The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb Part 1

The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb.

by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb.

ROSAMUND GRAY

(WRITTEN 1797-1798. FIRST EDITION 1798. TEXT OF 1818)

CHAPTER I

It was noontide. The sun was very hot. An old gentlewoman sat spinning in a little arbour at the door of her cottage. She was blind; and her grandaughter was reading the Bible to her. The old lady had just left her work, to attend to the story of Ruth.

"Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her." It was a pa.s.sage she could not let pa.s.s without a _comment_. The moral she drew from it was not very _new_, to be sure. The girl had heard it a hundred times before--and a hundred times more she could have heard it, without suspecting it to be tedious. Rosamund loved her grandmother.

The old lady loved Rosamund too; and she had reason for so doing.

Rosamund was to her at once a child and a servant. She had only _her_ left in the world. They two lived together.

They had once known better days. The story of Rosamund's parents, their failure, their folly, and distresses, may be told another time. Our tale hath grief enough in it.

It was now about a year and a half since old Margaret Gray had sold off all her effects, to pay the debts of Rosamund's father--just after the mother had died of a broken heart; for her husband had fled his country to hide his shame in a foreign land. At that period the old lady retired to a small cottage, in the village of Widford, in Hertfordshire.

Rosamund, in her thirteenth year, was left dest.i.tute, without fortune or friends: she went with her grandmother. In all this time she had served her faithfully and lovingly.

Old Margaret Gray, when she first came into these parts, had eyes, and could see. The neighbours said, they had been dimmed by weeping: be that as it may, she was latterly grown quite blind. "G.o.d is very good to us, child; I can _feel_ you yet." This she would sometimes say; and we need not wonder to hear, that Rosamund clave unto her grandmother.

Margaret retained a spirit unbroken by calamity. There was a principle _within_, which it seemed as if no outward circ.u.mstances could reach. It was a _religious_ principle, and she had taught it to Rosamund; for the girl had mostly resided with her grandmother from her earliest years.

Indeed she had taught her all that she knew herself; and the old lady's knowledge did not extend a vast way.

Margaret had drawn her maxims from observation; and a pretty long experience in life had contributed to make her, at times, a little _positive_: but Rosamund never argued with her grandmother.

Their library consisted chiefly in a large family Bible, with notes and expositions by various learned expositors from Bishop Jewell downwards.

This might never be suffered to lie about like other books--but was kept constantly wrapt up in a handsome case of green velvet, with gold ta.s.sels--the only relick of departed grandeur they had brought with them to the cottage--every thing else of value had been sold off for the purpose above mentioned.

This Bible Rosamund, when a child, had never dared to open without permission; and even yet, from habit, continued the custom. Margaret had parted with none of her _authority_; indeed it was never exerted with much harshness; and happy was Rosamund, though a girl grown, when she could obtain leave to read her Bible. It was a treasure too valuable for an indiscriminate use; and Margaret still pointed out to her grandaughter _where to read_.

Besides this, they had the "Complete Angler, or Contemplative Man's Recreation," with cuts--"Pilgrim's Progress," the first part--a Cookery Book, with a few dry sprigs of rosemary and lavender stuck here and there between the leaves, (I suppose, to point to some of the old lady's most favorite receipts,) and there was "Wither's Emblems," an old book, and quaint. The old fashioned pictures in this last book were among the first exciters of the infant Rosamund's curiosity. Her contemplation had fed upon them in rather older years.

Rosamund had not read many books besides these; or if any, they had been only occasional companions: these were to Rosamund as old friends, that she had long known. I know not whether the peculiar cast of her mind might not be traced, in part, to a tincture she had received, early in life, from Walton, and Wither, from John Bunyan, and her Bible.

Rosamund's mind was pensive and reflective, rather than what pa.s.ses usually for _clever_ or _acute_. From a child she was remarkably shy and thoughtful--this was taken for stupidity and want of feeling; and the child has been sometimes whipt for being a _stubborn thing_, when her little heart was almost bursting with affection.

Even now her grandmother would often reprove her, when she found her too grave or melancholy; give her sprightly lectures about good humour and rational mirth; and not unfrequently fall a crying herself, to the great discredit of her lecture. Those tears endeared her the more to Rosamund.

Margaret would say, "Child, I love you to cry, when I think you are only remembering your poor dear father and mother--I would have you think about them sometimes--it would be strange if you did not--but I fear, Rosamund; I fear, girl, you sometimes think too deeply about your own situation and poor prospects in life. When you do so, you do wrong--remember the naughty rich man in the parable. He never had any good thoughts about G.o.d, and his religion: and that might have been your case."

Rosamund, at these times, could not reply to her; she was not in the habit of _arguing_ with her grandmother; so she was quite silent on these occasions--or else the girl knew well enough herself, that she had only been sad to think of the desolate condition of her best friend, to see her, in her old age, so infirm and blind. But she had never been used to make excuses, when the old lady said she was doing wrong.

The neighbours were all very kind to them. The veriest rustics never pa.s.sed them without a bow, or a pulling off of the hat--some shew of courtesy, aukward indeed, but affectionate--with a "good morrow, madam,"

or "young madam," as it might happen.

Rude and savage natures, who seem born with a propensity to express contempt for any thing that looks like prosperity, yet felt respect for its declining l.u.s.tre.

The farmers, and better sort of people, (as they are called,) all promised to provide for Rosamund, when her grandmother should die.

Margaret trusted in G.o.d, and believed them.

She used to say, "I have lived many years in the world, and have never known people, _good people_, to be left without some friend; a relation, a benefactor, a _something_. G.o.d knows our wants--that it is not good for man or woman to be alone; and he always sends us a helpmate, a leaning-place, a _somewhat_." Upon this sure ground of experience, did Margaret build her trust in Providence.

CHAPTER II

Rosamund had just made an end of her story, (as I was about to relate,) and was listening to the application of the moral, (which said application she was old enough to have made herself, but her grandmother still continued to treat her, in many respects, as a child, and Rosamund was in no haste to lay claim to the t.i.tle of womanhood,) when a young gentleman made his appearance, and interrupted them.

It was young Allan Clare, who had brought a present of peaches, and some roses, for Rosamund.

He laid his little basket down on a seat of the arbour; and in a respectful tone of voice, as though he were addressing a parent, enquired of Margaret "how she did."

The old lady seemed pleased with his attentions--answered his enquiries by saying, that "her cough was less troublesome a-nights, but she had not yet got rid of it, and probably she never might; but she did not like to teaze young people with an account of her infirmities."

A few kind words pa.s.sed on either side, when young Clare, glancing a tender look at the girl, who had all this time been silent, took leave of them with saying "I shall bring _Elinor_ to see you in the evening."

When he was gone, the old lady began to prattle.

"That is a sweet dispositioned youth, and I _do_ love him dearly, I must say it--there is such a modesty in all he says or does--he should not come here so often, to be sure, but I don't know how to help it; there is so much goodness in him, I can't find in my heart to forbid him. But, Rosamund, girl, I must tell you beforehand; when you grow older, Mr.

Clare must be no companion for _you_--while you were both so young, it was all very well--but the time is coming, when folks will think harm of it, if a rich young gentleman, like Mr. Clare, comes so often to our poor cottage.--Dost hear, girl? why don't you answer? come, I did not mean to say any thing to hurt you--speak to me, Rosamund--nay, I must not have you be sullen--I don't love people that are sullen."

And in this manner was this poor soul running on, unheard and unheeded, when it occurred to her, that possibly the girl might not be _within hearing_.

And true it was, that Rosamund had slunk away at the first mention of Mr. Clare's good qualities: and when she returned, which was not till a few minutes after Margaret had made an end of her fine harangue, it is certain her cheeks _did_ look very _rosy_. That might have been from the heat of the day or from exercise, for she had been walking in the garden.

Margaret, we know, was blind; and, in this case, it was lucky for Rosamund that she was so, or she might have made some not unlikely surmises.

I must not have my reader infer from this, that I at all think it likely, a young maid of fourteen would fall in love without asking her grandmother's leave--the thing itself is not to be conceived.

To obviate all suspicions, I am disposed to communicate a little anecdote of Rosamund.

A month or two back her grandmother had been giving her the strictest prohibitions, in her walks, not to go near a certain spot, which was dangerous from the circ.u.mstance of a huge overgrown oak tree spreading its prodigious arms across a deep chalk-pit, which they partly concealed.

To this fatal place Rosamund came one day--female curiosity, we know, is older than the flood--let us not think hardly of the girl, if she partook of the s.e.xual failing.

Rosamund ventured further and further--climbed along one of the branches--approached the forbidden chasm--her foot slipped--she was not killed--but it was by a mercy she escaped--other branches intercepted her fall--and with a palpitating heart she made her way back to the cottage.