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148
The Country of the Pointed Firs
·
Sarah Orne Jewett
126
“I
thought
they
turned
out
pretty
well,
when
you
come
to
think
of
it;
why,
everybody
was
sayin'
so
an'
feelin'
gratified,”
answered
Mrs.
Todd
hastily
with
pleasing
unconsciousness;
then
I
saw
the
quick
color
flash
into
her
cheek,
and
presently
she
made
some
excuse
to
turn
and
steal
an
anxious
look
at
her
mother.
Mrs.
Blackett
was
smiling
and
thinking
about
her
happy
day,
though
she
began
to
look
a
little
tired.
Neither
of
my
companions
was
troubled
by
her
burden
of
years.
I
hoped
in
my
heart
that
I
might
be
like
them
as
I
lived
on
into
age,
and
then
smiled
to
think
that
I
too
was
no
longer
very
young.
So
we
always
keep
the
same
hearts,
though
our
outer
framework
fails
and
shows
the
touch
of
time.
“'Twas
pretty
when
they
sang
the
hymn,
wasn't
it?”
asked
Mrs.
Blackett
at
suppertime,
with
real
enthusiasm.
“There
was
such
a
plenty
o'
men's
voices;
where
I
sat
it
did
sound
beautiful.
I
had
to
stop
and
listen
when
they
came
to
the
last
verse.”
I
saw
that
Mrs.
Todd's
broad
shoulders
began
to
shake.
“There
was
good
singers
there;
yes,
there
was
excellent
singers,”
she
agreed
heartily,
putting
down
her
teacup,
“but
I
chanced
to
drift
alongside
Mis'
Peter
Bowden
o'
Great
Bay,
an'
I
couldn't
help
thinkin'
if
she
was
as
far
out
o'
town
as
she
was
out
o'
tune,
she
wouldn't
get
back
in
a
day.”
XX.
Along
Shore
ONE
DAY
as
I
went
along
the
shore
beyond
the
old
wharves
and
the
newer,
high-stepped
fabric
of
the
steamer
landing,
I
saw
that
all
the
boats
were
beached,
and
the
slack
water
period
of
the
early
afternoon
prevailed.
Nothing
was
going
on,
not
even
the
most
leisurely
of
occupations,
like
baiting
trawls
or
mending
nets,
or
repairing
lobster
pots;
the
very
boats
seemed
to
be
taking
an
afternoon
nap
in
the
sun.
I
could
hardly
discover
a
distant
sail
as
I
looked
seaward,
except
a
weather-beaten
lobster
smack,
which
seemed
to
have
been
taken
for
a
plaything
by
the
light
airs
that
blew
about
the
bay.
It
drifted
and
turned
about
so
aimlessly
in
the
wide
reach
off
Burnt
Island,
that
I
suspected
there
was
nobody
at
the
wheel,
or
that
she
might
have
parted
her
rusty
anchor
chain
while
all
the
crew
were
asleep.
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