CHAPTER XXXIV 496
Sweet was that evening . My cousins , full of exhilaration , were so eloquent in narrative and comment , that their fluency covered St . John ' s taciturnity : he was sincerely glad to see his sisters ; but in their glow of fervour and flow of joy he could not sympathise . The event of the day -- that is , the return of Diana and Mary -- pleased him ; but the accompaniments of that event , the glad tumult , the garrulous glee of reception irked him : I saw he wished the calmer morrow was come . In the very meridian of the night ' s enjoyment , about an hour after tea , a rap was heard at the door . Hannah entered with the intimation that " a poor lad was come , at that unlikely time , to fetch Mr . Rivers to see his mother , who was drawing away ."
" Where does she live , Hannah ?"
" Clear up at Whitcross Brow , almost four miles off , and moor and moss all the way ."
" Tell him I will go ."
" I ' m sure , sir , you had better not . It ' s the worst road to travel after dark that can be : there ' s no track at all over the bog . And then it is such a bitter night -- the keenest wind you ever felt . You had better send word , sir , that you will be there in the morning ."
But he was already in the passage , putting on his cloak ; and without one objection , one murmur , he departed . It was then nine o ' clock : he did not return till midnight . Starved and tired enough he was : but he looked happier than when he set out . He had performed an act of duty ; made an exertion ; felt his own strength to do and deny , and was on better terms with himself .
I am afraid the whole of the ensuing week tried his patience . It was Christmas week : we took to no settled employment , but spent it in a sort of merry domestic dissipation . The air of the moors , the freedom of home , the dawn of prosperity , acted on Diana and Mary ' s spirits like some life-giving elixir : they were gay from morning till noon , and from noon till night . They could always talk ; and their discourse , witty , pithy , original , had such charms for me , that I preferred listening to , and sharing in it , to doing