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

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  Speaker 1: The north wind doth blow. It was a great delight
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: to Diamond when at length Nanny was well enough to
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  Speaker 1: leave the hospital and go home to their house. She
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  Speaker 1: was not very strong yet, but Diamond's mother was very
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  Speaker 1: considerate of her and took care that she should have
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  Speaker 1: nothing to do. She was not quite fit, for if
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  Speaker 1: Nanny had been taken straight from the street, it is
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  Speaker 1: very probable she would not have been so pleasant in
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  Speaker 1: a decent household, or so easy to teach. But after
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  Speaker 1: the refining influences of her illness and the kind treatment
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  Speaker 1: she had had in the hospital, she moved about the
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  Speaker 1: house just like some rather sad pleasure haunting the mind.
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  Speaker 1: As she got better and the color came back to
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  Speaker 1: her cheeks, her step grew lighter and quicker, her smile
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  Speaker 1: shone out more readily, and it became certain that she
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  Speaker 1: would soon be a treasure of help. It was great
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  Speaker 1: fun to see Diamond teaching her how to hold the
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  Speaker 1: baby and wash and dress him, and often they laughed
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  Speaker 1: together over her awkwardness. But she had not many such
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  Speaker 1: lessons before she was able to perform those duties quite
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  Speaker 1: as well as Diamond himself. Things, however, did not go
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  Speaker 1: well with Joseph. From the very arrival of Ruby, it
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  Speaker 1: almost seemed as if the red beast had brought ill
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  Speaker 1: luck with him. The fairs were fewer and the pay less.
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  Speaker 1: Ruby's services did indeed make the week's income at first
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  Speaker 1: a little beyond what it used to be, but then
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  Speaker 1: there were two more to feed. After the first month
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  Speaker 1: he fell lame, and for the whole of the next
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  Speaker 1: Joseph dared not attempt to work him. I cannot say
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  Speaker 1: that he never grumbled, for his own health was far
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  Speaker 1: from what it had been, but I can say that
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  Speaker 1: he tried to do his best during all that month.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: They lived on very short commons, indeed seldom tasting meat
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  Speaker 1: except on Sundays, and poor old Diamond, who worked the
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: hardest of all, not even then, so that at the
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  Speaker 1: end of it he was as thin as a clothes horse,
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  Speaker 1: while Ruby was as plump and sleek as a bishop's cob.
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  Speaker 1: Nor was it much better after Ruby was able to
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  Speaker 1: work again, For it was a season of great depression
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  Speaker 1: in business, and that is very soon felt amongst the cabmen.
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  Speaker 1: Citymen looked more after their shillings, and their wives and
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  Speaker 1: daughters have less to spend. It was besides a wet autumn,
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  Speaker 1: and bread rose greatly in price. When I add to
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  Speaker 1: this that Diamond's mother was but poorly for a new
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  Speaker 1: baby was coming, you will see that these were not
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  Speaker 1: very jolly times for our friends in the mews. Notwithstanding
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: the depressing influences around him, Joseph was able to keep
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: a little hope alive in his heart, and when he
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  Speaker 1: came home at night, we'd get Diamond to read to him,
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  Speaker 1: and would also make Nanny produce her book that he
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  Speaker 1: might see how she was getting on. For Diamond had
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: taken her education in hand, and as she was a
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  Speaker 1: clever child, she was very soon able to put letters
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  Speaker 1: and words together. Thus the three months passed away, but
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: mister Raymond did not return. Joseph had been looking anxiously
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  Speaker 1: for him, chiefly with the desire of getting rid of Ruby,
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  Speaker 1: not that he was absolutely of no use to him,
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  Speaker 1: but that he was a constant weight upon his mind. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: as far as provision went, he was rather worse off
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  Speaker 1: with Ruby and Nanny than he had been before. But
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  Speaker 1: on the other hand, Nanny was a great help in
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  Speaker 1: the house, and it was a comfort to him to
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  Speaker 1: think that when the new baby did come, Nanny would
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  Speaker 1: be with his wife. Of God's gifts, a baby is
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  Speaker 1: of the greatest. Therefore it is no wonder that when
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  Speaker 1: this one came, she was as heartily welcomed by the
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  Speaker 1: little household as if she had brought plenty with her.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, she made a great difference in the work
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  Speaker 1: to be done, far more difference than her size warranted.
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  Speaker 1: But Nanny was no end of help, and Diamond was
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  Speaker 1: as much of a sunbeam as ever, and began to
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  Speaker 1: sing to the new baby the first moment he got
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  Speaker 1: her in his arms. But he did not sing the
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  Speaker 1: same songs to her that he had sung to his brother,
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  Speaker 1: For he said she was a new baby and must
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  Speaker 1: have new songs. And besides, she was a sister baby,
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  Speaker 1: and not a brother baby, and of course would not
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  Speaker 1: like the same kind of songs. Where the difference in
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  Speaker 1: his songs lay. However, I do not pretend to be
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  Speaker 1: able to point out one thing. I am sure of
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  Speaker 1: that they not only had no small share in the
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  Speaker 1: education of the little girl, but helped the whole family
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  Speaker 1: a great deal more than they were aware. How they
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  Speaker 1: managed to get through the long, dreary, expensive winter. I
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  Speaker 1: can hardly say. Sometimes things were better, sometimes worse. But
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  Speaker 1: at last the spring came and the winter was over
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  Speaker 1: and gone, and that was much still. Mister Raymond did
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  Speaker 1: not return, and although the mother would have been able
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  Speaker 1: to manage without Nanny now, they could not look for
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  Speaker 1: a place for her so long as they had Ruby.
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  Speaker 1: And they were not altogether sorry for this. One week
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  Speaker 1: at last was worse than they had yet had. They
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  Speaker 1: were almost without bread before it was over. But the
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  Speaker 1: sadder he saw his father and mother looking the more,
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  Speaker 1: Diamond set himself to sing to the two babies. One
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  Speaker 1: thing which had increased their expenses was that they had
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  Speaker 1: been forced to hire another little room for nanny. When
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  Speaker 1: the second baby came, Diamond gave up his room that
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  Speaker 1: Nanny might be at hand to help his mother, and
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  Speaker 1: went to hers, which, although a fine place to what
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  Speaker 1: she had been accustomed to, was not very nice. In
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  Speaker 1: his eyes. He did not mind the change, though, for
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  Speaker 1: was not his mother the more comfortable for it, and
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  Speaker 1: was not Nanny more comfortable too, And indeed was not
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  Speaker 1: Diamond himself more comfortable that other people were more comfortable,
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  Speaker 1: And if there was more comfort every way, the change
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  Speaker 1: was a happy one. End of Chapter thirty one recording
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  Speaker 1: by maricel Qui