Latest / The Charlotte M. Brame Library / A Fair Mystery Chapter 2 - A Fairy Changeling

Transcript

A Fair Mystery Chapter 2 - A Fairy Changeling · The Charlotte M. Brame Library

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: CHAPTER II. A FAIRY CHANGELING MARK, MARK, IT IS A CHILD,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: A POOR FORSAKEN BABY. said Patty, stooping down and gathering
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: into her womanly arms the weeping, waif fragment of the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: seething sea of humanity so strangely drifted to her door.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: A child, dear heaven, such a very fine child! She
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: hurried into the kitchen and laid the bundle on the
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: table in the circle of lamplight, and with careful, eager
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: fingers began to loosen the wrappings. A child, said Mark,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: amazed and dull. A child! Then with sudden anger he
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: cried out, A child to the homeless, a child to us,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: who will not be able to care for our own,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: a child for forced exiles. Why did they not carry
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: it to the poorhouse? There, at least, it might have stayed. Hush, dear,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: said Patty. God only asks of us duty for to-day.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: To-night we have a home, and can take the stranger in.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: God will take care of it to-morrow. Not that I
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: grudge the poor little wretch, said Mark, looking over his
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: wife's shoulder. Patty unpinned the tartan shawl, and snugly wrapped
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: within lay a little babe. A delicate veil covered the
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: small face within the lace and satin cap, and Patty
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: lifted in motherly hands one of the most singularly lovely
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: infants that Sun had ever looked upon. Dimple, snow-white, with
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: exquisitely moulded features, and neck and hands, soft rings of golden,
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: silken hair, a faint perfume of costly odours breathing from
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: its garments. Patty's tender heart melted at the divine innocence, loveliness,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: helplessness of the little one, and raising the rosebud face
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: to her own, she kissed it softly again and again.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: This motion caused the white cashmere cloak to fall back,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: and Mark gave a cry at some dark thing broadly
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: pinned against the quilted satin lining. As his wife kissed
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: the babe, murmuring, Little lovely angel, who sent you? Who
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: could abandon you? Mark unpinned this object and held it
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: near the light. Then he gave such a cry that
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: his wife, clasping the babe closer, turned to him in alarm.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: In his shaking hand he held a packet of banknotes.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: He cried out,' Patty! Patty! Did God send this? See?
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Just the amount of my debt. Patty! Patty! Am I safe?
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Is this ours?'' How much is there?' she demanded breathlessly.'
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Twenty fives. A hundred pounds.' Mark just what we owe.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Just that. Oh, Patty, we are saved. He staggered to
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: a seat, white and weak, and then, first, Patty realized
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: what his anguish of soul had been. The strong young
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: farmer shook like a reed. Drops of perspiration rolled over
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: his face. But is it ours? demanded Patty, sitting down also,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: and beginning to unfasten the baby's cap and cloak. See
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: if there is anything more, any message, any word. Quick, oh, Patty, Patty,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I am weak. Patty rose up, stroked his cheek, kissed him, said, Courage, Mark,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: heaven has helped us, and then she set to searching
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: the child. On the lace bosom of the little dress
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: was sewed a letter. She unfastened it and held it
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: to her husband. You read it, Mark, I am so frightened,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: my eyes are dim. See, it is to us, it
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: says on the outside, to Mark and Patty Brace. Mark
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: restrained himself. and as Patty softly rocked the child to
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: and fro on her breast, he read aloud, To you
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: a most sorrowful mother sends this little child. You have
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: never seen that mother, probably you never will, but she
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: has heard of you, of Honest Mark Brace and Patty Brace,
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: his kind good wife. Oh, be tender to this little child,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: deprived of father and of mother. Be patient with it.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Think how its mother's heart ached at parting. Think of
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: your own little child, Let this baby be yours and
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: your child's sister. It is lovely and white as an angel.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: Will you try to keep it so white and pure
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: and bring it up simply like your own, just to
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: be good? There is a little mark on the right shoulder,
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: a little red leaf, but I may never be able
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: to claim my own again. Then let it be yours
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: and rear it as you will answer for it to God.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: With the child the mother sends you a hundred pounds
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: and every year will send you the same This is
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: a child of noble blood and honest birth. Its mother
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: prays you, for the sake of mercy and pity, to
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: make no effort to find her. Never show this letter.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Never try to learn the child's surname. Her Christian name
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: is Doris. Will you say you have taken charge of
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: the child for a lady who has gone abroad? Say
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: only that, and night and day a heart's best prayers
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: will go up for you, who are good to little Doris.'
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Mark and Patty looked at each other in silence. Oh, Mark,
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: you doubted, doubted God and prayer. Did I? May God
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: pardon me. I was wild with misery. Whose child can
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: this be? said Patty. Patty, said Mark, if we use
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: this money, as we must and shall, it is part
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: of a bargain, you know, a bargain to keep the
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: child tenderly and faithfully and make no effort to discover
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: who sends it. We must keep faith. It will be
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: very easy to be loving and tender to such a
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: lovely baby, said Patty. Look, did you ever see anything
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: so wonderful, so beautiful in all your life? Fair as
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: an angel, said Mark, gently kissing the wee white hand.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: God bless the baby, the little angel baby that saved us.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: A hundred a year, that is very much money just
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: for keeping one little child, said Patty. We must pay
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: ourselves what is fair and keep the rest to educate
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: the child. or make her dour, and we are to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: keep her soul white and fair. The letter says we
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: are to train her like our own Mark. Only, Patty,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: it is a child of noble blood, and if some
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: day the mother claims her, she must not be ashamed
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: of the child, Patty. Oh, Mark, cried Patty in terror,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: suppose the mother is in all this storm. Go, Mark,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: take her light, and look for her. Do go. She
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: cannot possibly be lingering here, Patty. Oh, Mark, she is
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: no doubt waiting to see what we will do. I
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: am sure I saw her looking in the window before
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: I took Matty to bed. Mark took a lantern from
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: its hook by the chimney side and went out into
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: the storm. There was no trace of anyone. The gate
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: was fastened. No footprint marked the gravel walk. Nothing but
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: sighing wind and plashing rain filled the darkness. He returned
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: to the house. There is no one. Whoever was here
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: has done the errand and gone. I cannot believe it yet, Patty.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: My debt is paid. My home is saved. I shall
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: live where my fathers lived and die where they died,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: and all by means of this little child. I feel
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: as if I could never love it enough. Patty looked
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: at the babe on her arm. She cried, How could
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: a mother give up such a lovely creature? I would
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: rather die. Oh, poor mother! Mark, a heart has broken
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: to-night in this storm. I wonder if the poor soul
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: was married, said Mark. She must have been. Look at
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: the letter, Mark. It is the letter of a good woman.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: She wants the child's soul kept white and pure. A
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: wicked woman would think of the body, but not of
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: the soul. The child opened his eyes like spring violets,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: softly blue. It stirred uneasily. Patty went for milk to
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: feed it. There are no clothes with it, Mark. Whoever
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: knew us to write to us knew about little Mattie
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: and expected us to let this baby wear her clothes.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: and be reared just like our own. She went for
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: a night-dress that had been worn by Matty a year before,
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: and taking off the infant's rich clothes, put on instead
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: the simple little gown. About the child's neck was a
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: gold chain, with a locket. In the locket was a
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: dress of curly golden hair, and one of dark shining brown.' Mark,'
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: said Patty,' let us put the letter and the locket
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: and these rich clothes away. Some day, They may be
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: needed to show whose child this is. Mark folded the
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: articles together and locked them in a strong box, which
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: for years had held the especial valuables of the owners
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: of Brackenside Farm. Never before had such singular treasures been
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: placed among those ample rustic relics. Now, said Patty, I
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: shall take this baby up and put her in Mattie's trundle-bed.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: They are sisters now. She carried the wee stranger upstairs
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: and laid it by her own little daughter. Mark held
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: the light. There is a great difference between them, said Patty,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: as she looked at the two little ones in the
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: same bed. It is not only that one is two
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: years and one is two months, but she looks like
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: a child of the nobles, the other like a child
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: of the people. The people are the bone and sinew
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: of the land, and the heart too, said Mark sturdily.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: I don't believe a mother of the people would give
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: such a baby away in this fashion. You note my words, wife,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: it is pride rank pride that has cast its child
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: out among strangers patty sighed still looking at the children
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: little doris a jewel child pearly skin golden hair and
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: brows and a little red mouth like a thread of rubies. Mattie, brown, plump, sturdy,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: child of soil, wind and sun. I like my own best,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: said Mark bravely, if she is not half so fair.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Our Mattie has what will last all her life, a warm, true,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: honest little heart in her strong little body. Of course
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: you will like our own best, said Patty, half offended.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: It would be a fine story if the coming of
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: this little beauty could crowd our girl out of the
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: first place in our hearts. I wonder if they will
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: love each other, said Mark. Of course they will, as
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: they are to be sisters, said Patty, with edifying faith
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: in humanity. And I wonder if she will love us. Surely,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: since we are to be her parents, and will always
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: be kind and faithful to her. I hope so, said Mark,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: shaking his head. But there are some things, Patty, that
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: do not mix well, as, say, oil and water, and
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: be like blood would tell, and this little lady will
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: not take to our homely ways. Besides, we shall always
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: be considering how much is her due for that hundred
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: pounds a year, and I, for one, will always be
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: remembering how she came like a little angel to save
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: a home that is like my heart's blood to me.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: Then they went downstairs. leaving the dark child and the
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: fair child sleeping together. End of chapter 2