Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery (distant reading .TXT) đ
- Author: L. M. Montgomery
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âWell, seeing youâre so pressing, perhaps I might as well, stayâ said Mrs. Rachel, who had not the slightest intention of doing anything else.
Mrs. Rachel and Marilla sat comfortably in the parlor while Anne got the tea and made hot biscuits that were light and white enough to defy even Mrs. Rachelâs criticism.
âI must say Anne has turned out a real smart girl,â admitted Mrs. Rachel, as Marilla accompanied her to the end of the lane at sunset. âShe must be a great help to you.â
âShe is,â said Marilla, âand sheâs real steady and reliable now. I used to be afraid sheâd never get over her featherbrained ways, but she has and I wouldnât be afraid to trust her in anything now.â
âI never would have thought sheâd have turned out so well that first day I was here three years ago,â said Mrs. Rachel. âLawful heart, shall I ever forget that tantrum of hers! When I went home that night I says to Thomas, says I, âMark my words, Thomas, Marilla Cuthbertâll live to rue the step sheâs took.â But I was mistaken and Iâm real glad of it. I ainât one of those kind of people, Marilla, as can never be brought to own up that theyâve made a mistake. No, that never was my way, thank goodness. I did make a mistake in judging Anne, but it werenât no wonder, for an odder, unexpecteder witch of a child there never was in this world, thatâs what. There was no ciphering her out by the rules that worked with other children. Itâs nothing short of wonderful how sheâs improved these three years, but especially in looks. Sheâs a real pretty girl got to be, though I canât say Iâm overly partial to that pale, big-eyed style myself. I like more snap and color, like Diana Barry has or Ruby Gillis. Ruby Gillisâs looks are real showy. But somehowâ âI donât know how it is but when Anne and them are together, though she ainât half as handsome, she makes them look kind of common and overdoneâ âsomething like them white June lilies she calls narcissus alongside of the big, red peonies, thatâs what.â
XXXI Where the Brook and River MeetAnne had her âgoodâ summer and enjoyed it wholeheartedly. She and Diana fairly lived outdoors, reveling in all the delights that Loverâs Lane and the Dryadâs Bubble and Willowmere and Victoria Island afforded. Marilla offered no objections to Anneâs gypsyings. The Spencervale doctor who had come the night Minnie May had the croup met Anne at the house of a patient one afternoon early in vacation, looked her over sharply, screwed up his mouth, shook his head, and sent a message to Marilla Cuthbert by another person. It was:
âKeep that redheaded girl of yours in the open air all summer and donât let her read books until she gets more spring into her step.â
This message frightened Marilla wholesomely. She read Anneâs death warrant by consumption in it unless it was scrupulously obeyed. As a result, Anne had the golden summer of her life as far as freedom and frolic went. She walked, rowed, berried, and dreamed to her heartâs content; and when September came she was bright-eyed and alert, with a step that would have satisfied the Spencervale doctor and a heart full of ambition and zest once more.
âI feel just like studying with might and main,â she declared as she brought her books down from the attic. âOh, you good old friends, Iâm glad to see your honest faces once moreâ âyes, even you, geometry. Iâve had a perfectly beautiful summer, Marilla, and now Iâm rejoicing as a strong man to run a race, as Mr. Allan said last Sunday. Doesnât Mr. Allan preach magnificent sermons? Mrs. Lynde says he is improving every day and the first thing we know some city church will gobble him up and then weâll be left and have to turn to and break in another green preacher. But I donât see the use of meeting trouble halfway, do you, Marilla? I think it would be better just to enjoy Mr. Allan while we have him. If I were a man I think Iâd be a minister. They can have such an influence for good, if their theology is sound; and it must be thrilling to preach splendid sermons and stir your hearersâ hearts. Why canât women be ministers, Marilla? I asked Mrs. Lynde that and she was shocked and said it would be a scandalous thing. She said there might be female ministers in the States and she believed there was, but thank goodness we hadnât got to that stage in Canada yet and she hoped we never would. But I donât see why. I think women would make splendid ministers. When there is a social to be got up or a church tea or anything else to raise money the women have to turn to and do the work. Iâm sure Mrs. Lynde can pray every bit as well as Superintendent Bell and Iâve no doubt she could preach too with a little practice.â
âYes, I believe she could,â said Marilla dryly. âShe does plenty of unofficial preaching as it is. Nobody has much of a chance to go wrong in Avonlea with Rachel to oversee them.â
âMarilla,â said Anne in a burst of confidence, âI want to tell you something and ask you what you think about it. It has worried me terriblyâ âon Sunday afternoons, that is, when I think specially about such matters. I do really want to be good; and when Iâm with you or Mrs. Allan or Miss Stacy I want it more than ever and I want to do just what would please you and what you would approve of. But mostly when Iâm with Mrs. Lynde I feel desperately wicked and as if I wanted to go and do the very thing she tells me I oughtnât to do. I feel irresistibly tempted to do it. Now, what do you think is the reason I feel
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