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

Don'T Any Of Us;

We'Re All So Well."

 

"Health Is A Great Blessing," Sighed mrs. Corey.

 

"Yes,  So It Is.  How Is Your Oldest Daughter?"

Inquired mrs. Lapham.  "Is She As Delicate As Ever?"

 

"She Seems To Be Rather Better Since We Returned." And Now

Mrs. Corey,  As If Forced to The Point,  Said Bunglingly

That The Young Ladies Had Wished to Come With Her,

But Had Been Detained.  She Based her Statement Upon

Nanny'S Sarcastic Demand; And,  Perhaps Seeing it Topple

A Little,  She Rose Hastily,  To Get Away From Its Fall.

"But We Shall Hope For Some--Some Other Occasion,"

She Said Vaguely,  And She Put On A Parting smile,

And Shook Hands With Mrs. Lapham And Penelope,  And Then,

After Some Lingering commonplaces,  Got Herself Out Of

The House.

 

Penelope And Her Mother Were Still Looking at Each Other,

And Trying to Grapple With The Effect Or Purport Of The Visit,

When Irene Burst In upon Them From The Outside.

 

"O Mamma! Wasn'T That Mrs. Corey'S Carriage Just Drove Away?"

 

Penelope Answered with Her Laugh.  "Yes! You'Ve Just Missed

The Most Delightful Call,  'Rene. So Easy And Pleasant

Every Way.  Not A Bit Stiff! Mrs. Corey Was So Friendly!

She Didn'T Make One Feel At All As If She'D Bought Me,

And Thought She'D Given Too Much; And Mother Held Up

Her Head As If She Were All Wool And A Yard Wide,

And She Would Just Like To Have Anybody Deny It."

 

In A Few Touches Of Mimicry She Dashed off A Sketch

Of The Scene: Her Mother'S Trepidation,  And Mrs. Corey'S

Well-Bred repose And Polite Scrutiny Of Them Both.

She Ended by Showing how She Herself Had Sat Huddled up

In A Dark Corner,  Mute With Fear.

 

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"If She Came To Make Us Say And Do The Wrong Thing,

She Must Have Gone Away Happy; And It'S A Pity You Weren'T

Here To Help,  Irene.  I Don'T Know That I Aimed to Make

A Bad Impression,  But I Guess I Succeeded--Even Beyond

My Deserts." She Laughed; Then Suddenly She Flashed out

In Fierce Earnest.  "If I Missed doing anything that Could

Make Me As Hateful To Her As She Made Herself To Me----"

She Checked herself,  And Began To Laugh.  Her Laugh Broke,

And The Tears Started into Her Eyes; She Ran Out Of The Room,

And Up The Stairs.

 

"What--What Does It Mean?" Asked irene In a Daze.

 

Mrs. Lapham Was Still In the Chilly Torpor To Which

Mrs. Corey'S Call Had Reduced her.  Penelope'S Vehemence

Did Not Rouse Her.  She Only Shook Her Head Absently,

And Said,  "I Don'T Know."

 

"Why Should Pen Care What Impression She Made? I Didn'T

Suppose It Would Make Any Difference To Her Whether

Mrs. Corey Liked her Or Not."

 

"I Didn'T,  Either.  But I Could See That She Was Just

As Nervous As She Could Be,  Every Minute Of The Time.

I Guess She Didn'T Like Mrs. Corey Any Too Well From

The Start,  And She Couldn'T Seem To Act Like Herself."

 

"Tell Me About It,  Mamma," Said Irene,  Dropping into

A Chair.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Corey Described the Interview To Her Husband On

Her Return Home.  "Well,  And What Are Your Inferences?"

He Asked.

 

"They Were Extremely Embarrassed and Excited--That Is,

The Mother.  I Don'T Wish To Do Her Injustice,  But She

Certainly Behaved consciously."

 

"You Made Her Feel So,  I Dare Say,  Anna.  I Can Imagine

How Terrible You Must Have Been In the Character

Of An Accusing spirit,  Too Lady-Like To Say Anything.

What Did You Hint?"

 

"I Hinted nothing," Said Mrs. Corey,  Descending to

The Weakness Of Defending herself.  "But I Saw Quite

Enough To Convince Me That The Girl Is In love With Tom,

And The Mother Knows It."

 

"That Was Very Unsatisfactory.  I Supposed you Went

To Find Out Whether Tom Was In love With The Girl.

Was She As Pretty As Ever?"

 

"I Didn'T See Her; She Was Not At Home; I Saw Her Sister."

 

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"I Don'T Know That I Follow You Quite,  Anna.  But No Matter.

What Was The Sister Like?"

 

"A Thoroughly Disagreeable Young Woman."

 

"What Did She Do?"

 

"Nothing. She'S Far Too Sly For That.  But That Was

The Impression."

 

"Then You Didn'T Find Her So Amusing as Tom Does?"

 

"I Found Her Pert.  There'S No Other Word For It.

She Says Things To Puzzle You And Put You Out."

 

"Ah,  That Was Worse Than Pert,  Anna; That Was Criminal.

Well,  Let Us Thank Heaven The Younger One Is So Pretty."

 

Mrs. Corey Did Not Reply Directly.  "Bromfield," She Said,

After A Moment Of Troubled silence,  "I Have Been Thinking

Over Your Plan,  And I Don'T See Why It Isn'T The Right Thing."

 

"What Is My Plan?" Inquired bromfield Corey.

 

"A Dinner."

 

Her Husband Began To Laugh.  "Ah,  You Overdid The

Accusing-Spirit Business,  And This Is Reparation."

But Mrs. Corey Hurried on,  With Combined dignity And Anxiety--

 

"We Can'T Ignore Tom'S Intimacy With Them--It Amounts

To That; It Will Probably Continue Even If It'S Merely

A Fancy,  And We Must Seem To Know It; Whatever Comes

Of It,  We Can'T Disown It.  They Are Very Simple,

Unfashionable People,  And Unworldly; But I Can'T Say

That They Are Offensive,  Unless--Unless," She Added,

In Propitiation Of Her Husband'S Smile,  "Unless The

Father--How Did You Find The Father?" She Implored.

 

"He Will Be Very Entertaining," Said Corey,  "If You Start

Him On His Paint.  What Was The Disagreeable Daughter

Like? Shall You Have Her?"

 

"She'S Little And Dark.  We Must Have Them All,"

Mrs. Corey Sighed.  "Then You Don'T Think A Dinner Would Do?"

 

"Oh Yes,  I Do.  As You Say,  We Can'T Disown Tom'S

Relation To Them,  Whatever It Is.  We Had Much Better

Recognise It,  And Make The Best Of The Inevitable.

I Think A Lapham Dinner Would Be Delightful." He Looked

At Her With Delicate Irony In his Voice And Smile,

And She Fetched another Sigh,  So Deep And Sore Now That He

Laughed outright.  "Perhaps," He Suggested,  "It Would Be

The Best Way Of Curing tom Of His Fancy,  If He Has One.

He Has Been Seeing her With The Dangerous Advantages Which A

Mother Knows How To Give Her Daughter In the Family Circle,

And With No Means Of Comparing her With Other Girls.

You Must Invite Several Other Very Pretty Girls."

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"Do You Really Think So,  Bromfield?" Asked mrs. Corey,

Taking courage A Little.  "That Might Do," But Her Spirits

Visibly Sank Again.  "I Don'T Know Any Other Girl Half

So Pretty."

 

"Well,  Then,  Better Bred."

 

"She Is Very Lady-Like,  Very Modest,  And Pleasing."

 

"Well,  More Cultivated."

 

"Tom Doesn'T Get On With Such People."

 

"Oh,  You Wish Him To Marry Her,  I See."

 

"No,  No"

 

"Then You'D Better Give The Dinner To Bring them Together,

To Promote The Affair."

 

"You Know I Don'T Want To Do That,  Bromfield.  But I

Feel That We Must Do Something.  If We Don'T,  It Has

A Clandestine Appearance.  It Isn'T Just To Them.

A Dinner Won'T Leave Us In any Worse Position,  And May

Leave Us In a Better.  Yes," Said Mrs. Corey,  After Another

Thoughtful Interval,  "We Must Have Them--Have Them All.

It Could Be Very Simple."

 

"Ah,  You Can'T Give A Dinner Under A Bushel,  If I Take

Your Meaning,  My Dear.  If We Do This At All,  We Mustn'T

Do It As If We Were Ashamed of It.  We Must Ask People

To Meet Them."

 

"Yes," Sighed mrs. Corey.  "There Are Not Many People

In Town Yet," She Added,  With Relief That Caused her

Husband Another Smile.  "There Really Seems A Sort

Of Fatality About It," She Concluded religiously.

 

"Then You Had Better Not Struggle Against It.

Go And Reconcile Lily And Nanny To It As Soon As Possible."

 

Mrs. Corey Blanched a Little.  "But Don'T You Think It

Will Be The Best Thing,  Bromfield?"

 

"I Do Indeed,  My Dear.  The Only Thing that Shakes My Faith

In The Scheme Is The Fact That I First Suggested it.

But If You Have Adopted it,  It Must Be All Right,  Anna.

I Can'T Say That I Expected it."

 

"No," Said His Wife,  "It Wouldn'T Do."

 

 

 

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Publication Date: 05-30-2014

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