Understanding the Essentials of Critical

Care Nursing 3rd Edition Perrin Test

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MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1) What should the nurse identify as symptoms of hypovolemic shock in a patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Sinus bradycardia of 55 beats per minute
B) Capillary refill time greater than 3 seconds
C) Decrease in blood pressure of 20 mm Hg when the patient sits up
D) Restlessness
E) Temperature of 97.6°F (36.4°C)
Answer: B, C, D

2) Which laboratory finding should cause the nurse to suspect that a patient is developing hypovolemic shock?
A) Metabolic acidosis validated by arterial blood gases
B) Serum sodium of 130 mEq/L (130 mmol/L)
C) SvO2 greater than 80%
D) Serum lactate of 3 mmol/L
Answer: A

3) The nurse recognizes that which symptom predisposes a patient to develop hypovolemic shock?
A) Severe constipation, causing watery diarrhea B) Ascites
C) Syndrome of inappropriate ADH (SIADH) D) Decreased cardiac output
Answer: B

4) Which finding indicates that a patient is experiencing increased peripheral resistance and vasoconstriction?
A) Pale, cool extremities with decreased pulses
B) Increased venous engorgement with strong pulses
C) Faster than normal capillary refill time
D) Strong bounding pulse with deep red coloring
Answer: A

5) Which solution would be the most appropriate initial volume replacement for a patient with severe GI
bleeding?
A) Two liters of D5 W over half an hour
B) 500 mL of 0.45% normal saline (1/2 NS) over half an hour
C) 200 mL of normal saline (NS) per hour for 5 hours
D) A liter of Ringer's lactate (RL) over 15 minutes
Answer: D

6) Which life-threatening complication should the nurse anticipate developing in the patient being treated for
hypovolemic shock? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Renal insufficiency
B) Pulmonary edema
C) Gastric stress ulcer
D) Fluid volume overload
E) Cerebral ischemia
Answer: A, E

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 7) Why should the nurse caring for a patient in hypovolemic shock avoid a hypotonic solution for fluid
resuscitation?
A) Because hypotonic solutions do not stay in the intravascular space long enough to expand the circulating
blood volume.
B) Because hypotonic solutions move quickly into the interstitial spaces and can cause third spacing.
C) Because hypotonic solutions stay longer to expand the intravascular space but deplete intracellular fluid
levels.
D) Because hypotonic solutions need a smaller bore needle to run at a slower rate to keep the intravascular
space low.
Answer: A

8) Which complication is being avoided when the nurse warms intravenous fluids to be used in a rapid infuser?
A) Cardiogenic shock B) Hemorrhagic shock
C) Sepsis D) Hypothermia
Answer: D

9) Which finding indicates that rehydration is complete and hypovolemic shock has been successfully treated in a
patient?
A) CVP = 8 mm Hg B) Hct = 54%
C) Urinary output of 0.1 mL/kg/hr D) MAP = 45 mm Hg
Answer: A

10) A patient is demonstrating pulmonary edema, hypotension, and delayed capillary refill. The nurse suspects the
patient is experiencing which type of shock?
A) Obstructive B) Cardiogenic C) Hypovolemic D) Anaphylactic
Answer: B

11) A patient experiencing vasodilation is diagnosed with distributive shock. The nurse should assess the patient
for which etiologies? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Pulmonary embolism
B) Spinal cord injury
C) Hemorrhage
D) Anaphylaxis
E) Sepsis
Answer: B, D, E

12) The nurse is concerned that a patient is at risk for developing obstructive shock because of which assessment
findings? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Bacteremia
B) Latex allergy
C) History of atrial fibrillation
D) T3 spinal cord injury
E) Age 80
Answer: C, E

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 13) A patient is experiencing an anaphylactic reaction to a medication. Why should the nurse be concerned that the
patient is developing distributive shock?
A) The release of histamine causes vasodilation with plasma leakage.
B) Microorganisms overwhelm the vascular system.
C) Parasympathetic innervation functions are unopposed.
D) Sympathetic innervation is interrupted.
Answer: A

14) A patient is diagnosed with cardiac tamponade. When planning care, the nurse should include interventions to
address which type of shock?
A) Hypovolemic B) Cardiogenic C) Distributive D) Obstructive
Answer: D

15) The nurse caring for a patient recovering from an acute myocardial infarction plans interventions to reduce the
risk of which type of shock?
A) Distributive B) Obstructive C) Cardiogenic D) Hypovolemic
Answer: C

16) A patient with cardiomyopathy is demonstrating signs of cardiogenic shock. What should the nurse realize is
the cause of this type of shock?
A) Reduced blood volume
B) Blood flow blocked in the pulmonary circulation
C) Reduced cardiac output
D) Increased stroke volume
Answer: C

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.

17) The nurse explains the mechanism of a pulmonary embolism to the family of a patient diagnosed with the
disorder. Place in order the steps the nurse will use to instruct the family about this disease process.

Choice 1. Blood clot causes backup of blood in the right ventricle.

Choice 2. Blood clot blocks blood to the left ventricle.
Choice 3. Left ventricle does not get enough blood to pump through the body.
Choice 4. Amount of blood the heart has to pump to the body drops.
Choice 5. Blood pressure drops.
Choice 6. Amount of blood going to the body drops.
Answer: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

18) A patient is being treated for pericarditis. The nurse should plan interventions to prevent the onset of which
type of shock?
A) Distributive B) Cardiogenic C) Hypovolemic D) Obstructive
Answer: D

3
19) A patient is brought to the emergency department with manifestations of anaphylactic shock. What should the
nurse assess as possible causes for this disorder? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Recent diagnostic imaging tests
B) Recent myocardial infarction
C) Recent bee sting
D) History of latex allergy
E) Ingestion of drugs
Answer: A, C, D, E

20) During an assessment, the nurse is concerned that a patient is developing cardiogenic shock. What did the nurse
assess in this patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Crackles in bilateral lung bases
B) Warm, dry skin
C) Systolic blood pressure 82 mm Hg
D) Heart rate 55 and regular
E) Capillary refill 10 seconds
Answer: A, C, E

21) A patient is brought to the emergency department with hypotension, tachycardia, reduced capillary refill, and
oliguria. During the assessment, the nurse determines the patient is experiencing cardiogenic shock because of
which additional finding?
A) Jugular vein distention B) Thirst
C) Dry mucous membranes D) Poor skin turgor
Answer: A

22) A patient being treated for cardiogenic shock is being hemodynamically monitored. Which finding is consistent
with the patient's diagnosis? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Elevated pulmonary arterial wedge pressure
B) Elevated mean arterial pressure
C) Elevated stroke volume
D) Elevated systemic vascular resistance index
E) Elevated central venous pressure
Answer: A, D, E

23) The nurse is caring for a patient recovering from a spinal cord injury sustained during a motor vehicle crash.
What assessment finding indicates that the patient is developing neurogenic shock? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Bradycardia
B) Warm, dry skin
C) Hypotension
D) Palpitations
E) Abdominal cramps
Answer: A, B, C

24) A patient demonstrates signs of obstructive shock, but the cause has yet to be determined. Which finding
indicates the patient is experiencing a pulmonary embolism as the cause for obstructive shock?
A) Hypotension B) Chest pain C) Tachycardia D) Oliguria
Answer: B

4
 25) The nurse reviews medications prescribed for a patient being treated for cardiogenic shock. Which medications
will the nurse most likely provide to this patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Phenylephrine
B) Epinephrine
C) Norepinephrine
D) Dobutamine
E) Dopamine
Answer: A, C, D, E

26) A patient with neurogenic shock is demonstrating bradycardia. What action should the nurse take at this time?
A) Administer atropine as prescribed. B) Prepare to administer crystalloids.
C) Administer phenylephrine as prescribed. D) Limit patient movement.
Answer: A

27) A patient is experiencing acute respiratory distress after eating an item of a known food allergy. Which
intervention should the nurse implement when providing emergency care to this patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Prepare to administer antithrombolytic agents as prescribed.
B) Administer vasopressin.
C) Apply oxygen via face mask as prescribed.
D) Administer epinephrine 1:1000 intramuscularly.
E) Provide diphenhydramine 25 mg intravenous.
Answer: C, D, E

28) A patient is receiving phenylephrine 50 mcg/min as treatment for shock. Which assessment finding indicates
this medication is effective?
A) Decreased peripheral pulses B) Respiratory rate 12 and regular
C) Heart rate 110 D) Blood pressure 110/68 mm Hg
Answer: D

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.

29) A patient weighing 220 lbs is prescribed 10 mcg/kg/min of dopamine to improve cardiac output from
cardiogenic shock. How many milligrams of dopamine should the patient receive in an hour?
Record your answer rounding to the nearest whole number.
Answer: 60

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

30) Which assessment finding indicates that an infusion of intravenous epinephrine 4 mcg/min is effective in the
treatment of a patient with anaphylactic shock?
A) Heart rate 55 and regular B) Blood pressure 98/50 mm Hg
C) Reduced wheezing D) Respiratory rate 28
Answer: C

5
31) A patient receives norepinephrine 30 mcg/min for treatment of refractory shock. Which assessment finding
suggests the patient is experiencing peripheral vasoconstriction from the medication? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Increased cardiac output
B) Onset of paresthesias
C) Drop in blood pressure
D) Drop in body temperature
E) Decreased peripheral pulses
Answer: B, D, E

32) A patient is prescribed vasopressin 0.03 units/minute as treatment for septic shock. What action should the
nurse take when providing this medication?
A) Provide the vasopressin infusion in addition to a norepinephrine infusion.
B) Administer with 0.9% normal saline.
C) Utilize a rapid infuser.
D) Infuse through a peripheral line.
Answer: A

33) The nurse assesses a mediastinal shift in a patient being treated for injuries from a motor vehicle crash. For
which type of shock should the nurse plan care for this patient?
A) Obstructive B) Cardiogenic C) Distributive D) Hypovolemic
Answer: A

34) A patient received 8 units of packed red blood cells as treatment for hypovolemic shock. Which laboratory
value should the nurse monitor for this patient?
A) Potassium B) Sodium C) White blood cells D) Calcium
Answer: D

35) A patient is demonstrating signs of cardiogenic shock. Why should an intra-aortic balloon pump be considered
for this patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Increases coronary perfusion
B) Improves pulmonary perfusion
C) Facilitates blood out of the left ventricle
D) Controls heart rate
E) Decreases afterload
Answer: A, C, E

36) A patient receiving treatment for a spinal cord injury is demonstrating signs of neurogenic shock. What should
the nurse expect to assess in this patient? Select all that apply.
Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
A) Reduced pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP)
B) Elevated right atrial pressure (RAP)
C) Low mean arterial pressure (MAP)
D) Decreased central venous pressure (CVP)
E) Increased jugular vein distention (JVD)
Answer: A, C, D

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37) The nurse assesses muffled heart sounds in a patient recovering from thoracic injuries caused by a motor
vehicle crash. What should the nurse anticipate being prescribed for this patient?
A) Surgical embolectomy B) Chest tube insertion
C) Tissue plasminogen activator D) Pericardiocentesis
Answer: D

7
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Cicely
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Cicely
a story of three years

Author: Mrs. Molesworth

Release date: November 24, 2023 [eBook #72219]

Language: English

Original publication: London: Tinsley Brothers, 1874

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CICELY ***

 CICELY.
A STORY OF THREE YEARS.
IN THREE VOLUMES.

ENNIS GRAHAM,
AUTHOR OF “SHE WAS YOUNG AND HE WAS OLD,” “NOT WITHOUT
THORNS,” ETC. ETC.
LONDON TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET,
STRAND.
[All rights reserved.]
PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO., LITTLE QUEEN STREET,
LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS.
As long as Love continues the most imperious passion, and Death
the surest fact of our mingled and marvellous humanity, so long will
the sweetest and truest music upon earth be ever in the minor key.
To my Cicely.
December 30th, 1873.
 CONTENTS.

Vol.1
I. WIDOW LAFON’S SOUP
II. MR. GUILDFORD OF SOTHERNBAY
III. “LITTLE MASTER”
IV. A SECOND SUMMONS
V. “COME INTO THE GARDEN, MAUD”
VI. “LE JEUNE MILORD”
VII. SOME ARE WISE, SOME OTHERWISE
VIII. “THE WITCHCRAFT OF A TEAR”
IX. OF THE SAME OPINION STILL

Vol. 2.
I. WORK AND PLAY
II. SHADOWS BEFORE.
III. BY THE OLD WATER-MILL
IV. MAN AND WOMAN
V. ONE OF MANY
VI. LES PAPILLONS
VII. FAILING MISS WINTER.
VIII. SOME SUMMER DAYS
IX. A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
X. FORGIVE ME, AND GOOD BYE

Vol. 3.
I. DÉSILLUSIONNÉE
II. AFTER THE BALL
III. THE NEWS THAT FLIES FAST
IV. “TO MY AIN COUNTREE”
V. “HOW LITTLE YOU UNDERSTAND”
VI. A NEW TERROR.
VII. ALONE
VIII. MADAME GENTILLE
IX, A SOUTHERN WINTER
X. AMIEL TO THE FORE
XI. FRIEND AND WIFE
CHAPTER I.
 WIDOW LAFON’S SOUP.

“Why a stranger—when he sees her

In the street even—smileth.”
E. B. Browning

ONLY early April, but already a very hot day—what we dwellers in

the north would consider an almost unendurably hot day! But in the
pleasantest part of the sunny south of France, heat, up to a certain
point, is endurable enough, thanks to the perfect purity of the air,
ever freshened by the near neighbourhood of mountains and sea.
Still it was very nearly too hot to be pleasant. So thought
Geneviève Casalis, the little daughter of the senior pasteur of the
Reformed Church at Hivèritz, as she sat under the shade of the
wooden gallery running round the little square, half garden, half
court-yard, on one side of which was her father’s house. It was
Sunday afternoon; Geneviève had been twice at church, and since
returning from the second service had read the allotted portion of the
history of the Reformation in France, on which she and her brothers
would be cross-questioned by their father in the evening. So, Sunday
being in certain practical respects a day of rest in the Protestant
household, Geneviève felt that her duties for the time were over, and
that she might indulge in a little idle meditation. Her Bible and her
book of Cantiques lay on her knees; the expression of her girlish
face was serious and thoughtful,—“devout,” a casual observer might
probably have pronounced it; what and where were her thoughts?
“Ah! but it is truly too vexatious,” she was thinking to herself, “that
I should again to-day have had no other dress to wear but this. To
see that great awkward Stéphanie Rousille and her sisters in their
new piqués,—not that they could ever look bien mises in anything,
but it was too provoking. I must absolutely beg maman again to
arrange our summer dresses. Poor maman! she has had much to
consider lately I know well. It is not that I would add to her troubles;
ah! no, but I am sure I could myself alter my last year’s dresses for
Eudoxie, which would already save some expense, if maman would
let me buy one, or, at the most, two new piqués for myself. Or one
piqué and one muslin? I saw some quite charming muslins in the
window at Laussat’s yesterday.”
Her glance fell discontentedly on the black alpaca, her Sunday
dress for many months past. It was scarcely perhaps the dress for a
hot summer’s day, but still far from unbecoming; for it fitted
Geneviève’s pretty figure to perfection, and was relieved from
sombreness by the neat white collar and coquettish little bow of blue
ribbon at the throat.
“This dress,” continued the girl, “will be my every-day one next
winter. I think too it will be well to take it when we go to the
mountains, there are chilly days there sometimes. Ah! if only it were
the time for going. Still six weeks at least, and to me Hivèritz is
detestable when every one has left it. How different people’s lives
are—how I wish my father were rich and noble, like some of those
grand English who come here for the winter and amuse themselves
so well! How I wish—”
But at this point Geneviève’s wishes were interrupted.
“Mademoiselle,” said a voice at her side, “mademoiselle, madame
vous fait demander.”
Geneviève looked up with a momentary impatience. “What is
there then, Mathurine?” she asked.
“Only that madame wished that mademoiselle and mademoiselle
Eudoxie and I should take the soup to the Widow Lafon. ’Tis not so
far, mademoiselle, only round by the allée vert to the other side of St.
Cyprien—une gentille promenade, à present qu’il ne fait plus si
chaud,” added the old servant coaxingly, observing the slight cloud
of unwillingness on Geneviève’s pretty face.
The girl rose slowly. “Ah! well, it must be, I suppose,” she said.
“But why take Eudoxie, Mathurine? She is so tiresome when we are
out, always wanting to run up the banks and pick flowers. I would
much rather—”
“Mais c’est madame qui le veut,” interrupted Mathurine hastily,
with a slight gesture of warning; and, turning in the direction of the
maid-servant’s eyes, Geneviève caught sight of her mother coming
out of the doorway just behind them.
Madame Casalis was tall and thin, with still glossy black hair and
bright dark eyes. She looked as if she might once have been pretty
and graceful. She was still young; young to be the mother of
eighteen-years old Geneviève; but much care and many anxieties
had done their usual work, leaving her in appearance considerably
older than in years. She had had a hard time of it in many ways; for
on her, by nature active, vigorous, and capable, rather than on her
gentle, less practical husband, had fallen the greater share of the
burden and heat of the day. Under such circumstances some
amount of chronic “fussiness,” of irritability even, was, if not
inevitable, surely, at least, excusable? Be that as it may, it is very
certain that it would have fared but ill with the six young Casalis had
their mother belonged to the more easy-going order of matrons. Yet
it is to be doubted if in every direction Geneviève’s mother was
wholly appreciated: the full depth of a tenderness and devotion
which manifest themselves rarely save in ceaseless action is seldom
justly estimated; the poetry which only finds expression in prose is
too often ignored, its very existence little suspected, least of all by
those who benefit most thereby.
But Madame Casalis was on the whole content; she left the
dreaming to her husband, the prettinesses to pretty Geneviève, too
busy to think about herself at all. And in her own domain she reigned
supreme.
“What is there then, Geneviève?” she inquired, as she drew near
to her daughter and old Mathurine. “Dost thou not like my little
commission, my child? The soup will not be good if we keep it till to-
morrow, and the old mother Lafon is always so pleased to see thee.”
Her mother’s tone was unusually gentle. Geneviève felt
emboldened by it to express her real objection to the arrangement.
“I like very well to go, mamma,” said Geneviève amiably, “if it
might be alone with Mathurine. But with Eudoxie it will take us so
long. She is so full of life, the poor child; and surtout le Dimanche,
one meets tant de monde, and then it would be so distressing if she
soiled her best frock with picking flowers and jumping on the banks.
But of course it is as thou wishest, chère mamma.”
A slight look of disappointment crossed Madame Casalis’ face.
She would have been glad of an hour’s rest from little Eudoxie’s
chatter. But somewhat to Genevievè’s surprise, she answered
quickly,
“It may be better for la petite to stay with me. Hasten then, my
child; thou shalt go alone with Mathurine.”
Geneviève gave all the credit to her judicious suggestion of
possible damage to the best frock; she little suspected that today of
all days it would have been hard for her mother to oppose any wish
she had expressed. She was turning to go into the house to prepare
for her walk, when her mother stopped her.
“When thou shalt be returned, my child,” she said, “come at once
to thy father and me. He wishes to talk to thee a little. We shall be in
his room;” and she re-entered the house as she spoke, giving
Geneviève no opportunity to ask any of the questions her curiosity
immediately suggested.
 “What could mamma mean, thinkest thou, Mathurine?” she said, a
few minutes later, when she and her companion had set off on their
errand. “What can my father have to speak about to me?”
“Perhaps some great monsieur, some milord, perhaps—songe à
demander ma demoiselle?” said the old servant gravely.
“Mademoiselle n’est plus enfant, on voit bien.”
“Nonsense, Mathurine,” exclaimed Geneviève impatiently, with a
little toss of her head, “dost thou not understand it will not be so with
me. I am Protestant and half English! Thinkest thou I would marry
any one, even the greatest ‘milord’ in the world, if he did not make
himself agreeable to me myself in the first place? And what is as
much to the purpose, perhaps, I have no dot. Great milords are not
so ready to marry portionless girls as all that, you silly Mathurine.”
“Pardon, mademoiselle. It is true, I forget often that madame has
the English ideas, and it is quite to be understood that mademoiselle
should have them too. But what mademoiselle says about having no
dot I avow I do not understand. For, à ce que l’on me dit, en
Angleterre tout cela est bien différent. I have heard that the
demoiselles there, the demoiselles sans dot, je veux dire, se marient
souvent très bien,—mais très bien,” with an impressive little pause,
“above all, a demoiselle so beautiful, so gracieuse, as
mademoiselle.”
“Sometimes perhaps it is so,” said Genevieve with an air of
having seriously considered the matter; “still on the whole I would
rather take my chance with, than without, a dot. For I am not sure,
Mathurine, that I should like to marry an English man, not even a
‘milord.’ Life in England must be often triste, and I imagine also that
the husbands there are un peu sévères; expect their wives to amuse
themselves enough with the children and the ménage. Bah! that
would not suit me. When I marry, it shall not be into that sort of life. I
have had enough of it at home. I must have a husband who will let
me do as I like; he must adore me, and he must be rich. Oh, so rich!”
“Et beau, mademoiselle,” suggested Mathurine, evidently thinking
that as wishing was the order of the day, there was no need to limit
the perfections of her young lady’s hero. “Mademoiselle should have
un bel homme; mademoiselle who is so pretty.”
“Yes,” agreed Geneviève. “Oh! yes; I should like him to be
handsome, though that is not a point of the most important. But
every one may not find me pretty, Mathurine? Perhaps, it is only that
thou hast taken care of me since I was a baby. Tell me, Mathurine,
wast thou pretty in thy youth?” she went on with a sudden change of
tone. “Why didst thou never marry? Is it that one has never asked for
thee?”
“But no, mademoiselle,” replied the girl, though without the
slightest appearance of offence. “One asked for me more than once.
But the rich parti was old and ugly, and, one had told me, not too
good to his wives—il en avait déjà eu trois—and the young parti was
poor, mais très pauvre, and had besides an aged father to support,
and I, mademoiselle, had then an aged mother. So what could we
do? We waited and waited, but times grew worse instead of better,
and other troubles came, and my poor boy and I we lost heart. Then
there was a rich widow, a paysanne only, by origin, but her husband
had left her his property, who took a fancy to my Etienne, and what
prospect had we, that I should keep him? Ah, mademoiselle, dans
cette vie, il faut bien souvent marcher sur le caur à deux pieds! The
end of it was, Etienne married the widow, and I—enfin, me voilà,
mademoiselle, la vieille Mathurine, à votre service.”
“And was Etienne happy with the widow?” asked Geneviève.
“I never heard to the contrary, mademoiselle,” answered
Mathurine. “It was many years before I saw him again; then, as it
happened one day—it was the neuvaine at the convent close to the
village where we lived, and madame, the wife of Etienne, had come
with the other fermières of the neighbourhood, and he had driven her
over, and as I was saying—”
But Geneviève was not destined to hear the particulars of the
meeting of Mathurine and Etienne, for just as the old woman had
reached this point her story was interrupted by a sudden cry of
warning. It came too late, however. They were crossing the road to
enter the allée verte, the ‘Alameda’ of the inhabitants of Hivèritz,
when a large open carriage, drawn by two horses, came swiftly
round a sharp corner, and in a moment both the young girl and her
attendant were thrown to the ground, apparently right under the
wheels. There were screams from the carriage, shouts from the by-
standers, a general commotion. Mathurine was quickly extricated,
still clutching tightly the handle of the little tin soup-can, whose
contents lay in a pool on the white dusty road. She declared herself
unhurt, and was evidently far more concerned about the fate of her
charge than about her own.
“Mais, où est-elle donc, mademoiselle Geneviève, ma petite
demoiselle? Ah! qu’est-ce que madame va me dire!” she exclaimed
frantically. “Est-elle donc tuée, la chère enfant? La voilà qui ne me ré
ponds pas. Dieu, quel horreur!” she continued, as she at last caught
sight of Geneviève, pale as death, with eyes closed and apparently
quite unconscious, lifted in the arms of a gentleman, who had sprung
from the box of the carriage on the first alarm.
“Is she much hurt? Are there any bones broken? Don’t you think
you had better not move her till some one can fetch a doctor? Good
Heavens, how unfortunate it is! Oh dear! Miss Winter, what will Sir
Thomas say?” exclaimed one of the two ladies in the carriage. She
was what is euphemistically called “middle-aged,” though to reckon
by the old “three score years and ten,” she must a good long time
ago have passed the meridian of life. But she was well preserved
and well dressed, refined-looking, and on the whole sufficiently
pleasing in appearance if not to disarm at least not to suggest
criticism. Just now her face was nearly as pale as Geneviève’s own,
and as she turned to her companion she seemed on the point of
tears.
“Don’t distress yourself so, keep calm, I beseech you, dearest
Lady Frederica,” entreated Miss Winter, who, fortunately, had her
wits about her; indeed the keeping them well in hand may be said to
have been a part of her profession. “Ah! here is some one belonging
to the poor girl. What does she say, Mr. Fawcett?”
“I can’t understand her,” replied the gentleman, to whom poor
Mathurine had been vainly trying to make herself intelligible. “She
talks so confoundedly fast. Can’t you make her out, Miss Winter?”
Miss Winter did her best, but it was no easy matter, for poor
Mathurine, in her distress and excitement, unconsciously relapsed at
every two or three words, into her native patois. She was begging
the young man to lay Geneviève on the ground, for Mr. Fawcett was
very tall and Mathurine was very short; in her darling’s present
position, therefore, it was almost impossible for the poor woman to
obtain a clear view of her face.
“She will soon come to herself, is it not?” Mathurine was saying
“She will open her pretty eyes, and will be frightened if she does not
see her old Mathurine. If monsieur will but lay her down—see, I can
spread my shawl. Ah! but monsieur does not comprehend. What
then shall I say?”
She clasped her hands in despair. Miss Winter began a laboured
sentence in the most correct French and with the most English of
accents. In her turn Mathurine was looking hopelessly puzzled,
when, to the amazement of all, a sweet faint voice was suddenly
heard in soft tones thanking “monsieur” for his kindness, begging
him to deposit its owner beside Mathurine. And to the relief of the
English party, the words were in their own tongue, spoken too,
without hesitation, and with only the soupçon of a French accent.
“I am not hurt, not wounded at all, I assure monsieur,” said
Geneviève, while the bright red rushed to her pale face. “’Twas but
the—the shock—is that the word? I can hold myself upright very well
at present, and monsieur must be so—géné. Mathurine will take care
of me.”
She struggled out of Mr. Fawcett’s arms, as she spoke. He still
half held her, however, and but for this she would have fallen. As it
was, she grew very pale again and clung to Mathurine’s sturdy figure
for support.
“’Tis but a little weakness, my angel,” said the nurse, in her delight
at seeing that Geneviève was uninjured, throwing her usual
respectful manner to the winds. “She has no pain, mademoiselle
chérie, n’est-ce-pas? Only an étourdissement in the head. Naturally,
la pauvre enfant! Que le bon dieu soit loué, that it is no worse! If we
had only a glass of water; then she could perhaps return to the
house!”
Mdlle. Casalis repeated the request in English.
“A glass of water,” said Mr. Fawcett, with a smile. “I think a little
brandy would be more to the purpose. Don’t you think so, Miss
Winter? Mother,” he continued, turning to the lady in the carriage, “I
think our best plan will be to drive mademoiselle—I beg your
pardon,” to Geneviève, “I don’t think I heard your name.”
“Casalis,” murmured the girl, but Mr. Fawcett did not catch the
word.
“To drive the young lady to our hotel,” he went on; “it is close at
hand, and then when you have rested a little,” he turned again to
Geneviève, “you must allow us to drive you home.”
“I would like better to go to the house—home, I mean—now,
thank you,” said Geneviève. “It is not very far—Rue de la Croix. I
think I can walk now.”
“Pray do not attempt it,” said Lady Frederica. “It will be much
better to do as my son proposes. Miss Winter, will you help the
young lady to get into the carriage? Perhaps,” she added to
Geneviève, “your servant (‘maid’ she was going to have said, but
poor Mathurine’s appearance puzzled her; her short stout figure,
sunburnt face, and fête-day cap by no means suggesting the
conventional lady’s-maid) “will follow us if you will direct her to the
hotel. What is the name of our hotel, Miss Winter? I never can
remember; we have been at so many lately.”
“Hotel d’Espagne,” replied Miss Winter briskly, having by this time
settled Geneviève comfortably in the place of honour by Lady
Frederica’s side, and seated herself opposite. Then the handsome
young ‘milord’ jumped up on to the box again, and the carriage drove
off. The little crowd that the accident had collected dropped off one
by one, leaving Mathurine standing alone in the middle of the road,
shading her eyes with her hand, as she watched the carriage
disappear.
 “But he is distingué, ce jeune milord!” she murmured to herself,
“those are the English of the first rank without doubt, and
mademoiselle so beautiful, so gracieuse. Quel dommage she had
not a pretty new robe d’été to-day, like the demoiselles Rousille! Still
it might have been spoilt, for she is covered with dust. And a dress of
alpaca one can brush. Without doubt it is all for the best.”
She gave two or three funny little grunts of satisfaction—it
seemed to Mathurine she could see a long way into the future that
afternoon—and then trotted away down the street in the direction of
the Hotel d’Espagne.
Nearly an hour later, just as Madame Casalis was beginning to
think that her messengers must be loitering greatly on their way, she
was startled by the sound of a carriage driving past the window of
the room where she was sitting and then stopping at the door.
The Rue de la Croix was a quiet little street, leading to nowhere in
particular, and quite out of the thoroughfare of Hivèritz; rarely
entered therefore but by foot-passengers. But Geneviève’s mother
had hardly time to make up her mind whether, in Mathurine’s
absence, she must open the door herself, or depute little Eudoxie or
one of the boys to do so, when she heard familiar voices in the
passage, and in another moment Geneviève, closely followed by
Mathurine, came in.
“You have been rather a long time,” she said. “Did the mother
Lafon like the soup? Tell me then, Geneviève, was there a carriage
in the street as you came in? It seemed to me that I heard one,
which stopped at our door. But it must be that I was mistaken.”
“Du tout, maman,” replied Geneviève. “There was indeed a
carriage, for we came home in it, Mathurine et moi.”
She smiled as she spoke, but her mother looking up in surprise,
now observed her crumpled and soiled dress, her flushed, excited
face. For a moment she felt vaguely alarmed.
“But, don’t be frightened, mamma; there is nothing wrong. I have
had a little adventure, voilà tout,” said Geneviève, and then she told
her story, the dramatic effect of which was considerably increased by
Mathurine’s interpolations. “Ah, madame, que j’ai eu peur!”—“une si
belle voiture.” “Madame la baronne Anglaise si bien mise—une
toilette magnifique”—“un si beau monsieur,” etc. etc.
And “Was it not fortunate that Eudoxie was not with us?” observed
Geneviève sagely, in conclusion.
“And the soup of the poor mother Lafon!” added Mathurine.
“We must make her some again to-morrow,” said Madame
Casalis calmly. She bore the loss of the soup with equanimity. “My
child might have been killed,” she thought to herself with a shudder,
and the reflection somewhat soothed the bitterness of a new trouble
that had been tugging at her heartstrings for several days—a trouble
that had come in the shape of a thin, black-edged letter from over
the sea, one of the letters from her English relations that at long
intervals still found their way to the pasteur’s wife.
For these cousins of hers had never altogether lost sight of her,
though since the death of her mother, their relation, Madame Casalis
had felt the chain slacken, as must always be the case, however
kindly the intentions, once that the links and rivets of mutual interests
and common associations begin one by one to drop away.
Geneviève had drawn somewhat largely on her imagination in
describing herself as “half English.” She was fond of doing so; the
thought of these unknown relations had always had a strong
fascination for her, and had been the foundation of many a girlish
castle in the air. At school she had studied English with twice the
amount of attention which she bestowed upon her other lessons, and
had eagerly profited by her mother’s instruction at home. And
nothing gratified her more when some little jealousy was expressed
by her companions on her repeatedly carrying off the “English prize,”
than to hear the murmur: “Of course, what can one expect?
Geneviève Casalis is of an English family—at least her mother is,
which is almost the same thing.”
Not that she was ever communicative to those chattering
companions of hers on the subject. By dint of well-timed but
persistent cross-questioning she had elicited from her mother
sufficient information, respecting the social condition of her cousins,
to justify her in occasionally throwing out vague but impressive hints
or allusions for the benefit of Stéphanie Rousille or Marguérite
Frogé. But, notwithstanding the, comparatively speaking, humble
origin and position of the Casalis family, and notwithstanding, too,
Geneviève’s excessive sensitiveness on the point, no one could
accuse her of consoling herself by boasting of her grand relations.
Young as she was, her quick instincts had already taught her the
value, in certain positions, of “an unknown quantity,” the expediency
of judicious reserve, the folly of limiting by such “stubborn things” as
facts the imagination of those she wished to impress. To old
Mathurine alone, in all probability, was the girl thoroughly natural and
unreserved.
Much to Geneviève’s dissatisfaction her mother sent her to bed
very early that Sunday evening. She declared in vain that she was
not in the least tired, and that she did not feel the slightest ill effects
of the accident. Her varying colour and languid movements told
another tale, and, as rarely happened in the Casalis family, her
father looked up from his book to enforce his wife’s authority.
“Go to rest thyself, my child,” he said, “as thy good mother
counsels thee. To-morrow morning we shall wish to speak to thee on
a matter of importance, but not now; and before thou sleepest,
Geneviève,” he added with a certain solemnity of manner,
suggesting the pastor as well as the father, “remind thyself to thank
the good God for having preserved thee from a great danger.”
Geneviève murmured a dutiful “Oui, mon père,” then turning to
her mother—“Wilt thou then, dear mamma, come up to see me
before I sleep, for a minute?” for she was burning with curiosity to
learn something of the nature of the “matter of importance,” which
the excitement of the afternoon had made her temporarily forget;
anxious also to lead the conversation round again to the English
family whose acquaintance she had made so abruptly. “Mamma
understands the English,” she said to herself. “I should like to know
what sort of people this family Fawcett belongs to. I have heard that
in England the sons of the good families may marry to please
themselves much more than in France. The young Monsieur Fawcett