CHAPTER XXVII. AUNT LOUISA.

“We have come after Miss Hattie Butler, Mr. W——,” said Lizzie, after shaking hands with him.

 

“Our dear Aunt Louisa is ever so much better to-day, and her first wish this morning was to see her. But the doctor thought she had better wait until afternoon, until she grew stronger, and so we waited till after lunch, and then we had to come. Our aunt would give us no rest.”

 

“That’s so. Do you know, Mr. W——, though she has not positively¹ said so in so many words, I believe our good aunt means to give us a new cousin? I feel sure she means to adopt Miss Hattie as her daughter.”

 

“Hardly against the will of the latter, who has a mind of her own, and few minds stronger or better balanced,” said Mr. W——.

 

“But this morning,” said Lizzie, “when I went early to her bedside, she was murmuring in her sleep, and I heard the words, ‘my precious daughter,’ distinctly. And when she awoke, I knew she had been thinking of Miss Butler, for she asked the very first thing if she was in the house.”

 

“That certainly bears out your idea,” said Mr. W——. “I will go and call Miss Hattie, and you can state your wishes to her. She will go with you, I know.”

 

“Lizzie, he is just one of the best fellows that ever lived!” cried Frank. “Isn’t it a pity he is only a book-binder after all?”

 

[131]

 

“I don’t know as that sets him back in my estimation one bit,” said Lizzie. “He is handsome, manly², and well-bred.”

 

Frank looked at his hitherto aristocratic sister with eyes of open wonder. What he would have said had not Mr. W—— come in that moment with Hattie, we do not know, for his lips were opened to utter a reply when the book-binder and his fair employee entered the office.

 

Then Frank had no eyes but for the latter, no thought, for the moment, of any one else.

 

“Dear Miss Hattie!” was all that Lizzie said, as she ran up to the poor bindery-girl, threw her arms around her neck, and kissed her again and again.

 

Frank would have given his team of fast horses, anything he had in the world, if he could have used those very words and given the same salute³, more especially if he could have got the return his sister did.

 

But he had to content himself by shaking her hand, which he pressed quite warmly, as he said:

 

“I am glad to see you looking so well to-day, Miss Hattie, after the fright our aunt gave you last night.”

 

“Thank you!” said Hattie, kindly⁴.

 

But Frank noted⁵, with some chagrin⁶, that she did not return the pressure of his hand.

 

“We have come to carry you home with us to see Aunt Louisa,” continued Lizzie. “She asked after you the first thing this morning, and the doctor said as she grew stronger to-day it would do her real good to have a visit from you.”

 

“Then, if Mr. W—— can spare me, I certainly cannot refuse to go,” said Hattie, with a smile.

 

“You certainly can be spared for such a purpose,[132] Miss Hattie,” said Mr. W——. “Your time could not be better spent than in comforting those who need comfort.”

 

Hattie saw the hidden meaning of those words, and she would have comforted him had it been in her power. But she had made a decision in his case which she could not change.

 

Mr. W—— now escorted his visitors and Hattie down stairs to the carriage which waited, and when the two girls sat side by side there, one resplendent in silk, laces, and diamonds—the other in her ever neat, well-fitting and well-made shop dress of ten-cent calico, without an ornament⁷ of any kind, he compared them in his mind, and his heart still told him the shop-girl, beautiful, but poor, was superior to all others in the world—his heart’s first and last choice above all others.

 

And he stood there and watched them and the carriage till it turned the corner, and then he went back, with a weary sigh, to his business.

 

As the carriage rattled⁸ on over the paved streets, so Lizzie’s tongue rattled, too, while Frank’s eyes only were busy studying out the marvelous beauty of the girl to whom his sister talked.

 

“Do you know, dear Hattie,” said she, “that I believe we are to be cousins—real cousins. For if Aunt Louisa adopts you as her daughter you will be my cousin—my dear, dear cousin, will you not?”

 

“I fear I shall never be more than a dear and true friend to you, Miss Lizzie,” said Hattie, kindly, yet gravely. “Your aunt, perhaps, wishes to be as good to me as you indicate, but I can never yield to her kind desire.”

 

“But, Hattie, darling, you don’t know her yet. She is so good! Never did a kinder heart throb⁹ than[133] hers. She is the counterpart of my blessed mother, who died on earth but lives in Heaven. She has seen many sorrows—we know not all, for she was abroad with her first husband for years, and we heard he was a bad man. She married him against the will of her parents and friends, but her last husband, whom she married because they all wanted her to after the first one died, was a very good man, and he left her over a million of dollars in her own right. We never talk with her about her first marriage. She does not like it. But she often speaks of Mr. Emory herself, and his praise never hurts her feelings. We all liked him very much.”

 

Hattie was a good listener. She never interrupted Lizzie’s narrative¹⁰ with a single question. And a real good listener is a “rarity,” as Mr. Barnum said when he found the “What is it.”

 

“Now you will think it over, will you not, if Aunt Louisa proposes that you shall be her daughter, as I know she will?” said Lizzie, stealing her arm coaxingly¹¹ about Hattie’s waist. “Don’t say no, dear—at least not at once. For her sake soften¹² a refusal, if it must come.”

 

“I will do everything I can in honor and justice to myself to make your good, dear aunt happy,” said Hattie.

 

“You darling! I knew you would!”

 

And Lizzie, caring not a jot¹³ that they were driving up the Fifth avenue, passing and meeting occupied carriages all the time, kissed Hattie over and over again.

 

And poor Frank sat there and saw their red lips meet, and he wished he could be Lizzie, if only for a minute.

 

But the sweetest moments must have their end.[134] The carriage drew up before the Legare mansion¹⁴, and its occupants were soon within its stately walls.

 

Mr. Legare met them at the door.

 

“This kindness is truly gratifying, Miss Butler,” said he to our heroine. “My sister is yet quite nervous, but the doctor is confident your visit will be a benefit to her. She is anxious to see you. I left her but a moment ago, and she sent me from her chamber¹⁵ to see if you had come. She wishes to see you alone for a little while. I can almost guess the cause of this wish, but I will not anticipate it to you.”

 

Then, as soon as Lizzie had taken her bonnet¹⁶ and shawl, Hattie went to the chamber of Mrs. Emory.

1 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

2 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

3 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

4 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

7 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

8 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

9 throb   

v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动

参考例句：

• She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
• The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 coaxingly   

adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗

参考例句：

12 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

13 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

14 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

15 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

16 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。