“I wish you were older, Rose,” said he, “and had seen a little more of the world.”
Then followed a long conversation in which much was said, which had far better been left unsaid; for I was a warm-hearted, impulsive child, believing that I to him was what he was to me. And still he did not once commit himself, nor in what he said was there aught which could possibly have been construed into an avowal of anything save friendship, which was the theme upon which he rang many a change. Alas, for such friendships! They are dangerous to one’s peace of mind, particularly if told beneath an old oak tree, with the silvery moonlight shining down upon you, and the soft summer air gently moving the green leaves above your head. How long we sat there I do not know; but I was the first to propose going, telling him they would miss him at the party, and wonder at his absence.
“Let them wonder then,” said he; “I have no intention of returning to the house. It would be intolerable after this pleasant chat with you, so I shall just get my horse and go quietly home.”
I did not then know that he had not sufficient courage to brave the jokes and jeers which he knew were sure to greet him, should he return to Captain Thompson’s. Neither did I know that with his fashionable friends he would scarcely dare defend me; nor that when John Thompson once, in his presence, imitated the way in which I stumbled and fell, he joined in the laugh which followed; saying, though as if in apology, “that it was too bad to make fun of me, for I was quite a nice little girl.”
We found Mrs. Ross sitting up for me, sleeping in her chair, while the tallow candle at her side had burned and spluttered away, until the black, crisped wick was longer than the candle itself.
“Lordy massy! doctor, is that you?” she exclaimed, rubbing open her eyes and hooking up her dress, which, for comfort, she had loosened. “I thought, mebby, you’d beau Rosa home. Come in and stay a spell. I’d as lief you’d spark it awhile in t’other room as not!”
But the doctor had no idea of doing anything so marked as that; and with a whispered good night to me, and an audible one to Mrs. Ross, he departed; just as the good lady asked me, loud enough for him to hear, “if I’d dirtied her stockings, lost her mitts, or broken her breastpin?”
CHAPTER VIII.
CLOSE OF SCHOOL IN PINE DISTRICT.
Whether Dr. Clayton cared for me or not, he exerted his influence in my behalf, plainly telling John Thompson that he ought to be ashamed to annoy me as he did; and dropping a few hints to Mrs. Thompson, who now tried to restrain her son; so that after the party, hostilities in that quarter nearly ceased. But the ball was in motion, and could not well be stopped; for what the Thompsons now lacked, the rest of the District made up. It was the general impression, I believe, that the scholars had learned nothing save a few pieces of poetry; and that I had done nothing but whip, scold, and cry. To all these accusations I plead guilty; and when Mr. Randall, one day, proposed to me to bring my labors to a close, I replied that “nothing could please me better,” though there was a tremor in my voice as I thought how the people of Meadow Brook would laugh. Mr. Randall, probably, divined my thoughts, for he quickly rejoined, “The weather is gettin’ so hot that the youngsters need a vacation. Mebby, in the fall, when it is cooler, we shall have you back.”
And so it was settled that school should close the next week on Saturday, and that on Friday I should have an examination! This, to a teacher in Western New York, may seem strange; but those who have taught in that part of New England where I did, know that such a thing cannot well be avoided. No matter how small the school, or how inefficient the teacher may be, an examination must be held, or you at once lose caste; the people unanimously declaring you to be ashamed of showing how little your pupils have learned. In my case, I was rather anxious than otherwise for an opportunity to show off; for I was sure my scholars would acquit themselves creditably. I well knew they could stand up and repeat “verses,” the multiplication table, the names of the fourteen counties of Massachusetts, and tell who made them, and where the sun rose, louder and faster than any other seventeen children in town! I confidently expected all the parents and friends to be there, and as my own wardrobe was rather scanty, I coaxed my sister Anna, who, though several years my senior, was still not much taller than myself, to let me wear her new black silk!