|
||||||||
Come, Martha, my dear, said the locksmith cheerily, let us have tea, and dont let us talk about sots. There are none here, and Joe dont want to hear about them, I dare say. At this crisis, Miggs appeared with toast. I dare say he does not, said Mrs Varden; and I dare say you do not, Varden. Its a very unpleasant subject, I have no doubt, though I wont say its personalMiggs coughedwhatever I may be forced to thinkMiggs sneezed expressively. You never will know, Varden, and nobody at young Mr Willets ageyoull excuse me, sircan be expected to know, what a woman suffers when she is waiting at home under such circumstances. If you dont believe me, as I know you dont, heres Miggs, who is only too often a witness of itask her. Oh! she were very bad the other night, sir, indeed she were, said Miggs. If you hadnt the sweetness of an angel in you, mim, I dont think you could abear it, I raly dont. Miggs, said Mrs Varden, youre profane. Begging your pardon, mim, returned Miggs, with shrill rapidity, such was not my intentions, and such I hope is not my character, though I am but a servant. Answering me, Miggs, and providing yourself, retorted her mistress, looking round with dignity, is one and the same thing. How dare you speak of angels in connection with your sinful fellow-beingsmeresaid Mrs Varden, glancing at herself in a neighbouring mirror, and arranging the ribbon of her cap in a more becoming fashionmere worms and grovellers as we are! I did not intend, mim, if you please, to give offence, said Miggs, confident in the strength of her compliment, and developing strongly in the throat as usual, and I did not expect it would be took as such. I hope I know my own unworthiness, and that I hate and despise myself and all my fellow-creatures as every practicable Christian should. Youll have the goodness, if you please, said Mrs Varden, loftily, to step upstairs and see if Dolly has finished dressing, and to tell her that the chair that was ordered for her will be here in a minute, and that if she keeps it waiting, I shall send it away that instant.Im sorry to see that you dont take your tea, Varden, and that you dont take yours, Mr Joseph; though of course it would be foolish of me to expect that anything that can be had at home, and in the company of females, would please you. This pronoun was understood in the plural sense, and included both gentlemen, upon both of whom it was rather hard and undeserved, for Gabriel had applied himself to the meal with a very promising appetite, until it was spoilt by Mrs Varden herself, and Joe had as great a liking for the female society of the locksmiths houseor for a part of it at all eventsas man could well entertain. But he had no opportunity to say anything in his own defence, for at that moment Dolly herself appeared, and struck him quite dumb with her beauty. Never had Dolly looked so handsome as she did then, in all the glow and grace of youth, with all her charms increased a hundredfold by a most becoming dress, by a thousand little coquettish ways which nobody could assume with a better grace, and all the sparkling expectation of that accursed party. It is impossible to tell how Joe hated that party wherever it was, and all the other people who were going to it, whoever they were. And she hardly looked at himno, hardly looked at him. And when the chair was seen through the open door coming blundering into the workshop, she actually clapped her hands and seemed glad to go. But Joe gave her his armthere was some comfort in thatand handed her into it. To see her seat herself inside, with her laughing eyes brighter than diamonds, and her handsurely she had the prettiest hand in the worldon the ledge of the open window, and her little finger provokingly and pertly tilted up, as if it wondered why Joe didnt squeeze or kiss it! To think how well one or two of the modest snowdrops would have become that delicate bodice, and how they were lying neglected outside the |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Copyright: All texts on Bibliomania are © Bibliomania.com Ltd, and may not be reproduced in any form without our written permission. See our FAQ for more details. | ||||||||