Constance Sherwood, Chapter I-II [pp. 78-96]

Constance Sherwood.
field, whither my mother carried me,
as has been aforesaid, to be treated by
a famous physician for a severe hurt I
had received. It was deemed con venient that I should tarry some time
under his care; and Mr. Gening,s, a
kinsman of her own, who with his
wife and children resided in that town,
one of the chiefest in the county,
offered to keep me in their house as
long as was convenient thereunto-a
kindness which my parents the more
readily accepted at his hands from
their having often shown the like unto
his children when the air of the coun try was desired for them.
Mr. and Mrs. Genings were of the
religion by law established. He was
thought to be Catholic at heart;
albeit he was often heard to speak
very bitterly against all who obeyed
not the queen in conforming to the
new mode of worship, with the ex ception, indeed, of my mother, for
whom he had always a truly great
affection. This gentleman's house
was in the close of the cathedral, and
had a garden to it well stored with
fair shrubs and flowers of various
sorts. As I lay on a low settle near
the window, being forbid to walk for
the space of three weeks, my eyes
were ever straying from my sampler
to the shade and sunshine out of
doors. Instead of plying at my needle, I watched the bees at their sweet
labor midst the honeysuckles of the
porch, or the swallows darting in and
out of the eaves of the cathedral, or
the butterflies at their idle sports over
the beds of mignonette and heliotrope
under the low wall, covered with ivy,
betwixt the garden and the close.
Mr. OGenings had two sons, the eldest
of which was some years older and
the other younger than myself. The
first, whose name was Edmund, had
been weakly when a child, and by
reason of this a frequent sojourner at
Sherwood Hall, where he was carried
for change of air after the many illnesses incident to early age. My
mother, who was some years married
before she had a child of her own,
conceived a truly maternal affection
for this young kinsman, and took
much pains with him both as to the
care of his body and the training of
his mind. He was an apt pupil, and
she had so happy a manner of im parting knowledge, that he learnt
more, as he has since said, in those
brief sojourns in her house than at
school from more austere masters.
After I came into the world, he took
delight to rock me in my cradle, or
play with me as I sat on my mother's
knee; and when I first began to walk,
he would lead me by the hand into the
garden, and laugh to see me clutch
marigolds or cry for a sunflower.
"I warrant thou hast an eye to gold,
Con," he would say; "for'tis the yel low flowers that please thee best."
There is an old hollow tree on the
lawn at Sherwood Hall where I often
hid from him in sport, and he would
make pretence to seek me elsewhere,
till a laugh revealed me to him, and a
chase ensued down the approach or
round the maze. He never tired of
my petulance, or spoke rude words, as
boys are wont to do; and had a more
serious and contemplative spirit than
is often seen in young people, and likewise a singular fancy for gazing at
the sky when glowing with sunset
hues or darkened by storms, and most
of all when studded at night with
stars. On a calm clear night I have
noticed him for a length of time, forgetting all things else, fix his eyes on
the heavens, as if reading the glory of
the Lord therein revealed.
My parents did not speak to him of
Catholic faith and worship, because
Mr. Genings, before he suffered his
sons to stay in their house, had made
them promise that no talk of religion
should be ministered to them in their
childhood. It was a sore trial to my
mother to refrain, as the Psalmist saith,
front good words, which were ever
rising from her heart to her lips, as
pure water from a deep spring. But
she instructed him in many things
which belong to gentle learning, and
in French, which she knew well; and
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