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34 - At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald · At the Back of the North Wind

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  Speaker 1: In the country. Before the end of the month, Ruby
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: had got respectably thin and Diamond respectably stout. They really
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: began to look quit for double harness. Joseph and his
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  Speaker 1: wife got their affairs in order and everything ready for
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: migrating at the shortest notice, and they felt so peaceful
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  Speaker 1: and happy that they judged all the trouble they had
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  Speaker 1: gone through well worth enduring. As for Nannie, she had
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  Speaker 1: been so happy ever since she left the hospital that
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  Speaker 1: she expected nothing better and saw nothing attractive in the
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  Speaker 1: notion of the country. At the same time, she had
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  Speaker 1: not the least idea of what the word country meant,
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  Speaker 1: for she had never seen anything about her but streets
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  Speaker 1: and gas lamps. Besides, she was more attached to Jim
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  Speaker 1: than to Diamond. Jim was a reasonable being, Diamond in
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  Speaker 1: her eyes at best, only unamiable, overgrown baby, whom no
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  Speaker 1: amount of expostulation would ever bring to talk sense, not
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  Speaker 1: to say think it. Now that she could manage the
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  Speaker 1: baby as well as he, she judged herself altogether his
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  Speaker 1: superior towards his father and mother. She was all they
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  Speaker 1: could wish. Diamond had taken a great deal of pains
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  Speaker 1: and trouble to find Jim, and had at last succeeded
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  Speaker 1: through the help of the tall policeman, who was glad
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  Speaker 1: to renew his acquaintance with a strange child. Jim had
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  Speaker 1: moved his quarters and had not heard of Nannie's illness
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  Speaker 1: till some time after she was taken to the hospital,
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  Speaker 1: where he was too shy to go and inquire about her.
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  Speaker 1: But when at length she went to live with Diamond's family,
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  Speaker 1: Jim was willing enough to go and see her. It
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  Speaker 1: was after one of his visits, during which they had
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  Speaker 1: been talking of her new prospects, that Nanny expressed to
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  Speaker 1: Diamond her opinion of the country. There ain't nothing in
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  Speaker 1: it but the sun and moon, Diamond, There's trees and flowers,
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  Speaker 1: said Diamond. Well, they ain't no count, returned, Nanny, ain't
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  Speaker 1: they They're so beautiful they make you happy to look
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  Speaker 1: at them. That's because you're such a silly Diamond smiled
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  Speaker 1: with a far away look, as if he were gazing
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  Speaker 1: through clouds of green leaves, and the vision contented him.
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  Speaker 1: But he was thinking with himself what more he could
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  Speaker 1: do for Nanny, And that same evening he went to
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  Speaker 1: find mister Raymond, for he had heard that he had
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  Speaker 1: returned to town. Ah, how do you do, Diamond, said mister Raymond.
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  Speaker 1: I am glad to see you, And he was indeed,
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  Speaker 1: for he had grown very fond of him. His opinion
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  Speaker 1: of him was very different from Nannie's. What do you
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  Speaker 1: want now, my child, he asked. I'm always wanting something, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: answered Diamond. Well, that's quite right, so long as what
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  Speaker 1: you want is right. Everybody is always wanting something, only
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  Speaker 1: we don't mention it in the right place often enough.
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  Speaker 1: What is it now? There's a friend of Nanny's, a
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  Speaker 1: lame boy called Jim. I've heard of him, said mister Raymond. Well,
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  Speaker 1: Nanny doesn't care much about going to the country. Sir, Well,
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  Speaker 1: what has that to do with Jim. You couldn't find
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  Speaker 1: a corner for Jim to work in, could you, Sir?
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  Speaker 1: I don't know that I couldn't. That is, if you
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  Speaker 1: can show good reason for it. He's a good boy, sir. Well,
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  Speaker 1: so much the better for him. I know he can
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  Speaker 1: shine boots, Sir, so much the better for us. You
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  Speaker 1: want your boots shined in the country, don't you, sir? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: to be sure, it wouldn't be nice to walk over
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  Speaker 1: the flowers with dirty boots, would it, sir? No, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: they wouldn't like it, would they. No, they wouldn't. Then
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  Speaker 1: Nanny would be better pleased to go, sir. If the
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  Speaker 1: flowers didn't like dirty boots to walk over them, Nanny
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't mind to go into the country. Is that it?
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  Speaker 1: I don't quite see it, No, sir, I didn't mean that.
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  Speaker 1: I meant if you would take Jim with you to
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  Speaker 1: clean your boots and do odd jobs, you know, sir,
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  Speaker 1: then Nanny would like it better. She's so fond of Jim.
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  Speaker 1: Now you come to the point, Diamond, I see what
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  Speaker 1: you mean exactly. I will turn it over in my mind.
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  Speaker 1: Could you bring Jim to see me? I'll try, sir,
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  Speaker 1: But they don't mind me much. They think I'm silly,
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  Speaker 1: added Diamond, with one of his sweetest smiles. What mister
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  Speaker 1: Raymond thought I dare hardly attempt to put down here.
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  Speaker 1: But one part of it was that the highest wisdom
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  Speaker 1: must ever appear folly to those who do not possess it.
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  Speaker 1: I think he would come through after dark, you know,
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  Speaker 1: women continued, he does well at shining boots. People's kindly
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  Speaker 1: lame boys, you know, sir. But after dark, there ain't
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  Speaker 1: so much doing. Diamond succeeded in bringing Jim to mister Raymond,
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  Speaker 1: and the consequence was that he resolved to give the
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  Speaker 1: boy a chance. He provided new clothes for both him
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  Speaker 1: and Nanny, and upon a certain day Joseph took his
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  Speaker 1: wife and three children and Nanny and Jim by train
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  Speaker 1: to a certain station in the country of Kent, where
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  Speaker 1: they found a cart waiting to carry them and their
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  Speaker 1: luggage to the Mound, which was the name of mister
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  Speaker 1: Raymond's new residence. I will not describe the varied feelings
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  Speaker 1: of the party as they went or when they arrived.
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  Speaker 1: All I will say is that Diamond, who is my
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  Speaker 1: only care, was full of quiet delight, a gladness too
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  Speaker 1: deep to talk about. Joseph returned to town the same night,
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  Speaker 1: and the next morning drove Ruby and Diamond down with
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  Speaker 1: the carriage behind them, and mister Raymond and a lady
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  Speaker 1: in the carriage. For mister Raymond was an old bachelor
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  Speaker 1: no longer, he was bringing his wife with him to
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  Speaker 1: live at the Mound. The moment Nanny saw her, she
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  Speaker 1: recognized her as the lady who had lent her the
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  Speaker 1: ruby ring. That ring had been given her by mister Raymond.
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  Speaker 1: The weather was very hot and the woods very shadowy.
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  Speaker 1: There were not a great many wild flowers, for it
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  Speaker 1: was getting well towards autumn, and the most of the
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  Speaker 1: wild flowers rise early to be before the leaves, because
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  Speaker 1: if they did not, they would never get a glimpse
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  Speaker 1: of the sun for them. So they have their fun
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  Speaker 1: over and are ready to go to bed again by
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  Speaker 1: the time the trees are dressed. But there was plenty
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  Speaker 1: of the loveliest grass and daisies about the house, and
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  Speaker 1: Diamond's chief pleasure seemed to be to lie amongst them
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  Speaker 1: and breathe the pure air. But all the time he
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  Speaker 1: was dreaming of the country at the back of the
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  Speaker 1: north wind, and trying to recall the songs the river
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  Speaker 1: used to sing, for this was more like being at
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  Speaker 1: the back of the north wind than anything he had
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  Speaker 1: known since he left it. Sometimes he would have his
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  Speaker 1: little brother, sometimes his little sister, and sometimes both of
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  Speaker 1: them in the grass with him, and then he felt
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  Speaker 1: just like a cat with her first kittens, he said,
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  Speaker 1: only he couldn't purr. All he could do was to sing.
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  Speaker 1: These were very different times from those when he used
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  Speaker 1: to drive the cab. But you must not suppose that
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  Speaker 1: Diamond was idle. He did not do so much for
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  Speaker 1: his mother now, because nanny occupied his former place, But
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  Speaker 1: he helped his father still, both in the stable and
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  Speaker 1: the harness room, and generally went with him on the box,
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  Speaker 1: that he might learn to drive a pair and be
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  Speaker 1: ready to open the carriage door. Mister Raymond advised his
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  Speaker 1: father to give him plenty of liberty. A boy like that,
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  Speaker 1: he said, ought not to be pushed. Joseph assented, heartily,
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  Speaker 1: smiling to himself at the idea of pushing Diamond. After
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  Speaker 1: doing everything that fell to his share, the boy had
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  Speaker 1: a wealth of time at his disposal, and a happy,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes merry time. It was only for two months or
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  Speaker 1: so he neither saw nor heard anything of north Wind.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter thirty four. Recording by maricel Qui