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257
Cranford
·
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
17
CHAPTER
II.
THE
CAPTAIN
IT
was
impossible
to
live
a
month
at
Cranford
and
not
know
the
daily
habits
of
each
resident;
and
long
before
my
visit
was
ended
I
knew
much
concerning
the
whole
Brown
trio.
There
was
nothing
new
to
be
discovered
respecting
their
poverty;
for
they
had
spoken
simply
and
openly
about
that
from
the
very
first.
They
made
no
mystery
of
the
necessity
for
their
being
economical.
All
that
remained
to
be
discovered
was
the
Captain’s
infinite
kindness
of
heart,
and
the
various
modes
in
which,
unconsciously
to
himself,
he
manifested
it.
Some
little
anecdotes
were
talked
about
for
some
time
after
they
occurred.
As
we
did
not
read
much,
and
as
all
the
ladies
were
pretty
well
suited
with
servants,
there
was
a
dearth
of
subjects
for
conversation.
We
therefore
discussed
the
circumstance
of
the
Captain
taking
a
poor
old
woman’s
dinner
out
of
her
hands
one
very
slippery
Sunday.
He
had
met
her
returning
from
the
bakehouse
as
he
came
from
church,
and
noticed
her
precarious
footing;
and,
with
the
grave
dignity
with
which
he
did
everything,
he
relieved
her
of
her
burden,
and
steered
along
the
street
by
her
side,
carrying
her
baked
mutton
and
potatoes
safely
home.
This
was
thought
very
eccentric;
and
it
was
rather
expected
that
he
would
pay
a
round
of
calls,
on
the
Monday
morning,
to
explain
and
apologise
to
the
Cranford
sense
of
propriety:
but
he
did
no
such
thing:
and
then
it
was
decided
that
he
was
ashamed,
and
was
keeping
out
of
sight.
In
a
kindly
pity
for
him,
we
began
to
say,
“After
all,
the
Sunday
morning’s
occurrence
showed
great
goodness
of
heart,”
and
it
was
resolved
that
he
should
be
comforted
on
his
next
appearance
amongst
us;
but,
lo!
he
came
down
upon
us,
untouched
by
any
sense
of
shame,
speaking
loud
and
bass
as
ever,
his
head
thrown
back,
his
wig
as
jaunty
and
well-curled
as
usual,
and
we
were
obliged
to
conclude
he
had
forgotten
all
about
Sunday.
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