登陆注册
15326900000001

第1章

To a certain handful of dear New England women of names unknown to the world, dwelling in a certain quiet village, alike unknown:-We have worked together to make our little corner of the great universe a pleasanter place in which to live, and so we know, not only one another's names, but something of one another's joys and sorrows, cares and burdens, economies, hopes, and anxieties.

We all remember the dusty uphill road that leads to the green church common.We remember the white spire pointing upward against a background of blue sky and feathery elms.We remember the sound of the bell that falls on the Sabbath morning stillness, calling us across the daisy-sprinkled meadows of June, the golden hayfields of July, or the dazzling whiteness and deep snowdrifts of December days.The little cabinet-organ that plays the doxology, the hymn-books from which we sing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow,"the sweet freshness of the old meeting-house, within and without--how we have toiled to secure and preserve these humble mercies for ourselves and our children!

There really IS a Dorcas Society, as you and I well know, and one not unlike that in these pages; and you and I have lived through many discouraging, laughable, and beautiful experiences while we emulated the Bible Dorcas, that woman "full of good works and alms deeds."There never was a Peabody Pew in the Tory Hill Meeting-House, and Nancy's love story and Justin's never happened within its century-old walls; but I have imagined only one of the many romances that have had their birth under the shadow of that steeple, did we but realize it.

As you have sat there on open-windowed Sundays, looking across purple clover-fields to blue distant mountains, watching the palm-leaf fans swaying to and fro in the warm stillness before sermon time, did not the place seem full of memories, for has not the life of two villages ebbed and flowed beneath that ancient roof? You heard the hum of droning bees and followed the airy wings of butterflies fluttering over the gravestones in the old churchyard, and underneath almost every moss-grown tablet some humble romance lies buried and all but forgotten.

If it had not been for you, I should never have written this story, so I give it back to you tied with a sprig from Ophelia's nosegay;a spring of "rosemary, that's for remembrance."K.D.W.

August, 1907

同类推荐
  • 维摩经玄疏

    维摩经玄疏

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 二薇亭诗集

    二薇亭诗集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 前世三转经

    前世三转经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 悟玄篇

    悟玄篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 佛点头脉诀

    佛点头脉诀

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 倾婷之恋

    倾婷之恋

    “我想学哲学,我想学艺术。”“你学这些有什么用呢,能赚钱吗?能当饭吃吗?”“我喜欢她,我爱她”“她又不喜欢你,这有什么用呢?”“为什么这些人这么可恶?这个社会为什么这么不公平?”“社会就这样,抱怨又有什么用呢?”是不是很熟悉?每当我们面临内心的召唤,这个问句都像鬼魅一般无形而至。人们总是习惯性地去问:有什么用呢?有什么意义呢?这个故事或许也属于“没有什么用”,然而我们还是会去做很多。我们从来不去计较对错得失,因为这就是意义。一万个人,就有一万种关于爱情的不同答案;这是戴军关于爱情的答案。
  • 圣芒使.zero

    圣芒使.zero

    夜空中的寒月如同心脏一般的跳动,在它碎裂之后,地球上的一切都发生了改变,一场豪华盛宴的展开,带来的除了死亡的恐惧,还有绝强的进化,人类将跟随神的脚步……而脆弱的他如何面对这样的世界?“Red,成为我的bluelighter,你后悔吗……”風飒问道。
  • 十魂九变

    十魂九变

    武魂大路上,一个懵懂的穿越少年在修炼道路上沉寂了七八年后,遇上了一只坑爹的噬魂鼠。于是乎,一个有关梦想,有关恩爱情仇,有关继承者的故事在这里开始了。。。
  • 妖孽倾城:盛宠修罗魔妃

    妖孽倾城:盛宠修罗魔妃

    魔皇一朝被封印,千年后她足踏墨莲浴血归来,驭神兽,定乾坤,誓要与他共覆六界风云,倾了这一世繁华
  • 重生之天才傻子

    重生之天才傻子

    宁欺白须公,莫欺少年穷。看主角王越重生回去步步走向巅峰。人阻杀人,神挡折神!
  • 神封子弦祭

    神封子弦祭

    神灵被封印在神剑之中,从此世间无神灵,但是一位婴儿的出生导致魔王成神,当世人都以为婴儿死亡时,在十四年后,却又从新出现在人们面前。感谢腾讯文学书评团提供书评支持
  • 神秘的恐龙复活事件

    神秘的恐龙复活事件

    玩转愚人节、辣数流行风、就怕太神秘、宝物不嫌多!“作文之星”闪闪亮,灵感碰撞high翻天!阳光家族作文旋风来袭,再不好好写作文,你就out啦!豪华评审团:阳光姐姐特邀著名儿童文学作家樊发稼、刘崇善、沈石溪、郁雨君、谭旭东、安武林、余雷、孙卫卫、王勇英等全程点评!不怕你学不会,只怕你写太好!《神秘的恐龙复活事件》一书收集了阳光家族“同题作文PK赛”中的优秀文章,共分为四个主题:愚人节,流行风,神秘,宝物。小作者灵感十足,大胆的想象力发挥淋漓尽致,文字形象生动,描写细腻真实,叙述过程中奇思妙语不断,文章或者幽默诙谐,或者笔锋老辣,或者古风浓郁,每一篇作品都令人耳目一新。
  • 擒王有道:极品腹黑妃

    擒王有道:极品腹黑妃

    祈国女帝,沙场不败的战神,下嫁白国国君的结局却是被丈夫和妹妹联手加害小产惨死!重生醒来,她满怀复仇之怒杀回白国,却不想被一个男人强行抱住扛上了床——“在床上服侍男人是你的本分。你要学会服从。”名动天下的祈王沦为侍妾,这大概是天底下最可笑的笑话了。
  • 霸武圣王

    霸武圣王

    少年雷云,经脉尽断,受尽侮辱。一梦惊醒,经脉恢复,得魔雷,练九天浮龙诀,走上惊天的逆袭之路。从现在开始,美女我只要极品!功法我只要最好!朋友我只要最重情义!
  • 属于我们的高中时代

    属于我们的高中时代

    秦暮是第二个让韩然动心的人。第一次是在辅导班,一个男生帮她从倒数走进了重点初中,第二次是秦暮重新让她燃起了对未来的渴望。