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Many developers are familiar with the situation like “ ”. You have to spend time and deal with the details already considered by another colleague. How to make it take a less amount of time? To achieve this, pay attention to a process of writing descriptions for Pull Requests (known as “PRs”) and Merge Requests (known as “MRs”). This article will focus on the content of the PR description without any explanation of coding since each project has its own coding-related specifications and requirements. where did this code fragment come from and why is it needed? Here is the list of topics that are covered in the article: Why is the description for Pull Request important and useful? What should a useful description of Pull Request contain? Which action helps writing a proper Pull Request description? Why the description for Pull Request is important and useful First of all, let’s try to understand why it is better to pay attention to the description for PR. Working on a project is a long path that’s divided into short segments. The beginning of each segment is a task, the steps are commits, and the end is PR. The importance of PR is rising when you start to realize that PR is the result of your work on the task. Superficially, it seems that the most important part is the commits with code that introduces functionality, optimizes the work of the final product. However, there is also another thing — the context of the changes that you apply to the product and the reasoning. The context implies your rationale for the chosen implementation method, the selected tools, the encountered issues, and the dilemmas. Providing context for PR is useful since the task itself and its discussion might be not sufficient enough to understand the full picture of the changes. It is good, when the discussion was conducted in the issue tracker or, verbally or in the chat, and was written in the form of short results. If not, then you will have to answer the questions like “where does this code come from and why is it needed here?” As a reviewer, I don’t feel joy during a PR review if I have to spend extra time to understand the logic of code and commits, because the author did not bother to write a proper description. When the coding part is done, the author of the changes could dedicate some time to the general description of PR, while everything is still fresh in memory. In this way, the author would save the time and effort of the project team. Let’s list the project members, who can benefit from the properly described PR: no longer have to guess what you wanted to achieve with the changes. There is no longer a need to spend time asking questions, like or “ ” Reviewers “Why did you pick this implementation path and not another?” Why did you choose the particular approach or selected some dependency? while looking at your commit can find a PR with a description of the changes made and a link to the task with related discussions. In the end, this will help to avoid bugs, since if your code needs to be altered in some way, colleagues can find out the requirements for its logic and pay attention to the relevant details. Project colleagues won’t need to answer additional questions about the implemented changes. In such cases, you can always refer to the description, where the most important points have already been clarified. This becomes even more relevant over time — since after like six months, it will be difficult to remember why the particular change was made. Anyway, there is no need to do that if the changes are backed up by a meaningful description. You This all leads to a conclusion: The description of PR is as valuable as the task ticket. Presenting the results of the work in the description for PR is important and useful, as it will save precious time and energy for the future. What should a useful description of Pull Request contain Now let’s consider important parts to cover to write a useful description for PR. Title Start with the title — it should reflect the essence of the changes. If there is a corresponding task or ticket, then the PR title can overlap with it. In such a case, a prefix with the task number should be added. SLI , SLI - Support reading input STDIN
SLI - Bugfix memory leak when input is supplied via STDIN -001 -002 for from -002 for The title should preferably be informative and short enough. Related tasks Tasks and tickets that are related to or will be solved by the PR must be provided. Better to provide them as a list with links to tickets in the tracker. In MarkDown, it looks the following way: ## Related tasks
- [SLI ](http: - [SLI ](http: -001 //my.issue.tracker/project/SLI-001) -002 //my.issue.tracker/project/SLI-002) Such an approach greatly simplifies navigation. For tasks that are located on GitHub and GitLab, there are special phrases that can be used in PR to close the referenced issues ( and ). manual for GH manual for GL Dependence on other PR If the PR is based on other open PRs that should be reviewed first, then they should be listed. This also applies to PRs for used packages and dependencies. Here is the example in MarkDown: ## Depends on
- # (other opened PR same repository)
- dependency# (other PR the other related repository) 3 in 55 in This will optimize the PR review process and save time for reviewers. If your PR does not depend on anything, skip the section. Premise This section is dedicated to preliminary research or other things that were preceding the applied changes. The following should be covered here: If you made a choice between possible packages and chose the most suitable one, then you should provide links to each package, then describe its “pros and cons” for solving the particular problem. You should also state the final reason why you have chosen a specific package for the integration into the project. If there was research about a task-related topic or an investigation for a different implementation approach, then you should provide links to the articles that were helpful in understanding the solution. You can also describe key points that will help to understand the changes that will follow. If you discovered that the existing code is disturbing you, then it should be outlined. If you were forced to refactor some function due to it being poorly implemented or affecting your implementation in some way, then it would be better to explain why such change was considered as necessary. Brief results of discussions with the team, which will help to understand why certain decisions were made. An example may look like following: ## Premise
As we have grammar description and access to an 
assembly code even AST, I considered to use 
PEG-based parser to generate custom AST assembly code, then use adapter to make it 
compatible current ASTReader processing logic. 
As prerequisites I from from with 've looked through the following 
packages:

- https://github.com/navstev0/nodebnf (npm) - I 
tried and in the end came to the conclusion, that 
it is not so stable to be used for our needs. Also, 
lacks proper documentation.

- https://github.com/lys-lang/node-ebnf (npm) - Has 
proper documentation and TypeScript definitions. 
Also, has a useful online sandbox. Chosen for the 
further implementation. This section is used for general cases when it is necessary to present any information in a reasonable volume that the reviewer or any other colleague should know they begin the inspection of the changes of PR. If there is no such need, then the section should be skipped. before Changes The section should list the changes that are applied. If you previously described the details in the messages of commits, then you can reuse the text from there. If you think that some points require additional explanation, then you can indicate important information as sub-items. ## Changes
- Added dependency [ebnf](https: - Cleaned **package.json** some obsolete 
commands. Introduced to copy BNF-
files when post-install occurs.
- Introduced **src/ebnf** directory components 
to parse code strings by BNF definitions.
- Tweaked configuration to be able to work a set components.
- Introduced tests to cover functionality. //www.npmjs.com/package/ebnf). from `ebnf:update` with with new of new Here are some guidelines for formulating the contents for the section: Some changes are available via reviewing the diff. Therefore, do not micro-describe — GIT will do it for you. It is better to summarize the changes, stating their meaning. For instance: - The dependency versions are updated because they 
are very outdated and the security audit detected 
vulnerabilities.

- Files the X directory were deleted because the 
component that worked them was replaced another. They were no longer needed.

- The method was updated because the low-level API 
has changed, and because , the method no 
longer worked properly. in with with of this When justifying actions related to dependencies, do not hesitate to use links to releases, merged bug fixes or features — it is going to be very useful in the future. If you introduce a new class, function, method, or other routines, it is better to describe its purpose (or even better, do it in the doc block in front of its definition). Try to pay a bit more attention to the actions that cannot be covered by comments in files with the source code: moving files, deletions, automatic updates (dependency configuration, for example). Some additional features, that you also should be aware about: You can use the “task list” option that is available on and . The list items can thus be made interactive. GitHub GitLab For clarity reasons, do not hesitate to refer to the code segments that you mean. You can read how to do this (I was unable to find instructions for GitLab and will be glad if somebody will share the link). here for GitHub Concerns If you have any doubts or feel contradictory, regarding the implementation, then mention in PR. Feel free to state your concerns and ask for advice from project colleagues. Here is a short list of possible reason to mention: You are recently on a project or not yet experienced in using a particular technology. So far, you did what you could, but you are unsure if the implementation is reliable. You encountered an issue that you don’t know how to solve, and advice from your colleagues would be helpful. You encountered a lack of time or additional difficulties and left part of the functionality unimplemented by placing a “stub” in the code. Ask about suggestions or state that you could use a bit more time to finalize the work. You might suggest another more effective approach to implementation, but you don’t know whether it is worth applying now, or it would be better to postpone the implementation to a later stage of development (depending on the circumstances). Here is an example in Markdown: ## Concerns
It appears that the compiler is trimming spaces and 
reducing indentation within assembly code strings AST node. This causes inability to 
generate proper attributes custom AST by 
simple math. Also, is not fixable, because 
these dependencies are already released and can not 
be patched. Need to find another way to link to a top-level node. Currently, any node will have the same parent node. Maybe I in `Assembly` `src` for this `AssemblyIdentifier` `VariableDeclaration` `AssemblyItem` `src` as `Assembly` 'm missing 
something... I would appreciate any suggestions 
that will help in solving the situation. If you have not encountered problems, then you should omit the section. Notes This section lists all the aspects that are not obvious or are side effects. For example, you introduced a new build command that copies files, or used some kind of functionality with “magic numbers”. Better mention such things in advance, because the questions will be asked sooner or later anyway. Here are some examples: ## Notes
- This PR changes major package API, which would 
result a backward compatibility (BC) .

- When changes applied to grammar files, developer 
must run to copy updated 
grammar files to **dist in break `npm run ebnf:update` /**. Otherwise, components 
will not react to any changes. All grammar files 
are static assets, so they are not compiled or 
handled by **tsc** in any way.

- For some reason `process.stdin.fd` is not 
available in type definitions for the current node 
version. It seems that we should upgrade at some 
point. I resolved this via magic 
`fse.readFileSync(0, { encoding: "utf8" })` (as `0` 
should point to `STDIN` for each process) and left 
a comment with the reasoning. What actions can help to make a proper Pull Request description A few actions that will allow you to compose the useful PR description. Please note that GitHub and GitLab provide the ability to create a PR description template (instructions are provided and ). Discuss with the team if it is worth setting templates in advance. here for GH here for GL When writing code, . Well-written commit messages are one of the best sources for the “Changes” section. Do not forget to mention the ticket code from the tracker. Modern trackers (Atlassian Jira, for example) are able to collect data from connected project repositories and generate links to related commits and PR. think about how you will compose the commit messages Before creating a PR, . Create a PR with only two sections “Tasks” and “Changes” with a “Reserved” mark. Then . put yourself in place of a reviewer do a code review by yourself This will help to look at the changes from a new angle. Please note that a less experienced colleague may walkthrough with your changes after the merge. Ask yourself the question: . “To not waste time in the future, is it worth giving an additional explanation in the description?” Think about what things might raise questions in the long term. If more than two people are involved in the project, then colleagues can start asking questions. If you can answer some of them in advance — this is a good reason to expand the description of PR. Next, try to put yourself out of context a bit and . The project may need to be transferred to other developers. In this case, it will be necessary to write instructions. think about what other aspects that may be important to the reader Ask yourself, “Isn’t it better to state important things now, while everything is fresh in my memory?” Remember if some important implementation decisions were discussed with your colleagues verbally or on other resources. If discussions have taken place, then take a little time to describe the summary. Feel free to and which will help to understand the logic of changes or decisions made. provide links to useful articles that you have read Consider to . Pay attention to the possibility of using labels to highlight that your PR contains changes in dependencies, backward incompatibility, bug fixes, or new features. Labels increase the explicitness and help with the search (for example, finding all bug fixes becomes a matter of one click). make the description more explicit GitHub and GitLab allow you to use the entire MarkDown formatting arsenal (instructions are and ). Proper formatting and structure will help to facilitate readability and simplify the understanding of many things. If the changes were applied to the GUI, then consider to supply screenshots of GUI state “before” and “after” the changes. here for GH here for GL Remember that , in particular the “ChangeLog”, the “Release Notes”, the “Read Me”. For the first two, it is enough to indicate links to PRs, for “Read Me”, there is an ability to paste part of the content. well-described PRs are helping with writing project documentation By composing a meaningful description of PR, you will help yourself and your colleagues not to waste time re-reading the code before the release of the new version — it would be narrowed to looking through the merged PRs since the time of the last release. Conclusion With this article, I tried to highlight that a meaningful and well-formatted PR description that is as valuable as a properly described ticket. If you have written the code for several hours, then it is also worth dedicating half an hour to summarize the work. is a project document A habit to write good PR descriptions will greatly simplify the life for you and the project team, also saving a lot of time during reviews and discussions. Living examples Here are some of the PRs for an open-source project that can serve as an example: https://github.com/b-mueller/sabre/pull/93 https://github.com/b-mueller/sabre/pull/89 https://github.com/b-mueller/sabre/pull/71 Further reading Here are some additional articles, that are related and useful: https://hackernoon.com/no-description-provided-8d9e0f3a3abb https://blog.carbonfive.com/2020/01/06/why-write-good-pull-requests/ https://www.pullrequest.com/blog/writing-a-great-pull-request-description/ Previously published at https://blog.maddevs.io/how-to-make-a-proper-description-for-a-pull-request-5e1cbe9fb374

How to Create A Detailed Description for Your Pull Request

HackerNoon COO and CEO Discuss Entrepreneurship, Working With Your Spouse, and More

Hey there 👋 In your journey as a developer, the common way to make money is by . securing a full-time job However, you may not be in a position yet to secure a job ( ), or you began working, but you are looking at ways to make some extra cash. aka you are still studying Now, you can try to make a side income in many ways. Some are more realistic than others. In this article, we will learn about the . side-income gigs that you can get started with today achievable Take a deep breath, and let us wash our souls with this new knowledge. 🧎 I did not try every option in the list. If you think something should be added to the list or you want to share a personal experience, please comment below (I'd love to hear from you!). 🙇‍♂️ Disclaimer: ⚔️ Creator Quests Creator Quests is a way for developers to monetize their skills. are open-source challenges happening every two weeks. Creator Quests and for playing around with the developer tools of the future. 🚀 It is like a 24/7 Hackathon that rewards developers for building cool apps The community decides the winner by giving kudos to projects they love. The projects with the most kudos will earn the most. 🤑 💃 MaaS - Me as a Service Freelancing is hard to start with. However, it is very much to everyone. achievable and accessible I had some experience in freelancing with data analytics. If I had to redo it again, here is how I would approach it: Understand the differences between , , and . Pick a platform you prefer and focus on that. I found to be an interesting platform, but if you think you are very good, you can always look into . 1️⃣ Pick a platform: Fiverr Upwork Freelancer Malt TopTal Build a profile around a very specific service, e.g., I specialize in coding Python scrapers and building a database using MongoDB, which ultimately displays dashboards through Plotly (not exactly that, but you get the idea 🙃). 2️⃣ Don't be Mr/Mrs know-it-all: Getting your first clients is extremely hard, so contact job postings and explain that you are happy to do it If they are happy with the job, ask them to provide a good rating. 3️⃣ Charge NOTHING for your first Client: for free. Start charging for your work - still at a lower rate - and build your reputation. 4️⃣ Get your First Pay: Once you have a stronger position on the platform, you can decide to up your pricing. 5️⃣ Increase your pricing: My final comment is that although I believe everyone can start making money by freelancing, There are many drawbacks that could not fit with how you like to work (difficult clients, deadlines, platform dependency, etc). I don't think everyone should be doing it. In London, I found a little trick to get some clients. You can approach some relevant consulting/recruiting agencies, and they can help you find clients for you. Look into agencies like this if you are struggling to get started. 💁 Special Tip: 🧪 Test it. Get Paid for it. As a developer, you understand the technicalities behind a webpage or an app. This means you have the skills to perform great QA. Depending on the platforms you focus on, you can spend between 10-60+ minutes trying out an app or a website. There are various platforms out there, but the three known websites for you to check out are: Trymata UserTesting UserLytics PS: There is also the option for complete surveys which, in my opinion, pay very little. If you are still curious about it, you can check or . Wynter SwagBucks 🐛 Bug Hunter You can monetize this skill if you have a great eye for detail and enjoy web security. You can make money there if you are curious and have good programming skills. 🥂 You will likely get paid $20 at the start, but the rewards can increase to astronomical amounts like £100k+. I would stress that this is not how you become a millionaire. There is some decent competition, and you likely won't earn very high figures. You should still try it and see if it works for you. The most known platforms for this are: HackerOne BugCrowd If you somehow become good at this, you can look into big companies, as this tends to be where the big bucks are. You can find the vulnerability programs here from , , and . Microsoft Apple Google If you find vulnerabilities in a website you enjoy using, there is no harm in asking them for compensation. 🙃 Last tip: 🧑‍🏫 You learned something? Teach it back Tutoring is my personal favourite "side hustle.” It may seem "meh" for some, but it is very much achievable, and it . strengthens your knowledge around a specific topic while making good money Also, you don't necessarily need to be an expert. That's right! As long as you are more knowledgeable in a specificic domain, you can charge a service for teaching that knowledge. There are three ways you can approach this: 📜 Old School Way 1️⃣ : Post physical ads around schools/colleges with your offering and contact details. Identify the right schools 2️⃣ Find and get involved in relevant Discord, Facebook, and Linkedin groups. Make the community in question aware of your services in a respectful way. Identify Communities: 3️⃣ Start your first sessions with a lower pricing to get the ball rolling. After some experience, consider raising your prices. Don't be too greedy: 👶 New School Way Look into the platforms below: Codementor Superprof Tutor Register as a tutor and start below market rate to get your first students. 📦 Digital Content You can look into building some video courses. My personal favorite is a new tool called . Stan Store This is the all-in toolkit for digital creators, and there is much more than just building video content. I personally made a couple hundred dollars using this platform. Alternatively, you can look into more conventional platforms like or . SkillShare Udemy Slightly less achievable paths (but worth a mention) 👇 : Some hackathons provide good cash prizes. The downside is that there is usually a decent amount of competition. To scout for the right hackathons, the best website by far is . 🚧 Hackathons DevPost You can build a boiler template based on your knowledge. What is "slightly less" achievable in this case is how much money you can make (at least initially). This is because it requires a big following (or significant marketing). If you want to give it a shot, you can check out and . 🏷️ Selling Boiler Template: Gum Road AppSumo I hope you enjoyed this article and that it helped you understand how to leverage your dev skills for a side hustle. The above gigs are not trying to paint a picture that you will be wealthy overnight. However, they are side hustles with a high chance of getting paid. With some consistency, you can expect to earn much more over time. 🚀 This post was inspired by a great piece written by . @lissy93 If you are interested in learning about alternative ways to monetize your dev skills (especially if you are more experienced), please check their and give it some love. article See you next week, Your Hackernoon buddy 💚 Bap Also published . here

Developer Side-Hustles: 5 Practical Ways to Monetize Your Coding Skills

North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CHAPTER XXI. here CHAPTER XXI. THE DARK NIGHT. “On earth is known to none The smile that is not sister to a tear.” Elliott. Margaret and her father walked home. The night was fine, the streets clean, and with her pretty white silk, like Leezie Lindsay’s gown o’ green satin, in the ballad, “kilted up to her knee,” she was off with her father—ready to dance along with the excitement of the cool, fresh night air. “I rather think Thornton is not quite easy in his mind about this strike. He seemed very anxious to-night.” “I should wonder if he were not. But he spoke with his usual coolness to the others, when they suggested different things, just before we came away.” “So he did after dinner as well. It would take a good deal to stir him from his cool manner of speaking; but his face strikes me as anxious.” “I should be, if I were he. He must know of the growing anger and hardly smothered hatred of his workpeople, who all looked upon him as what the Bible calls a ‘hard man,’—not so much unjust as unfeeling; clear in judgment, standing upon his ‘rights’ as no human being ought to stand, considering what we and all our petty rights are in the sight of the Almighty. I am glad you think he looks anxious. When I remember Boucher’s half mad words and ways, I cannot bear to think how coolly Mr. Thornton spoke.” “In the first place, I am not so convinced as you are about that man Boucher’s utter distress; for the moment, he was badly off, I don’t doubt. But there is always a mysterious supply of money from these Unions; and, from what you said, it was evident the man was of a passionate, demonstrative nature, and gave strong expression to all he felt.” “Oh, papa!” “Well! I only want you to do justice to Mr. Thornton, who is, I suspect, of an exactly opposite nature—a man who is far too proud to show his feelings. Just the character I should have thought beforehand, you would have admired, Margaret.” “So I do—so I should; but I don’t feel quite so sure as you do of the existence of those feelings. He is a man of great strength of character—of unusual intellect, considering the few advantages he has had.” “Not so few. He has led a practical life from a very early age, has been called upon to exercise judgment and self-control. All that developes one part of the intellect. To be sure, he needs some of the knowledge of the past, which gives the truest basis for conjecture as to the future; but he knows this need—he perceives it, and that is something. You are quite prejudiced against Mr. Thornton, Margaret.” “He is the first specimen of a manufacturer—of a person engaged in trade—that I had ever the opportunity of studying, papa. He is my first olive: let me make a face while I swallow it. I know he is good of his kind, and by and by I shall like the kind. I rather think I am already beginning to do so. I was very much interested by what the gentlemen were talking about, although I did not understand half of it. I was quite sorry when Miss Thornton came to take me to the other end of the room, saying she was sure I should be uncomfortable at being the only lady among so many gentlemen. I had never thought about it, I was so busy listening; and the ladies were so dull, papa—oh, so dull! Yet I think it was clever too. It reminded me of our old game of having each so many nouns to introduce into a sentence.” “What do you mean, child?” asked Mr. Hale. “Why, they took nouns that were signs of things which gave evidence of wealth,—housekeepers, under-gardeners, extent of glass, valuable lace, diamonds, and all such things; and each one formed her speech so as to bring them all in, in the prettiest accidental manner possible.” “You will be as proud of your one servant when you get her, if all is true about her that Mrs. Thornton says.” “To be sure, I shall. I felt like a great hypocrite to-night, sitting there in my white silk gown, with my idle hands before me, when I remembered all the good, thorough, house-work they had done to-day. They took me for a fine lady, I’m sure.” “Even I was mistaken enough to think you looked like a lady, my dear,” said Mr. Hale, quietly smiling. But smiles were changed to white and trembling looks when they saw Dixon’s face, as she opened the door. “Oh, master!—Oh, Miss Margaret! Thank God you are come! Dr. Donaldson is here. The servant next door went for him, for the charwoman is gone home. She’s better now; but, oh sir! I thought she’d have died an hour ago.” Mr. Hale caught Margaret’s arm to steady himself from falling. He looked at her face, and saw an expression upon it of surprise and extremest sorrow, but not the agony of terror that contracted his own unprepared heart. She knew more than he did, and yet she listened with that hopeless expression of awed apprehension. “Oh! I should not have left her—wicked daughter that I am!” moaned forth Margaret, as she supported her trembling father’s hasty steps upstairs. Dr. Donaldson met them on the landing. “She is better now,” he whispered. “The opiate has taken effect. The spasms were very bad: no wonder they frightened your maid; but she’ll rally this time.” “This time! Let me go to her!” Half an hour ago Mr. Hale was a middle-aged man; now his sight was dim, his senses wavering, his walk tottering, as if he were seventy years of age. Dr. Donaldson took his arm, and led him into the bedroom. Margaret followed close. There lay her mother, with an unmistakeable look on her face. She might be better now; she was sleeping, but Death had signed her for his own, and it was clear that ere long he would return to take possession. Mr. Hale looked at her for some time without a word. Then he began to shake all over, and, turning away from Dr. Donaldson’s anxious care, he groped to find the door; he could not see it, although several candles, brought in the sudden affright, were burning and flaring there. He staggered into the drawing-room, and felt about for a chair. Dr. Donaldson wheeled one to him, and placed him in it. He felt his pulse. “Speak to him, Miss Hale. We must rouse him.” “Papa!” said Margaret, with a crying voice that was wild with pain. “Papa! Speak to me!” The speculation came again into his eyes, and he made a great effort. “Margaret, did you know of this? Oh, it was cruel of you!” “No, sir, it was not cruel!” replied Dr. Donaldson, with quick decision. “Miss Hale acted under my directions. There may have been a mistake, but it was not cruel. Your wife will be a different creature to-morrow, I trust. She has had spasms, as I anticipated, though I did not tell Miss Hale of my apprehensions. She has taken the opiate I brought with me; she will have a good long sleep; and to-morrow that look which has alarmed you so much will have passed away.” “But not the disease?” Dr. Donaldson glanced at Margaret. Her bent head, her face raised with no appeal for a temporary reprieve, showed that quick observer of human nature that she thought it better that the whole truth should be told. “Not the disease. We cannot touch the disease, with all our poor vaunted skill. We can only delay its progress—alleviate the pain it causes. Be a man, sir—a Christian. Have faith in the immortality of the soul, which no pain, no mortal disease, can assail or touch!” But all the reply he got was in the choked words, “You have never been married, Dr. Donaldson; you don’t know what it is,” and in the deep, manly sobs, which went through the stillness of the night like heavy pulses of agony. Margaret knelt by him, caressing him with tearful caresses. No one, not even Dr. Donaldson, knew how the time went by. Mr. Hale was the first to dare to speak of the necessities of the present moment. “What must we do?” asked he. “Tell us both. Margaret is my staff—my right hand.” Dr. Donaldson gave his clear, sensible directions. No fear for to-night—nay, even peace for to-morrow, and for many days yet. But no enduring hope of recovery. He advised Mr. Hale to go to bed, and leave only one to watch the slumber, which he hoped would be undisturbed. He promised to come again early in the morning. And, with a warm and kindly shake of the hand, he left them. They spoke but few words; they were too much exhausted by their terror to do more than decide upon the immediate course of action. Mr. Hale was resolved to sit up through the night, and all that Margaret could do was to prevail upon him to rest on the drawing-room sofa. Dixon stoutly and bluntly refused to go to bed; and, as for Margaret, it was simply impossible that she should leave her mother, let all the doctors in the world speak of “husbanding resources,” and “one watcher only being required.” So, Dixon sat, and stared, and winked, and drooped, and picked herself up again with a jerk, and finally gave up the battle, and fairly snored. Margaret had taken off her gown and tossed it aside with a sort of impatient disgust, and put on her dressing-gown. She felt as if she never could sleep again; as if her whole senses were acutely vital, and all endued with double keenness, for the purpose of watching. Every sight and sound—nay, even every thought, touched some nerve to the very quick. For more than two hours, she heard her father’s restless movements in the next room. He came perpetually to the door of her mother’s chamber, pausing there to listen, till she, not hearing his close unseen presence, went and opened it to tell him how all went on, in reply to the questions his baked lips could hardly form. At last he, too, fell asleep, and all the house was still. Margaret sat behind the curtain thinking. Far away in time, far away in space, seemed all the interests of past days. Not more than thirty-six hours ago, she cared for Bessy Higgins and her father, and her heart was wrung for Boucher; now, that was all like a dreaming memory of some former life;—everything that had passed out of doors seemed dissevered from her mother, and therefore unreal. Even Harley Street appeared more distinct; there she remembered, as if it were yesterday, how she had pleased herself with tracing out her mother’s features in her Aunt Shaw’s face,—and how letters had come, making her dwell on the thoughs of home with all the longing of love. Helstone, itself, was in the dim past. The dull gray days of the preceding winter and spring, so uneventless and monotonous, seemed more associated with what she cared for now above all price. She would fain have caught at the skirts of that departing time, and prayed it to return, and give her back what she had too little valued while it was yet in her possession. What a vain show Life seemed! How unsubstantial, and flickering, and flitting! It was as if from some aërial belfry, high up above the stir and jar of the earth, there was a bell continually tolling, “All are shadows!—all are passing!—all is past!” And when the morning dawned, cool and gray, like many a happier morning before—when Margaret looked one by one at the sleepers, it seemed as if the terrible night were unreal as a dream; it, too, was a shadow. It, too, was past. Mrs. Hale herself was not aware when she awoke, how ill she had been the night before. She was rather surprised at Dr. Donaldson’s early visit, and perplexed by the anxious faces of husband and child. She consented to remain in bed that day, saying she certainly was tired; but, the next, she insisted on getting up; and Dr. Donaldson gave his consent to her returning into the drawing-room. She was restless and uncomfortable in every position, and before night she became very feverish. Mr. Hale was utterly listless, and incapable of deciding on anything. “What can we do to spare mamma such another night?” asked Margaret on the third day. “It is to a certain degree, the reaction after the powerful opiates I have been obliged to use. It is more painful for you to see than for her to bear, I believe. But, I think, if we could get a water-bed it might be a good thing. Not but what she will be better to-morrow; pretty much like herself as she was before this attack. Still, I should like her to have a water-bed. Mrs. Thornton has one, I know. I’ll try and call there this afternoon. Stay,” said he, his eye catching on Margaret’s face, blanched with watching in a sick room, “I’m not sure whether I can go; I’ve a long round to take. It would do you no harm to have a brisk walk to Marlborough Street, and ask Mrs. Thornton if she can spare it.” “Certainly,” said Margaret. “I could go while mamma is asleep this afternoon. I’m sure Mrs. Thornton would lend it to us.” Dr. Donaldson’s experience told him rightly. Mrs. Hale seemed to shake off the consequences of her attack, and looked brighter and better this afternoon than Margaret had ever hoped to see her again. Her daughter left her after dinner, sitting in her easy chair, with her hand lying in her husband’s, who looked more worn and suffering than she by far. Still, he could smile now—rather slowly, rather faintly, it is true; but a day or two before, Margaret never thought to see him smile again. It was about two miles from their house in Crampton Crescent to Marlborough Street. It was too hot to walk very quickly. An August sun beat straight down into the street at three o’clock in the afternoon. Margaret went along, without noticing anything very different from usual in the first mile and a half of her journey; she was absorbed in her own thoughts, and had learnt by this time to thread her way through the irregular stream of human beings that flowed through Milton streets. But, by and by, she was struck with an unusual heaving among the mass of people in the crowded road on which she was entering. They did not appear to be moving on, so much as talking, and listening, and buzzing with excitement without much stirring from the spot where they might happen to be. Still, as they made way for her, and, wrapt up in the purpose of her errand, and the necessities that suggested it, she was less quick of observation than she might have been, if her mind had been at ease. She had got into Marlborough Street before the full conviction forced itself upon her, that there was a restless, oppressive sense of irritation abroad among the people; a thunderous atmosphere, morally as well as physically, around her. From every narrow lane opening out on Marlborough Street came up a low distant roar, as of myriads of fierce indignant voices. The inhabitants of each poor squalid dwelling were gathered round the doors and windows, if indeed they were not actually standing in the middle of the narrow ways—all with looks intent towards one point. Marlborough Street itself was the focus of all those human eyes, that betrayed intensest interest of various kinds; some fierce with anger, some lowering with relentless threats! some dilated with fear, or imploring entreaty; and as Margaret reached the small side-entrance by the folding doors, in the great dead wall of Marlborough mill-yard, and waited the porter’s answer to the bell, she looked round and heard the first long far-off roll of the tempest;—saw the first slow-surging wave of the dark crowd come, with its threatening crest, tumble over, and retreat, at the far end of the street, which a moment ago seemed so full of repressed noise, but which now was ominously still; all these circumstances forced themselves on Margaret’s notice, but did not sink down into her pre-occupied heart. She did not know what they meant—what was their deep significance; while she did know, did feel the keen sharp pressure of the knife that was soon to stab her through and through by leaving her motherless. She was trying to realise that, in order that, when it came, she might be ready to comfort her father. The porter opened the door cautiously, not nearly wide enough to admit her. “It’s you, is it, ma’am?” said he, drawing a long breath, and widening the entrance, but still not opening it fully. Margaret went in. He hastily bolted it behind her. “Th’ folk are all coming up here, I reckon?” asked he. “I don’t know. Something unusual seemed going on; but this street is quite empty, I think.” She went across the yard and put up the steps to the house door. There was no near sound,—no steam engine at work with beat and pant,—no click of machinery, no mingling and clashing of many sharp voices; but far away, the ominous gathering roar, deep-clamouring. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (2003). North and South. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4276/pg4276-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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