Then Helen walked down to Mrs. Clarkson's boarding-house, all for
the purpose of showing a lady there with a skirt to make over just
how she had seen a similar garment rearranged exquisitely. And
Alice strolled down to the gate with her to say good-by; and they
had so much to talk about that Helen walked Alice nearly to our
house, and then insisted on her coming the rest of the way so she
might be driven home. And then Mike was sent back with a note to
say to Mrs. Mayton that her daughter had been prevailed upon to
stay to evening dinner, but would be sent home under capable
escort. And after dinner was over and the children put to bed, Tom
groaned that he MUST attend a road-board meeting, and Helen begged
us to excuse her just a minute while she ran into the doctor's to
ask how poor Mrs. Brown had been doing, and she consumed three
hours and twenty-five minutes in asking, bless her sympathetic
soul!
The dreaded ending of my vacation did not cause me as many pangs
as I had expected. Helen wanted to know one evening why, if her
poor, dear Tom could go back and forth to the city to business
every day, her lazy big brother couldn't go back and forth to
Hillcrest daily, if she were to want him as a boarder for the
remainder of the season. Although I had for years inveighed
against the folly of cultivated people leaving the city to find
residences, Helen's argument was unanswerable and I submitted.
Pages:
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166