Mrs. Wishart was reminded of Belinda again the next morning. Lois wasbeaming. She managed to keep their talkative neighbour in order duringbreakfast; and then proposed to Mrs. Wishart to take a walk. But Mrs.Wishart excused herself, and Lois set off alone. After a couple ofhours she came back with her hands full.
"O, Mrs. Wishart!" she burst forth, – "this is the very loveliest placeyou ever saw in your life! I can never thank you enough for bringingme! What can I do to thank you?"
"What makes it so delightful?" said the elder lady, smiling at her."There is nothing here but the sea and the rocks. You have found thephilosopher's stone, you happy girl!"
"The philosopher's stone?" said Lois. "That was what Mr. Dillwyn toldme about."
"Philip? I wish he was here."
"It would be nice for you. I don't want anybody. The place is enough."
"What have you found, child?"
"Flowers – and mosses – and shells. O, the flowers are beautiful! But itisn't the flowers, nor any one thing; it is the place. The air iswonderful; and the sea, O, the sea is a constant delight to me!"
"The philosopher's stone!" repeated the lady. "What is it, Lois? Youare the happiest creature I ever saw. – You find pleasure in everything."
"Perhaps it is that," said Lois simply. "Because I am happy."
"But what business have you to be so happy? – living in a corner like
Shampuashuh. I beg your pardon, Lois, but it is a corner of the earth.
What makes you happy?"
Lois answered lightly, that perhaps it was easier to be happy in acorner than in a wide place; and went off again. She would not giveMrs. Wishart an answer she could by no possibility understand.
Some time later in the day, Mrs. Wishart too, becoming tired of themonotony of her own room, descended to the piazza; and was sittingthere when the little steamboat arrived with some new guests for thehotel. She watched one particular party approaching. A young lady inadvance, attended by a gentleman; then another pair following, an olderlady, leaning on the arm of a cavalier whom Mrs. Wishart recognizedfirst of them all. She smiled to herself.
"Mrs. Wishart!" Julia Caruthers exclaimed, as she came upon theverandah. "You are here. That is delightful! Mamma, here is Mrs.Wishart. But whatever did bring you here? I am reminded of CaptainCook's voyages, that I used to read when I was a child, and I fancy Ihave come to one of his savage islands; only I don't see the salvages.They will appear, perhaps. But I don't see anything else; cocoanuttrees, or palms, or bananas, the tale of which used to make my mouthwater. There are no trees here at all, that I can see, nor anythingelse. What brought you here, Mrs. Wishart? May I present Mr.Lenox? – What brought you here, Mrs. Wishart?"
"What brought you here?" was the smiling retort. The answer wasprompt.
"Tom."
Mrs. Wishart looked at Tom, who came up and paid his respects in markedform; while his mother, as if exhausted, sank down on one of the chairs.
"Yes, it was Tom," she repeated. "Nothing would do for Tom but the
Isles of Shoals; and so, Julia and I had to follow in his train. In my grandmother's days that would have been different. What is here, dear
Mrs. Wishart, besides you? You are not alone?"
"Not quite. I have brought my little friend, Lois Lothrop, with me; andshe thinks the Isles of Shoals the most charming place that was everdiscovered, by Captain Cook or anybody else."
"Ah, she is here!" said Mrs. Caruthers dryly; while Julia and Mr. Lenoxexchanged glances. "Much other company?"
"Not much; and what there is comes more from New Hampshire than New
York, I fancy."
"Ah! – And what else is here then, that anybody should come here for?"
"I don't know yet. You must ask Miss Lothrop. Yonder she comes. She hasbeen exploring ever since five o'clock, I believe."
"I suppose she is accustomed to get up at that hour," remarked theother, as if the fact involved a good deal of disparagement. And thenthey were all silent, and watched Lois, who was slowly andunconsciously approaching her reviewers. Her hands were again full ofdifferent gleanings from the wonderful wilderness in which she had beenexploring; and she came with a slow step, still busy with them as shewalked. Her hat had fallen back a little; the beautiful hair was atrifle disordered, showing so only the better its rich abundance andexquisite colour; the face it framed and crowned was fair and flushed, intent upon her gains from rock and meadow – for there was a little bitof meadow ground at Appledore; – and so happy in its sweet absorption, that an involuntary tribute of homage to its beauty was wrung from themost critical. Lois walked with a light, steady step; her carelessbearing was free and graceful; her dress was not very fashionable, butentirely proper for the place; all eyes consented to this, and then alleyes came back to the face. It was so happy, so pure, so unconsciousand unshadowed; the look was of the sort that one does not see in theassemblies of the world's pleasure-seekers; nor ever but in the facesof heaven's pleasure-finders. She was a very lovely vision, and somehowall the little group on the piazza with one consent kept silence, watching her as she came. She drew near with busy, pleased thoughts, and leisurely happy steps, and never looked up till she reached thefoot of the steps leading to the piazza. Nor even then; she had pickedup her skirt and mounted several steps daintily before she heard hername and raised her eyes. Then her face changed. The glance ofsurprise, it is true, was immediately followed by a smile of civilgreeting; but the look of rapt happiness was gone; and somehow nobodyon the piazza felt the change to be flattering. She accepted quietlyTom's hand, given partly in greeting, partly to assist her up the laststeps, and faced the group who were regarding her.
"How delightful to find you here, Miss Lothrop!" said Julia, – "and howstrange that people should meet on the Isles of Shoals."
"Why is it strange?"
"O, because there is really nothing to come here for, you know. I don'tknow how we happen to be here ourselves. – Mr. Lenox, MissLothrop. – What have you found in this desert?"
"You have been spoiling Appledore?" added Tom.
"I don't think I have done any harm," said Lois innocently. "There isenough more, Mr. Caruthers."
"Enough of what?" Tom inquired, while Julia and her friend exchanged aswift glance again, of triumph on the lady's part.
"There is a shell," said Lois, putting one into his hand. "I think thatis pretty, and it certainly is odd. And what do you say to those whiteviolets, Mr. Caruthers? And here is some very beautiful pimpernel – andhere is a flower that I do not know at all, – and the rest is what youwould call rubbish," she finished with a smile, so charming that Tomcould not see the violets for dazzled eyes.
"Show me the flowers, Tom," his mother demanded; and she kept him byher, answering her questions and remarks about them; while Julia askedwhere they could be found.
"I find them in quite a good many places," said Lois; "and every timeit is a sort of surprise. I gathered only a few; I do not like to takethem away from their places; they are best there."
She said a word or two to Mrs. Wishart, and passed on into the house.
"That's the girl," Julia said in a low voice to her lover, walking offto the other end of the verandah with him.
"Tom might do worse," was the reply.
"George! How can you say so? A girl who doesn't know common English!"
"She might go to school," suggested Lenox.
"To school! At her age! And then, think of her associations, and herignorance of everything a lady should be and should know. O you men! Ihave no patience with you. See a face you like, and you lose your witsat once, the best of you. I wonder you ever fancied me!"
"Tastes are unaccountable," the young man returned, with a lover-likesmile.
"But do you call that girl pretty?"
Mr. Lenox looked portentously grave. "She has handsome hair," heventured.
"Hair! What's hair! Anybody can have handsome hair, that will pay forit."
"She has not paid for hers."
"No, and I don't mean that Tom shall. Now George, you must help. Ibrought you along to help. Tom is lost if we don't save him. He mustnot be left alone with this girl; and if he gets talking to her, youmust mix in and break it up, make love to her yourself, if necessary.And we must see to it that they do not go off walking together. Youmust help me watch and help me hinder. Will you?"
"Really, I should not be grateful to anyone who did me such kindservice."
"But it is to save Tom."
"Save him! From what?"
"From a low marriage. What could be worse?"
"Adjectives are declinable. There is low, lower, lowest."
"Well, what could be lower? A poor girl, uneducated, inexperienced, knowing nobody, brought up in the country, and of no family inparticular, with nothing in the world but beautiful hair! Tom ought tohave something better than that."
"I'll study her further, and then tell you what I think."
"You are very stupid to-day, George!"
Nobody got a chance to study Lois much more that day. Seeing that Mrs.Wishart was for the present well provided with company, she withdrew toher own room; and there she stayed. At supper she appeared, but silentand reserved; and after supper she went away again. Next morning Loiswas late at breakfast; she had to run a gauntlet of eyes, as she tookher seat at a little distance.
"Overslept, Lois?" queried Mrs. Wishart.
"Miss Lothrop looks as if she never had been asleep, nor ever meant tobe," quoth Tom.
"What a dreadful character!" said Miss Julia. "Pray, Miss Lothrop, excuse him; the poor boy means, I have no doubt, to be complimentary."
"Not so bad, for a beginner," remarked Mr. Lenox. "Ladies always liketo be thought bright-eyed, I believe."
"But never to sleep!" said Julia. "Imagine the staring effect."
"You are complimentary without effort," Tom remarked pointedly.
"Lois, my dear, have you been out already?" Mrs. Wishart asked. Loisgave a quiet assent and betook herself to her breakfast.
"I knew it," said Tom. "Morning air has a wonderful effect, if ladieswould only believe it. They won't believe it, and they sufferaccordingly."
"Another compliment!" said Miss Julia, laughing. "But what do you find,Miss Lothrop, that can attract you so much before breakfast? or afterbreakfast either, for that matter?"
"Before breakfast is the best time in the twenty-four hours," said Lois.
"Pray, for what?"
"If you were asked, you would say, for sleeping," put in Tom.
"For what, Miss Lothrop? Tom, you are troublesome."
"For doing what, do you mean?" said Lois. "I should say, for anything; but I was thinking of enjoying."
"We are all just arrived," Mr. Lenox began; "and we are slow to believethere is anything to enjoy at the Isles. Will Miss Lothrop enlightenus?"
"I do not know that I can," said Lois. "You might not find what I find."
"What do you find?"
"If you will go out with me to-morrow morning at five o'clock, I willshow you," said Lois, with a little smile of amusement, or of archness, which quite struck Mr. Lenox and quite captivated Tom.
"Five o'clock!" the former echoed.
"Perhaps he would not then see what you see," Julia suggested.
"Perhaps not," said Lois. "I am by no means sure."
She was let alone after that; and as soon as breakfast was over sheescaped again. She made her way to a particular hiding-place she haddiscovered, in the rocks, down near the shore; from which she had amost beautiful view of the sea and of several of the other islands. Hernook of a seat was comfortable enough, but all around it the rocks werepiled in broken confusion, sheltering her, she thought, from anypossible chance comer. And this was what Lois wanted; for, in the firstplace, she was minded to keep herself out of the way of thenewly-arrived party, each and all of them; and, in the second place, she was intoxicated with the delights of the ocean. Perhaps I shouldsay rather, of the ocean and the rocks and the air and the sky, and ofeverything at Appledore, Where she sat, she had a low brown reef insight, jutting out into the sea just below her; and upon this reef thebillows were rolling and breaking in a way utterly and whollyentrancing. There was no wind, to speak of, yet there was much moremotion in the sea than yesterday; which often happens from the effectof winds that have been at work far away; and the breakers which beatand foamed upon that reef, and indeed upon all the shore, were beyondall telling graceful, beautiful, wonderful, mighty, and changeful. Loishad been there to see the sunrise; now that fairy hour was long past, and the day was in its full bright strength; but still she satspellbound and watched the waves; watched the colours on the rocks, thebrown and the grey; the countless, nameless hues of ocean, and thelight on the neighbouring islands, so different now from what they hadbeen a few hours ago.
Now and then a thought or two went to the hotel and its newinhabitants, and passed in review the breakfast that morning. Lois hadtaken scarce any part in the conversation; her place at table put herat a distance from Mr. Caruthers; and after those few first words shehad been able to keep very quiet, as her wish was. But she hadlistened, and observed. Well, the talk had not been, as to quality, onewhit better than what Shampuashuh could furnish every day; nay, Loisthought the advantage of sense and wit and shrewdness was decidedly onthe side of her country neighbours; while the staple of talk was nearlythe same. A small sort of gossip and remark, with commentary, on otherpeople and other people's doings, past, present, and to come. It had nointerest whatever to Lois's mind, neither subject nor treatment. Butthe manner to-day gave her something to think about. The manner wasdifferent; and the manner not of talk only, but of all that was done.Not so did Shampuashuh discuss its neighbours, and not so didShampuashuh eat bread and butter. Shampuashuh ways were more rough, angular, hurried; less quietness, less grace, whether of movement orspeech; less calm security in every action; less delicacy of taste. Itmust have been good blood in Lois which recognized all this, butrecognize it she did; and, as I said, every now and then an involuntarythought of it came over the girl. She felt that she was unlike thesepeople; not of their class or society; she was sure they knew it too, and would act accordingly; that is, not rudely or ungracefully makingthe fact known, but nevertheless feeling, and showing that they felt, that she belonged to a detached portion of humanity. Or they; what didit matter? Lois did not misjudge or undervalue herself; she knew shewas the equal of these people, perhaps more than their equal, in truerefinement of feeling and delicacy of perception; she knew she was notawkward in manner; yet she knew, too, that she had not their ease ofhabit, nor the confidence given by knowledge of the world and all othersorts of knowledge. Her up-bringing and her surroundings had not beenlike theirs; they had been rougher, coarser, and if of as goodmaterial, of far inferior form. She thought with herself that she wouldkeep as much out of their company as she properly could. For there wasbeneath all this consciousness an unrecognized, or at leastunacknowledged, sense of other things in Lois's mind; of Mr. Caruthers'possible feelings, his people's certain displeasure, and her ownpromise to her grandmother. She would keep herself out of the way; easyat Appledore —
О проекте
О подписке