Catriona

Page 102

Here I fell in a panic. Suppose he accept my tale (thinks I),

suppose he invite my sister to his house, and that I bring her. I

shall have a fine ravelled pirn to unwind, and may end by

disgracing both the lassie and myself. Thereupon I began hastily

to expound to him my sister's character. She was of a bashful

disposition, it appeared, and be extremely fearful of meeting

strangers that I had left her at that moment sitting in a public

place alone. And then, being launched upon the stream of

falsehood, I must do like all the rest of the world in the same

circumstance, and plunge in deeper than was any service; adding

some altogether needless particulars of Miss Balfour's ill-health

and retirement during childhood. In the midst of which I awoke to

a sense of my behaviour, and was turned to one blush.

The old gentleman was not so much deceived but what he discovered a

willingness to be quit of me. But he was first of all a man of

business; and knowing that my money was good enough, however it

might be with my conduct, he was so far obliging as to send his son

to be my guide and caution in the matter of a lodging. This

implied my presenting of the young man to Catriona. The poor,

pretty child was much recovered with resting, looked and behaved to

perfection, and took my arm and gave me the name of brother more

easily than I could answer her. But there was one misfortune:

thinking to help, she was rather towardly than otherwise to my

Dutchman. And I could not but reflect that Miss Balfour had rather

suddenly outgrown her bashfulness. And there was another thing,

the difference of our speech. I had the Low Country tongue and

dwelled upon my words; she had a hill voice, spoke with something

of an English accent, only far more delightful, and was scarce

quite fit to be called a deacon in the craft of talking English

grammar; so that, for a brother and sister, we made a most uneven

pair. But the young Hollander was a heavy dog, without so much

spirit in his belly as to remark her prettiness, for which I

scorned him. And as soon as he had found a cover to our heads, he

left us alone, which was the greater service of the two.

CHAPTER XXIV--FULL STORY OF A COPY OF HEINECCIUS

The place found was in the upper part of a house backed on a canal.

We had two rooms, the second entering from the first; each had a

chimney built out into the floor in the Dutch manner; and being

alongside, each had the same prospect from the window of the top of

a tree below us in a little court, of a piece of the canal, and of

houses in the Hollands architecture and a church spire upon the

further side. A full set of bells hung in that spire and made

delightful music; and when there was any sun at all, it shone

direct in our two chambers. From a tavern hard by we had good

meals sent in.

The first night we were both pretty weary, and she extremely so.

There was little talk between us, and I packed her off to her bed

as soon as she had eaten. The first thing in the morning I wrote

word to Sprott to have her mails sent on, together with a line to

Alan at his chief's; and had the same despatched, and her breakfast

ready, ere I waked her. I was a little abashed when she came forth

in her one habit, and the mud of the way upon her stockings. By

what inquiries I had made, it seemed a good few days must pass

before her mails could come to hand in Leyden, and it was plainly

needful she must have a shift of things. She was unwilling at

first that I should go to that expense; but I reminded her she was

now a rich man's sister and must appear suitably in the part, and

we had not got to the second merchant's before she was entirely

charmed into the spirit of the thing, and her eyes shining. It

pleased me to see her so innocent and thorough in this pleasure.

What was more extraordinary was the passion into which I fell on it

myself; being never satisfied that I had bought her enough or fine

enough, and never weary of beholding her in different attires.

Robert Louis Stevenson
Classic Literature Library

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