DRAWN TOGETHER
'As we meet and touch each day
The many travellers on our way,
Let every such brief contact be
A glorious helpful ministry.'
I have a very pleasant recollection of my arrival at Miss Rayner's
home. It was a lovely afternoon, bright and sunny, with a touch of
frost in the air, when I reached the little country station. There was
a trap waiting for me outside, in charge of a garrulous old coachman
who was quite a character. When he had seen to my luggage and wrapped
a fur rug round me, I noticed him taking a sidelong glance at me, and
then he commenced, 'You're a fresh h'arrival here, I reckon, miss. We
don't so h'often have young lady visitors.'
'You have had one of the Miss Forsyths,' I said.
'Well--yes, we have, h'and I don't see much harm in her. She's
flighty, but she's young, h'and time will mend that. H'are you closely
h'intimated with the mistress?'
I smiled. 'No, I cannot say that,' I answered, 'but I hope to be soon.'
He shook his head doubtfully. 'She's no h'ordinary female. Hi'm no
great lover of the weaker sex, but hi'll say this for Miss Helen, h'and
I've known her from the time I took her h'out h'on her first pony,
she's a deal more sensibility than many h'of h'us men! I h'often says
to Susan, who h'is a poor h'useless body with a very long tongue, h'and
it's h'only the mistress's kindness to keep such h'an h'old pottering
body h'on, for she's h'always making an h'ado about nothing. I says,
"Susan, the mistress h'is h'almost h'equal to a master," and that's
saying a good deal. She holds herself high, and she's h'impatient like
of women folks; but she has a proper respect for me that has been in
the family so long, and though it is laughable how she thinks she has
me in leading-strings and manages me h'entirely, I h'affords her that
pleasure, h'and goes my h'own way. Ah! She's a fine woman, Miss Helen
is!'
With these and similar remarks he beguiled my drive, and though I
smiled at the self-importance of his tone, I could tell that he was an
attached and faithful servant. We stopped at length at a gate, drove
through it up a short avenue of limes, and then came to one of the
prettiest old-fashioned farmhouses that I have ever been in. It was a
long, low gable-roofed house, with latticed casements, and
autumn-tinted creepers covering the old grey stone and porch. The door
was open, and two large dogs darted out to welcome us. When I stepped
inside a cheery-looking old woman appeared in a very large cap and
apron.
'Miss Thorn, isn't it, my dear? The mistress was called out on a
matter of business, and she asked me to make you comfortable. Come
this way, miss; you'll be glad of a bit of a fire after your cold
drive?'
She led me through the square hall, wainscoted up to the ceiling with
old oak, and having an oaken staircase with very thick balustrades on
either side going up from the middle of it, into a long, low room
which, with crimson druggeting on the floor, and the same coloured
curtains to the windows, looked very cosy and bright in the firelight.
She left me saying she would bring in tea, and I, seating myself in an
easy chair by the fire, spread out my feet in front of the blaze, and
looked about me curiously. Comfort certainly was more studied than
elegance in this room. No flimsy draperies or works of art adorned the
chairs and couches. A small square oak table stood in the centre of
the room. On it was a beautiful chrysanthemum, some magazines and
papers, and a pair of riding gloves thrown carelessly down. Two large
crimson-covered couches occupied the deep recesses on either side of
the fire place. A well-filled bookcase stood opposite between the
pretty casement windows, and a stand of ferns at the end of the room
was in front of another window, through which I could catch a glimpse
of some distant hills and the setting sun disappearing behind them.
The walls, like the hall, were wainscoted with old oak, but some
beautiful water-colours and old china relieved their somewhat sombre
hue.
The old servant soon returned, wheeling in a round table up to the
fire, and bringing in a tempting-looking tea with plenty of hot cakes
and scones.
'Help yourself, miss,' she said, in a motherly sort of tone; 'the
mistress may be out some time yet. I hope you didn't find the open
trap cold. John, he will have his way sometimes, but I said to him you
would have been better with the closed wagonette. I hope John didn't
make too free, miss? He has a longer tongue, I tell him, than any
woman's; but he has seen a deal of life! He was London born and bred,
and goes up every year to visit his friends there. He's getting old
now, as I am myself; but though he speaks sharp, he's as easy to be
managed as a baby. Any one can twist him round with their little
finger, so long as they just flatter him a bit.'
How I laughed to myself when she left me, and wondered when they both
got together whose tongue was the longest!
I enjoyed the tea provided for me, and liked the quiet and
solitude--such a contrast to the Forsyths' afternoon meal. Then, as no
one came, a sudden longing took possession of me to try my violin. The
dusky twilight, and the fire flickering over the quaint, old-fashioned
room, seemed to bring me into a world of fancy.
I had my violin with me, as I would never trust my case in any other
hand but mine, and so, slipping off my jacket, I was soon in a dream,
playing on and on without a thought of my present surroundings.
I don't know how long I played, but as the last note died away a brisk
voice said from the further side of the room,--
'Bravo! I like to hear any one play without being conscious of
listeners.'
I started. It was Miss Rayner, leaning back in an easy chair, who
spoke; but when I apologised for making myself so at home, she said
sharply, 'Tut, child! No company manners here, or I shall wish you
away. Now I want some tea. How long have you been here?'
I told her, and then she said,
'And what do you think of my invitation? Are you pleased to be here?'
'Yes, I think I am,' I said honestly. 'I was a little shy about it at
first; but now I have come, it seems so restful and quiet.'
'That's because I was out,' she said, with a short laugh; 'but I will
allow it is a quieter house than the one you have left. When do they
leave for town?'
'To-morrow.'
'And are you longing to be with them?'
There was a quizzical gleam in her eye, as my gaze met hers.
'No,' I said a little gravely; 'they would rather be without me, and I
should not be happy with them.'
'You evidently do not shake in well with them. Ah, well! I will not
catechise you too closely the first evening. I shall soon find out
what your special fads and crotchets are. Now, would you like to come
upstairs to your room? I dine at half-past seven, and it is nearly
seven now. Have you made friends with Susan? I call her my
maid-of-all-work--she was my mother's maid years ago, and has stuck to
me ever since. I have a very small establishment, as you perceive.
Susan is house, parlour, and lady's-maid all in one, with only a young
girl to help her. John is coachman, groom, and gardener combined, and
an old cook completes our household.'
'But who helps in the--the poultry farm?' I asked, as I followed her up
the old-fashioned staircase.
'I keep a man and a boy for that part of the business; they sleep out
of the house.'
She led me into a pretty little room with a very deep window seat. It
was furnished simply, but comfortably, though quite devoid of all
knick-knacks.
When I was alone, I just knelt down and asked that even here I might be
given some work to do, and, above all, that I might not be ashamed to
own my Master.
Miss Rayner appeared at dinner in a severe black silk made perfectly
plain; she glanced at my lighter costume as we took our seats at the
table, and said,--
'How many of those flimsy gowns have you brought with you? I told you
I should have no company.'
'I have only one other with me,' I replied meekly.
'I think girls spend more money on evening dresses than any other
object, and generally look the worse for them,' she continued. 'Why on
earth women shouldn't have a universal dress suit, like the men, I
can't imagine.'
'You do not mean the same as the men's?' I said, laughing.
'The same in colour, if not in cut,' she said briskly. 'Black and
white would be suitable for young and old, and the variety of face
would be more noticeable, instead of as now, the variety of dress.'
And then she turned to other subjects, giving me an amusing account of
her last visit to Chicago, and the people she had been introduced to
there.
When dinner was over we went back to the drawing-room, and without
further preface she said,--
'And now just tell me why you are giving my poor dear sister such
trouble? It's enough to turn her hair grey, from her own account!'
Her tone was mocking, and I hesitated in complying with her request.
'Are you afraid of me?' she said, with a little laugh, after a minute's
silence.
I looked her full in the face. 'No, I don't think I am; but I am
afraid you will not understand.'
'My intellect may not be quite so keen and bright as yours, but if you
try to use very simple language, perhaps I may be able to grasp your
meaning.'
I coloured, and said confusedly, 'I am very sorry I am vexing Mrs.
Forsyth so. I did not know when I came to live with General Forsyth
that it would be so difficult. I don't care for gaiety, and don't wish
to be drawn into it; and they want me to be the same as their
daughters. It is their kindness that makes it so hard to hold out
against their wishes.'
'And are you living only to please yourself?'
'I hope not,' I said slowly, as I took in the drift of her question;
'it is because I don't want to live for self that I feel it right to
act so.'
Miss Rayner smiled a little contemptuously, I fancied.
'Oh, you young girls!' was all she said; but her tone silenced me.
After a few minutes, she said: 'And when did you come to the conclusion
that you had a soul above the frivolities of this world?'
'Does that conclusion seem very absurd to you, Miss Rayner?'
She looked at me with an odd kind of smile. 'I believe you could be a
little spitfire if you liked,' she said. 'You must remember I have
lived a little longer in the world than you have. And I have met with
young girls of something the same stamp as yourself, who ran away from
home duties to visit in the slums, and because they despise men of the
world, lavish all their love and adoration on a wishy-washy curate, who
very often encourages them, and then gives them the slip in the end,
sending them back to their homes sadder and wiser women. My sister has
cause for thankfulness that there is no curate in her parish.'
'Miss Rayner, I don't think I quite deserve that,' I said.
She laughed. 'I am very rude and plain-spoken. You must put up with
that if you come to stay with me. I did promise not to catechise you
the first evening, didn't I? But the temptation proves too strong. I
have had a lot of disagreeable business to-day, and now I feel I want
relaxation and amusement.'
'Why have _you_ given up going out into society?' I asked.
'Ah! Now you are turning the tables on me. But I have lived my
life--you have yours yet to come. Can you give me any clear reason why
you should be different to the Forsyths? Is it a matter of principle?
If so, what is the principle?'
'"Be not conformed to this world,"' I said, in a low voice, but a
steady one; '"Come out from among them, and be ye separate." Those are
two commands I am trying to obey, Miss Rayner.'
'Why?' was the curt inquiry.
'Because I belong to Christ, and I want to carry out His wishes.'
'I don't think Christ shunned society. If I remember my Bible rightly,
He did quite the reverse.'
'He would not have been found in the fashionable Roman Court society,'
I said. 'I don't know much of the world, Miss Rayner; perhaps that is
why I feel, if I went right into every sort of gaiety I should not be
able to stop myself. I know I should become so fascinated and
engrossed that I should think of nothing else. Don't you think it very
engrossing? When you went out yourself, didn't you find it so?'
'I don't believe I have been put through my catechism so for years,'
was Miss Rayner's reply. 'I reserve to myself the right of asking
questions. And so you try to make your life one of rigid self-denial?
It won't last long, child. You are only human like the rest of us, and
the reaction will come, as I have seen it in scores of cases before.'
I said nothing.
She continued, after a pause:--
'You can't be happy leading such a life. It is not natural; and it
must be a constant source of fret to yourself and those with whom you
live.'
'But I am very happy, Miss Rayner--I really am. I have what satisfies
my heart, and any amount of worldly pleasure never does that, does it?
It is a difficult life to lead with the Forsyths, but I am helped to
"dwell deep," and I am quite content.'
'And what friends have you?' Miss Rayner asked, her dark, piercing eyes
fixed intently on my face.
'Well,' I said slowly, 'I have no special friends. I like Nelly and
Violet very much, but Nelly has her own friends, and Violet is busy
with her lessons. Most of the girls who come to the house of course
find me rather slow, and leave me alone, but I am getting accustomed to
that.'
'It won't last,' Miss Rayner said again; and then she asked me to play
to her on my violin.
I did so, and she lay back in her chair, listening with half-closed
eyes; but when I put my instrument down I again encountered her earnest
gaze.
'You are a pretty little thing,' she said abruptly; 'I suppose that is
no news to you?'
'I have not often been told so,' I said, flushing, and half laughing at
her bluntness.
'It is no thanks to you that you are made so,' she said. 'I have no
patience with people who are possessed with good looks; they invariably
take the credit of their beauty to themselves, and are quite
insufferable with all their airs and graces. I don't say this is the
case with you, for I have not seen enough of you to tell yet. Now I am
going to read, so you will be left in peace for a little. Would you
like a magazine?'
There was no more talk between us that night. At half-past ten Miss
Rayner rose and wished me good-night.
'I breakfast at half-past eight punctually,' she said; 'so you will
like to retire now, I expect.'
And this I did, wondering, when I reached my room, what it was that so
attracted me towards Miss Rayner; for, in spite of her blunt manner and
tone, I really had taken a liking to her, and was glad that I was going
to see more of her.