She followed her so-called
governess wherever she went, hanging upon her arm when she could, holding
her dress when no other hold was possible,--following her everywhere,
like her shadow. The vicarage, jealous and annoyed at first, and all the
neighbors indignant too, to see Mary transformed into a dependent of the
city family, held out as long as possible against the good-nature of Mrs.
Turner, and were revolted by the spectacle of this child claiming poor
Mary's attention wherever she moved. But by-and-by all these strong
sentiments softened, as was natural. The only real drawback was, that
amid all these agitations Mary lost her bloom. She began to droop and
grow pale under the observation of the watchful doctor, who had never
been otherwise than dissatisfied with the new position of affairs, and
betook himself to Mrs. Bowyer for sympathy and information. "Did you ever
see a girl so fallen off?" he said. "Fallen off, doctor! I think she is
prettier and prettier every day." "Oh," the poor man cried, with a
strong breathing of impatience, "You ladies think of nothing, but
prettiness!--was I talking of prettiness? She must have lost a stone
since she went back there. It is all very well to laugh," the doctor
added, growing red with suppressed anger, "but I can tell you that is the
true test.
Pages:
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107