第1章
加入书架 A- A+
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  Asitwas,heplayedatbeinganarchitect——andsucceededinbeingacharmingfellow。

  MysisterJessicaneverlostanopportunityoflaughingathisendeavorsasanarchitect。

  \"Youcanbuildanenchantingvilla,butwhatwouldyoudowithacathedral?\"

  \"Ishallneverhaveachanceatacathe-

  dral,\"hewouldreply。\"And,besides,italwaysseemstomesomaterialandsoim-

  pertinenttobuildalittlestructureofstoneandwoodinwhichtoworshipGod!\"

  Youseewhathewaslike?Hewasfrivo-

  lous,yetonecouldnevertellwhenhewouldbecomeeloquentlyearnest。

  BrainardwentoffsuddenlyWestwardoneday。IsuspectedthatJessicawasatthebottomofit,butIaskednoquestions;andIdidnothearfromhimformonths。ThenI

  gotaletterfromColorado。

  \"Ihavemarriedamountainwoman,\"hewrote。\"Noneofyourpunybreedofmodernfemininity,butaremnantleftoverfromtheheroicages,——aprimitivewoman,grandandvastofspirit,capableoftrueandsteadfastwifehood。Nosophistryabouther;noknowledgeeventhatthereissophistry。

  Heavens!man,doyouremembertheron-

  deauxandtrioletsIusedtowritetothoseprettycreaturesbackEast?ItwouldtakeaSagamanoftheoldNorselandtowriteformymountainwoman。IfIwereanartist,Iwouldpaintherwiththenorthstarinherlocksandherfeetonpurplecloud。

  IsupposeyouareatthePier。Iknowyouusuallyareatthisseason。Atanyrate,I

  shalldirectthisletterthither,andwillfollowcloseafterit。Iwantmywifetoseesome-

  thingoflife。AndIwanthertomeetyoursister。”

  \"Dearme!\"criedJessica,whenIreadthelettertoher;\"Idon\'tknowthatIcaretomeetanythingquitesogiganticasthatmountainwoman。I\'moneofthepunybreedofmodernfemininity,youknow。Idon\'tthinkmynervescanstandtheencounter。”

  \"Why,Jessica!\"Iprotested。Sheblushedalittle。

  \"Don\'tthinkbadofme,Victor。But,yousee,I\'vealittlescrap-bookofthosetrioletsupstairs。”Thensheburstintoapealofirresistiblelaughter。\"I\'mnotlaughingbecauseIampiqued,\"shesaidfrankly。

  \"Thoughanyonewilladmitthatitisratherirritatingtohaveamanwholeftyouinablastedconditionrecoverwithsuchextraordinarypromptness。Asaphi-

  lanthropist,oneofcourserejoices,butasawoman,Victor,itmustbeadmittedthatonehasarighttofeelannoyed。But,honestly,Iamnotungenerous,andIamgoingtodohimafavor。Ishallwrite,andurgehimnottobringhiswifehere。Aprimitivewoman,withthenorthstarinherhair,wouldlookwelldownthereintheCasinoeatingapineappleice,wouldn\'tshe?It\'sallverywelltohaveasoul,youknow;butitwon\'tkeepyoufromlookinglikeaguyamongwomenwhohavegooddressmakers。

  Ishudderatthethoughtofwhatthepoorthingwillsufferifhebringsherhere。”

  Jessicawrote,asshesaidshewould;but,forallthat,afortnightlatershewaswalkingdownthewharfwiththe\"mountainwoman,\"

  andIwassaunteringbesideLeroy。AtdinnerJessicagavemenochancetotalkwithourfriend\'swife,andIonlycaughtthequietcontraltotonesofhervoicenowandthencontrastingwithJessica\'svivacioussoprano。Adrizzlingraincameupfromtheeastwithnightfall。Littlegroupsofshiveringmenandwomensataboutintheparlorsatthecard-tables,andoneblondwomansanglovesongs。TheBrainardsweretiredwiththeirjourney,andleftusearly。Whentheyweregone,Jessicaburstintoeulogy。

  \"Thatisthefirstwoman,\"shedeclared,\"Ievermetwhowouldmakeafitheroineforabook。”

  \"Thenyouwillnotfeelunderobligationstoeducateher,asyouinsinuatedtheotherday?\"

  \"Educateher!IonlyhopeshewillhelpmetounlearnsomeofthethingsI

  know。Ineversawsuchsimplicity。Itisantique!\"

  \"You\'resureit\'snotmerevacuity?\"

  \"Victor!Howcanyou?Butyouhaven\'ttalkedwithher。Youmustto-morrow。

  Good-night。”Shegathereduphertrail-

  ingskirtsandstarteddownthecorridor。

  Suddenlysheturnedback。\"ForHeaven\'ssake!\"shewhispered,inanawedtone,\"Ineverevennoticedwhatshehadon!\"

  Thenextmorningearlywemadeuparidingparty,andIrodewithMrs。Brainard。

  ShewasastallasI,andsatinhersaddleasifquiteunconsciousofheranimal。Theroadstretchedhardandinvitingunderourhorses\'feet。Thewindsmelledsalt。Theskywasraggedwithgraymassesofcloudscuddingacrosstheblue。Iwasbeginningtoglowwithexhilaration,whensuddenlymycompaniondrewinherhorse。

  \"Ifyoudonotmind,wewillgoback,\"

  shesaid。

  Hertonewasdejected。Ithoughtshewastired。

  \"Oh,no!\"sheprotested,whenIapolo-

  gizedformythoughtlessnessinbringinghersofar。\"I\'mnottired。Icanrideallday。

  WhereIcomefrom,wehavetorideifwewanttogoanywhere;butherethereseemstobenoparticularplaceto——toreach。”

  \"Areyousoutilitarian?\"Iasked,laugh-

  ingly。\"Mustyoualwayshavesomereasonforeverythingyoudo?Idosomanythingsjustforthemerepleasureofdoingthem,I\'mafraidyouwillhaveaverypooropinionofme。”

  \"ThatisnotwhatImean,\"shesaid,flushing,andturningherlargegrayeyesonme。\"YoumustnotthinkIhaveareasonforeverythingIdo。”Shewasveryearnest,anditwasevidentthatshewasunacquaintedwiththeartofmakingconversation。\"ButwhatImean,\"shewenton,\"isthatthereisnoplace——noend——toreach。”Shelookedbackoverhershouldertowardthewest,wherethetreesmarkedtheskyline,andanexpressionoflossanddissatisfactioncameoverherface。\"Yousee,\"shesaid,apolo-

  getically,\"I\'musedtodifferentthings——tothemountains。IhaveneverbeenwhereI

  couldnotseethembeforeinmylife。”

  \"Ah,Isee!Isupposeitisoddtolookupandfindthemnotthere。”

  \"It\'slikebeinglost,thisnothavingany-

  thingaroundyou。Atleast,Imean,\"shecontinuedslowly,asifherthoughtcouldnoteasilyputitselfinwords,——\"Imeanitseemsasifapartoftheworldhadbeentakendown。Itmakesyoufeellonesome,asifyouwerelivingaftertheworldhadbeguntodie。”

  \"You\'llgetusedtoitinafewdays。Itseemsverybeautifultomehere。Andthenyouwillhavesomuchlifetodivertyou。”

  \"Life?Butthereisalwaysthatevery-

  where。”

  \"Imeanmenandwomen。”

  \"Oh!Still,Iamnotusedtothem。I

  thinkImightbenot——notveryhappywiththem。Theymightthinkmequeer。I

  thinkIwouldliketoshowyoursisterthemountains。”

  \"Shehasseenthemoften。”

  \"Oh,shetoldme。ButIdon\'tmeanthoseprettygreenhillssuchaswesawcom-

  inghere。Theyarenotlikemymountains。

  Ilikemountainsthatgobeyondtheclouds,withterribleshadowsinthehollows,andbeltsofsnowlyinginthegorgeswherethesuncannotreach,andthesnowisblueinthesunshine,orshiningtillyouthinkitissilver,andthemistsowonderfulallaboutit,changingeachmomentanddriftingupanddown,thatyoucannottellwhatnametogivethecolors。ThesemountainsofyourshereintheEastaresoquiet;mineareshoutingallthetime,withthepinesandtherivers。Theechoesaresoloudinthevalleythatsometimes,whenthewindisrising,wecanhardlyhearamantalkunlessheraiseshisvoice。TherearefourcataractsnearwhereIlive,andtheyallhavedifferentvoices,justaspeopledo;andoneofthemishappy——alittlewhitecataract——anditfallswherethesunshinesearliest,andtillnightitisshining。Buttheothersonlygetthesunnowandthen,andtheyaremorenoisyandcruel。Oneofthemisalwaysintheshadow,andthewaterlooksblack。Thatispartlybecausetherocksallunderneathitareblack。Itfallsdowntwentygreatledgesinagorgewithblacksides,andawhitemistdancesalloveritateveryleap。

  Itellfatherthemististheghostofthewaters。Nomanevergoesthere;itistoocold。Thechillstrikesthroughone,andmakesyourheartfeelasifyouweredying。

  Butalldownthesideofthemountain,towardthesouthandthewest,thesunshinesonthegraniteanddrawslongpointsoflightoutofit。Fathertellsmesoldiersmarchinglookthatwaywhenthesunstrikesontheirbayonets。ThosearethekindofmountainsImean,Mr。Grant。”

  Shewaslookingatmewithherfacetrans-

  figured,asifit,likethemountainsshetoldmeof,hadbeenlyinginshadow,andwait-

  ingforthedazzlingdawn。

  \"Ihadaterribledreamonce,\"shewenton;\"themostterribledreameverIhad。

  Idreamtthatthemountainshadallbeentakendown,andthatIstoodonaplaintowhichtherewasnoend。Theskywasburn-

  ingup,andthegrassscorchedbrownfromtheheat,anditwastwistingasifitwereinpain。Andanimals,butnootherpersonsavemyself,onlywildthings,werecrouch-

  ingandlookingupatthatsky。Theycouldnotrunbecausetherewasnoplacetowhichtogo。”

  \"Youwerehavingavisionofthelastman,\"Isaid。\"Iwondermyselfsometimeswhetherthisoldglobeofoursisgoingtocollapsesuddenlyandtakeuswithher,orwhetherwewilldisappearthroughslowdisastrousagesoffightingandcrushing,withhungerandblighttohelpustotheend。Andthen,atthelast,perhaps,somelucklessfellow,strongerthantherest,willstandamidtheribsoftherottingearthandgomad。”

  Thewoman\'seyeswerefixedonme,largeandluminous。\"Yes,\"shesaid;\"hewouldgomadfromthelonesomenessofit。

  HewouldbeafraidtobeleftalonelikethatwithGod。NoonewouldwanttobetakenintoGod\'ssecrets。”

  \"Andourlastman,\"Iwenton,\"wouldhavetostandthereonthatswayingwrecktilleventhesoundofthecrumblingearthceased。Andhewouldtrytofindavoiceandwouldfail,becausesilencewouldhavecomeagain。Andthenthelightwouldgoout——\"

  Theshudderthatcreptoverhermademestop,ashamedofmyself。

  \"Youtalklikefather,\"shesaid,withalong-drawnbreath。Thenshelookedupsuddenlyatthesunshiningthroughariftinthoserecklessgrayclouds,andputoutonehandasiftogetitfulloftheheadlongrollickingbreeze。\"Buttheearthisnotdying,\"shecried。\"Itiswellandstrong,anditlikestogoroundandroundamongalltheotherworlds。Itlikesthesunandmoon;theyareallgoodfriends;anditlikesthepeoplewholiveonit。Maybeitistheyinsteadofthefirewithinwhokeepitwarm;ormaybeitiswarmjustfromalwaysgoing,aswearewhenwerun。Weareyoung,youandI,Mr。Grant,andLeroy,andyourbeautifulsister,andtheworldisyoungtoo!\"Thenshelaughedastrongsplendidlaugh,whichhadneverhadthejoytakenoutofitwithdrawing-roomre-

  strictions;andIlaughedtoo,andfeltthatwehadbecomeverygoodcompanionsindeed,andfoundmyselfwarmingtothejoyofcompanionshipasIhadnotsinceI

  wasaboyatschool。

  ThatafternoonthefourofussatatatableintheCasinotogether。TheCasino,aseveryoneknows,isaplacetoamuseyourself。Ifyouhaveaduty,amission,oranaspiration,youdonottakeittherewithyou,itwouldbesoobviouslyoutofplace;

  ifpovertyisaheadofyou,youforgetit;ifyouhavebrains,youhastentoconcealthem;

  theywouldbeaseriousencumbrance。

  Therewasabubblingofconversation,arustleandfluttersuchastherealwaysiswheretherearemanywomen。Alltheplacewasgaywithflowersandwithgownsasbrightastheflowers。Irememberedtheapprehensionsofmysister,andstudiedLeroy\'swifetoseehowshefittedintothishighlycoloredpicture。Shewastheonlywomanintheroomwhoseemedtoweardraperies。Thejauntyslashandcutoffashionableattireweremissinginthelongbrownfoldsofcloththatenvelopedherfigure。IfeltcertainthatevenfromJessica\'sstandpointshecouldnotbecalledaguy。

  Picturesqueshemightbe,pastthepointofconvention,butshewasnotridiculous。

  \"Judithtakesallthisveryseriously,\"saidLeroy,laughingly。\"IsupposeshewouldtakeevenParisseriously。”

  Hiswifesmiledoverathim。\"LeroysaysIammelancholy,\"shesaid,softly;

  \"butIamalwaystellinghimthatIamhappy。HethinksIammelancholybe-

  causeIdonotlaugh。Igotoutofthewayofitbybeingsomuchalone。Youonlylaughtoletsomeoneelseknowyouarepleased。Whenyouarealonethereisnouseinlaughing。Itwouldbelikeexplain-

  ingsomethingtoyourself。”

  \"Youareaphilosopher,Judith。Mr。

  MaxMüllerwouldliketoknowyou。”

  \"Isheafriendofyours,dear?\"

  Leroyblushed,andIsawJessicacurlherlipasshenoticedtheblush。ShelaidherhandonMrs。Brainard\'sarm。

  \"Haveyoualwaysbeenverymuchalone?\"sheinquired。

  \"Iwasbornontheranch,youknow;

  andfatherwasnotfondofleavingit。In-

  deed,nowhesayshewillneveragaingooutofsightofit。Butyoucangoalongjourneywithoutdoingthat;foritliesonaplateauinthevalley,anditcanbeseenfromthreedifferentmountainpasses。

  Motherdiedthere,andforthatreasonandothers——fatherhashadastrangelife——heneverwantedtogoaway。HebroughtaladyfromPennsylvaniatoteachme。Shehadwonderfullearning,butshedidn\'tmakeverymuchuseofit。IthoughtifI

  hadlearningIwouldnotwasteitreadingbooks。Iwoulduseitto——tolivewith。

  Fatherhadalibrary,butInevercaredforit。Hewasforeveratbookstoo。Ofcourse,\"shehastenedtoadd,noticingthelookofmortificationdeepenonherhus-

  band\'sface,\"Ilikebooksverywellifthereisnothingbetterathand。ButIalwayssaidtoMrs。Windsor——itwasshewhotaughtme——whyreadwhatotherfolkhavebeenthinkingwhenyoucangooutandthinkyourself?Ofcourseoneprefersone\'sownthoughts,justasoneprefersone\'sownranch,orone\'sownfather。”

  \"ThenyouaresuretolikeNewYorkwhenyougotheretolive,\"criedJessica;

  \"forthereyouwillfindsomethingtomakelifeentertainingallthetime。Nooneneedfallbackonbooksthere。”

  \"I\'mnotsure。I\'mafraidtheremustbesuchdreadfulcrowdsofpeople。OfcourseIshouldtrytofeelthattheywerealllikeme,withjustthesamesortoffears,andthatitwasridiculousforustobeafraidofeachother,whenatheartweallmeanttobekind。”

  Jessicafairlywrungherhands。\"Hea-

  vens!\"shecried。\"IsaidyouwouldlikeNewYork。Iamafraid,mydear,thatitwillbreakyourheart!\"

  \"Oh,\"saidMrs。Brainard,withwhatwasmeanttobeagentlejest,\"noonecanbreakmyheartexceptLeroy。Ishouldnotcareenoughaboutanyoneelse,youknow。”

  Thecomplimentwasanexquisiteone。

  Ifeltthebloodcreeptomyownbraininasortofvicariousrapture,andIavoidedlookingatLeroylestheshoulddisliketohavemeseethehappinesshemustfeel。

  Thesimplicityofthewomanseemedtoinvigoratemeasthecoolairofhermoun-

  tainsmightifitblewtomeonsomebrightdawn,whenIhadcome,feveredandsickofsoul,fromthecity。

  Whenwewerealone,Jessicasaidtome:

  \"Thatmanhastoomuchvanity,andhethinksitissensitiveness。Heisgoingtoimaginethathiswifemakeshimsuffer。

  There\'snoonesobrutallyselfishasyoursensitiveman。Hewantseveryonetoliveaccordingtohisideas,orheimmediatelybeginssuffering。Thatfriendofyourshasn\'tthecourageofhisconvictions。Heisgoingtobeashamedoftheveryqualitiesthatmadehimlovehiswife。”

  Therewasahopthatnightatthehotel,quiteanunusualaffairastoelegance,giveninhonorofawomanfromNewYork,whowroteanovelamonth。

  Mrs。Brainardlookedsohappythatnightwhenshecameintheparlor,afterthemusichadbegun,thatIfeltamoisturegatherinmyeyesjustbecauseofthebeautyofherjoy,andtheforcedvivacityofthewomenaboutmeseemedsuddenlycoarseandinsincere。Somewonderfulredstones,brilliantasrubies,glitteredinamongthediaphanousblackdriftingsofherdress。

  Sheaskedmeifthestoneswerenotverypretty,andsaidshegatheredtheminoneofhermountainriver-beds。

  \"Butthegown?\"Isaid。\"Surely,youdonotgathergownslikethatinriver-beds,orpickthemoffmountain-pines?\"

  \"ButyoucangettheminDenver。FatheralwayssenttoDenverformyfinery。HewasveryparticularabouthowIlooked。

  Yousee,Iwasallhehad——\"Shebrokeoff,hervoicefaltering。

  \"Comeoverbythewindow,\"Isaid,tochangeherthought。\"Ihavesomethingtorepeattoyou。ItisasongofSydneyLanier\'s。IthinkhewasthegreatestpoetthateverlivedinAmerica,thoughnotmanyagreewithme。Butheismydearfriendanyway,thoughheisdead,andI

  neversawhim;andIwantyoutohearsomeofhiswords。”

  Iledheracrosstoanopenwindow。Thedancerswerewhirlingbyus。Thewaltzwasoneofthosemelancholyoneswhichspeakthespiritofthedancemoreelo-

  quentlythananymerrymelodycan。Thesoundoftheseaboomingbeyondinthedarknesscametous,andlongpathsoflight,nowred,nowgreen,stretchedtowardthedistantlight-house。ThesewerethelinesIrepeated:——

  \"Whatheartache——ne\'erahill!

  Inexorable,vapid,vague,andchillThedrearsandlevelsdrainmyspiritlow。

  Withonepoorwordtheytellmealltheyknow;

  Whereattheirstupidtongues,toteasemypain,Dodrawlito\'erando\'eragain。

  TheyhurtmyheartwithgriefsIcannotname;

  Alwaysthesame——thesame。”

  ButIgotnofurther。Ifeltmyselfmovedwithasortofpassionwhichdidnotseemtocomefromwithin,buttobecommunicatedtomefromher。Acertainunfamiliarhap-

  pinessprickedthroughwithpainthrilledme,andIheardherwhispering,——

  \"Donotgoon,donotgoon!Icannotstanditto-night!\"

  \"Hush,\"Iwhisperedback;\"comeoutforamoment!\"Westoleintotheduskwithout,andstoodtheretrembling。I

  swayedwithheremotion。Therewasalongsilence。Thenshesaid:\"Fathermaybewalkingalonenowbytheblackcataract。

  Thatiswherehegoeswhenheissad。I

  canseehowlonelyhelooksamongthoselittletwistedpinesthatgrowfromtherock。

  Andhewillberememberingalltheeveningswewalkedtheretogether,andallthethingswesaid。”Ididnotanswer。Hereyeswerestillonthesea。

  \"Whatwasthenameofthemanwhowrotethatverseyoujustsaidtome?\"

  Itoldher。

  \"Andheisdead?Didtheyburyhiminthemountains?No?IwishIcouldhaveputhimwherehecouldhaveheardthosefourvoicescallingdownthecanyon。”

  \"Comebackinthehouse,\"Isaid;\"youmustcome,indeed,\"Isaid,assheshrankfromre-entering。

  JessicawasdancinglikeafairywithLe-

  roy。Theybothsawusandsmiledaswecamein,andamomentlatertheyjoinedus。

  ImademyexcusesandleftmyfriendstoJessica\'scare。Shewasasortofsocialtyrantwherevershewas,andIknewonewordfromherwouldinsurethepopularityofourfriends——notthattheyneededtheinterventionofanyone。Leroyhadbeenasortofdrawing-roompetsincebeforehestoppedwearingknickerbockers。

  \"Heisathisbestinadrawing-room,\"

  saidJessica,\"becausetherehedealswiththeoryandnotwithaction。Andhehassuchbeautifultheoriesthatthewomen,whoareallidealists,adorehim。”

  ThenextmorningIawokewithacon-

  victionthatIhadbeenidlingtoolong。I

  wentbacktothecityandbrushedthedustfrommydesk。Theneachmorning,I,asJessicaputit,\"formedpublicopinion\"

  totheextentofonecolumnadayinthecolumnsofacertainenterprisingmorningjournal。

  BrainardsaidIhadtreatedhimshabbilytoleaveupontheheelsofhiscoming。Butamanwhoworksforhisbreadandbuttermustputalimittohisholiday。Itisdif-

  ferentwhenyouonlyworktoaddtoyourgeneralpicturesqueness。ThatiswhatI

  wroteLeroy,anditwastheunkindestthingIeversaidtohim;andwhyIdiditIdonotknowtothisday。Iwasglad,though,whenhefailedtoanswertheletter。Itgavemeamorereasonableexcuseforfeelingoutofpatiencewithhim。

  Thedaysthatfollowedwereverydull。

  Itwashardtogetbackintothewayofworking。IwasgladwhenJessicacamehometosetupourlittleestablishmentandtojoinintheautumngayeties。Brainardbroughthiswifetothecitysoonafter,andwenttohousekeepinginanoddsortofaway。

  \"Icouldn\'tseeanythingintheplacesavecurios,\"Jessicareported,afterherfirstcallonthem。\"Isupposethereisacooking-

  stovesomewhere,andmaybeevenapantrywithpotsinit。ButallIsawwasAlaskatotemsandNavajoblankets。TheyhaveasmanyskinsaroundonthefloorandcouchesaswouldhavesatisfiedanancientBriton。Andeverybodywascallingthere。

  YouknowMr。Brainardrunstocuriosinselectinghisfriendsaswellashisfurniture。

  Theparlorswerefullthisafternoonofab-

  normalpeople,thatistosay,withfolksonereadsabout。Iwastheonlyonetherewhohadn\'tdonesomething。Iguessit\'sbe-

  causeIamtoohealthy。”

  \"HowdidMrs。Brainardlikesuchamotleycrew?\"

  \"Shewaswonderful——perfectlywonder-

  ful!Thoseinsultingcreatureswereallstudyingher,andsheknewit。Butherdignitywasperfect,andshelookedasproudasaSiouxchief。Shelistenedtoeveryone,andtheyallthoughthersobright。”

  \"Brainardmusthavebeentremendouslyproudofher。”

  \"Oh,hewas——ofherandhisChilcatportières。”

  Jessicawasthereoften,but——well,Iwasbusy。Atlength,however,Iwasforcedtogo。Jessicarefusedtomakeanyfurtherexcusesforme。Theroomswerefilledwithsmallcelebrities。

  \"Wearetheonlynonentities,\"whisperedJessica,asshelookedaround;\"itwillmakeusquitedistinguished。”

  Wewenttospeaktoourhostess。Shestoodbesideherhusband,lookingtallerthanever;andherfacewaswhite。Herlongredgownofclingingsilkwassope-

  culiarastogiveonetheimpressionthatshewasdressedincharacter。ItwaseasytotellthatitwasoneofLeroy\'sfancies。I

  hardlyheardwhatshesaid,butIknowshereproachedmegentlyfornothavingbeentoseethem。Ihadnofurtherwordwithhertillsomeoneledhertothepiano,andshepausedtosay,——

  \"Thatpoetyouspokeoftome——theoneyousaidwasafriendofyours——heismyfriendnowtoo,andIhavelearnedtosingsomeofhissongs。Iamgoingtosingonenow。”Sheseemedtohavenotimidityatall,butstoodquietly,withahalfsmile,whileayoungmanwithaRussiannameplayedastrangeminorprelude。Thenshesang,hervoiceawonderfulcontralto,coldattimes,andagainlitupwithgleamsofpas-

  sion。Themusicitselfwasfitful,nowfullofjoy,nowtender,andnowsad:

  \"Lookoff,dearlove,acrossthesallowsands,Andmarkyonmeetingofthesunandsea,Howlongtheykissinsightofallthelands,Ah!longer,longerwe。”

  \"Shehasageniusforfeeling,hasn\'tshe?\"Leroywhisperedtome。

  \"Ageniusforfeeling!\"Irepeated,angrily。\"Man,shehasaheartandasoulandabrain,ifthatiswhatyoumean!I

  shouldn\'tthinkyouwouldbeabletolookatherfromthestandpointofacritic。”

  Leroyshruggedhisshouldersandwentoff。ForamomentIalmosthatedhimfornotfeelingmoreresentful。Ifeltasifheowedittohiswifetotakeoffenceatmyfoolishspeech。

  Itwasevidentthatthe\"mountainwoman\"

  hadbecomethefashion。Ireadreportsinthepapersaboutheruniquereceptions。I

  sawhernameprintedconspicuouslyamongthelistofthosewhoattendedallsortsofdinnersandmusicalesandeveningsamongthesetthataffectedintellectualpursuits。

  Shejoinedanumberofwomen\'sclubsofanexclusivekind。

  \"Sheisdoingwhateverherhusbandtellsherto,\"saidJessica。\"Why,theotherdayIheardherruininghervoiceon\'Siegfried\'!\"

  ButfromdaytodayInoticedadifferenceinher。Shedevelopedaterribleactivity。

  Shetookpersonalchargeoftheaffairsofherhouse;sheunitedwithLeroyinkeep-

  ingthehousefilledwithguests;shegotontheboardofahospitalforlittlechildren,andspentapartofeverydayamongthecotswherethesuffererslay。NowandthenwhenwespentaquieteveningalonewithherandLeroy,shesewedcontinuallyonlittlewhitenight-gownsforthesepoorbabies。

  Sheusedhercarriagetotakethemostex-

点击下载App,搜索"A Mountain Woman",免费读到尾