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The Annals of the Parish-Part21_John Galt(1779-1839)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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bless her great household activity.

She was not long deposited in her place of rest till I had occasion



to find her loss. All my things were kept by her in a most perjink

and excellent order; but they soon fell into an amazing confusion;



for, as she often said to me, I had a turn for heedlessness;

insomuch, that although my daughter Janet was grown up, and able to



keep the house, I saw that it would be necessary, as soon as decency

would allow, for me to take another wife. I was moved to this



chiefly by foreseeing that my daughter would in time be married, and

taken away from me, but more on account of the servant lasses, who



grew out of all bounds, verifying the proverb, "Well kens the mouse

when the cat's out of the house." Besides this, I was now far down



in the vale of years, and could not expect to be long without

feeling some of the penalties of old age, although I was still a



hail and sound man. It therefore behoved me to look in time for a

helpmate, to tend me in my approaching infirmities.



Upon this important concern I reflected, as I may say, in the

watches of the night; and, considering the circumstances of my



situation, I saw it would not do for me to look out for an overly

young woman, nor yet would it do for one of my ways to take an



elderly maiden, ladies of that sort being liable to possess strong-

set particularities. I thereforeresolved that my choice should lie



among widows of a discreet age; and I had a glimmer in my mind of

speaking to Mrs Malcolm; but when I reflected on the saintly



steadiness of her character, I was satisfied it would be of no use

to think of her. Accordingly, I bent my brows, and looked towards



Irville, which is an abundant trone for widows and other single

women; and I fixed my purpose on Mrs Nugent, the relic of a



professor in the university of Glasgow, both because she was a well-

bred woman, without any children to plea about the interest of my



own two, and likewise because she was held in great estimation by

all who knew her, as a lady of a Christian principle.



It was some time in the summer, however, before I made up my mind to

speak to her on the subject; but one afternoon, in the month of



August, I resolved to do so, and with that intent walked leisurely

over to Irville; and after calling on the Rev. Dr. Dinwiddie, the



minister, I stepped in, as if by chance, to Mrs Nugent's. I could

see that she was a little surprised at my visit; however, she



treated me with every possible civility, and her servant lass

bringing in the tea-things in a most orderly manner, as punctually



as the clock was striking, she invited me to sit still, and drink my

tea with her; which I did, being none displeased to get such



encouragement. However, I said nothing that time, but returned to

the manse, very well content with what I had observed, which made me



fain to repeat my visit. So, in the course of the week, taking

Janet my daughter with me, we walked over in the forenoon, and



called at Mrs Nugent's first, before going to any other house; and

Janet saying, as we came out to go to the minister's, that she



thought Mrs Nugent an agreeable woman, I determined to knock the

nail on the head without further delay.



Accordingly, I invited the minister and his wife to dine with us on

the Thursday following; and before leaving the town, I made Janet,



while the minister and me were handling a subject, as a sort of

thing in common civility, go to Mrs Nugent, and invite her also.



Dr. Dinwiddie was a gleg man, of a jocose nature; and he, guessing

something of what I was ettling at, was very mirthful with me; but I



kept my own counsel till a meet season.

On the Thursday, the company as invited came, and nothing



extraordinary was seen; but in cutting up and helping a hen, Dr.

Dinwiddie put one wing on Mrs Nugent's plate, and the other wing on



my plate, and said, there have been greater miracles than these two

wings flying together, which was a sharp joke, that caused no little



merriment at the expense of Mrs Nugent and me. I, however, to show

that I was none daunted, laid a leg also on her plate, and took



another on my own, saying, in the words of the reverend doctor,

there have been greater miracles than that these two legs should lie



in the same nest, which was thought a very clever come off; and, at

the same time, I gave Mrs Nugent a kindly nip on her sonsy arm,



which was breaking the ice in as pleasant a way as could be. In

short, before anything passed between ourselves on the subject, we






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