第 16 节
作者:痛罚      更新:2024-04-07 11:54      字数:9322
  then invited me into her room; where she asked
  me if I felt ill。  I assured her that I did not。  She
  asked a great many additional questions and; little
  by little; under the womanly sympathy of them;
  my reserve broke down and she finally got at the
  truth; which until that hour I had succeeded in
  concealing。  She let me leave without much com…
  ment; but the next day she again invited me into
  her office and came directly to the purpose of the
  interview。
  ‘‘Miss Shaw;'' she said; ‘‘I have been talking to a
  friend of mine about you; and she would like to
  make a bargain with you。  She thinks you are work…
  ing too hard。  She will pay you three dollars and
  a half a week for the rest of this school year if
  you will promise to give up your preaching。  She
  wants you to rest; study; and take care of your
  health。''
  I asked the name of my unknown friend; but
  Mrs。 Barrett said that was to remain a secret。  She
  had been given a check for seventy…eight dollars;
  and from this; she explained; my allowance would
  be paid in weekly instalments。  I took the money
  very gratefully; and a few years later I returned
  the amount to the Missionary Society; but I never
  learned the identity of my benefactor。  Her three
  dollars and a half a week; added to the weekly two
  dollars I was allowed for room rent; at once solved
  the problem of living; and now that meal…hours
  had a meaning in my life; my health improved and
  my horizon brightened。  I spent most of my evenings
  in study; and my Sundays in the churches of Phil…
  lips Brooks and James Freeman Clark; my favorite
  ministers。  Also; I joined the university's praying…
  band of students; and took part in the missionary…
  work among the women of the streets。  I had never
  forgotten my early friend in Lawrence; the beautiful
  ‘‘mysterious lady'' who had loved me as a child;
  and; in memory of her; I set earnestly about the
  effort to help unfortunates of her class。  I went
  into the homes of these women; followed them to
  the streets and the dance…halls; talked to them;
  prayed with them; and made friends among them。
  Some of them I was able to help; but many were
  beyond help; and I soon learned that the effective
  work in that field is the work which is done for
  women before; not after; they have fallen。
  During my vacation in the summer of 1876 I went
  to Cape Cod and earned my expenses by substituting
  in local pulpits。  Here; at East Dennis; I formed the
  friendship which brought me at once the greatest
  happiness and the deepest sorrow of that period of
  my life。  My new friend was a widow whose name
  was Persis Addy; and she was also the daughter of
  Captain Prince Crowell; then the most prominent
  man in the Cape Cod communitya bank president;
  a railroad director; and a citizen of wealth; as wealth
  was rated in those days。  When I returned to the
  theological school in the autumn Mrs。 Addy came
  to Boston with me; and from that time until her
  death; two years later; we lived together。  She was
  immensely interested in my work; and the friendly
  part she took in it diverted her mind from the be…
  reavement over which she had brooded for years;
  while to me her coming opened windows into a new
  world。  I was no longer lonely; and though in my
  life with her I paid my way to the extent of my
  small income; she gave me my first experience of an
  existence in which comfort and culture; recreation;
  and leisurely reading were cheerful commonplaces。
  For the first time I had some one to come home to;
  some one to confide in; some one to talk to; listen
  to; and love。  We read together and went to con…
  certs together; and it was during this winter that I
  attended my first theatrical performance。  The star
  was Mary Anderson; in ‘‘Pygmalion and Galatea;''
  and play and player charmed me so utterly that I
  saw them every night that week; sitting high in the
  gallery and enjoying to the utmost the unfolding of
  this new delight。  It was so glowing a pleasure that
  I longed to make some return to the giver of it; but
  not until many years afterward; when I met Ma…
  dame Navarro in London; was I able to tell her
  what the experience had been and to thank her
  for it。
  I did not long enjoy the glimpses into my new
  world; for soon; and most tragically; it was closed
  to me。  In the spring following our first Boston
  winter together Mrs。 Addy and I went to Hingham;
  Massachusetts; where I had been appointed tempo…
  rary pastor of the Methodist Church。  There Mrs。
  Addy was taken ill; and as she grew steadily worse
  we returned to Boston to live near the best availa…
  ble physicians; who for months theorized over her
  malady without being able to diagnose it。  At last
  her father; Captain Crowell; sent to Paris for Dr。
  Brown…Sequard; then the most distinguished special…
  ist of his day; and Dr。 Brown…Sequard; when he
  arrived and examined his patient; discovered that
  she had a tumor on the brain。  She had had a great
  shock in her lifethe tragic death of her husband
  at sea during their wedding tour around the world
  and it was believed that her disease dated from that
  time。  Nothing could be done for her; and she failed
  daily during our second year together; and died in
  March; 1878; just before I finished my theological
  course and while I was still temporary pastor of the
  church at Hingham。  Every moment I could take
  from my parish and my studies I spent with her; and
  those were sorrowful months。  In her poor; tortured
  brain the idea formed that I; not she; was the sick
  person in our family of two; and when we were at
  home together she insisted that I must lie down and
  let her nurse me; then for hours she brooded over
  me; trying to relieve the agony she believed I was
  experiencing。  When at last she was at peace her
  father and I took her home to Cape Cod and laid
  her in the graveyard of the little church where we
  had met at the beginning of our brief and beautiful
  friendship; and the subsequent loneliness I felt
  was far greater than any I had ever suffered in the
  past; for now I had learned the meaning of com…
  panionship。
  Three months after Mrs。 Addy's death I grad…
  uated。  She had planned to take me abroad; and
  during our first winter together we had spent count…
  less hours talking and dreaming of our European
  wanderings。  When she found that she must die she
  made her will and left me fifteen hundred dollars
  for the visit to Europe; insisting that I must carry
  out the plan we had made; and during her conscious
  periods she constantly talked of this and made me
  promise that I would go。  After her death it seemed
  to me that to go without her was impossible。  Every…
  thing of beauty I looked upon would hold memories
  of her; keeping fresh my sorrow and emphasizing
  my loneliness; but it was her last expressed desire
  that I should go; and I went。
  First; however; I had graduatedclad in a brand…
  new black silk gown; and with five dollars in my
  pocket; which I kept there during the graduation
  exercises。  I felt a special satisfaction in the pos…
  session of that money; for; notwithstanding the
  handicap of being a woman; I was said to be the
  only member of my class who had worked during
  the entire course; graduated free from debt; and
  had a new outfit as well as a few dollars in cash。
  I graduated without any special honors。  Pos…
  sibly I might have won some if I had made the effort;
  but my graduation year; as I have just explained;
  had been very difficult。  As it was; I was merely a
  good average student; feeling my isolation as the
  only woman in my class; but certainly not spurring
  on my men associates by the display of any brilliant
  gifts。  Naturally; I missed a great deal of class
  fellowship and class support; and throughout my
  entire course I rarely entered my class…room with…
  out the abysmal conviction that I was not really
  wanted there。  But some of the men were good…
  humoredly cordial; and several of them are among
  my friends to…day。  Between myself and my family
  there still existed the breach I had created when
  I began to preach。  With the exception of Mary and
  James; my people openly regarded me; during my
  theological course; as a dweller in outer darkness;
  and even my mother's love was clouded by what
  she felt to be my deliberate and persistent flouting
  of her wishes。
  Toward the end of my university experience; how…
  ever; an incident occurred which apparently changed
  my mother's viewpoint。  She was now living with
  my sister Mary; in Big Rapids; Michigan; and; on
  the occasion of one of my rare and brief visits to
  them I was invited to preach in the local church。
  Here; for the first time; my mother heard me。
  Dutifully escorted by one of my brothers; she at…
  tended church that morning in a state of shivering
  nervousness。  I do not know what she expected me
  to do or say; but toward the end of the sermon it
  became clear that I had not ju