Project Gutenberg's John Halifax, Gentleman, by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

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Title: John Halifax, Gentleman

Author: Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

Posting Date: March 27, 2009 [EBook #2351]
Release Date: October, 2000

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN

by

Dinah Maria Mulock (Mrs. Craik)

CHAPTER I

"Get out o' Mr. Fletcher's road, ye idle, lounging, little--"

"Vagabond," I think the woman (Sally Watkins, once my nurse), was going
to say, but she changed her mind.

My father and I both glanced round, surprised at her unusual reticence
of epithets: but when the lad addressed turned, fixed his eyes on each
of us for a moment, and made way for us, we ceased to wonder. Ragged,
muddy, and miserable as he was, the poor boy looked anything but a
"vagabond."

"Thee need not go into the wet, my lad. Keep close to the wall, and
there will be shelter enough both for us and thee," said my father, as
he pulled my little hand-carriage into the alley, under cover, from the
pelting rain. The lad, with a grateful look, put out a hand likewise,
and pushed me further in. A strong hand it was--roughened and browned
with labour--though he was scarcely as old as I. What would I not have
given to have been so stalwart and so tall!

Sally called from her house-door, "Wouldn't Master Phineas come in and
sit by the fire a bit?"--But it was always a trouble to me to move or
walk; and I liked staying at the mouth of the alley, watching the
autumnal shower come sweeping down the street: besides, I wanted to
look again at the stranger-lad.

He had scarcely stirred, but remained leaning against the wall--either
through weariness, or in order to be out of our way. He took little or
no notice of us, but kept his eyes fixed on the pavement--for we
actually boasted pavement in the High Street of our town of Norton
Bury--watching the eddying rain-drops, which, each as it fell, threw up
a little mist of spray. It was a serious, haggard face for a boy of
only fourteen or so. Let me call it u