The Cocoon Author:Ruth McEnery Stuart Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: And now adieu for to-day. No dates or obligations. So even this hug will be cooled before you get it, like the memory of the embrace of a dead wife. Oh, how I lo... more »ve to hate this place!!!! Blessy. (I feel like signing myself Cussy, instead of Blessy, I'm that rebellious.) Feb. 21st. Dear Jack: A choppy sea, spurty showers and short answers from everybody. When I wrote that about short answers I had forgotten my chamber-maid. She, who is the soul of amiability and altogether a delight in her naive talk, says, " It looks like as ef it's a-fixin' to rain," but she says it as a bird sings. These musical southern voices have something elemental about them. Sometimes they seem even verging on tears, without being depressing, either. She calls back, " Oh revore!" as she goes out, after sweeping my room. I asked her this morning what she had said, feigning not to have heard, and she replied chuckling softly, " OhI say ' oh revore' just for style. Some says, ' Over the river' an' again some says, ' Olive oil,' but I say ef you say a thing, say it right." You see, she comes of the poor white class of the hills which knows no caste and, really, I enjoy it. This institution is a godsend to these people. They come from the turpentine country, most of them, and strongly suggest the Craddock types. This girl, whose name is Malviny-May— long i — asked me what my given name might be — she pronounced it " giving "— and when I told her " Doriana Myrtilla," she repeated slowly, " Do-ry-any Myr-til-ly, I'd never get that pronounced in Kingdom come, so I reckon I'll stick to the Mrs." And so to test her, I added in a friendly way, " I have been called Blessy for short," which pleased her, for she answered, " Well, that's somethin' like. An' now, Blessy Heminway, if you'll gether up y...« less