A Question of Inheritance 在线电子书 pdf 下载 txt下载 epub 下载 mobi 下载 2024

The wind sang old songs， as the tale went， and like the wind we<br >too sang; sang "Good Night， Lady" at her doorway on Christmas<br >Eve， but she would not come out. Why， I asked myself， why? Oh<br >Lady， coine out， we love you--I love you. Still， she would not. l<br >couldn t understand then; no one could. I do now.<br > In small towns is there always a Lady Harleigh? I only know there<br >was in ours. She lived in the handsomest house on the Green， a<br >plaque by her front door identifying it as the "Josiah Webster<br >House， Built 17o2." A stranger inquiring who lived there would<br >assuredly have been told there were three occupants only; that is，<br >Lady herself， and her servants， the Grifllns. But of course there were<br >four， because the shade of Lady s dead husband also dwelt there.<br > No one but the mistress of the house was aware of Edward Har-<br >leigh s ghost， but so real was her apprehension， so evident her dis-<br >tress， that even I in time would glance up at a second-story<br >window， almost expecting to see a half-realized presence brooding<br >behind the curtain. But， of course， there were no ghosts in the house<br > on the Green; only in Lady s heart.<br > During most of my boyhood I strove to know the heart of Ade-<br > laide Harleigh， to unravel the enigma that lingered in the corners of<br > her mouth as her smile faded. For ff she was everything to every-<br > body， ff she most often seemed joyful and content， her joy appeared<br > to me something of a disguise. Still， she was Lady， ever Lady， and it<br > is not of ghosts I write， but of love， for though I was only a boy of<br > eight when I first knew her， and she well past forty， I came to love<br > her， as she did me. She loved another also， ff in a more comprehensi-<br > ble but less orthodox way; but I， unaware， had in those early years<br > no eause for jealousy， because of all the children I was her favorite.<br > It is not easy to learn much about love， but one thing I discovered，<br > that Lady Harleigh taught me: it is not whom we love that is impor-<br > tant， but only that we love.<br ><br >