Alida was not so cold, weary, and almost faint but that she looked around the old kitchen with the strongest interest. This interest was as unlike Mrs. Mumpson's curiosity as she was unlike the widow. It is true the thought of self was prominent, yet hers were not selfish thoughts. There are some blessed natures in the world that in doing the best for themselves do the best that is possible for others.
The genial1 warmth of the fire was grateful to her chilled and enfeebled frame; the homely2 kitchen, with its dresser of china ware3, its tin closet and pantry, the doors of which old Jonathan had left open, manlike, after helping4 himself "bount'fully," all suggested more comfort to this pallid5 bride, sitting there alone, than wealth of ornament6 in elegant apartments has brought to many others. She saw her chief domain7, not in its coarse and common aspect, but as her vantage ground, from which she could minister to the comforts of the one who had rescued her. Few brides would care to enter the kitchen first, but she was pleased; she who had scarcely hoped to smile again looked smilingly around on the quaint8, homelike room.
"And this is to be my home!" she murmured. "How strange, unexpected, yet natural it all is! Just what he led me to expect. The little lonely farmhouse9, where I can be safe from staring eyes and unwounded by cruel questionings. Yet that old man had a dozen questions on his tongue. I believe HE took him away to save my feelings. It's strange that so plain and simple a man in most respects can be so considerate. Oh, pray God that all goes on as it promises! I couldn't have dreamt it this morning, but I have an odd, homelike feeling already. Well, since I AM at home I may as well take off my hat and cloak."
And she did so. Holcroft entered and said heartily10, "That's right, Alida! You are here to stay, you know. You mustn't think it amiss that I left you a few moments alone for I had to get that talkative old man off home. He's getting a little childish and would fire questions at you point-blank."
"But shouldn't you have taken him home in the wagon11? I don't mind being alone."
"Oh, no! He's spry enough to walk twice the distance and often does. It's light as day outside, and I made it right with him. You can leave your things upstairs in your room, and I'll carry up your bundles also if you are rested enough for the journey."
"Oh, yes!" she replied, "I'm feeling better already."
He led the way to the apartment that Mrs. Mumpson had occupied and said regretfully, "I'm sorry the room looks so bare and comfortless, but that will all be mended in time. When you come down, we'll have some coffee and supper."
She soon reappeared in the kitchen, and he continued, "Now I'll show you that I'm not such a very helpless sort of man, after all; so if you're sick you needn't worry. I'm going to get you a good cup of coffee and broil12 you a piece of steak."
"Oh! Please let me--" she began.
"No, can't allow you to do anything tonight but sit in that chair. You promised to mind, you know," and he smiled so genially13 that she smiled back at him although tears came into her eyes.
"I can't realize it all," she said in a low voice. "To think how this day began and how it is ending!"
"It's ending in a poor man's kitchen, Alida. It was rather rough to bring you in here first, but the parlor14 is cold and comfortless.
"I would rather be brought here. It seems to me that it must be a light and cheerful room."
"Yes, the sun shines in these east windows, and there's another window facing the south, so it's light all day long."
She watched him curiously15 and with not a little self-reproach as he deftly16 prepared supper. "It's too bad for me to sit idle while you do such things, yet you do everything so well that I fear I shall seem awkward. Still, I think I do at least know how to cook a little."
"If you knew what I've had to put up with for a year or more, you wouldn't worry about satisfying me in this respect. Except when old Mrs. Wiggins was here, I had few decent meals that I didn't get myself," and then, to cheer her up, he laughingly told her of Mrs. Mumpson's essay at making coffee. He had a certain dry humor, and his unwonted effort at mimicry17 was so droll18 in itself that Alida was startled to hear her own voice in laughter, and she looked almost frightened, so deeply had she been impressed that it would never be possible or even right for her to laugh again.
The farmer was secretly much pleased at his success. If she would laugh, be cheerful and not brood, he felt sure she would get well and be more contented19. The desperate view she had taken of her misfortunes troubled him, and he had thought it possible that she might sink into despondency and something like invalidism20; but that involuntary bubble of laughter reassured21 him. "Quiet, wholesome22, cheerful life will restore her to health," he thought, as he put his favorite beverage23 and the sputtering24 steak on the table. "Now," he said, placing a chair at the table, "you can pour me a cup of coffee."
"I'm glad I can do something," she answered, "for I can't get over the strangeness of being so waited on. Indeed, everything that was unexpected or undreamt of has happened," and there was just the faintest bit of color on her cheeks as she sat down opposite him.
Few men are insensible to simple, natural, womanly grace, and poor Holcroft, who so long had been compelled to see at his table "perfect terrors," as he called them, was agreeably impressed by the contrast she made with the Mumpson and Malony species. Alida unconsciously had a subtle charm of carriage and action, learned in her long past and happy girlhood when all her associations were good and refined. Still, in its truest explanation, this grace is native and not acquired; it is a personal trait. Incapable25 of nice analysis or fine definitions, he only thought, "How much pleasanter it is to see at the table a quiet, sensible woman instead of a 'peculiar26 female!'" and it was not long before he supplemented her remark by saying, "Perhaps things are turning out for both of us better than we expected. I had made up my mind this morning to live here like a hermit27, get my own meals, and all that. I actually had the rough draught28 of an auction29 bill in my pocket,--yes, here it is now,--and was going to sell my cows, give up my dairy, and try to make my living in a way that wouldn't require any woman help. That's what took me up to Tom Watterly's; I wanted him to help me put the bill in shape. He wouldn't look at it, and talked me right out of trying to live like Robinson Crusoe, as he expressed it. I had been quite cheerful over my prospects31; indeed, I was almost happy in being alone again after having such terrors in the house. But, as I said, Watterly talked all the courage and hope right out of me, and made it clear that I couldn't go it alone. You see, Tom and I have been friends since we were boys together, and that's the reason he talks so plain to me."
"He has a good, kind heart," said Alida. "I don't think I could have kept up at all had it not been for his kindness."
"Yes, Tom's a rough diamond. He don't make any pretenses32, and looks upon himself as a rather hard case, but I fancy he's doing kind things in his rough way half the time. Well, as we were talking, he remembered you, and he spoke33 of you so feelingly and told your story with so much honest sympathy that he awoke my sympathy. Now you know how it has all come about. You see it's all natural enough and simple enough, and probably it's the best thing that could have happened for us both. All you have to do is to get strong and well, and then it won't be any one-sided affair, as you've been too much inclined to think. I can go on and keep my farm and home just as my heart is bent34 on doing. I want you to understand everything for then your mind will be more satisfied and at rest, and that's half the battle in getting over sickness and trouble like yours."
"I can only thank God and you for the great change in my prospects. This quiet and escape from strangers are just what I most craved35, and I am already beginning to hope that if I can learn to do all you wish, I shall find a content that I never hoped for," and the tears that stood in her eyes were witnesses of her sincerity36.
"Well, don't expect to learn everything at once. Let me have my way for a while, and then you'll find, as you get strong, and the busy season comes on, that I'll be so taken up with the farm that you'll have your own way. Won't you have some more steak? No? Well, you've enjoyed your supper a little, haven't you?"
"Yes," she replied, smiling. "I actually felt hungry when I sat down, and the coffee has taken away the tired, faint feeling."
"I hope you'll soon be good and hungry three times a day," he said, laughing pleasantly.
"You'll at least let me clear the table?" she asked. "I feel so much better."
"Yes, if you are sure you're strong enough. It may make you feel more at home. But drop everything till tomorrow when tired. I must go out and do my night work, and it's night work now, sure enough--"
"It's too bad!" she said sympathetically.
"What! To go out and feed my stock this clear, bright night? And after a hearty37 supper too? Such farming is fun. I feel, too, as if I wanted to go and pat the cows all around in my gladness that I'm not going to sell them. Now remember, let everything go till morning as soon as you feel tired."
She nodded smilingly and set to work. Standing38 in the shadow of a hemlock39, he watched her for a few moments. Her movements were slow, as would be natural to one who had been so reduced by illness, but this every evidence of feebleness touched his feelings. "She is eager to begin--too eager. No nonsense there about 'menial tasks.' Well, it does give one hope to see such a woman as that in the old kitchen," and then the hungry cattle welcomed him.
The traveler feels safe after the fierce Arab of the desert has broken bread with him. It would seem that a deep principle of human nature is involved in this act. More than the restoring power of the nourishment40 itself was the moral effect for Alida of that first meal in her husband's home. It was another step in what he had said was essential--the forming of his acquaintance. She had seen from the first that he was plain and unpolished--that he had not the veneer41 of gentility of the man she had so mistakenly married; yet, in his simple truth, he was inspiring a respect which she had never felt for any man before. "What element of real courtesy has been wanting?" she asked herself. "If this is an earnest of the future, thank God for the real. I've found to my cost what a clever imitation of a man means."
It was as sweet as it was strange to think that she, who had trembled at the necessity of becoming almost a slave to unfeeling strangers, had been compelled to rest while a husband performed tasks naturally hers. It was all very homely, yet the significance of the act was chivalrous42 consideration for her weakness; the place, the nature of the ministry43 could not degrade the meaning of his action. Then, too, during the meal he had spoken natural, kindly44 words which gave to their breaking of bread together the true interpretation45. Although so feeble and wary46, she found a deep satisfaction in beginning her household work. "It does make me feel more at home," she said. "Strange that he should have thought of it!"
She had finished her task and sat down again when he entered with a pail of milk. Taking a dipper with a strainer on one side of it, he poured out a tumblerful. "Now, take this," he said, "I've always heard that milk fresh from the cow was very strengthening. Then go and sleep till you are thoroughly47 rested, and don't think of coming down in the morning till you feel like it. I'll make the fire and get breakfast. You have seen how easily I can do it. I have several more cows to milk, and so will say 'Goodnight.'"
For the first time since chaos48 had come into her life Alida slept soundly and refreshingly49, unpursued by the fears which had haunted even her dreams. When she awoke she expected to see the gray locks and repulsive50 features of the woman who had occupied the apartment with her at the almshouse, but she was alone in a small, strange room. Then memory gathered up the threads of the past; but so strange, so blessed did the truth seem that she hastened to dress and go down to the old kitchen and assure herself that her mind had not become shattered by her troubles and was mocking her with unreal fancies. The scene she looked upon would have soothed51 and reassured her even had her mind been as disordered as she, for the moment, had been tempted52 to believe. There was the same homely room which had pictured itself so deeply in her memory the evening before. Now it was more attractive for the morning sun was shining into it, lighting53 up its homely details with a wholesome, cheerful reality which made it difficult to believe that there were tragic54 experiences in the world. The wood fire in the stove crackled merrily, and the lid of the kettle was already bobbing up and down from internal commotion55.
As she opened the door a burst of song entered, securing her attention. She had heard the birds before without recognizing consciousness, as is so often true of our own condition in regard to the familiar sounds of nature. It was now almost as if she had received another sense, so strong, sweet, and cheering was the symphony. Robins30, song-sparrows, blackbirds, seemed to have gathered in the trees nearby, to give her a jubilant welcome; but she soon found that the music shaded off to distant, dreamlike notes, and remembered that it was a morning chorus of a hemisphere. This universality did not render the melody less personally grateful. We can appreciate all that is lovely in Nature, yet leave all for others. As she stood listening, and inhaling56 the soft air, full of the delicious perfume of the grass and expanding buds, and looking through the misty57 sunshine on the half-veiled landscape, she heard Holcroft's voice, chiding58 some unruly animal in the barnyard.
This recalled her, and with the elasticity59 of returning health and hope she set about getting breakfast.
"It seems to me that I never heard birds sing before," she thought, "and their songs this morning are almost like the music of heaven. They seem as happy and unconscious of fear and trouble as if they were angels. Mother and I used to talk about the Garden of Eden, but could the air have been sweeter, or the sunshine more tempered to just the right degree of warmth and brightness than here about my home? Oh, thank God again, again and forever, for a home like this!" and for a few moments something of the ecstasy60 of one delivered from the black thraldom61 of evil filled her soul. She paused now and then to listen to the birds for only their songs seemed capable of expressing her emotion. It was but another proof that heavenly thoughts and homely work may go on together.
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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ware
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| n.(常用复数)商品，货物 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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broil
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| v.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂；n.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂 | |
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genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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mimicry
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| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
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droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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invalidism
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| 病弱，病身； 伤残 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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robins
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| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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pretenses
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| n.借口（pretense的复数形式） | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hemlock
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| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
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nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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veneer
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| n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰 | |
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chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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refreshingly
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| adv.清爽地，有精神地 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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51
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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56
inhaling
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| v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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57
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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chiding
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| v.责骂，责备( chide的现在分词 ) | |
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elasticity
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| n.弹性，伸缩力 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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