Old Friends and New is a series of short stories written by Sarah Orne Jewett. It was published in The Atlantic Monthly in seven installments – one short story in each volume – in 1878."The Atlantic Monthly Volume 0041 Issue 243 (January 1878)." The Atlantic Monthly Volume 0041 Issue 243 (January 1878). Cornell University, 2012. Web. 13 May 2012. <https://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=atla;cc=atla;rgn=fulltext;idno=atla0041-1;didno=atla0041-1;view=image;seq=3;node=atla0041-1:1;page=root;size=50>. In 1879, the short stories were compiled and published by Houghton, Osgood and Company.Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. The stories from Old Friends and New are clear examples of the local color movement, with descriptions of the peaceful, rural settings. They all take place in New England in the late nineteenth century.
Plot summary A Lost Lover Miss Horatia Dane is a lonely widow who lives in Longfield, far from any family. The narrator reveals a rumor that Miss Dane had a lover who was lost at sea, though she never mentions him. Nelly Dane, the daughter of Miss Horatia’s youngest cousin, comes to stay with Miss Horatia in Longfield. Nelly is extremely helpful around the house, and everyone in this small, rural area loves her. Nelly hears about the rumor of Miss Dane’s deceased lover from one of the townspeople, and promptly asks Melissa, Miss Dane’s servant. Melissa says that Miss Dane has never mentioned this lover, but that she has heard stories “from other folks.”Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. 8. Melissa says Miss Dane met Joe Carrick when she was visiting her great-aunt in Salem. It was assumed that they were going to marry after he came back from his journey, but the ship never returned. Melissa mentions that Miss Dane had never been interested in pursuing any other men, “on account of her heart’s being buried in the deep with him.”Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. 11. In an emotional conversation, Miss Dane confirms her loneliness to Nelly, but admits that she is used to it by now.
Later that week, a knock is heard at Miss Dane’s door. Melissa opens the door to find a beggar, who is welcomed by Miss Dane. The man tells her that he is a sailor, and has lived on ships ever since he was a boy. After the beggar mentions that he was raised in Salem, Miss Dane’s face becomes pale, and she can only stare at him. She realizes that this man is her lost lover, Joe Carrick, yet he does not recognize her. In the years following this incident, Miss Horatia Dane changes. She takes down the whale tooth that Carrick had given her, which she had displayed in her bedroom since he left on his voyage, and her age begins to show.
A Sorrowful Guest Jack Ainslie writes his sister, Helen, in 1877, asking if she would like to come to America to live with him, for Jack is very lonely without any family. Their parents had died when they were younger. Jack had gone to college and then into the military, and Helen went to live with her aunt, Alice, in Florence, and remained there after she died. Helen, like her brother, feels lonely now, for she misses her family, so she agrees to come to America. Helen and Jack live a very comfortable and social life. One night, Jack’s friends come to have dinner with Helen and Jack. Helen takes a curious interest in Mr. Whiston, one of Jack’s lifelong friends. She overhears Jack and Whiston speaking about their army days, recalling the death of some of their friends, and notices that Whiston suddenly looks very pale – as if he sees a ghost. After Whiston leaves, Helen, Jack, and George Sheffield – another of Jack’s army comrades – speak about Whiston and his many oddities. They wonder if he is insane, but Jack diagnoses him with monomania instead, referencing one of the many medical journals he keeps in his home. “An object may appear to be present before his eyes which has no existence whatever there.”Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. 25.
Upon their next meeting, Whiston tells Helen that he believes in ghosts, and that, in fact, Henry Dunster – his cousin who died in the war – constantly follows him around. Whiston presents many examples of his hallucinations, but Jack asks if perhaps it is not truly Dunster, for he was only counted as missing during the war. A couple days later, Helen and Jack visit Whiston in a hospital, where he soon dies. Helen is disappointed by the loneliness of the hospital, and reflects on how grateful she is for having such a loving brother and so comfortable a home. Months later, Jack discovers Dunster at the Marine Hospital in Chelsea. Dunster had actually avoided death by crawling out of enemy territory, and though some of Whiston’s hallucinations were, in fact, sightings of Dunster, others were most certainly caused by his monomania.
A Late Supper Miss Catherine Spring is a lonely, elderly woman who lives in Brookton, among the mountains and country. She had grown up as part of a big family, but everyone had died years before, and she had become accustomed to the solitude. She had been struggling financially, and no one had responded to her advertisement for summer boarders, so she had to think of other options. She writes to a niece in Lowell, requesting to stay with her, but soon learns that her niece will already have a relative staying with them for the summer. Spring’s nephew and his wife come to have dinner with Miss Spring without notifying her beforehand. Her nephew, Joseph, requests some cream for his tea, so Miss Spring crosses the street to her neighbor’s house to accommodate him. Spring's neighbor gives her the cream, but on her walk back across the road, Spring has to cross a train platform, hurrying through the train that is stopped there. Before Miss Spring can climb down the stairs on the other side, however, the train departs, leaving her in a train car with two strangers: Miss Ashton and her niece, Alice West. Miss Spring is concerned that her guests will be worried about her absence, but feels extremely comfortable with these two welcoming women. In fact, the women pay for Miss Spring’s train fare back to Brookton, but Spring promises to return the money, writing down their address.
Meanwhile, Miss Spring’s guests become concerned when they cannot find her. Due to her age, they speculate that she may have passed away. Miss Spring returns home, however, after having an adventure, and receives a letter from Alice West the next day. West requests boarding in Miss Spring’s house, for Ashton and West are unhappy in their summer home in the mountains. Upon receiving this letter, Miss Spring gets excited for her future. Spring is pleased to be staying in her home, instead of moving elsewhere, and is excited to welcome her guests as West and Ashton.
Mr. Bruce Elly, a young girl without a family, is staying with her aunt Mary near Boston. In trying to comfort Elly, Mary reveals that Elly has not had a great upbringing, as her father has been useless in caring for her. She assures her that Miss Margaret Tennant, one of Mary's close friends, will visit them soon and will take great care of Elly. When Tennant visits, she tells Elly and Mary the story of the first time Kitty, her sister, and Mr. Bruce met.
Many years prior, Kitty’s mother received a letter from her husband requesting her to prepare dinner for four business partners that would be joining them for dinner. With such short notice, they did not have enough servants to help serve dinner, so Kitty volunteered to do it as a joke, acting as a servant. One of the guests, an Englishman named Mr. Bruce, caught Kitty’s attention, and the two made eye contact throughout the dinner, though he thought Kitty was just a servant, so he had no interest in talking to her. Several months later, Kitty goes to stay in Baltimore with her aunt, Alice Thornton, to help Alice care for her home.
In letters to her sister, Kitty mentions one instance when she is out dancing, and meets an Englishman whom she recognizes and who clearly recognizes her. This man, however, leaves Kitty after they are introduced, and avoids her for the rest of the party. Alice knows the man and tells Kitty his name: Bruce. Alice throws a party at her home, and Mr. Bruce is one of the guests. Kitty wants to get to know him, but he seems hesitant to speak to her. Kitty’s uncle, Rob, returns home to Baltimore with the news that he has invited Mr. Bruce to dinner. When Mr. Bruce shows up, he asks Kitty if she is Mrs. Hunter’s niece, and immediately realizes that Kitty was the servant at the dinner he had attended several months prior. She denies that she was the servant that he spoke of, but could not hold in her laughter. She only realizes that Mr. Bruce was the same Englishman whom she had seen months before at that dinner upon his questioning. They become very close, and when Kitty returns home to Boston, Mr. Bruce joins her. The following year they get married, and settle down in a house near Boston. “Kitty was always loyal to Boston, like the true Tennant that she is.”Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. 56.
Miss Sydney’s Flowers Miss Sydney, a long-time resident of St. Mary Street learns that the city is planning to build a street connecting her street to Jefferson Street. This street will run right by Miss Sydney’s house, a house that is now in the heart of the city due to the urbanization of the area. Miss Sydney is not pleased with this, for she hates the noise, and has grown accustomed to being alone after the passing of all her friends and family. She is a cold and reserved woman, but is never intentionally rude to anyone. Now that her garden is right alongside this new street, Grant Place, Miss Sydney refuses to tend to it, but instead has John, her coachman, do the gardening.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Marley, an elderly candy saleswoman moves her stand from Jefferson Street to Garden Place – right outside Miss Sydney’s house – where there is less wind and more business. Miss Sydney is annoyed by the excessive noise from both the new street, in general, as well as Mrs. Marley’s candy cart right outside her window, however she comes to be very interested in the people. She loves watching everyone out of her window, and is prideful that so many people admire at her garden. “She was glad, now that the street was cut, that someone had more pleasure, if she had not.”Jewett, Sarah O. Old Friends and New. Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2010. Print. 61. Miss Sydney immediately becomes more kind and charitable, stopping by the cart to buy some molasses candy. John is extremely shocked, as Sydney proceeded to give this candy to some children on the street, an act that she would have never done before Grant Place was built. Miss Sydney knows that her change has gone noticed, and this embarrasses her. On their next meeting, Miss Sydney invites Mrs. Marley into her house to warm up, and proceeds to give her money to pay for her bills, as well as dinner for Marley and her sister. Bessie, a neighborhood girl, goes to visit Miss Sydney, for she pities her loneliness, and has noticed a change in her behavior. This is the beginning of a great friendship between the two, despite such a drastic age difference. Miss Sydney is very comfortable with Bessie, and confides a great deal in her, something she has never done with anyone, let alone a child. Sydney tells Bessie of her loneliness and how her age has affected her, but obvious change for the better has subdued these feelings now that Sydney is a warmer, more charitable person.
Lady Ferry