Ivy (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 Excerpt: ...with heart considerably softened. The memories that clustered round his early home were subduing in their influence. His mother had always been good to him, his father uniformly kind, and Ivy was a sister that any brother might be proud of. In his wanderings from village to village he had often thought of her kindness and patience, and of her devotion to little Ned, and never had she seemed so much to him, never had he realised her worth so much, as during those months of his exile. He had come near the cottage that he might catch a glimpse of her face. He did not know--nor would he have owned to himself if he had known--how much his heart was hungering for a sight of his sister, for he had been very lonely since he went away from home. We repeat, then, that Fred had no intention of harming his sister, and had he had time to think about the matter the blow would never have been struck. The surprise had been so sudden, the dread of recognition and the horror of discovery had been so great, and the instinct of self-defence so strong, that before he was aware, before he had time to think what he was doing, the cruel blow had been struck, and poor Ivy lay with her head against the fender, unconscious of all that was passing around her. But having said this much in Fred's defence, we must stop, for we can say no more. At best, he was proud, lazy, and selfish. His pride and idleness had been his curse, and until he had learnt humility and was content to earn his bread by honest, manly labour, there seemed little hope of his reformation. When he saw what he had done, he gathered up the money and fled. Coward that he was, he did not wait to see what injury his sister had received, and by morning he was many miles away from Northhaven, and still pushing forward as i...