31 And 32 Anne Of The Island - Read By Stephanie Poppins

New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves goodbye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away. She discovers life on her terms, filled with surprises.

Handsome Gilbert Blythe is waiting in the wings, too. And Anne must decide whether or not she's ready for love.

In this episode, Anne has new lodgings.

Transcript

Anne of the Island by L.

M.

Montgomery Read by Stephanie Poppins Chapter 31 Anne to Philippa Well,

Beloved,

It's high time I was writing you.

Here am I,

Installed once more as a country schoolmum at Valley Road,

Boarding at Wayside,

The home of Miss Janet Sweet.

Janet's a dear old soul and very nice-looking.

Tall,

But not overly tall.

Stoutish,

Yet with a certain restraint of outlines suggestive of a thrifty soul who's not going to be over-lavish,

Even in the matter of avoir du poids.

She has a knot of soft,

Crimpy brown hair with a thread of grey in it,

A sunny face with rosy cheeks and big kind eyes as blue as forget-me-nots.

Moreover,

She's one of those delightful old-fashioned cooks who doesn't care a bit if they ruin your digestion,

As long as they can give you feasts of fat things.

I like her and she likes me.

Principally,

It seems,

Because she had a sister named Anne who died young.

I'm real glad to see you,

She said briskly when I landed in her yard.

You don't look a mite like I expected.

I was sure you'd be dark.

My sister Anne was dark,

She said.

But you're a redhead.

For a few minutes I thought I wasn't going to like Janet as much as I expected at first sight.

Then I reminded myself I really must be more sensible than to be prejudiced against anyone simply because she called my hair red.

Probably the word Auburn was not in Janet's vocabulary at all.

Wayside is a dear sort of little spot.

The house is small and white,

Set down in a delightful little hollow that drops away from the road.

Between road and house is an orchard and flower garden all mixed up together.

The front door walk is bordered with clamshells,

Cowhawks as Janet calls them.

There's a Virginia creeper over the porch and moss on the roof.

My room is a neat little spot off the parlour,

Just big enough for the bed and me.

Over the head of my bed there's a picture of Robbie Burns standing in Highland Mary's grave shadowed by an enormous weeping willow tree.

Robbie's face is so lugubrious it's no wonder I have bad dreams.

The first night I was here I dreamed I couldn't laugh.

The parlour is tiny and neat.

It's one window so shaded by a huge willow that the room has a grotto-like effect of emerald gloom.

There are wonderful tidies on the chairs and gay mats on the floor and books and cards carefully arranged on a round table and vases of dried grass on the mantelpiece.

Between the vases is a cheerful decoration of preserved coffin plates.

Five in all,

Pertaining respectively to Janet's father and mother,

A brother,

Her sister Anne,

And a hired man who died there once.

If I go suddenly insane some of these days,

Know all men by these presents that those coffin plates have caused it.

But it's delightful and I said so.

Janet loved me for that,

Just as she detested poor Esther because Esther had said so much shade was unhygienic and had objected to sleeping on a feather bed.

I glory in feather beds.

The more unhygienic and feathery they are,

The more I glory.

Janet says it's such a comfort to see me eat.

She had been so afraid I would be like Miss Haythorn who wouldn't eat anything but fruit and hot water for breakfast and try to make Janet give up frying things.

Esther is really a dear girl,

But she's rather given up to fads.

The trouble is she hasn't enough imagination and has a tendency to indigestion.

Janet told me I could have use of the parlour when any young men called.

I don't think there are many to call.

I haven't seen a young man in Valley Road yet,

Except the next-door hired boy Sam Tolliver.

He's a very tall,

Lank,

Toe-haired youth.

He came over one evening recently and sat for an hour on the garden fence near the front porch where Janet and I were doing fancy work.

The only remarks he volunteered in all that time were,

Have a peppermint,

Miss.

Now a fine thing for Qatar is a peppermint.

There is a love affair going on here though.

It seems to be my fortune to be mixed up more or less actively with elderly love affairs.

Mr and Mrs Irving always say I brought about their marriage.

Mrs Stephen Clark of Carmody persists in being the most grateful to me for a suggestion which somebody else would probably have made if I didn't.

I do really think though that Ludwig Speed would never have got any further along than placid courtship if I had not helped him and Theodora Dix out.

In this present affair,

I am only a passive spectator.

I've tried once to help things along and made an awful mess of it,

So I shall not meddle again.

I'll tell you all about it when we meet.

Chapter 32 Tea with Mrs Douglas On the first Thursday night of Anne's sojourn in Valley Road,

Janet asked her to go to a prayer meeting.

Janet blossomed out like a rose to attend that prayer meeting.

She wore a pale blue pansy sprinkled muslin dress with more ruffles than one would ever have supposed economical.

Anne felt quite amazed.

Later on she found out Janet's motive in so arraying herself was a motive as old as Eden.

Valley Road prayer meetings seemed to be essentially feminine.

There were 32 women present,

Two half-grown boys and one solitary man beside the minister.

Anne found herself studying this man.

He was not handsome or young or graceful.

He had remarkably long legs,

So long he had to keep them coiled up under his chair,

And he was stoop-shouldered.

His hands were big,

His hair wanted barbering,

And his moustache was unkempt.

But Anne thought she liked his face.

It was kind and honest and tender.

And there was something else in it too,

Just what she found it hard to define.

She finally concluded this man had suffered and been strong,

And this had manifested in his face.

When prayer meeting was over,

The man came up to Janet and said,

May I see you home,

Janet?

Then Janet took his arm,

And primly and shiny as if she were no more than 16,

Having her first escort home.

Miss Shirley,

Permit me to introduce Mr Douglas,

Said Janet stiffly.

Mr Douglas then nodded and said,

I was looking at you in prayer meeting,

Miss,

And thinking what a nice little girl you were.

Such a speech from 99 people out of 100 would have annoyed Anne bitterly.

But the way in which Mr Douglas said it made her feel she'd received a very real and pleasing compliment.

She smiled appreciatively at him and dropped obligingly behind on the moonlit road.

So Janet had a beau.

Anne was delighted.

Janet would make a paragon of a wife,

Cheery,

Economical,

Tolerant and a very queen of cooks.

It would be a flagrant waste on nature's part to keep her a permanent old maid.

John Douglas asked me to take you up to see his mother,

Said Janet the next day.

She's bed ridden a lot of the time and never goes out of the house,

But she's powerful fond of company and always wants to see my boulders.

Can you go up this evening?

Anne assented,

But later in the day Mr Douglas called on his mother's behalf to invite them up to tea on Saturday evening.

Why didn't you put on your pretty pansy dress?

Asked Anne when they left home.

It was a hot day and poor Janet,

Between her excitement and her heavy black cashmere,

Looked as if she were being broiled alive.

Old Mrs Douglas would think it terrible frivolous and unsuitable.

John likes that dress though.

The old Douglas homestead was half a mile up the road.

It crested a windy hill and was large and comfortable,

Old enough to be dignified and girdled with maple groves and orchards.

At the tea table Mrs Douglas gracefully asked Janet to pour the tea.

Anne wrote a description of the meal to Stella.

We had cold tongue and chicken and strawberry preserves,

Lemon pie and tarts,

Chocolate cake and raisin cookies and pound cake and fruit cake and a few other things besides.

A caramel pie I think it was.

After I'd eaten twice as much as was good for me,

Mrs Douglas sighed and said she feared she had nothing to tempt my appetite.

I'm afraid dear Janet's cooking spoiled you for any other,

She said sweetly.

Of course nobody in Valley Road aspires to rival her.

After tea Mrs Douglas smiled benevolently and told John to take dear Janet out into the garden and get her some roses.

Miss Shirley will keep me company while you're out won't you,

She said plaintively.

Then she settled down in her armchair with a sigh.

Janet is a lovely woman,

Said Anne warmly.

A beautiful character,

Assented Mrs Douglas,

And a perfect housekeeper,

Something I never was.

My health would not permit it Miss Shirley.

I'm indeed thankful John's made such a wise choice.

I only hope and believe he'll be happy.

He's my only son and his happiness lies very near my heart.

Of course,

Said Anne stupidly.

For the first time in her life she was stupid yet she could not imagine why.

She seemed to have absolutely nothing to say to this sweet,

Smiling,

Angelic old lady.

Come and see me soon again dear Janet,

Said Mrs Douglas when they left.

You don't come half often enough,

But then I suppose John will be bringing you here to stay all the time one of these days.

Anne happened to glance at John Douglas as his mother spoke and gave a sort of start of dismay.

He looked as a tortured man might look when his tormentors gave the rat the last turn of possible endurance.

She felt sure he must be ill and hurried poor blushing Janet away.

Isn't Mrs Douglas a sweet woman,

Asked Janet as they went down the road.

Hmm,

Answered Anne absently.

She was wondering why John Douglas had looked so ill.

She's been a terrible sufferer,

Said Janet feelingly.

She takes terrible spells and it keeps John all worried up.

He's scared to leave home for fear his mother will take his spell.

And there'll be nobody there but the hired girl.

Reviews

Hmmm, intriguing last sentence! Some mystery here… thank you, dear!✨🙏🏼✨