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Mrs. Leigh heeded the loss of all these things less than her sons.
She had more spirit in her countenance than she had had for months,
because now she had hope; of a sad enough kind, to be sure, but still
it was hope. She performed all her household duties, strange and
complicated as they were, and bewildered as she was with all the town
necessities of her new manner of life; but when her house was
"sided," and the boys come home from their work in the evening, she
would put on her things and steal out, unnoticed, as she thought, but
not without many a heavy sigh from Will, after she had closed the
house-door and departed. It was often past midnight before she came
back, pale and weary, with almost a guilty look upon her face; but
that face so full of disappointment and hope deferred, that Will had
never the heart to say what he thought of the folly and hopelessness
of the search. Night after night it was renewed, till days grew to
weeks, and weeks to months. All this time Will did his duty towards
her as well as he could, without having sympathy with her. He stayed
at home in the evenings for Tom's sake, and often wished he had Tom's
pleasure in reading, for the time hung heavy on his hands as he sat
up for his mother.
I need not tell you how the mother spent the weary hours. And yet I
will tell you something. She used to wander out, at first as if
without a purpose, till she rallied her thoughts, and brought all her
energies to bear on the one point; then she went with earnest
patience along the least-known ways to some new part of the town,
looking wistfully with dumb entreaty into people's faces; sometimes
catching a glimpse of a figure which had a kind of momentary likeness
to her child's, and following that figure with never-wearying
perseverance, till some light from shop or lamp showed the cold
strange face which was not her daughter's. Once or twice a kindhearted
passer-by, struck by her look of yearning woe, turned back
and offered help, or asked her what she wanted. When so spoken to,
she answered only, "You don't know a poor girl they call Lizzie
Leigh, do you?" and when they denied all knowledge, she shook her
head, and went on again. I think they believed her to be crazy. But
she never spoke first to any one. She sometimes took a few minutes'
rest on the door-steps, and sometimes (very seldom) covered her face
and cried; but she could not afford to lose time and chances in this
way; while her eyes were blinded with tears, the lost one might pass
by unseen.
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