The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 58, August, 1862. Various
was it?–at me, and said of her who wrote the book,–
"She is sensible; she bears the result of her own theories before imposing their practice upon others; but," and he went back to the thorn-apple voice, "do you expect to take care of my sister by the aid of this to-night?"
"It may give me assistance."
"It will not. What does Miss Nightingale know of Lettie?"
Well, what does she? I don't know, and so I had to answer,–
"Nothing."
"That doctor is here," said Kate, at the door.
"Are you coming up, too?" he asked, as he turned suddenly upon me, half-way out of the room.
"Certainly!"–and I went out with him.
Up the wide staircase walked the little maid, lighting the way, followed by the doctor, Mr. Axtell, and Anna Percival.
Kate opened the door of a room just over the library, where we had been.
The doctor went in, quietly moving on toward the fireplace, in which burned a cheery wood-fire. In front of it, in one of those large comfort-giving, chintz-covered, cushioned chairs, sat Miss Axtell; but the comfort of the chair was nothing to her, for she sat leaning forward, with her chin resting upon the palm of her right hand, and her eyes were gone away, were burning into the heart of the amber flame that fled into darkness up the chimney. Hers was the style of face which one might expect to find under Dead-Sea waves, if diver could go down,–a face anxious to escape from Sodom, and held fast there, under heavy, heavy waters, yet still with its eyes turned toward Zoar.
Now a feverous heat flushed her face, white a moment before, when we came in; but she did not turn away her eyes,–they seemed fixed, out of her control. The doctor laid his hand upon her forehead. It broke the spell that bound her gaze. She spoke quite calmly. I almost smiled to think any one could imagine danger of brain-fever from that calm creature who said,–
"Please don't give me anything, Doctor Eaton; believe me, I shall do better without."
"And then we shall have you sick on our hands, Abraham and I. What should we do with you?"
"I'll try not to trouble you," she said,–"but I would rather you left me to myself to-night"; but even as she spoke, a quick convulsion of muscles about her face told of pain.
Doctor Eaton had not seen me, for I stood in the shadow of the bed behind him.
"Who will stay with your sister tonight?" he asked Mr. Axtell.
Mr. Axtell looked around at me, as if expecting that I would answer; and I presented myself for the office.
"You look scarcely fit," was the village-physician's somewhat ungracious comment; and his eyes said, what his lips dared not,–"Who are you?"
"I think you'll find me so, if you try me."
Miss Axtell had gone away again, and neither saw nor heeded me.
"Will you come below?"–and the doctor looked at me as he went out.
I followed him. In the library he shut the door, sat down near the table, took from his pocket a small phial containing a light brown powder, and, dividing a piece of paper into the minute scraps needful, made a deposit in each from the phial, and then, folding over the bits of paper, handed them to me.
"Are you accustomed to take care of sick persons?" he asked.
"Not much; but I am a physician's daughter. I have a little experience."
"Are you a visitor here?"
"No,–at the parsonage."
A pair of quick gray eyes danced out at me from under browy cliffs clothed with a ledge of lashes, in an actually startling manner. I didn't think the man had so much of life in him.
"You're Mrs. Wilton's sister, perhaps."
"I am."
"Give her one of these every half-hour, till she falls asleep."
"Yes, Sir."
"Don't let her talk; but she won't, though. If she gets incoherent,–says wild things,–talks of what you can't understand,–send for me; I live next door."
"Is this all for her?"
"Enough. Do you know her?"
"I never saw her until to-night."
"The brother? Monstrous fellow."
"Until to-day."
"Look up there."
"Where?"
"On the wall."
"At what?"
There were several paintings hanging there.
"The face, of course."
"I can't see it very well."
Shadows were upon it, and the lampshade was on.
"Then I'll take this off"; and Doctor Eaton removed the shade, letting the light up to the wall.
"A young girl's face," I said.
The doctor was looking at me, and not at the painting there. A little bit of confusion came,–I don't know why.
"Do you like it?" I ventured.
"I like it? I'm not the one to like it."
"Somebody does, then?"
"Of course. What did he paint it for, if he didn't like it?"
"I do not know of whom you are talking, at all," I said, a little vexed at this information-no-information style.
"You don't?" in a voice of the utmost astonishment.
"No. Is this all, for the sick lady? I think I ought to go to her."
"Of course you ought. It's a sad thing, this death in the house"; and Doctor Eaton picked up his hat, and opened the door.
Kate was waiting in the hall.
"Mr. Abraham thinks you'd better look in and see if it's well to have any watchers in there, before you go," she said.
"Well, light me in, then, Katie. You wait in there, if you please, Miss," to me; and I saw the two go to the front-room on the right.
A waft of something, it may have been the air that came out of that room, sent me back from the hall, and I shut the door behind me. It was several minutes before they came back. In the interim I had taken a long look at the face on the wall. It seemed too young to be very beautiful, and I couldn't help wishing that the artist had waited a year or two, until a little more of the outline of life had come to it; yet it was a sweet, loving face, with a brow as low and cool as Sophie's own, only it hadn't any shadow of an Aaron on it. I didn't hear the door open, I hadn't heard the sound of living thing, when some one said, close to me, as I was standing looking up at the face I've spoken of,–
"What are you doing?"
It was Mr. Axtell, and the voice was a prickly one.
"Is there any harm?" I said. "I'm only looking here,"–pointing to where my eyes had been before. "Who painted it?"
"An unknown, poor painter."
"Was he poor in spirit?"
"He is now, I trust."
A man that has variant voices is a cruel thing in this world, because one cannot help their coming in at some one of the gates of the heart, which cannot all be guarded at the same moment. "Poor in spirit?" "He is now, I trust." I felt decidedly vexed at this man before me for having such tones in his voice.
"Can I go up to Miss Axtell now?" I asked.
"In a moment, when Kate has shown Doctor Eaton out."
I picked up my powders and my illustrious book, and waited.
Kate came.
"The doctor says there's no need," she said, in her laconic way.
Kate, I afterwards learned, was the daughter of the farmer that Sophie heard Miss Axtell consoling for the loss of his wife, one day.