登陆注册
5390100000026

第26章 In the Attic(1)

The first night she spent in her attic was a thing Sara never forgot.

During its passing she lived through a wild,unchildlike woe of which she never spoke to anyone about her.There was no one who would have understood.It was,indeed,well for her that as she lay awake in the darkness her mind was forcibly distracted,now and then,by the strangeness of her surroundings.It was,perhaps,well for her that she was reminded by her small body of material things.

If this had not been so,the anguish of her young mind might have been too great for a child to bear.But,really,while the night was passing she scarcely knew that she had a body at all or remembered any other thing than one.

"My papa is dead!"she kept whispering to herself."My papa is dead!"

It was not until long afterward that she realized that her bed had been so hard that she turned over and over in it to find a place to rest,that the darkness seemed more intense than any she had ever known,and that the wind howled over the roof among the chimneys like something which wailed aloud.Then there was something worse.

This was certain scufflings and scratchings and squeakings in the walls and behind the skirting boards.She knew what they meant,because Becky had described them.They meant rats and mice who were either fighting with each other or playing together.

Once or twice she even heard sharp-toed feet scurrying across the floor,and she remembered in those after days,when she recalled things,that when first she heard them she started up in bed and sat trembling,and when she lay down again covered her head with the bedclothes.

The change in her life did not come about gradually,but was made all at once.

"She must begin as she is to go on,"Miss Minchin said to Miss Amelia.

"She must be taught at once what she is to expect."

Mariette had left the house the next morning.The glimpse Sara caught of her sitting room,as she passed its open door,showed her that everything had been changed.Her ornaments and luxuries had been removed,and a bed had been placed in a corner to transform it into a new pupil's bedroom.

When she went down to breakfast she saw that her seat at Miss Minchin's side was occupied by Lavinia,and Miss Minchin spoke to her coldly.

"You will begin your new duties,Sara,"she said,"by taking your seat with the younger children at a smaller table.You must keep them quiet,and see that they behave well and do not waste their food.

You ought to have been down earlier.Lottie has already upset her tea."

That was the beginning,and from day to day the duties given to her were added to.She taught the younger children French and heard their other lessons,and these were the least of her labors.

It was found that she could be made use of in numberless directions.

She could be sent on errands at any time and in all weathers.

She could be told to do things other people neglected.The cook and the housemaids took their tone from Miss Minchin,and rather enjoyed ordering about the "young one"who had been made so much fuss over for so long.They were not servants of the best class,and had neither good manners nor good tempers,and it was frequently convenient to have at hand someone on whom blame could be laid.

During the first month or two,Sara thought that her willingness to do things as well as she could,and her silence under reproof,might soften those who drove her so hard.In her proud little heart she wanted them to see that she was trying to earn her living and not accepting charity.But the time came when she saw that no one was softened at all;and the more willing she was to do as she was told,the more domineering and exacting careless housemaids became,and the more ready a scolding cook was to blame her.

If she had been older,Miss Minchin would have given her the bigger girls to teach and saved money by dismissing an instructress;but while she remained and looked like a child,she could be made more useful as a sort of little superior errand girl and maid of all work.

An ordinary errand boy would not have been so clever and reliable.

Sara could be trusted with difficult commissions and complicated messages.

She could even go and pay bills,and she combined with this the ability to dust a room well and to set things in order.

Her own lessons became things of the past.She was taught nothing,and only after long and busy days spent in running here and there at everybody's orders was she grudgingly allowed to go into the deserted schoolroom,with a pile of old books,and study alone at night.

"If I do not remind myself of the things I have learned,perhaps I may forget them,"she said to herself."I am almost a scullery maid,and if I am a scullery maid who knows nothing,I shall be like poor Becky.I wonder if I could QUITE forget and begin to drop my H'S and not remember that Henry the Eighth had six wives."

One of the most curious things in her new existence was her changed position among the pupils.Instead of being a sort of small royal personage among them,she no longer seemed to be one of their number at all.She was kept so constantly at work that she scarcely ever had an opportunity of speaking to any of them,and she could not avoid seeing that Miss Minchin preferred that she should live a life apart from that of the occupants of the schoolroom.

"I will not have her forming intimacies and talking to the other children,"that lady said."Girls like a grievance,and if she begins to tell romantic stories about herself,she will become an ill-used heroine,and parents will be given a wrong impression.It is better that she should live a separate life--one suited to her circumstances.I am giving her a home,and that is more than she has any right to expect from me."

同类推荐
  • 名物蒙求

    名物蒙求

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 延寿命经

    延寿命经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 阴证略例

    阴证略例

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 注维摩诘经卷

    注维摩诘经卷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 虚劳门

    虚劳门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 太上老君年谱要略

    太上老君年谱要略

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 青春的资本:阳光青少年的十大性格定位

    青春的资本:阳光青少年的十大性格定位

    处于青少年时期的我们,半幼稚和半成熟、独立性和依赖性、中动性和自党性等交错发展。青少年时期是我们个性形成的关键期,本书从执着、果断、勇敢、沉着、热情、乐观、谦虚、宽容、诚实和善良十个方面帮助我们进行性格定位,使我们一边享受青春,一边领略成长带来的乐趣。
  • 最强升级系统

    最强升级系统

    一剑天下臣服,一令三界听宣。 本书帝王争霸流。 【推荐新书《武道收税系统》!】
  • 被时间遗忘的恋人

    被时间遗忘的恋人

    他傲然,强势,带着不可一世的霸气,却偏偏栽在她手中。她喜欢弹琴,他就送她许多琴;她喜欢打拳,他就在家里建了健身房。她说喜欢他离她远一点,他却突然壁咚她。欸?这打开方式不对啊。他缓缓吐出"自动忽略后面五个字"
  • 我是梅花盗

    我是梅花盗

    他走过了一个又一个江湖。江湖人问:“你要往何处去?”他说:“但见一处,只有酒没有杀戮,便是归宿。”
  • 中国策:新世纪、大视野与我们的治国方略

    中国策:新世纪、大视野与我们的治国方略

    本部著作对新世纪中国在战略部署、民主政治、经济发展、民生问题、领土主权、人文社会、生态环境、外交格局和改革方向等领域面对的种种成就和挑战进行了全景式扫描与透析,对中国在新世纪面临的成就与挑战逐个进行客观理性地梳理,是一部对中国当前社会热点焦点问题进行集中分析解读的战略性、前瞻性、可读性、全面性和针对性的战略性著作。
  • 忘了忘记你

    忘了忘记你

    这是宁立夏从没有想到过的重逢。本以为蒋绍征已是在脑海中抹去的儿时记忆,却在MBA的课堂上与他重逢。此时他是全校知名的男神教授,矜漠高冷,而她险些因缺勤被当掉课程。怎么想,这都不是一个愉快的重逢。更何况,那段与他相处的童年时光,已是她刻意隐瞒的记忆过往。她不再是他青春年少时没大没小的青梅颜谷雨,而是神秘精致的私家菜馆的美女主厨宁立夏。虽然她留下的白日菊代表永失所爱,但他始终忘了要将属于她的美好遗忘……
  • 少女武则天:凤霸天下

    少女武则天:凤霸天下

    贞观十一年,少女的她走入大明宫,从此饱尝了宫廷生活的无情和残酷,同时也意外收获了爱情。皇帝死后,她被打入感业寺,受尽凌辱。后因怀孕被新皇帝接进宫中,再次由侍女成为才人、昭仪。在一系列宫廷斗争中她亲手扼杀女儿嫁祸皇后,击败宰相长孙无忌,终于成为皇后。她与李治相互依存又爱恨交加,她以自己卓越的政治才能逐渐掌握实权,直到垂帘听政。李治死后她更是孤军奋战,废除太子,任用酷吏,把大唐天下变成了武周帝国,成为空前绝后的一代女皇。此时她虽是已君临天下,无奈渐入老境,最后不得不把武周天下拱手让给儿子,重又恢复了李家王朝,走完了艰辛、离奇、辉煌而又痛苦一生。<<少女武则天》的读者群QQ:237709859!支持我就点击我!请点击右上角:收藏+订阅+点评=我的动力!
  • 逍遥县令

    逍遥县令

    北方异族虎视眈眈,南方农民起义不断,风雨飘摇的大齐迎来了一位穿越者墨谦。你当你的皇帝文治武功安天下,我当我的县令逍遥快活。唐诗宋词,信手拈来;太极八卦,不在话下。武林盟主,我的兼职;大齐王爷,拿来玩玩。我是县令,进了我的地,你得听我的!
  • 伐天战仙

    伐天战仙

    普通人喜欢说的一句话:死,便是解脱。但只有修仙者清楚,死,只不过是轮回重生的开始。当然,对于普通修仙者来讲,重生过后的最终结果还是踏入轮回。但对于那些威名远扬的修仙强者来讲,轮回是一种工具,是人生的乐趣。可,在羽化大陆众人心中,一句轮回,便代表着两段充满色彩的大陆传奇……