And the droning of bees and buzzing
of flies, or the sudden clamour of a hen somewhere near would come
floating in through the open window, and the odour of the flowers and the
twigs of the "ellum" tree tapping at the pane helped to make the little
church a haven of restfulness.
But on the Sunday following my awakening I had no care for sounds outside,
no eyes for my bouquets, though they stood at either hand of the pulpit; I
got permission to sit in Aunt Keren's pew, where I could see Aunt Em'ly's
face; and all through the sermon I studied it with big, round eyes.
Yes, and with sorrow growing leaden in my heart.
For I was not old enough to see in her face what it had been, nor to
appreciate the fine profile that remained. Hers was not the pink-and-white
of rosy girlhood, the only beauty I could understand; and wherein her
toil-set features differed from those of the other drudging farmers' wives
or the shut-in women of the little village, I could not see.
A lump rose in my throat; this wrinkled and aging person was the beautiful
woman I might take after!
I'm afraid I returned from church that day without the consolations of
religion.
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