Part 3 (2/2)
After reat sorrow--the death of my sister Laura--I was suffocated in the house and felt I had to be out of doors froht
One day I saw an old shepherd called Gowanlock co my pony by the rein I had never noticed that it had strayed away and, after thanking hi of the rage and anguish that Laura's death had brought intohis hand onAy--ay”--shaking his beautiful old head--”THAT IS SO, there's no contending ”
Another day, when it ca under the dyke, holding an u his lunch I went and sat down beside hirand, wild face and I felt some curiosity about him; but he was taciturn and all he toldto the Gordon Arms, on his way to St Mary's Loch I asked him every sort of question--as to where he had co to and what he wanted to do--but he refused to gratify ht and we sat peacefully sether in silence When the rain cleared, I turned to hio nowhere; when you wake up in the , how do you shape your course?”
To which he answered:
”I always turn ent than those born in the South; and the people of my birthplace are a hundred years in advance of the Southern English even now
When I was fourteen, Ia French book
It was called ”Le Secret de Delphine” I asked him how he came to know French and he told me it was the extra subject he had been allowed to choose for studying in his holidays; he walked eighteenhis chance of a lift froed him to read out loud to me, but he was shy of his accent and would not do it
The Lowland Scotch were a wonderful people in lorious youth except the violence of our fah and low spirits, added to quick teed my mother to separate us for soed and ragged till the s, which kept us thin and the household awake
My mother told me two stories of myself as a little child:
”When you were sent for to coot, the nurse opened the door and you walked in--generally alone--saying, 'Here'sdoes not seem to have been sufficiently checked She went on to say:
”I was dreadfully afraid you would be upset and ill when I took you one day to the Deaf and Dus with passionate intensity Before starting I lifted you on toto take you to see some poor people who cannot speak' At which you put your ar emphasis, 'I will soon make them speak!'”
The earliest event I can remember was the arrival of the new baby, my brother Jack, when I o years old Dr cox was spoilingdried after ohite buttonhole stitching, was hanging over the fender; and he was discussing so ive her a baby of her own,”
or words to that effect
The next day a huge doll obliterated fro
We were left very much alone in our nursery, asfor health for her child Pauline Our nurse, Mrs Hills--called ”Missuls” for short--left us on my tenth birthday to become my sister's lady's-maid, and this removed our first and last restriction
We ild children and, left to ourselves, had the time of our lives I rode h-stepping barouche-horses to ju their knees into the hurdles in the field--and cli on the sweep's ladder by own I had scrambled up every tree, walked on every wall and knew every turret at Glen I ran along the narrow ledges of the slates in rubber shoes at terrific heights This alarmed other people so much that my father sent for me one day to see him in his ”business roo on the roof; and give it up I did, withup We played at being found in dangerous and adventurous circu and ere acting with the doctor's daughter I had spoilt the ga discovered--as I wason the banks of the Bosphorus Seeing that things were going badly and that the others had disappeared, I took a wild juentlehas, tennis shoes and dishevelled curls under an orange turban; and I stood still and gazed at him
”This is a wonderful place,” he said; to which I replied:
”You like it?”
HE: ”I would like to see the house I hear there are beautiful things in it”
MARGOT: ”I think the drawing-rooms are all shut up”