screeching out like that," he muttered. And ifhe had carried speech as far as his thought, he would have added,"when Evelina is a girl!"
He was so angry that he did not laugh when he heard his mother answerback, in those conclusive tones of hers that were wont to silence allargument: "It ain't anything. Don't be scared. I'm coming rightback." Mrs. Merriam scorned subterfuges. She took always a silentstand in a difficulty, and let people infer what they would. WhenMary Ann Pease inquired if it was the cat that had made the noise,she asked if her mother had finished her blue and white counterpane.
The two girls waited a half-hour longer, then they went home. "Whatdo you s'pose made that noise out in the kitchen?" asked ArabellaMann of Mary Ann Pease, the minute they were out-of-doors.
"I don't know," replied Mary Ann Pease. She was a broad-backed younggirl, and looked like a matron as she hurried along in the dusk.
"Well, I know what I think it was," said Arabella Mann, moving aheadwith sharp jerks of her little dark body.
"What?"
"It was him."
"You don't mean--"
"I think it was Thomas Merriam, and he was tryin' to get up the backstairs unbeknownst to anybody, and he run into something."
"What for?"
"Because he didn't want to see _us_."
"Now, Arabella Mann, I don't believe it! He's always real pleasant tome."
"Well, I do believe it, and I guess he'll know it when I set foot inthat house again. I guess he'll find out I didn't go there to seehim! He needn't feel so fine, if he is the minister; his folks ain'tany better than mine, an' we've got 'nough sight handsomer furniturein our parlor."
"Did you see how the tallow had all run down over the candles?"
"Yes, I did. She gave that candle she carried out in the kitchen tohim, too. Mother says she wasn't never any kind of a housekeeper."
"Hush! Arabella: here he is coming now."
But it was not Thomas; it was his father, advancing through theevening with his son's gait and carriage. When the two girlsdiscovered that, one tittered out quite audibly, and they scuttledpast. They were not rivals; they simply walked faithfully side byside in pursuit of the young minister, giving him as it were animpartial choice. There were even no heart-burnings between them; onealways confided in the other when she supposed herself to have foundsome slight favor in Thomas's sight; and, indeed, the young ministercould scarcely bow to one upon the street unless she flew to theother with the news.
Thomas Merriam himself was aware of all this devotion on the part ofthe young women of his flock, and it filled him with a sort of angryshame. He could not have told why, but he despised himself for beingthe object of their attention more than he despised them. His heartsank at the idea of Evelina's discovering it. What would she think ofhim if she knew all those young women haunted his house and laggedafter meeting on the chance of getting a word from him? Suppose sheshould see their eyes upon his face in meeting time, and deciphertheir half-unconscious boldness, as he had done against his will.Once Evelina had looked at him, even as the older Evelina had lookedat his father, and all other looks of maidens seemed to him likeprofanations of that, even although he doubted afterwards that he hadrightly interpreted it. Full it had seemed to him of that tendermaiden surprise and wonder, of that love that knows not itself, andsees its own splendor for the first time in another's face, and fleesat the sight. It had happened once when he was coming down the aisleafter the sermon and Evelina had met him at the door of her pew. Butshe had turned her head quickly, and her soft curls flowed over herred cheek, and he doubted ever after if he had read the look aright.When he had gotten the courage to speak to her, and she had met himwith the gentle coldness which she had learned of her lady aunt andher teacher in Boston, his doubt was strong upon him. The next Sundayhe looked not her way at all. He even tried faithfully from day today to drive her image from his mind with prayer and religiousthoughts, but in spite of himself he would lapse into dreams abouther, as if borne by a current of nature too strong to be resisted.And sometimes, upon being awakened from them, as he sat over hissermon with the ink drying on his quill, by the sudden outburst oftreble voices in his mother's sitting-room below, the fancy wouldseize him that possibly these other young damsels took fond libertieswith him in their dreams, as he with Evelina, and he resented it witha fierce maidenliness of spirit, although he was a man. The thoughtthat possibly they, over their spinning or their quilting, had intheir hearts the image of himself with fond words upon his lips andfond looks in his eyes, filled him with shame and rage, although hetook the same liberty with the delicately haughty maiden Evelina.
But Thomas Merriam was not given to undue appreciation of his ownfascination, as was proved by his ready discouragement in the case ofEvelina. He had the knowledge of his conquests forced upon hisunderstanding until he could no longer evade it. Every day wereofferings laid upon his shrine, of pound-cakes and flaky pies, andloaves of white bread, and cups of jelly, whereby the culinary skillof his devotees might be proved. Silken purses and beautiful socksknitted with fancy stitches, and holy book-marks for his Bible, andeven a wonderful bedquilt, and a fine linen shirt with hem-stitchedbands, poured in upon him. He burned with angry blushes when hismother, smiling meaningly, passed them over to him. "Put them away,mother; I don't want them," he would growl out, in a distress thatwas half comic and half pathetic. He would never taste of thetempting viands which were brought to him. "How you act, Thomas!" hismother would say. She was secretly elated by these feminine libationsupon the altar of her son. They did not grate upon her sensibilities,which were not delicate. She even tried to assist two or three of theyoung women in their designs; she would often praise them and theirhandiwork to her son--and in this she was aided by an old woman auntof hers who lived with the family. "Nancy Winslow is as handsome agirl as ever I set eyes on, an' I never see any nicer sewin'," Mrs.Merriam said, after the advent of the linen shirt, and she held it upto the light admiringly. "Jest look at that hem-stitchin'!" she said.
"I guess whoever made that shirt calkilated 't would do for a weddin'one," said old Aunt Betty Green, and Thomas made an exclamation andwent out of the room, tingling all over with shame and disgust.
"Thomas don't act nateral," said the old woman, glancing after himthrough her iron-bound spectacles.
"I dun'no' what's got into him," returned his mother.
"Mebbe they foller him up a leetle too close," said Aunt Betty. "Idun'no' as I should have ventured on a shirt when I was a gal. I madea satin vest once for Joshua, but that don't seem quite as p'inted asa shirt. It didn't scare Joshua, nohow. He asked me to have him thenext week."
"Well, I dun'no'," said Mrs. Merriam again. "I kind of wish Thomaswould settle on somebody, for I'm pestered most to death with 'em,an' I feel as if 't was kind of mean takin' all these things into thehouse."
"They've 'bout kept ye in sweet cake, 'ain't they, lately?"
"Yes; but I don't feel as if it was jest right for us to eat it up,when 't was brought for Thomas. But he won't touch it. I can't see ashe has the least idee of any one of them. I don't believe Thomas hasever seen anybody he wanted for a wife."
"Well, he's got the pick of 'em, a-settin' their caps right in hisface," said Aunt Betty.
Neither of them dreamed how the young man, sleeping and eatingand living under the same roof, beloved of them since he enteredthe world, holding himself coldly aloof from this crowd ofhalf-innocently, half-boldly ardent young women, had set up forhimself his own divinity of love, before whom he consumed himselfin vain worship. His father suspected, and that was all, and henever mentioned the matter again to his son.
After Thomas had spoken to Evelina the weeks went on, and they neverexchanged another word, and their eyes never met. But they dweltconstantly within each other's thoughts, and were ever present toeach other's spiritual vision. Always as the young minister bent overhis sermon-paper, laboriously tracing out with sputtering quill hisapplication of the articles of the orthodox faith, Evelina's blueeyes seeme
d to look out at him between the stern doctrines like theeyes of an angel. And he could not turn the pages of the Holy Writunless he found some passage therein which to his mind treateddirectly of her, setting forth her graces like a prophecy. "Thefairest among women," read Thomas Merriam, and nodded his head, whilehis heart leaped with the satisfied delight of all its fancies, atthe image of his love's fair and gentle face. "Her price is far aboverubies," read Thomas Merriam, and he nodded his head again, and sawEvelina