CHAPTER IX LOUISE

 “I must go home,” said Louise, with a little sigh at having to end the most pleasant visit she ever remembered. The two little girls had finished the lunch, and had played happily with “Lady Amy.” Mrs. Scott had left them quite by themselves, and not even the small cousins had come near the sitting-room¹.

 

As Louise spoke² she took off the blue velvet³ cap, which she had worn all the afternoon, and began to untie⁴ the hair ribbon.

 

“Oh, Louise! Don’t take off that hair ribbon. I gave it to you. It’s a present,” exclaimed Faith.

 

Louise shook her head. “Father won’t let me keep it,” she answered. “He wouldn’t like it if he knew that I had eaten anything in this house. He is always telling me that if people offer to give me anything I must never, never take it.”

 

[Pg 91]

 

Before Faith could speak Aunt Prissy came into the room.

 

“Tell your father I will come in and pay him for Faith’s shoes to-morrow, Louise,” she said pleasantly, “and you must come and see Faith again.”

 

“Yes’m. Thank you,” responded Louise shyly, and nodding to Faith with a look of smiling understanding, the crippled child made her way quickly from the room.

 

“Aunt Prissy, I like Louise Trent. I don’t believe she is a mischievous⁶ girl. Just think, she never had a doll in her life! And her father won’t let her take presents!” Faith had so much to say that she talked very rapidly.

 

“I see,” responded her aunt, taking up the rumpled⁷ hair ribbon which Louise had refused. “I am glad you were so kind to the poor child,” she added, smiling down at her little niece. “Tell me all you can about Louise. Perhaps there will be some way to make her life happier.”

 

So Faith told her aunt that Louise could not read. That she had never before tasted fruit cake, and that she had no playmates, and had never had a present.[Pg 92] “Why do you suppose she came to see me, Aunt Prissy?” she concluded.

 

“I cannot imagine. Unless it was because you are a stranger,” replied Aunt Prissy. “I have an idea that I can arrange with Mr. Trent so that he will be willing for me to make Louise a dress, and get for her the things she ought to have. For the shoemaker is no poorer than most of his neighbors. How would you like to teach Louise to read?”

 

“I’d like to! Oh, Aunt Prissy, tell me your plan!” responded Faith eagerly.

 

“Wait until I am sure it is a good plan, Faithie dear,” her aunt replied. “I’ll go down and see Mr. Trent to-morrow. I blame myself that I have not tried to be of use to that child.”

 

“May I go with you?” urged Faith.

 

“Why, yes. You can visit Louise while I talk with her father, since he asked you to come.”

 

“Has the Witch gone?” called Donald, running into the room. “Didn’t you know that all the children call the Trent girl a witch?” he asked his mother.

 

[Pg 93]“No, Donald. But if they do they ought to be ashamed. She is a little girl without any mother to care for her. And now she is your cousin’s friend, and we hope to see her here often. And you must always be polite and kind to her,” replied Mrs. Scott.

 

Donald looked a little doubtful and puzzled.

 

“You ought to be more kind to her than to any other child, because she is lame,” said Faith.

 

“All right. But what is a ‘witch,’ anyway?” responded Donald.

 

“It is a wicked word,” answered his mother briefly⁸. “See that you do not use it again.”

 

Faith’s thoughts were now so filled with Louise that she nearly lost her interest in the new dresses and shoes, and was eager for the next day to come so that she could again see her new friend.

 

Faith had been taught to sew neatly⁹, and she wondered if she could not help make Louise a dress. “And perhaps Aunt Prissy will teach her how to make cake,” she thought; for never to taste of cake seemed to Faith to be a real misfortune. For the first night since her arrival at her aunt’s home Faith went to sleep without a homesick longing¹⁰ for the cabin in the Wilderness¹¹, and awoke the next morning thinking about all that could be done for the friendless little girl who could not accept a present.

 

[Pg 94]“We will go to Mr. Trent’s as soon as our morning work is finished,” said Aunt Prissy, “and you shall wear your new shoes and cap. And I have a blue cape¹² which I made for you before you came. The morning is chilly¹³. You had best wear that.”

 

“I don’t look like Faith Carew, I am so fine,” laughed the little girl, looking down at her shoes, and touching¹⁴ the soft cloth of the pretty blue cape.

 

As they walked along Faith told Aunt Prissy of her plans to teach Louise to sew, as well as to read. “And perhaps you’ll show her how to make cake! Will you, Aunt Prissy?”

 

“Of course I will, if I can get the chance,” replied her aunt.

 

The shoemaker greeted them pleasantly. Before Mrs. Scott could say anything of her errand he began to apologize for his daughter’s visit.

 

“She slipped off without my knowing it. It shan’t happen again,” he said.

 

“But Faith will be very sorry if it doesn’t happen again,” replied Aunt Prissy. “Can she not run in and see Louise while I settle with you for the shoes?”

 

The shoemaker looked at her sharply for a [Pg 95]moment, and then motioned Faith to follow him, leading the way across the shop toward a door on the further side of the room. The shop occupied the front room of the shoemaker’s house. The two back rooms, with the chambers¹⁵ above, was where Louise and her father made their home.

 

Mr. Trent opened the door and said: “You’ll find her in there,” and Faith stepped into the queerest room that she had ever seen, and the door closed behind her. Louise was standing⁵, half-hidden by a clumsy wooden chair. The shawl was still pinned about her shoulders.

 

“This ain’t much like your aunt’s house, is it? I guess you won’t ever want to come again. And my father says I can’t ever go to see you again. He says I don’t look fit,” said Louise.

 

But Faith’s eyes had brightened, and she was looking at the further side of the room and smiling with delight. “Oh, Louise! Why didn’t you tell me that you had a gray kitten? And it looks just like ‘Bounce,’” and in a moment she had picked up the pretty kitten, and was sitting beside Louise on a roughly made wooden seat, telling her of her own kitten, [Pg 96]while Louise eagerly described the cleverness of her own pet.

 

“What’s its name?” asked Faith.

 

“Just ‘kitten,’” answered Louise, as if surprised at the question.

 

“But it must have a real name,” insisted Faith, and it was finally decided¹⁶ that it should be named “Jump,” the nearest approach to the name of Faith’s kitten that they could imagine.

 

The floor of the room was rough and uneven¹⁷, and not very clean. There was a table, the big chair and the wooden seat. Although the morning was chilly there was no fire in the fireplace, although there was a pile of wood in one corner. There was but one window, which looked toward the lake.

 

“Come out in the kitchen, where it’s warm,” suggested Louise, after a few moments, and Faith was glad to follow her.

 

“Don’t you want to try on my new cape?” asked Faith, as they reached the kitchen, a much pleasanter room than the one they had left.

 

Louise shook her head. “I daresn’t,” she replied. “Father may come in. And he’d take my head off.”

 

[Pg 97]

 

“You are coming to see me, Louise. Aunt Prissy is talking to your father about it now,” said Faith; but Louise was not to be convinced.

 

“He won’t let me. You’ll see,” she answered mournfully. “I know. He’ll think your aunt is ‘Charity.’ Why, he won’t make shoes any more for the minister because his wife brought me a dress; and I didn’t wear the dress, either.”

 

But there was a surprise in store for Louise, for when Mrs. Scott and Mr. Trent entered the kitchen the shoemaker was smiling; and it seemed to Faith that he stood more erect¹⁸, and did not look so much like the picture of the orang-outang.

 

“Louise, Mrs. Scott and I have been making a bargain,” he said. “I am going to make shoes for her boys, and she is going to make dresses for my girl. Exchange work; I believe that’s right, isn’t it, ma’am?” and he turned to Mrs. Scott with a little bow.

 

“Yes, it is quite right. And I’ll send you the bill for materials,” said Aunt Prissy.

 

[Pg 98]“Of course. Well, Louise, I warrant you’re old enough to have proper dresses. And Mrs. Scott will take you home to stay with her until you are all fixed¹⁹ up as fine as this little maid,” and the shoemaker nodded to Faith.

 

“Do you mean I’m to stay up there?” asked Louise, pointing in the direction of the Scotts’ house. “I can’t. Who’d take care of you, father?”

 

Mr. Trent seemed to stand very straight indeed as Louise spoke, and Faith was ashamed that she had ever thought he resembled the ugly picture in her mother’s book.

 

“She’s a good child,” he said as if whispering to himself; but he easily convinced Louise that, for a few days, he could manage to take care of himself; and at last Louise, happy and excited over this change in her fortunes, hobbled off beside Mrs. Scott and Faith, while her father stood in the shop doorway²⁰ looking after them.

 

It was a very differently dressed little daughter who returned to him at the end of the following week. She wore a neat brown wool dress, with a collar and cuffs²¹ of scarlet²² cloth, a cape of brown, and a cap of brown with a scarlet wing on one side. These, with her well-made, well-fitting shoes, made Louise a very trim little figure in spite of her lameness²³. Her hair, [Pg 99]well brushed and neatly braided, was tied back with a scarlet ribbon. A bundle containing underwear, aprons²⁴, handkerchiefs, and hair ribbons of various colors, as well as a stout²⁵ cotton dress for Louise to wear indoors, arrived at the shoemaker’s house with the little girl.

 

Her father looked at her in amazement²⁶. “Why, Flibbertigibbet, you are a pretty girl,” he declared, and was even more amazed at the gay laugh with which Louise answered him.

 

“I’ve learned a lot of things, father! I can make a cake, truly I can. And I’m learning to read. I’m so glad Faith Carew is going to live in Ticonderoga. Aren’t you, father?”

 

Mr. Trent looked at his daughter again, and answered slowly: “Why, yes, Flibbertigibbet, I believe I am.”

1 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

2 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

4 untie   

vt.解开，松开；解放

参考例句：

• It's just impossible to untie the knot.It's too tight.这个结根本解不开。太紧了。
• Will you please untie the knot for me?请你替我解开这个结头，好吗？

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

7 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

10 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

13 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

14 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

15 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

18 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

19 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

20 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

21 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

22 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

23 lameness   

n. 跛, 瘸, 残废

参考例句：

• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。
• By reason of his lameness the boy could not play games. 这男孩因脚跛不能做游戏。

24 aprons   

围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份）

参考例句：

• Many people like to wear aprons while they are cooking. 许多人做饭时喜欢系一条围裙。
• The chambermaid in our corridor wears blue checked gingham aprons. 给我们扫走廊的清洁女工围蓝格围裙。

25   

参考例句：

26 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。