Margaret Torrington; Or, the Voyage of Life (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. OUR PIiNIC. For several days after talking with papa, I felt very miserable, and unable to enjoy the beautiful summer weather, which I had been anxiously expecting ever since the end of February. I stayed very much at home, or strolled about a retired part of the beach not far from our house, and I began to study earnestly, not knowing how soon all my small acquirements might be turned into business capital. But at the end of a week, my natural elasticity of temperament began to assert itself: things went on just as usual; papa took his regular rounds, visited his patients, and seemed in his ordinary state of health and spirits, while mamma occupied herself with her home duties in her own sweet, serene, and calmly-cheerful way. I began to think that there could not be much danger, that I had disquieted myself needlessly, that I might keep my precious father for many, many years?perhaps till I was an elderly woman myself?and that he, and I, and dear mamma might live on at Kelver House till they sank into the grave from mere weight of years, and I could look back on the experiences of a tolerably long lifetime. I had heard of people living to be nearly a hundred, especially in our healthful air; and if papa and mamma would only stay with me till they were past ninety years of age, why, I should be an old woman myself, and beginning to think about my latter end. The more I thought about it, the more I flattered myself it might indeed be so; and again my feet went dancing on the sands, and my voice was heard chanting strange wild melodies in the sunshiny morning and rosy eventides. But every night, ere I lay down on my bed, I prayed passionately, " O God ! preserve the life of my dear father?of both my parents. Do not let them die for many, many years to come....