You are so reserved, even
here at home; you never talk and laugh with father and mother as I
do."
"Do you know why I appear cold, Ann? I am not so by nature. They do
not seem to care when I speak, and I am not yet humble enough to
have what I say treated with perfect indifference."
"Why, Christine, you are too sensitive," said Ann, half impatiently.
"Be as noisy and lively as I am; entertain father, and say what will
please mother; then you will be as great a pet as I."
"Even if I should value love, based upon my powers of pleasing,
instead of the intrinsic worth of my character, I could not gain it,
Ann. I came home, after my long absence, as merry and light-hearted,
as full of hope, of love towards you all, as ever a happy schoolgirl
did. Then I was seventeen; it seems as if long years had elapsed
since the day I sprang into your arms so joyfully--since father and
mother kissed me. Home, sweet home, how musical those words were to
me! how often I had dreamed of nestling at father's side, your hand
locked in mine, and mother's smile upon us both. It was not long
before I was awakened from the dream I had cherished so long. I
thought my heart would break when the reality that I was unloved,
came upon me.
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