Page 81 - Writes of Passage
P. 81
from THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
She had the power of silent sympathy. That sounds rather dull, I know, but it’s not so dull as it sounds. It just means that a person is able to know that you are unhappy, and to love you extra on that account, without bothering you by telling you all the time how sorry she is for you.
E. Nesbit
This passage comes from The Railway Children by E. Nesbit (1858 – 1924), published in 1906, a story about a family of three children and their mother who leave London and move to a house near a railway line after the children’s father is falsely imprisoned for spying. These lines describe the eldest child, Roberta. The mother in this book, who (like Nesbit) writes stories to support her family while their father is away, is one of the great mothers in fiction. She reminds us that sometimes your strength and confidence can come from what is unsaid by a parent.
You can read more from E. Nesbit on page 84.
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