The Rise Of Silas Lapham By William Dean Howells Part 1, William Dean Howells [the red fox clan txt] 📗

had

All Been Washed out Of The Atmosphere By A Tide Of East

Wind Setting in at Noon,  And The Thrilling,  Delicious Cool

Of A Boston Summer Afternoon Bathed every Nerve.

 

The Foreman Went About With Mrs. Lapham,  Showing her

Where The Doors Were To Be; But Lapham Soon Tired

Of This,  And Having found A Pine Stick Of Perfect Grain,

He Abandoned himself To The Pleasure Of Whittling it

In What Was To Be The Reception-Room,  Where He Sat Looking

Out On The Street From What Was To Be The Bay-Window. Here

He Was Presently Joined by His Girls,  Who,  After Locating

Their Own Room On The Water Side Above The Music-Room,

Had No More Wish To Enter Into Details Than Their Father.

 

"Come And Take A Seat In the Bay-Window,  Ladies,"

Be Called out To Them,  As They Looked in at Him Through

The Ribs Of The Wall.  He Jocosely Made Room For Them

On The Trestle On Which He Sat.

 

They Came Gingerly And Vaguely Forward,  As Young Ladies

Do When They Wish Not To Seem To Be Going to Do A Thing

They Have Made Up Their Minds To Do.  When They Had

Taken Their Places On Their Trestle,  They Could Not Help

Laughing with Scorn,  Open And Acceptable To Their Father;

And Irene Curled her Chin Up,  In a Little Way She Had,

And Said,  "How Ridiculous!" To Her Sister.

 

"Well,  I Can Tell You What," Said The Colonel,  In fond

Enjoyment Of Their Young Ladyishness,  "Your Mother Wa'N'T

Ashamed to Sit With Me On A Trestle When I Called her Out

To Look At The First Coat Of My Paint That I Ever Tried on A House."

 

"Yes; We'Ve Heard That Story," Said Penelope,  With Easy

Security Of Her Father'S Liking what She Said.

"We Were Brought Up On That Story."

 

"Well,  It'S A Good Story," Said Her Father.

 

At That Moment A Young Man Came Suddenly In range,  Who Began

To Look Up At The Signs Of Building as He Approached.

He Dropped his Eyes In coming abreast Of The Bay-Window,

Where Lapham Sat With His Girls,  And Then His Face Lightened,

And He Took Off His Hat And Bowed to Irene.  She Rose

Mechanically From The Trestle,  And Her Face Lightened too. 

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She Was A Very Pretty Figure Of A Girl,  After Our

Fashion Of Girls,  Round And Slim And Flexible,

And Her Face Was Admirably Regular.  But Her Great

Beauty--And It Was Very Great--Was In her Colouring.

This Was Of An Effect For Which There Is No Word

But Delicious,  As We Use It Of Fruit Or Flowers.

She Had Red hair,  Like Her Father In his Earlier Days,

And The Tints Of Her Cheeks And Temples Were Such As

Suggested may-Flowers And Apple-Blossoms And Peaches.

Instead Of The Grey That Often Dulls This Complexion,

Her Eyes Were Of A Blue At Once Intense And Tender,

And They Seemed to Burn On What They Looked at With A Soft,

Lambent Flame.  It Was Well Understood By Her Sister

And Mother That Her Eyes Always Expressed a Great Deal

More Than Irene Ever Thought Or Felt; But This Is Not

Saying that She Was Not A Very Sensible Girl And Very Honest.

 

The Young Man Faltered perceptibly,  And Irene Came

A Little Forward,  And Then There Gushed from Them

Both A Smiling exchange Of Greeting,  Of Which The Sum

Was That He Supposed she Was Out Of Town,  And That She

Had Not Known That He Had Got Back.  A Pause Ensued,

And Flushing again In her Uncertainty As To Whether

She Ought Or Ought Not To Do It,  She Said,  "My Father,

Mr. Corey; And My Sister."

 

The Young Man Took Off His Hat Again,  Showing his

Shapely Head,  With A Line Of Wholesome Sunburn Ceasing

Where The Recently And Closely Clipped hair Began.

He Was Dressed in a Fine Summer Check,  With A Blue White-

Dotted neckerchief,  And He Had A White Hat,  In which He

Looked very Well When He Put It Back On His Head.

His Whole Dress Seemed very Fresh And New,  And In fact He

Had Cast Aside His Texan Habiliments Only The Day Before.

 

"How Do You Do,  Sir?" Said The Colonel,  Stepping to The Window,

And Reaching out Of It The Hand Which The Young Man

Advanced to Take.  "Won'T You Come In? We'Re At Home Here.

House I'M Building."

 

"Oh,  Indeed?" Returned the Young Man; And He Came Promptly

Up The Steps,  And Through Its Ribs Into The Reception-Room.

 

"Have A Trestle?" Asked the Colonel,  While The Girls

Exchanged little Shocks Of Terror And Amusement At The Eyes.

 

"Thank You," Said The Young Man Simply,  And Sat Down.

 

"Mrs. Lapham Is Upstairs Interviewing the Carpenter,

But She'Ll Be Down In a Minute."

 

"I Hope She'S Quite Well," Said Corey.  "I Supposed--I

Was Afraid She Might Be Out Of Town."

 

"Well,  We Are Off To Nantasket Next Week.  The House Kept

Us In town Pretty Late."

 

of 1 Part 4 Pg 43

"It Must Be Very Exciting,  Building a House," Said Corey

To The Elder Sister.

 

"Yes,  It Is," She Assented,  Loyally Refusing in irene'S

Interest The Opportunity Of Saying anything more.

 

Corey Turned to The Latter.  "I Suppose You'Ve All Helped

To Plan It?"

 

"Oh No; The Architect And Mamma Did That."

 

"But They Allowed the Rest Of Us To Agree,  When We Were Good,"

Said Penelope.

 

Corey Looked at Her,  And Saw That She Was Shorter Than

Her Sister,  And Had A Dark Complexion.

 

"It'S Very Exciting," Said Irene.

 

"Come Up," Said The Colonel,  Rising,  "And Look Round

If You'D Like To."

 

"I Should Like To,  Very Much," Said The Young Man.

He Helped the Young Ladies Over Crevasses Of Carpentry

And Along Narrow Paths Of Planking,  On Which They Had

Made Their Way Unassisted before.  The Elder Sister Left

The Younger To Profit Solely By These Offices As Much

As Possible.  She Walked between Them And Her Father,

Who Went Before,  Lecturing on Each Apartment,  And Taking

The Credit Of The Whole Affair More And More As He

Talked on.

 

"There!" He Said,  "We'Re Going to Throw Out A Bay-

Window Here,  So As Get The Water All The Way Up And Down.

This Is My Girls' Room," He Added,  Looking proudly At

Them Both.

 

It Seemed terribly Intimate.  Irene Blushed deeply

And Turned her Head Away.

 

But The Young Man Took It All,  Apparently,  As Simply

As Their Father.  "What A Lovely Lookout!" He Said.

The Back Bay Spread Its Glassy Sheet Before Them,

Empty But For A Few Small Boats And A Large Schooner,

With Her Sails Close-Furled and Dripping like Snow From

Her Spars,  Which A Tug Was Rapidly Towing toward Cambridge.

The Carpentry Of That City,  Embanked and Embowered

In Foliage,  Shared the Picturesqueness Of Charlestown In

The Distance.

 

"Yes," Said Lapham,  "I Go In for Using the Best Rooms

In Your House Yourself.  If People Come To Stay With You,

They Can Put Up With The Second Best.  Though We Don'T

Intend To Have Any Second Best.  There Ain'T Going to Be

An Unpleasant Room In the Whole House,  From Top To Bottom."

 

"Oh,  I Wish Papa Wouldn'T Brag So!" Breathed irene To Her Sister,

Where They Stood,  A Little Apart,  Looking away Together. 

of 1 Part 4 Pg 44

 

The Colonel Went On.  "No,  Sir," He Swelled out,  "I Have

Gone In for Making a Regular Job Of It.  I'Ve Got The Best

Architect In boston,  And I'M Building a House To Suit Myself.

And If Money Can Do It,  Guess I'M Going to Be Suited."

 

"It Seems Very Delightful," Said Corey,  "And Very Original."

 

"Yes,  Sir.  That Fellow Hadn'T Talked five Minutes

Before I Saw That He Knew What He Was About Every Time."

 

"I Wish Mamma Would Come!" Breathed irene Again.

"I Shall Certainly Go Through The Floor If Papa Says

Anything more."

 

"They Are Making a Great Many Very Pretty Houses Nowadays,"

Said The Young Man.  "It'S Very Different From The

Old-Fashioned building."

 

"Well," Said The Colonel,  With A Large Toleration Of Tone

And A Deep Breath That Expanded his Ample Chest,  "We Spend

More On Our Houses Nowadays.  I Started out To Build

A Forty-Thousand-Dollar House.  Well,  Sir! That Fellow

Has Got Me In for More Than Sixty Thousand Already,

And I Doubt If I Get Out Of It Much Under A Hundred.

You Can'T Have A Nice House For Nothing.  It'S Just Like

Ordering a Picture Of A Painter.  You Pay Him Enough,

And He Can Afford To Paint You A First-Class Picture;

And If You Don'T,  He Can'T. That'S All There Is Of It.

Why,  They Tell Me That A. T. Stewart Gave One Of Those

French Fellows Sixty Thousand Dollars For A Little

Seven-By-Nine Picture The Other Day.  Yes,  Sir,  Give An

Architect Money Enough,  And He'Ll Give You A Nice House

Every Time."

 

"I'Ve Heard That They'Re Sharp At Getting money To Realise

Their Ideas," Assented the Young Man,  With A Laugh.

 

"Well,  I Should Say So!" Exclaimed the Colonel.

"They Come To You With An Improvement That You Can'T Resist.

It Has Good Looks And Common-Sense And Everything in

Its Favour,  And It'S Like Throwing money Away To Refuse.

And They Always Manage To Get You When Your Wife Is Around,

And Then You'Re Helpless."

 

The Colonel Himself Set The Example Of Laughing at This Joke,

And The Young Man Joined him Less Obstreperously.

The Girls Turned,  And He Said,  "I Don'T Think I Ever Saw

This View To Better Advantage.  It S Surprising how Well

The Memorial Hall And The Cambridge Spires Work Up,

Over There.  And The Sunsets Must Be Magnificent."

 

Lapham Did Not Wait For Them To Reply.

 

"Yes,  Sir,  It'S About The Sightliest View I Know Of.

I Always Did Like The Water Side Of Beacon.  Long Before I

Owned property Here,  Or Ever Expected to,  M'Wife And I Used

To Ride Down This Way,  And Stop The Buggy To Get This View

of 1 Part 4 Pg 45