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Ah, Priscilla, said Nancy, returning the pressure with a grateful glance of her clear eyes, but it wont make up to Godfrey; a dairys not so much to a man. And its only what he cares for that ever makes me low. Im contented with the blessings we have, if he could be contented. It drives me past patience, said Priscilla impetuously, that way o the menalways wanting and wanting, and never easy with what theyve got. They cant sit comfortable in their chairs when theyve neither ache nor pain, but either they must stick a pipe in their mouths, to make em better than well, or else they must be swallowing something strong, though theyre forced to make haste before the next meal comes in. But joyful be it spoken, our father was never that sort o man. And if it had pleased God to make you ugly like me, so as the men wouldnt ha run after you, we might have kept to our own family, and had nothing to do with folks as have got uneasy blood in their veins. Oh, dont say so, Priscilla, said Nancy, repenting that she had called forth this outburst; nobody has any occasion to find fault with Godfrey. Its natural he should be disappointed at not having any children; every man likes to have somebody to work for and lay by for, and he always counted so on making a fuss with em when they were little. Theres many another man ud hanker more than he does. Hes the best of husbands. Oh, I know, said Priscilla, smiling sarcastically. I know the way o wives; they set one on to abuse their husbands, and then they turn round on one and praise em as if they wanted to sell em. But fatherll be waiting for me; we must turn now. The large gig with the steady old gray was at the front door, and Mr. Lammeter was already on the stone steps, passing the time in recalling to Godfrey what very fine points Speckle had when his master used to ride him. I always would have a good horse, you know, said the old gentleman, not liking that spirited time to be quite effaced from the memory of his juniors. Mind you bring Nancy to the Warrens before the weeks out, Mr. Cass, was Priscillas parting injunction as she took the reins and shook them gently, by way of friendly incitement to Speckle. I shall just take a turn to the fields against the Stone-pits, Nancy, and look at the draining, said Godfrey. Youll be in again by tea-time, dear? Oh yes, I shall be back in an hour. It was Godfreys custom on a Sunday afternoon to do a little contemplative farming in a leisurely walk. Nancy seldom accompanied him; for the women of her generationunless, like Priscilla, they took to outdoor managementwere not given to much walking beyond their own house and garden, finding sufficient exercise in domestic duties. So, when Priscilla was not with her, she usually sat with Mants Bible before her, and after following the text with her eyes for a little while, she would gradually permit them to wander as her thoughts had already insisted on wandering. But Nancys Sunday thoughts were rarely quite out of keeping with the devout and reverential intention implied by the book spread open before her. She was not theologically instructed enough to discern very clearly the relation between the sacred documents of the past which she opened without method, and her own obscure, simple life; but the spirit of rectitude and the sense of responsibility for the effect of her conduct on others, which were strong elements in Nancys character, had made it a habit with her to scrutinize her past feelings and actions with self-questioning solicitude. Her mind not being courted by a great variety of subjects, she filled the vacant moments by living inwardly again and again through all her remembered experience, especially through the fifteen years of her married time, in which her life and its significance had been doubled. She recalled the small detailsthe words, tones, and looksin the critical scenes which had opened a new epoch for her by giving her a deeper insight into the |
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