By the River Page #2

"By the River" is a poignant novella by Sarah Orne Jewett that explores themes of nature, human connection, and the passage of time. Set in the rural landscape of New England, the story follows the reflective journey of the protagonist as she observes the beauty and simplicity of life along a riverbank. Through vivid descriptions and rich characterizations, Jewett captures the intimacy of relationships and the influence of the natural world on personal growth and identity. The work is celebrated for its lyrical prose and deep appreciation of the often-overlooked aspects of everyday life.

• Short story

								

all friendly to Goodsoe. Some of us pay a little every year toward his
support, but he has always made himself very useful about the wharves
until this last year or two; he thought everything of your
grandfather, and I knew it would please him to speak to you. It seems
unfortunate that you should have grown up anywhere else than here; but
I hope you'll stay now?"

"It is not very likely," said Nan coldly. She wished that the captain
would go on with his stories of the former grandeur of Dunport, rather
than show any desire to talk about personal matters. She had been
little troubled at first by her aunt's evident disapproval the evening
before of her plans for the future, for she was so intent upon
carrying them out and certain that no one had any right to interfere.
Still it would have been better to have been violently opposed than to
have been treated like a child whose foolish whim would soon be
forgotten when anything better offered itself. Nan felt much older
than most girls of her years, and as if her decisions were quite as
much to be respected as her aunt's. She had dealt already with graver
questions than most persons, and her responsibilities had by no means
been light ones. She felt sometimes as if she were separated by half a
lifetime from the narrow limits of school life. Yet there was an
uncommon childlikeness about her which not only misled these new
friends, but many others who had known her longer. And when these
listened to accounts of her devotion to her present studies and her
marked proficiency, they shook their wise heads smilingly, as if they
knew that the girl was innocent of certain proper and insurmountable
obstacles farther on.

The air was fresh, and it was so pleasant on the wharf that the
captain paced to and fro several times, while he pointed out different
objects of interest along the harbor-side, and tapped the rusty anchor
and the hawsers with his walking-stick as he went by. He had made some
very pointed statements to the keeper's wife about the propriety of
opening the hatches on such a morning as that, which she had received
without comment, and wished her guests good-day with provoking
equanimity. The captain did not like to have his authority ignored,
but mentioned placidly that he supposed every idler along shore had
been giving advice; though he wondered what Nan's grandfather and old
Captain Peterbeck would have said if any one had told them this would
be the only square-rigged vessel in Dunport harbor for weeks at a
time.

"Dear me!" he exclaimed again presently, "there's young Gerry hard at
work!" and he directed his companion's attention to one of the upper
windows of the buildings whose fronts had two stories on the main
street, while there were five or six on the rear, which faced the
river. Nan could see the diligent young man and thought it hard that
any one must be drudging within doors that beautiful morning.

"He has always been a great favorite of your aunt's," said Captain
Parish, confidentially, after the law student had pretended to
suddenly catch sight of the saunterers, and waved a greeting which the
captain exultantly returned. "We have always thought that she was
likely to make him her heir. She was very fond of his father, you see,
and some trouble came between them. Nobody ever knew, because if
anybody ever had wit enough to keep her own counsel 'twas Nancy
Prince. I know as much about her affairs as anybody, and what I say to
you is between ourselves. I know just how far to sail with her and
when to stop, if I don't want to get wrecked on a lee shore. Your aunt
has known how to take care of what she had come to her, and I've done
the best I could to help her; it's a very handsome property,--very
handsome indeed. She helped George Gerry to get his education, and
then he had some little money left him by his father's brother,--no
great amount, but enough to give him a start; he's a very smart,
upright fellow, and I am glad for whatever Nancy did for him; but it
didn't seem fair that he should be stepping into your rights. But I
never have dared to speak up for you since one day--she wouldn't hear
a word about it, that's all I have to remark," the captain concluded
in a hurry, for wisdom's sake, though he longed to say more. It seemed
outrageous to him at this moment that the girl at his side should have
been left among strangers, and he was thankful that she seemed at last
to have a good chance of making sure of her rightful possessions.

"But I haven't needed anything," she said, giving Captain Walter a
grateful glance for his championship. "And Mr. Gerry is very kind and
attentive to my aunt, so I am glad she has been generous to him. He
seems a fine fellow, as you say," and Nan thought suddenly that it was
very hard for him to have had her appear on the scene by way of rival,
if he had been led to suppose that he was her aunt's heir. There were
so many new things to think of, that Nan had a bewildering sense of
being a stranger and a foreigner in this curiously self-centred
Dunport, and a most disturbing element to its peace of mind. She
wondered if, since she had not grown up here, it would not have been
better to have stayed away altogether. Her own life had always been
quite unvexed by any sort of social complications, and she thought how
good it would be to leave this talkative and staring little world and
go back to Oldfields and its familiar interests and associations. But
Dunport was a dear old place, and the warm-hearted captain a most
entertaining guide, and by the time their walk was over, the day
seemed a most prosperous and entertaining one. Aunt Nancy appeared to
be much pleased with the plan for the afternoon, and announced that
she had asked some of the young people to come to drink tea the next
evening, while she greeted Nan so kindly that the home-coming was
particularly pleasant. As for the captain, he was unmistakably happy,
and went off down the street with a gentle, rolling gait, and a smile
upon his face that fairly matched the June weather, though he was more
than an hour late for the little refreshment with which he and certain
dignified associates commonly provided themselves at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon. Life was as regular ashore as on board ship with these
idle mariners of high degree. There was no definite business among
them except that of occasionally settling an estate, and the forming
of decided opinions upon important questions of the past and future.

The shadows had begun to grow long when the merry company of young
people went up river with the tide, and Nan thought she had seldom
known such a pleasure away from her own home. She begged for the
oars, and kept stroke with George Gerry, pulling so well that they
quickly passed the other boat. Mary Parish and the friend who made the
fourth of that division of the party sat in the stern and steered with
fine dexterity, and the two boats kept near each other, so that Nan
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