge of castor-oil and saffron tea. When she returned, 
 he gave her the bottle, in which the oil was perceptibly lowered, 
 and unblushingly stated that the saffron tea went down very 
 well, and he thought Jim enjoyed it,” suspecting the latter re- 
 mark would prevent her from bringing in a fresh supply. He 
 piously hoped the recording angel would treat this righteous 
 fraud as leniently as he did Uncle Toby’s oath, and that the 
 deceitful deed deliberately performed before Jim’s grateful eyes 
 might not have a fatal effect upon that youth’s subsequent 
 career. 
 
 It had seemed to Philip that the boy was very ill. At 
 times he would lie almost in a stupor, wanting nothing, say- 
 ing nothing; then would sleep a few moments, and upon wak- 
 ing would talk incoherently. Whenever he seemed sufficiently 
 roused to speak rationally, he would implore Philip to ask 
 Miss Leigh to come. 
 
 She likes me first-rate,” he confidently asserted. She 
 will come. I know she will.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 147 
 
 This morning especially he had begged so hard for her^ that 
 Philip put his pride in his pocket_, harnessed a horse himself^ 
 and did as the child desired. Mr. Holbrook^ a spiritless^ 
 dejected man, was out in a field not far from the house. Philip 
 knew that he would have gone, but thought it useless to disturb 
 him. The young man always treated the farmer with the 
 most respectful courtesy. A man who had endured twenty 
 years^ companionship with such a spouse, and had lived y was 
 a martyr pure and simple. No wonder his eyes looked dazed 
 and weary, and that he rarely spoke. 
 
 To Edgecomb proper then Philip had gone to please the boy ; 
 and before he had seen Leigh he had an interview with the 
 doctor, wishing to ascertain that the fever was not of a con- 
 tagious character. This he felt bound to do, on Tom^s account, 
 the young lady being still, as he told himself with a curious 
 smile, under his guardian care. Docile little creature ! 
 How pleased she will be to see me ! ’’ he thought, as his awk- 
 ward Dobbin stopped at Miss Phippses. But Leigh had not 
 bestowed upon him the anticipated stony stare, nor had she 
 treated him in any respect as an outlaw. She had come will- 
 ingly, eagerly, to the little boy who needed her so sorely ; and 
 now Philip stood watching her as she quietly took off her hat, 
 laid it on a chair, and leaned tenderly over the flushed little 
 face. She passed one arm under Gem’s shoulders, lifting him 
 easily, quickly shook his pillow and turned it. This common- 
 place deed excited Philip’s admiration. He had once seen a 
 similar thing done upon the stage, and had thought it a very 
 pretty piece of acting. 
 
 From Leigh’s pleasant ways his attention was suddenly 
 
148 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 diverted by Mrs. Holbrook^ who^ with her usual appreciation 
 of the eternal fitness of things^ took this favorable opportunity 
 to explore the long-neglected closet of this unused room. 
 From its cavernous depths she exhumed boxes^ bags^ and old 
 clothes^ accompanied by clouds of dust and torrents of words. 
 Not content with opening and shutting drawers with a prodig- 
 ious noise^ she procured a hammer^ with the laudable intention 
 of improving the shining hour by driving a few nails. 
 
 The effect upon Gem^ and also upon Leigh and Philip, 
 through sympathy, was maddening. Gem tossed and turned 
 uneasily. Leigh glanced over her shoulder at Philip, then 
 threw a comical look of abhorrence at the closet-door; and 
 each felt, as the pounding waxed more and more furious, that 
 the moment had arrived when patience ceased to be a virtue, 
 — yet what could they do ? There was no law that forbade a 
 woman to drive as many nails as she pleased in her own house. 
 Gem groaned, and looked half frantic. Leigh rapidly crossed 
 the room to Philip, who was standing on the threshold wait- 
 ing to see if he could be of any use, and in an undertone, yet 
 in a decided, impetuous fashion, said, — 
 
 Do try to make that impossible woman go away and stay 
 away.^^ 
 
 I T1 do my best,^'^ muttered Philip. I M like to choke 
 her,”^"^ he added savagely. Leigh gave an approving and sym- 
 pathetic nod, which, plainly intimated that she would hugely 
 enjoy acting as his assistant, should he carry his barbarous 
 wish into execution. Thus was tacitly formed a society for 
 the suppression of the Holbrook. The grievances and quar- 
 rels of their own mighty feud they ignored, uniting against 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 149 
 
 the common enemy for the good of the child. This anti- 
 Holbrook League was an unpremeditated things — the result 
 of a word and a glance^ — yet it was made in good faith, and 
 would last just so long as Gem^’s pitiful case necessitated the 
 strange alliance. Silently, gracefully, they buried the hatchet. 
 There w'^ould be time enough in future, should occasion demand, 
 to assume fresh war-paint and renew hostilities. 
 
 Leigh returned to Gem. The pounding continued. 
 
 Philip reasoned that no ruse de guerre would be of use in 
 this emergency, and then, indeed, it would have been difficult 
 for him to invent one. He had already availed himself of and 
 exhausted the ^‘^jam.'^'’ What, then, remained, he anxiously 
 asked himself. Plainly, nothing but brute force or moral 
 suasion. Everybody always yielded to the Holbrook. Might 
 not deliberate disapproval and opposition prove a successful 
 experiment as an entire novelty ? She might, it is true, grow 
 exceedingly irate, and request him to change his boarding- 
 place, which result he should deeply deplore, on Jimmie^s 
 account. Still, he was aware that his board was an agreeable 
 increase of revenue of which it was not probable that she 
 would wish to deprive herself. 
 
 This will not do, Mrs. Holbrook,^^ he said. You must 
 let these things alone to-day, and arrange them when Jim is 
 well. You "’ll kill the boy with so much noise. Miss Doane 
 is kind enough to sit with him for a while, and when she is 
 weary I will be happy to take her place. We are willing to 
 relieve you as much as possible of the care of him, but I must 
 insist upon quiet in the room, or no one can answer for the 
 consequences. There are too many here. Perhaps you and I 
 had better go out.’’ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 ISO 
 
 All of which Philip uttered in an emphatic tone of mason- 
 line authority^ with the air of one who has never had his will 
 crossed nor dreams that such a possibility exists. The tyrant 
 and termagant mechanically pushed back into the closet the 
 debris she had scattered over the floor. She then ejaculated 
 a stupefled^ Well,, I never ! ” and turned and glared suspi- 
 ciously at Leigh. That discreet young person^ however^ wore 
 the most innocent and unconscious air in the worlds as she 
 stood with averted face and apparently never a thought beyond 
 Gem. Philip^ talking incessantly, in order to steal Mrs. Hol- 
 brook’s thunder and not lose a point he had gained, conveyed 
 the nonplussed woman into the kitchen. 
 
 As he closed the door of Gem’s room, Leigh smiled and 
 nodded in friendly farewell, while the brown eyes looked both 
 amused and grateful. 
 
 The perfect quiet in the room after the exhausting noise and 
 confusion seemed grateful to Gem, who lay motionless for a 
 little time. 
 
 Who brung yer letters ? I wanted ter. Could n’t, though,” 
 he murmured sorrowfully, as if he had betrayed a trust. 
 
 My child, don’t think of them for a moment. I ’m going 
 to bathe your head. Shut your eyes, and you may drop off 
 into a pleasant little nap.” 
 
 When I w^ake up will you be right there a-lookin’ at me ? ” 
 
 ^^Yes, dear.” 
 
 Gem smiled, and closed his eyes. 
 
 He dozed a few moments, then started up wildly and clung 
 to Leigh. • 
 
 What is it, little one ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 151 
 
 I thought you was gone. Marm was a-pullin’ yer off.” 
 You dreamed it, dear,” she said softly. I came to take 
 care of you, and I promise you I will stay. Do not be afraid. 
 No one will take me away from you.” 
 
152 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Yer ’re awful good/’ whispered the boy. What makes 1 
 yer?” I 
 
 What makes me good to you ? Because you are my 1 
 precious little Gem^ and my knight^ you know.” ! 
 
 Full of regret at seeing her merry little comrade lying ill J 
 
 before her, pitying the sick child who seemed worse than J 
 
 motherless^ loving him more than ever before because he ap- i 
 
 pealed so strongly to her warm womanly sympathies^ she ] 
 
 stooped and touched his forehead with her lips^ saying softly^, — 
 
 Be quiet^ dear. You may sleep again. I will not leave ^ 
 you.” : 
 
 Deep into Gem’s heart sank the tender caress. Again he 
 closed his eyes, and soon fell into a restless, nervous sleep. 
 
 And Leigh sat watching him, and soothing him when he 
 would wake, by her calm and sweet presence and low, loving 
 voice. 
 
 Beyond the closed door, Philip, in the hot kitchen, was 
 throwing sops to Cerberus. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ‘ It is best to begin with a little aversion.” 
 
 Mrs. Malaprop. 
 
 |AEDON me^ Miss Doane, but wliy should you ? 
 
 Pardon me^ Mr. Ogden^ but why should I 
 not? ” 
 
 Standing out in the cottage-porch^ they looked 
 steadily at each other in the soft summer twilight. Already 
 there were symptoms of dissension within the newly formed 
 League. Upon Leigh’s face was determination ; upon Philip’s, 
 disapproval. 
 
 I may take a liberty in expressing my opinion,” said 
 Philip, somewhat ^ stiffly, ^^but if you will permit me to speak 
 plainly, I see no reason why you should give yourself so much 
 unnecessary trouble.” 
 
154 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Gem wants me.’’ 
 
 presume he does. It is not surprising that he should. 
 Florence Nightingales do not abound in this family. Still, 
 Jim and I don’t quarrel much, and if you will resign him to 
 me for to-night, I will agree to call at Miss Phipps’s for you 
 to-morrow morning at any unearthly hour you will indicate.” 
 You are very kind, but Gem wants me,” reiterated Leigh, 
 as if that simple fact settled the matter. 
 
 Philip, with concealed impatience, wondered at the unrea- 
 soning feminine persistence he was encountering. That he 
 was equally persistent did not, of course, occur to him. 
 
 Ought you to stay. Miss Doane ? It is very benevolent 
 in you, no doubt, but — pardon me — is it not also rather 
 Quixotic ? Jim is in no danger ; my bungling ministrations 
 to-night, though a painful contrast to yours, won’t kill him, 
 and I can shield him from the attacks of the harpy. You had 
 better allow me to take you back. It seems unwise for you 
 to run any risk entirely alone, and away from your friends. 
 The child is in reality nothing to you.” 
 
 The child is in reality my friend,” said Leigh, quickly and 
 decidedly ; and when I left my family behind me, I did not 
 also leave my judgment, nor my ordinary human instincts.” 
 Nor your own sweet will,” thought Philip. 
 
 I do not see that the matter admits of any further discus- 
 sion, Mr. Ogden. Gem is my friend, and needs me.” 
 
 A remarkably fine sentiment,” was Philip’s mental com- 
 ment. Aloud, he said dryly, — 
 
 Your friendship. Miss Doane, must be a more substantial 
 and valuable thing than that of most young women, — accord- 
 ing to books.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 IS5 
 
 That may be/’ she coolly retorted ; yet allow me to say^ 
 Mr. Ogden, that if you have derived your ideas on the subject 
 from books only, it is possible that you have not the faintest 
 conception what a good, honest, and substantial thing a young 
 woman’s friendship really is.” Here the manner of the spir- 
 ited champion of her sex suddenly changed, and with a bright 
 smile and a frankly extended hand she said, But I cannot 
 afford to quarrel with you, Mr. Ogden. You deserve a mar- 
 tyr’s cro\m for your efforts to-day. All day long with that 
 woman ! ” she exclaimed with an expressive shudder. I 
 really did not know a man ” — with a slight saucy emphasis 
 — could be so unselfish. Please let me stay.” And she 
 looked up sweetly at the amazed young man, like an imploring 
 child. 
 
 Please let her stay ! ” Had the skies fallen ? And was 
 there anything in the world so swift and subtle as a woman’s 
 wit? He was grave and displeased, and like lightning she 
 had changed her tactics for Gem’s sake. They two for Gem, 
 and Philip against the household, was their united battle-cry, 
 while her little private watchword was, ^^Por Gem’s sake.” 
 Plainly she had said that she could not afford to quarrel with 
 him. His friendliness was necessary to the success of her 
 present plans ; and now she stood, meek and dutiful, with 
 appealing eyes, knowing instinctively it was the surest method 
 of banishing the slight frown which she herself had produced 
 upon Philip’s face. Yet her art was so palpable, so childlike, 
 so intentionally and honestly revealed, that Pliilip, perfectly 
 appreciating the workings of her mind, smiled down upon her 
 kindly; then with affected solemnity, -said, — 
 
156 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Miss Doane^ if you have gained your ideas of man^s self- 
 ishness from books simply^ it is possible that you have not the 
 faintest conception what a noble^ grand^ heroic^ and utterly 
 unselfish creature he really is.” 
 
 You are quite right. I do not think I have/’ said Leigh^ 
 laughing; but if you will be good enough to bring me a 
 sheet of paper and a pencil^ and kindly take a note to Miss 
 Phipps^ you may^ perhaps^ do much towards convincing me.” 
 I am entirely at your service. I will take you or your 
 note to Miss *Phipps, as you finally decide ; but^ for the last 
 time^ allow me to beg you to leave Jim to me to-night.” He 
 spoke earnestly and kindly. 
 
 She replied^ Please say no more about it^ Mr. Ogden. 
 You will oblige me very much by taking the note.” 
 
 He silently bowed^ and went to his room for writing mate- 
 rials. Is there anything else that I can do ? ” he said^ as 
 he took the note from Leigh’s hand^ and was about to turn 
 towards the gate, where he had left the wagon. 
 
 Nothing, thank you, except not to let Mrs. Holbrook 
 drive me away,” she whispered roguishly. And Philip, as 
 self-installed keeper and tamer of that ferocious person, pledged 
 his word to Leigh that she should not be molested. 
 
 Shall I bring your letters ? I shall go to the post-office.” 
 Thank you ; you may bring them to-night, and, if not too 
 much trouble, whenever I am here. The post-office is the least 
 agreeable place in Edgecomb.” 
 
 Yes, I know. It is where the loafers most do congregate, 
 though they are, as a rule, such Eip Yan Winkles they are 
 quite harmless. It will be no trouble to me. Miss Doane. 
 I consider it an honor to act as your postman.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 157 
 
 With an amicable good-evening they parted. Again Philip 
 turned back^ and approaching the cottage-door^ said^ — 
 
 may not see you this evening when I get back. If you 
 need any help to-night^ you will not hesitate to call me. You 
 might get frightened or distressed^ you know^ and we canY 
 afford to quarrel^ as you say, or be too conventional just at 
 present. You may command me to an unlimited extent — 
 for the boy^s sake/’ he added, with a twinkle in his eye. 
 
 I probably shall not need to disturb you, as I am not at 
 aU timid ; but I promise to hesitate at nothing — for Gem’s 
 sake,” she replied, smiling mischievously. 
 
 Soon the wagon jolted out of sight. Leigh stood looking 
 out upon the dusky landscape. The faint outline of distant 
 hills, the intense gloom of nearer forests, her conversation 
 with Philip, and his calm, direct gaze, the strong salt breeze 
 that was blowing her hair back from her temples as she leaned 
 against the lattice of the porch a few moments before return- 
 ing to her little charge, all seemed familiar as a twice-told tale. 
 ^^Why, this is the way girls in books feel,” she thought. 
 
 They always have lived through certain moments ages before, 
 and everything is like a scene long past. Such nonsensical, 
 romantic sensations will never do for me.” And she gave a 
 funny little shrug and tried to shake off the impression. What 
 was Bessie doing? Would Mr. Ogden bring her a letter, she 
 wondered. What unaccountable things one’s prejudices were ! 
 She half admitted that she did not really dislike him so much 
 as she ought, in reason. She did not like him. She never 
 should. If there was anything she could trust in the world, 
 it was her intuition, and that unerring guide had pronounced 
 
158 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 against him. The fiat had gone forth. They were not sym- 
 pathetic. Still, she must in justice grant that he had been 
 really kind that day. Keeping faithful guard over the Hol- 
 brook all day long in that hot kitchen was a sacrifice, when a 
 man might be wandering off with his fishing-rod, or skimming 
 down the river in his wherry. He had done nothing that 
 would reflect any credit upon him in the eyes of people in 
 general, but she liked it in him, it was so purely kind. And 
 then, with a brief spasm of contrition, she asked herself if she 
 ought to express her regret for the combined misdemeanors of 
 her unruly umbrella and more unruly self. She involuntarily 
 recoiled at the idea. Ah, no ! she had felt so strongly, she 
 could not yet speak of those things that had passed away. 
 The new and the old Mr. Ogden were two individuals, one 
 little day had proved such a peacemaker. But how could she 
 tell what freak would seize her if she should try to make any 
 allusion to the disastrous opening of their acquaintance, what 
 perverse fancy would transform the young man whose manner 
 was so friendly to her, so thoughtful for Gem, into the self- 
 satisfied anaconda, pervading space in every direction, and 
 constantly rearing his hateful head before her unwilling eyes ? 
 No, she could not trust herself. She was too capricious. 
 Things might remain as they were, and when Tom and Bessie 
 came she might dare, reinforced so strongly, to ask Mr. Ogden^s 
 pardon once for all for whatever heinous offences she had 
 committed ; and then her conscience — whose demands were 
 not very clamorous on that point — would be appeased, and 
 Mr. Ogden would depart, and her summer^s experience would 
 be only an episode for Bessie and herself to talk over, and 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 159 
 
 that would be the end of it. But surely now she need not 
 precipitate matters^ stir the peaceful waters until once more 
 they would become turbid. The truth was, they were not 
 friends. But she assured herself, Avith lofty pride, her mind 
 was not so narrow as to refuse to recognize obviously admirable 
 traits, even in an enemy. He had been kind, useful, unselfish, 
 and that was more than men usually took the trouble to be, 
 this experienced observer of the race concluded. And his 
 face was not disagreeable when he looked that way, she mused. 
 
 That way,^^ the expression of which it had pleased Leigh to 
 approve, was the one which had accompanied Philipps final 
 offer of assistance, the look of kindly amusement with which 
 he told her to command him for the boy^s sake. Immediately, 
 as if some one had accused her of deserting her principles, 
 she told herself with considerable asperity that she presumed 
 even if she did not fancy a man^s prominent mental character- 
 istics, that fact ought not to prevent her from acknowledging 
 that his eyes had a pleasant twinkle, that the lines of his face 
 were strong and shrewd, that his head was well set on a pair 
 of broad shoulders, and that he had extremely good manners. 
 No ! she hoped, into whatever fault she might fall through 
 the infirmities of her nature, that she should never grow so 
 illiberal as to distort facts, simply from her own private preju- 
 dice. Then the enviable possessor of this superhumanly clear 
 and unbiassed judgment turned from the starlight and the cool 
 breeze and returned to her post, determining that while she 
 remained in the Holbrook cottage she would vigorously wave 
 her flag of truce in Mr. Ogden’s face, for Gem'^s sake,” as 
 she repeatedly assured herself. 
 
i6o 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Through the woods rode Philip to do Leigh’s biddings pon- 
 dering pleasantly^ for the first time, upon the many phases her 
 nature had exhibited. Which aspect showed the girl’s true 
 self ? Which manner was the abnormal one ? He laughingly 
 admitted that he knew not ; but that she was bright and be- 
 witching, and extremely fond of her own way, was the latest 
 impression he had formed. What new role it might please 
 her to assume in the morning was beyond surmise. Colors 
 seen by candlelight do not look the same by day.” But this 
 he resolved, that while he would be her most faithful servant 
 and ally in every matter wherein Jim was directly or remotely 
 concerned, he would be careful not to presume upon the famil- 
 iar and friendly relations so established. Until Miss Doane 
 made it evident that he was personally, and not for Gem’s 
 sake,” entitled to ordinarily amicable treatment, he would 
 studiously avoid infringing upon her divine right to be let 
 alone, which she had clearly proclaimed to him. Their present 
 platform ” was good for this day only, or at least for Jim’s 
 illness ; and when the hollow and unsubstantial thing should 
 vanish in thin air, it was possible Miss Doane’s smiles would 
 also take to themselves wings ; it therefore was fitting that a 
 wise man should be prudent, and consider his ways, and not 
 put his trust in a treaty of peace of a manifestly ephemeral 
 nature, and made by a beautiful but kaleidoscopic young wo- 
 man. She can be charming and sunny as the day ; but if 
 she be not so to me for my own merits, what care I how tran- 
 scendentally agreeable she be ! ” he coolly thought. And then 
 he vowed a solemn vow. Miss Doane should allude to their 
 woful encounter, or never should the matter cross his lips ; and 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 i6i 
 
 she should first express one little word of regret for her recep- 
 tion of him at the fort^ or he would never ask her pardon for 
 his various delinquencies. If she would take one step towards 
 him in honest apology, he would be willing to walk miles to 
 meet her, he knew well ; but she must make the first advance. 
 Once he had begun in good faith to express his contrition, and 
 she had repulsed him. Now he would be passive, and await 
 some active demonstration from her. So he buckled on his 
 armor of obstinacy, because, though he did not admit it, he 
 was in peril from the unconscious attacks of the plausible, 
 sweet-voiced, friendly enemy who had stood talking with him 
 in the porch. 
 
 •Later, when he returned, and had put up his horse, and 
 walked in at the back door, with the freedom and independence 
 of a son of the soil, he found a maiden all forlorn crouching 
 disconsolately upon a low stool by the cold kitchen stove. 
 The light was dim, but the length and prominence of the 
 elbows revealed Jane Maria. She was sobbing, and evidently 
 in much distress. Too frequently had Philip seen her in grief 
 to be amazed, and he ventured a word of comfort to the un- 
 gainly likeness of Cinderella mourning amid the ashes of the 
 desolate hearthstone. 
 
 ^ Tears, idle tears ! ^ Miss Jennie ; and what was it to-day ? 
 What have you done that you ought not to have done, or not 
 done that you ought to have done, and has the mother been 
 remonstrating ? he asked lightly. 
 
 ^^No, sir, T ainT that, it ’s Jimmie.’’ 
 
 So ? And what can the boy have done to tease you in 
 his present condition ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 162 
 
 sir, H ain’t that. I wish he hed/’ she said with a 
 fresh burst of tears. 
 
 It had become Philip’s destiny of late to observe more 
 clearly than ever before the complex workings of the feminine 
 nature. He flattered himself that he was beginning to be 
 hardened to Miss Doane’s bewilderingly various combina- 
 tions/’ to quote from the eloquent advertisements of the sen- 
 sational plays ; but that Jane Maria’s silly, simple little 
 mind should develop in any unexpected way was indeed a sur- 
 prise. 
 
 Suppose you try to stop crying, and take this package to 
 Miss Doane, tell her there were no letters for her, and ask her 
 how Jim seems.” • 
 
 She went obediently, and returned with Miss Doane’s thanks 
 for Mr. Ogden, and Jimmie seemed restless and nervous and 
 full of pain, but she hoped to be able to quiet him. 
 
 I hope she will,” said Philip, heartily. And now. Miss 
 Jennie, tell me why you feel so distressed about him.” 
 
 Cos he spoke so pleasant-like to the young lady, and cos 
 his back and his head hurts him, and cos he ain’t said nothin’ 
 about my elbows sence he was sick.” 
 
 Ah, I see ! And you think these symptoms so unnatural 
 that you feel alarmed, — afraid he won’t recover.” 
 
 I was afraid he was a-repentin’, and they ’most allers re- 
 pents just before they dies, and nobody ever died here, and I 
 don’t want Jimmie ter.” And the poor girl sobbed convul- 
 sively. 
 
 Her grief, though ludicrous, was heartfelt. 
 
 But he will not,” said Philip, confldently. Don’t shed 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 163 
 
 another tear for him. He has not repented enough to hurt 
 himself^ and will live to torment you many a long year.’’ 
 
 This charming prospect consoled her immensely. She could 
 not doubt^ for Philip had spoken. 
 
 It seems^ then^ that you are fond of the boy^ Miss Jen- 
 nie ? 
 
 She looked up doubtfully. I don^ know. I ain’t fond of 
 him when he calls me names, and jumps at me in the dark. 
 He ain’t a bit like the lady I-mer-gin’s little brother. He 
 was tall an’ pale an’ had long curls, an’ wore a black velvet 
 cloak lined with crimson satin, an’ he used to say, ^ What ho ! 
 Without there ! Hither, minion ! ’ ” 
 
 Jim could say that without any difficulty,” said Philip, 
 soberly. He is not tall, — small for his age, I should say, 
 but likely to start up some day and grow like a weed ; and 
 he will be pale enough to please you when he gets up from his 
 illness. As to the gewgaws, they might easily be hired at any 
 theatrical outfitter’s, and Jim’s curls would grow longer if 
 your mother would n’t cut them off. There are some radical 
 differences, I admit, between your favorite and Jimmie, but 
 Jim’s the better fellow.” 
 
 You don’t say so ! ” exclaimed the amazed Jane Maria. 
 
 ^‘1 do, emphatically. Don’t you see. Miss Jennie, that 
 your Lord Pitz Walter is a milk-sop, while Jim is a little 
 man ? ” 
 
 It was evident that Jane failed to appreciate the distinction. 
 Philip looked half quizzically, half pityingly at the lank, awk- 
 ward girl who stood in the dimly lighted, homely kitchen, 
 leaning her arms on the high oack of an old-fashioned chair. 
 
164 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 The tall clock in the corner ticked monotonously^ and she 
 remained motionless^ lost in her silly dreams. 
 
 Poor child ! Poor overworked drudge ! No wonder she 
 clings to her Pitz Walters and spangles and aristocratic pallor^ 
 as a contrast to her daily life/’ thought Philip. Yet this 
 half-awakened affection for Jim might be utilized, perhaps.” 
 
 Yes/’ he continued, Jim is a pretty good boy, as boys 
 go. I like him. Miss Doane likes him. He ’s likely to 
 have a hard time of it too. Miss Jennie, he has been the 
 plague of your life, and will be again, no doubt. His angelic 
 wings have not yet sprouted. But you can be of use to him 
 if you want to be ; and if you watch Miss Doane, who has 
 had more experience as a nurse than you, you will soon see 
 just what to do.” 
 
 Yes, sir. She ’s handy and spry, ain’t she ? I can’t be 
 like her.” 
 
 ^^No two people are alike; but you are Jim’s sister, and it 
 is the thing, I suppose, for sisters to take care of brothers 
 when they are ill. If you do not know how, you can learn ; 
 only do not bury yourself in the ^ Haunted Homes of Hills- 
 dale.’ I ’ll tell you what. If you will let that trash alone, I 
 will send you down a box of books when I get back to the 
 city, enough to last you all winter. But do not go about 
 dreaming of your magnificent, high-flown friends, or you will 
 spill Jim’s medicine and burn his gruel. There is not room 
 enough in the cottage, just now, for your family. Miss Doane, 
 and me, and Lord What’s-his-name, my Lady Terrapin, and 
 Pitz Milk-sop. Let ’s crowd the nobility out. Miss Jennie.” 
 He spoke in a good-humored, jesting way, as he had some* 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 165 
 
 times before done with regard to these same lofty person- 
 ages. 
 
 know I ’m always a-forgettin’ after I Ve been a-readin’. 
 I won’t read another word while Jim’s sick/’ she said ear- 
 nestly. 
 
 That is a good^ sensible girl. Good night.” And^ taking 
 his candle^ Philip went to his room with a consciousness that 
 he was rapidly learning to adapt himself to curious and un- 
 foreseen circumstances^ and not knowing which was the oddest 
 position for a hitherto solitary and self-absorbed young bach- 
 elor to filb — that of keeper of the terrific harpy^ errand-boy 
 and slave of his brilliant young enemy, or assuager of the 
 tears of rustic maidenhood. 
 
 He heard nothing as he passed Gem’s room ; but later, 
 from time to time, various sounds reached him, — Leigh’s 
 light, rapid step as she ministered to the wants of the invalid, 
 her voice with its low, caressing cadence, an occasional weary 
 word from Gem. Through the long night-watches her patient 
 care was unremitting. She had opened the door, that Gem 
 might have more air ; and far into the morning, softly yet 
 distinctly through the quiet house came the words of a song 
 she was singing. 
 
 ‘‘ Clear and cool, clear and cool. 
 
 By laughing shallow and dreaming pool. 
 
 Cool and clear, cool and clear. 
 
 By shining shingle and foaming weir,’’ 
 
 rippled the tender voice, and the restless child lay hushed and 
 calmed. 
 
 Undefiled for the undefiled ; 
 
 Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child.” 
 
i66 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 And the pure^ sweet tones echoed along the vacant hall/’ 
 and found a resting-place above in the heart of the silent 
 listener. 
 
 Pained and sad^ like the burden of her song, was the girl’s 
 voice as she sang the second verse ; and 
 
 “ Who dare sport with the sin-defiled ? 
 
 Shrink from me, tm*n from me, mother and child 1 
 
 came almost with a shudder. 
 
 Strong and free, strong and free. 
 
 The fioodgates are open away to the sea. 
 
 Free and strong, free and strong. 
 
 Cleansing my streams as I hurry along 
 To the golden sands and the leaping bar 
 And the taintless tide that awaits me afar.’* 
 
 Clearer and fuller rang the voice in the glad rush of the 
 song, and 
 
 “ As I lose myself in the infinite main. 
 
 Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again,” 
 
 sounded so full of a passionate joy that Philip asked himself, 
 wonderingly, — 
 
 ^^What does that white-souled child, voiced like heaven’s 
 lark, know of sin, that she sings with such a depth of feeling 
 about the joy of a pardoned soul ? 
 
 “ Undefiled for the undefiled. 
 
 Play by me, bathe in me, mother and child,” 
 
 floated up in the tender, restful tone again, and then the voice 
 died away. All was quiet. Gem was asleep. The cocks 
 were crowing, and the first faint tokens of the dawn showing 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 167 
 
 in the east^ before Philip closed his eyes. And^ though touched 
 by the melody which rose so sweetly through the stillness of 
 the nighty yet he hardened his heart and resolved to hearken 
 as often as possible to the voice of the charmer^ but not to 
 be a whit deceived^ charmed she never so wisely. Pair and 
 gracious and womanly was the outward effect of keeping her 
 loving vigils by the side of the suffering child. But might 
 it not be a dissolving-view ? Was it pure goodness^ or only 
 another caprice ? 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 “ The exquisite. 
 
 Brown, blessed eyes.’’ 
 
 Jean Ingelow. 
 
 Edgecomb, Sunday, August 12, 18 — . 
 EAE TOM, — Some men achieve meanness, and some 
 have meanness thrust upon them. To the latter class 
 I belong, being forced to tell tales of your sister, or, 
 by remaining silent, to virtually approve of the bad 
 state of things down here. Miss Doane, no doubt, frankly gives 
 her view of the matter ; but people see things differently. She is 
 hovering over the bedside of our common friend Jim. You know, 
 of course, who Jim is, and Miss Doane’s regard for Jim, and Jim’s 
 varied fascinations ; but, granting that he is Phoebus Apollo himself, 
 it does not follow that Miss Doane should throw herself under his 
 chariot-wheels and be crushed in pieces. If she would content 
 herself with flitting in and out of the room in an atmosphere of 
 airy beneficence, smiles, and flowers, after the approved fashion of 
 young women upon the stage, I should not trouble myself to report 
 at headquarters. The facts are these : She stays day and night. 
 
 She has a steady, business-like air which fills me with amazement. 
 She evinces a determination to remain until the last gun is fired, 
 and, worst of all, she works. My humble remonstrance, once 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 169 
 
 offered, had no more effect upon her than the idle wind, and I have 
 not the honor of being sufficiently in Miss Doane’s good graces to 
 take the liberty of expressing my opinion a second time. Never, 
 apparently, was there a young woman more benevolent, more effi- 
 cient, more exclusively governed by her own ideas and wishes, and 
 more directly on the road to tiring herself out and getting ill. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Philip. 
 
 Miles and miles from Edgecombe in a pretty breakfast-room^ 
 where everything was charming except the temperature^ this 
 letter was read by the persons whom Miss Doane’s conduct 
 most nearly affected. 
 
 Tom read it. Bessie read it. They looked at each other 
 inquiringly. 
 
 ^^Well, Tom?’^ 
 
 Madam^ it is not well ; it is ill. It is reprehensible ; it 
 is pernicious. Next week^ the majesty of the law — which is 
 I — and the claim of family affection — which is you — will 
 fall like a^ thunderbolt upon that misguided girl.’’ 
 
 ^^Like two thunderbolts^ Tom_, dear. But don’t get elo- 
 quent. It’s too warm^ and it makes your forehead shine. 
 Please don’t mistake me for an enlightened jnry. I ’m sure 
 I don’t see why you should. I don’t look like one. Eat 
 another peachy and calm yourself^ my liege.” 
 
 Your which ? Did I understand you to say your liege ? 
 Heavens and earth ! What fiendish sarcasm is this ? ” 
 
 Did I not tell you^ dear_, that it makes your forehead shine 
 unbecomingly to exert yourself so much ? ” 
 
I/O 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Madam^ that moisture which offends your weakly fastidi- 
 ous eye emanates from and betrays the Avorkings of my massive 
 intellect^ which is now trying to solve this problem : Why 
 
 did I marry a woman who had such a sister ? ” 
 
 You married me^ my beloved, because you could not help 
 yourself, — I was so perfectly bewitching. And I married you 
 because I was not go well acquainted as I now am with the 
 glaring defects in your character. As for Leigh, she is doing 
 exactly right, as she always does, and you know it.” 
 
 I know, and evidently Ogden knows, that she is a perverse 
 and headstrong girl, and you are as illogical as the rest of your 
 charming sex — whose abject slave, I will remark in parenthe- 
 sis, I am — in deserting the man you promised to honor and 
 obey, and enrolling under Leigh’s banner when you do not 
 know the circumstances.” 
 
 ^^Oh! Oh! Oh!” exclaimed Bessie, despairingly. ^^Did 
 ever a man, since the earth was made, talk ten minutes without 
 dragging in what he calls our want of logic ? And what does 
 logic amount to, I ’d like to know ? And who cares about 
 logic ? It is not logic that we are discussing, — it is Leigh, 
 and she is doing perfectly right.” 
 
 My love, allow me to suggest that you take another peach 
 and calm yourself. Your manner lacks tranquillity. The 
 ladies of the Vere de Vere family were never known to talk 
 the crimp out of their hair, as my friend Mr. Tennyson feel- 
 ingly remarks. Believe me, my fair one, your former elegant 
 indolence was more becoming.” 
 
 Tom, you are a provoking boy. Now, why is it not quite 
 as logical in me to side with Leigh, without positively knowing 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 
 all the circumstances^ as it is for you to agree with Mr. Ogden 
 simply because he ’s a man ? ” 
 
 But I thought logic was barred out of this conversation.” 
 Dear^ if you can possibly control that giant intellect for 
 which you^ and you only^ entertain such profound reverence^ 
 stop its ^ rare and radiant ’ witticisms for ten minutes and listen 
 to me. Of course Leigh is rights and she will not be ill^ for 
 she never was.” 
 
 , Magnificent reasoning. Incontrovertible/’ muttered Tom. 
 
 She never died, but I presume — ” 
 
 Be quiet, you wretched boy. I ’m talking now. Leigh 
 is perfectly right, and — ” 
 
 My dear, dear Bessie, nothing in the world affords me 
 such pure delight as the sound of your beloved voice ; but 
 you have said and reiterated ^ Leigh is right ’ so many times, 
 that I must remind you that ^ the dignity of truth is lost in 
 much protesting.’ ” 
 
 When you are afraid of being routed utterly, you always 
 quote Shakespeare at me. He is your last resort ; but I know, 
 the moment you begin to brandish him, it is a confession of 
 weakness on your part, and he does n’t intimidate me in the 
 least. Now, sir, I will inform you — as I should have done 
 some time ago, if you had not interfered and interrupted and 
 enjoyed hearing yourself talk — that we will start for Edge- 
 comb Monday morning ; and what I have been trying to tell 
 you is that I had determined to go then, anyway, before Mr. 
 Ogden’s letter came.” 
 
 ^^You had, had you? You bold and resolute woman! 
 You Semiramis — you J udith — you Artemisia — ” 
 
172 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I believe those are all the names you know, dear, without 
 {referring to the ^ Famous Women of Antiquity/ You ’ll find 
 it at the right of the fourth shelf in the library,^’ suggested 
 Bessie, with a most impudent drawl. 
 
 ^Entreat me not to leave thee,'’ ” sang Tom, mockingly. 
 Certainly not, if you ’ll be sensible. Eeally, Tom, I am 
 not afraid Leigh will be ill, though I shall do all I can to 
 relieve her. I am so glad to go away from this hot, dusty 
 city. We must go, if we are ever going. And, Tom dear, 
 I ’m so happy that you can go too.” 
 
 Perfidious woman, no blandishments ! You were actually 
 intending to go without me.” 
 
 Certainly.” 
 
 ^^And you mean to help Leigh in her nefarious under- 
 taking?” 
 
 That is my intention.” 
 
 And she is absolute perfection, as usual ? ” 
 
 She is.” 
 
 And Ogden and I are imbeciles ? ” 
 
 If you fancy the word, — yes.” 
 
 My dear, I will drag my crushed atoms into the library, 
 and answer Ogden’s letter.” 
 
 He withdrew, only to return in a moment, and put his head 
 in the door for a parting shot. 
 
 ^^Mrs. Otis, I have just discovered the grand mistake of 
 my life. Instead of marrying you, and having you and your 
 sister agree in thought, word, and deed, ad nauseamy and there- 
 by make my life miserable, I ought to have married both of 
 you, and emigrated to Utah, and then you would fight deli- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 173 
 
 ciously^ and I should have some peace. ^ Happy thought ! ^ 
 It may not be too late ! 
 
 You goose ! Leigh would n^t look at you ! 
 
 Mr. Otis bowed his vanquished head, departed, wrote to his 
 friend as follows : — 
 
 Wednesday, August 15, 18 — . 
 
 My deae Ogden, — Yours received. Heaven only knows what 
 the women will do next. My wife says she is going to Edgecomb 
 next week, to be a ministering spirit like unto her sister, and I 
 expect the two together will twang their angelic harp-strings in 
 our ears, and vex our righteous souls. Can’t anything be done to 
 hurry the youngster into a comfortable convalescence? Blake’s 
 yacht will be round there in the course of a couple of weeks, and 
 the girls are good sailors, and would like a trip more than any- 
 thing, if they could be torn from their crochets and that boy. I flatter 
 myself I have some influence upon each individually. Together, 
 they are stronger than the rock of Gibraltar, and I the most 
 helpless and victimized of men. I rely on you to poison young 
 Holbrook, or get him well instanter. We shall probably arrive 
 Wednesday next. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Tom. 
 
 And Bessie wrote : — 
 
 Leigh, dear, — We shall actually leave Monday, and Tom is 
 making the same charming announcement to your Mr. Ogden, who, 
 by the way, says that you are working too hard, and that you will 
 be ill, and that you have a will of your own, — and what would 
 you be worth if you had not, I ’d like to inquire ! Tom and I 
 have just had a delicious little tiff about you, and I would n’t have 
 you ill now for anything in the world, because those two superior 
 
174 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 beings have declared you will be. You won’t, will you, dear ? Is 
 the poor boy having a very hard time ? I have missed your long 
 letters so, lately, and the sea-breezes they seemed to bring with them. 
 Never again will I be a dutiful wife, and wait for Tom, — never ! 
 But it would have been hard for the dear old boy to stay here with- 
 out me to torment him, would n’t it ? He would have been so 
 lonely I ’m glad I waited, and perhaps we ’ll enjoy everything all 
 the more, after the delay and the doubt. I am perfectly wild to 
 see you, and so curious about Edgecomb, and the farm-house where 
 Gem is, and the long girl, and the dreadful woman, and especially 
 about Mr. Ogden. You do not rave about him so violently as you 
 did, but it must be extremely annoying to meet him constantly 
 after all that has happened. It ’s too bad, dear ! And if he ’s on 
 the yacht, it will ruin the trip for you, will it not ? If only Tom 
 and Mr. Blake did not think so much of him ; but they depend 
 upon his going. If he had the slightest delicacy he would not join 
 the party. But that, of course, is too much to expect of such a 
 person. However, I will not let any gloomy foreboding interfere 
 with my present delight. Sufficient unto the day is the Ogden 
 thereof. It will be happiness enough to see you and breathe some 
 pure air, and the Idlewild may sink in the “ vasty deep ” before it 
 reaches Edgecomb. Who knows ? And there is n’t time to write 
 or hear from you again. Blessed thought ! We shall see you, I 
 believe, Wednesday, and no one in the world will be so happy as 
 Your loving 
 
 Bessie. 
 
 Philip found this letter, with Tom’s, one rainy evening, 
 when he took his accustomed tramp to the post-office, and 
 upon his return he sent it in to Leigh, who received it with 
 delight, read it smilingly, but afterwards sat silent and thought- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I7S 
 
 ful^ with the open letter in her hand, while Jane, who had 
 learned, under the young lady^s kind and careful guidance, to 
 do many helpful things tolerably well, arranged Gem’s pillow 
 and gave him his medicine and drink. Again Leigh read, It 
 must be extremely annoying to meet him constantly,’^ and, 
 ^^If he is on the yacht it will ruin the trip for you.” These 
 statements were clear and strong, and authorized by herself, 
 for Bessie’s views were necessarily but reflections of her own. 
 Was it so, then? Would she be sorry to have him on the 
 yacht ? For ten days, now, she had been with Gem. During 
 that time, she had done what she could for the boy, too busy 
 to pause and analyze the condition of things, striving only to 
 avoid the Holbrook quicksands. She had thought little of 
 herself, less perhaps of Philip, yet unconsciously had depended 
 much upon him. It was natural. He was the only person 
 of her caste within reach. Yet Bessie’s letter surprised her. 
 She did not think Mr. Ogden obtuse and intrusive. Her old 
 self and her new self had met, and were staring at each other 
 unpleasantly. She must tell Bessie what Mr. Ogden had done 
 for her, and Bessie must be grateful to him as she was. Bessie 
 must know how thoughtful he had been, and that he had saved 
 her from so very many annoyances, and that he had quietly 
 ruled the whole queer household, and that if ever she found 
 it necessary to ask him to do anything for her, he did what 
 she wished as if they had always known each other, and it was 
 the most natural thing in the world that he should do it. She 
 had grown accustomed to the grave, steady look he wore when 
 there was any real need of him in the sick-room, as well as to 
 the appreciative, quick glance with which he would respond 
 
l^6 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 to the involuntary appeal for sympathy which her eyes would 
 make when prominent traits in the Holbrook family were too 
 ludicrously shown. Leigh was in a strange mood. She did 
 not understand herself. But it would be only fair to tell 
 Bessie that Mr. Ogden^s absence would not increase her enjoy- 
 ment on the yacht. A knock interrupted her revery. Jane 
 Maria opened the door. 
 
 May I come in ? said Philip^ pausing on the threshold 
 and looking in pleased surprise upon the pretty scene. A 
 bright fire of hemlock bark burned on the hearth^ and threw 
 flickering lights and shadows over the room^ giving an ideal 
 grace to the rough walls and stiff furniture. Gem’s face^ 
 looking at him from the pillows^ as he approached the bed, 
 was thin and pale, with large eager eyes, and the hand which 
 the child held out to him was that of a pathetic and spiritual- 
 ized Jim, such as he had never expected to see. 
 
 And how ’s the boy to-night ? ” 
 
 Pretty smart. She ’s a-sayin’ things and a-singin\ 
 You ’d ought ter hear her. You stay, an’ she ’ll keep on ! ” 
 said Gem, languidly. 
 
 Philip turned, and looked inquiringly at Leigh. 
 
 Certainly you may stay, Mr. Ogden, if you like. You 
 need never wait for my invitation. Gem is host.” 
 
 I would like to stay if I mil not be in the way. How 
 cheerful you are in here ! It is rather a bad night out. That 
 fire is an inspiration. Yours, I presume. Miss Doane?^’ 
 
 Yes ; it was so gloomy and cold, and the damp breezes 
 would creep in everywhere, and I thought a fire might please 
 Gem, and, to be honest, I wanted it myself too. Jane kindly 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 177 
 
 brought in the bark^ and I made it. Is n’t it pretty ? Gem 
 thinks it ’s great fun. He seems really better^ does he not? ” 
 
 Philip replied in a low tone. He does seem bright just 
 now^ but he is very variable^ you know. The Doctor said — ” 
 
 Ah ! don’t^ please/’ she interrupted with a little imploring 
 gesture. ^^Do prophesy smooth things to-night. Gem is 
 better. He is really^ and that makes me happy ; and they are 
 coming next week^ Mr. Ogden, — my sister and my brother, 
 — and that makes me almost too happy. And it is pleasant 
 here to-night, is it not ? Hear the wind tearing about outside 
 and the rain coming down in torrents. I like to listen to the 
 storm, because my Gem is so comfortable, and my fire is so 
 lovely.*” 
 
 She spoke rapidly. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes 
 bright with excitement. 
 
 You do look very happy,” Philip said kindly, ^^and you 
 have been a little pale and weary for a day or two, have you 
 not ? ” 
 
 Leigh, suddenly grave, looked with downcast eyes into the 
 flames. 
 
 Have you not been tired, lately. Miss Doane ? ” he con- 
 tinued. You never admit that you are fatigued, but your 
 face has told tales of you.” 
 
 So have you, it seems, Mr. Ogden.” And she looked up 
 quickly with a smile. 
 
 Ah ! my sin has found me out ! But you pardon me 
 because of the happy result ? ” 
 
 I will pardon you next M^sdnesday, when the happy re- 
 sult will be an accomplished fact. I shall be happy enough to 
 forgive anybody for anything.” 
 
178 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 It will be a good day^ then^ for malefactors to present 
 themselves before you ? And a vein of earnestness ran 
 through the light words. 
 
 Happiness ought to make one good^ Mr. Ogden. I am 
 not good ; but perhaps my blessings^ Wednesday^ will render 
 me not only willing to forgive^ but — to be forgiven — which 
 is harder — sometimes.^^ Then^ as if she had said more than 
 she meant^ feeling rather than seeing Philipps intent look, she 
 turned away hastily, and taking some great pieces of bark 
 from a basket by the chimney, threw them one by one upon 
 the blazing fire. 
 
 Don’t you like to hear it crackle ? ” she gayly asked. 
 
 I like everything to-night,’’ said Philip, with more warmth 
 in his voice than Leigh had ever heard. She said nothing, 
 but heaped more bark, piece by piece, upon the blaze ; and 
 Philip admiringly watched her pretty movements, and the 
 delighted child-smile upon her face. The brilliant light il- 
 lumined the whole room. Jane was occupied with Gem ; the 
 rain fell heavily outside. Where Leigh and Philip stood there 
 was silence ; and for one brief moment, to both, the storm 
 without, and Gem and his sister, seemed far away, and they 
 two standing together in the firelight were nearer than ever 
 before. But the moment passed, and, with it, its glow and 
 warmth and pleasant sense of nearness. 
 
 Miss Leigh,” said a faint little voice, was n’t that a 
 jolly one ? Jest as good as a bonfire.” 
 
 O Gem dear, didn’t it hurt your eyes? I was very 
 thoughtless.” 
 
 Well, it hurt ’em a little, p’r’aps ; but I wish you ’d blaze 
 her up again. It ’s fun.” 
 
\ 
 
Of IH£ 
 
 UNIVERSITY oHLUNOIS. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 i8r 
 
 I must not^ dear ; shut the poor eyes^ do. You shall 
 have ever so much more fun than this as soon as you are strong 
 again/ ^ she said as a consolation. 
 
 Indeed, you shall, Jim,^^ said Philip, heartily. 
 
 Yes, Jimmie, you shall,^^ chimed in Jane Maria, by way 
 of further encouragement. 
 
 come now,’^ said Gem, with a touch of the old sauci- 
 ness, just let a feller alone, won^t yer ? I ainh a baby, if I 
 am sick, and I ain^t a-goin^ to cry cos Miss Leigh won’t blaze 
 up that ere bark. Miss Leigh, I ’ll shut my eyes tight as a 
 drum if you ’ll sing some more.” 
 
 And Leigh sang the songs the boy liked best, without, ap- 
 parently, a thought of Philip, who drew his chair back from 
 the hearth and sat in the shade, while the firelight played fit- 
 fully about her, now falling upon the dainty hands, clasped 
 lightly in her lap, now aspiring, gleaming about the white 
 throat and revealing, for a moment, the fair hair and dark 
 earnest eyes, then sinking humbly to her feet. She did not 
 sing transcendental, mystical love-songs. She had found tliat 
 they were too fearful and wonderful for Gem, — as indeed they 
 are for many of us, — and that they did not affect him pleas- 
 antly. He was, if uneducated, an honest critic, who unhesi- 
 tatingly expressed his mind. A contented, quiet smile would 
 indicate his approval, while a contemptuous Pooh, ain’t no 
 sense in it ! ” would suggest to Leigh the efficacy of chang- 
 ing her theme. She admired his frank, boyish scorn of 
 things he did not understand or like, and she exerted her- 
 self to please him far more than she was accustomed to 
 try to please some of her drawing-room critics, who received 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 182 
 
 her best or poorest nmsical efforts with the invariable How 
 charming ! and without a ray of real enthusiasm. She had 
 learned to know Gem^s favorites well. Songs with pictures 
 and stories in them pleased him ; songs that did not almost 
 end^ and then wander along helplessly and aimlessly and die 
 away by degrees^ but that stopped short when they were done ; 
 and especially songs with a jingle.’^ Leigh had gone far 
 back into past years^ and brought out, for Gem^s pleasure, 
 scraps of melody she had not sung since her childhood. A 
 motley throng of subjects her voice conjured up as she sat 
 singing before the fire, in a queer chair a hundred years old, 
 whose straight, narrow back, surmounted by white wooden 
 knobs with brass tops, rose far above her head. She sang 
 bird-songs and boat-songs, cradle-songs and echo-songs, bal- 
 lads about girls at spinning-wheels, and knights and shepherd- 
 esses, and some swinging old cavalier tunes that suggested the 
 clatter of horses^ hoofs, and once — Philip in his dark corner 
 smiled to hear the bubbling, sparkling thing under a New 
 England roof — a bit of a Erench drinking-song, which Gem 
 liked for its gay, ringing melody, and which Leigh did not 
 translate. 
 
 After a while Gem, soothed by the familiar tones, fell asleep. 
 Jane stole quietly from the room. Leigh sang gradually lower 
 and lower, that a sudden silence might not rouse the child. 
 She turned, listened a moment to his breathing, then leaned 
 her head back with a long sigh. Philip came softly forward. 
 
 You are very tired. Miss Doane.^’ 
 
 O no ! said Leigh, without glancing up. 
 
 But that deep-drawn sigh ? 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 183 
 
 There was no rhyme nor reason in she said, a little 
 drearily. 
 
 Philip stood looking doubtfully at her. 
 
 You do not believe me, do you, Mr. Ogden ? 
 
 If I do not, you would not think me very civil to say so. 
 It would be a base return for your kindness in allowing me to 
 hear you sing.^’ 
 
 But I was not singing to you,” — looking up for the first 
 time with her little audacious air. I sang to my Gem. 
 Those were his own particular songs. Anybody who cared, 
 might listen, of course. But I might make a different selection 
 for you.” 
 
 Pardon me. I knew very well you did not sing to me. 
 But the ^ anybody who cared to listen was as grateful as if 
 you had specially dedicated every song to him, and if you 
 would make a different selection for me you would make a 
 mistake. They were Gem's songs, but they were mine too. 
 I claim them, and I shall keep them. I have the most profound 
 respect for your will. Miss Doane. It is a mighty power. 
 But there are some things which even you cannot accomplish. 
 You cannot recall the pleasure those songs have given me, nor 
 can you convince me that you are not a very weary, over- 
 worked young lady.” 
 
 Leigh was not in a mood to question his right to say this, 
 and it was impossible for her not to feel the kindness in his 
 voice. She did not stop to ask herself why she should or 
 should not open her heart to him as she rose impulsively and 
 said, — 
 
 I am not tired, Mr. Ogden. At least I do not think I am. 
 \ 
 
184 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I am perfectly well and strongs only I am not sure but that 
 I ’m — homesick. It ^s very absurd^ I know, and weak. I 
 am quite ashamed of myself/^ she went on, with a little quiver 
 in her voice. 
 
 Philip said nothing, simply because he knew not what to 
 say. They stood in silence, while the queer shadows danced 
 about the room. Leigh continued, without the faintest con- 
 sciousness that she was doing anything unusual, and, meeting 
 the young man^s gaze quite frankly, — 
 
 I forgot it when Bessie’s letter came. I was more than 
 happy ; but now it has come back, the dreary feeling. I never 
 was away from her in my life before, you know, — and I feel 
 very, very far away, — and it has been so long, and I know I 
 am perfectly ridiculous, but I do not think I can help it.” 
 And, much to her own surprise, two great tears crept into her 
 eyes, and still she stood smiling frankly at Philip. 
 
 Poor child ! ” he said involuntarily ; then turned away 
 and paced up and down the room. He saw it all now ; of 
 course it had been hard for her. Not a soul for whom she 
 cared, except Gem, in the place. Young, inexperienced, and, 
 in spite of her self-reliant ways, dependent upon her home-life. 
 Days and days, perhaps, she had been forlorn and desolate at 
 heart, while her face had worn the pretty little cool smile, as 
 she gracefully parried occasional unpleasant thrusts from Mrs. 
 Holbrook, patiently trained the willing but inefficient Jane in 
 the way she should go, and compassed ” Gem with sweet 
 observances.” It had not once occurred to him but that she 
 was enjoying her strange experience, after a fashion. She 
 was a brave girl, and only a girl, after all, as she stood in a 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I8S 
 
 dejected, drooping way, looking sadly down upon tlie brass 
 andirons as if slie could read a gloomy prophecy in their shin- 
 ing toj)s. If she were not so physically weary that she had 
 unconsciously reached out for sympathy, he knew that she 
 would not have confided in him. How dull he had been, and 
 hard, actually arming himself against the fresh young thing ! 
 Had she not had a right to dislike him, and to manifest her dis- 
 like plainly, if she wished ? He walked to the bed and looked at 
 Gem, to the window and stared out into the night, then return- 
 ing to Leigh stood waiting for her to speak. Suddenly she 
 began with a pretty petulance, — 
 
 Is n^t it just like a woman to go and do the thing she wishes 
 to do, and do it the very wuy she wished to do it, and tlien 
 cry about it and complain ? And she looked as bright as a 
 May morning. Philip smiled. 
 
 But you have not cried. Miss Doane.*^^ 
 
 ^^Not quite, she said; and again her eyes filled v^ith 
 tears ; but, as you see, I am ineffably silly 
 
 Miss Doane,^^ said Philip, really concerned, this has all 
 been too much for you, — too great a strain. Pardon me, but 
 you seemed so cool, so perfectly self-reliant, it never occurred 
 to me that you could be losing your courage.^^ 
 
 But I Ve not lost it,^^ she returned with some spirit. I 
 do not know what is the matter with me to-night. I was 
 tolerably good when I felt so strangely here at first, and things 
 were hard, and I was anxious about Gem, and did not know 
 when my sister would come ; and now, when there is not the 
 slightest reason, I break down in this absurd way."^^ 
 
 Poor child ! said Philip again. And Leigh forgot to re- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 1 86 
 
 sent the words or the tone. Then he said lightly : Unfortu- 
 
 nately^ we cannot always control our moods^ Miss Doane. 
 No doubt^ your lit of the blues is inopportune^ as you say. 
 So was Jim^s illness^ according to our friend Mrs. Holbrook. 
 We are creatures of circumstance^ knocked about in spite of 
 ourselves.'’*’ 
 
 But you must think me very foolish.^^ 
 
 You must think me very dull not to have seen this before.^^ 
 You ? Why should you^ and what difference would it 
 have made ? 
 
 ^^Not much^ I presume; but I might have been able to 
 make things easier, and to be of some use.^^ 
 
 O Mr. Ogden, you have been very good ! Do you not 
 know that you have ? *’*’ said Leigh, warmly. I have not 
 said much about it, but I am not ungrateful. Indeed, 1 am 
 not.*’^ 
 
 Have I really been good to you ? he asked, with per- 
 haps more eagerness than was quite necessary for Gem^s 
 sake.*’^ Leigh blushed and, with a slight effort, said, — 
 
 ^^Only Gem and I know how good.*’^ He saw she used 
 Gern^s name as a shield. Again he thoughtfully paced the 
 room. 
 
 ^^Miss Doane, I have done nothing for you or for Gem 
 which deserves any remembrance. You overestimate trifling 
 services that cost me nothing. Yet I would presume to ask a 
 favor on the strength of them, for I fear it is my only hope of 
 influencing you. Am I ungenerous to wish to be paid ? 
 Very,*’*’ said Leigh, mischievously. 
 
 But not unreasonable ? 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 187 
 
 Possibly not. It depends upon what you are going to 
 ask.^^ Tlien^ with the sudden softening of manner which 
 Philip was beginning to find bewitching and dangerous^ I 
 think I shall say yes. You are really kind. I do not deserve 
 that you should be so kind/’ she added slowly. Again^ in the 
 careless^ smiling way : But we do not get exactly what we 
 
 deserve^ any of us, — do we? It is always either more or 
 less. I hope I shall never have my just dues, — for I should 
 get such a wee grain from tlie sugar-plums of life. It is not 
 grand to say so, but I do not want to see the beauty of re- 
 nunciation. I want to see the sugar-plums. 
 
 Philip listened, glad to hear the merry tone again ; but he 
 noticed that after she spoke the smile died quickly from her face. 
 
 You are plainly tired out,"''’ he said earnestly. Do not 
 think me presuming, but I must interfere. I should insist 
 upon driving you to Miss Phippses, late as it is, if there were 
 not a storm. You think I would not succeed ?” he added, as 
 Leigh looked incredulous. But you do not know what a 
 tyrant I am when I am roused, and I am thoroughly roused 
 to-night, I assure you.’^ 
 
 Do you scratch and bite, or only growl, Mr. Ogden ? ’’ 
 
 I carry my point amiably, if I can ; if not — ” He shook 
 his head menacingly, as a substitute for words. 
 
 Curious preface to asking a favor,” said Leigh. 
 
 Ah ! it was to be a favor, was it not ? As a favor, then, 
 may I speak to Miss Jennie, and let her make some arrange- 
 ment for you to-night ? That den in there ” — pointing to a 
 little room which opened out of Gem’s, and where Leigh occa- 
 sionally snatched an hour’s sleep — is no place for you to- 
 .night.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 1 88 
 
 Gem will not be much care ; see how well he sleeps.’’ 
 
 I am going to stay here myself to-night/’ Philip said 
 decidedly. 
 
 Such a pretty^ graceful way of asking a favor ! So depre- 
 cating and humble ! ” she retorted. 
 
 beg your pardon/’ said Philip^ laughing. I do not 
 intend to be brusque^ but I am very much in earnest. I shall 
 stay^ and you must go. A good night’s rest is what you need 
 and what you must have.” 
 
 Don’t say another word. You apologize, and then offend 
 more deeply every moment. Three ^ musts ’ in a row ! No 
 one ever says ^ must ’ to me. Do you really drive me away ? ” 
 Certainly not. At least, not yet. I am asking you to go 
 as a favor, at present, you know.” 
 
 ^^Go I must, evidently,” laughed Leigh ; and I think it 
 will be more graceful, as well as the part of wisdom, to grant 
 the favor rather than be ignominiously expelled. I shall take 
 pleasure, Mr. Ogden, in obliging you and speaking to Jane 
 myself.” Philip bowed his thanks, and said, — 
 
 Will you add to my indebtedness by going at once? ” 
 
 I would vanish up the chimney if I knew how ; but being 
 only a mortal maiden, you must give me time to collect some 
 of my belongings,” Leigh answered, passing into the other 
 room. Returning, she looked long and earnestly at Gem, and 
 arranged a few articles on a little table at his side, then stood 
 still. You understand about the medicine, Mr. Ogden ? ” 
 
 I think I understand everything I am expected to, except 
 why — ” 
 
 Why I do not go ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 189 
 
 Exactly^ if I may be so bold/’ 
 
 Because we are creatures of habit^ and it is my habit to 
 stay here ; and because I am used to my own way^ and it is 
 not my way to leave Gem.” 
 
 Philip declined further argument. With mock ceremony 
 he opened the door^ and stood with the air of one waiting to 
 bow her out of the room. 
 
 I am not at all sure that you are even a very polite tyrant/’ 
 said Leigh ; but I am really going now. Good nighty Mr. 
 Ogden. Perhaps \ am 2^. little tired/’ she added. Philip 
 smiled^ and held out his hand. 
 
 Good nighty Miss Doane^ and pleasant dreams^ and thank 
 you for everything/’ he said earnestly^ as her hand rested in 
 his a moment. 
 
 Philip closed the door after her^ heaped more bark on the 
 fire, and sat down. Prom the fiame, from the ashes, from the 
 dark corners of the room, everywhere he saw looking out at him 
 a pair of great, honest, brown eyes, smiling through their tears. 
 He knew her now for what she was, he told himself. He had 
 wasted all these precious days in misconceiving her, in arro- 
 gantly presuming to judge her. He would never be mistaken 
 again. She might be merry or sad, or that sweet calm that 
 is just between.” She might assume, at will, her bright or 
 sombre chameleon colors, might one moment be stately as a 
 queen, the next humble as a little child, yet through all changes 
 he would know her. In her sweet, earnest eyes he had seen 
 a blessed vision of her true heart. What was he, that she 
 should care for him ; yet, could he teach those eyes to look 
 kindly at him on his own hearthstone, he would ask nothing 
 more of "Pate. 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 There ’s a pang in all rejoicing, 
 
 A joy in the heart of pain.” 
 
 TOM^ is n^t it delightful ? Nurse^ don^t attempt 
 to get down with baby in your arms. Mr. Otis 
 will take him. Why^ where is Leigh? And^ 
 talking rapidly every moment^ Mrs. Otis put her 
 pretty head out of the stage window^ and eagerly scrutinized 
 Miss Phippses abode. 
 
 The driver swung open the door. The Otis family^ an inter- 
 esting group^ and the Otis paraphernalia^ an imposing pile of 
 trunks^ baskets^ bags^ and wraps^ were deposited at the gate. 
 
 Why^ Tom^ where is she ? Where can she be ? asked * 
 Bessie, in keen disappointment, regarding her husband with 
 an air of suspicion, as if he had spirited Leigh away. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 19I 
 
 And where the Phipps^ which is more to the purpose ? 
 She "'s the one about whom I feel most concerned. No Phipps^ 
 no dinner ! said Tom, ruefully, stalking through the deserted 
 house with the wondering Bessie behind him. Careless 
 tenants they ! Let ’s take the silver and go. I T1 plead 
 emotional insanity, induced by jolting fifteen miles in that 
 diabolical stage-coach, a hot August day.” 
 
 Tom, dear ! don’t joke any more. It ’s that little boy,” 
 said Bessie, gravely. He must be worse. Nothing else in 
 the world would keep Leigh.” 
 
 My dear, I ’m strongly inclined to think that I might 
 continue to joke, even if that little boy should die, because I 
 never saw him, you know, and I have n’t enough over-soul to 
 feel very miserable about the little chap. But I imagine you 
 are right. What are you going to do about it ? ” 
 
 We’ll go up stairs, and get the least bit settled, and I ’ll 
 see that nurse and baby are comfortable, and while you attend 
 to the trunks I ’ll find something for you to eat. Tom smiled 
 admiringly. 
 
 Bessie, for a woman who crimps her hair and looks awfully 
 superficial, you do occasionally evince an uncommon amount 
 of practical wisdom. Upon my word, I never heard anything 
 neater in my life than that last hint of yours.” 
 
 And afterwards,” continued Bessie, you must take me 
 to Leigh. Help me up stairs, dear. I ’m tired. And then 
 have the trunks brought up, if the driver has come back.” 
 As they passed the door she said, Will you look at him ? 
 Actually, he ’s reposing, complacently, on my ^ Saratoga,’ with 
 my gray shawl for a pillow, and waiting for you to help him, 
 is he not?" He has brought no one with him.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 192 
 
 Yes. I presume he expects me to reward him liberally 
 for allowing me the privilege of shouldering my own baggage. 
 I always thought I should like Arcadia/’ continued Tom, 
 sentimentally. These ingenuous ways appeal to my better 
 nature. I wish I had a shepherd’s crook with a blue ribbon 
 on it. I would like to artlessly punch the head of that recum- 
 bent youth.” 
 
 They began to ascend the stairs. On the old-fashioned 
 landing, from which arose two smaller flights, branching off to 
 the right and left, Tom stopped short with a terrific shudder. 
 
 Can’t do it, Bessie. Can’t go a step farther. I ’m 
 afraid, mortally afraid. There ’s a silence — a spell — a what 
 do you call it — in this fateful mansion. Don’t you feel a 
 grewsome chill penetrating your marrow ? ” 
 
 I feel dusty and travel-stained, and as if I should like to 
 change my dress. Send that man up with the small hat-box 
 and my travelling-bag, will you, dear? ” 
 
 But, you prosaic, sordid, petty soul, where, 0 where do 
 you imagine all these doors lead? What hateful Errinys 
 broods over our wanderings ? What mysteries are hidden be- 
 hind these heavy oaken panels, what thrilling tales of blood 
 and doom, what thing-um-bobs ! ” he ejaculated in a stage 
 whisper. 
 
 If you must indulge in flights of fancy at this inopportune 
 time, the correct thing would be to liken the house to an en- 
 chanted palace. I have a suspicion your language is borrowed 
 from a dime-novel.” 
 
 ^^No, my love, from Tlioth,” remarked Tom, solemnly. 
 
 And who, or what, in the world is Thoth ? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 193 
 
 " Thotli^ my poor ignorant spouse/’ explained Tom^ with a 
 bewildering and triumphant smile^ was the god of eloquence 
 of the ancient Egyptians^ from which elegant and exclusive 
 race^ by the way, the Otis family is descended. We have our 
 genealogy complete, an unbroken line, preserved, on papyrus, 
 from an epoch anterior to the reign of the Hyksos. Thoth is 
 a considerably older and more aristocratic deity than Apollo. 
 You did n’t know it, did you, poor dear? ” 
 
 I never could account for it before,” said Bessie, coolly 
 ignoring his tone of commiseration, and gravely scrutinizing 
 her husband’s genial countenance, ^^but now I know why, 
 sometimes, your features in repose remind me of an Egyptian 
 mummy ; but you cannot help it, can you, poor dear ? Tom, 
 we are dreadfully silly. Do hurry with that hat-box, or I 
 shall go down myself.” Tom descended three stairs obe- 
 diently, and halted. Bessie had glanced into Leigh’s room, 
 recognized it, then had entered her own and thrown herself, 
 gratefully, into the open arms of the big chair, the only thing 
 in the house that seemed to expect and welcome her. 
 
 Bessie,” called Tom from the stairs, before I go a step 
 farther, I want to know one thing. You, with your usual 
 felicity of expression, liken this house to an enchanted palace. 
 May I, 0, may I imprint a tender kiss upon the lips of the 
 sleeping beauty, if I find one, as I undoubtedly shall in this 
 mysterious place ? Have I your full and free permission, to 
 be followed by no tearful, jealous reproaches ? ” 
 
 Certainly, my gallant young prince, certainly,” said 
 Bessie, graciously. You ’II find the fairest of the fair asleep 
 in nujse’s arms, down stairs ; but don’t wake him, please. 
 
194 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 And, Tom/’ she added, choking with laughter, ^"there’s 
 another one, — don’t have any scruples on my account, — 
 that man sound asleep out on my trunks. You may wake him 
 as soon as you please.” 
 
 Bother ! ” said Tom. 
 
 Dear, was that classic quotation prevalent among the an- 
 cient Egyptians, and suggested by your friend Thoth? ” came 
 languidly from the depths of the great chair, in the sweetest 
 voice imaginable. Poor boy ! You seem to need to invoke 
 his aid often enough, even now. What will you do when 
 Leigh comes ? ” 
 
 I am going to interest myself, at once, in Corydon and 
 the trunks,” was the meek response. ^ Some griefs gnaw 
 deep,’ and for ^ some woes ’ work is the only means of re- 
 lief.” 
 
 An hour after, they were driving to the Holbrook cottage. 
 It was about six, the close of a hotter day than often came to 
 breezy Edgecomb, even in August. Upon the road they met 
 some of the village folk, and were greeted with supernaturally 
 solemn stares. 
 
 believe Leigh is right,” said Tom. There is some- 
 thing uncanny about this place. I don’t blame her for being 
 belligerent in this atmosphere. Moses himself would feel 
 pugnacious here.” 
 
 It is the dust in your throat that makes you cross, dear,” 
 suggested the practical Bessie. Everything does seem new 
 and strange, but I fancy it is only because there was no one to 
 meet us at the house. That child must be very ill.” 
 
 ^^I should say so,” ejaculated Tom. Behold the vul- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 195 
 
 tures ! ’’ indicating several groups of people standing silently^ 
 or talking in low and ominous tones^ at a little distance from 
 the cottage. 
 
 Ilush^ dear^ they mean it kindly.” 
 
 But what are we going to do now?” asked Tom^ du^ 
 biously, as they stood by the roadside near where he had 
 fastened his horse. We certainly have no intention of going 
 in where Leigh is^ and perhaps she cannot come out. Had n’t 
 we better go back ? We can do no good here/’ he said^ with 
 a man’s impatience at the anomalous position. 
 
 We will wait a moment/’ answered Bessie^ quietly. 
 think Leigh will come. Perhaps she will see us. Dear,, look ; 
 little Gem must be there where the windows are so wide open 
 and the people are moving about^ — and oh ! Tom^ dear^ what 
 is that ? Is n’t it he groaning ? ” And she sank down on the 
 bank, putting her hands over her ears. How can these 
 people have the heart to stay so near, only to listen to such 
 dreadful sounds ! ” 
 
 The Evil One himself brought us here, but in spite of him 
 and his works you are going back,” muttered Tom, turning 
 the horse. Pretty ending to the hard day you ’ve had. I 
 don’t mean that the ghouls and vampires shall gloat over you, 
 my dear ; and they will if you stay here much longer.” 
 
 A tall, angular person left her place among the women who 
 stood nearest the house, and, approaching a window, beckoned 
 to some one within. 
 
 ^^Come, Bessie,” said Tom. 
 
 Wait one moment, dear. If Leigh does not come, I wil) 
 go.”-^ But Leigh came. In answer to the summons she ap 
 
196 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 peared at the door. Under the thick hop-vines that climbed 
 over the porch she stood one instant^ pale^ erects with widely 
 open eyes. She did not need the gesture from Miss Phipps 
 that indicated where she should look for her sister. She 
 passed the waiting, watching neighbors as if she saw them not, 
 and, with closely set lips and a hard, strained look in her 
 eyes, went rapidly through the gate and down the road, and 
 flung herself into her sister’s arms without one word of greet- 
 ing. 
 
 I must go back now,^^ she said. 
 
 Ah, dear, not so soon,'’'’ pleaded Bessie ; you look so 
 ill.'’^ She dared not ask how Gem was. His pitiful moans 
 reached them through the stillness. Bessie shuddered, but 
 LeiglPs face looked gray and hard as if carven out of granite. 
 
 It is dreadful to hear him, is it not ? she said ; but 
 he does not know. The doctor says he is not conscious of his 
 suffering.’’ 
 
 Is there no hope ? ” asked Tom. 
 
 « Very little,” said Leigh, in a dry, mechanical tone. He 
 has been this way for days. He will do that hours longer ; 
 but we shall know before morning.” 
 
 ^^Ah! there’s Ogden,” exclaimed Tom. And he walked 
 forward to grasp cordially Philip’s outstretched hand. Under 
 these strange auspices, Philip met his old friend and was pre- 
 sented to Mrs. Otis, who, even in the painful excitement of the 
 moment, found herself wondering what Leigh saw to dislike 
 in him. 
 
 I must go back,” exclaimed Leigh, impatiently, I cannot 
 bear it out here.” And she turned towards the house. O, 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 197 
 
 if these people would only go away ! How can they be so 
 cruel ? How can they stay and listen, when they care nothing 
 for my poor little Gem ! ’’ And a flush of indignation passed 
 over her pale face. 
 
 ^^They are not unkind,” said Philip, pityingly. ^^It seems 
 strange to us ; but it is only their way. I think they are all 
 sorry in their hearts. Miss Doane.” 
 
 ^^Are they?” said Leigh, drearily. I did not know; 
 but I wish they would go away ! ” she repeated. Bessie seized 
 her hand. 
 
 ^^Dear, come with us. You can do no good there, and you 
 are worn out, and it is so hard for you.” 
 
 No, Bessie, I cannot.” 
 
 ^^Let me drive you down with Bessie,” begged Tom, affec- 
 tionately, putting his hands on her shoulders and drawing her 
 gently towards the wagon. Please, let me, Leigh.” 
 
 No, Tom,” said Leigh, with the same immovable face. 
 
 Perhaps I shall run away with you against your will,” 
 said Tom, trying to speak lightly. Leigh stepped to Bessie’s 
 side. 
 
 Dear, I cannot talk now ; but it is better for me to be 
 with Gem. Tom, you do not know. You tell them,” she 
 said, turning to Philip; ^^you understand.” And, putting 
 her arms round Bessie’s neck, she kissed her once, and, with- 
 out another word, went swiftly back to the house. Tom looked 
 very much as if he were going after her. In answer to his 
 glance, Philip said, — 
 
 Better let her stay, Otis. She ’s about worn out, but one 
 night more can’t make much difference. I think Miss Doane 
 
198 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 meant that she found it harder to control herself away from 
 Gem than with him^ even if she can do nothing for him^ did 
 she not^ Mrs. Otis ? ’’ 
 
 ^^Yes/’ said Bessie, sadly. wanted her to come with 
 me, but it would be cruel to take her away, and you ’ll take 
 care of her, Mr. Ogden, will you not? ” she said, holding out 
 her hand with a look full of confidence. It is not like leav- 
 ing her with strangers ” ; and she made a faint attempt to 
 smile. If you were not here, I could not leave her to go 
 about with that poor pale face, and those great wild eyes.” 
 And the tears rolled down Bessie’s cheeks. I would n’t be 
 of the least use if I should stay, would I ? ” 
 
 I think not, Mrs. Otis. No one can do anything but 
 wait for the result. It must come soon. You may be sure I 
 will not be neglectful of the trust you give me,” he added 
 gratefully. 
 
 You, of use? You look like it, you fluttering, tearful 
 thing,” said Tom to his wife, with mock fierceness. The 
 question is, Ogden, have I, or have I not, any marital author- 
 ity? There are times of agony and despair, when tongue 
 cannot express my sufferings, and I am forced to respond. No, 
 I have none whatever ; but occasionally comes a moment like 
 this,” — and without more ado he coolly lifted his wife into 
 the wagon, — which gives me strength and courage for the 
 future.” 
 
 Bessie smiled, but said, 0 Tom ! reprovingly. 
 
 I ’m sorry for the boy in there,” said he, but I think so 
 much hearse and funeral trappings entirely premature. I '’ve 
 heard of a woman who lived in a shroud, night and day, for 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 199 
 
 twenty years. When one would wear out she ’d have another, 
 
 — the way my wife does with what she calls her spring-suits, 
 
 — but I ’m inclined to regard things more cheerfully, and I 
 think that child will see daylight yet.’’ 
 
 I think so, Tom,” said Philip. He ’s had a tough time 
 of it, but I have not been able to believe that this is the end 
 of the bright little fellow.” 
 
 Ogden, let me know if I can be of any use. I leave that 
 wilful girl in your hands. Bring her down to us if she faints. 
 I hope everything will come out all right.” 
 
 I hope and believe it will. This is Miss Doane’s ^ happy 
 Wednesday.’ She was anticipating it with the utmost eager- 
 ness and delight,” said Philip, gravely. However it may 
 end, I shall bring her into the village early to-morrow morn- 
 ing.” 
 
 With an exchange of glances that said far more than their 
 words, the two men shook hands warmly, and Tom drove off. 
 Exhausted by the emotions she had experienced after the fatigue 
 of the day, and seeming still to hear the moans of the child, 
 Bessie silently leaned close to her husband. 
 
 ^^Poor little girl!” he said, the jesting tone quite gone 
 from his voice. 
 
 Is n’t it dreadful ? ” said Bessie, after some moments. 
 
 And we expected so much 1 And our poor Leigh looking 
 like a ghost, and everything so miserable ! How hard it is to 
 be happy in this world I ” 
 
 What a Lady Macbeth she *d make ! ” said Tom, deliber- 
 ately ignoring her despondent tone. She had the horror in 
 he^ eyes to perfection. If she had only rubbed her hands 
 together. That was all that was wanting.” 
 
200 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Do you suppose it will ever be pleasant here ? It seems 
 to me I shall hear that child all my life.” 
 
 My dear^ it is not an hilarious beginning, I admit, but 
 I ’ll prophesy that Ogden will bring Leigh down, with good 
 tidings, in the morning. The boy will get better ; and if all 
 Leigh says of him is true, you ’ll hear his voice in sounds a 
 vast deal jollier than groans.” 
 
 But, dear, it is impossible to know surely.” 
 
 ^ We can’t ’most always sometimes tell ’ much of anything 
 in this world, but we won’t bear any unnecessary burdens. 
 I have a presentiment the little chap is going to get well,” 
 said he, stoutly. And Bessie was comforted by his cheery 
 tones, as he meant she should be, in spite of herself. 
 
 When they arrived at the house he took her in his strong 
 arms, and, carrying her up stairs like a child, deposited her m 
 the big chair. 
 
 Bessie smiled at him. 
 
 Tom, you are a good boy, if you are silly sometimes.” 
 You flatter me, upon my honor, you do, really.” 
 
 Tom, I want to tell you something.” 
 
 My ears are open,” she said, as she hesitated. 
 
 Leigh and Mr. Ogden,” she began, are — that is, they 
 will be — I mean — I think so. Of course, one can’t know 
 certainly about such things, but still, Tom, I feel perfectly 
 sure — yes, perfectly.” 
 
 I never was accused of being hypercritical, but I think I 
 may say that I have, in the course of my life, listened to a 
 more fluent and lucid announcement of a person’s views,” said 
 Tom, gravely. My dear, I would not presume to dictate, 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 201 
 
 but would humbly suggest — as the old deacon said in his 
 prayer — that you try that again 
 
 Why^ do you not understand, dear ? It ^s quite clear. 
 Did you not notice her when she turned to him as she went 
 away, and said, understand^ ? 
 
 What if she did ? ’’ Tom said bluntly. That nothing. 
 He ^s been in the house with her three weeks. Of course he 
 understands. Do you imagine it takes a man of Ogden^s 
 sense as long as that to see through a woman^s whims ? 
 
 But, dear, she felt that he would understand her better 
 than you or I. Better than I, her own sister. Is that nothing? 
 And did you not see the look in his eyes when he watched her 
 as she went back to the house ? ’’ 
 
 I hope I have something better to do in this world than 
 watching men^s eyes, and ferreting out incipient love-affairs,*’^ 
 laughed Tom. 
 
 This is not an incipient love-affair, by any means,*’^ said 
 Bessie, wisely. 
 
 And you had time to discover all this in those few mo- 
 ments? And that w^as why you smiled your prettiest, and 
 made up to Ogden so tremendously, the minute you put your 
 eyes on him ? O, these women ! And Tom whistled. 
 
 Dear, you exaggerate. I could n’t have smiled much. 
 I was feeling too badly. And George Eliot makes some- 
 body say, ^ She ^s not denyin^ that women are foolish. God 
 A^’mighty made '’em to match the men,^ rejoined Bessie, 
 triumphantly. 
 
 And what does ^ to match the men *’ mean ? To be what 
 we>^re not? A complement? It strikes me that is the rea- 
 sonable interpretation,^^ chuckled Tom. 
 
202 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 ^^Don^t joke_, Tom/^ said Bessie, solemnly. 
 
 That ^s good. Pardon me for recriminating ; but if I 
 mistake not you began it this time.’’ 
 
 Never mind if I did, dear. How do you suppose little 
 Gem is now? ” 
 
 Improving — improving rapidly,” said Tom, with de- 
 cision. 
 
 ^^Tom,” said Bessie, after a moment’s thought, ^^you may 
 not think I know much, but there are some things which 
 women always see quicker than men. You need not deny 
 it, for men themselves admit it, and I know — I know,” she 
 repeated emphatically, that Mr. Ogden is very much inter- 
 ested in Leigh.” 
 
 Can’t a man look after a pretty girl as she walks off, 
 without being spoony ? ” 
 
 ^^No; at least, not as Mr. Ogden looked; and ^spoony’ 
 is not a pretty word, my dear.” 
 
 Tom took a plaster-of-paris image of Praying Samuel” 
 from the mantel, and eyed it reflectively. 
 
 ^^It is then your firm conviction, you small and sapient 
 woman, that Ogden and Leigh will eventually — ” 
 
 Yes, dear, if you don’t interfere.” 
 
 Why should I?” 
 
 I do not mean that you would interpose any real objec- 
 tions and obstacles,” said Bessie, with a smile; ^^but you 
 must not tease Leigh.” 
 
 O, I must not, must I ? ” said Tom, wickedly. 
 
 ^^Not for a moment,” replied Bessie, with great earnest- 
 ness. You see this is an extremely precarious affair. They 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 203 
 
 have been quarrelling all the time. When two persons in 
 their frame of mind quarrel and then ^ make up/ as the chil- 
 dren call it^ it is lovely^ perfectly lovely ; but you must not 
 say a word to Leigh. I wish we had quarrelled/’ she said^ 
 a little enviously. It makes a courtship very much more 
 brilliant.” 
 
 Tom looked immensely amused. 
 
 Nobody shall say I have not a chivalrous and lover-like 
 soul. I ’ll quarrel with you to an unlimited extent. I ’ll 
 show you heights of fine fighting such as you never dreamed 
 of. Just say the word ! When shall we begin? ” 
 
 0^ it ’s not the same thing ! It ’s not half so nice to 
 quarrel now/’ she said^ regretfully. ^^Tom^ dear^ the very 
 nicest thing now is for you always to do exactly what I say. 
 You promise to say nothing to Leigh ? ” 
 
 I am to understand^ then^ that my lady approves of the 
 match ? ” 
 
 Yes — I think — I — do/^ said Bessie^ slowly. I like 
 him. I liked him at once ; his voice and his face and his 
 manner. And you like him so much^ Tom^ of course that 
 infiuences me/'’ she went on demurely. You have told me 
 so much about him^ and you know you have most excellent 
 judgment. Please promise, Tom/’ she said coaxingly. 
 
 A man/’ began Tom in a tragic manner, who can resist 
 this amount of wheedling is a cynic ; nay, a misogynist, whom 
 ’t were base fiattery to call a villain.” And, striking an atti- 
 tude, he looked up to imaginary galleries for applause. I 
 promise not to molest the two innocents. I swear it,” he 
 exdaimed in a sepulchral and stagy tone suggestive of slow 
 
204 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 music, blue fire, and fiends. ^‘^Now are you satisfied? The 
 sooner that tired head of yours is on its pillow the better. I 
 am going down to the door for a smoke.” Shortly after he 
 called from the porch, Bessie ! ” 
 
 Hush, dear,” she said, coming to the stairway. Speak 
 low, or you ’ll wake baby. What is it ? ” 
 
 Leigh’s heaped-up vituperation of Ogden was all a hoax, 
 feminine duplicity, was it? ” 
 
 ^^Not at all!” was the indignant response. ^^She was 
 perfectly sincere. CanT a girl change her mind ? 
 
 ^‘1 have heard it faintly intimated that she can,” said Tom, 
 dryly. 
 
 Leigh disliked him extremely in the first place.” 
 
 Whew I” said Tom. ^^When do you suppose the won- 
 drous change began?” 
 
 How do I know ? Why do you wish to work it out like 
 a problem in geometry ? Men never do appreciate these fine 
 points.” 
 
 I presume not ; still, my dear, I think it is but fair to 
 state, that while your assumption, w’th regard to our young 
 friend, may or may not be verified in the future, as yet I have 
 seen no evidence that corroborates your views ; which are, to 
 my mind, hasty, ill-formed, unfounded, and, need I add, es- 
 sentially feminine.” 
 
 ^^Tom, if you say another word in that heavy judicial style, 
 I shall fall asleep here, standing on my feet. What you think 
 or do not think upon this subject does not signify in the least. 
 I do not think, I hiow. All you are to do is to behave, and 
 await the result.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 205 
 
 “Which I’m perfectly willing to do. It’s Ogden’s fu- 
 neral, not mine, and either of them could do worse.” 
 
 “ And you ’ll be very good, and not trouble Leigh ? ” 
 Have I not promised^ importunate being ? ” 
 
2o6 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Tom^ you did/’ said Bessie, contritely. ^‘1 know 
 you Ml be good. Good night, dear.” 
 
 Tom sat and smoked until he heard Miss Phipps coming in 
 the side entrance. He went out to meet her, and to ask how 
 Gem was. As yet there was no change. He returned to the* 
 porch and his cigars. ^^The little fellow will pull through,” 
 he thought cheerily. And we actually have stumbled upon 
 a romance so soon, if my little wife is right, and I rather 
 think she is. 0, these women ! these women ! ” 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 “ Pleasantly murmured the brook as they crossed the ford in the forest. 
 
 Pleased with the image that passed like a dream of love through its bosom. 
 Tremulous, floating in air, o’er the depths of the azure abysses. 
 
 Down through the golden leaves, the sun was pourhig his splendors.” 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 “ To hate the Devil and all his works is one thing. To say who is the Devil 
 and what are his works is another.” — Miss Thackeray. 
 
 UT you do not faints Miss Doane^ nor cry, nor 
 even look pale, nor fulfil in the slightest degree 
 my preconceived theories with regard to the way 
 in which young ladies conduct themselves after 
 an excess of emotion.’’ 
 
 I should be sorry to seem impertinent, but do you write 
 for the magazines, Mr. Ogden ? Except in recent essays upon 
 young women, I never met with such extraordinary ideas as 
 you advance. I wonder if you can be in earnest. What do 
 you think of us, anyway ? ” And she turned her frank, sunny 
 face directly towards him. Her eyes looked unnaturally large 
 and bright, and her cheeks were flushed crimson. 
 
 Philip glanced at her as she sat beside him in the rumbling 
 oid'wagon. What he thought of young ladies as a class was 
 
208 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 one thing. What he thought of her individually was another^ 
 and the hour for telling her was not yet come. 
 
 I did not know that young ladies could work as hard as 
 you have worked for three weeks^ crown it all by a night of 
 extreme anxiety without one moment’s sleep^ and then look 
 brilliantly happy at ^ five o’clock in the morning.’ ” 
 
 ^^But everything looks happy and fresh and lovely. I 
 never was so blessed in my life. Wasn’t that the sweet- 
 est smile you ever saw that he gave me? Was n’t it? ” she 
 repeated eagerly. 
 
 Thus urged^ Philip deceitfully assented^ making, however, a 
 mental reservation in favor of the smile which was then de- 
 lighting his eyes. 
 
 And then he went off into that lovely, quiet sleep ! Do 
 hear those birds ! How glad they sound ! This air is simply 
 intoxicating ! O Mr. Ogden, what if he should want me 
 when he wakes ! ” 
 
 He is too weak to want much of anything to-day ; but if 
 he should want you by and by, you must let him want. Miss 
 Doane. The danger is over, and Jane does wonders now, 
 thanks to you, and I shall be there. I do not think he will 
 miss you just yet.” 
 
 But he knew me. He looked directly at me. Why, you 
 saw him! He smiled, you know,” she said with feverish 
 haste. 
 
 Indeed he did. He smiled directly at you, and at no one 
 else, and you deserved that mark of favor. How changed the 
 boy is ! He looks older, altogether different from the Jim I 
 found when I came here.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 209 
 
 Gem was changed in many respects before his illness_, from 
 the mocking little mischievous elf who perched upon Miss 
 Phipps’s fence in the twilight the first time I ever saw him, 
 and seemed like a bird of ill-omen because I felt so desolate. 
 And then he went flying and shrieking through the gloom in 
 the most astonishing manner. It was the same evening,” she 
 began thoughtlessly, and then stopped. 
 
 Gem was improving wonderfully,” said Philip, coming 
 quietly to her relief. How did you manage it ? ” 
 
 0, I did very little, I assure you I It was all his own, 
 dear, little bright self. I have not a bit of a mission or a call 
 or a sphere or anything of the sort. Gem has taught me more 
 than I have him, and has been of the greatest service to me in 
 a thousand ways. I think you did him good, Mr. Ogden.” 
 ^^I?” said Philip, in real surprise. Not a bit of it! 
 I ^m the last man in existence to go about reforming his fel- 
 low-creatures,” he went on with some bitterness. Miss 
 Doane, I lead the most selfish, aimless life in existence. No 
 man ever was of less use.” 
 
 Delightful ! ” exclaimed Leigh ; I always encourage sen- 
 timents of that kind. It is so seldom one sees a man show 
 the least humility, and when he does, it is over so soon, and 
 he immediately forgets that he ever knew the meaning of the 
 word. But, Mr. Ogden, you do preach, you know, some- 
 times,” she said, laughing. Gem told me about the snail- 
 sermon.” 
 
 And Gem told me about your anaconda lecture,” Philip 
 returned coolly. 
 
 t hoped that he would tell, since I had the pleasure of 
 
210 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 listening to a synopsis of your eloquent dissertation upon the 
 chameleon/ said Leigh^ unabashed; but she changed the 
 subject. Did you lose all hope yesterday ? 
 
 No, I think not. I was extremely anxious^ but I did not 
 quite give him up. Did you ? 
 
 Not until those people came and listened^ and then I really 
 think I despaired of everything. They seemed so hideous and 
 cruel and ghoulish. They made me frantic. I fairly hated 
 them.’’ 
 
 I do not doubt it. You looked as if you did.’*’ 
 
 How very difficult it is to be charitable to people whose 
 ways one does not understand ! ” Leigh said^ thoughtfully. 
 
 Perhaps that is why I do fashionable girls such injustice/^ 
 Philip said with a smile. 
 
 Leigh turned towards him quickly. Mr. Ogden^ I ’m the 
 happiest girl in the world this morning, and I think I ’m tol- 
 erably amiable, but I shall grow savage in two minutes, if you 
 begin to talk about ^ fashionable girls,’ like the magazines and 
 newspapers.” 
 
 But I cannot, even for the pleasant little excitement of 
 seeing you grow savage. My conversation is not up to the 
 required standard of magazine articles or even newspapers, I ’m 
 afraid. But what is it that rouses your indignation ? ” 
 
 I ’m tired of reading and hearing about fashionable girls. 
 What is a ^ fashionable girl ’ ? Do you know ? Does any- 
 body know ? ” Leigh went on impetuously. People use the 
 phrase as if it invariably meant shallow, empty-headed, and 
 vain. I never could see that there was anything Christian in 
 making one’s self look dowdy. May not an unfashionable girj 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 21 1 
 
 be silly ? Do we monopolize all the faults of the sex ? I sup- 
 pose I ’m a fashionable girl myself/"^ she laughingly admitted^ 
 
 so I speak with feeling. But why do people talk so ? 
 
 Perhaps because they have some reason. Perhaps because 
 it is easier to write a clever and witty paper^ when one says ill- 
 natured things. But^ Miss Doane^ do you believe that many 
 of your young lady friends would have done what you have 
 done down here in Edgecomb this summer? You have a 
 decided advantage in the argument, if I wished to take the 
 opposite side. When a man knows that a young lady can 
 w^alk her five miles easily, in all sorts of weather, with no ap- 
 parent ill effect, he rapidly loses any foolish ideas he may have 
 formed as to the universal delicacy of the sex ; and his past 
 theories with regard to the inefficient, superficial ways of the 
 modern ^ girl ^ must vanish when he sees a person so busy and 
 helpful and practical as you have been. Are you sure you are 
 not the Prau Bertha, the ^ gentle white lady who steals softly 
 to neglected cradles, and rocks them^ ? My only refuge, you 
 see, is to pronounce you an honorable exception. The froth 
 exists, but you are not as fond of it as most girls.'^'^ 
 
 I am very sure I am not the Prau Bertha, for, according 
 to the legend, she had an immensely large foot and a long iron 
 nose,’^ said Leigh, roguishly ; and I do like froth. And, 
 Mr. Ogden,^^ she went on with a vivid blush, my friends 
 would have done fewer foolish tilings than I, and the few 
 things I may have done which are not foolish they would have 
 done better."’”’ 
 
 / ^ You do not seem fashionable at all, now,"’"’ Philip said 
 soberly. 
 
212 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I do not take that as a compliment/’ laughed Leigh. I 
 am considered quite a fashionable person at home^ I assure 
 you. O Mr. Ogden/’ she went on earnestly, ^Hhere is a great 
 deal of injustice in it, really. People, sensible people too, do 
 get so narrow in their way of looking at us. At a party, for 
 instance, we are not expected to mention whether we made our 
 dresses or not, or what good deeds we have performed during 
 the day, nor to enumerate our several useful accomplishments, 
 like the chorus of servants at the Eichmond Fair in ^ Martha.’ 
 We do not have the appearance of toiling and spinning, I 
 admit, but that adds to the general effect. We look as finely 
 as possible, — I always do, I assure you, — but, after all, we 
 are not as we figure in the essays.” 
 
 You are eloquent. Miss Doane.” 
 
 No, I am not eloquent. But I never in any city met with 
 the girls I find in the magazines and in some books. Some- 
 times, of course, I meet a young lady who seems stupid and 
 shallow, but I cannot see that she is to blame if the Lord en- 
 dowed her with less than the usual amount of common-sense. 
 If she were a chambermaid, it would be the same. The fault 
 lies deeper than in wearing pretty dresses. Mrs. Browning 
 speaks of ^ Vacuity trimmed with lace ’ ; but vacuity is vacuity, 
 whether trimmed with lace or not. If a girl has little that is 
 admirable or lovable in her nature, it would n’t remedy the 
 difficulty if she should wear cloth of frieze instead of cloth of 
 gold. Now our set of girls at home, — would you really like 
 to have me tell you ? ” she asked, with a pretty hesitation. 
 
 Indeed I would,” Philip said heartily. No young lady 
 ever talked to me as you are talking. It is a very great 
 pleasure to hear you.” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 213 
 
 Leigh went on rapidly. ^^We are not very profound^ of 
 course ; we are not particularly interested in protoplasm ; and 
 when we come to Herbert Spencer in our readings we skip him^ 
 because we think him appalling, but we study more or less all 
 of the time, and do ^ a little French and German quite con- 
 stantly, and we have our music, — most of us do, — and we 
 read enough to have a faint idea of what is going on in the 
 world. Then, there are very few girls who have no home 
 duties. Some of my friends always make their own dresses ; 
 I never do, I do not like to sew.'” And she looked at Philip 
 as if she expected to hear an exclamation of horror. Are 
 you shocked ? 
 
 Not in the least. Your confession is quite a relief to me, 
 I always wondered how women could possibly endure so much 
 monotonous stitching. And what else do you do ? ” 
 
 O, little things ; yet each day seems full. We are always 
 busy. I do not think we ever feel that we are frittering away 
 our time, or that we are useless dolls, as we are popularly 
 supposed to be. If we all went as missionaries to the Fiji 
 Islands, it would be more to tell of ; but there are two sides 
 to every question, and Bessie would think I was a heathen if I 
 should leave her. I really do not know the ^ fashionable-girl ^ 
 type at all, Mr. Ogden, except in isolated cases, she said 
 quite earnestly ; but I know very many sweet, bright girls, 
 who do not pretend to be wise or remarkable in any way, but 
 who do not dye their hair, nor lace, nor pinch their feet, nor 
 paint, and who are just as true-hearted and womanly as if they 
 did not dance the German, and did not like to go to the opera, 
 ait& had not wealthy papas. Tlien we — we fashionable but- 
 
214 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 terflies^ I mean — are not so feeble as we are represented. 
 Do not girls row and walk miles and miles^ and get brown and 
 hardy and healthy at hundreds of places on the coast every 
 summer ? Where are people’s eyes ? Mr. Ogden^ it is im- 
 possible to tell anything about us/’ she added^ smiling brightly 
 at him. A plain woman is often vainer than a pretty one ; 
 and the girl who has the most languid and fashionable effect 
 in a whole roomful of girls may have sewed every stitch in her 
 elaborately made gown^ and be a very efficient housekeeper^ 
 with a special talent for cooking. And the girl with the ugly 
 dress is not necessarily the sweetest tempered. We are very 
 uncertain, but it is not fair to condemn us unheard. There 
 are really remote possibilities of good in us all/’ she said with 
 comical gravity, if we do not like the idea of wearing a uni- 
 form of gray flannel, a strait jacket, and a short plain skirt,*” 
 she rather scornfully explained to Philip, such as is urged 
 strongly upon us by the reformers, you know. I cannot feel 
 that I would be a better woman if I should wear that costume, 
 or anything else ugly and unbecoming, — green, for instance, 
 which makes me look like a fright.” 
 
 How intrepid you are. Miss Doane ! This is a new de- 
 velopment. I imagined that ladies never would admit that 
 they were fond of dress.” 
 
 I like it hugely,” Leigh said with emphasis. I care for 
 a beautiful color and a graceful outline in dress as in any- 
 thing else, and I like everything that is pretty and fresh and 
 dainty. How can I help it ? It is as instinctive 
 
 ‘ As for grass to be green or skies to be blue ; 
 
 "T is the natural way of living.* 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 215 
 
 But I may not always. When I am forty-five^ and have losi 
 my friends and health and enthusiasm^ and the world looks 
 different^ I may grow wise^ — or morbid^ I don’t know which^ 
 — and take to writing essays^ and denouncing pretty things^ 
 and advocating dull drab for universal wear^ with never a 
 gleam of rose-color. I may even think it a crime to wear a 
 locket^ and a sleeve slightly open at the wrist an evidence of 
 total depravity.’^ 
 
 You will never regard lockets and open sleeves in that light 
 probably, Miss Doane, until you have an ugly arm and no 
 locket.” 
 
 ^^You are laughing at me. Perhaps I seem absurd to 
 talk so.’-’ 
 
 Certainly you do not. You are quite right, I think. 
 And, right or wrong, you ought to have the privilege of 
 expressing the feelings of your order.” 
 
 And that is the trouble,” said Leigh, quickly. Our 
 order, as you call it, never does express itself. It is the tar- 
 get at which everybody shoots. When anything new and 
 especially savage appears, we girls at home hold indignation 
 meetings. We have sometimes been strongly tempted to issue 
 a ^ Eound Eobin.'’ Is not that what it is called when igno- 
 rant people feel that they must protest against injustice, and 
 are not wise enough to do it in any magnificent and striking 
 way ? ” she asked laughingly. I really do not think that we 
 are unreasonable. We read with respect and interest what- 
 ever physicians choose to write about us. They speak what 
 they do know and testify what they have seen, and for our 
 good. But why should we be publicly denounced by our own 
 
2I6 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 sex? Why should the purity of our motives be assailed, and 
 ideas of which we never dreamed imputed to us on account of 
 a ruffle, more or less, which to us seems a non-essential? 
 We fashionable girls think that it is not kind or womanly to 
 bring railing accusations against all persons who do not choose 
 to wear scant skirts, and whose opinions happen to differ from 
 our own, because we believe it is very difficult to understand 
 one another in this world, where natures vary so much, and 
 lives, and modes of early training. We would rather keep 
 our hearts warm and charitable than to be able to write the 
 most trenchant anathemas against other women. But in all 
 human probability we shall continue to be abused, and also to 
 wear our pretty, fluttering, frivolous ribbons to the end of 
 time. And did you ever, ever in all your life, listen to a lec- 
 ture so early in the morning ? See that dear little squirrel ! 
 Is n’t that bird-note almost too lovely ? That one that sounds 
 so clearly above the rest, I mean. O Mr. Ogden, would you 
 be so kind as to get me a few of those ferns ? They look so 
 cool and fresh, and Bessie would like to see them at breakfast. 
 What a lovely, lovely world it is, now that my Gem is bet- 
 ter ! 
 
 As he stood on the edge of the wood, carefully selecting the 
 prettiest ferns, she said, — 
 
 You must not notice how many foolish things I say this 
 morning, Mr. Ogden. I am not quite responsible, you know. 
 I imagine I am in a wild state of delirium, and it is of small 
 consequence to me w^hat I say, provided I can talk. Fortu- 
 nately for you, I shall soon have my family to afflict."^^ 
 
 Philip did not tell her that if only he might listen to the 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 217 
 
 varying tones of her voice it was of small consequence to him 
 also what she said^ nor that he insanely wished that there were 
 no family waiting to receive her^ but that they might go on as 
 they were forever^ riding slowly through the woods^ with the 
 freshness of the early morning cooling their faces^ the rosy 
 clouds and golden light of the sunrise before them, the joyous 
 birds singing in the branches over their heads, and the sweet 
 woody scents all around. Nor did he express any of the other 
 equally extravagant fancies that filled his brain. It was not 
 yet time, not yet, he constantly told himself, to risk the one 
 thing in the world most precious in his sight. 
 
 With the quiet manner she knew so well, he said, passing 
 her a great bunch of feathery ferns, and getting in the 
 wagon, — 
 
 ^af I can only succeed in taking you safely to your sister, 
 I shall congratulate myself. You have such a dazzling, un- 
 earthly effect this morning, I have trembled all the way along 
 lest you should vanish like a dryad into the heart of an oak ; 
 and behind there, as we passed the spring, I held my breath, 
 fearing that you would disappear, nixy-like, and leave me all 
 alone, gazing sadly at a bubble. I am sorry to croak, but you 
 show your fatigue in a queer way, and I fear you will feel it 
 more, later. If you escape without an illness, I shall be sur- 
 prised, and very happy he added, involuntarily. A pretty 
 pleased light shone in Leigh^s eyes, but she said quite care- 
 lessly, — 
 
 O, I hn too contrary to be ill, because you and Tom expect 
 it. I am excited, I know, and I cannot keep still. I am rest- 
 less awa/from Gem. I am sure I should be better with him/*^ 
 
 Philip shook his head doubtingly. 
 
2i8 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 But as he really does not need me^ of course I shall go to 
 Bessie for to-day/^ 
 
 And go to sleep too^ I hope/^ 
 
 Indeed^ no. I shall drink ever so many cups of coffee^ in 
 the first place. It is so fortunate you will not see me. You 
 would be horrified.'*^ 
 
 But I shall certainly stay to breakfast/^ Philip calmly 
 announced^ if Mrs. Otis honors me with an invitation.'^'^ 
 
 Very well ; at your perils then. I ^ve given you fair warn- 
 ing. And^ after the coffee^ we shall go up to my sistePs room, 
 and Bessie and I will talk all day long, and discuss the details 
 of the six weeks we have spent without each other, and Tom 
 will be ridiculous, and I, to be honest, will be superhumanly 
 silly. I always am after I have taken care of a sick person 
 and lost a great deal of sleep. I laugh immoderately at every- 
 thing for a day or two. Some people have headaches. I pre- 
 sume my silliness answers the same purpose.^^ 
 
 Philip was in that ineffable state in which Leigh'^s silliness 
 would seem more charming than the combined wisdom of the 
 rest of the world ; but he gave no sign, only said, as they 
 stopped at Miss Phippses gate, — 
 
 May I come down to-night, report Gem^s case, and see 
 how you are?^^ 
 
 Prom curiosity to observe the condition I shall be in, after 
 twelve hours of idiotic laughter ? 
 
 Perhaps ; but may I come ? 
 
 Certainly ; I shall depend upon hearing from Gem, and 
 Tom will be very glad to see you,^^ Leigh said sedately. 
 
 Actually, there the dear boy up at this hour ! she ex^ 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 219 
 
 claimed^ as Tom rushed out of the house and down to the 
 gate. 
 
 How are you^ Ogden ? Leigh^ what '"s the matter with 
 you ? Why do you ^ twinkle^ twinkle ^ ? I hn afraid of 
 you.^^ 
 
 So am Tom. Is she not supernaturally brilliant ? 
 think I must resemble a calcium -light/^ Leigh said^ 
 laughing. But, Tom, Tom, why do you not inquire about 
 Gem ? 
 
 Because, Leigh, Leigh, I know about Gem,"^^ returned 
 Tom, mockingly. Why do you come home at this hour, 
 with your inward joy dancing in your eyes, and burning in 
 your cheeks, and illuminating the whole road like a phospho- 
 rescent glare in a bog, if Gem is not better ? 
 
 Should you consider ^ phosphorescent glare ^ a compli- 
 ment ? inquired Leigh, gravely. Do you suppose he is 
 crying to say that I am a ^ sunshine in a shady place ^ ? It ^s 
 only Tom, you know. He ^s a little addicted to using large 
 words which he does not understand, but he means well."^^ 
 
 I think I would consider it said in a Pickwickian sense. 
 Miss Doane. Tom, how do you happen to be awake ? Five 
 o^clock was not of old, methinks, your hour of rising ? 
 
 My wife^s evil conscience roused her, although she says 
 that it was anxiety about Leigh, and the consciousness of being 
 in a strange place ; and she had no mercy, but cruelly sacrificed 
 my morning nap to her selfishness. Ogden, you ’ll take break- 
 fast with us, of course ? 
 
 My sister will be extremely happy to have you,'^'^ said 
 Leigh, cordially. 
 
220 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I shall be glad to sta,y^ on every account/^ replied Philip, 
 
 but particularly because Miss Doarie has promised me the 
 pleasure of seeing her get intoxicated on coffee/'^ 
 
 If you knew her as well as I do/'’ said Tom, you M grow 
 liardened and indifferent to all her wicked ways/'’ And he 
 smiled affectionately at the girl, who made in return a mocking 
 little face at him ; and, telling the gentlemen she would give 
 them an opportunity to abuse her at their pleasure, she ran up 
 to Bessie. 
 
 Eapidly and joyously the sisters talked, and all the gloom 
 of the day before vanished speedily in the fresh fair morning. 
 Bessie eagerly asked question after question about Gem, and 
 Leigh as eagerly answered. 
 
 ^^Go to the ant, thou sluggard, and be wise/^ chanted 
 Tom^s mellow barytone. ^^Come down, you magpies.^^ 
 
 In a moment, dear,^'’ was the response. Leigh^s hair ! 
 Bessie whispered mysteriously, as he came up to expedite 
 matters. 
 
 And donT I know about LeigVs hair in every possible 
 state, and has nT Ogden seen it flying at loose ends in a very 
 dishevelled and disgraceful condition ? What '’s the use of 
 beautifying now ? Too late, my dear, too late ! The mis- 
 chief ^s done.'’^ 
 
 O, run down, Tom, do, please ! It ^s not polite to leave 
 Mr. Ogden. 
 
 Tom went down. 
 
 Presently he shouted, — 
 
 Bessie ! 
 
 An animated conversation was going on above. He received 
 no response. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 221 
 
 E-liz-a-beth ! 
 
 This was successful. Bessie and Leigh descended the stairs 
 together. 
 
 Good morning, Mr. Ogden. I am so pleased you will 
 stay with us, and so grateful to you for bringing my sister 
 back,^*’ said Bessie warmly; and, extending her hand to 
 Philip, took his arm, and led the way to the breakfast-room. 
 
 Tom and Leigh followed, the former w^earing a curious and 
 amused expression as he observed the extreme graciousness of 
 his wifVs greeting. So soon as they were seated, forgetful of, 
 or deliberately disregarding, his vow, he asked in a soft and 
 scrupulously polite voice, which Leigh and Bessie knew inva- 
 riably meant mischief, — 
 
 Is it the custom in Edgecomb for young people to take 
 their pleasure-drives at sunrise? Charmingly invigorating 
 habit, is it not, Ogden? Such freshness everywhere, such 
 joy, such a roseate hue over everything, is there not, Leigh ? 
 Why, Bessie,^’ he asked, looking around with would-be-inn o- 
 cent eyes, what are you nudging me with your foot under 
 the table for ? Does anybody know what I ’ve done ? Have 
 I said anything ? 
 
 ^^You never saw a sunrise before, I imagine, Tom. It 
 seems to have had a singularly bad effect upon you. I 
 would nT try it again/^ Philip said carelessly. 
 
 Leigh devoted herself to her coffee ; and Tom, having re- 
 ceived a volley of warning, beseeching, threatening glances 
 from his wife, postponed his attack until a more favorablii 
 season ; and soon everybody began to discuss Gem with en- 
 thusiasm./ 
 
222 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Wlien this small skeleton^ wickedly summoned by Tom^ 
 had been thrust out of sights the early breakfast was a merry 
 
 occasion to each of the 
 four. The tall ferns nod- 
 ded gracefully in the 
 centre of the table. 
 Never was coffee so 
 strong and fragrant. 
 Never did rolls wear so 
 inviting a brown. Never 
 were berries so ripe and 
 juicy. Phipps’s features 
 were observed more than 
 once to relax their ri- 
 giditj. 
 
 It was already whis- 
 pered that Tom was 
 evidently her favorite 
 among her guests^ 
 and many a well- 
 turned compli- 
 ment did that wily 
 youth express 
 whenever she was 
 within hearing. 
 
 How can you 
 talk about femi- 
 nine arts^ you base deceiver?’^ said Leigh. 
 
 Bread is the staff of life^ my child^ and Phipps makes 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 223 
 
 my bread. Uncommonly good bread it is too. Wliy^ then, 
 should I not strive to strengthen the bond which already 
 exists between her soul and mine? Besides, I admire her 
 immensely he added with irresistible solemnity. 
 
 And Miss Phipps, coming into the room at that moment, 
 with hot rolls, little dreamed what was the cause of the 
 extreme jollity in which these curious young persons were 
 indulging. 
 
 Her inward comment was, Never see sech goings-on sence 
 I was born into this world, never ! To say nothin^ 0^ them 
 brakes stuck up kinder pert-like amongst the victuals ! 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 " He looked at her, as a lover can ; 
 
 She looked at him, as one who awakes, — 
 
 The past was a sleep, and her life began.” 
 
 Browning. 
 
 OME^ my little dears ! We cannot stay here star- 
 gazing forever. That fragile flower is drooping/^ 
 said Tom^ pointing to Leigh. Upon a pile of 
 planks, lyiiig conveniently upon the old pier, 
 which jutted out from the middle of the bridge, Leigh sat at 
 Bessie^s feet, leaning her head languidly against her sister^s 
 knee. Philip thought how pale and sweet both faces looked 
 in the half-light, and Tom paced up and down before the 
 group with his cigar. The day which had begun for Leigh 
 with the joyous sunrise ride, and which she and Bessie had 
 passed lazily under the trees on the lawn, or cozily in the 
 deep window-seats, was ending in quiet happiness down on 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 225 
 
 the old bridge in the starlight. Edgecomb and the line of 
 the Romney hills lay in shadow^ the water glistened before 
 their eyes^ a little new moon shone faintly in the western sky, 
 the strong salt air blew refreshingly towards them. 
 
 Come, children ! repeated Tom. Leigh, are you going 
 to condescend to sleep to-night, or shall you sit bolt upright, 
 with your eyes propped open? No one knows, Philip, how 
 I \e labored to-day to make that obstinate girl close her 
 lovely eyelids ; but my sweetest lullaby failed to move her."^^ 
 Mr. Ogden, I wish you might have heard what Tom calls 
 his lullaby,^^ said Bessie. It was a series of direct questions 
 which lasted from morning until you came to us, just in sea- 
 son, I think, to save Leigh^s tottering reason."^^ 
 
 And every question,^-^ put in Leigh pathetically, related 
 to me, — my words, my ways, my personal appearance. How- 
 ever interesting one may be to one^s self, there is such a thing 
 as holding a mirror too long before one^s face.""^ 
 
 Tom chuckled as they discoursed upon his misdeeds. It 
 was all quite true. His harrowing conduct that day would 
 have effectually murdered sleep in the drowsiest mortal. He 
 had received a merited reproof from Bessie for having dared to 
 perjure himself so shamelessly at breakfast, and had been per- 
 emptorily forbidden to again approach the delicate ground 
 upon which, according to her, Leigh and Philip were standing. 
 Debarred thus from his natural prey, he was forced to solace 
 himself with such small game as came in his path, and he 
 questioned Leigh remorselessly as to why her cheek^s pale 
 opal glowed with a red and restless spark,^^ and why were her 
 eyes so big and yellow, and would she minutely describe her 
 
226 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 symptoms^ and why did she hop about so strangely^ and why 
 did she do a dozen different things in as many minutes^ and so 
 on ad infinitum. 
 
 Don^t you believe their malicious slanders, Ogden. Im- 
 agine a man of genius, like me, mewed up in a country town 
 with these two chattering girls. I was forced, in self-defence, 
 to make a study of Miss Doane. Dull ignorance cannot, of 
 course, sympathize with the investigations of the scientific 
 mind,”^^ remarked Tom, with a graceful wave of his hand, and 
 throwing his cigar into the water. LeigVs case is one of 
 peculiar interest. I shall instantly resume my subtle analysis, 
 — you understand, young women ! — if I cannot immediately 
 prevail uj)on you to abandon that very picturesque attitude and 
 those boards.^^ 
 
 At this threat they rose reluctantly, and stood for a moment 
 looking off over the water. 
 
 It ^s a pity to go,^'^ said Bessie with a sigh. It is so 
 pretty, and it will never look the same again.'^'^ 
 
 It is likely to look better before it looks worse,^^ said 
 Tom, in a hearty and unsentimental manner. 
 
 Which is a good, comfortable theory, Tom, but it does not 
 always work well,^^ added Philip. 
 
 ‘ “ Nothing can be as it has been before, 
 
 Better so call it, only not the same,’ ” 
 
 quoted Leigh softly. And they turned away and walked 
 slowly along the bridge towards home. Leigh and Philip 
 fell a little behind. They talked together quietly, as old 
 friends, rejoiced in Gem^'s safety, planned pleasant surprises 
 for his convalescence. They discussed the time of the proba- 
 ble appearance of the Idlewild. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 227 
 
 I hope you will have the happiest trip imaginable/^ said 
 Philip^ and get thoroughly rested. With Tom and Blake 
 you caiiT fail to be very jolly.'’'" 
 
 W^hy did he not say ^^we/'" Leigh asked herself. Was he 
 not going too? The question almost passed her lips^ but 
 something withheld it. Bessie and Tom were leaning over the 
 railing of the bridge^ a short distance from them. They too 
 stopped, and stood in silence looking at the familiar outlines. 
 There lay the fort. Each remembered that gray morning, ages 
 ago, it seemed now, when they had hated each other so cor- 
 dially. Ear below, over the glistening water, rose Birch Point. 
 How pretty and spirited she had looked that day, Philip 
 thought. Leigh remembered that she had said to herself, 
 
 “ It was the boatman Ronsalee, 
 
 And he sailed through the mists so white,” 
 
 as Philip pulled into the cove so easily that day. How lovely it 
 all was, with the western light shining on the water and bring- 
 ing out so strongly the different shades of green in the woods 
 on the opposite shore ! And the swift wherry, darting in sud- 
 denly, had not injured the picturesque effect, nor had the figure 
 in the boat been deficient in manly grace and strength, nor had 
 the cordial, pleasant voice that had responded to Gem^s summons 
 jarred upon her. Had she liked him a little even then, this 
 friend whose presence was so restful now that the summer was 
 almost gone ? And he was not going with them in the yacht ? 
 Perhaps they might not see him when they returned. What 
 did he really mean, she wondered. Leigh felt troubled, con- 
 fused, but of one thing she was almost sure, that now, as they 
 stood quietly in the starlight, was the time, the very last time 
 
228 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 she might ever have, possibly, to thank him for all that he had 
 done, and to speak with perfect frankness of their first acquaint- 
 ance. Still she hesitated. Slie had been silent so long, it was 
 difficult to speak now. Yet why not ? Why wait a moment 
 longer ? There were Bessie and Tom. She had only deferred 
 speaking until they should be here. Now was the opportunity. 
 
 To-morrow, who can tell ? The Idlewild might come in, 
 and all would be excitement and hurry and confusion, and she 
 might go away with never an honest word of apology, and leave 
 Mr. Ogden to think she was ungenerous, ungrateful. She 
 glanced up at him. His face was dark and thoughtful, as he 
 stood erect, looking straight beyond him. How very, very 
 hard it was for her to begin ! She leaned over the railing, and 
 tried to see a fish which had just leaped and stirred the water. 
 
 Miss Leigh, shall we not go on ? said Philip. If you 
 were in your usual condition, I would beg you to stay ; but I 
 don’t like to keep you out this evening, even with my man’s 
 selfishness, as you call it.” 
 
 You do not keep me,” said Leigh. His voice had given 
 her courage. I wish to stay, for I have something to say to 
 you, and I may not see much of you after this.” Philip started, 
 and watched her closely. I wish to tell you,” she went on 
 simply, but without looking up at him, that I am very sorry 
 I was so rude and foolish, and received you in such an inex- 
 cusable way at the fort. I thought, then, I had some reason. 
 I think, now, I had none,” she continued rapidly, as Philip 
 was about to speak. Please let me finish. I only want you 
 to know how good you ’ve been to me, and with what kindness 
 and courtesy and generosity you ’ve repaid me for all my rude- 
 
ONE SUMMER 
 
 229 
 
 ness, and I am very sorry for everything, — everything,"" she 
 repeated; ^^and if you can forgive me — "" 
 
 I beg you will not say another word,"" said Philip, in a 
 low, hurried voice, taking both her hands in his impetuously. 
 
230 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 and holding them in a firm grasp. You pain me by talking 
 so. Why should you say ^ forgive^ to me? I have nothing 
 to forgive^ — nothing whatever. It is my place to beg for 
 pardon at your feet^ — for pardon and for more^ for more^ my 
 darling — Leigh^ do you not know — 
 
 Ah^ don^t ! said Leigh^ turning away, and burying her 
 face in her hands. His manner, his eager words, the strange 
 new depths in his voice, were a revelation to her. The ten- 
 derness which had often sounded in his tones she had accepted 
 unconsciously, or construed into simple kindness to her and 
 Gem. This passionate voice was a different thing. She could 
 not misunderstand its meaning, nor that of the face which was 
 looking directly into her own. She was inexpressibly weary 
 in mind and body. Her fatigue and excitement, followed by 
 the long quiet evening, were at last telling strongly upon her, 
 and sending a penetrating languor over her whole system. 
 Never, perhaps, in her life, had she been so utterly unnerved 
 as she was, even before Philip had spoken, and what he had 
 said seemed too much for her to bear. Not once had she 
 thought of this quiet, watchful friend as a lover. She had 
 done him a wrong. He had been good to her. She wished 
 to make reparation, and to thank him, before their lives, 
 thrown together so curiously for a time, should separate for- 
 ever. She wished him to say he forgave her, in the old 
 friendly way. This new voice had sounded too suddenly in 
 her ears. She was too tired to listen to its throbbing, restless, 
 seeking tones. Instinctively she had lifted her hand as if to 
 shield herself from a blow, and shrinking, troubled, pleading, 
 had said, — 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 231 
 
 Ah ! don^t; don^t^ please ! 
 
 In an instant the old quiet returned to Philipps manner. 
 He had waited long^ it seemed to him. He could wait longer. 
 The sweet friendliness of her manner^ as she offered her frank 
 apology^ he had not misunderstood^ or estimated for more 
 than it was worthy yet it seemed that he had spoken too soon. 
 Would she ever learn not to dislike him? Suddenly^ as he 
 looked down upon her half-averted face^ a true appreciation of 
 Heights position dawned upon him^ — 
 
 “ Because where reason even finds no flaw. 
 
 Unerringly a lover’s instinct may,” — 
 
 and his heart was filled with a pitying tenderness. 
 
 I am a brute to give her one more thought. She is no 
 more fit to hear me than a tired child. It would be ungenerous 
 to distress her by saying more.^*^ Yet Philip found it almost 
 beyond his strength to reason and wait when his very life 
 seemed trembling in the balance. He craved an answer^ even 
 if it were that she cared not for him. Her weariness^ the pale^ 
 sad face from which all the sparkle had gone^ moved him 
 deeply ; and a wild impulse to take the drooping figure in his 
 arms^ and draw that weary head to his hearty seized him. He 
 set his teeth together^ turned and looked away from Leigh^ fol- 
 lowing with his eye the long^ dark line of the bridge^ steadied 
 himself manfully^ and in a moment said in his ordinary man- 
 ner^ — 
 
 Shall we go on now^ Miss Leigh ? Tom and your sister 
 have just started^ I believe."^^ She took his proffered arm^ and 
 they resumed their walk. 
 
 You are very good/’ she said gratefully^ when they had 
 
232 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 gone on some moments in silence. did not mean — 1 did 
 not know/’ she went on brokenly ; then^ not even making an 
 effort to complete her sentence^ said simply, ’m very tired.’’ 
 
 Yes, I know,” Philip replied gently. ^^Porgive me for 
 troubling you. We are only Gem’s two friends now. He is 
 not quite well yet, and I may still claim you as my friend, for 
 his sake, may I not? ” This light appeal, and the old jesting 
 tone, poor tired Leigh found that she could answer without too 
 much perturbation. 
 
 I think perhaps we are friends for our own sakes, through 
 Gem, of course, but — ” She hesitated; her words were still 
 refractory ; they would not come at her bidding. 
 
 Bless the boy ! ” exclaimed Philip, emphatically ; and 
 Leigh looked up and met his smile. Was it a dream, then, 
 this scene of a few moments before ? This was not the same 
 man. It was only the old Philip, whose presence gave her rest 
 and relief. They said little as they passed up the village street. 
 Leigh’s brain was whirling, yet she felt too fatigued to really 
 think ; and Philip, in spite of the little repelling gesture with 
 which she had received his avowal, — in spite of her begging 
 him to say no more, — could not feel like a hopeless and de- 
 spondent lover. The intuition of love had taught him why she 
 had repulsed him. He did not think she loved him, but she 
 had shown him that she trusted him. She had said that they 
 were friends. Perhaps a long, long patience would accomplish 
 the rest. Such, as they crossed the common, were his thoughts, 
 which were interrupted by Tom’s jovial voice in advance. 
 
 Leigh, if you ’re quoting poetry, mind your cae-su-ras,” 
 he called out in a pedantic and warning manner. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 233 
 
 Miss Doane is too tired to trouble herself about trifles/"^ 
 retorted Philip. 
 
 And who made him Leigh’s champion ? ” muttered Tom. 
 
 Things must be advancing rapidly^ wLen that ready tongue 
 of hers yields its right of retort.” 
 
 Did I not tell you so ? ” asked Bessie in triumph. But 
 Tom/’ — reproachfully^ — how could you have said that to 
 Leigh? Do you not know you might have intruded your 
 caesuras at a most interesting and critical moment ? ” 
 
 And have I not received explicit instruction not to appear 
 as if I imagined there could by any possibility be an interest- 
 ing moment in the career of those young persons ? In that 
 state of sublime ignorance which you demand of me, what was 
 more natural than my charming and facetious remark ? Hard 
 as I strive to please you, I seem to fail in every particular.” 
 
 Of course you do, because you are an incorrigible, teasing 
 boy,’’ she replied, giving a scornful emphasis to the last word. 
 
 May I not turn round and ask Leigh if she observes how 
 strangely brilliant Venus is to-night ? ” he meekly asked. 
 Indeed you may not,” Bessie replied severely. 
 
 Well, what do you suppose they are talking about?” 
 continued the wicked Tom. They keep me in awful sus- 
 pense. Why do they pause so long upon the brink of the 
 Eubicon ? / could help them over. May n’t I, Bessie ? ” 
 
 Hush, Tom ! ” putting her hand over his lips as he was 
 about to speak. You ’d be more apt to help them in and 
 drown them,” she whispered, as Leigh and Philip joined them. 
 
 One moment more Philip had alone with Leigh that even- 
 ing. Bessie had disappeared in search of wine, which she 
 
234 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 insisted Leigh must have^ and Tom had followed^ and their 
 two laughing voices could be heard above as they unpacked a 
 hamper. 
 
 Miss Leigh^ forgive me if I trouble you^ but I have so 
 much to say to you. May I say one little word more ? 
 
 Of course you may say what you like^ Mr. Ogden. I am 
 not entitled to so much consideration. I am tired^ you know^ 
 and stupid/^ she said^ putting her hand to her head wearily ; 
 ^‘^but I am not in extremis, I can listen when a friend 
 speaks.^^ And Leigh smiled at him from the window-seat, 
 as he stood before her. 
 
 ^‘^It is only this/’ he said hurriedly. ‘^Pardon me for 
 saying it now, but I may not have another opportunity. I 
 made arrangements a few weeks ago to join a party of friends 
 who are fishing at Manhegan, instead of going on the Idle- 
 wild trip. I thought my presence would not be agreeable to 
 you. I did not wonder at that,^^ he added, meeting Leigh^s 
 regretful, deprecating glance. ^^You see I thought, even 
 after the amicable relations we had assumed ^ for Gem^s sake,^ 
 some unlucky reminiscence would continually pop up and 
 disturb your peace, and I concluded it would be altogether 
 better if I should not go with you.’^ 
 
 ^^You were extremely thoughtful,'"^ said Leigh, quietly, 
 turning away, and, with face pressed close against the pane, 
 peering out into the darkness. 
 
 But now I feel differently. I regret that I have agreed 
 to go to Manhegan. I have been due there some days, but 
 could not, of course, leave Gem.^’ He paused, then went on, 
 growing more earnest and rapid every moment. Lately I 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 235 
 
 have dared to hope that my presence on the yacht might not 
 drive away all your pleasure. Leigli^ I have not thought it^ 
 I have only hoj^ed^ and I have even dared to tell myself that 
 possibly you would allow me to join the party later at some 
 place where the yacht puts in.’^ Leigh listened silently^ but 
 did not turn her head. Do not misunderstand me. I am 
 asking nothing of you. You pledge yourself to nothing. 
 It is simply your permission to see you again^ — to receive 
 from you a friend^s welcome, — only that.'’'’ And his voice 
 pleaded so earnestly that again he held himself back, and said. 
 
 Forgive me, — try to forgive me, — I am presuming again 
 upon your patience. You need not answer a word to-night,^^ 
 he said, as Leigh turned towards him. I have no right to 
 distress you. Yet how can I be wholly silent? ’'’ he exclaimed 
 impetuously. 
 
 Leigh rose from the window-seat, and stood before him. 
 There may have been a little quiver about the sensitive mouth, 
 and her clasped hands were pressed closely together, but she 
 spoke calmly. 
 
 Mr. Ogden, I cannot, of course, fail to understand you. 
 Pardon me if I was cowardly and childish on the bridge just 
 now. You have a right to speak and be answered. You 
 startled me ; and you give me much to think of, — far, far 
 too much for me to answer now.^^ Here she faltered a little ; 
 then regaining her composure, ^^Yet I would like you to 
 know that I think you are very, very good to me, and such 
 goodness as yours demands in return fair, honest treatment at 
 least.'’'’ Looking earnestly into Philips’s eager face, she said. 
 
 You say I pledge myself to nothing by what I say now? '” 
 
236 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 ^‘'Absolutely nothing.’^ 
 
 am glad/’ Leigh said simply. could not promise 
 anything. I do not know."” 
 
 You need not promise^ and you need not know.^^ 
 
 Then^ Mr. Ogden/*’ slowly, and with grave, sweet dignity, 
 I would be pleased if you were to go with us on the Idle- 
 wild ; and if you care to join us by and by, I will give you 
 the friend’s welcome. I think I will not wait for my sister. 
 Good night, Mr. Ogden.” 
 
 Eeverentially, as if she were a young princess, Philip lifted 
 to his lips the hand she extended to him, and thus silently ex- 
 pressed his gratitude. 
 
 Afterwards he and Tom sat smoking together at the door. 
 Tom,” said Philip deliberately between his puffs, have 
 you anything to say against me, — my moral character, tem- 
 per, position, business prospects ? ” 
 
 Tom turned squarely round, looked Philip in the face, and 
 said, — 
 
 Can’t say that I have.” 
 
 ‘‘ ‘ Speak now, or forever after hold your peace.’ ” 
 
 Hm ! as far along as that ? Do you want to shake hands, 
 Ogden ? ” 
 
 Wait, Tom. I don’t wish to take your hand under false 
 pretences. I am addressing you formally, now, as Miss 
 Doane’s natural protector, and announcing my intentions 
 simply. What hers may be is a different matter.” 
 
 My dear Philip, as Miss Doane’s guardian, then, I give 
 you my hearty approval and sympathy ; and, as a keen ob- 
 server of the fair sex, I feel justified in assuring you that 
 there can be no reasonable doubt of a delightful unanimity 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 237 
 
 of sentiment between you/’ Philip smiled and quietly re- 
 plied^ — 
 
 The matter rests with Miss Doane, Tom. It is out of 
 my hands. I await her decision.’’ 
 
 The two young men smoked on in silence. 
 
 Brother ! embrace me ! ” burst forth from the irrepressi- 
 ble Tom. 
 
 Excuse me/’ said 
 Philip^ laughing. The 
 relationship is horribly 
 premature^ and as for the 
 demonstration^ I should 
 n’t enjoy it.” 
 
 Will you shake hands^ 
 then ? ” 
 
 ^^Withpleasure.” And 
 each took the other’s 
 hand^ with that strong, 
 long grasp in which men, 
 deeming words at such 
 moments a meaningless 
 form, express hearty good- 
 will, affection, it may be. 
 
 Behind Tom’s jesting 
 manner his honest soul 
 looked out and wished 
 his. friend goodspeed ; and Philip saw it, thanked him in his 
 heart, and went off down the road to the cottage at a rapid, 
 swinging gait, with hopeful, happy fancies thronging in his 
 mind, ^11 created by the might of one fair face.” 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 “ To say why girls act so or so. 
 
 Or don’t, ’ould be presumin’. 
 
 Mebby to mean yes and say no 
 Comes nateral to women.” 
 
 Lowell. 
 
 “ Heart, are ye great enough 
 For a love that never tires ? ” 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
 WEEK passed. Gem steadily improved, and each 
 day Leigh sat with him, told stories, sang to him^ 
 and made the long hours seem shorter, to tlie rest- 
 less, impatient child. Bessie came, too ; and Gem, 
 although at first a little shy with her, — for his illness had 
 changed him somewhat, — soon grew to watch for her coming 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 239 
 
 also, and to welcome "^Miss Leigh’s Bessie/’ who was "Hike 
 Miss Leigh an’ yet she war n’t, an’ talked like Miss Leigh and 
 yet she did n’t.” Tom fussed and fumed, and declared that 
 he was dying of neglect, and that he had heard nothing but 
 Gem this and Gem that,” since he came ; yet evidence of 
 his warm interest was not wanting at the boy’s bedside. One 
 day he brought out some choice wine, with a stern, ^^Take 
 that to yon pampered fledgling.” And curious wooden puz- 
 zles, just light enough for small, weak Angers to play with, 
 and not too intricate for the little brain, wearied by long 
 illness, to solve, appeared mysteriously in baskets of fruits 
 and flowers which Bessie sent to Gem. 
 
 Philip was much with Tom, and saw little of Leigh during 
 the few days he remained in Edgecomb. He had long talks 
 with Gem when Leigh was not at the cottage. When she 
 would enter the room, he would resign his place near the in- 
 valid, and, after a friendly word or two, go out. His manner 
 was as of old during Gem’s illness. They two were Gem’s 
 friends simply. He was quietly waiting, giving her time, 
 making no allusion to the deeper waters they had entered. 
 Only once, and then just before his departure, he said, — 
 
 ‘‘1 shall go to Manhegan to-morrow. I still have your 
 permission to join the Idle wild party ? ” 
 
 Yes, if you can And us,” she answered gayly. From all 
 I can hear, I imagine we are going to be a very erratic 
 band of voyagers, and you, in search of us, may go flying 
 by some little harbor where we are safely at anchor all the 
 time.” 
 
 I think I shall be able to And you without much difli- 
 
240 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 culty/’ Philip returned with a smile. The coast of Maine 
 will give us an extended field for a game of hide-and-seek. 
 You will not escape rne^ unless you do it wilfully.’’ 
 promise to ^play fair.’ ” 
 
 Thank you. Then I shall certainly find you some- 
 where.” 
 
 ^ Somewhere^ somewhen^ somehow/ as it says in ^ Water 
 Babies/ ” added Leigh^ laughing. ^^Delightfully vague^ is it 
 not ? Good by^ then, Mr. Ogden. I wish you a charming 
 time, and ever so many fish at Manhegan. You must bring 
 us some stories from the rocky, wild old place. The fishermen 
 there ought to be wonderfully interesting.” 
 
 I ’ll try to pick up something worth repeating. Every 
 new idea I gain is of enormous value to me, as my mind only 
 dwells upon events which have occurred since Gem’s illness,” 
 Philip said, with a curious smile. And, though the good-by 
 was spoken, he still lingered. ^^My previous history is a 
 blank.” 
 
 Perhaps it would be well for both of us to bury a few 
 weeks in oblivion,” said Leigh, demurely. am sure when 
 I view myself in certain lights, I am not an edifying spectacle. 
 It was all very ridiculous, was it not ? But I ’m sorry ; and 
 Mr. Ogden,” she went on, roguishly, ^^if it will afford you 
 any pleasure, you may break my poor little umbrella into a 
 thousand pieces, although Tom did bring it to me from Lon- 
 don, and my affections still cling to it, in spite of its depravity. 
 And you may burn that foolish sketch-book, with solemn and 
 appropriate rites,” she went on merrily. And can I give 
 you satisfaction in any other way? ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 241 
 
 You know perfectly well that you can/’ w^as the low 
 response. 
 
 Philip had not intended to urge his suit as he bade her fare- 
 well for a few days. He had contemplated a cool and un- 
 sentimental leave-taking, as a sort of sanitary measure, which 
 would benefit him in the end. He saw that Leigh was not 
 quite sure of herself, nor did he wonder at all that she wanted 
 time to think. He looked forward with a firm, patient hope 
 to the day when he should gain her love. He felt in some 
 way assured that that day would surely come. If Leigh had 
 not had some little regard — affection, it may be — for him, 
 he reffected, with a wondering thankfulness, if it would be 
 impossible for her to care for him as he wished her to care, she 
 would have known it at once, and would have told him so in 
 frank womanly words. Their present intercourse, which out- 
 wardly resembled the calm ease of a long friendship, would 
 have been impossible, had he been an uncertain aspirant for 
 higher honors. Gem was still the connecting link, and there 
 were all the curious and familiar elements of life among the 
 Holbrooks, which made it, to a certain extent, natural that 
 they should sink back into the old grooves ; yet beneath this 
 surface life was the deep undertone. She had given him en- 
 couragement, and he was showing her plainly, that, so long as 
 she needed, she might rely upon his patience and delicate 
 consideration for her doubts. He understood her far better 
 than Leigh imagined. She was not a girl who was in a 
 chronic state of listening, breathless expectation of a proposal 
 of marriage from every eligible man she met. He had watched 
 her very closely. He had seen that she would greet him with 
 
242 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 sweety pleased eyes^ when he would join her^ after an absence 
 of some hours ; yet he had also seen that her welcome^ while 
 it evinced trust and sympathy^ was too frank to lie very far 
 below the surface. He knew that his little attentions, his 
 constant care of her, she had accepted all along, as she, with 
 her honest, innocent heart, could not have done, had she not 
 felt a real liking for him ; yet it had been only a liking, Philip 
 saw. Why should it grow in one moment into a great resist- 
 less love like his own. True love is by turns humble and 
 proud. Philip was in the stages of humility. Any sweet, 
 good woman is too good for the best man that walks the 
 earth,^^ he said to himself. And why should this rare Leigh, 
 tliis priceless pearl of women, so purer than the purest be 
 his at once for the asking ? He could wait, for he knew well 
 its fair radiance was destined to shine into his life. Why, 
 then, with so dear and blessed a hope, should he not be 
 patient ? So he had reasoned ; yet, as Leigh had looked up 
 at him, and carelessly asked if there was any other way in 
 which she could give him satisfaction, involuntarily he had 
 answered with his whole soul in his voice, and the tone and 
 word could not be recalled. 
 
 Leigh stood leaning against one of the pillars which sup- 
 ported Miss Phippses antique portico,” with the light from 
 the hall streaming out upon her face. 
 
 The usual group of four had been chatting out in the porch, 
 but Bessie had judiciously departed, dragging away with her 
 the reluctant Tom, and calmly announcing a palpably improb- 
 able reason for withdrawing. 
 
 Tom feelingly remonstrated, — 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 243 
 
 If you will persist in being general of this army^ Bessie, 
 I wish you might become a more profound tactician ; and I 
 must protest against wife of mine making such unblushingly 
 mendacious assertions. That last was too painfully attenu- 
 ated, — the very fibbiest of fibs.’'^ 
 
 Tom,^^ Bessie said, oracularly, Mr. Ogden is going away. 
 Everything depends upon what is done at this moment. Fare- 
 wells are extremely important.'’^ 
 
 *^^Why do you not write a book? ^Love-Making Made 
 Easy ’ would attract attention, and I never, in all my life, 
 met anybody who knew quite so much about it as you do.” 
 ^^Who taught me, I M like to know !” was the pert and 
 pointed rejoinder. 
 
 ‘^1 ’m sure I canT imagine,” retorted Tom, with a reflec- 
 tive air. ^^Let me think. Barton, was n’t it, or Nettleton, 
 or Allen, or some other one of those dandy fellows, who were 
 always spinning about you until I appeared,” he went on 
 with a magnificent flourish, and they vanished like dew be- 
 fore the sun. Yet what I did in those old and halcyon days, 
 my beloved, I accomplished by my own unaided genius. No 
 one ever spread cotton-wool in my path as you do in Ogden’s,” 
 he murmured plaintively. ^^And Leigh, too, — it was not ever 
 thus. She was not once so brittle. Will she really break if I 
 touch her? ” 
 
 Tom, you know you are quite as much interested as I am, 
 oidy you are too ridiculous to acknowledge it.” 
 
 Interested ? Of course I am, only I don’t want to be 
 harassed and hampered, and prevented from showing my in- 
 terest ill my own peculiar and pleasing method. A pretty 
 
244 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 way to evince interest it is to rush off into the dining-room 
 and close two doors behind one^ so one cannot possibly hear 
 what is going on. I want to hear^ I tell yqu ! I want to be 
 on the spot. Why do you restrain me^ you cruel woman ? 
 I want to give Ogden an encouraging pat on the back, and 
 charm Leigh with my naivete and innocent prattle ! ” 
 
 0 Tom, do be quiet ! said Bessie, stifling with laughter. 
 
 You grow worse and worse. They will certainly hear you.” 
 
 1 wish they would. It might hurry up the final tableau. 
 Sweet thing!” he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. ^^CanT you 
 see it, Bessie ? Ogden and Leigh joining hands, just before 
 the foot-lights, and bowing gracefully to the audience. I, at 
 stage right, doing the heavy walking-gentleman to perfection, 
 the tearful old paternal, the ^ bless you, my children ’ style of 
 thing, you know, while a smile of righteous joy will play over 
 my mobile features, and 
 
 ‘ How pleasant is Saturday night, 
 
 When we Ve tried all the week to be good,’ 
 
 will emanate from my whole presence, and — ” 
 
 That ’s more than enough about you, you egotistical, con- 
 ceited creature ! Where will I be, if you please, sir ? ” 
 
 You? You will play watchful, protecting spirit then, as 
 you do now, my angel. You will be Hhe sweet little cherub 
 that sits up aloft,^ at the extreme top of the stage left. You 
 will wear spangled tarlatan, a gilt-paper crown, and a delicious 
 smirk; and your exquisite arms, to which will be attached 
 gorgeous pink calico wings, will dreamily wave, and fling 
 down benisons upon the hapjjy pair, while the supernumerary 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 245 
 
 will burn beautiful yellow and green light at the wiugs^ and 
 the badly tuned violins will wail^ and the curtain will fall amid 
 tumultuous applause.” 
 
 Tom^ I do not think I can tolerate such a scene as this 
 even in joke^ and from you. Who ever heard of an angel h. 
 pink?” 
 
 And should not the angel of love appear in rose-color ? ” 
 
 And yellow and green lights ! Your description is abomi- 
 nable^ and highly improper, too, being strangely suggestive of 
 Black Crook transformation scenes.” 
 
 While they talked thus after their usual fashion in the 
 dining-room, where Bessie had caged her husband, out at the 
 porch a conversation of different import was going on. 
 
 Philip had spoken again. 
 
 You know perfectly well that you can,” he had said. 
 
 My life is in your hands.” 
 
 Leigh^s heart beat fast, and she nervously pulled in pieces 
 a honeysuckle-blossom, sacrificing the fragrant, unoffending 
 flower in her troubled mood. 
 
 Mr. Ogden, may I speak very frankly to you ? I think 
 there should be no disguise between us, whatever may come, 
 and I know you will not misunderstand me; and you will par-/ 
 don me if what I am about to say seems strange ? 
 
 Do not hesitate to say anything you wish. I cannot mis- 
 understand.” 
 
 In all these days in which you have been so good, and 
 have given me time to think, it seems to me I ought to feel 
 sure of myself, and I am not, Mr. Ogden. I am so sorry, but 
 I feel^troubled, full of doubt.” 
 
246 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Why should you not feel so ? It is no light thing, I ask 
 of you/" Philip said gently. Then, after a moment, Could 
 you tell me what especially makes you troubled ? "" 
 
 I would like to tell you if I can. I wish to show you 
 what is in my heart. It seems to me the only way,” she hesi- 
 tated. Again the innocent honeysuckle- vine suffered, as Leigh^s 
 unconscious hands ruthlessly showered leaf and flower upon 
 the steps. Abruptly she began. Mr. Ogden, it is so difler- 
 ent from my theories. All girls have theories, you know. I 
 cannot deny that I care for you more than I ever cared for 
 any one before,” she said slowly, and so low, that Philip 
 scarcely heard the words that were so dear-to him. Wait,” 
 she went on, with a little imperious gesture, as Philip eagerly 
 began to speak, — wait. I care for you more, but how can 
 I be sure that I care for you enough ? How can I ? And 
 the earnestness of her voice deepened as she repeated her ques- 
 tion, and looked straight into the eyes of the man that loved 
 her. You have been good to me. You have cared for me 
 constantly in little kind ways. Mrs. Browning says, ^ these 
 things have their weight with girls " ; and a faint smile 
 trembled about Leigh’s lips. I suppose she knew. You 
 have been with me weeks and weeks. I have grown used to 
 you, and now you tell me that you love me ; and in return I 
 give much regard, a grateful affection perhaps, but is it love ? 
 It is not like the love I have dreamed of!"’ she exclaimed 
 passionately. 
 
 Philip wondered if there were another woman in the world 
 60 true as the. one who stood before him, trying to let him 
 read her very heart as if it were an open book, and whose face 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 247 
 
 and attitude and voice^ by sudden eloquent little changes each 
 moment^ seemed to reveal every phase of the feeling which 
 stirred her so deeply. 
 
 He did not speak^ for he saw that she had more to say to him. 
 
 ^^Let me speak more plainly.'"^ And she carefully chose 
 her words, and endeavored to be quite calm. Your presence 
 makes me very happy. 1 think I would like you to come 
 very often to my sister^s home, yet I do not feel that for you 
 I would, if you asked me to-day, give up that home, and all 
 the pleasant things in my old life,^^ Leigh went on bravely, 
 though she was evidently making a mighty effort. I have 
 always believed no woman ought to marry a man, if she feels 
 she can under any circumstances be happy without him. Am 
 I talking strangely ? Forgive me. Do not be ’ angry with 
 me. I do care very much for you, and I should miss you if 
 you did not come to my home, and I should think of you 
 often at first, but after a time I think I might be quite happy 
 without you.'’^ Then, with a tremulous voice, suggestive of 
 the deepest emotion, arid also of a nervous desire to laugh, she 
 said, A woman, if she really loves a man, ought to be will- 
 ing to go and live in a log- cabin with him, out on the prairies, 
 and I do not love you enough for that. I know I do not. 
 Do not think me speaking lightly,^^ she said pleadingly. It 
 is so hard to tell you exactly what I mean, and I am so sad at 
 heart. But when you offer me so royal a gift as your love, 
 when you place all that you have, and all that you are, at 
 my feet, I must, at least, give you absolute truth in re- 
 turn. You see how I trust you. I am trying to tell you 
 every/ thought.*^^ 
 
248 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 I know that you trust me/'’ Philip said^ taking in his own 
 her two trembling hands^ and holding them firmly, and I 
 believe that I can teach you to love me. Leigh, you must 
 love me a little, or you could not let me hold these dear hands 
 in mine, nor touch them with my lips. See, I kiss them over 
 and over, and you do not draw them away. Already you give 
 me far more than I deserve, and for the rest I can wait very, 
 very patiently.^^ • 
 
 Leigh was touched indescribably by the quiet tenderness of 
 his manner. 
 
 ^*^But/^ she said, ^^is this right? What _ if the day comes 
 when I look you in the face and say I do not love you ? 
 What would you think of me then ? 
 
 I should think what I think now, that your true heart 
 had revealed itself to me in all honor.'’^ 
 
 But I ought to know ; it is w^eak to hesitate. I cannot 
 bear to think that I may be deceiving you.'’^ 
 
 You cannot deceive me. Let your heart be quite at rest. 
 Bo not question yourself and be troubled any longer, for, 
 whatever comes, you will not have deceived me for one mo- 
 ment. But, dear, I think you will love me. Do you forgive 
 me for feeling so sure ? 
 
 Mr. Ogden, wall I seem foolish if I ask you, how do I 
 know but some, day I may experience a stronger, deeper love 
 than that wLich I feel for you? I have not seen everybody.” 
 
 Philip smiled at her unconscious admission, and at the utter 
 simplicity of her manner. 
 
 ^^Dear, you will honor me beyond all the world, if you 
 will give me the happiness of assuming that risk.” Then 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 249 
 
 he said^ more gravely, I know well that I am no hero. 
 You will meet many a person more like the ideal man you 
 may have dreamed of loving^ but I love you with my whole 
 soub Leigh.” 
 
 When you speak so^ you place me in a different atmos- 
 phere. It is as if I were quite promised to you/’ Leigh said^ 
 in a pained^ low voice. I have always been so decided in 
 everything^ and I have felt so distressed in the last few days 
 because of my doubts. Love^ real love^ never hesitates so. 
 Are you sure that you understand? I cannot feel that I 
 wish to lose you utterly ; yet, Mr. Ogden, you are very far 
 from being all the world to me. Do you think you under- 
 stand ? ” 
 
 Everything, everything, and what you tell me makes me 
 profoundly happy, and I love you a thousand times more for 
 every noble word you have said to-night. I have unspeakable 
 faith in your perfect truth towards me. Whatever you do will 
 be sweet and right.” 
 
 I shall feel differently now. You are so good it rests 
 me.” 
 
 You have given me such happiness, such blessed 
 hope ! ” 
 
 Ah, but please do not be happy quite yet ! I do not 
 know.” 
 
 know,” said Philip, under his breath. Will you say 
 good by to your sister and Tom for me ? I want you all 
 alone, just as you stand there, so fair and sweet, with the 
 lovely eyes looking up at me, and telling me that you love me 
 a little, for the very last picture I take away in my heart from 
 
250 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 here/’ And^ bending again over the hands he held so closely, 
 
 he said^ I can be quite pa- 
 tient^ only trust me^ dear.” 
 And in a moment his step 
 sounded rapidly on the 
 pavement^ and Leigh was 
 alone. But not long was 
 she left to her sweet medi- 
 tations. Out came Tom^ 
 carefully guarded by Bes- 
 sie. His long-suppressed 
 mischief^ forbidden to ex- 
 press itself in words^ found 
 vent in prolonged, in- 
 quiring stares, and glances 
 of commiseration, and 
 Bessie’s iTiost frantic ef- 
 forts did not prevent him 
 from drawling out, in a 
 supernaturally solemn 
 voice, — 
 
 “ Blest is the tie that b-i-n-d-s, 
 Dum di do, di dum de, 
 
 The fellowship of kindred m-i-n-d-s, 
 Dum di do, di dum de,’’ 
 
 as he passed Leigh her 
 candle, and gave her an affectionate good-night. 
 
CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 “ Whence came ye, jolly Satyrs ! Whence came ye. 
 
 So many, and so many, and such glee ? ” 
 
 Keats. 
 
 HAT amazing sounds ! ” exclaimed Leigh, as she, 
 with Tom and Bessie, returning from Gem’s late 
 one afternoon, rode slowly along the winding 
 wood-road. Are we coming upon sylvan dei- 
 ties at their revels? ” And they all peered curiously through 
 the trees. 
 
 The approaching sounds grew more distinct, and Tom re- 
 marked, Whatever they may be, they are singing college- 
 songs, with immense gusto ; and no faun that ever capered 
 could shout in Blake’s basso prof undo, which greets me now, 
 if my ears do not deceive me.” 
 
 He whipped up his horse in some excitement, and a sudden 
 
252 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 turn in the road disclosed three young men, walking arm in 
 arm, smiling broadly upon the universe, and melodiously 
 chanting the inspiring strains of Crambambuli, while one of 
 them vigorously beat time with a long leafy branch. When he 
 saw Tom he wildly waved his baton high in the air, and rushed 
 forward. Tom made a dashing leap over the wheel of the old 
 wagon, and ejaculating, That eye ! Those nose ! ’T is he ! ” 
 ran to meet him, and the two in a pathetic manner threw them- 
 selves into each other’s outstretched arms, while the long 
 branch gently and ridiculously swayed over their heads. 
 
 Ladies, pardon our emotion,” said Mr. jBlake, approaching 
 the wagon, and receiving laughing and cordial greetings from 
 Bessie and Leigh, ^^but we only arrived an hour ago. We 
 were in search of you. My joy at beholding Tom’s beloved 
 form was uncontrollable. Here ’s Morton, whom you know, 
 but perhaps you did not know that he is suspected of writing 
 poetry ; and my young brother, whom you used to know before 
 he shot up so marvellously. Infant, make your best bow to 
 the ladies. The gallant crew of the Idle wild is reduced to 
 these three gloomy and ancient mariners, upon whom I beg 
 you will take pity.” 
 
 You do look sad, Mr. Blake,” said Leigh, and the 
 voices of all of you gentlemen sounded full of an untold woe 
 as you crept so wearily down the hill. Did you venture, may 
 I ask, to come through the village so ? ” And she looked 
 smilingly at young Blake. 
 
 We did not sing till we got to the woods, and Dick had 
 no branch to flourish, and that, I suppose, added to our irn^ 
 posing effect ; still we rather flatter ourselves we made a sen- 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 253 
 
 sation. We marched arm in arm straight from tlie yacht to 
 your present domicile^ inquiring our way^ of course. The in- 
 habitants rushed to the doors and windows^ and ^ the little dog 
 laughed to see such sport ’ — 
 
 And here we are^ suppliants before you/’ interrupted his 
 brother. We have left all the good comrades^ with whom 
 we started^ at one place after another on the coast. Can you 
 join us to-morrow^ Mrs. Otis ? ” 
 
 thanks^ but to-morrow is so very soon ! ” 
 
 Have pity on Morton. He has to read his odes to our 
 dull ears.” 
 
 I ^m not conscious of having perpetrated an ode since 
 I ’ve been on the Idlewild/'’ remarked the latter gentleman ; 
 
 but the most prosaic individual^ like our emaciated friend/’’ 
 — putting his hand on Mr. Blake’s stalwart shoulder^ — 
 might have a soul above mackerel^ and immortalize himself 
 in verse^ if you ladies would only grace the yacht with your 
 presence.” 
 
 And Will here/’ went on Mr. Blake^ ^Mie ’s young. He 
 writes the Log and makes our puns. That is^ he makes the 
 most and the worst. We Ve tried to humor the child and 
 laugh, but there has been an awful gloom over the yacht of 
 late, and we can laugh no more. You ladies have kind hearts. 
 Will you not encourage the youth? ” 
 
 ^^If you will allow me to offer you some friendly advice,” 
 said Bessie to Will, I would suggest that you resign your 
 office of punster-in-chief before Mr. Otis goes on board. He 
 will be a powerful rival. His puns, when he is much excited, 
 are the worst in the world. No one can possibly surpass 
 him.” 
 
254 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Whereupon the boy responded, that if he were forced to 
 resign the only position in which he could hope to distinguish 
 himself, he should rely upon the constant society of the ladies 
 as a consolation ; which sentiment was warmly applauded by 
 his elders, and his brother encouragingly remarked, — , 
 
 Bravo, Infant ! Never did better than that at your age, 
 myself.” 
 
 So they chatted in the merry green wood,” tne young 
 men grouped about the wagon in which the two ladies were 
 enthroned. Eloquently did the Blakes plead their cause. 
 The trip they proposed was to Mount Desert, and they prom- 
 ised, wind and weather permitting, to bring the ladies home 
 within a week. Bessie^s reluctance to leave baby for such an 
 age was overcome by Tom, who asserted himself manfully, 
 and declared that the nurse was a tower of strength, and that 
 the small atom of humanity would thrive equally well, in the 
 healthful country air, whether its mamma presided each day 
 over its sleeve-knots, or resigned that arduous toil for a week. 
 And Leigh^s disinclination to leave Gem quite yet was met 
 with facetious remarks from Tom, and importunate prayers 
 from the other young men. 
 
 Where is the boy? Show him to me,” said Mr. Blake. 
 
 Be he alive or be he dead, I ’ll take him along with us, if 
 he is the one impediment in Miss Doane’s path to the 
 Tdlewild.” 
 
 only wish you might take him,” said Leigh. ^^The 
 dear child would be so happy to go ; but it would not be 
 safe. He only sits up an hour or two each day.” 
 
 Blake, as you value your liappiness, don’t think of taking 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 255 
 
 him. He would be worse on board than the man who shot 
 the albatross. Miss Doane makes a kind of fetich of him^ 
 and has imbued my wife with the same idolatrous^ supersti- 
 tious folly. I have succeeded thus far in preserving tliat 
 sturdy uprightness which my biographers will vie with each 
 other in praising ; and you^ Harry^ I know^ have sufficient 
 manly independence to be proof against any of their fatuous 
 wiles ; but Morton^ as everybody is aware^ is uncommonly 
 susceptible, and Will is over-young, and we might see four 
 prostrate forms on the deck of the Idle wild, bending in blind 
 adoration before that Holbrook phenomenon.'’^ 
 
 He ’s jealous, Mr. Blake,” said Leigh. Gem is a 
 charming child, and you shall all see him, for he is going home 
 to make me a visit, and I do not think I shall ever let him go 
 away from me again.” 
 
 Happy, thrice-happy Gem !” said young Blake. ^^But 
 do not destroy my peace of mind by taking him on the yacht. 
 Miss Doane likes young people. At present I am, at least, 
 the youngest of the party. Perhaps she will deign to notice 
 me. If that Gem appears, I shall be nowhere.” And the 
 Infant, a long, lank youth of nineteen, whose tall form had 
 not had time as yet to fill out,” and whose face was fresh in 
 its coloring and bright with good-nature and fun, tried to look 
 disconsolate, and failed signally. I may not be a Gem, but 
 why may I not be sornebody^s own sweet Will? And won’t 
 somebody help me with the Log ? It ’s an awful bore ! Miss 
 Leigh, you and I used to be good friends in the mud-pie 
 days.” 
 
 will help you, you poor, abused boy,” said Leigh, 
 
256 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 laughing ; and if you will be good to Gem next winter^ — 
 for he and I are sworn friends^ you know^ — r I will be very 
 good to you on the yacht.^^ 
 
 O heavens ! Hear that demented girl ! ^ Love me^ love 
 
 my Gem/ is her one thought. I took a peep at the boy myself^ 
 to-day^ though I do not usually encourage him by so much as 
 a glance. You should see him. Thin ! thinner than the 
 Infant here^ and about a third as long. Ogden, who used to 
 be a man of sense, is gone daft on the subject, too, and he 
 sent on somewhere for an easy-chair, which is luxurious beyond 
 description, and the idol sits in it, with fruit and flowers and 
 other votive offerings all about, and the Arabian Nights mag- 
 nificently illustrated, and Eobinson Crusoe, and a pile of books 
 as high as your head, on a table that groans beneath their 
 weight ; and I think I detected Leigh burning incense the 
 other day. Is it not pitiable?” 
 
 But where is Ogden ? Is he with the wonderful boy ? 
 Where shall I And him ? ” 
 
 Where the breaking waves dash high on the stern and 
 rock-bound coast of Manhegan.” 
 
 ^^And is he off there? I depended upon him. Frailty, 
 thy name is Ogden ! ” 
 
 ^^I^m glad of it!” exclaimed Will, savagely. There are 
 men enough on the yacht. We Ve had a surfeit of them ever 
 since we started. I can survive the absence of Mr. Ogden, 
 and if you want to go off, Mr. Morton, to ‘ some unsuspected 
 isle in far-off seas/ I fll try to bear it. Tom, you doiiT count, 
 because you are married. It ^s no matter about you.” And 
 the audacious Infant smiled significantly and placidly at 
 Leigh. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 257 
 
 I ’m like Miss Murdstone. ^ Generally speaking, I don’t 
 like boys ! ’ ’’ retorted Mr. Morton. This youth being the 
 brother of my host, I have thus far refrained from dropping 
 into Davy Jones’s locker, but there are limits to my forbear- 
 ance.” 
 
 Meanwhile Tom and Mr. Blake were discussing Philip’s 
 disappearance, and the probabilities of finding him. Finally, 
 when all the doubts of the ladies had been met and silenced, 
 and all the arrangements for the trip perfected, the party went 
 on towards the village, with young Blake, however, in the 
 wagon with the ladies. Tom tramped along with his friends. 
 The woods resounded with Gaudeamus,” and milkmaids in 
 distant farmyards lifted their heads in wonder and affright to 
 listen to the echoes awakened by the classic 
 
 “ Hey down derry. 
 
 We ’ll drink and be merry. 
 
 In spite of Mahomet’s law.” 
 
CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 “ Till there was none of them but fain would be 
 Set in the ship, nor cared one man to stay 
 On the green earth for one more idle day.” 
 
 William Morris. 
 
 “ For Shadwell never deviates into sense.” 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 PON the deck of the Idlewild* sat the Infant 
 with a ponderous tome. Beside him were Leigh 
 holding his inkstand^ and Bessie aiding the im- 
 portant work of writing the Log by her sympathy 
 and valuable suggestions. Thus inspired^ the young man 
 wrote as follows : — 
 
 I 
 
 * The author would express her indebtedness to the veritable Log of a verita- 
 ble yacht Idlewild for certain items which will readily be recognized by persons 
 who have had or may have the good fortune of sailing in that most charming of 
 crafts, and of being entertained by its courteous owners. 
 
 She will also remark, in this connection, that while Edgecomb bears a slight 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 259 
 
 Thursday, August 30, 11 a. m. 
 
 Left Edgecomb at 9 1-2 a. m. Wind southwest, blowing fresh. 
 Barometer out of order. We have on board, in addition to persons 
 who have already received in these pages more honorable mention 
 than they deserve, Mr. Tom Otis, Mrs. Otis, and Miss L. L. Doane. 
 
 Mr. Tom Otis is the hero of twenty-nine pitched battles. His 
 bones are whitening on a dozen tented plains, and the blood he 
 has shed is of the best of Virginia. Jovial, witty, and of a large 
 and varied experience, the party is anticipating a vast amount of 
 entertainment from him as soon as he recovers from the sea-sick- 
 ness which he is momentarily expecting. 
 
 Mrs. Otis and Miss Doane being at the present moment seated 
 on deck with the historiographer of this cruise, and looking over 
 his shoulder as he writes, he naturally feels the blush of ingenuous 
 youth mounting to his brow, and shrinks from the presumption of 
 reducing to cold, dull words the sentiments which their dazzling 
 beauty and indescribable charm of manner produce in his mind. 
 Not wielding the pen of a Jenkins, he does not know how to 
 describe their costumes. He can, however, testify that he has just 
 seen Mrs. Otis take from her travelling-bag a small cube of some 
 mysterious white substance. The historiographer in trepidation 
 ventured to inquire its name and use. The reply was, “Why, 
 child, it ’s only magnesia. We expect to see friends at Mount 
 Desert, and we have not the faintest idea of looking like frights if 
 we can help it.” Whereupon these lovely ladies calmly cover their 
 fair faces with a chalky mask, bestowing a double amount of care 
 upon the tips of their delicate noses, where, they remark, “ sunburn 
 
 resemblance to a pleasant old town in Maine in respect of its scenery, there the 
 resemblance ceases. She therefore begs not to be accused of libel, and pleads 
 with Sairey Gamp, 
 
 “ Which naming no names, no ofFenee could be took.” 
 
26 o 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 is so extremely unbecoming.” The historiographer, lost in won- 
 der, awaits further revelations from these marvellous beings. 
 
 2 P. M. 
 
 The day is delightful. Passed the Narrows at 11.45, tlie 
 Ledges at 12.10, and the Indian at 12.30. Saluted him, and 
 dipped our colors, the pilot informing us it is customary to do the 
 venerable old fellow that honor. His outlines in the rock are faint 
 and shadowy. He looks forlorn, and as if he had better depart at 
 once for the land of the setting sun in gearch of his brethren. 
 Without wishing to destroy illusions cherished by persons who go 
 down to the sea in ships, sailing upon this beautiful river, and who 
 fondly believe in the Indian, we. Miss Doane and the Infant, do not 
 hesitate to affirm, that we can discover very little Indian indeed in 
 the ledge where his historic form is supposed to be imbedded ; fur- 
 thermore, we boldly state that the eye of faith is required to see 
 any Indian at all ; that he might as well be called the cat, or the 
 goose, or the porcupine; that we have no respect for him what- 
 ever; and if the owner of the yacht persists in giving him a salute 
 on our return, we shall manifest our disapproval by standing in 
 silent dignity, with our backs turned to that aboriginal object, and 
 our eyes fastened upon the opposite shore. 
 
 Not wishing to lose a moment of this glorious air and scenery, 
 w^e lunched at 1.30, on deck. 
 
 Made Hendrick’s Head Light at 2.30, and anchored in Cape 
 Newaggen Harbor at 3.45. Tried fishing for a while before din- 
 ner, which was served at 5 P. M. Sun shining clearly ; air warm. 
 Whole party a little fatigued with hauling up their lines to look at 
 the bait. 
 
 The scene on deck during the evening w\as picturesque in the 
 extreme. The ladies, half reclining upon huge piles of cushions, 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 261 
 
 fell into a dangerously sentimental mood. They dreamily remarked 
 upon the beauty of the quiet little harbor, and the pretty outline of 
 the shore. They were heard to express a fervent desire to 
 
 “ Eat the lotus of the Nile, 
 
 And drink the poppies of Cathay.” 
 
 Mr. Otis informed them that there was not a lotus or a poppy on 
 board, and appealed to Blake, Senior, for eorroboration, which was 
 heartily given, — the latter gentleman remarking he would have 
 ordered some down with the last supplies, if he ’d known the ladies 
 would wish that sort of thing. He volunteered to send the steward 
 in the small boat to the nearest place on the coast where there was 
 a druggist, for some morphine, which did not sound as euphonious 
 as “ the poppies of Cathay,” but he presumed it would answer the 
 same purpose. The ladies objected to the flippant style of conver- 
 sation in which these two world-hardened men indulged, and 
 begged them to drink in the quiet loveliness of the night, or at 
 least to assume a virtue, if they had it not, and be silent ; and soon 
 nothing was heard but the occasional breaking of the waves on the 
 great rocks that lined the harbor’s entrance. 
 
 Inspired by the perfections of the night and the beautiful Miss 
 Doane, challenged by that wretched pair, Otis and Blake, Senior, 
 and strongly urged to prove his powers by the ladies and the In- 
 fant, Mr. Kichard Morton distinguished himself by the following '■ 
 
 “ IMPROMPTU. 
 
 “ 0 the sea, the beautiful sea ! 
 
 The earth and the sky are as nothing to me. 
 
 Only the rise and the fall of the tide 
 Seem fittest to speak of with thee by my side. 
 
 For when thou dost smile, my hope like the flow 
 Of the incoming tide ever onward doth go ; 
 
262 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 But when for the smile you give me a frown. 
 
 Like the outgoing tide my hope floweth down. 
 
 Then smile, and not frown, and close by my side 
 Let ’s float on the waves of the inflowing tide.’’ 
 
 The historiographer does not know whether this is or is not a 
 very superior article, but inserts it in the Log to help fill up, and 
 because it is the best thing of the sort that can be produced at 
 present upon the Idlewild, no man on board but Morton knowing 
 how to mount any kind of a Pegasus. The historiographer pri- 
 vately suspects that Mr. Morton’s ‘winged steed’ can’t fly, and 
 that he is a gaunt, raw-boned nag, — a sort of Eosinante. 
 
 The impromptu was received with great favor by the ladies, who 
 declared that the beauty of it was, that Mr. Morton did not mean a 
 word he said ; in return they recited some charming poems. The 
 writer of this chronicle, though young and inexperienced, as has 
 been previously remarked, could but observe the striking earnest- 
 ness with which Miss Laura Leigh Doane repeated, “ Tides,” a 
 very tender and sweet love-poem by “ H. H.” ; and the intense 
 feeling which she threw into the closing words, “ Love has a tide ! ” 
 almost made the innocent youth’s hair stand on end with amaze- 
 ment. He happens to know that Miss Doane has been making the 
 journey of life but two short months longer than himself, and he 
 wonders how it is that she seems to have gotten such leagues in 
 advance. He was about to propound this question in all sincerity, 
 when a voice disturbed the hush that followed the poem. 
 
 “ Leigh, that was very touching, very touching indeed. Harry 
 and I wept to hear you go on in that style, but you were looking 
 in exactly the wrong direction. Manhegan is over this way.” 
 
 The meaning of which pleasantry, though half hidden, Morton 
 and the historiographer dimly guess at, and long to sink the 
 wretched isle and all whom it shelters beneath the waves of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 263 
 
 It is tlie painful duty of the Infant, as an honest chronicler of 
 this cruise, to state that his brother, to whom he was wont to look 
 for admonition, counsel, and example, and Mr. Tom Otis, a man 
 for whom he has ever cherished the most profound veneration, did 
 unite, deliberately, wickedly, and maliciously, to destroy the gla- 
 mour of poetry and sentiment which all things else conspired to 
 throw over the minds of the other members of the party. Morton 
 and the historiographer were prepared to follow blindly where the 
 ladies would lead, and they, though perfectly aware that they were 
 safely anchored in the snug little harbor of Cape Newaggen, did 
 not hesitate, as they listened to the ripple of the water against the 
 yacht, to give utterance to vague and delicious fancies about “ drift- 
 ing along with the stream,” and gondolas, and Venice, and ‘‘the 
 magic of the sea”; and they recited many poems, and sung sweet 
 songs in a way that was bewitching in the extreme to their two 
 devoted slaves, but which led to deplorable results. The histori- 
 ographer blushes to recall the scene that followed, and the heartless 
 Vandalism of Messrs. Otis and Blake. They retired to the bow 
 and held a whispered consultation, then returned, and Mr. Otis in 
 a grave and dignified manner remarked that he was aware that they 
 had not seemed entirely in sympathy with their surroundings, or 
 with the refined and elevated sentiments of the rest of the party ; 
 that it was not, however, always best to judge from appearances ; 
 that their hearts were in reality profoundly moved, and in evidence 
 of their sincerity they would beg to be allowed to contribute to the 
 general happiness by reciting some poetry. 
 
 Here Mr. Blake remarked that he and Mr. Otis had most care- 
 fully observed the character of the poems quoted by the ladies, by 
 their gifted friend Morton, and by the young and promising Infant, 
 and that they would not presume to introduce any inharmonious 
 subjects. They would only venture to repeat lines relating to the 
 
264 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 fathomless sea, or suggestive of longings after the unattainable, the 
 might-have-been, the nevermore. 
 
 Whereupon he formally stated that he now had the honor of pre- 
 senting to the intelligent audience before him the popular reader 
 and elocutionist, Mr. Tom Otis. 
 
 Mr. Otis gracefully bowed, and remarked that the title of the 
 poem he was about to recite being sunk in oblivion, he would ven- 
 ture to call it, for reasons that no doubt a part of his audience 
 would fully appreciate, 
 
 “A LEGEND OF MANHEGAN.” 
 
 In a voice and manner that beggar description he began as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 “ Poor Jonathan Snow 
 Away did go, 
 
 All on the ragin’ mane, 
 
 With other males. 
 
 For to ketch whales. 
 
 An’ ne’er come back agane. 
 
 “ The winds bloo hi, 
 
 The billers tost. 
 
 All hands was lost ; 
 
 An’ he was one, 
 
 A spritely lad 
 Ni twenty-one.” 
 
 Mr. Blake, when the excitement produced by his friend’s recita- 
 tion had died away, stated that it would be impossible to equal the 
 pure pathos and graphic description of the fury of the elements, 
 which he observed had electrified the listeners in the choice of Mr. 
 Otis. Jonathan was a unique production, and stood alone upon 
 the heights of literature. [Cries of Hear ! Hear ! from Mr. Otis, 
 and groans from the ladies.] But the great heart of humanity can 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 265 
 
 be touched in many ways. From the tender Folk Songs of a sim- 
 ple people, he would select some verses by an unknown poet, — 
 verses which contrasted strongly with the inspired vigor of the im- 
 mortal Jonathan, but which in calm simplicity of diction, sweet 
 regret, and patient sadness of theme were also unequalled. 
 
 ‘‘A DREAM. 
 
 I had a dream ; 
 
 I dreamed I was alone. 
 
 Alone i 
 
 And oh ! it was so sad 
 
 Away from home, 
 
 From home ! 
 
 “ Upon the sand 
 
 My eyes I bent, 
 
 I bent ! 
 
 Upon my hand 
 
 My head I leant, 
 
 I leant ! 
 
 “ I thought of days 
 
 • Gone by and things. 
 
 And things 1 
 
 And simple 
 
 Childish joys and strings. 
 
 And strings ! ” 
 
 The ladies rose in disgust, and went below, declaring that men 
 who ruin even the moonlight by such “ horrid hideous notes of 
 woe” ought to have weights and “things, and things,” tied to 
 their necks, and be dropped into the sea. 
 
 It is suspected that the effect produced by these two designing 
 villains was precisely what they had planned, the hour being 12 
 p. M., at which time dull, prosaic souls are apt to get sleepy. So 
 ended the laemorable evening at Cape Newaggen. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 “End tilings must, end howsoe’er things may.” 
 
 Browning. 
 
 Friday, August 31. 
 
 EAUTIPUL weather. Left Cape Newaggen at 9 
 A. M., and went out to a fishing-ground for cod. 
 The ladies appeared fresh and bright at breakfast, 
 and Mrs. Otis enlivened the party by making the 
 astounding discovery that we have on board the 
 world-renowned, graceless trio, Tom, Dick, and Harry, associating 
 intimately with an “ L. L. D.” 
 
 11 A. M. 
 
 Morton has just caught a forty-five-pound cod, and is in a glo- 
 riously exultant state. He suggests that we unite in singing, as a 
 morning hymn, the exquisite lines of Watts, — 
 
 “ Up from the deep 
 Ye codlins, creep. 
 
 And wag your tails about.” 
 
 Passed Manhegan at 12 m. White Head at 2.05 p. m., and 
 anchored in Owl’s Head Harbor at 3.30 p. m., having had fine 
 weather and a most agreeable sail. Off Manhegan an animated 
 discussion was held. Mr. Philip Ogden - — who, as he might have 
 
ONE SUMMER 
 
 267 
 
 been on the Idlewild, and is not, is supposed to be laboring under 
 a temporary aberration of mind, wandering about among the 
 benighted peasantry of that island — was the subject of 
 the debate. The question was finally voted upon : 
 
 Shall the Idlewild put into Manhegan, 
 shall its dauntless crew seize the recreant Og- 
 den vi et armis ? 
 
 Ayes, — Otis and Blake, 
 
 Senior. 
 
 Noes 
 (loud and 
 deep), — 
 the ladies, 
 
 Morton, 
 and Blake, 
 
 Junior. 
 
 The Noes 
 were tri- 
 umphant, 
 and Manhe- 
 gan Light 
 left in the 
 distance. 
 
 During 
 the after- 
 noon of 
 this day, 
 fired by an 
 unholy de- 
 sire to wage 
 
 war upon the finny denizens of the deep, and too finical to re- 
 
268 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 move the article from his finger, to which it had an affinity, Mr. 
 Tom Otis, in detaching a sculpin — a fish to which he was exceed- 
 ingly partial — from his hook, threw into the raging sea a ring of 
 considerable intrinsic and incalculable sentimental value. Eor fur- 
 ther particulars inquire of Mrs. Otis. 
 
 He desires it to be distinctly understood, that he did not thereby 
 wed the billows of Owl’s Head Harbor. They were not the Adri- 
 atic, and he was not a Dog[e] that he should do this thing. It is 
 suggested that, backed by the authority of the Arabian Nights, he 
 shall offer a vast reward for the ring, and publicly give notice that 
 all cooks, stewards, and seafaring men shall hereafter exercise the 
 utmost care in cleansing fish, lest they lose the opportunity of 
 finding that one which wears now a precious jewel in his head. 
 
 Coming up on deck after dinner, a sudden silence fell upon our 
 merry party, even Otis and Blake, Senior, being subdued by the 
 magnificence of the sunset. 
 
 The Camden Hills to the northwest. Ragged Mountain and 
 Megunticook, cold and in shadow, stood out in bold contrast 
 against the brilliant, warm sky. Silently we watched the golden 
 glory deepen, and the wonderful rosy light that followed, and shone 
 on the gleaming 'white sails of twenty or thirty little coasters lying 
 at anchor around us, and that crept higher and higher, until its 
 radiance was reflected in the water below, and the whole landscape 
 was glorified. The last rays fell upon the bluff on which the light- 
 house stands, and while the after-glow still lingered with its fiery 
 opal hues gradually fading away in deep violet clouds, we took 
 a short sail out of the harbor, passing between numerous little, 
 rocky islands and reefs, gray-looking and cold, with the foam 
 rising high around them, and miles in the distance was a huge fog- 
 bank which seemed to be rolling in finely, but which did not once 
 overtake us. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 269 
 
 SATURDAY, September 1. 
 
 From Owl’s Head to Eggemoggin Eeach. Under weigh at 
 7 A. M., having secured the services of a new pilot, an ancient 
 mariner remarkable for his misfortunes by sea and by land. Ac- 
 cording to his own account, he had been wrecked on nearly every 
 rock, cape, island, and sand-bar from Cape Sable to the Florida 
 Keys, and he certainly ought to know all the perils of our cruise. 
 While sailing slowly up Penobscot Bay, with light breezes and fine 
 weather, this old Jonah entertained us with an account of his expe- 
 rience in the law. He seems to have been always at law, and in 
 fact had a case coming on when he joined us, and was in a contin- 
 ual fright lest he should not be at home in season for it. As he 
 always got ashore in his voyages, so he was always swindled in his 
 bargains, and seems usually to have gotten the worst of his law- 
 suits. The effect upon his mind was unfortunate. He enter- 
 tained a special dislike for the legal profession, besides being gen- 
 erally misanthropic. His anathemas against lawyers met with the 
 strongest encouragement and sympathy from those brethren in 
 the law, and in all manner of mischief, Messrs. Otis and Blake, 
 Senior. 
 
 Under his guidance we were lazily wafted up Penobscot Bay, 
 with light northerly winds. Sailed through the Thoroughfare, and 
 saw the great white dome of the Isle an Haut, eight or ten miles to 
 the southeast as we came up by North Haven towards Eagle Island 
 Eight, which, by the way, had the honor of gaining expressions of 
 unqualified admiration from Miss Uoane, and it will probably, on 
 ihat account, hold its haughty head higher than ever above the 
 waves. 
 
 A number of the islands were extremely pretty, as we sailed up 
 the bay. We made Pumpkin Island Light at about half an hour 
 before sunset, and anchored close under Little Deer Island, in 
 
2/0 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 Eggemoggin Eeach. Miss Doane takes exceptions to the name of 
 Pumpkin Island. Mrs. Otis also denounces it bitterly. They say 
 that all the names have been pretty, Newaggen, Manhegan, Owl’s 
 Head, and Isle au Haut, and they also graciously approve of even 
 Eggemoggin, Indian names, however unpronounceable, being always 
 charming; but no words can express their contempt and loathing 
 for poor Pumpkin Island. Mr. Otis remarked that he presumed 
 Asphodel Lighthouse or Eringed Gentian Islet would be more 
 likely to find favor with the sickly, morbid fancy of certain per- 
 sons he could mention, but that for his part he admired Pump- 
 kin Island hugely. It was a good substantial, sensible, honest 
 name, and patriotic, moreover, as it commemorated the national 
 dish of New England, — pumpkin-pie, — and he wished he had 
 some. 
 
 The Infant records this speech, not because he regards it as in 
 the least amusing or instructive, but merely as an illustration of 
 the heartless, he might say sinister style of comment in which Mr. 
 Otis and Mr. Harry Blake have taken incredible delight during the 
 whole voyage. 
 
 Sunday, September 2 . 
 
 Passed a quiet day at anchor here, not because we were afraid we 
 would be drowned and made into a tract to frighten small boys 
 if we should continue our course on Sunday, but because the 
 ladies say the Keach is too lovely to leave. It is like a great, calm, 
 broad river, and the mainland opposite us has a well-cultivated 
 look, and the soft green of the turf and foliage is pleasant to look 
 upon. 
 
 Those ungodly men, Otis and Blake, Senior, took the small boat 
 and went off to the ledge with guns. They returned with three 
 coots, and were not recognized by the respectable members of 
 the party. We sent them to Coventry for the remainder of the 
 day. 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 271 
 
 Monday, September 3. 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that I, being duly sworn, do 
 testify, that, in the judgment of the wliole company on board the 
 Idlewild, Monday, the third day of September, 18 — , Mr. Tom 
 Otis did then and there eat, beside the regular courses, at dinner, 
 of soup, meats, and vegetables, — 
 
 Fifteen olives. 
 
 One box of sardines, 
 
 Eight sandwiches. 
 
 Two cocoanut-pies. 
 
 Five loaves of cake, 
 
 A bottle of chow-chow, and 
 Seven cups of coffee ; 
 
 and for so doing was awarded the first prize, having distanced all 
 competitors. 
 
 (Signed) Charles William Blake. 
 
 Witnesses : — 
 
 Bessie D. Otis. 
 
 Laura Leigh Doane. 
 
 Richard Henry Morton. 
 
 Blake, Senior, being host, feels that courtesy forbids him to 
 testify. 
 
 Passed out of Eggemoggin Reach, the fertile look of the country 
 vanishing, and the bleak, wild, out -at- sea aspect increasing more and 
 more as we left the large Deer Isle and sailed among numerous 
 white, ledgy islands, and soon approached the promontory of Bass 
 Flead, the southern point of Mount Desert. We sailed past it, into 
 Southwest Harbor for the superb view, and saw the Mount Desert 
 
2/2 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 hills rising grandly before us, while Some’s Sound, that wonder- 
 fully pretty sheet of water, its calm clear blue contrasting with the 
 “ tumultuous sea ” outside, — “the rough green plain that no man 
 reaps,” — ran, straight and narrow, far into the island between 
 bold, high cliffs, like a Norwegian fiord, we who have never seen a 
 fiord confidently assert. 
 
 Passed between the Cranberry Islands and Bear Island Light. 
 
 Made Bar Harbor at 5 p. M., and were- speedily visited by troops 
 of friends. The historiographer would gracefully excuse himself 
 from a description of the magnificent scenery of Mount Desert. 
 For information which he has the discretion to omit, he would 
 refer future perusers of this Log to artists known to fame and 
 many authors of repute. 
 
 He is aware that he has omitted to mention various points of 
 interest along this attractive Maine coast, and he would say, in 
 apology, that but nineteen summers have passed over his head, and 
 that he has been too much interested in playing piquet with Miss 
 Doane, to tear himself away from that charming amusement and 
 devote himself to the dreary labor of making nautical and geo- 
 graphical observations. 
 
 The voyage has been all sunshine and gladness. 
 
 We did not design to exhibit the swiftness of our craft, as the 
 sailing powers of the Idle wild have long since been proven, but 
 have wished merely to sail here and there at the will of our fair 
 passengers. That our return voyage may be as happy, is our devout 
 hope. 
 
 In conclusion, it may be well to mention that there has been an 
 entire immunity from sea-sickness, although Mr. Richard Morton 
 dined one day upbn deck, making an entire repast upon one 
 lemon. 
 
 The Idle wild party is now strolling about on the rocks in a state 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 273 
 
 of perfect bliss, all except the poor historiographer, whom an inhu- 
 man brother has left behind to eomplete the Log, and do the 
 honors of the yacht to such visitors as may appear. 
 
 The Idlewild people were received with great rejoicing by 
 numerous friends at Bar Harbor, and it occurred to one hos- 
 pitable soul to give a picnic of gigantic proportions in their 
 honor. The guests, sixty in number, were bidden to the feast 
 at seven o’clock, and shortly after that hour the bluff over 
 Anemone Cave was the scene of much hilarity, as gay groups 
 of friends ate sandwiches, drank coffee, and gossiped, with the 
 grand old ocean rolling in solemnly below them. 
 
 “ Leigh,” whispered Tom, “ don’t drop your muffin on the 
 buttered side, or pour your coffee down your sleeve in your 
 agitation, but Ogden came over to Southwest Harbor yester- 
 day, and he arrived here to-day, and he ’s about five feet off, 
 just behind you, and he ’s coming this way as fast as he can, 
 but somebody — an uncommonly attractive young lady, by the 
 ^.ay — has just buttonholed him. I did not tell you all at 
 once, for fear you could not bear it.” 
 
 In a moment Philip approached, and saw Leigh s 
 
 “ Sweet face in the sunset light 
 Upraised and glorified.” 
 
 And though the madding crowd was there, and the sense- 
 less chatter, and the commonplace bread and butter and 
 pickles, the inexpressible gladness in her eyes, as she turned 
 and looked up at him, told him that his brief absence had been 
 a sagacious thing, and that the pearl was his own. He won- 
 dered if the voluble young lady on the other side of him ever 
 would cease urging him to partake of the salad ovei which she 
 
274 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 presided^ and if picnics at Bar Harbor went on forever. The 
 two talked nonsense with the others^ and ate they knew not 
 what. 
 
 At last the darkness deepened. The moon rose superbly 
 over the sea_, and everybody climbed down the rocks to the 
 shore to see what wonders were going on in the Cave. 
 
 Into its mysterious depths two gentlemen had vanished. 
 Presently its recesses were illumined by a gleaming red light 
 which disclosed its little shining pools of water^ and its rough 
 jagged sides^ and shone out upon the groups of ladies and 
 attendant cavaliers at different heights on the cliffy and met 
 the moonlight far out on the waves with a singular effect. 
 A yellow light followed^ and a ghastly green, and then these 
 wizards of Anemone Cave sent off some rockets, and various 
 other whizzing things. 
 
 I do feel really disappointed, exclaimed Bessie. I al- 
 ways had a profound respect for a rocket. I thought it quite 
 a magnificent spectacle ; but does n’t it seem small, and mean, 
 and insignificant, and frightfully impertinent, for it to go buzz- 
 ing away at the old ocean ? ” Eeceiving no reply from Philip 
 and Leigh, to whom her remark was addressed, the kindly 
 disposed little woman w^ent on, 0 dear, dear ! I actually be- 
 lieve there is my Tom flirting with Miss McArthur. She ’s 
 entirely too pretty, and she knows how ! Where is Mr. 
 Morton? O Mr. Morton, would you be so kind as to 
 take me round to the other side of the cliff? There ’s 
 something going on there which I must put a stop to af 
 once. Would you believe it? that incorrigible husband of 
 mine — ” 
 
ONE SUMMER. 
 
 275 
 
 She vanished^ and Leigh and Philip wandered away over 
 the rocks. 
 
 An hour later they sat together^ caring little for the vast 
 cliffs towering above them^ or for the foaming surf at their 
 feet. They saw but the gladness in each other’s eyes. Their 
 own murmurs spoke a mightier language in their ears than 
 the voice of the great waves. Yet they sought in vain to 
 express the meaning that overcharged their hearts, for 
 
 ‘‘ Love’s tenderest, truest secret lingers. 
 
 Ever in its depths untold,” 
 
 and its sweetest words are only 
 
 ‘‘ Like sighings of illimitable forests. 
 
 And waves of an unfathomable sea.” 
 
 ***** 
 
 And are you glad to see me, dear ? And are you quite 
 ^ sure of yourself ^ now ? And is it like your ^ theories ’ ? 
 
 I was very, very glad, but I think you took an unfair 
 advantage in surprising me, and some day I will have my 
 revenge.*” 
 
 And will you go out on the prairies and live in a log- 
 cabin with me, if ever I ask you ? Will you, Leigh ? 
 
 No, sir, never, if you persist in remembering all the idle 
 words I ever said, and wickedly repeating them to me.*’*’ 
 
 But would you, Leigh ? he persisted. 
 
 I am really disappointed in you already. I never dreamed 
 you would develop into a tease like Tom. Do you know, I ’ve 
 read that success ruins some natures ? 
 
276 
 
 ONE SUMMER. 
 
 But would you ? 
 
 She hesitated ; then^ I will go to the very end of the 
 world with you one day if you should wish/’ she said *in low, 
 earnest tones. Why do you make me tell you? You know 
 so well.” 
 
 Forgive me, Leigh ; it is so sweet to hear you say it, how 
 could I help asking ? But, dear, if ever I ask you to live in 
 a log-cabin, it shall be only for a couple of months in the 
 summer. And the cabin shall be as pretty as you please, and 
 it must be at Edgecomb somewhere. How would our island 
 do, just where the old fort is?” 
 
 And it must be called ‘'The Gem,’ ” said Leigh, amused. 
 Then, realizing that this was indeed giving to remote shadowy 
 things a local habitation and a name,” she sprung up with 
 a sweet shyness in her face. 
 
 Shall we not find Bessie now ? ” 
 
 Suddenly she stepped back to Philip. The moon shone 
 gloriously on the water, and threw its wLite radiance over the 
 girl as she said impulsively, — 
 
 Please sit down, just where you were. There is some- 
 thing I must do. Close your eyes,” she commanded. Philip 
 obeyed. Half tenderly, half laughingly, she murmured, ‘'^This 
 is reparation.” And he felt the light, timid touch of her lips 
 on either closed eyelid. I am so sorry, — I w^as so sorry 
 then, — I have been sorry all the time,” she murmured. 
 
 How cruel I w^as ! ” 
 
 And Philip, with his great happiness sounding in his voice, 
 yet with the same lightness of manner which Leigh had as- 
 sumed, to cover a strange depth of emotion, said, — 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 UNiVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 URSANA 
 
ONE SUMMER 
 
 nnii/fiV 
 
 • I 'i ^^9 
 
 ^^That memorable blow did close my eyes for a time, it is 
 true, but only to open them to new and wonderful radiance. 
 My whole life shall show you my gratitude for it. Think to 
 what honor it has raised me. My darling, my queen, it was 
 my royal accolaide/’ 
 
XWiitS, ■' 
 
 
 1 : 
 

 , ^ 
 
 A.