Flora Lyndsay Volume I Part 11

"Yes, I shot 'Nep'-shot him with my own hand. It wor cruel and wicked of me to do the like, but I wor mad-stark staring mad, and who's to blame?

You see, my lady, he wor with us that terrible Sat.u.r.day night, when we went off to put the pilot on board the brig _Sally_, from s.h.i.+elds.

Comin' back it wor pitch dark, an' the sea runnin' mountains high, Sam Masters ran the boat plump upon the pier, an' we wor upset on the bar.

Nep saved Sam Masters and Ben Hardy, but he let my Harry drown. I never rebelled agin' the providence of G.o.d till then; but I trust He'll forgive what the old man said in his mortal distress. Instead of thanking Him, when I sor that so many wor safe, an' encouragin' Nep for having saved two on 'em, I cursed the dog for an ungrateful brute for saving strangers, an' letting my Harry be lost. I dashed him off whenever he'd come whining around, to lick my hands an' make friends, an' when I got home I took down the old gun-poor Harry's gun-and called Nep out upon the cliff an' shot him dead.

"I repented the moment I sor him drop. It wor too late then. I thought that both Davy and Harry would have blamed me for taking the poor brute's life-for they wor mortal fond of 'un. The next morning I wor up by daybreak, and down to the piers in the little boat to see if I might chance to light upon the dead body.

"The storm was over, an' in rowing 'atwixt the piers, I sor summut that looked like the thing I sought, hanging, as it wor, to the planking of the pier. I steered for the place, an', G.o.d o' heaven! it wor the body of my son! He wor just two feet below the water, hanging with his head downwards. The force of the waves had driven him upon an iron stauncheon, which extended some distance from the pier, the woodwork to which it belonged had been wrenched away in the storm. It had pa.s.sed right through Harry's body, and held him fast. And the dog-the poor dog-had tried to get him off; he had dragged at his jacket and s.h.i.+rt-collar, till they wor all shred to bits, and had only given over when he found it of no use, an' then did what he could to save the rest!

An' I killed him-I, that should have fed and cherished him to his dying day-I can never forgive myself for that."

"Do not distress yourself, Jarvis, in this way. No one will blame you for what you did in such a distracted state of mind," said Flora, though she was grieved to the heart for the death of the n.o.ble dog.

"You are right-you are just right; I was mad; and you must not think hard of a poor broken-hearted old man. My sorrow is 'most greater than I can bear. It will not be for long; I feel I'm goin' the way of all the earth, an' it matters little when we cast anchor in that port, whether our voyage wor short or long-rough or smooth, when the righteous Judge overhauls our vessel, an' lays bare the secrets of all hearts. I trust He'll have mercy on old Davy Jarvis, and forgive him for the death of his brave dog."

The fisherman took the eels from his basket, and grasping Flora's hand in his hard h.o.r.n.y palm, said, "May the Lord grant you prosperity! an'

bless you an' your husband an' the little 'un, an' bring you safe to the far land to which you are journeying! May it prove to you a haven of rest! G.o.d bless you! good bye!"

Flora looked after the drooping figure of the fisherman as he slowly descended the cliff, and she thought how intense must have been his agony in that dark hour of utter bereavement, which had tempted him to sacrifice his dog on the mere supposition that he had neglected to save the life of his son.

"G.o.d comfort you! poor Jarvis," she said, "and guide you in peace through the shadows of the dark valley that stretches its long night before you. The grief which has brought your grey locks in sorrow to the grave was enough to have broken a sterner heart."

CHAPTER XI.

FLORA IN SEARCH OF A SERVANT HEARS A REAL GHOST STORY.

Lyndsay had charged Flora, during his absence, to inquire for a female servant, to accompany them to Canada, and take care of the baby during the voyage. Flora was very reluctant to obey this command, though she knew that it was entirely on her account that the request was made. Her health was still very bad, and her kind husband was anxious to spare her any additional fatigue and trouble. She much doubted, however, whether another added to their party would not rather increase than diminish her anxiety, and she begged hard to be allowed to do without. To this proposition Lyndsay would not listen for a moment.

"The thing is impossible, Flora," said he, very impetuously, "you cannot do without; you are not able to nurse the child. I must insist upon your hiring a woman immediately."

Flora sighed. "There will be plenty of women in the steerage of any emigrant vessel, who for the sake of a few dollars would gladly render me all the a.s.sistance I require."

"You must not trust to such contingencies."

"But, husband dear, consider the great additional expense," she said, coaxingly.

"Nonsense!-that is my affair."

"I should like to have my own way in this matter," said Flora, leaning her hand upon his shoulder, and trying to win him into compliance by sundry little caresses. "I know, John, that I am in the right."

"And those who love you, Flora, and wish to spare you fatigue and discomfort, are in the wrong. Is it not so?"

This last speech silenced his wife, but did not convince her that she was wrong. Flora, as my readers must long ago have discovered, was no heroine of romance, but a veritable human creature, subject to all the faults and weaknesses incidental to her s.e.x. She wished to have her own way, and was ready to cry that she could not get it. Yet, had her advice been acted upon, she would have been spared a great deal of sorrow and mortification, which greatly embittered the first months of her sojourn in a foreign land.

Persons emigrating to Canada cannot be guilty of a greater blunder than that of taking out servants with them, which is sure to end in loss and disappointment; for they no sooner set foot upon the North American sh.o.r.es, than they suddenly become possessed with an _ultra republican_ spirit. The chrysalis has burst its dingy sh.e.l.l; they are no longer caterpillars, but gay b.u.t.terflies, prepared to bask in the sun-blaze of popular rights. Ask such a domestic to blacken your shoes, clean a knife, or fetch a pail of water from the well at the door, and ten to one she will turn upon you as fierce as a lioness, and bid you do it yourself. If you are so imprudent as to insist on being obeyed, she will tell you to hire another in her place; she is sure of twenty situations as good as yours, to-morrow.

She is right in her a.s.sertion. Her insolent rejection of your commands would not stand at all in her way of procuring a new place. And although cleaning a lady's shoes, and bringing in a pail of water, or an armful of wood, is by no means such disgusting employment as scouring greasy pots and scrubbing the floors, she has been told that the former is degrading work not fit for a woman, and she is now in a free country, and will not submit to degradation.

The mistress, who in England was termed the _dear lady_, now degenerates into the _woman_, while persons in their own cla.s.s, and even beggars seeking for alms are addressed as Ma'am and Sir. How particular they are in enforcing these t.i.tles from one another; how persevering in depriving their employers of any term of respect! One would imagine that they not only considered themselves on an equality, but that ignorance and vulgarity made them vastly superior. It is highly amusing to watch from a distance these self-made ladies and gentlemen sporting their borrowed plumes.

Some years after she had been settled in Canada, Flora picked up a note which had been thrown out as waste paper, and which was addressed to the father of a very dirty, dishonest girl, whom she had dismissed from her service for sundry petty frauds, a few weeks before. It was addressed to Edward Brady, Esqre., and ran as follows:-

"Honoured Sir,

"The company of _self_ and _lady_, is respectfully solicited at a _contribution_ ball, to be given next Thursday evening, at the Three King's Inn. Dancing to commence at eight o'clock precisely.

Stewards {Patrick Malone, Esq.

{John Carroll, Esq."

All the parties herein named were persons of the very lowest cla.s.s; and the t.i.tles thus pompously bestowed upon themselves, rendered the whole affair exquisitely ridiculous. At a _contribution_ ball, each person brings a share of the entertainment. Flora's maid had stolen a large quant.i.ty of sugar for her part of the feast, and was discovered in the act.

In compliance with Lyndsay's request, Flora now set diligently to work to inquire for a girl willing to emigrate with them to Canada, in the capacity of nurse to her baby. She had scarcely made her wishes public, before the cottage was beset with matrons, widows and maids, both old and young, all anxious to take a trip across the water, and try their fortunes in Canada.

The first person who presented herself as a candidate for emigration, was a coa.r.s.e, fat, she-clown, with huge red fists and cheeks, "as broad and as red as a pulpit cus.h.i.+on." On being shown into Flora's little parlour, she stood staring at her with her arms stuck in her sides, and her wide mouth distended from ear to ear, with a grin so truly uncouth and comic, that Mrs. Lyndsay could scarcely restrain her laughter; with a downward jerk of her broad shapeless person, meant for a curtsy, she burst out in a rude vulgar voice,

"He'eard, Marm, yah wanted a gurl to go with yah to Cannadah."

"I do. Who sent you up to me?"

"Whao sent oie up? Oie sent up moisel."

"What is your name?"

"Moi neame? Is't moi neame yah wants to knowah? Wall, moi neame is Sare Ann Pack; feather warks at Measter Turners."

"Have you ever worked out, or been used to take care of children?"

"Why yees, oie 'spect oie ha'. Moother has ten on 'em. Oie be the oldest on'em. Oi've had nursing enoof, an' wants to get quit on it."

"I am afraid, Sarah, you will not suit me."

"How dew yah noa, Marm, till yah tries?"

"You are very slatternly, and I wanted a clean, tidy, active girl to nurse my baby."

"Sure moi cloes is clane enoof, and good enoof, for to live amongst the sadvidges?"

"You'll be put to no such trial," said Flora laughing, in spite of herself, "without you reckon me and my husband sadvadges. Can you wash and iron?"

"Noa. But 'spose oie cud larn."

"What work can you do?"

"'Spect anything yah sets oie to. Oie can make doomplings, milk cows, and keep the pot a bilin'."

"And what wages do you expect for such services?"