FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176  
177   178   179   >>  
bury, and afterwards offered to remain with her while the Doctor went to attend the funeral. When they heard of the old love-story between the dead man and Miss Galindo,--brought up by mutual friends in Westmoreland, in the review which we are all inclined to take of the events of a man's life when he comes to die,--they tried to remember Miss Galindo's speeches and ways of going on during this visit. She was a little pale, a little silent; her eyes were sometimes swollen, and her nose red; but she was at an age when such appearances are generally attributed to a bad cold in the head, rather than to any more sentimental reason. They felt towards her as towards an old friend, a kindly, useful, eccentric old maid. She did not expect more, or wish them to remember that she might once have had other hopes, and more youthful feelings. Doctor Trevor thanked her very warmly for staying with his wife, when he returned home from London (where the funeral had taken place). He begged Miss Galindo to stay with them, when the children were gone to bed, and she was preparing to leave the husband and wife by themselves. He told her and his wife many particulars--then paused--then went on--"And Mark has left a child--a little girl-- "But he never was married!" exclaimed Mrs. Trevor. "A little girl," continued her husband, "whose mother, I conclude, is dead. At any rate, the child was in possession of his chambers; she and an old nurse, who seemed to have the charge of everything, and has cheated poor Mark, I should fancy, not a little." "But the child!" asked Mrs. Trevor, still almost breathless with astonishment. "How do you know it is his?" "The nurse told me it was, with great appearance of indignation at my doubting it. I asked the little thing her name, and all I could get was 'Bessy!' and a cry of 'Me wants papa!' The nurse said the mother was dead, and she knew no more about it than that Mr. Gibson had engaged her to take care of the little girl, calling it his child. One or two of his lawyer friends, whom I met with at the funeral, told me they were aware of the existence of the child." "What is to be done with her?" asked Mrs. Gibson. "Nay, I don't know," replied he. "Mark has hardly left assets enough to pay his debts, and your father is not inclined to come forward." That night, as Doctor Trevor sat in his study, after his wife had gone to bed, Miss Galindo knocked at his door. She and he had a lon
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176  
177   178   179   >>  



Top keywords:
Galindo
 
Trevor
 
Doctor
 

funeral

 
mother
 

Gibson

 
husband
 
inclined
 

remember

 

friends


offered

 
mutual
 

appearance

 

indignation

 

doubting

 
Westmoreland
 

astonishment

 

conclude

 

charge

 

chambers


possession

 

cheated

 

breathless

 

assets

 

replied

 

father

 

knocked

 

forward

 
brought
 
engaged

existence

 
lawyer
 

calling

 

exclaimed

 

friend

 

kindly

 

eccentric

 

sentimental

 

reason

 

speeches


expect

 
attend
 

silent

 

swollen

 

appearances

 
generally
 
attributed
 

events

 

particulars

 
children