Monday, October 08, 2018

The Old Nurse's Story


The Old Nurse's Story is an 1852 Gothic story by Elizabeth Gaskell. It begins,
You know, my dears, that your mother was an orphan, and an only child; and I dare say you have heard that your grand-father was a clergyman up in Westmoreland, where I come from. I was just a girl in the village school, when, one day, your grandmother came in to ask the mistress if there was any scholar there who would do for a nurse-maid; and mighty proud I was, I can tell ye, when the mistress called me up, and spoke to my being a good girl at my needle, and a steady, honest girl, and one whose parents were very respectable, though they might be poor I thought I should like nothing better than to serve the pretty, young lady, who was blushing as deep as I was, as she spoke of the coming baby, and what I should have to do with it. However, I see you don't care so much for this part of my story, as for what you think is to come, so I'll tell you at once. I was engaged and settled at the parsonage before Miss Rosamond (that was the baby, who is now your mother) was born. To be sure, I had little enough to do with her when she came, for she was never out of her mother's arms, and slept by her all night long; and proud enough was I sometimes when missis trusted her to me. There never was such a baby before or since, though you've all of you been fine enough in your turns; but for sweet, winning ways, you've none of you come up to your mother. She took after her mother, who was a teal lady born; a Miss Furnivall, a granddaughter of Lord Furnivall's, in Northumberland. I believe she had neither brother nor Sister, and had been brought up in my lord's family till she had married your grandfather, who was just a curate, son to a shopkeeper in Carlisle - but a clever, fine gentleman as ever was - and one who was a right-down hard worker in his parish, which was very wide, and scattered all abroad over the Westmoreland Fells. When your mother, little Miss Rosamond, was about four or five years old, both her parents died in a fortnight - one after the other. Ah! that was a sad time. My pretty young mistress and me was looking for another baby, when my master came home from one of his long rides, wet, and tired, and took the fever he died of; and then she never held up her head again, but lived just to see her dead baby, and have it laid on her breast before she sighed away her life. My mistress had asked me, on her death-bed, never to leave Miss Rosamond; but if she had never spoken a word, I would have gone with the little child to the end of the world.

The next thing, and before we had well stilled our sobs, the executors and guardians came to settle the affairs. They were my poor young mistress's own cousin, Lord Furnivall, and Mr Esthwaite, my master's brother, a shopkeeper in Manchester; not so well to do then, as he was afterwards, and with a large family rising about him. Well! I don't know if it were their settling, or because of a letter my mistress wrote on her death-bed to her cousin, my lord; but somehow it was settled that Miss Rosamond and me were to go to Furnivall Manor House, in Northumberland, and my lord spoke as if it had been her mother's wish that she should live with his family, and as if he had no objectioins, for that one or two more or less could make no difference in so grand a household. So, though that was not the way in which I should have wished the coming of my bright and pretty pet to have been looked at - who was like a sunbeam in any family, be it never so grand - I was well pleased that all the folks in the Dale should stare and admire, when they heard I was going to be young lady's maid at my Lord Furnivall's at Furnivall Manor.
You can read it online here and listen to it here:



There's a video tour of the author's home here:


14 comments:

  1. This sounds like a good Halloween story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love those old gothic tales, just a touch of spooky for the season.

      Delete
  2. Sounds like the perfect story for the season 😀. Wishing you a happy new week! J 😊 x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love it when I find suitable reads for free online, and that's much easier with works that old. This is an interesting one.

      Delete
  3. Sounds a bit spooky and fun. I'll listen to it late tonight. Thanks for the links.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know and love this story. We read several of her books when I was at school, and 'Cranford' was my fave. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's not very well known, but people who read her like her.

      Delete
  5. I'll get back to this when the house is quiet. I read what you posted and it sounds interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, these older gothic tales are good for a change. Still the kind of creepy tale I love for the season without the overt gore.

      Delete
  6. I loved the voice and descriptions. Really good! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do a good job choosing people to do the audios, don't they!

      Delete
  7. I am a fan of Elizabeth Gaskell's writings, especially her Cranford series - wonderful series both I & II

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know why she fell out of favor, but I'm glad she's more widely appreciated now

      Delete