The New Penelope and Other Stories and Poems | Page 9

and no sentiment to sanctify them.
That I should love a dead husband, and turn with disgust from a living
one, was inexplicable to them."
"My dear, I think I see the rock on which you wrecked your happiness."
For the moment I had forgotten what she had told me in the beginning,
that Seabrook had married her illegally; and was imagining her married
to a living husband, and loving only the memory of one dead. She saw
my error, and informed me by a look. Pushing away the intervening
table with its diminished contents, and renewing the fire, Mrs.
Greyfield proceeded:
"It would take too long to go over the feelings of those times, and
assign their causes. You are a woman that can put yourself in my place,
to a great extent, though not wholly; for there are some things that
cannot be imagined, and only come by experience."
"Benton was two years and a half old; a very delicate child, suffering

nearly all the time with chills and fever. I had occasional attacks of
illness from the malaria, always to be met with on the clearing up of
low-lands near a river. Still I was able to sew enough to keep a shelter
over our heads, and bread in our mouths, until I had been a year in
Portland. But I could not get ahead in the least, and was often very low
spirited. About this time I made the acquaintance of Mr. Seabrook. He
was introduced to me by a mutual acquaintance, and having a little
knowledge of medicine, gave me both advice and remedies for Benton.
He used to come in quite often, and look after the child, and praise my
housekeeping, which probably was somewhat better than that of the
average pioneer of those days. He never paid me any silly compliments,
or disturbed my tranquillity with love-making of any sort. Just for that
reason I began to like him. He was twelve or fifteen years older than
myself; and more than ordinarily fine-looking and intelligent. You have
no idea, because you have never been so placed, what a comfort it was
to me to have such a friend."
"Yes, I think I know."
"One day he said to me, 'Mrs. Greyfield, this sitting and sewing all day
is bad for your health. Now, I should think, being so good a
housekeeper, you might do very well by taking a few boarders; and I
believe you could stand that kind of labor better than sewing.' We had a
little talk about it, and he proposed trying to find me a house suited to
the purpose; to which I very readily consented; for, though I was
wholly inexperienced in any business, I thought it better to venture the
experiment than to keep on as I was doing."
"How did you expect to get furniture? Pardon me; but you see I want to
learn all about the details of so strange a life."
"I don't think I expected anything, or thought of all the difficulties at
once."
"Which was fortunate, because they would have discouraged you."
"It is hard to say what has or has not been for the best. But for that
boarding-house scheme, I do not believe I should have married the man

I did.
"As I was saying, Mr. Seabrook never annoyed me with attentions. He
came and talked to me in a friendly manner, and with a superior air that
disarmed apprehension on that score. Mrs. ----, my neighbor in the next
room, once hinted to me that his visits were indicative of his intentions,
and thereby caused me a sleepless night. But as he never referred to the
subject, and as I was now full of my new business project, the alarm
subsided. A house was finally secured, or a part of a house, consisting
of a kitchen, dining-room and bed-room, on the first floor; and the
same number of rooms above. I had a comfortable supply of bedding
and table linen; the trouble was about cabinet furniture. But as most of
my boarders were bachelors, who quartered themselves where they
could, I got along very well."
"You made a success of it, then?"
"I made a success. I threw all my energies into it, and had all the
boarders I could cook for."
"Mr. Seabrook boarded with you?--I conjecture that."
"Yes; and he took a room at my house. At first I liked it well enough; I
had so much confidence in him. But in a short time I thought I could
perceive that my other boarders were disposed to think that we looked
toward a nearer relationship in the future. Perhaps they were justified in
thinking so, as they could only judge from appearances; and I had
asked Mr. Seabrook to