CHAPTER VIII. A LONG GOOD-BY

August flew by with its sultry air, and the grand house lay warm and quiet until supper time, no one venturing out until the heat of the day was past.

 

A disappointment it was to Sally that so little time was spent by the young people in the arbor¹, for it was not easy for her to see or hear them anywhere else.

 

Then came there a day in September when all the place was stirred as by some great and important event. Captain Rothwell was at the dock or on the deck giving swift orders, the sailors were hurrying to and fro, and the brave Belle² Virgeen stood ready winged for sailing.

 

Sally a little while before had begged of Mistress Brace³ a piece of gray and white print, out[Pg 91] of which, being exceeding deft⁴ with her needle, she had made for herself a neat gown.

 

Then the hired men had each agreed to pay her a few pence if every week she would darn their stockings. And the darns were indeed of surprising neatness for a little maid of but eleven years of age.

 

Sally could buy no stockings as yet with her earnings⁵, but a cheap pair of shoes she already had bought, and on the sweet September day, away with the rest she went to see the Belle Virgeen set sail.

 

Very hard she strained her eyes to get a glimpse of her Fairy Prince, and her poor little heart was aching at thought of his crossing the great lonely ocean to remain nearly a year away.

 

"Oh, a year doth seem such a very long while," she murmured, "and although I should be ready to die of shame did any one know it, yet great comfort and company hath it been for me to dream and imagine about the Fairy Prince."

 

[Pg 92]So much was there going on, and so great the bustle⁶, that not much thought could fill her mind, and soon there came an extra stir, a carriage drove along the road, a lithe⁷ young form sprang out, and midst a cheer from the "hands" that crowded the landing, Lionel Grandison went up the gangplank.

 

Then came the signal from Captain Rothwell to draw in the hawsers⁸, and let the trim vessel⁹ glide¹⁰.

 

Yes, there were Sir Percival Grandison, young Mistress Lucretia, and Mistress Rosamond Earlscourt, all waving their kerchiefs, and smiling bravely at the young student, who held his sea-cap high above his head, waving it constantly.

 

Lady Gabrielle had not come to see him sail away. Like unto other mothers at such times, she had not wished to see the lad depart.

 

On the edge of the crowd stood Sally. Still farther back she went, and not much notice did she take that she was standing¹¹ near a great wagon¹² that had brought some luggage to the dock, until all at once, from around the other[Pg 93] side, she heard a musical voice half sobbing¹³ out a prayer:

 

"O Lorr Gord, do keep de chile f'om all de dangers ob de mighty¹⁴ deep! Doan't let de waves nor de billows be swallerin' ob him up. Keep my babby safe f'om all de mis'ries ob a forr'n land. Dese yere arms has held him troo all kiner sickernesses. Deah Lorr, keep my chile safe—Yah! yah! yah!"

 

It was Mammy Leezer, who, without stopping to end her prayer in proper shape, had suddenly joined the cheer that went up as the vessel dropped slowly down the stream.

 

Very still it grew again as the Belle Virgeen drifted off and away, until in the distance the staunch ship grew small, and the figure of a boy standing straight and tall looked like a mere¹⁵ point against the sky.

 

Sallie's breast heaved and tears filled her eyes.

 

"Farewell, O Fairy Prince," she sighed, "farewell! I hate to see thee go. I hope to see thee back some day, my Fairy Prince, and[Pg 94] ah, what joy would it be, if, without shame, I might sometime meet thee face to face."

 

"Then away and prepare," cried her Fairy, and without stopping to look back, or even to say a word to Mammy Leezer, Sally went swiftly to the pine woods and began talking to herself again.

 

"Now one thing am I bound to do. It will be hard to see the way, but—I am going to a dame¹⁶ school!

 

"Mistress Maria Kent has long had pupils, and a likely teacher she must be. School goes in this day week. I mean to be there! But how? I know not, yet some way will I find to learn."

 

That night Sally lay long awake. How busy was her mind! How many ways she tried to plan! At length she exclaimed:

 

"I have it! I have it! That will I do. If Mistress Cory Ann makes a noise about it,—and I greatly fear me she will,—then must I put on bravery and tell her, with seemly respect, but with a good show of will, that[Pg 95] learning I want and that learning I must have."

 

The next afternoon, as soon as she was through her supper, Sally made herself both neat and pretty in appearance. Her hair was now all the time made to look almost smooth, the gray and white print with a red rose for a breastpin was well brightened up. The decent shoes were on her feet.

 

She slipped away without being seen by the sharp eyes of Mistress Cory Ann, for she felt that her looks would not be pleasing to her. More than once had Mistress Brace spoken smartly of her smoother hair, and she had not liked the buying of the shoes.

 

Now, should she see Sally gliding¹⁷ away, the new dress on, a rose for ornament¹⁸, and with shoes on, she would demand being told at once whither she was bound.

 

Mistress Maria Kent was sitting on the porch at her pretty little home, the picture of an old-time schoolmistress. Her hair was parted with[Pg 96] a precision that could not have been increased, and it was brought smoothly¹⁹ down on either side, where it was rounded just in front of her ears, a little hard quirl being carried over her ears and pinned closely to her back hair.

 

Her long-waisted dress of blue cambric was of a Puritan plainness, while the deeply wrought²⁰ collar lying flat around her neck was fastened with a round breastpin that had hair curiously²¹ plaited in the centre, surrounded by black and white enamel²², and all framed in gold.

 

She lifted her eyes from the book she was reading to see a spare little figure coming up the garden walk.

 

"Good evening, little maid," she said pleasantly, "was there something you wished to say to me?"

 

Sally swallowed hard, and scarcely lifting her eyes, she replied, in a frightened voice:

 

"Yes, Mistress Kent, I want to get learning."

 

"That is praiseworthy," said Mistress Maria, "and have any arrangements been made by[Pg 97] which you can enter upon the duties and privileges of a youthful scholar?"

 

Sally had told herself on the way that she must be brave, and so, scarcely understanding or even knowing what Mistress Kent had said, she began with a good show of courage for so timid and untaught a child:

 

"There is no one to help me, Mistress, I must help myself, but I can do things if I try. I have set my heart on getting learning, which I shall! I have no money but about fourpence-ha'penny a week for darning stockings, but I have skill with the needle somewhat. If I could clean, or weed, or sew, my work should be well done. Could I sew for you or your mother, Mistress Kent, or do any kind of work that would pay for learning to read and write and spell? For learn I shall!"

 

Sally was on the point of crying out loud as she finished her speech, so very hard had it been for her to make it, yet glad and half surprised she was, that, without stopping, the whole story had been told.

 

[Pg 98]Mistress Kent was silent for a time after Sally had spoken. She was thinking to herself:

 

"This is something new. Here is a little maid ten or eleven years of age, who, all by herself, has come to my door, saying that learning she wants and must have, and will gladly pay for it what she can with her own small hands."

 

But the Mistress had to be wise and prudent²³. The children who came to her school were well taught and well reared, came of proud parents who paid well for their schooling²⁴, and would never let their little people associate with children of the poorer classes.

 

They were all well dressed, carefully washed and combed, wore fine stockings and tasteful shoes, and had high notions already in their own proud little heads.

 

So Mistress Kent, who had a good, kind heart under her stiff waist, was quiet so long a time that Sally raised her eyes and saw a look of trouble on the face of the schoolmistress. She[Pg 99] was looking far off on the distant fields, and was surely trying to think something out. At length she said, slowly and distinctly:

 

"It would not be best, little maiden²⁵, for you to enter the classes with other young persons of your age, for they would be too far beyond you in their studies. Nor can I feel it would do to enter you with A, B, C scholars, for they would be much younger, and smaller in stature²⁶ than yourself.

 

"But I like not to send away either lad or maid who desires greatly to learn. Twice a week, I go a few miles to pay a short visit to a sister who is lame²⁷; if then you will come promptly²⁸ of a Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, when school does not keep, and look gently after my aged²⁹ mother, and also do a little plain sewing,—for I like not that the hands should be idle,—I will on other evenings of the week lend you books and faithfully teach you to read well, write, and spell."

 

Sally almost forgot her fear and cried out, "Oh, thank you, thank you, good Mistress[Pg 100] Kent! I will indeed take good care of the aged mother, and do the sewing with a careful eye."

 

And then, as if unable to help it, she ran forward and put a kiss on the teacher's thin neck.

 

The spinster flushed rosy³⁰ red and said, in a voice that trembled:

 

"There, there, child, that will do, be not overmuch thankful for what it pleaseth me to do, but come on Wednesday of next week, and we will proceed to help each other."

 

Sally wandered toward home as if in a dream. For, lo! so easily had she already found a way to learn. And perfectly³¹ happy she would have been, had not a voice said grimly within her:

 

"But you have not yet reckoned with Mistress Cory Ann Brace!"

 

It was then Thursday, and nearly a week would Sally have in which to settle matters. And the next Saturday, after cleaning kitchen, steps, and shed with much care, she said to Mistress Cory Ann that twice a week she had the chance to go to Mistress Kent of the dame[Pg 101] school in the afternoon to do her some service, and that evenings she was to be taught by the schoolmistress.

 

Then it was that Mistress Cory Ann blazed forth³², and poor Sally felt her hopes dying down under her wrath³³. Indeed! had she not seen the slicking up, the rigging and the putting about to make herself fine? Not a step should she go to Mistress Kent to be taught book-learning!

 

"Have I not clothed and fed you, ungrateful girl," she cried, "but off you must go making a smart lady of yourself, and getting notions that will fit you neither to do one thing nor another? Was it seeing that young macaroni of a boy start off in all his glory to cram³⁴ his head with book stuff that set you up to wanting the same thing yourself? Get the notion out again, then, quick! Not a word more of this nonsense about Mistress Kent and her teachings. If you disobey, off you go to the Town House, and there stay until you are eighteen."

 

Oh, dreadful! Sally said not another word;[Pg 102] she only moped about as if heart-broken. She did not go over to Ingleside after supper, but went across to the pines, and throwing herself face downward on the moss³⁵, as she had done once before when her ignorance first appeared before her, she cried and cried until again she fell asleep.

 

1 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

2 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

3 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

4 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

7 lithe   

adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的

参考例句：

• His lithe athlete's body had been his pride through most of the fifty - six years.他那轻巧自如的运动员体格，五十六年来几乎一直使他感到自豪。
• His walk was lithe and graceful.他走路轻盈而优雅。

8 hawsers   

n.（供系船或下锚用的）缆索，锚链( hawser的名词复数 )

参考例句：

9 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

10 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

11 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。

12 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

13 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

14 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

15 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

16 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

17 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

18 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。

19 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

20 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

21 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

22 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

23 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

24 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

25 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

26 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

27 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

28 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

29 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

30 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

31 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

32 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

33 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

34 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

35 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。