The Argosy . lageneighbours, wholookedupon her as a being farabove themselves. Awoman who had tra-velled ; had seen theworld and many won-ders ; had obtained aknowledge of life, acertain refinement ofbearing, an experience,a power of learning,which exalted her, intheir estimation, to thedignity of a VillageOracle. A great event inone of these visits toEngland was that ofgoing to be photo-graphed. The importance of the ceremony; the difficulty of gettingthe exact pose; her anxiety lest a fold of the gown should beout of place—all this had to be surmounted by the artist with thecourage of a Hero
The Argosy . lageneighbours, wholookedupon her as a being farabove themselves. Awoman who had tra-velled ; had seen theworld and many won-ders ; had obtained aknowledge of life, acertain refinement ofbearing, an experience,a power of learning,which exalted her, intheir estimation, to thedignity of a VillageOracle. A great event inone of these visits toEngland was that ofgoing to be photo-graphed. The importance of the ceremony; the difficulty of gettingthe exact pose; her anxiety lest a fold of the gown should beout of place—all this had to be surmounted by the artist with thecourage of a Hero and the patience of a Job. When the resultarrived home, her surprise and delight were unbounded. For thefirst time in her life she beheld her own likeness; saw herself asothers saw her : and gave out a string of disjointed sentences, pausingto think and admire between each utterance. Oui—cest moi—cest parfaitement moi—On ne peut pas direautrement—merveilleux—tout-a-fait mon bonnet—ma robe—mes. Calais. 494 Across the Water. boucles doreilles—mcme jusquh, la marque sur ma joue!—Mademoiselle Ellen, comment a-t-on fait pour reussir dune tellemaniere ?—jamais je naurais pensee, and so on. Original she was, faithful and earnest; but like the rest of mankindshe had her faults, and one of them was an uncontrollably jealoustemper. Die for you, go through fire and water—that she most certainlywould have done; but deprive her of her smallest due upon your affec-tions—that she could not forgive. She would listen neither to rhymenor reason where her heart or her power was concerned. Sole mistressof her realm she would reign, and she ruled her little kingdom withthe rod of a despot—though, for the most part, a kindly one. Thisjealous propensity would sometimes land her in trouble, sometimesgive rise to an amusing scene. Let us record one, at hazard. It was yet early days, and the nursery was full of small feet, andshe was in the full glory of her reign. One eveni
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookidargosythe34w, bookyear1865
