Читать книгу Nobody - Warner Susan - Страница 12

It was a very bright, warm August day when Mrs. Wishart and her youngcompanion steamed over from Portsmouth to the Isles of Shoals. It wasLois's first sight of the sea, for the journey from New York had beenmade by land; and the ocean, however still, was nothing but a mostwonderful novelty to her. She wanted nothing, she could well-nighattend to nothing, but the movements and developments of this vast andmysterious Presence of nature. Mrs. Wishart was amused and yet halfprovoked. There was no talk in Lois; nothing to be got out of her; hardly any attention to be had from her. She sat by the vessel's sideand gazed, with a brow of grave awe and eyes of submissive admiration; rapt, absorbed, silent, and evidently glad. Mrs. Wishart was provokedat her, and envied her.

"What do you find in the water, Lois?"

"O, the wonder of it!" said the girl, with a breath of rapture.

"Wonder! what wonder? I suppose everything is wonderful, if you look atit. What do you see there that seems so very wonderful?"

"I don't know, Mrs. Wishart. It is so great! and it is so beautiful!and it is so awful!"

"Beautiful?" said Mrs. Wishart. "I confess I do not see it. I supposeit is your gain, Lois. Yes, it is awful enough in a storm, but notto-day. The sea is quiet."

Quiet! with those low-rolling, majestic soft billows. The quiet of alion asleep with his head upon his paws. Lois did not say what shethought.

"And you have never seen the sea-shore yet," Mrs. Wishart went on."Well, you will have enough of the sea at the Isles. And those arethey, I fancy, yonder. Are those the Isles of Shoals?" she asked apassing man of the crew; and was answered with a rough voiced, "Yaw, mum; they be th' oisles."

Lois gazed now at those distant brown spots, as the vessel drew nearerand nearer. Brown spots they remained, and, to her surprise, small brown spots. Nearer and nearer views only forced the conviction deeper.The Isles seemed to be merely some rough rocky projections from oldOcean's bed, too small to have beauty, too rough to have value. Werethose the desired Isles of Shoals? Lois felt deep disappointment.Little bits of bare rock in the midst of the sea; nothing more. Notrees, she was sure; as the light fell she could even see no green. Whywould they not be better relegated to Ocean's domain, from which theywere only saved by a few feet of upheaval? why should anybody livethere? and still more, why should anybody make a pleasure visit there?

"I suppose the people are all fishermen?" she said to Mrs. Wishart.

"I suppose so. O, there is a house of entertainment – a sort of hotel."

"How many people live there?"

"My dear, I don't know. A handful, I should think, by the look of theplace. What tempts them, I don't see."

Nor did Lois. She was greatly disappointed. All her fairy visions werefled. No meadows, no shady banks, no soft green dales; nothing she hadever imagined in connection with country loveliness. Her expectationssank down, collapsed, and vanished for ever.

She showed nothing of all this. She helped Mrs. Wishart gather hersmall baggage together, and followed her on shore, with her usual quietthoughtfulness; saw her established in the hotel, and assisted her toget things a little in order. But then, when the elder lady lay down to"catch a nap," as she said, before tea, Lois seized her flat hat andfled out of the house.

There was grass around it, and sheep and cows to be seen. Alas, notrees. But there were bushes certainly growing here and there, and Loishad not gone far before she found a flower. With that in her hand shesped on, out of the little grassy vale, upon the rocks that surroundedit, and over them, till she caught sight of the sea. Then she made herway, as she could, over the roughnesses and hindrances of the rocks, till she got near the edge of the island at that place; and sat down alittle above where the billows of the Atlantic were rolling in. Thewide sea line was before her, with its mysterious and infinite depth ofcolour; at her feet the waves were coming in and breaking, slow andgently to-day, yet every one seeming to make an invasion of the littlerocky domain which defied it, and to retire unwillingly, foiled, beaten, and broken, to gather new forces and come on again for a newattack. Lois watched them, fascinated by their persistence, theirsluggish power, and yet their ever-recurring discomfiture; admired thechanging colours and hues of the water, endlessly varying, cool andlovely and delicate, contrasting with the wet washed rocks and the darkline of sea-weed lying where high tide had cast it up. The breeze blewin her face gently, but filled with freshness, life, and pungency ofthe salt air; sea-birds flew past hither and thither, sometimesuttering a cry; there was no sound in earth or heaven but that of thewater and the wild birds. And by and by the silence, and the broadfreedom of nature, and the sweet freshness of the life-giving breeze, began to take effect upon the watcher. She drank in the air in deepbreaths; she watched with growing enjoyment the play of light andcolour which offered such an endless variety; she let slip, softly andinsensibly, every thought and consideration which had any sort of careattached to it; her heart grew light, as her lungs took in the saltbreath, which had upon her somewhat the effect of champagne. Lois wasat no time a very heavy-hearted person; and I lack a similitude whichshould fitly image the elastic bound her spirits made now. She neverstirred from her seat, till it suddenly came into her head to rememberthat there might be dinner or supper in prospect somewhere. She rosethen and made her way back to the hotel, where she found Mrs. Wishartjust arousing from her sleep.

"Well, Lois" said the lady, with the sleep still in her voice, "wherehave you been? and what have you got? and what sort of a place have wecome to?"

"Look at that, Mrs. Wishart!"

"What's that? A white violet! Violets here, on these rocks?"

"Did you ever see such a white violet? Look at the size of it, andthe colour of it. And here's pimpernel. And O, Mrs. Wishart, I am soglad we came here, that I don't know what to do! It is just delightful.The air is the best air I ever saw."

"Can you see it, my dear? Well, I am glad you are pleased. What'sthat bell for, dinner or supper? I suppose all the meals here arealike. Let us go down and see."

Lois had an excellent appetite.

"This fish is very good, Mrs. Wishart."

"O my dear, it is just fish! You are in a mood to glorify everything. Iam envious of you, Lois."

"But it is really capital; it is so fresh. I don't believe you can getsuch blue fish in New York."

"My dear, it is your good appetite. I wish I was as hungry, foranything, as you are."

"Is it Mrs. Wishart?" asked a lady who sat opposite them at the table.

She spoke politely, with an accent of hope and expectation. Mrs.

Wishart acknowledged the identity.

"I am very happy to meet you. I was afraid I might find absolutely noone here that I knew. I was saying only the other day – three days ago; this is Friday, isn't it? yes; it was last Tuesday. I was saying to mysister after our early dinner – we always have early dinner at home, andit comes quite natural here – we were sitting together after dinner, andtalking about my coming. I have been meaning to come ever since threeyears ago; wanting to make this trip, and never could get away, untilthis summer things opened out to let me. I was saying to Lottie I wasafraid I should find nobody here that I could speak to; and when I sawyou, I said to myself, Can that be Mrs. Wishart? – I am so very glad.You have just come?"

"To-day," – Mrs. Wishart assented.

"Came by water?"

"From Portsmouth."

"Yes – ha, ha!" said the affable lady. "Of course. You could not wellhelp it. But from New York?"

"By railway. I had occasion to come by land."

"I prefer it always. In a steamer you never know what will happen toyou. If it's good weather, you may have a pleasant time; but you nevercan tell. I took the steamer once to go to Boston – I mean toStonington, you know; and the boat was so loaded with freight of somesort or other that she was as low down in the water as she could be andbe safe; and I didn't think she was safe. And we went so slowly! andthen we had a storm, a regular thunderstorm and squall, and the rainpoured in torrents, and the Sound was rough, and people were sick, andI was very glad and thankful when we got to Stonington. I thought itwould never be for pleasure that I would take a boat again."

"The Fall River boats are the best."

"I daresay they are, but I hope to be allowed to keep clear of themall. You had a pleasant morning for the trip over from Portsmouth."

"Very pleasant."

"It is such a gain to have the sea quiet! It roars and beats hereenough in the best of times. I am sure I hope there will not a stormcome while we are here; for I should think it must be dreadfullydreary. It's all sea here, you know."

"I should like to see what a storm here is like," Lois remarked.

"O, don't wish that!" cried the lady, "or your wish may bring it. Don'tthink me a heathen," she added, laughing; "but I have known such queerthings. I must tell you – "

"You never knew a wish bring fair weather?" said Lois, smiling, as thelady stopped for a mouthful of omelet.

"O no, not fair weather; I am sure, if it did, we should have fairweather a great deal more than we do. But I was speaking of a storm, and I must tell you what I have seen. – These fish are very deliciouslycooked!"

"They understand fish, I suppose, here," said Lois.

"We were going down the bay to escort some friends who were going toEurope. There was my cousin Llewellyn and his wife, and her sister, andone or two others in the party; and Lottie and I went to see them off.I always think it's rather a foolish thing to do, for why shouldn't onesay good-bye at the water's edge, when they go on board, instead ofmaking a journey of miles out to sea to say it there? – but this timeLottie wanted to go. She had never seen the ocean, except from theland; and you know that is very different; so we went. Lottie alwayslikes to see all she can, and is never satisfied till she has got tothe bottom of everything – "

"She would be satisfied with something less than that in this case?"said Lois.

"Hey? She was satisfied," said the lady, not apparently catching Lois'smeaning; "she was more delighted with the sea than I was; for though itwas quiet, they said, there was unquietness enough to make a good dealof motion; the vessel went sailing up and down a succession of smallrolling hills, and I began to think there was nothing steady inside ofme, any more than _out_side. I never can bear to be rocked, in anyshape or form."

"You must have been a troublesome baby," said Lois.

"I don't know how that was; naturally I have forgotten; but since Ihave been old enough to think for myself, I never could bearrocking-chairs. I like an easy-chair – as easy as you please – but I wantit to stand firm upon its four legs. So I did not enjoy the water quiteas well as my sister did. But she grew enthusiastic; she wished she wasgoing all the way over, and I told her she would have to drop me atsome wayside station – "

"Where?" said Lois, as the lady stopped to carry her coffee cup to herlips. The question seemed not to have been heard.

"Lottie wished she could see the ocean in a mood not quite so quiet; she wished for a storm; she said she wished a little storm would get upbefore we got home, that she might see how the waves looked. I beggedand prayed her not to say so, for our wishes often fulfil themselves.Isn't it extraordinary how they do? Haven't you often observed it, Mrs.Wishart?"

"In cases where wishes could take effect," returned that lady. "In thecase of the elements, I do not see how they could do that."

"But I don't know how it is," said the other; "I have observed it sooften."

"You call me by name," Mrs. Wishart went on rather hastily; "and I havebeen trying in vain to recall yours. If I had met you anywhere else, ofcourse I should be at no loss; but at the Isles of Shoals one expectsto see nobody, and one is surprised out of one's memory."

"I am never surprised out of my memory," said the other, chuckling. "Iam poor enough in all other ways, I am sure, but my memory is good. Ican tell you where I first saw you. You were at the Catskill House, with a large party; my brother-in-law Dr. Salisbury was there, and hehad the pleasure of knowing you. It was two years ago."

"I recollect being at the Catskill House very well," said Mrs. Wishart,"and of course it was there I became acquain'ted with you; but you mustexcuse me, at the Isles of Shoals, for forgetting all my connectionswith the rest of the world."

"O, I am sure you are very excusable," said Dr. Salisbury'ssister-in-law. "I am delighted to meet you again. I think one isparticularly glad of a friend's face where one had not expected to seeit; and I really expected nothing at the Isles of Shoals – but sea air."

"You came for sea air?"

"Yes, to get it pure. To be sure, Coney Island beach is not faroff – for we live in Brooklyn; but I wanted the sea air wholly seaair – quite unmixed; and at Coney Island, somehow New York is so near, Icouldn't fancy it would be the same thing. I don't want to smell thesmoke of it. And I was curious about this place too; and I have solittle opportunity for travelling, I thought it was a pity now when Ihad the opportunity, not to take the utmost advantage of it. Theylaughed at me at home, but I said no, I was going to the Isles ofShoals or nowhere. And now I am very glad I came." —

"Lois," Mrs. Wishart said when they went back to their own room, "Idon't know that woman from Adam. I have not the least recollection ofever seeing her. I know Dr. Salisbury – and he might be anybody'sbrother-in-law. I wonder if she will keep that seat opposite us?Because she is worse than a smoky chimney!"

"O no, not that," said Lois. "She amuses me."

"Everything amuses you, you happy creature! You look as if the fairiesthat wait upon young girls had made you their special care. Did youever read the 'Rape of the Lock'?"

"I have never read anything," Lois answered, a little soberly.

"Never mind; you have so much the more pleasure before you. But the'Rape of the Lock' – in that story there is a young lady, a famousbeauty, whose dressing-table is attended by sprites or fairies. One ofthem colours her lips; another hides in the folds of her gown; anothertucks himself away in a curl of her hair. – You make me think of thatyoung lady."