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she is she answered gravely it was rather a different statement from doctor s but i comforted myself by thinking that poor people seem to take a pleasure in making the very worst of everything i wrote at once to telling him the news and also to mrs and then for the rest of the day i wandered about wishing i had something or anything to do which unfortunately i had not i sent george with the letters to that they might catch the midday post and later in the day i received a from saying he would be over on saturday afternoon � on duty thursday and friday he said thus thursday passed away friday dragged by in the same dreary way i did not like to ride or drive though doctor recommended me to do so instead i about listening to the reports brought me by the women servants from the east wing the doctor s report was not so favourable and old said plainly that the mistress was very ill indeed i wished that they would let me see her once indeed i did try to steal into the sick a room but old meeting me just at the gallery door shut it and put her back against it now go away to bed she said firmly it won t do no good the mistress doesn t miss you so go away my honey what could i do but go i went to bed though i did not sleep much and then i had to get up again and so i came down to my solitary breakfast with no desire to eat and no interest in the letters and papers which lay upon the table charles had put the queen beside my plate thinking probably that i like his mistress would be eager for the fashions and the latest i took it up and glanced through the first article almost without knowing what it was about i read a few of the and answers and then i glanced carelessly through the list of fashionable marriages a marriage has been arranged between his prince and only daughter of the late de la esq of park chapter the shadow of death they say anything is better than suspense but i am not so sure about it while there is life there is hope and hope is sweet but when death comes it is all over so was it with me the end of my dream had come but i had hoped up to the very end i hardly it at first i leaned my head upon my hands and wished that i could cry i wondered if i ever should i was cold and as i sat trying to it all was he saying all the tender things to her that he used to say to me did they laugh and joke together as we used to do they have not the happy past to fall back upon as we had i wondered if she still made his head ache as she did that day he drove her to hill how distinctly i remembered it how he abused her afterwards how could he do it � how could he play such a double game as he did with both of us perhaps he made fun of me to her and spoke of me in the careless way he did then of her i shut my teeth with an angry click and wished then i could hate him but i could not � i could not no even though i knew that he had forsaken me for de la though he had broken his promises thrown away his honour proved himself i loved him still loved him the shadow of death � � as i knew i should never find it in my heart to love any other man on this side the grave i wondered what dear father would say if he could come back poor darling he would have trusted his little s whole happiness in prince s keeping � just as i had done � and lost it i took the miniature from about my neck and going up to my room i locked it away i could not bear to wear it now i almost hated the sight of it i had worn it every day since that afternoon when he gave it to me but now i knew i should clasp it about my neck and kiss it for the s sake never more i got through the morning somehow and sat down to my solitary luncheon which i did not eat mrs was worse � talking all sorts of nonsense the maid told me and they had cut off all her beautiful hair how i longed for to come i drove to meet him at station i was so restless and unhappy that i could not settle to anything and i had no doubt would be glad to see me the had not been out for a week excepting for exercise and my weak wrists had as much as they could do to manage them all alone exclaimed when he appeared yes i answered will you drive home my wrists are so weak he got into the carriage and the porter brought out his and delivered it to the care of the groom and then we moved towards home and so the is he said lightly i exclaimed she s got scarlet fever and very badly she was this morning and they have cut off all her beautiful hair t m� cherry s child by jove you don t say so he said in astonishment i thought she d just got a little mild attack and would probably be all right by this time oh dear no the doctor said at first that he hoped it would only be in a mild form but old said from the beginning that she was very ill | 30 |
has been placed in them compare verse a they who do not recognise any who look to good qualities not bad who do not enter upon quarrels are most excellent men the good recollect only benefits and not hostile acts though done to them and doing what is to others they expect no return m i b f he only is a complete man a good deed done to whom is not lost and who does more many times more in verse for another than another has done for him iii let a man do a what has been done to among the gods there is nothing fixed in regard to this m iii xii b let a man set himself to do the good which he may design let him not reward evil for evil but be always good m xii i give this verse with its from the xii ff a foolish man who is unfortunate from of old in consequence of what has gone before constantly the of events iii he cannot endure those who are successful and regards prosperous men as this cause this his suffering continually those who fancy themselves heroes are full of envy and be not thou thus envious o king endure thou the prosperity of others although discreet men always enjoy good fortune though it is found elsewhere for prosperity though abiding with an enemy flows away to a man and righteous men who are thoughtful and practised in contemplation voluntarily abandon prosperity and quit their sons and perceiving as they do that the love of gain and wealth occasion much pain other men too abandon the pursuit of wealth thinking it to be very difficult of acquisition m xii a man who very largely a benefit conferred on himself is not equal to the first benefactor he only acts in of what has been done for him the other acts without this motive hear the sum of duty which ia declared in a of books helping others is to be esteemed as oppression of others as sin iii ed hear the sum of and when thou hast heard learn or it do not to others what would be to ed a ed what merit is there in the goodness of the man who is good to hie he only who is good to those who do him wrong is called good by the virtuous i� a good men are generally distressed by the of mankind such sympathy is the highest worship of the soul of all things that the wise man should in whatever manner he can promote the satisfaction of every embodied creature � this is the worship of compare s ra fi b l na a x the birth of embodied creatures in this world completely fruitful is this that they should with their life with their means with their understanding and with their speech always seek to promote the welfare of other creatures in this ed he whose days come and go devoid of � he like the of a blacksmith thou breathing does not live the man whose heart wi pity to all creatures has knowledge and gains final which are not attained by hair ashes and the garb of a m iii let a man conquer a by generosity a liar by truth a cruel man by patience and a bad man by goodness v let a man conquer anger with calmness a bad man by goodness a by generosity and falsehood by l this occurs also as verse in the written in the language a very different is found in m eh xii to act towards any man as he has acted to any other is conduct is to be by deceit and kindly conduct is to be with kindness m v the gods regard with delight the man who does not utter language or cause it to be uttered who when struck does not strike again or cause his to be struck and who does not desire to the wicked man xii he who when does not say anything either bitter or pleasing who through patience when smitten does not again nor wish any evil to his in him the gods constantly delight instead of delight in dr here renders envy in m xii ff it is said among other things of a man who in pursuit of final has the world and adopted a and life v let him endure with patience let him desire nothing when he is angrily addressed let him speak kindly when let him reply if xii suitable hospitality should be shown even to an enemy when he comes to one s house a tree does not withdraw its shade even from him who comes to cut it down these words are said in the poem to be addressed by a bird to a m ii dost thou cherish as a son an enemy who has resorted to thee from fear or who has fallen into decay or who has been conquered in battle this is one of a series of questions on duty proposed by n to ii ff m xiii he is a most excellent man who in his calamity even an enemy in distress who takes refuge with him xiii those friendly men go to heaven who when they meet with them treat with the same disposition foes and s j aud in the ot s code a good man regards the welfare of others does not show enmity even when be is being destroyed even when it is being cut down the tree fragrance to the edge of the h let no one a person who to hia or send him away empty a gift bestowed even on an outcast or a dog is not thrown away the sentiment in ia not so good he who has committed a very sinful act and gives food to a especially to a does not suffer for his | 28 |
less than of a whole nation and looked upon each day dawned almost as if it had been my own creation and possession to waste as i thought fit � never considering tl t days are but so many white from god s chronicle of human life whereon we place our mark good or bad for the just and exact up of our thoughts and deeds hereafter had any one dared to say this truth to me then i should have bade him go and preach nonsense to children � but now when i recall those white leaves of days that were before me fresh and blank with every sunrise and with which i did nothing save my own in a foul across each one i tremble and inwardly pray that i may never be forced to send back my self written record yet of what use is it to pray against eternal law it is eternal law that we shall ourselves count up our own at the final reckoning � hence it is no wonder that many are found who prefer not to believe in a future after death rightly do such esteem it better to die utterly than be forced to live again and look back upon the wilful evil they have done october slowly and almost towards its end and the trees put on their gorgeous tints of burning crimson and gold the weather remained fine and warm and what the french term the summer of all saints gave us bright days and evenings the air was so mild that we were always able to take our coffee after dinner on the terrace overlooking the lawn in front of the drawing room � and it was on one of these nights that i was the interested spectator of a strange scene between and � a scene i should have thought impossible of occurrence had i not myself witnessed it had dined at she very the sorrows of satan rarely so honoured us and there were a few other guests besides we had lingered over the coffee longer than usual for had given an extra charm to the conversation by her eloquent vivacity and bright humour and all present were anxious to hear see and know as much of the brilliant as possible but when a full golden moon rose in mellow splendour over the tree tops my wife suggested a stroll in the grounds and agreeing to the proposal with delight we started � more or less together � some in couples some in groups of three or four after a little rambling however the party got separated in the rose gardens and adjacent and i found myself alone i turned back to the house to get my cigar case which i had left on a table in the library and passing out again in another direction i strolled slowly across the grass smoking as i went towards the river the silver gleam of which could clearly be discerned through the fast foliage overhanging its banks i had almost reached the path that followed the course of the winding water when i was brought to a by the sound of voices � one a man s low and � the other a woman s tender grave and somewhat tremulous neither voice could be mistaken i recognised s rich penetrating tones and the sweet accents of out of sheer surprise i paused � had fallen in love i wondered � was i about to discover that the supposed had been tamed and caught at last by too � little who was not beautiful according to accepted standards but who had something more than beauty to a proud and soul here as my thoughts ran on i was conscious of a foolish sense of jealousy � why should he choose i thought out of all women in the world could he not leave her in peace with her dreams her books and her flowers � safe under the pure wise gaze of whose cool brows were never by a touch of passion something more than curiosity now impelled me to listen and i cautiously advanced a the sorrows of satan step or two towards the shadow of a broad elm where i could see without being seen yes there was standing erect with folded arms his dark sad inscrutable eyes fixed on who stood opposite to him a few paces off looking at him in her turn with an expression of mingled fascination and fear i have asked you said slowly to let me serve you you have genius � a rare quality in a woman � and i would advance your fortunes i should not be what i am if i did not try to persuade you to let me help on your career you are not rich � i could show you how to become so you have a great fame � that i grant but you have many enemies and who are for ever trying to pull you down from the throne you have won i could bring these to your feet and make them your slaves with your intellectual power your personal grace and gifts of temperament i could if you would let me guide you give you such far reaching influence as no woman has possessed in this century i am no � i can do what i say and more and i ask nothing from you in return except that you should follow my advice my advice let me tell you is not difficult to follow most people find it easy his expression of face i thought was very singular as he spoke � it was so haggard dreary and woe that one might have imagined he was making some proposal that was particularly to him instead of offering to perform the benevolent action of helping a hard working literary woman to achieve greater wealth and distinction i waited for to reply you | 33 |
from home though he felt mr s voice with an attempt at dignity i m awful sorry she in while you fellows was here i don t know how to forget it old man rolled out tom s bass come on let s go up to mrs s but it s nearly a quarter to eleven that s all right we can get up there by a little after and mis stays up playing cards till after twelve mr ejaculated under his breath as they entered mrs s � though not on his part the parlor door was open mrs s broad back was toward them and she was announcing to james t and miss with whom she was playing five hundred well i ll just bid seven on hearts if you re going to get so she glanced back our mr i i nodded said come in children picked up the widow and discarded with quick of the cards the f mr feeling like a land compared this smoking woman with the intense respectability of his dear lost patron mrs he sat uneasy till the hand of cards was feeling as though they were only him and was nowhere in sight suddenly said mrs and now yoa would like to look at that room mr unless i m wrong why � � yes i guess i would like to come with me child she said in pretended severity tom you take my hand in the game and don t let me hear you ve been bidding ten on no suit without the she led mr to the hat rack in the hall the third floor back will be vacant in two weeks mr we can go up and look at it now if you d like to the man who has it now works nights � he s some kind of a head waiter at s or something like that and he s out till three or four come when he saw that third floor back the room that the smart people at mrs s were really willing to let him have he felt like a man just engaged it was all in soft green grass green pale green walls chairs of white with green cushions the bed a couch with a cover and four sofa pillows it gave him the i of being a guest on fifth avenue it s kind of a plain room mrs said the furniture is kind of plain but my head wait man � it was furnished tor a friend of his � he says likes it better than any other room in the house it comfortable and you get lots of sunlight and � i ll take how much is it please with she spoke with a take it or leave it defiance fifty a week it was a terrible extravagance much like marrying a sick woman on a salary of ten a week he reflected nine l he enters society eleven fifty left him only seven fifty for clothes and and things and � but i ll take it he said hastily he was frightened at himself but glad very glad he was to live in this heaven he was going to be away from that woman and was she engaged to some man he wondered mrs was saying first i want to ask you some questions though please sit down as she into one of the chairs she suddenly changed from the rolling card player to a woman dignified reserved commanding mr you sec miss and miss are on this floor miss can take care of herself all right but is such a trusting little thing she s like my daughter she s the only one i ve ever given a reduced rate to� and i swore i never would to anybody do you � � drink � drink much i mean on this floor near he had to have this room he forced himself to speak directly i know how you mean mrs no i don t drink much of any � hardly at all just a glass of beer now and then i don t even touch that a week at a time and i don t and � and i do try to keep � er � straight � and all that sort of thing that s good i work for the and art novelty company on twenty eighth street if you want to call them up i guess the manager ii give me a pretty good recommend i don t believe i ll need it mr it s my business to find out what sort of men are by just talking to them she rose smiled out her hand you be nice to won t i m going to fire that out � don t tell him but i am � because he gets too fresh with her she suddenly broke into laughter and ejaculated say that was hard don t you hate to have to be our mr serious let s down and fu make tom or rush us a of beer to welcome you to our midst � � i ll bet your aren t properly fm going to in and take a look at them once i get you up here � � but i won t read your love letters i now let s go down by the where it s i he studies five hundred and lot a snap office on a couch of glossy red leather with glossy black buttons and stiff also of glossy red leather mr william sat upright and was very confiding to miss who was curled among the satin pillows with her skirts drawn carefully about her ankles l he had been at mrs s for two weeks now he wore i a new light blue tie and his trousers were pressed like sheet steel yes i suppose you re engaged to some one miss and | 42 |
him and he was too just then to think of anything but her soft eyes with tenderness � her white skin � her small caressing hands and the fine bright of her waving hair � all these were his to play with as a child plays with beautiful toys unconscious of or indifferent to their value many such passages of love occupied their time � though he managed to make a good show of work after the first outline drawing of the picture was completed he was a genius in his way uncertain and of impulse but his art was strong because its effects were broad and simple he had begun innocent s portrait out of the mere desire to have her with him constantly � but as day after day went on and the subject developed under his skilled hand and brush he that it would probably be the picture of the in the following year as this conviction dawned upon him he took greater pains and her fancy and his fact worked more carefully and with the happiest results feeling a thrill of true artistic satisfaction as the picture began to live and smile in response to his touch and treatment its composition was simple � he had drawn the girl as though she were slowly advancing towards the spectator giving her figure all the grace habitual to it by e � one little shaped hand held a dove lightly against her breast as though the bird had just flown there for protection from its own alarm � her face was slightly uplifted � the lips smiled and the eyes looked straight out at the world with a beautiful clear which was all their own yet despite the charm and sweetness of the likeness there was a strange pathos about it � a sadness which had never set there by his own will or intention you are a subject he said to her one day � i wanted to give you a happy expression � and yet your portrait is actually growing sad � almost do you look at me like that she opened her pretty eyes surely not i could not look sad when i am with you � that is impossible he paused in hand how when i have nothing to reproach you for answered he put his aside and came and sat at her feet on the step of the where he had posed her you may rest he said smiling up at her � and so may i she sat down beside him and he folded her in his arms how often we rest in this way don t we he murmured � and so you think you have nothing to reproach me for well � i m not so sure of that � innocent she looked at him are you talking nonsense my � or are you serious she asked i am quite serious � much more serious is common with me he replied taking one of her hands and studying it as the perfect model it was � i believe i am you in all sorts of trouble � and you you absurd little child don t see it suppose miss were to find out that we make the love to each other in here � you all alone with me � what would she say what could she say innocent demanded there is no harm � and i should not mind telling her we are lovers i should though was his quick thought while he at her besides � she continued � she has no right over me who has any over you he asked curiously she laughed softly no one � except you oh hang me he exclaimed impatiently � leave me out of the question have you no father or mother she was a little hurt at his sudden no die answered quietly � i have often told you i have no one i am alone in the world � i can do as i like then a smile brightened her face lord would have me as a daughter if i would go to him he started and loosened her from his embrace lord that wealthy old peer what does he want with you nothing i suppose but the pleasure of my company and she laughed � doesn t seem strange her fancy and his fact he rose and went back to work at his rather he said slowly � are you going to accept his offer her eyes opened widely i my how can you think it i would not accept it for all the world he would load me with benefits � he would surround me with luxuries � but i do not want these i like to work for myself and be independent he laid a brush lightly in colour and began to use it with delicate care you are not very wise he then said � it s a great thing for a young girl like you who are all alone in the world to be taken in hand by such a man as he s a � very useful to his country � he s very rich and has a splendid position his wife s sudden death has left him very lonely as he has no children � you could be a daughter to him and it would be a great leap upwards for you speaking you would be much better off imder his care than books she drew a sharp breath of pain � all the pretty colour fled from her cheeks you do not care for me to books she said in low stifled accents he laughed oh i don t mind � i never read them � and in a way it me you are such an of sweetness � such a warm little bird of love in my arms � and to think that you actually write books that the | 33 |
wonderfully youthful of lady provided several ke from which to strike frivolous conversation � and when the great painter actually made a sketch of her for his own amusement and made her look about sixteen and girlish at that his popularity knew no bounds wanted to give him a commission particularly the elderly fair and he could have made a fortune had he chosen after the example set him by the english by painting the portraits of ugly who were ready to pay any price to be turned out as handsome but he was too restless and ill at ease to apply himself steadily to work � the glowing skies of egypt the picturesque groups of natives to be seen at every turn � the curious corners of old � these made no impression upon his mind at all and when he was alone he passed whole half hours staring at the strange picture he had made of the princess wherein the face of death seemed him through a mask of life and he welcomed with a strong sense of relief and expectation the long looked for evening of the princess s reception to which many of the visitors in had been invited since a fortnight and which those persons who always profess to be in the know even if they are in ignorance declared would any entertainment ever given during the season the night came at last it was exceedingly but bright and clear and the moon shone with effective on the groups of people that between nine and ten o clock began to throng the narrow street in which the carved tomb like of the princess s residence was the most conspicuous object lady remarkable for bad taste in her dress and the disposal of her diamonds stared in haughty amazement at the who saluted her and her daughters with the grin peculiar to his cast of countenance and swept into the attended by her husband with an air as though she imagined her presence gave the necessary of good style to the proceedings she was followed by lady innocently clad in white and wearing a knot of on her left shoulder lord and his sister also wore white but though she was in the and lady was in the the girl had so much sadness in her face and so much tragedy in her soft eyes that she looked if anything older than the old woman and dr dean arrived together and found themselves in a brilliant crushing crowd of people all of different and all a good deal of impatience because they were delayed a few minutes in an open court where a couple of stone lions with wings were the only spectators of their most singular behaviour said lady and ng to keep us waiting outside like this the princess has no idea of european manners as she spoke a sudden blaze of light on the scene and twenty tall egyptian servants in white with red lighted and marching two by two crossed the court and by mute yet stately gestures invited the company to follow and the company did follow in haste with scramble and as is the way of european manners nowadays and presently having been relieved of their and stood startled and confounded in a huge hall richly adorned with silk and cloth of gold where between two bronze � the princess attired wonderfully in a dim pale rose colour with of jewels flashing from her here and there waited to receive her guests like a queen she stood � behind her a giant palm and at her feet were strewn roses and lilies on either side of her seated on the ground were young girls clad and veiled to the eyes in the egyptian fashion and as the staring heated and impetuous swarm of travelling english and americans came face to face with her in her marvellous beauty they were for the moment stricken and could scarcely summon up the necessary assurance to advance and take the hand she outstretched to them in welcome she appeared not to see the general embarrassment and greeted all who approached her with courteous ease and composure speaking the few words which every graceful hostess adequate before passing on her visitors and presently music began � music wild and fantastic of a character unknown to modern fashionable ears yet strangely familiar to who started at the first sound of it and seemed that is not an ordinary said dr dean in his ear the instruments are ancient and the form of melody is answered nothing for the princess just then approached them come into the red saloon she said i am persuading my guests to pass on there i have an old relief on the walls which i would like you to see � you especially dr dean � for you are so learned in i hear you are trying to discover traces of i am replied the doctor you interested me very much in his history he was a great man said the princess slowly them as she spoke without hurry and with careful courtesy through the ranks of the now freely chattering and animated company much greater than any of your modern heroes but he had two faults faults which frequently accompany the of power � cruelty and selfishness he betrayed and murdered the only woman that ever loved him murdered her exclaimed dr dean how oh it is only a legend i and the princess smiled turning her dark eyes with a languor on who for some reason or other which he could not explain felt as if he were walking in a dream on the edge of a deep chasm of into which he must presently sink to utter destruction all these old histories happened so long ago that they are nothing but m now to the present generation time does not rob any incident of its interest to me said | 33 |
proceed for the greater part of a winter without a visit from several successful had come off which had of course turned out highly profitable and they were just now preparing to commence their last not only for the season but the last they should ever work together aa george was making preparations to go early in the spring to ev running was going on to and the had been thrown into the still from the worm of which projected the strong r as the commenced � last term meaning the spirit in its pure and finished state on this occasion the two were more than ordinarily anxious and certainly doubled their usual precautions against a for they knew that s visits resembled the of a hawk or the springs of � tiger more than any thing else to which they could compare them in this they were not disappointed the was about half finished he made his attended by a strong party of reluctant for indeed it is to tlie military t they never delight in the people at of a ns they generally tiie it had been arranged that the � t the iron plate whistle a tune the moment that the or a red coat or in any person whom he did not know should appear accordingly about o clock in the morning they heard the little fellow in his highest key up that well known and yery significant old irish air called go to the devil an shake � case applied to the id any thing but an be the pins was usual oath be the pins it s over with ns s here s the sign fer a and listened very gravely out a take it easy said he r z have half a about the hills any one as like t fe a your r ht hand is to left did t i knew we d get over fi we d be out of hi power well my good lad said the what s this fire for what is it for is it yes if you don t let me blow your brains out and get you and afterwards this he said with a thundering voice a horse at the same time why sir said the boy it s a still i am but be the hole o my coat if you tell upon me upon these be soon where is the still then an tlie stiu house is it as tb the stiu or is they wouldn t tell me that why didn t you say moment yon were watching bob ob i meant sir replied the lad with a oe that spoke of pure that it was the i was an i was to whistle upon my fingers to let the boy at that fire on the hill there above know he was who told you to do so � little george sir an m ay ay right enough there my lad � two of the most notorious they are both but now like a good boy tell me the truth an i ll ve you the price of a pair of shoes do you know where the still or still house is because if you do an won t tell me here are the soldiers at hand to make a prisoner of you an it they do all the world can t prevent you � rom being hanged drawn and � oh bad may seize the morsel o me knows that but if you ll give me the mon sir tell you who can bring you to it for he me that he knew an offered to bring me there last night if i d steal him a bottle that my mother keeps the holy water in at home he d put in it well my lad who is this boy do you know harry or mankind sir i do my good boy � well it s a son of his sir an look sir do you see the smoke farthest up to the right sir to the right yes � well tis there sir that is and he says he knows how long have you been watching here this is only the third day sir for me j but the rest them boys above has been here a good while have you seen nobody stirring about the hills since you came this was a g to harry who was a and made be necessary vessels fur thb � � only sir i seen two men an empty sack or two across the hill there above at this moment the military came up for he had himself ran forward in advance of them and he repeated the substance oi his conversation with our friend the upon examining the of his countenance in which there certainly was a deficiency of meaning they agreed among themselves that his appearance justified the truth of the story which he told the and upon being still they w re confirmed that none but a stupid like himself would to his keeping any secret worth knowing they now separated themselves into as many detached parties as there were fires burning on the hills about tv era the himself to make for that which had in his keeping for he could not help thinking that the s was too natural to be they were just in the act of separating themselves to pursue their when the lad said � look sir look sur i bad be from me but there s a still any way sure i often seen a still s just like the one that philip the mended in george s bam boys exclaimed � � stoop stoop they are coming this way and don t see us no hang them no they have discovered us now and are off towards by jove this will be a bitter trick if they succeed confound them they are | 50 |
science the shoes of swiftness the sword of the power of the elements of using the secret virtues of of understanding the voices of birds are the obscure efforts of the mind in a right direction the of the hero the gift of perpetual youth and the like are alike the endeavour of the human spirit to bend the shows of things to the desires of the mind in and de a and a rose bloom on the head of her who is faithful and fade on the brow of the in the story of the boy and the mantle even a mature reader may be surprised with a glow of virtuous pleasure at the triumph of the and indeed all the of annals � that the do not like to be named that their gifts are capricious and not to be trusted that who seeks a treasure must not speak and the like � i find true in however they might be in or is it otherwise in the romance i read the bride of sir william is a mask for a vulgar temptation wood castle a fine name for proud poverty and the foreign mission of state only a disguise for honest industry we may all shoot a wild that would t toss tbe good and bv down die and is name far which is always and always to calamity in world but along the civil and of another history goes daily forward � of the external world � in which he is not less he is the of time be b the of nature his power consists in tbe multitude of his in die fact that his life is with the whole of and being in old rome die public roads beginning at the proceeded south east west to the centre of every of tbe em making each market town of spain and to the soldiers of die capital so out of the human heart go as it were to the heart of every object in nature to reduce it under the dominion of man a man is a bundle of relations a knot of roots whose flower and b the world his faculties refer to natures out of him and tbe he b to as tbe of the fish that water or the wings of an eagle in the egg air he cannot live without a world put napoleon in an bland prison let hb faculties find do men to act on no to climb no stake id tt y for and he would beat the air and appear i transport him to countries dense complex interests and power you shall see that the man napoleon bounded lt is by such a and outline is not the napoleon this is but s shadow his substance is not here for what see is but the smallest part and least proportion of humanity but were the whole frame here it is of such a spacious lofty pitch your roof were not sufficient to contain it henry vl needs a planet to shape his course upon and need of ages and celestial one may say a lar system is already in the nature of s mind not less does the brain of of ay from childhood exploring the and of anticipate the of organization does not the eye of the burn the light the ear of the of sound do not fingers of the hard and of the properties of stone water and k d do not the lovely attributes of the maiden the and of civil here also we are reminded of the action i of man on man a mind might its for ages and not gain so much self knowledge as the passion of love teach it in a day who knows himself before he has been thrilled with at an outrage or has heard an eloquent tongue or has shared the throb of thousands in a national or alarm no man can hb experience or guess what faculty or feeling a new object shall any more than he can draw to day the face of a person whom he shall see to morrow for the first time i will not now go behind the general statement to explore the reason of this let it suffice that in the light of these two namely that the mind is one and that nature is its history is to be read and written thus in all ways does the soul and its treasures for each pupil he too shall pass through the whole of experience he shall collect a the rays of nature history no longer shall be a dull book it walk in every just and wise man too shall not tell me by languages and titles a catalogue of the volumes you have read you shall make me feel what periods you have lived a man shall be the temple of fame he shall walk as the poets have described that goddess in a robe painted all over with wonderful events and experiences � hit ei t bt x own and features by their exalted shall he that rest i shall find in him the fore world in his childhood the age of gold die apples of knowledge the expedition the calling of the building of the temple the advent of christ dark ages the revival of letters the the discovery of new lands the of new and new regions in man he shall be the priest of pan and bring with him into humble cottages the blessing of the morning stars and all the recorded benefits of heaven and earth is there somewhat in this i then i reject all i have written for what is the use of pretending to know what we know not but it is the fault of our that we cannot strongly state one fact without seeming to some other i hold our actual knowledge very cheap hear the rats | 37 |
the proud air with which she had begun no injury while i heard and saw the mother as she said these words i seemed to hear and see the son them all that i had ever seen in him of an wilful spirit i saw in her all the understanding that i had now of his energy became an understanding of her character too and a perception that it was in its strongest springs the same she now observed to me aloud her former restraint that it was useless to hear more or to say more and that she begged to put an end to the interview she rose with an air of dignity to leave the room when mr signified that it was needless t fear me being any to you i have no more to say ma am he remarked as he moved towards the door i come with no hope and i take away no hope i have done what i should be done but i never looked fur any good to come of my where i do this has been too evil a house fur me and mine fur me to be in my right senses and expect it with this we departed leaving her standing by her elbow chair a picture of a noble presence and a handsome face we had on our way out to cross a paved hall with glass sides and roof over which a vine was trained its leaves and shoots were green then and the day being sunny a pair of glass doors leading to the garden were thrown open entering this way with a noiseless step when we were close to them addressed herself to me you do well she said indeed to bring this fellow here such a of rage and scorn as darkened her face and flashed in her jet black eyes i could not have thought even into that face the made by the hammer was as usual in this excited state of her features strongly marked when the throbbing i had seen before came into it as i looked at her she absolutely lifted up her hand and struck it this is a fellow she said to champion and bring here is he not you are a true man miss i returned you are surely not so unjust as to condemn me why do you bring division between these two mad creatures she returned don t you know that they are both mad with their own and pride is it my doing i returned is it your doing she retorted why do you bring this man here of david he is a deeply injured man miss i replied you may not know it i know that james she said with her hand on her bosom as if to prevent the storm that was raging there from being loud has a false corrupt heart and is a traitor but what need i know or care about this fellow and his common niece miss i returned you the injury it is sufficient already i will only say at parting that you do him a great wrong i do him no wrong she returned they are a worthless set i would have her whipped mr passed on without a word and went out at the door oh shame miss shame i said indignantly how can you bear to on his affliction i would on them all she answered i would have his house pulled down i would have her on the face in rags and cast out in the streets to starve if i had the power to sit in judgment on her i would see it done see it done i would do it i her if i ever could reproach her with her infamous condition i would go anywhere to do so if i could hunt her to her grave i would if there was any word of comfort that would be a solace to her in her dying hour and only i possessed it i wouldn t part with it for life itself the mere vehemence of her words can convey i am sensible but a weak impression of the passion by which she was possessed and which made itself articulate in her whole figure though her voice instead of being raised was lower than usual no description i could give of her would do justice to my recollection of her or to her entire of herself to her anger i have seen passion in many forms but i have never seen it in such a form as that when i joined mr he was walking slowly and thoughtfully down the hill he told me as soon as i came up with him that having now discharged his mind of what he had doing in london he meant to set out on his travels that night i asked him where he meant to go he only answered i m a going sir to seek my niece we went back to the little lodging over the s shop and there i found an opportunity of repeating to what he had said to me she informed me in return that he had said the same to her that morning she knew no more than i did where he was going but she thought he had some project shaped out in his mind i did not like to leave him under such circumstances and we all three dined together off a pie � which was one of the many good things for which was famous � and which was curiously on this occasion i recollect well by a miscellaneous taste of tea coffee butter bacon cheese new candles and continually ascending from the shop after dinner we sat for an hour or so near the window without talking much and then mr got up and brought his bag and his stout stick and laid them on the table | 8 |
the families would never be connected if you did not connect them oh write write finish it at once let there be an end of this suspense fix commit condemn yourself such sensations however were too near akin to resentment to be long guiding s she was soon more softened and sorrowful his warm regard his kind expressions his confidential treatment touched her strongly he was only too good to everybody it was a letter in short which she would not but have had for the world and which could never be valued enough this was the end of it everybody at all to letter writing without having much to say which will include a large park proportion of the female world at least must feel with lady that she was out ci lack in such a capital piece of news as the certainty of the going to bath occur at a time when she could make no advantage of it and will admit that it must have been very to her to see it fall to the share of her son and treated as as possible at the end of a long letter instead of having it to spread over the largest part of a page of her own for though lady rather shone in the line having early in her marriage from the want of other employment and the circumstance of sir thomas s being in parliament got into the way of making and keeping and formed for herself a very creditable commonplace style so that a very little matter was enough for her she could not do entirely without any she must have something to write about even to her niece and being so soon to lose all the benefit of dr grant s symptoms and mrs grant s morning calls it was very hard upon her to be deprived of one of the last uses she could put them to there was a rich amends however preparing for her lady s hour of good luck came within a few days from the receipt of s letter had one from her aunt beginning thus � mt dear � i take up my pen to some very alarming intelligence which i make no doubt will give you much concern j tliis was a great deal better than to to take up the pen to her with all the particulars of the intended journey for the present intelligence was of a nature to promise occupation for the pen for many days to come being no less than the dangerous illness of her eldest son of which they had received notice by express a few hours before tom had gone from london with a party of young men to where a neglected fall and a good deal of drinking had brought on a fever and when the party broke up being unable to move had been left by himself at the house of one of these young men to the comforts of sickness and solitude and the attendance only of servants instead of being soon well enough to follow his friends as he had then hoped his disorder increased considerably and it was not long before he thought so ill of himself as to be as ready as his physician to have a letter despatched to this distressing intelligence as may suppose observed her after giving the substance of it has agitated us exceedingly and we cannot prevent our selves from being greatly alarmed and apprehensive for the poor invalid whose state sir thomas fears may be very critical and kindly attending his brother immediately but i am happy to add that sir thomas will not leave me on this distressing occasion as it would be too trying for me we shall greatly miss in our small circle but i trust and hope he find the poor invalid in a less alarming state than might be apprehended and that he will be able to bring him to shortly which sir thomas should be done and thinks best on every account and i flatter myself the poor sufferer will soon be able to bear the removal without material inconvenience or injury as i have little doubt of your feeling for us my dear under these distressing circumstances i will write again very soon s feelings on the occasion were indeed considerably more warm and genuine than her aunt s style of writing she felt truly for them all tom ill gone to attend him and the sadly small party remaining at were cares to shut out every other care or almost every other she could just find selfishness enough to wonder whether written to miss before this summons came but no sentiment dwelt long with her that was not purely affectionate and anxious her aunt did not neglect her she wrote again and again they were receiving frequent accounts from and these accounts were as regularly to in the same style and the same of hopes and fears all following and producing each other at hap hazard it was a sort of playing at being frightened the sufferings which lady did not see had little power over her fancy and she wrote very comfortably about agitation and anxiety and poor till tom was actually conveyed to and her own eyes had beheld his altered appearance then a letter which she had been previously preparing for was finished in a different style in the language of real feeling park and alarm then she wrote as she hare spoken � he is just come my dear and is taken upstairs and i am so shocked to see him that i do not know what to do i am sure he has been very ill poor tom i i am quite grieved for him and very much frightened and so is sir thomas and how glad i should be if you were here to comfort me i but sir thomas hopes he will be | 26 |
sunday and not to make it as yon can t know your dinner but now day this blessed christmas as is ever coming if you take your dinner to the the and the and hear the thin and lake the d be a deal the better and you d now which end you stood on you could put your trust i them as knows better nor we do you d ha done what it ties on us all to do s which was an unusually long of speech for her was uttered in the soothing re tone with which she tried to prevail on a sick man to take his medicine or a basin of for he had no appetite had never before been closely urged on the point of his absence church which had only been thought of as a part of his general and he too direct and simple to s appeal nay nay ho said i know nothing i ve never been to no said in a low tone of then herself of s advent from an unknown country she said could it ha been as they d no church where you was born o yes said sitting in his usual posture of leaning on his knees and supporting his head there was � a many � it was a big town but i knew ing of em � i went to was much at this new word but she was rather afraid of inquiring further lest chapel might mean some haunt of wicked ness after a little thought she well master man if you had no church th no the good it do you for i fuel so set np and comfortable as was when i ve been and heard the prayers and the singing to the praise and glory god as mr gives out � and mr saying good words and more la r on day and if a bit o trouble comes i feel as i can put up wi it for ve looked for help i the right quarter and myself up to them as we must g vo ourselves up to at the last and if we n done our part it is n t to bo believed al them as are above as be v poor s of her simple fell rather on s ears for there was no word in it that could rouse a memory of what he had known as religion and his comprehension was quite by the which was no of s but only her way of avoiding a familiarity he remained silent not feeling inclined to assent to the part of s speech which he fully understood � her recommendation that he should go to church indeed was so to i� beyond the brief and for that words did not without the of a di but now having become used he s awful presence had advanced to his mother s side and seeming to notice him the time tried to return s signs of good will hy the lad a bit of cake shrank a and rubbed liis head against his mother s shoulder but tor it for shame said his mother taking him on her tap however why jou don t want cake again yet awhile he s wonderful hearty she went on with a little sigh � that he ia god knows he s my and we spoil him for me or the father must him in our sight � that she s brown head and ht it must do master good to see such a of a child but on the other side of the hearth saw the neat rosy ce as a mere dim round with two dark spots in it and he s got a voice like a � you wouldn t think went on he can sing a christmas s taught him t for a token as he to good as he ran team the good tunes so quick come up and sing the ril to master o that s said gently op when mother tells you and let me hold the cake till you ve done was not to display his talents even lo an under and after a w more signs of consisting in rubbing the backs of hi j hands over his and then peep i ing between them at master to sec if be looked for the he at length his head to be duly adjusted and stand i ing behind the table which let appear above it only as far as his i broad so that he looked like a body i he began with a clear and in a melody that had the of an hammer � f cr christ on listened with a devout look at in some confidence this strain would help to him o church that s music said when had ended end had secured his piece of cake again there s no other music to the christmas music � hark the sing and may judge what it is at master with the and the voices as yon can t help thinking yon ve got to a better place a ready � for i would n t speak ill o this world seeing as them put us in it as knows best but what wi the drink and the and e bad and the hard dying as i ve seen times and times one s thankful to hear of a better the boy sings pretty don t he master yes said veiy the with its hammer like had fallen on bis ears as strange quite unlike a and could have none of the contemplated but he wanted to her that he was grateful and the only mode that occurred him was to offer a no thank you master said down a hands we must be going home now and so i wish good hy if ever feel bad in your inside | 14 |
run low affairs of and and the boxes of the wounded and the dead had been ah brought m use before at about eight o clock the into the bay her commander threw some shells into one of which killed five men about their cooking pot the began to withdraw their movements were hastened by a and the remains of the party brought on board this was an unfortunate movement it gave an air of defeat to what might have been else claimed for a moderate success the numbered a hundred and forty all told they were engaged separately and fought under the worst conditions m the dark and among woods their position in the house was scarce they lost in killed and wounded � forty per cent and their spirit to the end was above question whether we think of the poor sailor lads always so pleasantly behaved in times of peace or whether we call to mind the behaviour of the two and we can only regret that brave men should stand to be exposed upon so poor a quarrel or lives cast away upon an enterprise so hopeless eight years of trouble in news of the affair reached early and always curious of these spectacles of war was immediately in the saddle near he met a chief whom he asked if there were any german dead i think there are about thirty of them knocked over said he � have you taken their heads asked � yes said the chief some foolish people did it but i have stopped them we ought not to cut off their heads when they do not cut off ours he was asked what had been done with the heads two have gone to he replied and one is buried right under where your horse is standing in a basket wrapped in this was afterwards dug up and i am told on native authority that besides the three heads two ears were taken next asked the man how he came to be going away the man of war is throwing shells said he when they stopped firing out of the house we stopped firing also so it was as well to scatter when the shells began we could have killed all the white men i wish they had been this is an ex statement and i give it for such but affairs of and the course of the affair and in particular the adventures of and testify to a surprising lack of against the about the same time or but a little earlier than this conversation the same spirit was being displayed with a party of labour had gone out to bring m the german dead when he was surprised to be suddenly fired on from the wood the boys he had with him were not but from the islands and he suddenly remembered that these might be easily mistaken for a of bidding his boys conceal themselves in a thicket this brave man walked into the open so soon as he was recognised the firing ceased and the followed him in safety this is war but there was a side to it less as drew nearer to he began to meet with hats guns and even shirts taken from the german sailors with one of these who had a hat and a gun he stopped and spoke the hat was handed up for him to look at it had the late owner s name on the inside where is he asked � eight years of trouble in � he is dead i cut his head off � you shot him � no somebody else shot him in the hip when i came he put up his hands and cried don t kill me i am a man i did not believe him and i cut his head off � have you any to fit that gun � i do not know � what has become of the belt � another fellow that and the and he won t give them to me a dreadful and silly picture of war the words of the german sailor must be regarded as imaginary how was the poor lad to speak native or the to understand german when came as far as the was yet in the bay the smoke of battle still lingered among the trees which were themselves marked with a thousand bullet wounds but the affair was over the german and were all gone and only a couple of labour boys on the scene the village of beyond was equally silent part of it was wrecked by the shells of the and still smoked the inhabitants had fled on the beach were the native boats perhaps five thou affairs of and sand dollars worth deserted by the and overlooked by the in their common hurry to escape still held eastward by the sea paths it was his hope to get a view from the other side of the towards in the way he found a house hidden in the wood and among rocks where an aged and sick woman was being tended by her elderly daughter last in that deserted piece of coast they seemed indifferent to the events which had thus left them solitary and as the daughter said did not know where was nor where it is the official that the fired first at in view of all german and some native testimony the text of s orders and the of the case no honest mind will believe it for a moment certainly the fired first as certainly they were betrayed into the engagement in the agitation of the moment and it was not till afterwards that they understood what they had done then indeed all drew a breath of wonder and delight the invincible had fallen the men of the war eight years of trouble in ships had been met in the field by the of a a superstition | 38 |
was the negro stopped as he saw the and knew that they had undoubtedly been together what more he suspected no one can say with certainty but he threw the cloak upon the grass that bordered the pathway and turned on his heel without a word confound his impudence exclaimed when he had recovered sufficiently from his surprise a black to speak i have a good notion to follow him and box his ears the soft hand of the girl was on his sleeve in a moment say nothing to she answered he he is very thoughtful for me of my health and i was careless papa must have sent him the touch on his arm the young man at once he tried to make out the lines of the pretty face that was so near him and yet so far away we are to study again to morrow then he said taking up her statement with an assumed air of at what hour but she broke away from him abruptly and ran into the house without a word stood in the doorway and thought he distinguished harsh from the negro s lips but this seemed so incredible that he conceived his senses at fault looking at his watch the saw that it was still early enough to take a stroll by himself and over his new happiness or misery which was it under the open sky it was two hours later that his turned in the door and in that time he had resolved either to make his wife or commit suicide in the most fashion w oh so many many maids p chapter x oh so many many maids the only disagreeable thing about falling in love with was that felt compelled to reveal the truth to he believed he was bound to do this by a solemn contract which he had no moral right to perhaps might claim that he had no business to fall in love with one sister when his manager had picked out the other for this operation be that as it may there was no use in the question it must be talked over be the result what it might well i know what love is now was the abrupt way in which the young man opened the subject on the following afternoon he had ridden to the city as was not expected at the residence of mr that day the hope he had formed the previous evening of getting another interview with had not she having gone on some short journey before he could her you do was the equally abrupt reply uttered in a tone that betrayed astonishment what do you mean it came to me all at once last evening he said avoiding the gaze of his companion we were down at the end of the lawn you know a black interrupted him with a sudden shout not yes you are in love with bowed upon my word there was nothing in any of these expressions that conveyed the information which the younger man namely whether his friend approved what he had announced but he stole a look at him and saw that he appeared more astounded than angry you dear boy he said i don t know what to say to you you blush like a maiden over the acknowledgment i am half inclined to believe you are the girl in the case and your partner in love some great fellow on whose bosom you intend to pillow your head so it is eh and last night it came to you tell me how it happened comforted in a measure by the good nature of his friend proceeded to give the outlines of what had occurred the more intimate facts with which the reader is acquainted he admitted the touch of hands but did not mention the pressure of lips to lips he told of the girl s but said nothing of the extraordinary measures adopted to bring her to her senses but while he made no nor pretended to see through the in this net the experience of mr served him in good stead he could fill in the vacant places in the story with substantial oh so many s i don t know what miss will say to all this he remarked when the recital came to a pause i think she was just beginning to like you a little herself most of our talk last evening was about you and when i mentioned as i took my leave that you were probably out walking with i could see distinct traces of jealousy i want to be fair with my i told her that you came there to learn love from her not from her little sister if all this should result in breaking her heart i don t see how i could excuse myself and the other one she seems such a child i never thought of her in that connection why how old is she not over eighteen i think answered that would be nineteen on her next birthday an ingenious way of stating age that was not original with him all right said this statement slowly and now what is your programme looked surprised at the business like nature of the question i mean to secure her consent to marry me as soon as possible he said and then why see her father i suppose isn t that the most important thing to do mr shook his head decidedly not by any means you must not act with undue haste mr would say she was too young to think of matrimony a proposition you could not successfully dispute besides should he happen to give his consent and a week from day for the happy occasion see what a mess it would put you in the suggestion caused the brightest of smiles to the countenance of the listener it would make me the happiest of | 1 |
gentleman and your brother has given us twenty pounds my brother ned is a good fellow and you re a good too said the old man shaking h m by both hands with trembling eagerness put me down for another twenty � or � stop a minute stop a minute we mustn t look put me down ten pound and tim ten pound a for twenty pound for mr tim god bless you � and come and dine with us some day this week you u always find a knife and fork and we shall be delighted now my dear sir � from mr tim smashed by a of sugar and six poor children � oh dear dear dear talking on in this strain as fast as he could to prevent any friendly from the of the on the large amount of his mr led equally astonished and affected by what he had seen and heard in this short space to the half opened door of another room brother ned said mr tapping with his and stooping to listen are you busy my dear brother or can you spare time for a word or two with me brother charles my dear fellow replied a voice from the inside so like in its tones to that which had just spoken that started and almost thought it was the same don t ask me such a question but come in directly they went in without further what was the amazement of when his conductor advanced and exchanged a warm greeting with another old gentleman the very and model of himself � the same face the same figure the same coat waistcoat and the same breeches and � nay there was the very same white hat hanging against the wall as they shook each other by the hand the face of each lighted up by beaming looks of affection which would have been most to behold in and which in men so old was touching could observe that the last old gentleman was something than his life and adventures of brother this and a slight additional shade of in his gait and stature formed the only perceptible difference between them nobody could have doubted their being twin brothers brother ned said s friend closing the here is a young friend of mine that we must assist we must make proper inquiries into his statements in to him as well as to ourselves and if they are confirmed � as i feel assured they will be � we must assist him we must assist him brother ned it is enough my dear brother that you say we should returned the other when you say that no inquiries are needed he shall be assisted what are his necessities and what does he require where is tim let us have him here both the brothers it may be here remarked had a very emphatic and earnest delivery both had lost nearly the same teeth which imparted the same peculiarity to their speech and both spoke as if besides possessing the utmost serenity of mind that the and most nature could bestow they had in collecting the from fortune s retained a few for present use and kept them in their mouths where is tim said brother ned stop stop stop said brother charles taking the other aside i ve a plan my dear brother i we a plan tim is getting old and tim has been a servant brother ned and i don t think tim s mother and sister and buying a little tomb for the family when his poor brother died was a sufficient for his services no no no replied the other certainly not not half enough not half if we could tim s duties said the old gentleman and prevail upon him to go into the country now and then and sleep in the fresh air besides two or three times a week which he could if he began business an hour later in the morning old tim would grow young again in time and he s three good years our senior now old tim yoimg again eh brother ned eh why i recollect old tim quite a little boy don t you ha ha ha poor tim poor tim nd the fine old laughed pleasantly together each with a tear of regard for old tim standing in his eye but hear this � hear this first brother ned said the old man hastily placing two chairs one on each side of i u teu it you myself brother ned because the yoimg gentleman is modest and is a scholar ned and i shouldn t feel it right that he should tell us his story over and over again as if he was a beggar or as if we doubted him no no no no no no returned the other nodding his head gravely very right my dear brother very right he will tell me i m wrong if i make a mistake said s mend but whether i do or not you ll be very much affected brother ned remembering the time when we were two lads and earned our first in this great city the i wins pressed each other s hands in silence and in his own homely manner brother charles related the particulars he had heard � rom the conversation which ensued was a long one and when it was over a secret conference of almost equal duration took place between brother ned and tim in another room it is no to to say that before he had been with the two brothers ten minutes he could only wave his hand at every expression of kindness and sympathy and sob like a little child at length brother ned and tim came back together when tim instantly walked up to and whispered in his ear in a very brief sentence for tim was ordinarily a man of few words | 8 |
momentary expectation that it would open and admit the slight girlish form of the wife from whom he had been so long and cruelly separated yes was on her way to him he would see her hold her in his arms there might be years of happiness yet in store for them � years in which to to forget surely the boat must have arrived by this time what was that sound he had not deceived himself there was a light step on the gravel outside she had come she was here in another instant she would be at his side the door was gently opened he rose to by io the op his feet with a smothered cry of joy rose � and the next instant sat down again heavily with a groan of irrepressible disappointment for the woman who stood there dazzling yet in her faded southern beauty was not it was de whom as he fondly imagined he had last beheld drowning in the blue green waves clasped in the fierce embrace of her injured and husband the blade of whose dagger was deeply in her bosom the shock of the surprise was considerable it was some time before he could recover sufficiently to express himself in appropriate terms witch arch that you are he groaned how came you here has the sea given you up once more ah frank she said with a soft musical accent of reproach i did not expect that question to say nothing of the form in which it was put from you of all men who should know how i escaped what seemed a well nigh inevitable doom if not the man who preserved my life i � preserve your life gasped in a bewilderment which under the circumstances was not unnatural you forgot soon sooner than i i can see the whole scene yet my horrible husband holding me closer closer still the glitter of the blade as it touched my breast you on the rock thirty feet above gazing with eyes that are fixed by p i l � oh but fixed she closed her own as she spoke with a like the of a and next without warning with a sudden bound you the distance between us hurled with a strength that in your shattered state seemed almost supernatural my would be into the sea with one hand while you supported my half fainting form with the other and then strode away up the cliff like one in a dream surely you remember frank shook his head he had no recollection whatever of the incident that this should be so will not surprise the reader who is already aware that he was subject under certain mental tions to in one of th� m he had as we know destroyed a life in another he had preserved one � with an equal lack of of consciousness in either case even now he could not bring himself to credit her account any more than he could affect a decent degree of satisfaction at so a still there she stood alive � whoever had rescued her and it occurred to him presently that he might at least profit by the fact to some light upon a point which had cost him several anxious thoughts of late had she or had she not written that mysterious letter from s row if she had could she indeed prove that was of count de s blood by o op despite his loyalty to his wife he could not help preferring that her fair little hand should be even by a it was weakness no doubt but man is built up of prejudices which can neither be defended nor overcome he said you have not treated me altogether well you have done your best to keep my wife and me apart you have my only son my little you have had me shut up in a lunatic asylum i strongly suspect that you know more than you should about the fire which occasioned the total loss of the and all but a small of her and passengers � and yet � and yet i cannot but think that you still retain a lingering spark of true somewhere in spite of all by that spark i you solemnly to tell me as you hope for mercy whether you did or did not write that letter signed one who knows the truth i did she answered i do know it i have come here with the full intention of telling it and you can clear asked frank then i forgive you freely all the wrong you have done � only speak tell me all at once keep me no longer in suspense wait she said calmly and almost soothingly quite sure you can bear to know the truth by f sure he exclaimed if only did not the count what care i what other hand dealt the fatal blow de smiled a dark and mystic smile as she said slowly not even if the hand should prove to be your frank fell back with blue and lips it is a lie he said hoarsely a cruel lier it is the truth my poor frank i can prove it now as has been already stated this was mere conjecture on her part in spite of the assertion in her letter she had not been in the corridor of the prospect hotel when the tragic occurrence had taken place on the contrary she had been perhaps the most perplexed by frank s disappearance the next morning it was only subsequently that her feminine had supplied a partial solution of the mystery however her shot told with terrible effect prove it he repeated why after i had seen the count enter s room i went straight to my own i sat up in a stupor till daylight i did indeed and at daylight you fled said de softly only as | 4 |
ruin their affairs were in apparently confusion owing to barking s reckless speculations while to add to the � the far horizon general confusion that young man had broken down utterly from nervous and was at the present time incapable of the slightest mental or physical exertion things were at a under these terrible circumstances sir barking wrote i turn to you my good friend as a person intimately acquainted with the operation of our firm your experience may be of service to us in this crisis and in virtue of the many benefits you have received from us in the past i claim your assistance in my own name and that of my partners i offer to you in your former position but with enlarged powers it has always been my endeavour as you are well aware to reward merit and to treat those in our employment with generosity and consideration you will be glad i am sure to embrace this opportunity of in some small measure your debt towards me and mine more followed to the same effect neither the taste of the writer nor his manner of expression was happy of this was quite sensible patronage especially after his period of independence was far from agreeable to him yet behind the the and phrases his ear detected a very human cry of fear and cry for help should he doing his best to that fear and render that help he rose still holding the letter in his hand and paced the room of his own ability to render effective help were he allowed freedom of action entertained little doubt � always supposing that the situation did not prove even worse than he had present reason for supposing it was not difficult to see how the trouble had come about the senior partners into false security by prosperity had grown and sooner in their opinion might the stars fall from i than the august house of barking prove of the far horizon s foundation or capable of to hint at this even as a remote possibility was little short of their amiable nephew meanwhile had regarded them as a flock of fat eminently fitted for he let them complacently hiss and congratulate themselves upon their worldly wisdom and conspicuous while all the time silently diligently now awakening suddenly to the fact of their they were in a terrible taking very sore poor birds and quite past that feathers grow again if the system is sound and the health to these purse proud middle aged gentlemen presented a spectacle at once pathetic and humorous in their present sad plight a calm head and clear judgment might do much to their position and a calm head and cool judgment he was confident of possessing only was he after all disposed to place these useful possessions at their service for in the last nine months habits and outlook had changed the were altered it would be far harder to return to the monotonous routine of business life now � even though a fine revenge a delicate of coals of fire accompanied that return � than it had been to part company with it last year loneliness the induced by absence of definite employment no longer oppressed him holy church had cured all that giving him a definite place and definite purpose beautiful duties of prayer and worship the restrained yet continuous excitement of the pushing forward of soul and spirit upon the fair strange daily journey towards the far horizon and the friendship of almighty god his retirement had become very dear to him since it afforded scope for the conscious of that journey s state of mind j the far horizon in short was that of the lover who any and every outside demand which may even his attention from the object of his love street the glass and mahogany walled and the moral atmosphere of them � money getting and of this world worldly � were not these to the journey upon which he had set forth and the habit of mind necessary to the successful of it there was st john too and the closer relation of friendship into which he had just entered with her this must not be neglected and thinking of her he could not but think of that younger son of the great house barking and his dealings with her � enjoying her as long as it suited him to do so leaving her as soon as his passion cooled and a more advantageous social connection presented itself towards the handsome young soldier was it must be owned somewhat merciless why should he go to the rescue of this young s family and indirectly his marriage and increase its promise of happiness by helping to secure him an otherwise vanishing fortune let him pay the price of his pleasures and become a such a admitted he personally could face with entire resignation and yet � yet � on closer examination were not these reasons against undertaking the work offered him based upon personal personal rather than upon plain right and wrong and consequently were they not to justify and refusal that earlier dream of his on the night following his dismissal last year came back to him with its touching memories of the narrow town garden behind the old house in holland street � the golden the shallow stone basin beloved of poor dear and his s box the far horizon infernal machine and very crude methods of the age old quarrel between capital and labour on that occasion the lonely little boy though at risk of grave injury to himself had not hesitated to save the ill favoured grey cat � which bore in speech and appearance so queer a likeness to sir barking � f rom the ugly fate awaiting it he had gathered it in his arms pitying and striving to heal it was the child by instinct finer nobler more | 32 |
household affairs seemed to be conducted in some measure after the master s corrected perhaps by a little quiet management of the daughter s there was a great degree of simplicity and good humoured indulgence the came into the room without being called merely to look at their master and hear of his adventures they would stand listening at the door until he had finished a story and then go off on a broad grin to repeat it in the kitchen a couple of pet negro children were playing about the floor with the dogs and sharing with them their bread and butter all the looked hearty and happy and the table was set for the evening the variety and abundance of good household luxuries bore testimony to the open handed liberality of the and the notable of his daughter in the evening there dropped in several of the of the place the van and the and the and others of hey den s to hear an account of his expedition for he was the of and his exploits and adventures were favourite topics of conversation among the inhabitants while these sat together about the door of the hall and telling long twilight stories was seated entertaining the daughter on a window bench he had already got on intimate terms for those were not times of false reserve and idle ceremony and besides there is something wonderfully to a lover s suit in the delightful dusk of a long summer evening it gives courage to the most � j timid tongue and hides the of the the stars alone brightly and now and then a fire fly streamed his transient light before the window or wandering into the room flew gleaming about the ceiling what whispered in her ear that long summer evening it is impossible to say his words were so low and indistinct that they never reached the ear of the historian it is probable however that they were to the purpose for he had a natural talent at pleasing the sex and was never long in company with a without paying proper court to it in the mean time the visitors one by one departed who had fairly talked himself silent sat nodding alone in his chair by the door when he was suddenly aroused by a hearty salute with which had rounded oflf one of his periods and which echoed through the still chamber like the report of a pistol the started up rubbed his eyes called for lights and observed that it was high time to go to bed though on parting for the night he squeezed heartily by the hand looked kindly in his face and shook his head for the well remembered what he himself had been at the s age the chamber in which our hero was lodged was spacious and with oak it was furnished with clothes presses and mighty of drawers well and glittering with brass ornaments these contained ample stock of family linen for the dutch had always a pride in showing off their household treasures to strangers s mind however was too full to take particular note of the objects around him yet he could not help continually comparing the free open hearted of this establishment with the sordid housekeeping at doctor s still there was something that the enjoyment the idea that he must take leave of his hearty host and pretty hostess and cast him self once more adrift upon the world to linger here would be folly he should only get deeper in love and for a poor variety like himself to to the daughter of the great hey den � it was madness to think of such a thing the very kindness that the girl had shown towards him prompted him on reflection to hasten his departure it would be a poor return for the frank hospitality of his host to his daughter s heart in an attachment in a word was like many other young of exceeding good hearts and giddy heads who think after they act and act differently from what they think who make excellent over night and forget to keep them the next morning this is a fine conclusion truly of my voyage said he as he almost buried himself in a feather bed and drew the fresh white sheets up to his chin here am i instead of finding a bag of money to carry home launched in a strange place with scarcely a d in my pocket and what is worse have jumped ashore up to my very ears in love into the bargain however added he after some pause stretching himself and turning himself in bed i m in good quarters for the present at least so e en enjoy the present moment and let the next take care of itself i dare say all will work out some how or other for the best as he said these words he reached out his hand to the candle when he was suddenly struck with astonishment and dismay for he thought he beheld the phantom of the haunted house staring on him from a dusky part of the chamber a second look reassured him as he perceived that what he had taken for the was in fact nothing but a portrait that hung in a shadowy corner just behind a clothes press it was however the precise representation of his nightly visitor the same cloak and the same beard and fixed eye the same broad hat with a feather hanging over one side now called to mind the resemblance he had frequently remarked between his host and the old man of the haunted house and was fully convinced that they were in some way connected and that some especial destiny had governed his voyage he lay gazing on the portrait with almost as much awe as he had gazed on the ghostly original until the shrill house clock | 48 |
were the vast old sea even the deep of its dread bosom seemed to swell the higher as if by the emotions of the song thus the world assumed another and a better aspect from the hour that the poet blessed it with his happy eyes the creator had bestowed him as the last best touch to his own creation was i not finished till the poet came to interpret and so com it the was no less high and beautiful when his human brethren were the subject of his verse the man or woman sordid with the common dust of life who crossed his daily path and the little child who played in it were if he beheld them in his mood of poetic faith he showed the golden links of the great chain that them with an kindred he brought out the hidden traits of a celestial birth that made them worthy of such kin some indeed there the great stone face were who thought to show the of their judgment by that all the beauty and dignity of the natural world existed only in the poet s fancy let such men speak for themselves who undoubtedly appear to have been forth by nature with a contemptuous bitterness she h� them up out of her refuse stuff after all the swine were made as respects all things else the poet s ideal was the truest truth the songs of this poet found their way to he read them after his customary toil seated on the bench before his cottage door where for such a length of time he had filled his repose with thought by gazing at the great stone face and now as he read that caused the soul to thrill within him he lifted his eyes to the vast countenance beaming on him so o majestic friend he murmured addressing the great stone face is not this man worthy to resemble thee the face seemed to smile but answered not a word now it happened that the poet though he dwelt so far away had not only heard of but had meditated much upon his character until he deemed nothing so desirable as to meet this man whose wisdom walked hand in hand with the noble simplicity of his life one summer morning therefore he took passage by the railroad and in the decline of the afternoon alighted from the cars at no great distance from s cottage � the great hotel which had formerly been the palace of mr was close at hand but the poet with his carpet bag on his arm inquired at once the great stone face where dwelt and was resolved to be accepted as his guest approaching the door he there found the good old man holding a volume in his hand which alternately he read and then with a finger between the leaves looked lovingly at the great stone face good evening said the poet can you give a traveller a night s lodging willingly answered and then he added smiling i never saw the great stone face look so at a stranger the poet sat down on the bench beside him and he and talked together often had the poet held intercourse with the and the wisest but never before with a man like whose thoughts and feelings up with such a natural freedom and who made great truths so familiar by his simple utterance of them angels as had been so often said seemed to have wrought with him at his labor in the fields angels seemed to have sat with him by the fireside and dwelling with angels as friend with friends he had the of their ideas and it with the sweet and lowly charm of household words so thought the poet and on the other hand was moved and agitated by the living images which the poet flung out of his mind and which peopled all the air about the cottage door with shapes of beauty both gay and pensive the sympathies of these two men instructed them with a sense than either could have attained alone their minds accorded into one strain and made delightful music which neither of them could have claimed as all his own nor distinguished his own share stone face from the other s they led one another as it were into a high of their thoughts so remote and hitherto so dim that they had never entered it before and so beautiful that they desired to be there always as listened to the poet he imagined that the great stone face was bending forward to listen too he gazed earnestly into the poet s glowing eyes who are you my strangely gifted guest he said the poet laid his finger on the volume that had been reading you have read these poems said he you know me then � for i wrote them again and still more earnestly than before examined the poet s features then turned towards the great stone face then back with an uncertain aspect to his guest but his countenance fell he shook his head and sighed wherefore are you sad inquired the poet because replied all through life i have awaited the fulfilment of a prophecy and when i read these poems i hoped that it might be fulfilled in you you hoped answered the poet faintly smiling to find in me the likeness of the great stone face and you are disappointed as formerly with mr and old blood and thunder and old stony yes it is my doom you must add my name to the illustrious three and record another failure of your hopes for � in shame and sadness do i speak it � i am not worthy to be by yonder and majestic image the � at face and why asked he pointed to the volume � are not those thoughts divine they have a strain of the divinity | 35 |
then i went among them speaking of the unknown things of the dead that come and go like shadows and do evil deeds till they cried aloud in terror and gathered all together like little children afraid of the dark made laying that had come upon them at the door of when he had done there was a furious commotion and they took in their hands and of and clubs and stones from the beach but ran away home and because he had not drunken of they could not catch him and fell one over another and made a haste slowly even now they do howl without his and his within and what of the noise he cannot make himself heard o thou hast done well i commended go now taking this empty and the lean dogs and ride fast to the of and before the people who are drunken are aware throw him quick upon the and bring him to me i waited and gave good advice to the faithful ones till returned was on the and i saw by the on his face that his had done well by him but he tumbled oflf and fell in the snow at my feet crying o master thou wilt forgive thy servant for the wrong things he has done thou art a great man surely wilt thou forgive call me brother � call me brother i lifting him to his feet with the toe of my wilt thou obey yea master he a then dispose thy body so across the � led i shifted the to my right hand and direct thy face downward toward the snow and make haste for we journey south this day and when he was well fixed i laid the lash upon him at every stroke the wrongs he had done me this for thy in general � and this for thy in particular � and this for and this for thy soul s welfare and this for the grace of thy authority and this for and this for thy rights god given and this for thy fat and this and this for thy income tax and thy and fishes and this for all thy and this finally that thou henceforth walk softly and with understanding now cease thy and get up on thy and go to the fore and break trail for the dogs on thomas smiled quietly to himself as he lighted his fifth cigar and sent curling smoke rings a but how about the people of i asked kind of rough wasn t it to leave them flat with famine and he answered laughing between two were there not the fat dogs the faith of men the faith of men � ell you what we ll do we ll shake i for it that suits me said the second man turning as he spoke to the indian that was mending in a corner of the cabin here you take a run down to s cabin like a good fellow and tell him we want to borrow his box this sudden request in the midst of a council on wages of men wood and surprised besides it was early in the day and he had never known white men of the of and to and play till the day s work was done but his face was as a indian s should be as he pulled on his and went out the door by the sunset the faith of men though eight o clock it was still dark outside and the cabin was lighted by a candle thrust into an empty bottle it stood on the pine board table in the middle of a of dirty tin dishes from innumerable candles had down the long neck of the bottle and hardened into a miniature the small room which composed the entire cabin was as badly as the table while at one end against the wall were two one above the other with the blankets turned down just as the two men had crawled out in the morning and were million though they did not look it there seemed nothing unusual about them while they would have passed muster as fair specimens of in any camp but outside in the darkness where holes yawned in the ground were many men engaged in and gravel and gold from the of the holes where other men received fifteen dollars per day for the faith of men it from oflf the each day thousands of dollars worth of gold were scraped from and to the surface and it all belonged to and who took their rank among the richest kings of broke the silence that followed on s departure by the dirty plates higher on the table and a on the cleared space with his the smoky candle and rubbed the from the between thumb and forefinger by jove i wish we could both go out he abruptly exclaimed that would settle it all looked at him darkly if it weren t for your cursed obstinacy it d be settled anyway all you have to do is get up and get i ll look after things and next year i can go out why should i go i ve no one waiting for me � your people broke in roughly the faith of men like you have went oa a girl i mean and you know it shrugged his shoulders gloomily she can wait i guess but she s been waiting two years now and another won t age her beyond recognition that d be three years think of it old man three years in this end of the earth this falling oflf place for the damned i threw up his arm in an almost articulate groan he was several years younger than his partner not more than twenty six and there was a certain in his face that comes into the faces of men when they | 21 |
� for that is british law but not a shall they dare make in america but buy their nails in england � for that also is british law and the fact that british commerce was to be re created by the independence of america took them all by surprise in short i am afraid that english nature is so rank and as to be a little with every other the world is not wide enough for two but beyond this it must be admitted the island offers a daily worship to the old god celebrated among our forefathers for his eloquence and majestic air the english have a steady courage that fits them for great attempts and endurance they have also a petty courage through which every man delights in showing himself for what he is and in doing what he can so that in all companies each of them has too good an opinion of himself to imitate any body he hides no defect of his form features dress connection or for he thinks every circumstance belonging to him english comes recommended to you if one of them have a bald or a red or a green head or bow legs or a or mark or a or a or a voice he has persuaded himself that there is something and becoming in it and that it sits well on him but nature makes nothing in vain and this little of self regard in the english brain is one of the secrets of their power and history for it sets every man on being and doing what he really is and can it takes away a secondary air and a frank and manly bearing so that each man makes the most of himself and loses no opportunity for want of pushing a man s personal defects will commonly have with the rest of the world precisely that importance which they have to himself if he makes light of them so will other men all find in these a convenient of character since a little man would be ruined by the vexation i remember a shrewd in one of our western cities told me that he had known several successful made by their and another an ex governor of said to me if a man knew any thing he would sit in a corner and be modest but he is such an ignorant that he goes bustling up and down and on extraordinary discoveries there is also this benefit in that the speaker is unconsciously expressing his own ideal him by all means draw it all out and hold him to it their culture generally the travelled english to avoid any ridiculous extremes of this self pleasing and to give it an agreeable air then the natural disposition is by the respect which they find entertained in the world for english ability it was said of louis xiv that his gait and air were becoming enough in so great a monarch yet would have been ridiculous in another man so the of the english name a certain confident bearing which a frenchman or could not carry at all events they feel themselves at liberty to assume the most extraordinary tone on the subject of english merits an english lady on the hearing a german speaking of her party as foreigners exclaimed no we are not foreigners we are english it is you that are foreigners they tell you daily in london the story of the frenchman and englishman who quarrelled both were unwilling to fight but their companions put them up to it at last it was agreed that they should fight alone in english traits the dark and with pistols the candles were put out and the englishman to make sure not to hit any body fired up the chimney and brought down the frenchman they have no curiosity about foreigners and answer any information you may with oh oh until the makes up his mind that they shall die in their ignorance for any help he will offer there are really no limits to this conceit though brighter men among them make painful efforts to be candid the habit of runs through all classes from the times newspaper through and poets through mill and smith down to the boys of in the on political economy in a philosophical essay in books of science one is surprised by the most innocent exhibition of in a tract on corn a most amiable and accomplished gentleman writes thus � though britain according to bishop s idea were surrounded by a wall of brass ten thousand in height still she would as far the rest of the globe in riches as she now does both in this secondary quality and in the more important ones of freedom virtue and science william the english dislike the american structure of society whilst yet trade mills public education and are doing what they can to create in england the same social condition america is the paradise of the is the favorable exception invariably quoted to the rules of ruin but when he speaks directly of the americans the forgets his philosophy and remembers his anecdotes ut this childish patriotism costs something like all the english sway of their colonies has no of they govern by their arts and ability they are more just than kind and whenever an of their power is felt they have not the affection on which to coarse local distinctions as those of nation province or town are useful in the absence of real ones but we must not insist on these accidental individual traits are always over national ones there is no fence in greek or english or spanish science and and are men of the world and to wave our own flag at the dinner table or in the university is to carry the boisterous of a fire club into a circle nature and destiny english traits are always | 37 |
the divine animal who carries us through this world for if in any manner we can this instinct new passages are opened for us into nature the mind flows into and through things hardest and highest and the is possible this is the reason why love wine coffee tea the of and tobacco or whatever other of animal all men avail themselves of such means as they can to add this extraordinary power to their normal powers and to this end they essay i prize conversation music pictures theatres travelling war fires politics or love or science or animal which are several or finer for the true which is the ment of the intellect by coming nearer to the these are to the tendency c a man to his passage out into free space and the help him to escape the of that body i which he is pent up and of that jail yard of ind relations in which he is enclosed a great number of such as were e of beauty as painters poets and actors have been more than others wont to a life of pleasure and indulgence all but the fe who received the true and as it was a mode of freedom as it was an not into the heavens but into the of places they were punished for that they won by a and but never can any advantage be taken of nature b a trick the spirit of the world the great call presence of the creator comes hot forth to the so of or of wine the sublime comes to the pure and simple soul in a clean ar body that is not an inspiration which s owe to but some and fury milton says that the poet me the poet drink wine and live generously but the poet he who shall sing of the gods and their descent unto men must drink water out of a wooden bowl poetry is not wine but god s wine it is with this as it is with toys fill the hands and of our children with all manner of drums and horses withdrawing their eyes from the plain face and objects of nature the sun and moon the animals the water and stones which should be their toys so the poet s habit of living should be set on a key so low that the common influences should delight him his cheerfulness should be the gift of the sunlight the air should suffice for his inspiration and he should be with water that spirit which quiet hearts which seems to come forth to such from every dry of grass from every and half stone on which the dull march sun shines comes forth to the poor and hungry and such as are of simple taste if thou fill thy brain with boston and new york with fashion and and wilt thy senses with wine and french thou shalt find no radiance of wisdom in the lonely waste of the if the imagination the poet it is not in other men the in the an emotion of joy the use of has a certain power of and essay i for all men we seem to be to ached by a which makes us dance and run about happily like children we are like persons who come out of a cave or cellar into the open air this is the effect on us of and all poetic forms poets are thus gods men have really got a new sense and found within their world another world or nest of worlds for the once seen we divine that it does not stop i will not now consider how much this makes the charm of and the which also have their but it is felt in every definition as when space to be an immovable vessel in which things are contained � or when a line to be a flowing point or figure to be a bound of solid and many the like what a joyful sense of freedom we have when the old opinion of artists that no can build any house well who does not know something of when in tells us that the soul is cured of its by certain and that these are beautiful reasons from which is in souls when calls the world an animal and that the plants also are animals or a man to be a heavenly tree growing with his root which is his head upward and as george him writes � the poet so in our tree of man whose root in his top when speaks of as that white flower which marks extreme old age when calls the universe the statue of the intellect when in his praise of good blood in mean condition to fire which though carried to the darkest house this and the mount of will yet hold its natural office and burn as bright as if twenty thousand men did it behold when john saw in the the ruin of the world through evil and the stars fall from heaven as the her fruit when reports the whole catalogue of common daily relations through the of birds and beasts � we take the cheerful hint of the immortality of our essence and its habit and escapes as when the say of themselves it is in vain to hang them they cannot die the poets are thus gods the ancient british had for the title of their order those who are free throughout the world they are free and they make free an imaginative book renders us much more service at first by us through its than when we arrive at the precise sense of the author i think nothing is of any value in books excepting the essay i and extraordinary if a man is and carried away by his thought to that degree that he forgets the authors and the public and only | 37 |
same opinions and feelings as her own and she judged of their motives by the immediate effect of their actions on herself thus a occurred while the sisters were together in their own room after which sunk the heart of mrs still lower in her because through her own weakness it chanced to prove a source of fresh pain to herself though mrs was governed in it by an impulse of the utmost good will a letter in her outstretched hand and countenance gaily smiling from the persuasion of bringing comfort the entered their room saying � now my dear i bring you something that i am sure will do yon good heard enough in one moment her imagination placed before her a letter from of tenderness and of all that had passed satisfactory convincing and instantly followed by rushing eagerly into the room to enforce at her feet by the of his eyes the assurances of his letter sha of one moment was destroyed by the next sense and sensibility hand writing of ha mother never till then unwelcome was before her and in the of the disappointment which followed such an ecstasy of more than hop she felt as if till that instant she had never suffered the cruelty of mrs no language within her in her moments of happiest eloquence could have expressed and now she could reproach her only by the tears which streamed from her eyes with passionate violence � a reproach however so entirely lost on its object that after many expressions of pity she withdrew still referring her to the letter for comfort but the letter when she was calm enough to read it brought little comfort filled every page her mother still confident of their engagement and as warmly as ever his constancy had only been roused by application to entreat from greater towards them both and this with such tenderness towards her such affection for and such a conviction of their future happiness in each other that she wept with agony through the whole of it all her impatience to be at home again now returned her mother was dearer to her than ever dearer through the very excess of her mistaken confidence in and she was wildly urgent to be gone unable herself to determine whether it were better for to be in london or at offered no counsel of her own except of patience till their mother s wishes could be known and at length she obtained her sister s consent to wait for that knowledge mrs left them earlier than usual for she could not be easy till the and were able to grieve as much as herself and positively refusing s offered attendance went out alone for the rest of the morning with a very heavy heart aware of the pain she was going to communicate and perceiving by s letter how ill she had succeeded in laying any foundation for it then sat down to write her mother an account of what had passed and entreat her directions for the future while who came into the drawing room on mrs s going away remained fixed at tlie table where watching the advancement of her pen over and sensibility her for die hardship of such a task and still more over its effect on her mother in this they had continued about a quarter of an hour when whose nerves could not then bear any sudden noise was stained by a rap at the door who can this cried so early too thought wc had been safe moved to the window it is colonel i said she with vexation we are never safe from he will not come in as mrs is from home i will not trust to retreating to her own room a man who has nothing to do with his own time has no conscience in his intrusion on that of others the event proved her right though it was founded on injustice and error for colonel did come in and who was convinced that solicitude for brought him thither and who saw solicitude in his disturbed and melancholy look and in his anxious though brief after her could not forgive her sister for him so lightly i met mrs in bond street said he after die first salutation and she encouraged me to come on and i was the more easily encouraged because i thought it probable that i might find you alone which i was very desirous of doing my object � my wish � my sole wish in desiring it � i hope i believe it is � is to be a means of giving comfort � no i must not say comfort � not present comfort � but conviction lasting conviction to your sister s mind my regard for her for for your mother � will you allow me to prove i by relating some circumstances which nothing but a sincere regard � nothing but an earnest desire of being useful � i think i am justified though where so many have been spent in convincing myself that i am right is there not some reason to fear i may be he stopped i understand you you have something to tell me of mr that will open his character farther your telling it will be the greatest act of friendship that can be shown my gratitude will be sense and y immediately t any tending to that end and must be gained by it in pray pray let me hear it you shall and to be when i quitted last october � but this will ve you no idea � i must go either back you miss i hardly know where to begin a short account of myself i believe will be and it be a short one on such a subject heavily i can have little temptation to be he a moment for recollection and with another went on | 26 |
ancient one looked down him i he has long limbs and strong ones he will make a great king he said give him to me j the queen held out the little new born one in her arms take him away quickly before he hears the people at the palace gate she said take him to the castle on the mountain keep him there until he is old enough come down and be king when the sun sinks behind the clouds i shall die � � � � p� the land of the blue flower but if he is with you he will learn what kings should know the ancient one took the child folded him in his long gray robe and strode through the palace gates through the ugly city and out over the plains to the mountain when he began to climb its steep sides the sun was setting and casting a golden rose color over the big rocks and the wild flowers and bushes which grew on every side so that there seemed no path to be found but the ancient one knew his way anywhere in the world without a path to guide him he climbed and climbed and little slept soundly in the folds of his gray robe he reached the summit at last and pushing his way through a of twisted vines all w r i m the land of the blue flower over with pale sweet scented he stood looking at the castle which was set on the very and looked out over the mountain s edge at the sea and the sky and the spreading plains below the sky was dark blue now and lit by a stars and all was so still that the world seemed thousands of miles away and and and people who seemed things which were not true a sweet cool wind blew about them as the ancient one took king from the folds of his gray robe and laid him on the carpet of scented moss the stars are very near he said young king and see how near they are and know they are your brothers your brother the wind is � � a the land of the blue flower bringing to you the breath of your brothers the trees you are at home then king opened his eyes and when he saw the stars in the dark above him he smiled and though he was not yet a whole day old he threw up his small hand and it touched his forehead like a king and a soldier he them said the ancient one though he does not know he did it t the castle was huge and splendid though it had been deserted for a hundred years for three generations the royal owners had not cared to look out on the world from high places they knew nothing of the wind and the trees and the stars they lived on the plains in their cities and hunted and the land of the blue flower � and heavy taxes on their wretched people and the castle had lived through its and alone it had and towers which stood out clear against the sky and there was a great banquet hall and chambers for hundreds of guests and rooms for a thousand men at arms and the was big enough to hold a in in the midst of its space and splendor the little king lived alone but for the companionship of the ancient one and a servant as old as himself but they knew a secret which had kept them young in spite of the years they had passed through they knew that they were the brothers of all things in the world and that the man who never knows an or evil thought can j t i � � � � � � pi i m � � � � � � � i i m m t m i the land of the blue flower never know a foe they were strong and straight and wise and the wildest creature stopped to give them greeting as it passed and they understood its language when it spoke because they held no dark thoughts in their minds they knew no fear and because they knew no fear the wild creatures knew none and the speech of each was clear to the other each morning they went out on the at dawn to see the splendid sun rise slowly out of the purple sea one of the very first things the child king remembered in his life � and he remembered it always � was a dawning day when the ancient one i him gently and folding him in his long gray robe carried him up the winding and narrow stone mt r if mt m m i m m � m u m m� m j the land of the blue flower until at last they stepped forth on the top of the huge castle which seemed to the little creature to be so high that it was quite close to the wonderful sky itself the sun is going to rise and wake the world said the ancient one j young king watch the wonder of it lifted his little head and looked he was only just old enough to be beginning to understand things but he loved the ancient one and all he said and did far below the mountain lay the sea in the night while it slept it had looked dark blue or violet but now it was slowly changing its color the sky was changing too � it was growing paler and paler � next it grew faintly brighter so did the sea then a slight � � � � � the land of the blue flower � i � w ii � � � r� flush crept over land and water and all the small floating clouds were rosy pink | 13 |
now you q v to say to i want my son to be a xv ma may leave the rest to him the mill on mr paused a moment while mi somewhat reassured as to was inwardly to an imaginary mr the statement i want my son to know you see my dear mr continued when you get a thoroughly educated man like he s at no loss to take up any branch of instruction when a workman knows the use of his tools he can make a door as well as a window ay that s true said mr almost convinced now that the clergy must be the best of well i ll teu you what i u do for you said mr and i wouldn t do it for every body i ll see s father in law or drop him a line when i get back to to say that you wish to place your boy with his son in law and i dare say will write to you and send you his terms but there s no hurry is there said mrs for i hope mr you won t let tom begin at his new school before he began at the at the quarter and you see what good s come of it ay ay never wi bad day else you ll have a poor tap said mr and smiling at mr with the natural pride of a man who has a wife his inferior in intellect but it s true there s no hurry you ve hit it there it might be as well not to the arrangement too long said mr quietly for may have from other parties and i know he would not take more than two or three if so many if i were you i think i would enter on the subject with at once there s no necessity of sending the boy before but i would be on the safe side and make sure that nobody you ay there s in that said mr father broke in who had stolen to her father s elbow again listening with parted lips while she held her doll and crushed its nose against the wood of the chair � father is it a long way off where tom is to go sha n t we ever go to see him i don t know my said the father tenderly ask mr he knows came round promptly in front of mr and said how far is it please sir oh a long long way off that gentleman answered being of opinion that children when they are not naughty should always be spoken to you must borrow the boots to get to him thb mill on the that s nonsense said tossing her head and turning away with the tears springing in her eyes she began to dislike mr it was evident he thought her silly and of no consequence hush for shame of you asking questions and chattering said her mother come and sit down on your uttle stool and hold your tongue do but added mrs who had her own alarm awakened is it so far off as i couldn t wash him and mend him about fifteen miles that s all said mr you can drive there and back in a day quite comfortably x r � is a hospitable pleasant man he d be glad to have you stay but it s too far off for the linen i doubt said mrs sadly the entrance of supper this difficulty and relieved mr from the labor of suggesting some solution or compromise � a labor which he otherwise doubtless have undertaken for as you perceive he was a man of very obliging manners and he had really given himself the trouble of mr to his friend without any positive expectation of a solid definite advantage to himself notwithstanding the subtle indications to the contrary which might have a too sagacious observer for there is nothing more widely than sagacity if it happens to get on a wrong scent and sagacity persuaded that men usually act and speak from motives with a proposed end in view is certain to waste its energies on imaginary game and deliberate contrivance in order to compass a selfish end are nowhere abundant but in the world of the they demand too intense a mental action for many of our to be guilty of them it is easy enough to spoil the lives of our neighbors without taking so much trouble ve can do it by lazy acquiescence and lazy by trivial for we hardly know a reason by small by small by and we live from hand to mouth most of us with a small family of desires � we do little else than snatch a morsel to the hungry brood rarely thinking of seed corn or the next year s crop mr was a man of business and not cold toward his own interest yet even he was more the influence of small than of far sighted designs he had no private understanding with the rev walter � ou xi ic r he very uttle of that m a and � thb hill on tke not quite enough perhaps to warrant so strong a recommendation of him as he had given to his friend but he believed mr to be an excellent classic for had said so and s first cousin was an oxford which was better ground for the belief even than his own immediate observation would have been for though mr had received a of the at the great and had a sense of understanding latin generally his comprehension of any particular latin was not ready doubtless there remained a subtle from his contact with the j e and the fourth book of the j but it had ceased to be distinctly as classical and was only perceived in the higher finish and force | 14 |
but before the could turn from the house her husband accidentally came out he expressed great pleasure in meeting told her that he had been just going to call in street and assuring her that would be yery glad to see her invited her to come in they walked upstairs into the drawing room nobody was there is in her own room i suppose said he i will go to her presently for i am sure she will not have the least objection in the world to seeing you very far from it indeed now especially there cannot be � but however you and were always great why would not come made what excuse she could or her i am not sorry to see you alone he replied for i have a good deal to say to you this living of colonel s � can it be true has he really given it to edward i heard it yesterday by chance and was coming to you on purpose to inquire further about it it is perfectly true colonel has given the living of to edward well this is very astonishing i � no relationship � no connection between � and now that fetch such a price � what was the value of this sense and sensibility two hundred a year very well and for the next to a living of that value supposing the late incumbent to have been old and sickly and likely to it soon he might have got i dare say � fourteen hundred pounds and how came he not to have settled that matter before this person s death now indeed it would be too late to sell it but a man of colonel s sense � i wonder he should be so in a point of such common such natural concern well i am convinced that there is a vast deal of in almost every human character i suppose however on recollection that the case may probably be this edward is only to hold the living till the person to whom the colonel has really sold the is old enough to take it ay ay that is the fact depend upon it contradicted it however very positively and by relating that she had herself been employed in conveying the offer from colonel to edward and therefore must understand the terms on which it was give obliged him to submit to her authority it is truly astonishing he cried after hearing what she said what could be the colonel s motive a very simple one � to be of use to mr sense and well well whatever colonel may be edward is a very lucky man you will not mention the matter to however for though i have broke it to her and she bears it vastly well she will not like to hear it much talked of had some difficulty here to refrain from observing that she thought might have borne with composure an acquisition of wealth to her brother by which neither she nor her child could be possibly mrs added he lowering his voice to the tone becoming so important a subject knows nothing about it at present and i believe it will be best to keep it entirely concealed from her as long as may be when the marriage takes place i fear she must hear of it all but why should such precaution be used though it is not to be supposed that mrs can have the smallest satisfaction in knowing that her son has money enough to live upon for that must be quite out of the question yet why after her late behavior is she supposed to feel at all she has done with her son � she has cast him off forever and has made all those over whom she had any influence cast him off likewise surely after doing so she cannot be imagined liable to any impression of sorrow or of joy on his account she cannot be interested in anything that him she would not be so weak as to throw away the sense and sensibility comfort of a child and yet retain the anxiety of a parent ah said john your reasoning is very good but it is founded on ignorance of human nature when edward s unhappy match takes place depend upon it his mother will feel as much as if she had never discarded him and therefore every circumstance that may that dreadful event must be concealed from her as much as possible mrs can never forget that edward is her son you surprise me i should think it must nearly have escaped her memory by this time you wrong her exceedingly mrs is one of the most affectionate mothers in the world was silent we think said mr after a short pause of marrying miss smiling at the grave and decisive importance of her brother s tone calmly replied � the lady i suppose has no choice in the affair choice how do you mean i only mean that i suppose from your manner of speaking it must be the same to miss whether she marry edward or robert certainly there can be no difference for robert will now to all and purposes be considered as the eldest son and as to anything else vol ii � they are both young men i do not know that one is superior to the other said no more and john was also for a short time silent his reflections ended thus � of one thing my dear sister kindly taking her hand and speaking in an awful whisper i may assure you and i wiu do it because i know it must gratify you i have good reason to think � indeed i have it from the best authority or i should not repeat it for otherwise it would be yery wrong to say anything about it � but i have it from | 26 |
ears one evening she was alone at work � standing up at the window to save the twilight lingering above the wall � when he opened the door and walked in she kissed and welcomed him but was afraid to ask him any question he saw how anxious and timid she was and appeared sorry i am afraid you ll be vexed this time upon my life i am little i am very sorry to hear you say so tip have you come back yes not expecting this time that what you had found would answer very well i am less surprised and sorry than i might have been tip ah but that s not the worst of it not the worst of it don t look so startled no not the worst of it i have come back you see but � don t look so startled � i have come back in what i may call a new way i am off the list altogether i am in now as one of the oh don t say you are a prisoner tip don t don t well i don t want to say it he returned in a reluctant tone but if you can t understand me without my saying it what am i to do i am in for forty pound odd for the first time in all those years she sunk under her cares she cried with her clasped hands lifted above her head that it would kill their father if he ever knew it and fell down at tip s f et it was easier for tip to bring her to her senses than for her to bring mm to understand that the father of the would be beside himself if he knew the truth the thing was incomprehensible to tip and altogether a fanciful notion he yielded to it in that light only when he submitted to her entreaties backed by those of his uncle and sister there was no want of precedent for his return it was accounted for to the father in the usual way and the with a better comprehension of the pious fraud than tip supported it this was the life and this the history of the child of the at twenty two with a still attachment to the one miserable yard and block of houses as her and home she passed to and fro in it now with a womanly consciousness that she was pointed out to every one since she had begun to work beyond the walls she had found it necessary to conceal where she lived and to come and go as secretly as she could between the free city and the iron gates outside of which she had never slept in her life her original timidity had grown with this concealment and her light step and her little figure the thronged streets while they passed along them worldly wise in hard and poor necessities she was innocent in all things else innocent in the mist through which she saw her father and the prison and the living river that flowed through it and flowed on this was the life and this the history of little now going home upon a dull september evening observed at a distance by arthur this was the life and this the history of little turning at the end of london bridge it going back again passing on to saint george s church turning back suddenly once more and flitting in at the open outer gate and little of the little chapter viii the lock stood in the street waiting to ask some by what place that was he suffered a few people to pass him in whose faces there was no encouragement to make the inquiry and still stood pausing in the street when an old man came up and turned into the court yard he stooped a good deal and along in a slow manner which made the bustling london no very safe resort for him he was and dressed in a coat once blue reaching to his ankles and to his chin where it vanished in the pale ghost of a velvet collar a piece of red cloth with which that phantom had been in its lifetime was now laid bare and itself up at the back of the old man s neck into a confusion of grey hair and rusty stock and which altogether nearly his hat off a greasy hat it was and a impending over his eyes cracked and at the brim and with a of pocket handkerchief dangling out below it his were so long and loose and his shoes so clumsy and large that he like an elephant though how much of this was gait and how much trailing cloth and leather no one could have told under one arm he carried a limp and worn out case containing some wind instrument in the same hand he had a of snuff in a little packet of brown paper from which he slowly comforted his poor old blue nose with a lengthened out pinch as arthur looked at him to this old man crossing the court yard he preferred his inquiry touching him on the shoulder the old man stopped and looked round with the expression in his weak grey eyes of one whose thoughts had been far off and who was a little dull of hearing also pray sir said arthur repeating his question what is this place ay this place returned the old man staying his pinch of snuff on its road and pointing at the place without looking at it this is the sir the prison sir said the old man with the air of it not quite necessary to insist upon that the prison he turned himself about and went on i beg your pardon said arthur stopping him once more but will you allow me to ask you another question | 8 |
he cannot tell it i am sorry that i cannot believe you said so � and he stretched his hand towards a bell upon the table stop she said for your own sake stop man will a meeting and a parting you really commit this awful tliis useless crime think of the reckoning that must be paid here and hereafter think of me the woman you standing before the judgment seat of god and bearing witness against your naked shivering soul think of him the good and harmless man whom you are about cruelly to butcher crying in the ear of christ look upon de mental vo my pitiless murderer silence shouted yet shrinking back against the wall as though to avoid a sword thrust silence you ill witch with your talk of god and judgment it is too late i tell you it is too late my hands are too red with blood my heart is too black with sin upon the of my mind is written too long a record what more can this one crime matter and � do you understand � i must have money money to buy my pleasures money to make my last years happy and my soft i have suffered enough i have toiled enough and i will win wealth and peace who am now once more a beggar yes had you twenty husbands i would crush the life out of all of them inch by inch to win the gold that i desire as he spoke and the passions in him broke through their crust of cunning and reserve his face changed now watching for some sign of pity knew that hope was dead for his countenance was as it had been on that day si x and twenty years ago when she sat at his side while the great race was there was the same starting the same shining appeared between the lips and above them the now grown grey the high it was as in the fable of the who at a magic sign or word put off their human aspect and become beasts so it had chanced to the spirit of shining through his flesh like some marsh light through the mist it was a thing which god had forgotten a thing that had burst the kindly mould of its and itself in the robe and mask of such a wolf as might about the cliffs of hell only there was fear on the face of the wolf that face which this side of the grave she was yet destined to see once more the fit passed and sank down gasping while even in her woe and agony shuddered at this naked vision of a satan haunted soul i have one more thing to ask she said since my husband must die suffer that i die with him will you refuse this also and cause the cup of your crimes to flow over and the last angel of god s mercy to flee away yes he answered you woman with the evil eye do you suppose that i wish you here to bring all the ills you of upon my head i say that i am afraid of you why for your sake once years ago i made a vow to the blessed virgin that whatever i worked on men i would never again lift a hand against a woman to that oath i look to help me at the last for i have kept it and am keeping it now else by this time both you and the girl might have been stretched upon the rack no get you gone and take your curses with you and he snatched and rang the bell a soldier entered the room saluted and asked his commands take this order he said to the officer in charge of the van it details the method of his execution let it be strictly to and report made to me each morning of the condition of the prisoner stay show this lady from the prison the man saluted again and went out of the door after him followed she spoke no more but as she passed she looked at and he knew well that though she might be gone yet her curse remained behind a meeting and a parting the plague was on her the plague was on her her head and bones were with pain and the swords of sorrow pierced her poor heart but s mind was still clear and her limbs still supported her she reached her home and walked upstairs to the sitting room commanding the servant to find the and bid him join her there in the room was who ran crying is it true is it true it is true daughter that and martin have escaped oh god is good wept the girl and that my husband is a prisoner and condemned to death ah gasped i am selfish it is natural that a woman should think first of the man she loves no do not come near me i fear that i am stricken with the i am not afraid of that answered did i never tell you as a child i had it in the that at least is good news among much that is very ill but be silent here comes to whom i wish to speak nay you need not leave us it is best that you should learn the truth presently entered and watching everything noticed that he looked sadly changed and ill you sent for me mother he began with some attempt at his old air then he caught sight of her face and was silent i have been to the she said and i have news to tell you as you may have heard your brother and our servant martin have escaped i know not whither they escaped out of the very jaws of worse than death out of the torture chamber | 18 |
and uproar of the waters rolled in their ears like the grand sustained bass of some huge cathedral organ almost blinded by the spray that dashed its drops in their faces by the majestic loud and ceaseless eloquence that poured its force into the hearts of the rocks around them � breathless with climbing and well nigh tired out they struggled on and broke into one unanimous shout of delight and triumph when they at last reached the small hut that had been erected for the convenience of travellers who might choose that way to journey to the � and stood face to face with the magnificent one of the in what a sublime spectacle it was � that tempest of water sweeping sheer down the towering rocks in one straight broad unbroken sheet of foam a flashed in the torrent and vanished to again instantly with lustre � while the glory of the evening sunlight glittering on one side of the fall made it gleam like a sparkling shower of gold again giving a singularly musical to the apparently uncouth name come still a little further � to the top of the fall however paid no attention to this invitation he was already beginning to busy himself with preparations for passing the night comfortably in the hut before mentioned stout old as he was there were limits to his endurance and the exertions of the long day had brought fatigue to him as well as to the rest of the party was particularly exhausted his frequent at the had been of little or no avail as a support to his aching limbs and now he had reached his destination he threw himself full length on the turf in front of the hut and groaned most surveyed him and stood beside him the very picture of a cool young whom nothing could possibly done up � eh sandy he inquired done up growled d ye think i m a or a jumping this with a look ot positive indignation at the lively who if tired was probably too vain to admit it for he was about giving vent to his genuine admiration of the scene before him with the utmost freshness and enthusiasm i m just a plain and not such a fool at climbing either why man ive been up in and ben and ben � there s a mountain for you but a like this with all the stones lying and that ye can barely hold on to � and a mad chap guiding you on at the speed of a leaping goat � i tell you i haven t been used to t here he drew out his and took another extensive pull at it then he added suddenly just look at he ll be in a fair way to break his neck if he follows yon crazy any further at these words turned sh round and perceived his friend following step by step up a narrow footing in the steep ascent of some rough irregular that ran out and formed a narrow ledge ending in a sharp point directly over the full fury of the he watched the two climbing for an instant without any anxiety � then he suddenly the land of the midnight sun remembered that philip had promised to go with to the top of the fall acting on a rapid impulse which he did not stop to explain to himself at once started off after them � but the ascent was difficult they were some distance ahead and though he shouted the roar of the rendered his voice gaining on them however by slow degrees he was startled when all at once they disappeared at the summit � and breathless with his rapid climb he paused bewildered by he saw creeping cautiously out along the rocky shelf that the tumbling torrent � his gaze grew with a sort of deadly fascination on the spot good god he muttered under his breath surely will not follow him there he watched with strained eyes � and a smothered cry escaped him as s tall figure erect and bold appeared on that narrow and dangerous platform he never knew how he up the rest of the slippery ascent a double energy seemed given to his active limbs he never paused again for one second till he also stood on the platform without being heard or perceived by either or philip their backs were turned to him and he feared to move or speak lest a sudden surprised movement on their parts should have the fatal result of one or both into the fall he remained therefore behind them silent and motionless � looking as they looked at the terrific scene below from that point was as a huge boiling from which arose twisted wreaths and of white faintly coloured with gold and silvery blue in air these mists took all manner of fantastic forms � ghostly arms seemed to wave and ghostly hands to unite in prayer � and fluttering creatures in of green and crimson appeared to rise and float and retire and shrink to again in the rainbow drift and sweep of whirling foam gazed down on the abyss he pushed back his cap from his brow and let the fresh wind play among his dark curls his nerves were steady and he surveyed the twisting wheels of shining water without any corresponding in his own brain he had that sincere delight in a sublime natural spectacle which is the of all who possess a poetic and artistic temperament and though he the land of the midnight sun surprised by a sudden strange of s countenance � his blue eyes flashed with an almost lustre � his pale skin flushed darkly red and the veins in his forehead started into swelled and knotted another time he screamed loudly no no now � now die robber of s love i die � die � | 33 |
he designed sending on the errand who had just then arrived in one of his and who so that he thought himself employed grave and serious business would go anywhere why the truth is said john after a long pause that the person who d go is a sort of natural as one may say sir and though quick of foot and as much to be trusted as the post itself he s not good at talking being touched and sir you don t said the guest raising his eyes to john s fat face you don t mean � what s the fellow s name � you don t mean yes i do returned the landlord his features turning quite expressive with surprise how comes he to be here inquired the guest leaning back in his chair speaking in the bland even tone from which he never varied and with the same soft courteous never changing smile upon his ce i saw him in london last night he s for ever here one hour and there the next old john the usual pause to get the question in his mind sometimes he walks and sometimes runs he s known along the road by everybody sometimes comes here in a cart or chaise and sometimes riding double he comes and goes through wind rain snow and hail and on the darkest nights nothing hurts he goes often to this does he not said the guest carelessly i seem to remember his mother telling me something to that effect yesterday but i was not attending to the good woman much you re right sir john made answer he does his sir was murdered in that house so i have heard the guest taking a gold from his pocket with the same smile a very disagreeable circumstance for the family very said john with a puzzled look as if it occurred to him dimly and off that this might by possibility be a cool way of treating the subject au the circumstances after a murder said the guest must be dreadfully unpleasant � so much bustle and no repose � a constant dwelling upon one subject � and the running in and out and up and down stairs intolerable i wouldn t have such a thing happen to anybody i was nearly interested in on any account be enough to one s life out � you were going to say mend � he added turning to john again only that mrs lives on a little from the family and that s as tree of the house as any cat or dog about ity john shall he do your errand sir oh yes replied the guest oh certainly let him do it by all means please to bring him here that i may charge him to be quick if he objects to come you may tell him it s mr he will remember my name i dare say john was so very much astonished to find who his visitor was that he could express no astonishment at all by looks or � otherwise but left the room as if he were in the most placid and of all possible conditions it has been reported that when he got down stairs he looked steadily at the for ten minutes by the dock and all that time never once left off shaking his head for which statement there seem to be some of truth and inasmuch as that interval of time did certainly before he returned with to the guest s apartment come hither lad said mr you know mr laughed and looked at the landlord as though he would say you hear him john who was greatly shocked at this breach of decorum clapped his finger to his nose and shook his head in mute remonstrance he knows him sir said john frowning aside at as well as you or i do i haven t the pleasure of much acquaintance with the gentleman returned his guest you may have limit the comparison to yourself my mend although this was said with the same easy and the same smile john felt himself put down and laying the at s door determined to kick his on the very first opportunity give that said the guest who had by this time sealed the note and who beckoned his messenger towards him as lie spoke into mr s own hands wait for an answer and bring it back to me � here if you should find that mr is engaged just now tell him � can he remember a message landlord when he chooses sir replied john he won t forget this one how you sure of that john merely to him as he stood with his head bent forward and his earnest gaze fixed closely on his s face and nodded teu him then should he be engaged said mr that i shall be glad to wait his convenience here and to see him if he will call at any time this evening � at the worst i can have a bed here i suppose old john immensely flattered by the personal implied in this form of address answered with something like a knowing look i should believe you could sir and was turning over in his mind various forms of with the view of selecting one appropriate to the qualities of his best bed when his ideas were put to flight by mr giving the letter and bidding him make all speed away speed said folding the little packet in breast speed if you want to see and mystery come here here with that he put his hand very much to john s horror on the guest s fine sleeve and led him stealthily to the back window look down there he said do you mark how they whisper in each other s ears dance and leap to make believe they are in sport do you | 8 |
of the sun � the sun rising the sun setting the sun in full glory with all his rays embroidered round him in tiny shells some of them no bigger than a pin s head what a waste of time and labour he mused who would undertake such a thing nowadays fancy the patience and delicacy of finger required to fit all these shells in their places i and they are in strong mortar too as if the work were meant to be full of pleased interest he pursued his way winding in and out through different arches all more or less richly ornamented till he came to a tall round column which seemingly supported the whole gallery for all the arches towards it it was from top to bottom with roses and their leaves all worked in pink and shells with small pieces of shining and polished the of the lamp he carried made it like a mass of jewel work and absorbed in his close examination of this unique specimen of ancient art sir philip did not at once perceive that another light beside his own from out the a little beyond him � an opening that led into some recess he had not as yet a peculiar lustre sparkling on one side of the however at last attracted his attention and glancing up quickly he saw to his surprise the reflection of a strange radiance tinted and brilliant turning in its direction he paused could there be some one living in that chamber to which the long passage he had followed evidently led some one who would perhaps resent his intrusion as an impertinence some eccentric artist or who had made the cave his home or was it perhaps a refuge for he listened anxiously there was no sound he waited a minute or two then boldly advanced determined to solve the mystery i this last was lower than any of those he had passed through and he was forced to take off his hat and stoop as he went under it when he raised his head he remained uncovered for he saw at a glance that the place was sacred he was in the presence not of life but death the chamber in which he stood was square in form and more richly ornamented with than any other portion ot the he had seen and facing the east was an altar out of the solid rock and studded thickly with and mother o pearl it was covered with the incomprehensible of a creed worked in most exquisite shell patterns but on it � as though in solemn protest against the past � stood a of and carved ivory before which burned steadily a red lamp the meaning of the mysterious light was thus explained but what chiefly interested was the central object of the place � a � or rather a plain granite which was placed on the floor lying from north to south upon it � in strange contrast to the sombre coldness of the stone � a large wreath of gathered the vivid scarlet of the flowers the gleam of the shining shells on the walls the mournful figure of the ivory christ stretched on the cross among all those pagan � the intense silence broken only by the slow of water somewhere behind the � and more than these outward things � his own impressive conviction that he was with the imperial dead � imperial because past the sway of empire � all made a powerful impression on his mind by degrees his first sensations of awe he approached the and examined it it was closed and all round so that it might have been one compact block of stone so far as its outward appearance stooping more closely however to look at the brilliant he started back with a slight exclamation cut deeply in the hard granite he read for the second time that odd name � it belonged to some one dead then � not to the lovely living woman who had so lately confronted him in the burning glow of the midnight sun he felt dismayed at his the land of the midnight sun ly tion � he had in his fancy actually associated her so full of radiant health and beauty with what was probably a corpse in that sealed of stone this idea was unpleasant and upon his feelings surely she that golden haired of the had nothing to do with he had evidently found his way into some ancient tomb might be the name or title of some long departed queen or princess of yet if so how came the there � the red lamp the flowers he lingered looking curiously about him as if he fancied the shell embroidered walls might whisper some answer to his thoughts the silence offered no suggestions the plaintive figure of the tortured christ suspended on the cross maintained an immovable watch over all things and there was a subtle faint floating about as of crushed or while he still stood there absorbed in perplexed conjectures he became oppressed by want of air the red hue of the wreath mingled with the softer glow of the lamp on the altar � the moist glitter of the shells and polished pebbles � seemed to and his eyes he felt dizzy and faint � and hastily made his way out of that close death chamber into the passage where he leaned for a few minutes against the great central column to recover himself a brisk breath of wind from the came through the gallery and blew coldly upon his forehead refreshed by it he rapidly overcame the sensation of and began to his steps through the winding arches thinking with some satisfaction as he went what a romantic incident he would have to relate to and his other friends when a sudden glare of light the passage and he was brought to an | 33 |
very pleasantly sum up their author s ment on many matters of interest � round the west of land by the rev a g l b a of college oxford r t y c vol vo illustrated a very interesting work we can scarcely imagine a more pleasant and romantic voyage than that of the author of this volume round the rough and rugged west coast of england which forms the of and the bold character of these the mount st michael the fine old town of s head the rocky the small rock on which the the fury of the storm and guides the up channel are among the attractions which such a voyage afforded while the many small towns and villages and their inhabitants must have yielded a considerable amount of pleasure to who for the first time visit these interesting we might if space permitted give many interesting from the work which would convey to the reader the same good opinion of the work which we have ourselves formed from its perusal � � en er life in italy by count vo s two volumes of interesting � � � i� � count s work is obviously of an character the preface is dated from the italian and the volumes show many evidences of their author having had the advantage of si information not hitherto made the volumes must be read by all who would understand the present position of south italy they are written in a lively style and combine the value of with the entertainment of a romance � london review a personal narrative of thirteen tears service amongst the wild tribes op for the op human sacrifice by major general john c b vol with illustrations major general s book is one of thrilling interest and must he pronounced the most remarkable narrative of the present season � or how to manage a colony showing a practical solution of the questions affecting british india by j w b esq s street and s new continued travels in france and germany in and including a steam voyage down the and a ride across the mountains of european turkey from to by captain author of travels in c s this work at any time be read with pleasure but at this moment it is invested with interest it presents a clear and comprehensive view of germany on the eve of war and throws much light on many questions which have recently occupied and are still destined to occupy a considerable share of attention it is more than a narrative of travel although it possesses all the attractions of a well written work of that nature there is sufficient of adventure for those who love that which is exciting sketches of wild and beautiful scenes glimpses of life not only in cities but in secluded villages and notes and observations on the social moral and political condition of the countries passed through the unity of germany is regarded as a gain to the whole civilized world the of from germany a gain to herself and to the magnificent countries she rules over in eastern europe with these countries the reader extends his a characteristic sketch of the present state of is given in connection with the story of a voyage down the lower the narrative of a ride across the mountains of european turkey is filled up with a description of the manners and customs of a people still living in a state of primitive simplicity the author s style is and and the range of his book gives scope for much pleasing variety as weu as for much useful information � post historic pictures by a m p s mr has published two entertaining volumes of studies from history they are lively reading my aim he says has been to events generally known in a light and if possible a picturesque manner mr has been quite successful in carrying out this intention the work is a study of the more interesting moments of what indeed the author himself calls it historic pictures � times court and society from elizabeth to anne from the papers at by the duke op second edition vo with fine portraits these volumes are sure to excite curiosity a great deal of interesting matter is here collected from sources which are not within everybody s reach � times haunted london by walter vol vo with numerous illustrations by f w f s a mr points out to us the houses the great men s and the haunts of poets the scenes of the battle fields of old the book with gossip mr s drawings add alike to its value and interest � and a journey from london to including wanderings in and by j esq f r g s royal vo with numerous beautiful coloured illustrations s bound this is a very mr is one of the com we have met with for a long time we have rarely read a book of travels in which so much was seen so rapidly and so easily and in which the scenery the and the people impressed the author s mind with such gentlemanly satisfaction mr his success and this splendid monument of his travels and pleasant � times william shakespeare by cardinal yo s great street messrs and s new continued a book about lawyers c at law author of a book doctors c vo in lights and shadows of london life by the author of abbey lost sir l a winter with the by m vo vith � mt pilgrimage to eastern by c bush to with illustrations s � reminiscences of the opera by ben twenty years of her majesty s theatre vo with portrait of the author by count d mr s book with all its is really a well history of an institution of social importance in its time with opinions and shrewd and mature � vm as a | 25 |
way into the room which had shed its cheerfulness upon the street to whose occupants he introduced mr as a gentleman from england whose acquaintance he had recently had the pleasure to make they gave him welcome in all courtesy and politeness and in less than five minutes time he found himself sitting very much at his ease by the fireside and becoming vastly well acquainted with the whole family there were two ladies � one eighteen the other � both very slender but very pretty their mother who looked as martin thought much older and more faded than she ought to have looked and their grandmother a little sharp eyed quick old woman who seemed to have got past that stage and to have come all right again besides these there were the young ladies father and the young ladies brother the first engaged in affairs the a student at both in a certain cordiality of manner like his own friend and not unlike him in face which was no great wonder for it soon appeared that he was their near relation martin could not help tracing the family from the two young ladies because they were foremost in his thoughts not only from being as very pretty but by reason of their wearing small shoes and the possible silk stockings the which their rocking chairs developed to a extent there is no doubt that it was a monstrous comfortable and op circumstance to be sitting in a snug well room by a fire and of various pleasant including four small shoes and the like of silk stockings and yes why not � the feet and legs therein and there is no doubt that martin was monstrous well disposed to regard his position in that l ht after his recent experience of the screw and of mrs s boarding house the consequence was that he made himself very agreeable indeed and by the time the tea and coffee arrived with sweet preserves and cunning in its train was in a highly genial state and much esteemed by the whole family another delightful turned up before the first cup of tea was drunk the whole family had been in england there was a pleasant thing but martin was not quite so glad of this when he found that they knew all the great lords knights and quite affectionately and were beyond everything interested in the least particular concerning them however when they asked after the of this or that and said was he quite well martin answered yes oh yes never better and when they said his s mother the was she much changed martin said oh dear no they would know her anywhere if they saw her to morrow and so got on pretty well in like manner when the young ladies questioned him touching the gold fish in that fountain in such and such a nobleman s and whether there were as many as there used to be he gravely reported after mature consideration that there must be at least twice as and as to the oh well it was of no use talking about them they must be seen to be believed which improved state of circumstances reminded the family of the splendour of that brilliant festival the whole british and court to which they were specially invited and which indeed had been partly given in their honour and recollections of what mr the father had said to the and of what mrs the mother had said to the and of what the and had both said when they said that upon their words and honours they wished mr the father and mrs the mother and the the daughters and mr martin junior the son would only take up their permanent residence in england and give them the pleasure of their everlasting occupied a very considerable time thought it rather strange and in some sort inconsistent that during the whole of these and in the very of their enjoyment thereof both mr the father and mr the son who every post with four members of the english enlarged upon the advantage of having no such arbitrary distinctions in that enlightened land where there were no but nature s and where all society was based on one broad level of love and natural equality indeed mr the father gradually into an on this swelling theme was becoming tedious when mr diverted his thoughts by happening to make some casual inquiry relative to the of the next house in reply to which this same mi the father observed that that x entertained religious opinions of which he couldn t approve and therefore he hadn t the honour of knowing the gentleman mrs the mother added another reason of her own the same in effect but in words to wit that she believed the people were well enough in their way but they were not genteel another little trait came out which impressed itself on martin forcibly mr told them about mark and the negro and then it appeared that all the were it was a great relief to hear this and martin was so much encouraged on finding himself in such company that he expressed his sympathy with the oppressed and wretched now one of the young ladies � the prettiest and most delicate one � was amused at the earnestness with which he spoke and on his craving leave to ask her why was quite unable for a time to speak for laughing as soon however as she could she told him that the were such a funny people so excessively ludicrous in their manners and appearance that it was wholly impossible for those who knew them well to associate any serious ideas with such a very absurd part of the creation mr the father and mrs the mother and miss the sister and mr junior the brother and even mrs senior the grandmother were all of this | 8 |
know you like women to be philip betrayed you he said so one day when you were not here oh i know is fierce on that point he makes it quite a personal matter i think he must be love sick for some unknown lady � some exalted whom he met abroad by the by i said pausing in her work it has just occurred to me that have never found out whether my cousin will object to see philip as her brother does tom will not enter a room where is if he knows it perhaps may be the same and then we shan t be able to sing our � shall we thb mill on the fl s � what i is your cousin coming to stay with you said with a look of slight annoyance yes that was my news which you have forgotten she s going to leave her situation where she has been nearly two years poor thing � ever since her father s death and she will stay with me a month or two � many months i hope and am i bound to be pleased at that news oh no not at all said with a little air of i am pleased but that of course is no reason why y m should be pleased there is no girl in the world i love so weu as my cousin and you will be inseparable i suppose when she comes will be no possibility of a with you any more unless you can find an admirer for her who will pair off with her occasionally what is the ground of dislike to philip he might have been a resource it is a family quarrel with philip s there were very painful circumstances i believe i never quite understood them or knew them all my uncle was unfortunate and lost all his property and i think he mr was somehow the cause of it mr bought mill my uncle s old place where he always you must remember my don t you no said with rather indifference i ve always known the name and i i knew the man by si ht apart from his name i know half the names and m the neighborhood in that detached way he was a very hot tempered man i remember when i was a little girl and used to go to see my cousins he often frightened me by talking as if he were angry papa told me there was a dreadful quarrel the very day before my uncle s death between him and mr but it was hushed up that was when you were in london papa says my uncle was quite mistaken in many ways his mind had become but tom and must naturally feel it very painful to be reminded of these things they have had so much � so very much trouble was at school with me six years ago when she was fetched away because of her other s misfortunes and she has hardly had any pleasure since i think she has been in a dreary situation m a school since uncle s death because she is determined to be independent and not live with aunt nd i could hardly wish her to come to me then because dear mamma was ill and everything was so sad that is why i want her to come to me now and have a long long very sweet and of you said looking at s thb ok the her with an admiring smile and all the more so if she has the of her mother poor i you are cruel to ridicule her she is to m� i know she the house beautifully � much better than any stranger would � and she was a great comfort to me in mamma s illness yes but in point of companionship one would prefer that she should be represented by her brandy and i think with a shudder that her daughter will always be present in person and have no agreeable of that kind � a girl with round blue eyes who will stare at us silently oh yes exclaimed laughing and clapping her hands that is just my cousin you must have seen her i no indeed i m only what mrs s daughter must be and then if she is to banish philip our only apology for a tenor that will be an additional bore but i hope that may not be i think i will ask you to call on philip and tell him is coming to morrow he is quite aware of tom s feeling and always keeps out of his way so he will understand if you tell him that i asked you to warn him not to come until i write to ask him i think you had better write a pretty note for me to take so sensitive you know the least thing might frighten him off coming at all and we had hard work to get him i can never induce him to come to the park he doesn t like my sisters i think it is only your � a ry touch that can lay his ruffled feathers mastered the little hand that was towards the table and touched it lightly with his lips little felt proud and happy she and were in that stage of courtship which makes the most exquisite moment of youth the fi blossom time of passion � when each is sure of the other s love but no formal declaration has been made and all is mutual the most trivial word the gesture into delicate and scent the of an engagement wears off finest edge of it is gathered and presented in a large but it is really odd that you should have hit so exactly on s appearance and manners said the cunning moving to reach her desk because she might have | 14 |
to put upon that the r letter try and sleep i shall see you in the morning sleep echoed the poor girl in a tone of anguish i feel as though i should never sleep again when they had driven away himself took the nearest way to the it was some way from the station but was a vigorous and soon covered the distance he arrived at the door with a beating heart and dry lips feeling he knew not why that he was about to hear bad news the butler ushered him into his master s presence and immediately the young man felt that his fears were confirmed looked worried he was a plump little man neat in his dress and cheerful in manner he was a bachelor and somewhat of a had known him all his life and could have found no better adviser in the in which he now found himself came forward with outstretched hands my dear boy i am indeed glad what good fairy sent you here a glass of port you look pale i am delighted to see you if you had not come i should have had to send for you what do you wish to see me about sir asked another surprise about the disappearance of these two people what two people asked the young man suddenly alert you forget that i have been away from for the last three days of course of course well one is brown the stranger who stayed with mrs marry the quiet gentleman yes i heard them call him so in the village a very doubtful character he never came to church said the sadly however it seems he has disappeared two nights ago � in fact upon the evening of the day upon which poor s funeral took place he left his lodgings for a walk since then added the he has not returned in plain words he has taken french leave filling his glass oh i should not say that he paid his weekly account the day before he vanished he left his baggage behind him no i don t think he intended to run away mrs marry says he was a good although she knew very little about him however he has gone and his box remains no one saw him after he left the village about eight o clock he was last seen by hale passing the church in the direction of the to day we searched the but could find no trace of him so the mystery most mysterious finished the and took some port who is the other man asked abruptly ah now you must be prepared for a shock dr bounded out of his seat is he lost too strangely enough he is answered gravely on the night of the funeral he went out at nine o clock in the evening to see a patient he never came back who was the patient � that is the strangest part of it brown the qui t gentleman was the patient mrs who as you may guess is quite distracted says that her husband told her so mrs marry declares that the doctor called after nine and found brown was absent what happened then demanded who had been listening eagerly to this tale dr according to mrs marry asked in what direction her had gone she could not tell him so saying he would call again in an hour or so he went and of course he never returned did brown send for him mrs marry could not say certainly no message was sent through her was brown ill another surprise si not at all according to his landlady we have been searching for both brown and but have found no traces of either said after a pause i wonder if they met and went away together my dear lad where would they go to objected the i don t know i can t say the whole business is most mysterious stopped and looked sharply at mr have you the key of the vault in your possession yes of course locked in my safe your question is most extraordinary the other smiled grimly my explanation is more extraordinary still he took out mr s letter and handed it to the what do you think of that sir most elegant said the good man why bless me he read on hurriedly and finally dropped the letter with a bewildered air bless me he stammered what � what � what picked it up and smoothed it out on the table you see this man says the body has been stolen do you know if the door of the vault has been broken open no no certainly not cried the rising come to my study we the mystery must see if it is all right it must be he added emphatically the key of the safe is on my watch chain no one can open it oh dear bless me he out of the room followed by a search into the interior of the safe resulted in the production of the key you see cried waving it triumphantly it is safe the door could not have been opened with this now your key my key is in my desk at the abbey farm � locked up also said the young man hastily i ll see about it to night in the meantime sir bring that key with you and we will go into the vault what for demanded the sharply why should we go there can t you understand said impatiently i want to find out if this letter is true or false � if the body of mr has been removed but i � i � can t gasped the i must apply to the bishop for nonsense sir we are not going to the body it s not like digging up a grave all that is necessary is to look at the | 12 |
yell men and women and children joined in it it began at the first sight of the regular column swelled up the crowded streets rose to the thronged ran along them for squares like a and then came rolling back in volume only to rise and swell again greater than before men wept children women sobbed aloud what was it only a thousand or two of old or men riding or along through the dust of the street under some old flags dirty and ragged and stained but they represented the spirit of the south they represented the spirit which when honor was in question never no l the gray jacket of no counted the cost the spirit that had stood up for the south against odds for four years and until the south had and perished under the forces of war the spirit that is the strongest to us to day that the union is and is to be the spirit that glorious in victory had displayed a fortitude yet greater in defeat they saw in every stain on those tattered standards the blood of their noblest and best in every rent a proof of their glorious courage and sacrifice they saw in those gray and faces in those old clothes now and then with a faded gray uniform the men who in the of their youth had for the south faced death on a hundred fields and had never even thought it great men who had looked immortality in the eyes yet had been thrown down and trampled and who were greater in their overthrow than when glory poured her light upon their faces not one of them all but was self sustained by the south or had ever even for one moment thought in his extremity that he would have what was undone the crowd was immense the people on the fashionable street up which the procession passed were fortunate they had the advantage of their iii the gray jacket of no tf yards and and they threw them open to the public still the throng on the was tremendous and just before the old came along the crush increased as it itself i became conscious that a little old woman in a rusty black dress whom i had seen patiently standing alone in the front line on the street corner for an hour had lost her position and had been pushed back against the railing and had an anxious disappointed look on her face she had a little faded knot of colors fastened in her old dress and almost hidden by the crowd she was looking up and down in some distress to see if she could not again get a place from which she could see finally she seemed to give it up and stood quite still now and then to try to catch a glimpse i saw about to help her when from a gay and crowded above her a young and beautiful girl in a white dress whom i had been observing for some time as the life of a gay party as she sat in her loveliness a queen on her throne with her around her suddenly arose and ran down into the street there was a short the young beauty was offering something which the old lady was declining but it ended in the young girl leading the older woman gently up on to her the gray jacket of no tt and giving her the chair of state she was hardly seated when the old soldiers began to pass as the last mounted came by i remembered that i had not seen no but as i looked up he was just coming along in his hand with staff resting on his toe he carried an old standard so torn and tattered and stained that it was scarcely as a flag i did not for a moment take in that it was he for he was not in the gray jacket which i had expected to see he was busy looking down at the throng on the apparently searching for some one whom he expected to find there he was in some perplexity and pulled in his horse which began to rear suddenly the applause from the above arrested his attention and he looked toward it and bowed as he did so his eye caught that of the old lady seated there his face lighted up and his horse half around he dipped the tattered standard and gave the royal salute as though a queen the old lady pressed her wrinkled hand over the knot of faded ribbon on her breast and made a gesture to him and he rode on he had suddenly grown handsome i looked at her again her eyes were closed her hands were clasped and her lips were moving ii ne gray jacket of no i saw the likeness she was his mother as he passed me i caught his eye he saw my perplexity about the jacket glanced up at the torn colors and pointed to a figure just beyond him dressed in a short faded jacket no had been selected as the highest honor to carry the old colors which he had once saved and not to bear off all the honors from his fi he had with true made wear his cherished jacket he made a brave figure as he rode away and my cheer died on my lips as i thought of the sad old mother in her faded knot and of the dashing young soldier who had saved the colors in that fight after that we got him a place and he did well for several months he seemed to be cured new life and strength appeared to come back to him but his mother died and one night shortly afterward he disappeared and remained lost for several da s when we found him he had been brought to jail and i | 46 |
l ver divined if it wore not that the s should to among as much as possible after dinner and to cause is to get drunk on the stairs i know that gratifying social ends were so invariably that and i nothing else to � � referred to in the first standing toast of the society hich ran gentlemen may the present promotion of i od feeling ever reign among the il the the spent their money foolishly the hotel i lined at was in co vent garden and the first i when i had the honour of joining the grove at that time about i in a cab of his own and doing a a l lo the at the street oc t l n f lie j great i tlie and i saw liim on one occasion self at the door of the grove in this � like coals but here i anticipate a little for i not a and could not be according to the sa laws of the society until i came of age in my confidence in my own i w willingly have taken s expenses on mj hut was proud and i could make no proposal to so be got into in e direction and continued to look about him gradually fell into keeping late and late i i noticed that he looked about him with a eye at breakfast time that he began to about him more about mid day tha drooped when he came in to dinner that he set to capital in the distance rather dearly i dinner that he all but capital towards night and that at about two o clock in the mon he became so deeply again as to buying a rifle and going to america with a purpose of compelling to make his i was usually at about half the n and when i was at i haunted i whereof separately by and by would t come to when i was there and i t at those seasons liis father would occasionally i some passing perception that the opening he was i ing for had not appeared yet but in the tumbling up of the family his tumbling ont is was a thing to itself the mean time mr pocket grew and to lift himself out ii na � ct j j e mrs pocket tn v t � read her book of her told us about her and taught j idea how to shoot by shooting it into bed � it attracted her notice as i am now a period of my life with of clearing the way before me i can scarcely better than by at ones tho description usual manners and customs at tt inn we spent aa money as we could and got as li for it as people could make tip their minds to i � us we were always more or less miserable and i t of acquaintance were in the same condition i i re was a gay fiction among us that we were con i enjoying and a skeleton truth that i � never did to the best of my belief our case was i ui the last aspect a rather common one j every morning with an air ever new ent into the city to look about him i often paid a in the dark back room in which he with an ink jar a hat a coal box a an a desk and and a ruler and i do not remember that i ever saw hm do anything i i bat look about if we did what we under � � � to do as faithfully as did we might live a republic of the virtues he had nothing else to poor fellow except at a certain hour of every after � u to go to s � in of a � of seeing his principal i think he never did else in es ion with s that i could ont except come back again when he felt his i unusually serious and that he y i lie would go on change al i � and oat in a kind of c t g figure tlie for to me coming horns to dinner oa one t special i tlie truth to be t an opening won t to one but one must � i have been if we had been attached to one another i have hated one another regularly every i detested the chambers beyond that period of repentance and could not t sight of the s livery which had a more � pensive and a less appearance then th at any other time in the four and twenty hours got more and more into debt breakfast became b and form and being on one occasion at time threatened by letter with legal not as my paper might put it with i went bo a to seize the by his blue collar and shake h off his feet � bo that he was actually in the air ul a � for to suppose that i a roll at certain times � meaning at uncertain times they depended on our humour � i would say to hi as il it were a remarkable discovery my dear we are getting on badly my dear would say to mi all sincerity if you will believe me those very n were on my lips by a strange coincidence then i would respond let na into our affairs wc always derived profound satisfaction from i an appointment for m sa j was business t w a � � this was the way to take the foe by the throat i know thought ao too we rather for witli a bottle of something out of the � in order tliat our might be fortified for the � and we might come well up to the mark in t over we produced a | 8 |
the of his hands and feet showed that the ruler of came of the oldest blood in his fathers had fought hard and ridden far with sword and that would hardly serve an english child his face was and and the dull eyes stared wearily above deep rugged to accustomed to read the motives of western the men in their faces there seemed to be neither fear nor desire in those eyes � only an everlasting weariness it was like looking at an extinct � a that in good english had a natural interest in dogs and the keenest possible desire to himself with the ruler of the state as a king he considered him something of an but as a brother and the lord of the he was to more than a brother that is to say the brother of one s beloved he spoke and to the point come again said the with a light of real interest in his eyes as a little drew off his guest come again this evening after dinner you have come from new countries his majesty later carried away by the evening draught of without which no can talk or think taught this stranger who told him tales of white men beyond the seas the royal game of they played it far into the night in the marble court yard surrounded by green shutters from behind which could hear without turning his head the whisper of watching women and the rustle of silken robes the palace he saw was all eyes next morning at dawn he found the king a story of west and east waiting at the head of the main street of his city for a certain notorious wild to come home the game laws of extended to the streets of walled towns and the wild pig rooted at night in the the pig came and was dropped at a hundred yards by his majesty s new express rifle it was a clean shot and applauded cordially had his majesty the king ever seen a flying coin hit by a the weary eyes brightened with childish delight the king had not seen this feat and had not the coin flung an american quarter and it with his revolver as it fell thereupon the king begged him to do it again which his reputation politely declined to do unless one of the court officials would set the example the king was himself anxious to try and threw the coin for him the bullet close to s ear but the quarter on the grass was when he picked it up the king liked s as well as if it had been his own and was not the man to him the following morning the royal favor was completely withdrawn and it was not until he had conferred with the in the rest house that learned that had the been indulging one of her on this he transferred himself and his abundant capacity for interesting men to colonel and made that weary white haired man laugh as he had not laughed since he had been a over an account of the king s revolver practice shared his luncheon and discovered from him in the course of the afternoon the true policy of the government of india in regard to the state of the government hoped to it but as the would not pay for the means of civilization the progress was slow colonel s account of the internal policy of the palace given with official caution was absolutely different from the missionary s which again differed entirely from the profane account of the men in the rest house at twilight the pursued with a mounted messenger for the favor of the royal countenance was restored and he required the presence of the tall man who in the air told tales and played there was more than upon the board that night and his majesty the king grew pathetic and confided to a long and particular account of his own and the state s which presented everything in a fourth new light he concluded with an appeal to the president of the a story of west and east united states on whose powers and far reaching authority dwelt with a patriotism extended for the moment to embrace the nation to which belonged for many reasons he did not conceive that this was an time to open for the transfer of the the would have given away half his kingdom and appealed to the resident in the morning the next day and many succeeding days brought to the door of the rest house where was still staying a procession of rainbow clad ministers of the court each one who looked with contempt on the waiting commercial travellers and made themselves known to whom they warned in and english against trusting anybody except themselves each confidence wound up with and i am your true friend sir and each man accused his fellows to the stranger of every crime against the state or ill will toward the government of india that it had entered his own brain to conceive could only faintly conjecture what all this meant it seemed to him no extraordinary mark of court favor to play with the king and the of oriental were dark to him the ministers were equally at a loss to the understand him he had walked in upon them from out the sky line utterly self possessed utterly fearless and so far as they could see utterly disinterested the greater reason therefore for suspecting that he was a veiled of the government whose plans they could not that he was ignorant of everything to the government of india only confirmed their belief it was enough for them to know that he went to the king in secret was with him for hours and possessed for the time being the royal ear these smooth stately mysterious strangers filled with weariness | 39 |
the highest compliment one human being could pay another an hour later scott was under way the threatening him with the of the law for that he a member of the subordinate medical department had been and bound against his will and all william the conqueror laws governing the liberty of the subject the begging leave to see his mother who happened to be dying some three miles away only short leave of absence and will presently return the two armed with bringing up the rear and a s contempt for all and foreigners in every line of his face explaining to the drivers that though scott was a man to be feared on all he was authority itself the procession s three stained tents under a of dead trees behind them the famine shed where a crowd of hopeless ones tossed their arms the cooking wish to heaven william had kept out of it said scott to himself after a glance we u have sure as a gun when the ra ns break but william seemed to ive taken kindly to the operations of the famine code which when famine is declared the workings of the ordinary law scott saw her the centre of a mob of weeping women in a riding habit and a blue grey felt hat with a gold i want fifty please i forgot to ask jack before he went away can you lend it me it s for milk for the babies said she scott took the money from his belt and handed it over without a word for goodness sake take care of yourself he said oh i shall be all right we ought to get the milk in two days by the way the orders are i was to tell you william the conqueror that you re to take one of sir jim s horses there s a gi y here that i thought would be just your style so i ve said you d take him was that right that s awfully good of you we can t either of us talk much about style i am afraid scott was in a weather stained shooting very white at the and a little at the wrists william regarded him thoughtfully from his to his ankle boots you look very nice i think are you sure you ve everything you u need � and so on think so said scott patting three or four of his shooting pockets as he mounted and rode alongside his good bye he cried good bye and good luck said william i m awfully obliged for the money she turned on a heel and disappeared into the tent while the carts pushed on past the famine sheds past the roaring lines of the thick fat fires down to the baked of the south part n so let melt and make no noise no tear nor sigh move t were of onr joys to tell the our love a it was work even though he travelled by night and by day but within the limits of his vision there was no man whom scott could call master he was as free as in fact for the government held the head of the famine tied neatly to a telegraph wire and if had ever regarded seriously the death rate of that famine would have been much higher than it was at the end of a few days crawling scott learned something of the size of the india which he served and it astonished him his carts as you know were loaded with wheat and good food only a little grinding but the people to whom he brought the life giving were rice they could rice in their but they knew nothing of the heavy stone of the north and less of the material that the white man so laboriously they for william the conqueror such as they were accustomed to� and when they found that there was none broke away weeping from the sides of the cart what was the use of these strange hard that choked their throats they would die and then and there very many of them kept their word others took and enough to feed a man through a week for a few of rotten rice saved by some less unfortunate a few put their shares into the rice it and made a with foul water but they were very few scott dimly that many people in the india of the south ate rice as a rule but he had spent his service in a grain province had seldom seen rice in the blade or ear and least of all would have believed that in time of deadly need men could die at arm s length of plenty sooner than touch food they did not know in vain the interpreted in vain his two showed in vigorous what should be done the starving crept away to their bark and weeds leaves and clay and left the open untouched but sometimes the women laid their of children at scott s feet looking back as they staggered away it was the will of god that these foreigners should die and it remained only to give orders to bum the dead none the less there was no reason why the should lack his comforts and a of experience had picked up a few lean and had added them to the procession that they might give milk for the morning meal he was feeding them on the good grain that these william the conqueror rejected yes said if the thought fit a little milk might be given to some of the babies but as the well knew babies were cheap and for his own part held that there was no government order as to babies scott spoke to and the two and bade them capture where they could find them this they most joyfully did for it was a and | 39 |
t take pattern by your sister � she s far more sensible and here you ve got two children to provide for and your husband s spent your i going to law and s like to spend his own too a boiled joint as you could make of for the kitchen mrs added in a tone of emphatic protest and a plain with a o sugar and no ud be far more becoming � with sister g in this humor there was a cheerful prospect for the day mrs never went the length of with her any more than a water fowl that puts out its leg in a manner can be said to quarrel with a boy who throws stones but this point of the dinner was a tender on thb one and not at all new so that could make the same answer she had often made before mr says he always have a good dinner for his friends while he can pay for it she said and he s a right to do as he likes in his own house sister well t leave your children enough out o my to keep em from ruin and you mustn t look to having any o mr s money for it s well if i don t go first � he comes of a long lived family and if he was to die and leave me well for my life he d tie the money up to go back to his own kin the sound of wheels while mrs was speaking was an interruption highly welcome to mrs who hastened out to receive sister � it must be sister because the sound was that of a four wheel mrs tossed her head and looked rather sour about the mouth at the thought of the four wheel she had a strong opinion on that subject sister was in tears when the one horse chaise stopped before mrs s door and it was apparently requisite that she should shed a few more before getting out for though her husband and mrs stood ready to support her she sat still and shook her head sadly as she looked through her tears at the vague distance why is the matter sister said mrs she was not an imaginative woman but it occurred to her that the large toilet glass in sister s best bedroom was possibly broken for the second time there was no reply but a further shake of the head as mrs slowly rose and got down from the chaise not without a glance at mr to see that he was guarding her handsome silk dress from injury mr was a small man with a high nose small twinkling eyes and thin lips in a suit of black and a white that seemed to hav jl been tied very tight on some higher principle than that of personal ease he bore about the same relation to his tall good looking wife with her sleeves abundant mantle and large be and be bonnet as a small fishing bears to a with all its sails spread it is a pathetic sight and a striking example of the introduced into the emotions by a high state of civilization � i the sight of a dressed female in grief from the sorrow of a to that of a woman in large sleeves with several on each arm an bonnet and delicate ribbon strings � what a long series of � in the enlightened child of civilization the abandon on the ment characteristic of grief is checked and varied in the manner so as to present an interesting problem to the mind if with a crushed heart and eyes half blinded by the mist of tears she were to walk with a too step through a door place she might crush her sleeves too and the deep consciousness of this possibility produces a com of forces by which she takes a line that just the post perceiving that the tears are hurrying fast she her strings and throws them languidly backward � a gesture even in the deepest gloom of the hope in future dry moments when cap strings will once more have a charm as the tears a little and with her head leaning backward at the angle that will not injure her bonnet she that terrible moment when grief which has made all things else a weariness has itself become weary she looks down at her and their with that pretty studied which would be gratifying to her mind if it were once more in a calm and healthy state mrs brushed each door post with great about the latitude of her shoulders at that period a woman was truly ridiculous to an instructed eye if she did not measure a yard and a half across the shoulders and having done that sent the muscles of her face in quest or fresh tears as she advanced into the parlor where mrs was seated weu sister you re what s the matter said mrs rather sharply as they shook hands mrs sat down lifting up her mantle carefully behind before she answered she s gone unconsciously using an impressive figure of it isn t the glass this time then thought mrs died the day before yesterday continued mrs an her legs was as thick as my body she added with deep sadness after a pause they d tapped her no end o times and the water � they say you might ha in it if you d liked well it s a mercy she s gone then she may be said mrs with the and emphasis of a mind naturally clear and decided but i can t think who you re talking of for my part but i know said mrs sighing and shaking her head and there isn t another such a in the parish i know as it s old mrs o the | 14 |
breast had been so deeply wounded by what she had seen of him that she was unwilling to leave him alone lost he should lament and despair again father dear i am not tired let me come back presently when you are in bed and sit by you he asked her with an air of protection if she felt solitary yes father then come back by all means my love i shall be quiet father don t think of me my dear he said gi ing her his kind fully come back by all means he seemed to be when she returned and she put the low fire together ver softly lest e should awake him but he overheard her and called out who was that only father my child come here i want to say a word to you he raised a little in his low bed as she beside it to bring her face near him and put his hand between hers both the private father and the father of the were strong him then my love you have had a life of hardship here companions no many cares i am afraid don t think of that dear i never do you know my position i have not been able to do much for you but all i have been able to do i have done yes my dear she rejoined kissing him i know i am in the twenty third year of my life here he said with a catch in his breath that was not so much a sob as an irrepressible sound of self approval the outburst of a noble consciousness it is all i could do for my children � i have done it love you are by far the best loved of the three have had you principally in my mind � whatever i have done for your sake my dear child have done freely and without murmuring only the wisdom that holds the clue to all hearts and all mysteries can surely know to what extent a man especially a man brought down as this man had been can impose upon himself enough for the present place that he lay down with wet serene in a manner majestic after his life of degradation as a sort of portion m the devoted child upon whom its miseries had fallen so and whose love alone had saved him to be even what he was that child had no doubts asked herself no questions for she was but too content to see him witli a lustre round his head poor dear good dear truest kindest dearest were the only words she had for him as she hushed him to rest she never left him all that night as if had done him a wrong which tenderness could hardly repair she sat by him in his sleep at times softly kissing him with suspended breath and calling him in a whisper by some name at times she stood aside so as not little it to the low fire light and watching him when it fell upon his sleeping wondered did he look now at all as he had looked when he was prosperous and happy as he had so touched her by imagining that he might look once more in that time at the t of that time she beside his bed again and prayed spare his life save him to me look down upon my dear long suffering unfortunate much changed dear dear father until the morning came to protect him and encourage him did she give him a lost kiss and leave the small room when she had stolen down stairs and along the empty yard and had crept up to her own high garret the and the distant country hills were over the wall in the clear morning as she gently opened the window and looked eastward down the prison yard the upon the wall were tipped with red then made a sullen purple jf pattern on the sun as it came flaming up into the heavens the had never looked so sharp and cruel nor the bars so heavy nor the prison space so gloomy and contracted she thought of the on rolling rivers of the on wide seas of the sunrise on rich of the sunrise on great forests where the birds were waking and the trees were rustling and she looked down into the living grave on � the sun had risen with her father in it three and twenty years and said in a burst of sorrow and compassion no no i have seen him in my life j xx moving in society ir young john had the inclination and the power to te ft he would have had no need to go for an r the family of his beloved he would have it amply in that gallant brother and that dainty sister so g d in mean experiences and so conscious of the w so to beg or borrow fix m the poorest to eat of anybody s q end anybody s money drink from anybody s cup and break it l to have painted the sordid facts of their and they the death s head apparition of the family come and scare would have made young john a s t of the first water tip had turned his liberty to hopeful account by becoming a he had troubled himself so little as to the means of his x f that scarcely needed to have been at the pains of pressing the mind of mr on that subject whoever had him the compliment he very readily accepted the compliment with and there was an end of it issuing forth from the hi these easy terms he became a and now looked in at the little ground in a green se n j second hand with a shining collar and bright buttons new and drank tho beer of | 8 |
up like a powder magazine if you set them alight bye bye tlie two men crawled under their and sank instantly into the easy sleep of those whose lives are spent in the open young stood with his back against a palm tree and his between his lips thinking over the advice which he had received after all they were the heads of the profession these men and it was not for him the to reform their methods if they served their papers in this fashion then he must do the i same they had at least been frank and in teaching him the rules of the game if it was good enough for them it was good enough for him it was a afternoon and those thin � of foam round the black glistening necks of the looked delightfully cool and but it would not be safe to for some hours to come the air and over the stretch of sand and rock there was not a breath of wind and the and of the insects inclined one for sleep somewhere above a was calling knocked out his ashes and was turning towards his couch when his eye caught something moving in the desert to the south it was a riding towards them as swiftly as the broken ground would permit a messenger from the army thought and then as he watched the sun suddenly struck the man on the side of the head and his chin into gold there could not be two with of a colour it was the engineer and he was returning what on earth was he returning for he had been so keen to see the general and yet he was coming back with his mission was it that his pony was hopelessly it seemed to be moving well picked up s and a foam horse and a weary man came up the centre of the field but there was nothing in his appearance to explain the mystery of his return then as he watched them they dipped down into a hollow and disappeared he could see that it was one of those narrow which led to the river and he waited glass in hand for their immediate the three but minute passed after minute and there was no sign of them that narrow appeared to have swallowed them up and then with a curious and start he saw a little grey cloud itself slowly from among the rocks and drift in a long over the desert in an instant he had torn scott and from their get up you he cried i believe has been shot by and not here i cried the two clutching at their shot where when how in a few words explained what he had seen � you heard nothing well a shot loses itself very easily among rocks by george look at the two large brown birds were soaring in the deep blue heaven as scott spoke they down and dropped into the little that s good enough said with his nose between the leaves of his book headed stop returned stop shot stop communications how s that you think he was headed off why else should he return in that case if they were out in front of him and others cut him of there must be several small i should how about the i ve fought against before the green flag etc where are you off to i think race you in said scott stared in astonishment at the absolutely way in which these men regarded the situation in their zeal for news it had apparently never struck them that they their camp and their servants were all in the lion s mouth but even as they talked there came the harsh rat of an irregular from among the rocks and the high whistle of bullets over their heads a palm spray fluttered down amongst them at the same instant the six frightened servants came running wildly in for protection it was the cool headed who the defence foi scott s soul was so at all this copy in hand and more to come that he was too boisterous for a commander the other with his spectacles his stem face soon had the servants in hand i what the deuce are you frightened about put the between the that s right now get the knee on them did you never hear bullets before now put the here not much � you don t get my to make a with the between the grove and the river out of danger s way these fellows seem to fire even higher than they did in that s got home anyhow said scott as they heard a soil like a stone in a mud bank who s hit then the brown that s the as he spoke the creature its jaw still working laid its three long neck along the ground and closed its large dark eyes that shot cost me fifteen pounds said how many of them do you make four i think only four at there may be some i think not it is a little party of by the way youve never been under fire before have you never said the young who was conscious of a curious feeling of nervous love and poverty and war they are all experiences necessary to make a complete life pass over those this is a very mild that you are for behind these you are as safe as if you were sitting in the back room of the authors club as safe but hardly as comfortable said scott a long glass of and would be exceedingly acceptable but oh what a think of the general s feelings when he hears that the first action of the war has been fought by the press column think of who has been at the front for a week think of the evening just | 4 |
girls of common blood perhaps said the other but then i think that he has stolen her from her father without payment else he would not wish to hide her away in the secret well let her come for we women must work hard here where there are so few men and many clean a field quickly for my part i think there are enough of us already said the young girl looking troubled for she was s last wife and did not desire to be by a new favourite but be silent i hear bull head coming on his horse and she began to work very hard at cutting the a few minutes later saw himself ride up to the women who saluted him calling him chief and � husband you are idle he said them angrily these are tough to cut husband murmured the young woman in excuse still you must cut them quicker girl he answered what the cow showed if you would not learn how one of them feels upon your back it will go hard with all of you if the big hut is not finished in seven days from now we will do our best said the girl but who is to dwell in the hut when it is done not you be sure of that he answered roughly nor any black woman for i am weary of you one and all listen i go to morrow with my servants to fetch a chief a white lady to rule over you but if any of you speak a word of her presence here you will pay for it for i shall turn you away to starve do you understand we hear you husband they replied somewhat sullenly for now they understood that this new wife would be a mistress and not a sister to them then be careful that you do not forget my words and � � so soon as you have cut a full lo d of let two of you carry them up to the yonder where they are wanted but be careful that no one sees you going in or coming out we hear you husband they said again whereon turned and rode away now although was said to be foolish chiefly as i think because he could not or would not work yet in many ways he was than most and especially always did he desire to see new places the more so if they chanced to be secret places therefore when he heard command the women to carry the rods to the hidden he determined that he would follow them and this he did so that they neither heard nor saw him at first he wondered whither they could be going for they walked straight to the foot of what seemed to be an wall of rock more than a hundred feet high on the face of this rock however shrubs grew swallow here and there like the on the back of a and having first glanced round to see that no one was watching them the women climbed to one of these shrubs which was rooted in the cliff about the height of a man above the level of the ground and vanished so quickly that who was watching rubbed his eyes in wonder after waiting a while however he followed in their steps to find that behind the was a narrow m crack such as are often to be seen in cliffs and that down this ran a pathway which twisted and turned in the rock growing broader as it went till at last it ended in the hidden this was a very beautiful spot about three or six english acres in extent and walled all round with cliffs down the face of one of these cliffs fell a forming a deep pool out of which a stream ran and on the banks of this stream the new hut was being built in such a position that the heat of the sun could strike it but little while he was taking note of these and other saw some of those who were working at the hut leave it and start to walk towards the so having learnt everything that he could he thought that it was time to go and slipped away back to the bush and thence by the road which the cow had shown him now it chanced that as he went pierced his foot with a large thorn so that he was only able to travel slowly on the fifth night of his journey he into a wood to sleep which wood grew not much more than two hours on horseback from our farm when he had been asleep for some hours he woke up for all his food was done and he could not rest well because of his hunger and was astonished to see the light of a fire among the trees at some distance from him towards this fire he crept thinking what the cow showed z that there were herds or travellers who would give him food but when he came to it he did not ask for any since the first thing he saw was himself walking up and down in front of the fire while at some distance from it lay a number of his men asleep in their presently another man appeared slipping through the tree trunks and coming to saluted him tell me you have found out he said this answered the man i went down to s place and begged a of meal there pretending that i was a stranger on a journey to court a girl at a distant the slaves gave me meal and some flesh with it and i learned in talk with them that the his his daughter and the young englishman all rode away yesterday to the party of the first born of the who lives about five hours | 18 |
captain came towards them again and much to s dissatisfaction pulled his brother away they retired whispering together and i though her delicate sensibility did not take immediate alarm and lay it down as fact that captain must have heard some of her which he now hastened to communicate to his brother in the hope of separating them for ever she could not have her partner con i from her sight without very uneasy sensations her suspense was of fall five minutes duration and she was beginning to think it a very long quarter of an hour when they both returned and an explanation was given by henry s to know if she thought her friend miss would have any objection to dancing as his brother would be most happy to be introduced to her without hesitation replied that she was very sure miss did not mean to dance at all the cruel reply was passed on to the other and he immediately walked away your brother will not mind it know said she because i heard him say before that he hated dancing but it was very good natured in him to think of it i suppose he saw sitting down and fancied she might wish for a partner but he is quite mistaken for she would not dance upon any account in the world henry smiled and said how very little trouble it can give you to understand the motive of people s actions why what do you mean with you it is not how is such a one likely to be influenced what is the most to act upon such a person s feelings age situation and probable habits of life considered but how should be influenced what would be my in acting so and so i do not understand you then we are on very unequal terms for i understand you perfectly well me yes i cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible an excellent satire on modern language but pray tell me what you mean shall i indeed do you really desire it but you are not aware of the consequences it involve you in a very cruel embarrassment and certainly bring on a between us no no it shall not do either i am not afraid well then i only meant that your my brother s wish of dancing with miss to good nature alone convinced me of your being superior in good nature yourself to au the rest of the world blushed and and the gentleman s were there was a something however in his words which repaid her for the pain of and that something occupied her mind so much that she drew back for some time forgetting to speak or to listen and almost forgetting where she was till roused by the voice of she looked up and saw her with captain preparing to give hands across shrugged her shoulders and smiled the only ex h et r abbey plan pi change which could at that bo given as it was quite enough for s she spoke her astonishment in very plain to her partner i think how it could happen was so determined not to dance and did never change her mind before but and brother after what yon t ld him from me how could he think of going to ask her i cannot take surprise to myself on that head you bid me be on friend s account and therefore am but as for my brother his conduct in the i most own been no more than i believed perfectly to the of friend was an open attraction her firmness you only be understood by yourself you are laughing but i assure you ia very in general it ia as as should be said of any one to be always firm must be to be often obstinate when properly to js the trial of judgment and without reference to my i really think miss has by no means chosen iq in fixing on the present hour the friends were not able to get together for any confidential til all the dancing was over but then as they walked about the room arm in arm thus explained herself i do not wonder at your surprise and i am really fatigued to death he is such a rattle amusing enough if my mind had been disengaged but i would have the world to sit still then why did not you oh my dear it would have looked so particular and f m how i doing that i refused him as long aa could but he would take no denial yon have no idea how pressed me i be ed him to excuse me and get some other partner but no not he after to my hand there was nobody else in tbe room he think of and it was not that he wanted iy to dance he and abbey wanted to be with me oh such nonsense i told him he had taken a very unlikely way to prevail upon me for of all things in the world i hated fine speeches and compliments and so � and so then i found there would be no peace if i did not stand up besides i thought mrs who introduced liim might take it ill if i did not and your dear brother i am sure he would have been miserable if i had sat down the whole evening i am so glad it is over my spirits are j with listening to his nonsense and then being such a smart young fellow i saw every eye was upon us he is very handsome indeed handsome yes i suppose he may i dare say people would admire him in general but he is not at all in my style of beauty i hate a complexion and dark eyes in a man however he is very well conceited i am sure i | 26 |
de kindly i think my page is about your size and he shall a suit for you have gone on adventures disguised as pages before now if books of chivalry lie not he then bade her farewell saying be of good courage we will soon set forth s enterprise was now the talk of the a noble purpose whole town and the inhabitants would have thought themselves very badly used if it had come to nothing more than a fortnight passed during which scarcely a day elapsed without her meeting de or de in the street and having a little conversation with them which led to no conclusion except that of them in the mind that she was as honest good a girl as ever was everything she did and said was in the full light of day and sight and hearing of the town which was always to watch her and many it may be went daily to church for no better reason than that she did she was continually at the door of the who began to hate her name though there is reason to think he had already written privately of her to the king at else why should a king s messenger and soon make their this i do not insist nobly won on i think it was so but you may think as you like one day was proceeding rather depressed to the governor s attended as usual by a body guard of small boys who fell back and tumbled over one another if she happened to look round when on asking to see him she was immediately admitted well said he with some severity but without any disdain what have you to say i come to remind you sir that time passes and the country must needs be saved why don t you save it then will you give me a safe conduct to the most certainly not but hark you his grace the duke of desires to see you and has sent you a safe conduct why should he desire to see me said in surprise a noble purpose you can ask him said the governor i am going to ride over with you are you ready i would willingly go back to my lodging first sir very well then be ready in half an hour he turned away from her and de who was present came forward and whispered � be in no fear de and i shall attend you and you will find what you want at your lodging she did not understand him but hastened back in some trouble to tell what she was about to do while they were speaking a handsome youth of sixteen entered carrying a bundle which he set down saying this is for you and then departed after giving her a look of intense � nobly won � curiosity as if he were seeing a giant or dwarf without paying the penny darted at the bundle what it was and hastily opening it found it contained a sad coloured and with boots and spurs none of them new was turning them over in rather a spirit and wondering how could bear to see herself in them when reminded her there was no time to lose and hastily took them into the inner room and began to put them on rolling her hair up into a great knot behind she had hardly time to think how queer the things felt when in excitement cried here they come for you and catching the riding cloak round her and pulling the hood a good way over her face out into the broad day overcome for the moment with shame spurs glistening plate and horses a noble purpose � swam in a mist before her eyes de and de were at her side and one held the horse while the other set her on it she herself in a moment and was off with one of them at each side the governor very grand in front and a cluster of men at arms behind all the town were in the street her appearance and dress were eagerly it was vehemently declared that the clothes were not to her deserts and hung upon her like a s on his block a was immediately agreed upon to buy her a better suit and in less than a quarter of an hour the top tailor of was getting her measure of de had no mercy on the young girl but proceeded to at a hard trot hoping perhaps to shake her purpose out of says the duke lay sick at but the s says nobly won her which had no more effect than a fit of on a boy determined to be a sailor before they were half a mile out of felt perfectly at ease and she never afterwards felt otherwise to the end of her short life she asked de if he thought the duke were going to send her to the no said he i believe he only sends for you because he hopes you may heal him of his sickness how can i do that said in wonder through the voices i suppose said de it is not their affair said with gravity and you must not take their names in vain de was checked and gave a side glance at de vol k a noble purpose we had better go back said she this is folly no no said de we must go forward or the duke will take it amiss how know we what he has to say she continued her route therefore reluctantly shall i see the said she presently the does not at present live at home said de with a little cough her place is supplied at present by a lady named de may not another word from on arriving at the palace there was much to and her in the stately array | 2 |
l a living as a farmer and would probably keep ts in the position of poor sons for the term of yet admired it none the less spit his own often felt that ho i r tu his father ou the human side than either of brethren of the d es l � l � me h m uie u u v � v i t an up hill and down ride of twenty odd t h a clear midday afternoon to a detached a mile or two west rf he again looked into that green of and the valley of the v immediately he began to descend from the to fat soil below the atmosphere heavier i languid perfume of the summer fruits tho mists the hu � the flowers formed therein a va t pool of this hour seemed to make the animals the l t� ik drowsy was now so with t spot that he knew the cows by their ii a long distance off he saw them dotted about tho n it was with a sense of that he was conscious recently acquired power of life here from it side in a way that had been quite foreign to him ii student days and much as he loved hie parents he not help being aware that to come here as now of home life affected him like and oven the one customary on the hi of english rural societies b g absent in ha ing no resident landlord not a human being was out of doors at the were all ing the aft moon hour or so which the exceedingly early kept in tune rendered a to those engaged i butter making trades at the door the wood and by infinite upon the and limb of thi fixed for that all of them and the evening angel entered and went the consequence of the house to the hm k quarters where h � a moment sustained from th where some of the men were lying down � and of pigs arose from the r distance the large and i slept too broad limp hanging in ke half closed and fed his and aa he re entered tlie i the clock struck three three was the afternoon hour and shortly after the stroke heard � of the floor boards above and then the touch foot on the stairs it was u who ill moment came down before his eyes had not heard mm and hardly realized his pre there she was yawning and lie saw the red as if it had been a snake s she had mi so high above her np cable of hair that h j its delicacy above the her face wai sleep and her eyelids hung heavy over brim fulness of her nature breathed t moment when a woman s soul is more i time when the most spiritual beauty and sex takes the outside place in an those eyes flashed brightly through their before the of her face was well an look of gladness shyness she exclaimed � o mr how you frightened j re had not at first been time for her to of the � fed relations which his declaration had introduced tie full sense of the matter rose up in her when s tender look as he stepped forward stair r darling he whispered putting his arm and his face to here don t for heaven s sake op the d me any more i have so soon i cause of you s heart beat by way of and there they stood the red brick floor of the the sun in by the window of the front room through the doorway upon his as he held her ti to his breast upon her declining face upon the blue of her temple upon her arm and her neck and into depths of her hair having been lying down in her cloth � she was warm as a cat at first she would not look straight up at him but if eyes and his met their violet black while she regarded him as eve at her waking l have regarded adam i have to go she pleaded and i liave old to help me to day mrs is gone to i wi mr and is not will and the arc gone out somewhere and wont be home till as they retreated to the milk house l appeared on the stairs i have come back said mr so i c help with tbe aud tired i sm e you needn t down till mu possibly the milk was not very tliat afternoon was in a dream objects appeared as having light and position but no particular outline every time the under the pump cool it tbe work trembled the ai of his being so that she seemed to under it like a plant in ton bi a sun he pi her again to his side and when she done running her forefinger round the it to cream edge he cleaned it in nature a for i i manners of i the i may as well say it now as later dearest lie resumed gently � i wish to ask you of a very nature which i have been thinking o� ever that day list week in the i shall soon want to marry and being a farmer you see i shall require for my wife a who knows all about the of will you bo that woman put it in that way that might not think ha had yielded to an o which his would she turned quite she had bowed to the result of the necessity of loving him but she had not calculated this which indeed had put before her without quite meaning to do it so soon with pain that was like the bitterness of dissolution she d words of her and sworn answer � her indispensable and | 45 |
heads attached she begged i didn t mean to wake you up dear and please don t smoke you ve been smoking so much please go back to sleep i m sorry being sorry s all right but i m going to tell you one or two things this falling for anybody s say so about medical jealousy and competition is simply part and parcel of your usual to think the worst you possibly can of us poor in trouble with women like you is you always want to argue can t take things the way they are got to argue well i m not going to argue about this in any way shape manner or form trouble with you is you don t make any effort to appreciate us you re so damned superior and think the city is such a hell of a lot finer place and you want us to do what you want all the time that s not true it s i who make the effort it s they � it s you � who stand back and i have to come over to the town s opinion i have to devote myself to their interests they can t even see my interests to say nothing of them i get ever so excited about their old lake and the cottages but they simply in main street that friendly way you so much if i speak of wanting to see also sure whatever that is � some nice expensive colony i suppose sure that s the idea champagne taste and beer income and make sure that we never will have more than a beer income too are you by any chance that i am not economical well i hadn t intended to but since you bring it up yourself i don t mind saying the bills are about twice what they ought to be yes they probably are i m not economical i can t be thanks to you where d you get that thanks to you please don t be quite so � or shall i say vulgar ni be as damn as i want to how do you get that thanks to you here about a year ago you jump me for not remembering to give you money well i m reasonable i didn t blame you and i said i was to blame but have i ever forgotten it since � practically no you haven t � practically but that isn t it i ought to have an allowance i will too i must have an agreement for a regular stated amount every month fine idea of course a doctor gets a regular stated amount sure a thousand one month � and lucky if he makes a hundred the next very well then a or something else no matter how much you vary you can make a rough average for but what s the idea what are you trying to get at mean to say i m unreasonable think i m so and that you ve got to tie me down with a contract by god that hurts i thought i d been pretty generous and decent and i took a lot of pleasure � thinks i she ll be when i hand her over this twenty � or fifty or whatever it was and now seems you been wanting to make it a kind of me like a poor fool thinking i was liberal all the while and you please stop pitying yourself you re having a beautiful time feeling injured i admit all you say certainly you ve given me money both freely and quite as if i were your mistress i main street i mean it what was a magnificent spectacle of generosity to you was humiliation to me you gave me money � gave it to your mistress if she was and then you don t interrupt me � then you felt you d discharged all obligation well hereafter refuse your money as a gift either i m your partner in charge of the household department of our business with a regular for it or else i m nothing if i m to be a mistress i shall choose my lovers oh i hate it � i hate it � this and hoping for money � and then not even spending it on jewels as a mistress has a right to but spending it on double and for you yes indeed you re generous you give me a dollar right out � the only is that i must spend it on a tie for you and you give it when and as you wish how can i be anything but oh well of course looking at it that w y i can t shop around can t buy in large quantities have to stick to stores where i have a charge account good deal of the time can t plan because i don t know how much money i can depend on that s what i pay for your charming about giving so generously you make me wait wait you know you re you never thought about that mistress stuff till just this minute matter of fact you never have and hoped for money but all the same you may be right you ought to run the household as a business ill figure out a definite plan tomorrow and hereafter you ll be on a regular amount or with your own checking account oh that is decent of you she turned toward him trying to be affectionate but his eyes were pink and in the of tjie match with which he lighted his dead and cigar his head drooped and a ridge of flesh scattered with pale small out under his chin she sat in till he no t especially decent it s just fair and god knows i want to be fair but i expect others to be | 42 |
leaving the shop a little way down the street when she had recovered herself sufficiently to observe him she perceived that he was suffering from the same agitation he seemed unable to fix his attention upon the present moment he seemed to have wandered far and when with an effort he returned from the ever future he seemed like a man coming out of another atmosphere � out of a mist at six they were back at their hotel surveying the sitting rooms already with boxes but he hurried her off to the de la saying that she must have some jewels of diamonds and pearls were presented to her for choice you re not looking he said surprise you take no interest in jewels aren t you well yes dearest but i m bewildered when they returned to the hotel the gown she was to wear that night at the opera had arrived it must have cost twenty pounds and i t to spend much more than that in a whole year on my clothes neither cared to go to the opera but half past ten seemed to him quite a proper time for them to return home and for this propriety he was so bored with that he never saw it afterwards with the old pleasure and s glances told of the wasted hours while sang her dream he the depth of his folly if something were to happen if they were to find mr waiting at the door of the hotel if he were robbed of her it would serve him right the in the second act was beautifully sung and it helped them to forget but with the rather rough chorus of men in the second half of the second act their nervous began again and s face was explicit you re tired you re too tired to listen yes i m tired let s go give me my i don t care much for the music he remarked accidentally and then feeling obliged to take advantage of the slip of the tongue he said and are in the chamber in the next act he felt her hand tremble on his arm in two years hence you ll be singing here but you don t answer dear i m thinking of you now her answer was a delicious flattery and he hurried her to the carriage the moment his arm was about her she leaned over him and when their lips parted he uttered a little cry but in the middle of the sitting room she stopped and faced him the way he took her cloak from her shoulders dear if anything should happen but it was not till the third night that they entered into the full possession of their delight every night after seemed more exquisite than the last like sunset skies as beautiful and as she could recall only the moment when from the threshold he looked back nodded a good and then told her he would call her when it was time to get up then in a happy weariness she closed her eyes and when they opened she closed them and curled herself into dreams and thoughts of they were going to the races and he would come and tell her when it was time to get up she hoped this would not be till she had dreamed to the end of her dream but her eyes opened and she saw him in his dressing gown with blue standing in the middle of the room watching her his little was in his eyes they seemed to say so there you are i haven t lost you you re the loveliest thing he said in god s earth dearest i m very fond of you and there was a plaintive and cry in her voice which found echo in the movement with which she threw herself into her lover s arms and laid her head upon his shoulder i ve never seen such a hand it is like a spray of and those eyes � look at me eve why do you call me eve no one ever called me eve before sometimes they are as green as sea water at other times they are grey or nearly most often they are green and your feet are like hands and your ankle � see i can span it between forefinger and thumb your hair is faint like flowers your throat is too thick you have the real singer s throat thousands of pounds lie hidden in that whiteness which is mine � the whiteness not the gold how you know how to praise i love that sweet of chin a retreating chin means want of character you have not what i call a retreating chin the line merely nothing more than a firm chin it means a hard nature eve you re where should i find a sweetheart equal to you that isn t the way i want you to love me isn t it are you sure of that i don t know � perhaps not but why do you make me say these things she held his face between her hands and moved aside his moustache with her lips suddenly herself from his embraces she said i don t want to kiss you any more let s talk dearest do you know what time it is you must get up and dress yourself it is past nine o clock we are going to the races i ll send you the you promise me to get up it was these little airs that enchanted her remembrance of him and while the poured out her bath she thought of the gown she was going to wear she knew that she had some pink silk stockings to match it but it took her a long while to find them she opened all the wrong boxes it s extraordinary she thought how long it | 15 |
rural in manners and she felt abashed by new sounds and ideas from without she hardly knew three words in any language but her own while this divine creature though truly english had apparently whatever she wanted in the italian and french to suit every impression which was considered a great improvement to speech in those days and indeed is by many considered as such in these how very strange it was about the little girl the said to lady in her gay tones i mean that the child the lawyer recommended should just before then have been adopted by yon who are now my neighbor how is she getting on i must come and see her do you still want her asks lady suspiciously oh i should like to have her but yon can t she s mine said the other a drooping manner appeared in the from that moment lady too was in a wretched mood lady all the way home that day the was so charming in every way that she had charmed her gentle how should it be possible that she had failed to charm sir moreover she had awakened a strange thought in s mind as soon as she reached home she rushed to the nursery and there seizing kissed her then holding her at arm she gazed with a piercing into the girl s she sighed deeply abandoned the wondering and hastened away she had seen there not only her husband s traits which she had often beheld before but others of the shade shape and expression which those of her new neighbor then this poor lady perceived the whole of things and asked herself how she could have been such a walking piece of simplicity as not to have thought of this before but she did not stay long herself for her short so overwhelmed was she with misery at the spectacle of herself as an intruder between these to be sure she could not have foreseen such a but that did not lessen her grief the woman who had been both her husband s bliss and his had reappeared free when he was no longer so and she evidently was dying to claim her own in the person of who had meanwhile grown to be to lady almost the only source of each a of noble day s happiness supplying her with something to watch over inspiring her with the sense of and so largely reflecting her husband s nature as almost to deceive her into the pleasant belief that she reflected her own also if there was a single direction in which this devoted and virtuous lady it was in the direction of over when all is said and done and the truth told men seldom show much self sacrifice in their conduct as lords and masters to helpless women bound to them for life and perhaps though i say it with all uncertainty if she had blazed up in his face like a directly he came home she might have helped herself a little but god knows whether this is a true supposition at any rate she did no such thing and waited and prayed that she might never do despite to him who she was bound to admit had always been tender and courteous towards her and hoped that little might never be taken away by degrees the two became friendly and very seldom did a week pass without their seeing something of each other try as she might and dangerous as she assumed the to be lady ont could detect no fault or flaw in her new friend it was obvious that had been the which had drawn the hither and not sir such beauty united with such understanding and brightness had never before known in one of lady her own sex and she tried to think whether she succeeded i do not know that she did not mind the since a woman so rich so fair and with such a command of could not desire to wreck the happiness of so a person as herself the season drew on when it was the custom for families of distinction to go off to the bath and sir persuaded his wife to accompany him thither with everybody of any note was there this year from their own part of england came many that they knew among the rest lord and lady the earl and of sir john the lady the old duke of the bishop of the dean of and other lesser lights of court pulpit and field thither also came the fair whom as soon as saw how much she was sought after by younger men she could not suspect of renewed designs upon sir but the had finer opportunities than ever with for lady was often and even at other times could not honestly hinder an intercourse which gave bright ideas to the child welcomed her new acquaintance with a strange and instinctive readiness that intimated the wonderful of the threads which bind flesh and flesh together at last the crisis came it was by a group of noble an accident and her nurse had gone out one day for an leaving lady alone in doors while she sat gloomily thinking that in all the would contrive to meet the child somewhere and exchange a few tender words with her sir rushed in and informed her that had just had the possible escape from death some workmen were a house to pull it down for when without warning the front wall inclined slowly outward for its fall the nurse and child passing beneath it at the same moment the fall was temporarily arrested by the while in the mean time the had witnessed their imminent danger from the other side of the street springing across she snatched from under the wall and pulled the nurse after her the middle of the way being barely reached before they | 45 |
somewhat change your thought of him and he handed to the earl sir letter to lord the effect upon the earl s countenance was instant he lowered like an angry lion and his hand with a sudden movement clutched at his dagger ye have read this also he asked even so said dick it is your s own estate he offers to lord it is my own estate even as ye say returned the earl i am your for this letter it hath vn me a fox s hole command me master i will not be backward in gratitude and to begin t york or true man or thief i do now set you at freedom go a mary s name but judge it right that i retain and hang your fellow lawless the crime hath been most open and it were fitting that some open punishment should follow my lord i make it my first suit to you to spare him also pleaded dick it is an old condemned rogue thief and vagabond master said the earl he hath been this score of years and whether for one thing or another whether to morrow or the day after where is the great choice yet my lord it was through love to me that he came hither answered dick and i were and to desert him master ye are troublesome replied the earl severely it is an evil way to prosper in this world and to be quit of your i will once more humour you go then together but go and get swiftly out of town for this sir daniel whom may the saints confound most to have your blood my lord i do now offer you in words my gratitude trusting at some brief date to pay you some of it in service replied dick as he turned from the apartment the black arrow chapter vi again when dick and lawless were suffered to steal hj a back way out of the house where lord held his the evening had already come they paused in shelter of the garden wall to consult on their best course the danger was extreme if one of sir men caught sight of them and raised the view they would be run down and instantly and not only was the town of a mere net of peril for their lives but to make for the open country was to run the risk of the a little way off upon some open ground they a standing and hard by that a very large with open doors how if we lay there until the night fall dick proposed and lawless having no better suggestion to offer they made a straight push for the at a run and concealed themselves behind the door among some straw the daylight rapidly departed and presently the moon was the frozen snow now or never was their opportunity to gain the goat and unobserved and change their tell tale garments yet even then it was advisable to go round by the outskirts and not run the of the market place where in the again of people they stood the more imminent peril to be recognised and slain this course was a long one it took them not far from the house by the beach now lying dark and silent and brought them forth at last by the margin of the harbour many of the ships as they could see by the clear had weighed anchor and by the calm sky proceeded for more distant parts to this the rude along the beach although in defiance of the law they still shone with fire and candle were no longer thronged with customers and no longer echoed to the chorus of sea songs hastily half running with their to the knee they plunged through the deep snow and the of marine lumber and they were already more than half way round the harbour when as they were passing close before an the door suddenly opened and let out a of light upon their fleeting figures instantly they stopped and made believe to be engaged in earnest conversation three men one after another came out of the and the last closed the door behind him all three were unsteady upon their feet as if they had passed the day in deep and they now stood wavering in the moonlight like men who knew not what they would be after the of the three was talking in a loud lamentable voice seven pieces of as good as ever a q the black arrow he was saying the best ship out o the port o a virgin mary parcel gilt thirteen pounds of good gold money i have bad losses too interrupted one o� the others i have had losses of mine own gossip t was robbed at of five shilling and a leather well worth dick s heart smote him at what he heard until that moment he had not perhaps thought twice of the poor who had been ruined by the loss of the good hope so careless in those days were men who wore arms of the goods and interests of their but this sudden encounter reminded him sharply of the high handed manner and ill ending of his enterprise and both he and lawless turned their heads the other way to avoid the chance of recognition the ship s dog had however made his escape from the wreck and found his way back again to he was now at s heels and suddenly and his ears he darted forward and began to bark furiously at the two sham his master followed him hey he cried have ye ever a penny piece for a poor old clean destroyed by i am a man that would have paid for you both o thursday morning and now here i be o saturday night begging for a of ale ask my man tom if ye | 38 |
a strange and marvellous aspect a later contemporary of paul relates some of the most remarkable events as he deemed them which occurred in those times he gives occasionally minute details of the superstition crime and madness of the of rome but the most remarkable event which occurred for some centuries after he never speaks of probably he knew nothing of it had he heard thereof it would have seemed to this of imperial follies but the journey from to of a young named if we regard its cause and its ii no iii primitive was a more wonderful event than the world saw for the next thousand years men thought little of its result at the time the of the day had reasons no doubt for paul s sudden and said he was disappointed of in the old state of things and hoped for an easy living in the new that be loved the distinction and the change would give him and hoped also for the and fishes then so abundant in the new church doubtless there were some who said paul is beside himself but king took no notice of the matter he was too busy with his dreams of ambition and lust to heed what a tent maker from a city in his journey from to yet from that time the history of the world turns on this point if paul had not been raised up by the almighty for this very work so to say � who shall tell us how long christianity would have lain concealed under the prejudice of its earlier these things are for no mortal to discover but certain it is that paul found the christians an obscure full of zeal and love but narrow and in bondage to the letter of old hebrew institutions but he left them a power full band in all great cities free men by the law of the spirit of life it seems doubtful that peter james or john would have given christianity its natural form of universal faith there must have been a desperate struggle before paul became a christian he must all the prejudices of the jew and the and the of the tribe and the den are the last a man gives up he must be abandoned by his friends the wise the learned the venerable few men know of the battle between new convictions and old social sympathies but it is of the character a war of he must condemn all his past conduct lose the reputation of leave all the comforts of society all chance of reputation among men be counted as a thief and murderer perhaps be put to death but the truth conquered we think it easy to decide as paul forgetting that many things become plain after the result which were dim and doubtful be fore when the young man had decided in favor of primitive christianity he would require some instruction in matters to the heavenly doctrine we should suppose � taking the popular views of christianity which make it an historical thing depending on personal authority or and external events as the only possible proof of internal truths he would go and sit down with the twelve and listen to their talk and learn of all the miracles how raised the young man the maiden called from the tomb how he changed the water into wine and fed the five thousand he would go to and mary to learn the doctrine of the to the mother of to inquire about his birth of the holy spirit but the thing went different he did not go to peter the chief nor to john the beloved nor james the lord s brother i conferred not with flesh and blood says the new convert neither went i up to to them that were before me but i went into three years afterwards for the first time he had an inter � with peter and james fourteen years later he went up to to compare notes as it were with those who seemed to be somewhat they could tell him nothing new at last � many years after the commencement of his active � james peter and john give him the right hand of their fellowship paul it seems had heard of the great doctrines of and out of their principles developed his scheme of christianity � not a very difficult task one would fancy for a plain man who reckoned christianity was love of man and love of god in those days the were not written nor yet the christianity had no history except that lived preached was and appeared after his therefore the gospel paul preached might well enough be different from those now in our hands certainly paul never a miracle of says nothing of his birth had he known of these things a man of his strong love of the marvellous would scarcely be silent in him primitive christianity appears to the greatest advantage it shone in his heart like the rising sun chasing away the mist and clouds of night his prejudices went first his passions next soon he is on foot the world over to proclaim the faith which once he de where are his prejudice hatred his of the tribe and the den the flame of religion has con them all forth he goes to the work the strong passion the will are now directed in the same channel with his love of man his mighty soul wars with declaring an idol is nothing with to announce that the law has passed away with folly and sin to declare them of the devil and lead men to truth and peace the resolute goes flaming forth in his a soul more robust great hearted and manly does not appear in history for some centuries at the least danger is nothing persecution nothing it only puts the edge on his well tempered spirit he is | 37 |
that as much as possible should have been left in store on the island no doubt sir answered the man grinning if so be as it has been left in store though from what i have seen of our late ship mates they are not the ones to let good liquor spoil in the cellar this reply would not have caused robert but that it had seemed to him that the amount of spirits which he had been to purchase and which he was now bringing with him was very large while if it was really true that the store was already sufficient for the in that respect it would be immensely in excess of their needs well returned he with an air of s s � assumed indifference the cellar key will of course be taken care of and the liquor only given out under proper by the master sir or the butler inquired the other with a most significant action of the left what the deuce do you mean man p asked robert angrily well sir i mean no offence returned the other only that s what we � i mean we of the crew � used to call mr and his man master and butler because they were such i ve known three bottles of go into mr s cabin of a morning and come out empty before night i dare say helped him and too for that matter but to have d t for the second time during one voyage well that s going it a too fast of course i thought you had known sir or i would not have mentioned it was not so simple but that he had heard of delirium but until that moment he had been totally unaware that he had himself been a witness to a sufferer from that complaint this then was the explanation of s cries for help and gestures and also of the of to admit him on such occasions to his master s cabin a shadow seemed to fall upon his heart with the revelation for how he reflected must those fortunes be that but a while ago had looked so fair which rested on the caprice of an habitual the vague but solemn warning of miss mary the farewell of mistress to him now with novel force and foimd at least partial one t i io � � t c� h what had � he liad thrown in his lot with and it was far too late � and indeed for the present impossible � to their fortunes chapter xiv what had done on the fifth day the made the island and its arrival was welcomed in the little harbour with evident satisfaction yet as it seemed to robert without the enthusiasm that might have been expected there was an air of about these usually frank and light hearted people which under the circumstances was quite unaccountable robert s first act � would have been to go to government house � as the only wooden of which the harbour boasted was termed and from whose roof floated a huge green flag � to report himself to the governor however he was informed was not within lie had it seemed started with a few hours ago for another spot in his upon the other side of the hill and there was nothing for it but to proceed with the of the stores the live stock which included sheep pigs poultry and even a few excited such admiration as no golden of a cattle show ever for these poor folk had been living on salt for the u t three and milk � a so s master even to the little children it was no little disappointment to robert who was secretly conscious of having himself well as to the little that mr was not present during these proceedings and when they were concluded and such things as might suffer damage from exposure placed safely under cover he was naturally impatient to see his patron to whom offered to conduct him the colony had been divided it seemed into two parts in consequence of a fight that had already taken place between his boys and the other members of the community and the latter were on the south side of the island in a settlement of their own to which the governor was now paying a visit just as in disturbed districts a progress is sometimes made for the purpose of on the way robert noticed with pleasure that some attempts at cultivation had been made and not without success for though the agricultural knowledge of the community was for the most part confined to planting potatoes or the of and the soil was so fertile that you had but to it with a and it straightway laughed in harvest in a few years it was plain that with very moderate industry s island might be changed from a comparative desert to a spot not only self supporting but with plenty they were not long before they came in sight of new town as it was called a little cluster of tents with one wooden house from the roof of which a green flag was flying similar to that which adorned the harbour tbat the sign of your vice observed in answer to r j i what had done to have told you that it has been arranged that you are to live here the new town folks you see will have no objection to since you are not connected with our lot while on the other hand it would never have done to leave them without some representative of authority there was a in s tone which would not have escaped his companion had his thoughts not been otherwise occupied the news he had just heard was to him for a reason which however he would have been ashamed to mention he had pictured himself as | 25 |
his gallantry recovered the time will now go all too quickly till you leave but i must ask you for the news i have most bitterly condemned myself for my of last night you wisely me it was my duty to resist you wisely and nobly me i have since thought of it with wonder you have a noble heart she said spare me was it even right i wonder i have duties too you poor child and when i see you they all melt � all my good resolutions a and mine still come too late he replied sighing oh what would i not give to have resisted what would i not give for freedom well what would you give she asked and the red fan was spread only her eyes as if from over brightly surveyed him i what do you mean madam you have some news for me he cried o o said madam he was at her feet do not trifle with my hopes he pleaded tell me dearest madame von tell me i you cannot be cruel it is not in your nature give i can give nothing i have nothing i can only plead in mercy do not she said it is not fair you know my weakness spare me be generous o madam he said it is for you to be generous to have pity he took her hand and pressed it he plied her with caresses and appeals the had a most sham siege and then she sprang to her feet she tore her dress open and all warm from her bosom threw the order on the floor there she cried i forced it from her use it and i am ruined and she turned away as if to veil the force of her emotions sprang upon the paper read it and cried out aloud o god bless her he said god bless her and he kissed the writing von was a singularly good natured woman but her part was now beyond her i she cried i it from her i betrayed my trust to get it and it s she you thank can you blame me said the prince i love her � i see that she said and i you madame von you are my dearest my kindest and most generous of friends he said approaching her you would be a perfect friend if you were not so lovely you have a great sense of humor you cannot be unconscious of your charm and you amuse yourself at times by playing on my weakness and at times i can take pleasure in the comedy but not to day to day you will be the true the serious the manly friend and you will suffer me to forget that you are lovely and that i am weak come dear let me to day repose in you entirely he held out his hand smiling and she took it frankly i vow you have me she said and then with a laugh i break my staff she added and i must pay you my best compliment you made a difficult speech you are as dear prince as i charming and as she said the word with a great courtesy she justified it you hardly keep the bargain madam when you make yourself so beautiful said the prince bowing it was my last arrow she returned i am blank mon prince and now i tell you if you choose to leave this prison you can and i am ruined choose a romance madame von replied i choose and i will go my duty points me duty still neglected by this but do not fear to be a i propose instead that you should take me with you a bear in chains to baron i am become perfectly to save my wife i will do all all he can ask or fancy he shall be filled were he huge as and greedy as the grave i will content him and you the fairy of our shall have the credit done she cried admirable prince charming no longer � prince prince let us go this moment stay she cried pausing i beg dear prince to give you back these deeds twas you who liked the farm � i have not seen it and it was you who wished to benefit the and besides she added with a change of tone i should prefer the ready money both laughed here i am once more a farmer said accepting the papers but overwhelmed in debt the touched a bell and the governor appeared governor she said i am going to with bis the result of our talk has been a thorough understanding and the is over here is the order colonel adjusted silver spectacles upon his nose yes he said the princess very right but the warrant madam was by said von well and here am i to represent him well your the soldier of fortune i mast congratulate you upon my loss you have been cut out by beauty and i am left the doctor still remains to me j a man of books ay there is nothing about poor said the prince the governor s consolation would you leave him bare asked von and your resumed may i trust that in the course of this temporary you have found me discharge my part with suitable respect and i may add tact i adopted purposely a cheerfulness of manner mirth it appeared to me and a good glass of wine were the fit colonel said holding out his hand your society was of itself enough i do not merely thank you for your pleasant spirits i have to thank you besides for some philosophy of which i stood in need i trust i do not see you for the last time and in the meanwhile as a of our strange acquaintance let me offer you these verses | 38 |
old but they never could induce her to shoot at anything except a mark she was the tenderest hearted little thing in the world if her taste had been consulted she would have selected a for it did not make such a noise and she could shoot it without shutting her eyes besides that she could shoot it in the house which indeed she did until she had shot the eyes out of nearly all the gentlemen and bare long ladies on the walls once she came very near shooting s eye out also but this was an accident though declared it was not and tried to make out that bob had put her up to it s de boy ever made he said to charity fortunately his eye got well and it gave him an excuse for staying half drunk for nearly a week and afterward like a dog that has once been lame in his whenever he saw and did not forget it he up that eye and tried to look miserable was quite a large girl then and was carrying the keys except when she lost them though she could not have been more than twelve years old for it was just after this that the birthday came when the colonel gave her her first real silk dress it was blue silk and came from and it was hard to tell which was the or charity or or the colonel got drunk before the dinner was over drinking de to de young in de sky blue robes what stands de throne you know he explained to charity after the colonel had ordered him from the dining room with promises of prompt sale on the morrow bob was there and it was the last time ever sucked her thumb she had almost gotten out of the habit anyhow and it was in a moment of in virginia fulness that she let bob see her do it he was a great and when she was smaller had often worried her about it until she would fly at him and try to bite him with her httle white teeth on this occasion however she stood everything until he said that about a girl who wore a blue silk dress her thumb then she his jaws the fire flew from his eyes but hers were even more sparkling he paused for a minute and then caught her in his arms and kissed her violently she never sucked her thumb after that this happened out in front of her s house within which was delivering a powerful on and strange to say charity took bob s side while s and afterward said she ought to have a stick and knocked bob s head off this fortunately did not do and when bob went to the university afterward he was said to have the best head in his class she just turned around and ran into the house with hei face very red but she never bob after that not long after this he went off to college for mr the said he already knew more than most college did and that it would be a shame for him not to have a university education when the question of ways and means was the colonel who was always ready to lend money if he had it and to borrow it if he did not swore he v ould give him all the money he wanted but to his astonishment bob refused to accept it and although the colonel abused him for it and asked if she did not think he was a fool which did for she was always ready to take and spend all the money he or any one else gave her yet he did not like him the less for it and he finally persuaded bob to take it as a loan and bob gave him his bond the day before he left home he was over at the colonel s where they had a great dinner for him and presided in her silk dress she had three then and when bob said good by she slipped something into his hand and ran away to her room and when he looked at it it was her ten dollar gold piece and he took it he was at college not quite three years for his mother was taken sick and he had to come home and nurse her but he had stood first in most of his classes and not lower than third in any and he had the carpenter on hill who was the bully of the town so that although he did not take his degree he had gotten the start which enabled him to complete his studies during the time he was taking care of his mother and until her death so that as soon as he was admitted to the bar he made his mark it was his splendid defence of the man who shot the at the on election day that brought him out as the candidate for the constitutional con in virginia where he made such a reputation as a speaker that the declared him the rising man of the state and even the admitted that perhaps the party might find a leader to redeem it was just fifteen when she began to take an interest in politics and although she read the papers diligently especially the which her uncle never failed to abuse yet she never could exactly satisfy herself which side was right for the colonel was a while most people must have been as bob was elected by a big majority she wanted to be on the side and made him explain everything to her which he did to his own entire satisfaction and to hers too she tried to think but when bob came over to tea which he very frequently did and the colonel and he got into a discussion | 46 |
to me when i d see her he use to write to her too an she use to write to him too den miss anne she off to school too an in de summer time d come home an yo hardly whether lived at home or over at l s he over constant always or down in de river or sometimes he go over an im an she d go out an set in de yard de trees she up out she some sort o ii bright some n de all up g her an her hat th owed back on her neck an he to her out books an sometimes d read out de same book one an den i use to see em when up like den he run for an l he put up to run g by de but he beat im yo know he do co se he made l mighty mad and each lar like had been all long den l he sort o got in debt an sell some o he an s de way de fuss begun s de from he didn like nobody to sell an l o his he writ an offered to buy his m an all her en cause she married our an don yo think l mo n th ee fur m old bought her de an on m an a whole o he went to de sale an bid for em but l he got some one to bid g knocked out to an den a big an to co t off an on fur some years till at de co t decided m belonged in virginia to l den so mad he for a little strip o down on de line fence he said belonged to im body hit belonged to ef yo go down now i kin show it to yo inside de line fence it done bin ever since long born but a us man an he wouldn let nobody run over im no he wouldn so down to co t about fur i don know how long till beat im all dis time yo know back an for to college an up a ve y fine young man he a ve y likely man miss anne she done up too � her up like use to put hers up an t bright de s mane when de sun on it an her eyes t big dark eyes like her pa s on y bigger an not so fierce an none o de young ladies she she an still set a heap o by one but i don think easy each when he used to her home from school on his back he use to love de ve y she walked on in my his face light up whenever she come into ch or anywhere like de sun come th oo a on it suddenly n den lost he eyes d yo ever bout didn yo well one night de big barn fire de stables yo know under de big barn an all de in hit to me like no time all de folks an de neighbors come an a water an a to save de po and got a heap on em out but de wouldn come out an a back an for inside de a an a like time come yo could em so pitiful an n y old said to ham he de driver go in an try to save em don let em bu n to death an ham he went right in an jest he got in de shed it fell in an de sparks shot way up in de air an ham didn come back an de fire begun to out under de over de an all of a sudden tu ned an kissed who nigh him her face white a s an anybody what he do jumped right in de do an de smoke come po in out im well i to tell judgment a de folks set up she down on her knees in de mud an prayed out loud hit like her r heard for in a right out de same do ham in his arms in ou virginia his s all flung water on an put im out an ef you b me yo wouldn a yo see he find ham done fall down in de smoke right by the he him an he to im back in his arms th oo de fire what done de front part o de stable and to keep de flame from down ham s th he his own hat and it all over ham s face an he ham from bein so much bu nt but he bu nt dreadful i his beard an all off an his face an ban s an neck terrible well he laid ham down an then he kind o staggered for ad an im in her arms ham he warn bu nt so bad an he got out in a month or two an a long time he got well too but he always stone blind that he could see none from night he home from college an he n y did faithful � like a den he took charge of de plantation an i use to wait on im uke when we boys an sometimes we d slip off an have a fox hunt an he d be like he in times got an miss anne over to our house an de trees out de same book is he n y good to me made no bout he hit me a in his life � an let nobody else do it i members one day when he a bit o boy o e done we all en not to slide on de straw an one day me an thought done gone way from home we watched him on he | 46 |
african forest to do duty as a blind without a moment s hesitation or poor � had been his best friend once � truly the ways of friendship are wonderful well in due time returned and the little dinner of three passed oflf quite as merrily ad anyone could expect under the circumstances and he l they went oflf to the where sat between the two men in the and cried over the sorrows of captain swift until her face was all and her eyes sore with the sad salt where the major went out between each act and missed one altogether and sat still and quietly resisted all temptations to go and see how cool it the times of peace was outside or have a and after all this tragedy and when all was over and they were passing out towards the hall major turned back to and said � you take care of and ril find the carriage never noticing that he had actually brushed up against who was just in the act of putting a black lace over her head she started violently and pulled the almost entirely over her face so as to hide it from and who were left standing together � do you ever go out to supper after the theatre he asked � if you do will you both and have supper with me somewhere no � cannot bear these public � he never lets me go to them answered � thanks all the same but you will go back with ns � we have a very good supper room at the here s the carriage shouted the major from the doorway � the echoed i have found him out at last chapter xvii the times of peace tell not all you know and judge not all you see if you would live in peace what happened to after and jack passed out of the of the theatre into the dark night i cannot the other wife say but certain it is that she did not immediately make it her business to call upon major in his retreat at the s w time went on � days wore away and the still believed that they were safe from the shadow which had pursued them so at and at this time they all got on in a wonderfully pleasant way major was but little at the he went a great deal to his club and he spent a great deal of his time in the company of dear old � who had never yet managed to pay his respects to his old s wife stay though � he had gone in twice to the when was out and major had made a good deal of the circumstance it s so very odd you know he said after the second call which had made that old should be so anxious to know you and should miss you twice running it s very odd why don t you ask him to dinner said innocently you d make sure of his meeting me then by jove yes it s a good idea cried the major � i ll ask him to morrow � eh and then we can go four to a theatre yes answered � fm sure that will be far the best but did not accept the invitation � naturally he hardly could poor fellow having been out of the way of dinner parties for many a long year major gave his excuses to thb times of ce and added the information that old s such a desperately shy chap i dare say he it did not however think very much of the circumstance for not having seen he held no place in her mind she quite accepted the major s excuse as being a not unnatural one and thought no more of it in truth her life was at this time a very well occupied one and she was as happy as it was possible for her to be unless she had been jack s wife as it was she was his greatest friend and he hers she saw him every day and sometimes several in the day � it had come to be an understood thing that where she went he would go also and major so far from it regarded the arrange ment in the light of a totally blessing which would permit him to come and go accordingly as his own sweet will dictated and very soon began to make friends and to have quite a nice little circle of acquaintances she got to know several people living in the or they got to know her � whichever you like and through them she got to know some very pleasant people in the world outside the which lived under the same roof tree and there were some very charming people living in the at that time there was a mrs a widow getting into years who wore her pretty white hair dressed high over a cushion and looked like an old of the and there was mrs west the most brilliant of modern times with the c the han s pen and the keenest wit and the and sweetest manners in all london town and there was l the man who did everything and did it well � who wrote plays and poems and books and songs who painted pictures and composed and was in a word the admirable the day well in the rooms of such people as these naturally met all the world and his wife and although many passed her by as being neither exactly a bee or a butterfly still a good many pleasant people intimated to her that they would like to know her better among others was a mrs a widow of ample means and a large capacity for thoroughly enjoying all kinds of society a woman who was never so happy as when she | 30 |
place it seemed to the princess that we could most readily find retreat for a time and yet within reach of the lawyers in i saw both louis and lord before we departed to the one i said good bye practically for ever to the other i could only say that for the present i felt that it was best that everything should stand in but the princess tells me that you will take your own name again he said yes i will do that i replied it is my name and of course i have no right to the one under which you met me the other evening and anxiously you are not going away leaving me quite without hope you will come back to me some day i don t know i replied i can say nothing definite the strange story of my life ly i must have time to let things arrange themselves a little not even for you i do anything which will pain either of those two so we parted and the princess and i set off on another stage of life s journey together at we settled for an indefinite time the princess having secured a beautiful villa just on the outskirts of the town we passed on the whole a very dull and dreary existence for we saw no visitors and our only interests lay in the news which came to us through the newspapers and the post wrote to me every day giving me the fullest details of his life his hopes his thoughts his doubts and fears louis never wrote to me at all but he very often did to his mother and several times lawyers came to and fro with papers that it was necessary i should sign then louis wrote and told his mother that he had made up his mind as he could not bear the desolation of to go to north america on a big shooting expedition nothing is so likely he wrote to take me out of myself as complete change of scene and of occupation i know that my dear love is with you and if you can spare me i shall make my preparations for leaving immediately it is needless to say that the princess not only consented but she willingly in this decision and so time went on until nearly a year had gone by since the last and greatest of my life had happened after this our life together was even more dreary than it had been before from time to time though at very irregular intervals princess had news of louis and at last he wrote to her making a definite suggestion on my behalf which was to me the strongest possible confirmation of the noble and unselfish love which he bore me i wish that you would say to he wrote that every day i live i feel how hard it is upon that he should be kept away from her after all there is no and the end reason that the man who has the best claim to her the first right and a love for her equal to my own should be kept at arm s length out of a feeling of delicacy towards me will you show this letter to i think that she will understand me when i say that i do not make this suggestion from lack of love but rather the contrary i have been waiting for this said the princess when i had come to the end of her son s letter knew that louis would see things sooner or later in their true and right relation it is not just to lord that you should be kept apart any longer you love each other you have always loved each other my son is perfectly right in all that he says if you will allow me i will send for lord and give you to him myself in louis s name oh no i cried why should i put you to such pain nay dear child she said you forget that i am louis s mother it will be one of the moments of my whole life so we came together again and i by the wish and at the hands of my adopted mother princess he came to to fetch me and from there we made a long tour passing through many lands making few acquaintances living wholly and solely for each other i wrote to my dear princess constantly and learned from her that louis was back at and that he was bearing his life more bravely than even she had anticipated then when there seemed to be some prospect of an heir to the old west country name we turned our steps towards england and in due course of time a little son was born to us whom we named after that brave and unselfish soul who had loved me so dearly and yet so unfortunately the strange story of my life i will not say that my life was without shadow i was happy � oh yes and yet there were days in the year sacred in which i felt that my husband had no part there were times when he all the wealth of his love upon me when i felt that although his love might equal it it could never that other which stood alone outside the of my life so the tranquil years rolled on and with every one my adopted mother found her way to and with us for a little while every time that she came i hoped that she might bring the news that louis had found happiness elsewhere but he never did so he passed to and fro in different parts of the world sometimes going to the wildest and most spots in search of big game sometimes spending a season at but he made no effort to his life in a | 30 |
the monuments of the that ed its ice from between red and black mountains i found to be the most interesting of them all and when i saw its magnificent extending in majestic curves from the spacious between the mountains i was with the work that lay before me it was one of the golden days of the indian summer when the rich sunshine every landscape however rocky and cold and suggests anything rather than the path of the vanished was warm now and shone in many places as if washed with silver the tall pines gi owing on the stood in the glowing light the groves on the of the basin were masses of orange yellow and the added gold to gold pushing on over my rosy highway i passed lake after lake set in solid of granite and many a thicket and meadow watered by a stream that issues from the and links the lakes together now through knee deep in yellow and purple now passing over bare rock the main that bounded the view on either hand are from to nearly feet high and about as regular as artificial em the mountains of and covered with a superb growth of silver fir and pine but this garden and forest was speedily left behind the trees were as i ascended patches of the and began to appear and pressed into flat carpets by the winter snow the which a few miles down the valley were so richly embroidered with meadows had here at an elevation of feet only small brown of leaving bare rocks around more than half their shores yet amid this the mountain pine bravely tossed his storm beaten branches on the and of red mountain some specimens being over feet high and feet in seemingly as fresh and vigorous as the giants of the lower evening came on just as i got fairly within the of the main it is about a mile wide and a little less than two miles long the crumbling spurs and of red mountain bound it on the north the rudely of black mountain on the south and a col around from mountain to mountain it in on the east i chose a ground on the brink of one of the lakes where a thicket of sheltered me from the night wind then after making a tin of tea i sat by my camp fire reflecting on the grandeur and significance of the records i had seen as the night advanced the mighty rock walls of my mountain mansion seemed to come nearer while the sky in glorious brightness stretched across like a ceiling from wall the to wall and fitted closely down into all the of tlie then after a long fireside rest and a glance at my note book i cut a few leafy for a bed and fell into the clear death like sleep of the tired early next morning i set out to trace the grand old that had done so much for the beauty of the region back to its farthest fountains enjoying the charm that every feels in nature s the voices of the mountains were still asleep the wind scarce stirred the pine needles the sun was up but it was yet too cold for the birds and the few animals that dwell here only the stream from pool to pool seemed to be wholly awake yet the spirit of the opening day called to action the came streaming through the jagged of the col glancing on the and lighting the silvery lakes while every sun touched rock burned white on its edges like melting iron in a furnace passing round the north shore of my camp lake i followed the central stream past many from to the scenery became more rigidly the dwarf pines and disappeared and the stream was bordered with as the sun rose higher rocks were loosened on shattered portions of the cliffs and came down in rattling echoing wildly from to the main that extend from the jaws of the into the basin are continued in straggling masses along the walls of the while separate hun the mountains of of tons in weight are left here and there out in the middle of the channel here also i observed a series of small ranged along the south wall of the corresponding in size and form with the shadows cast by the highest portions the meaning of this between and shadows was afterward made plain tracing the stream back to the last of its chain of i noticed a deposit of fine gi ay mud on the bottom except where the force of the entering cm rent had prevented its it looked like the mud worn from a and i at once suspected its origin for the stream that was carrying it came out of the base of a raw that seemed in process of formation not a plant or weather stain was visible on its rough unsettled surface it is from to over feet high and forward at an angle of � cautiously picking my way i gained the top of the and was delighted to see a small but well down from the gloomy of black mountain in a finely curve to the on which i stood the compact ice appeared on all the lower portions of the though gray with dirt and stones in it farther up the ice disappeared beneath coarse snow the surface of the was further by dirt bands and the edges of the blue veins showing the structure of the ice the uppermost or where the was attached to the mountain was from to feet wide and was in a few places the by the remains of snow creeping along the edge of the holding on with fingers i discovered clear sections where the structure was beautifully revealed the surface snow though sprinkled with stones shot from the cliffs was in some | 28 |
� and the whole was now so blended together so by distance that every former affliction had its charm the room was most dear to her and she would not have changed its furniture for the in the house though what had been originally plain had suffered all the ill usage of children and its greatest and ornaments were a faded of s work too ill done for the drawing room three made in a rage for for the three lower panes of one window abbey held its station between a cave in italy and a moonlight lake in a collection of family thought unworthy of being any where else over the and by their side and pinned against the wall a small sketch of a ship sent four years ago from the by william with h m s at the bottom in letters as tall as the to this nest of comforts now walked down ta try its influence on an agitated doubting spirit � to see if by looking at s she could catch any of his counsel or by giving air to her she might a breeze of mental strength herself but she had more than fears of her own perseverance to remove she had begun to feel as to what she ought to do and as she walked round the room her doubts were increasing was she in refusing what was so warmly asked so strongly wished for what might be so essential to a scheme on which some of those to whom she owed the greatest had set their hearts was it not � selfishness � and a fear of exposing herself and s judgment would his of sir park thomas s of the whole be enough to justify her in a determined denial in spite of all the rest it would be so horrible to her to act that she was inclined to suspect the truth and purity of her own scruples and as she looked around her the claims of her cousins to being obliged were strengthened by the sight of present upon present that she had received from them the table between the windows was covered with work boxes and boxes which had been given her at different times principally by tom and she grew bewildered as to the amount of the debt which all these kind produced a tap at the roused her in the midst of this attempt to find her way to her duty and her gentle come in was answered by the appearance of one before whom all her doubts were wont to be laid her eyes brightened at the sight of can i speak with you for a few minutes said he yes certainly i want to consult � i want your opinion my opinion she cried shrinking from such a compliment highly as it gratified her yes your advice and opinion i do not know what to do this acting scheme gets worse and worse you see they have chosen almost as bad a play as they could and now to complete the business are going to ask the help of a young man very slightly known to any of us this is the end of all the privacy and propriety which was talked about at first i know no harm of charles but the excessive intimacy which must spring from his being admitted among us in this manner is highly objectionable the more than intimacy � the familiarity i cannot think of it with any patience and it does appear to me an evil of s magnitude as must if possible be prevented do not you see it in the same yes but what can be done your brother is so there is but one thing to be done i must take myself i am well aware that nothing else will quiet tom could not answer him park it is not at all what i like he continued no man can like being driven into the appearance of such after being known to oppose the scheme from the beginning there is absurdity in the face of my joining them when they are exceeding their first plan in every respect but i can think of no other alternative can you no said slowly not immediately � but but what i see your judgment is not with me think it a little over perhaps you are not so much aware as i am of the mischief that may of the that must arise from a young man s being in this among us � to come at all hours � and placed suddenly on a footing which must do away all to think only of the license which every must tend to create it is all very bad put yourself in miss s place consider what it would be to act with a stranger she has a right to be felt for because she evidently feels for herself i heard enough of what she said to you last night to understand her to be acting with a stranger and as she probably engaged in the part with different expectations � perhaps without considering the subject enough to know what was likely to be � it would be it would be really wrong to expose her to it her feelings ought to be respected does it not strike you so you hesitate i am sorry for miss but i am more sorry to see you drawn in to do what you have resolved against and what you are known to think will be disagreeable to my uncle it will be such a triumph to the others they will not have much cause of triumph when they see how i act but however triumph there certainly will be and i must brave it but if i can be the means of the of the business of the exhibition of our folly i shall be well repaid as i am | 26 |
your life the very evil with which you charge him � love of money what have we none but money we call it wealth we have the name and its shows ihe of the race once it meant now mere riches thou employed the very enemy and of the whose in the last of the was intended as a to embrace the whole has our whole life public and private the of riches not for use only for vulgar beyond belief � the of riches not for good but for evil to gratify which never at their t anything but evil or f marks the lowest level of the by john marvel assistant intellect the and the are the of the community and the are the fit priests for such people he turned away in disgust � but i him what b your remedy you fiercely but give no light you are simply destructive the remedy is more to give he said gravely because the evil has been going cm so long that it has become deep rooted it has sunk its roots into not only the core of our life but our character it will take long to it but one evil mi t be and eventually must be changed we wish to go down into the abyss of universal and destruction you mean � the idea that because a man is accidentally able to acquire through and often corrupt means vast riches which really are not made by himself but by means of others under conditions and laws which he did not create he may call them his own use them in ways to the public good and indeed often in notorious of it and be protected in doing so by those laws accidentally � and means m that does not happen so often it may happen by finding a gold mine � once in ten thousand times � or by ing some on the stock or produce exchange once in one thousand times but even then a man must have courage � w powers of organization by s philosophy so has the and he inter but they are � they break the law what law why law more than these others is not the law not to do evil to others the law established by society for its protection who made those laws the people � through their representatives i added hastily as i saw him preparing to combat it the people indeed i precious little part they have had in the making of the laws those laws were made not by the people � who had no voice in their making but by a small class � originally the � the the king � the � the rich � the people had no part nor voice they received the benefit of them only the which fell from their masters tables they got the the the rack and the stick you would destroy all property rights my dear fellow what nonsense you talk i am only for changing the law to secure property rights for all instead of for a class the necessity for which no k exists if it ever did exist your own law recognized it and it i thought this a good thrust he waved it aside that was for a primitive people in a primitive age as your laws were for your people in their primitive age but do you suppose that moses would make no now by john marvel assistant i hare no idea that he would i believe they were divine surely � moses acted under the guidance ol the gi eat whose law i justice and and the laws be gave were to this aad they served their purpose when served god but now when he is the letter of the law is made an excuse and is given as the command to work injustice and and surely they should be at least interpreted in the spirit in which they were given you claim to be a a very poor one in name at least you claim that th e has been a new v yes � an � a development precisely in place of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth the other turned � to do to others as you would have them do to you i that is the ideal i have not yet reached that degree of � � i paused for the word i too acknowledge that that ideal why should we not act on it because of human nature we have not yet reached the stage when it can be practically applied but human nature while it does not change may be regulated developed uplifted and this teaching is based on this it has not yet borne apparent fruit it is true but it is nevertheless we both in our better moments at by s philosophy least feel it to be sound and there has been a however little and however hard to you believe in the development of man but you look only to his material development i look for his complete development material and spiritual as he has advanced through the countless ages since god breathed into him the breath of life and by leading him along the lines of physical development to a station in where the physical gave place to ihe e fer development so i believe he is destined to continue this or i growth increasing its power as the ages pass and mounting higher and higher in spiritual knowledge until he shall attain a degree of perfection that we only think of now as a part of the we see the poet and the saint living to day in an atmosphere wholly dis from ti gross of common humanity we see laws being and principles which make for the improvement of the human race we see the g and improvement of the race war | 46 |
she was so modest so expressive she had looked so soft in her thin white gown that he felt he had acted however it could not be helped and turning and bending himself to a rapid walk he dismissed the subject from his mind ill as for she did not so easily the incident from her consideration she had no spirit to dance again for a long time though she might have had plenty of partners but ah they did not speak so nicely as the strange young man had done it was not till the rays of the sun had absorbed the young stranger s retreating figure on the hill that she shook off her temporary sadness and answered her would be partner in the affirmative she remained with her comrades till dusk and with a certain zest in the dancing though being heart whole as yet she enjoyed treading a measure for its own sake uttle when she saw the soft the bitter sweets the pleasing pains and the agreeable of those girls who had been and won what she herself was capable of in that kind the struggles and of the lads for her hand in a were an amusement to her � no more and when they became fierce she them she might have stayed even later but the incident of her father s odd appearance and manner returned upon the girl s mind to make her anxious and wondering what had become of him she dropped away from the dancers and bent her steps towards the end of the village at which the parental cottage lay while yet many score yards off other sounds than those she had quitted became audible to her sounds that she knew well � so well they were a regular series of from the interior of the house occasioned by the violent rocking of a cradle i the maiden upon a stone floor to which movement a feminine voice kept time by singing in a vigorous the favorite of spotted cow � i saw her lie do � own in yon � der green � come and tell you the cradle rocking and the song would cease simultaneously for a moment and an exclamation at highest pitch would take the place of the melody god bless thy eyes and thy cheeks and thy cheery mouth and thy s and every bit o thy blessed body after this the rocking and the singing would and the spotted cow proceed as before so matters stood when opened the door and paused upon the mat within it surveying the scene the interior in spite of the melody struck upon the girl s senses with an unspeakable from the of the field � the white gowns the the willow the whirling movements on the green the flash of gentle sentiment towards the stranger � to the yellow melancholy of this one spectacle what a step besides the jar of contrast there came to her a chill self reproach that she had not returned sooner to help her mother in these instead of indulging herself doors there stood her mother amid the group of children as had left her hanging over the monday washing tub which had now as always lingered on to the end of the week out of that tub had come the day before � felt it with a dreadful sting of remorse � the very white frock upon her back which she had so carelessly about the skirt on the grass � which had been wrung up and by her mother s own hands as usual mrs was balanced on one foot beside the tub the other being engaged in the of the business of rocking her youngest child the cradle had done hard duty for so many years the weight of so many children on that floor that they were worn nearly flat in consequence of which a huge jerk accompanied each swing of the cot flinging the baby from side to side like a s as mrs excited by her song trod the with all the spring that was left in her after a long day s in the nick knock nick knock went the cradle the candle flame stretched itself tall and began up and down the water from the matron s elbows and the song galloped on to the end of the verse mrs regarding her daughter the while even now when with a young family was a passionate lover of tune no floated into from the outer world but s mother caught up its in a week there still faintly beamed from the woman s features something of the freshness and even the of her youth rendering it probable that the personal charms which could boast of were in main part her mother s gift and therefore i ll rock the cradle for ee mother said the daughter gently or i ll take off my best frock and help you up i thought you had finished long ago her mother bore no ill will for leaving the house work to her single handed efforts for so long indeed seldom her at any time feeling but slightly the lack of s assistance whilst her instinctive plan for herself of her labours lay in them to night however she was even in a mood than usual there was a a an exaltation in the maternal look which the girl could not understand the maiden well i m glad you ve come her mother said as soon as the last note had passed out of her i want to go and fetch your father but what s more n that i want to tell ee what have happened y u be enough my when th st know mrs habitually spoke the dialect her daughter who had passed the sixth standard in the national school under a london trained mistress spoke two languages the dialect at home more or less | 45 |
too she did not believe they had yet it even in private the morrow came the plan for the evening continued and s consideration of it did not become less agitated she worked very diligently under aunt s directions but her diligence and her silence concealed a very absent anxious mind and about noon she made her escape with her work to the east room that she might have no concern in another and as she deemed it most unnecessary of the act which henry was just proposing desirous at once of having her time to herself and of avoiding the sight of ur a as e passed through tbe hall park jf the two ladies walking up from the made no ill her wish of retreat and she worked and meditated in the east room undisturbed for a quarter of an hour when a gentle tap at the door was followed by the entrance of miss i am i right yes this is the east room my dear miss price i beg your pardon but i have made my way to you on purpose to entreat your help quite surprised endeavoured to show herself mis of the room by her and looked at the bright bars of her empty grate with concern thank you � i am quite warm very warm allow me to stay here a little while and do have the goodness to hear me my third act i have brought my book and if you would but it with me i should be so obliged i came here to day intending to it with � by ourselves � against the evening but he is not in the way and if he were i do not think i could go through it with am till i have hardened myself a little for really there is a speech or two you will be so good won t you was most civil in her assurances though she could not give them in a very steady voice have you ever happened to look at the part i mean continued miss opening her book o it is t did not think much of it at first � but upon my word there look at that speech and that and that how am i ever to look him in the face and say such things could you do it but then he is your cousin which makes all the difference you must it with me that i may fancy you him and get on by degrees you have a look of his have i � i will do my best with the greatest readiness � but i must read the part for i can say very little of it of it i suppose you are to ave the book of course now for it we must have two chairs at hand for you to bring forward to the front of the stage there � very good school room chairs not made for a theatre i dare say much more fitted for little girls to sit and kick their feet against when they are learning a lesson what would your and your uncle say to see them used for such a lot purpose could sir look in upon ua just bow would himself for all over the is in tiie i i heard bim m i came up stairs and the theatre is engaged of course by these and if are not perfect i he surprised by the by i looked i upon them one of the times when tbey mr was with me little queer so i turned it ob ing to him we shall have so maternal in in her and co done of she began i which the to i to t id it happened to be exactly at ere trying not to embrace and i he began to look a ts well as i could by excellent there is maternal in her manner so completely i� o and countenance was not that well he brightened up directly now for my nd pan ny joined in with all the modest feeling of representing was so strongly but with looks and voice so truly feminine � ery good picture of a man with such an r miss had courage enough and half the scene when a tap at the door of the next mo they bad got i brought a pause and the meat suspended it all surprise a and pleasure appeared in each of the three on this unexpected meeting and as war come on the very business that had brought miss consciousness and pleasure were likely to be more than momentary in l u m he too bad his book and was seeking to ask her to with him and help him to prepare for the evening without knowing miss to bo in the and great was the joy and animation of being thus thrown together � comparing schemes � and in praise of s kind offices she could not equal them in their warmth her sank under the glow of and she felt herself becoming too nearly nothing to both to any comfort in having been sought by either they must now together proposed urged entreated it� till the lady not very unwilling at first could refuse no longer � and wai only to prompt observe them she was invested man field indeed with the office of judge and critic and earnestly desired to exercise it and tell them all their faults but from doing feeling within her shrank she could not would not dared not attempt it had she been otherwise qualified for criticism her conscience must have restrained her from venturing at she believed herself to feel too much of it in the for honesty or safety in particulars to prompt them must be enough for her and it was sometimes more than enough for she could not always pay attention to the book in watching | 26 |
be a lesson to you the more i see of you answered with a serious little air the i am of yon i understand you better you are r an experiment not at all like what i thought you at but i don t know that there s much to understand in me there is a great deal to understand in you she replied you are a puzzle to me often you seem so frank and yet one knows so little about you after all for instance went on who would imagine that you are so affectionate am i affectionate she asked yes answered i am sure you are very affectionate i have found it out gradually you would suffer things for any one you loved thought the matter over yes she said at length i would you are very fond of miss proceeded as if her at the bar of justice you are fond of your father and i am sure there are other people you are very fond of � fond of indeed pondered seriously again yes there are she remarked but no one would about them here and so i m not going to make a fuss you t a to make a fuss people yon you don t said yoa are like francis in one way but you are altogether different in another francis does not to show emotion and he is so determined to hedge himself around that one can t help suspecting that he is always guarding himself against one he seems always to be any interference but you do not appear to care at all and it is not natural that one should suspect you i did not suspect you � � what do you suspect me of now � f a great deal answered affectionately and of being very clever and very good was silent for a few moments � i think she said after the pause � i think you ll find out that it s a mistake no i shall not returned quite glowing with enthusiasm and i know i shall learn a great deal from you this was such a startling proposition that uncomfortable flushed rosy red l vm one ought to learn i think she said i m always doing things that frighten aunt and know how the rest regard me said very in deed suppose we try to help each other if you will tell me when i am wrong i will try to � to have the courage to tell yon that will be good practice for me what i want most is courage and frankness and i am sur it will take courage to make up my mind to tell you of your � of your mistakes regarded her with mingled admiration and respect i think that s a splendid idea she said � � are you sure faltered are you sure you won t mind the things i may hate to say really they are quite little things in themselves � hardly worth mentioning tell me one of them right now said point blank oh no i starting � � i d rather just now well commented that sounds as if they be pretty unpleasant why a fair don t you want to they will be quite m bad to morrow and to refuse to tell me one is a bad beginning it looks as if you were frightened and it isn t good practice for you to be frightened at such a little thing felt convicted she made an effort to regain her composure no it is not she said but tliat is always the way i am continually telling myself that i mil be courageous and candid and the first time any thing happens i fail i tell you one thing she stopped short here and looked at it is something � i think i would do if � if i were in your place stammered a very little thing indeed well remarked anxiously her breath caught it again and proceeded cautiously and with at her own daring if i were in your place she said i think � that perhaps � only perhaps you know � i would not wear � my hair � quite � o low over my forehead an sprang from her seat and ran to the pier glass over the mantle she glanced at the reflection of her own startled pretty � and then putting her hand up to the soft bang which met her brows turned to isn t it becoming she asked oh yes i answered very started then why wouldn t you wear it she cried what do you mean felt her position truly a delicate one she locked her hands and herself but she blushed vividly it sound rather silly when i tell you why she said but i really do think it is a sort of reason you know in those absurd pictures of always seem to be the principal feature i saw some in the shop windows when i went to with and they were such dreadful women � some of them � and had so very few clothes on that i can t help thinking i shouldn t like to look like them and � t a does it make me look like them ob very little i answered � � i indeed of course but � but it a the same thing after all put in that s what you mean it is so very little faltered that � that perhaps it isn t a reason looked at herself in the glass again it isn t a very good reason she remarked but i suppose it will do she paused and looked in the oe i don t think that s a little thing she to be told you like an i did not mean to say so cried filled with the most distress i beg your pardon indeed | 13 |
quality of it if i got places sir it was because i made fit for em k you want to dip into a round hole you must make a ball of that s where it is mr tapped his box again he had been led on by pure enthusiasm in his subject and had really forgotten what thb on bearing this survey had on his listener he had found occasion for saying the same thing more than once before and was not distinctly aware that he had not his port wine before him well uncle said tom with a slight complaint in his tone that s what i should like to do can t on in the same way in the same way said mr tom with quiet deliberation there go two or three questions to that master tom that depends on what sort of material you are to begin with and whether you ve been put into the right mill but i ll tell you what it is your father went the wrong way to work in giving vou an education it wasn t my business and i didn t interfere but it is as i thought it would be you ve had a sort of learning that s all very well for a young fellow like our mr guest who ll have nothing to do but sign all his life and may as well have latin inside his head as any other sort of but uncle said tom earnestly i don t see why the latin need hinder me from getting on in business i shall soon forget it all it makes no difference to me i had to do my lessons at school but i always thought they d never be of any use to me afterward � i didn t care about ay ay that s all very well said mr but it doesn t alter what i was going to say your latin and may soon dry off you but you ll be but a bare stick after that besides it has your hands and taken the rough work out of you and what do you know why you know nothing about book keeping to begin with and not so much of reckoning as a you ll have to begin at a low round of the ladder let me tell you if you mean to get on in life it s no use forgetting the education your father s been paying for if you don t give yourself a new un tom bit his lips hard he felt as if the tears were rising and he would rather die than let them you want me to help you to a situation mr went on well i ve no fault to find with that i m willing to do something for you but you nowadays think you re to begin with living well and working easy you ve no notion of running before you get on horseback now you must remember what you are � you re a lad of sixteen trained to nothing particular there s he of your sort like so many pebbles made to fit in nowhere well you mi ht be to some business � a s and s your latin might come in a bit there mill on thb tom was going to speak bnt mr put tip his hand and said stop hear what got to say yon don t want to be a � i know i know � you want to make more haste � and you don t want to stand behind a counter but re a you u have to stand behind a desk and stare at your ink and paper all day there isn t much outlook there and you won t oe much wiser at the end of the year than at the beginning the world isn t made of pen ink and paper and if you re to get on in the world young man you must know what the world s made of now the best for you ud be to have a place on a wharf or in a where you d learn the smell o things but you wouldn t thi i ll be bound you d have to stand cold and wet and be shouldered about by rough fellows tou re too fine a gentleman for that mr paused and looked hard at tom who certainly felt some inward struggle before he could reply i would rather do what will be best for me in the end sir i would put up with what was disagreeable that s well if you can it out but you must ber it isn t only laying hold of a rope � you must go on pulling it s the mistake you lads make that have got nothing either in your brains or your pocket to think you ve got a better start in the world if you stick yourselves in a place where you can keep your coats clean and have the take you for fine gentlemen that wasn t the way z started young man when i was sixteen my jacket smelt of tar and i wasn t afraid of handling that s the reason i can wear good now and have my legs under the same table with the heads of the best in st s uncle tapped his box and seemed to a little under his waistcoat and gold chain as he his shoulders in the chair is there any place at liberty that you know of now undo that i should do for i should like to set to work at once said tom with a slight tremor in his voice stop a bit � stop a bit we mustn t be in too great a hurry you must bear in mind if i put you in a place you re a bit young for because you happen | 14 |
called it was an old volume smelling of a hundred voyages very solid and very like the bible but with accounts of battles and and they read it nearly from cover to cover otherwise was a silent little body he would not utter a word for three days on end sometimes though he played listened to the songs and laughed at the stories when they tried to stir him up he would answer i don t wish to seem but it is because i have nothing to say my head feels quite empty i ve almost forgotten my name he would turn to uncle with an expectant smile captains courageous why would shout you me next no � never would say shutting his lips firmly of course he would repeat over and over sometimes it was uncle who forgot and told him he was or rich or but was equally content � till next time he was always very tender with whom he pitied both as a lost child and as a lunatic and when saw that liked the boy he relaxed too was not an amiable person he esteemed it his business to keep the boys in order and the first time in fear and trembling on a still day managed to up to the main dan was behind him ready to help he esteemed it his duty to hang s big sea boots up there � a sight of shame and derision to the nearest with took no liberties not even when the old man dropped direct orders and treated him like the rest of the crew to don t you want to do so and so and guess you d better and so forth there was something about the clean shaven lips and the corners captains courageous of the eyes that was to young blood showed him the meaning of the and pricked which he said laid over any government publication whatsoever led him pencil in hand from berth to berth over the whole string of banks � le have western st green and grand � talking meantime taught him too the principle on which the was worked in this dan for he had inherited a head for figures and the notion of stealing information from one glimpse of the sullen bank sun appealed to all his keen wits for other sea matters his age him as said he should have begun when he was ten dan could bait up or lay his hand on any rope in the dark and at a pinch when uncle had a sore on his palm could dress down by sense of touch he could steer in anything short of half a gale from the feel of the wind on his face the we re here just when she needed it these things he did as as he about the or made his a part of his own will and body captains courageous but he could not communicate his knowledge to still there was a good deal of general information flying about the on stormy days when they lay up in the or sat on the cabin while spare eye leads and rings rolled and rattled in the pauses of the talk spoke of voyages in the of great she slain beside their young of death agonies on the black tossing seas and blood that forty feet in the air of boats smashed to of patent that went off wrong end first and the trembling of cutting in and boiling down and that terrible of when twelve hundred men were made on the ice in three days � wonderful tales all true but more wonderful still were his stories of the and how they argued and reasoned on their private deep down below the long jack s tastes ran more to the supernatural he held them silent with ghastly stories of the yo on beach that mock and lonely of sand and who were never properly buried of hidden treasure on captains courageous fire island guarded by the spirits of s men of ships that sailed in the fog straight over of that harbor in where no one but a stranger will lie at anchor twice in a certain place because of a dead crew who row alongside at midnight with the anchor in the bow of their old fashioned boat whistling � not calling but whistling � for the soul of the man who broke their rest had a notion that the east coast of his native land from mount desert south was chiefly by people who took their horses there in the summer and entertained in country houses with floors and he laughed at the ghost tales � not as much as he would have done a month before � but ended by sitting still and shuddering tom dealt with his interminable trip round the horn on the old in the days with a navy more extinct than the � the navy that passed away in the great war he told them how red hot shot are dropped into a cannon a of wet clay between them and the how they and when they strike wood and how the little captains courageous ship boys of the miss jim buck water over them and shouted to the fort to try again and he told tales of � long weeks of swaying at anchor varied only by the departure and return of that had used up their coal there was no change for the sailing ships of and cold � cold that kept two hundred men night and day and at the ice on cable blocks and when the was as red hot as the shot and men drank by the bucket tom had no use for steam his service closed when that thing was comparatively new he admitted that it was a invention in time of peace but looked for the day when sails should come back again on ten | 39 |
until a warrant had been obtained replied mr it should be done at once and mr hastened to attend to this important duty dock and attempted to resist the as he termed it but the was determined and not the prisoner s protest or his struggles on his person was found a variety of papers and among them the letter which captain had written in the cabin of the but this document had no signature and was hardly more half round the world satisfactory than the letter which mr had received from at least it contained no accurate information one sentence however was sufficiently definite to make a beginning upon we are somewhere inside of sandy hook ready to go to sea at a moment s notice captain wrote you know where to leave a letter in new york when you are ready to go on board and one of us goes up to the city every day now it s no use said dock you can t find the mr i may rot in jail but you will never see your daughter again if you go on with this matter if you want to get her back pay me the money i ask let me go and you shall have her in a week i will not pay you a dollar replied mr firmly all right added dock with a sneer you will wish you had in the course of a year or two i know what i m about this time mr mr and went to another room to consider the situation leaving in charge of the prisoner of fortune or � do you want to make a hundred dollars easy said dock in a whisper i don t know replied the officer i can t compromise myself you run no risk added dock as he wrote with a pencil on half a sheet of note paper the letter which captain received just before the sailed put this in an envelope direct it to captain john care of e g co no � maiden lane new york and put it into the post office that s all and here is a hundred dollars took the note and the money dock wrote the direction for the letter on a piece of paper he thrust the whole into his pocket he had his doubts as well he might about the propriety of the letter from the information obtained was satisfied that the was at anchor in one of the secluded below york waiting for dock to join her it was not likely that she would go to sea without her owner whose family were on board of her dock says she will go to whether he her or not mr half bound the she will not sail till those on board have heard from dock we must take care that he does not send any letter or message added perhaps it would be better to let him do so if we could only stop the letter at the post office but we don t know who has charge of the vessel it is plain that he has a captain on board of her but he does not sign his name to the letter we found upon dock interposed mr don t let him send any letters persisted then the will stay where she is till we find her that is the better way replied mr perhaps it is said mr but it would do no harm to ask the to stop any letter to mat for instance mat did not take that vessel round to new york added there is a bigger man than he on board of her and we don j know his name we can t do anything in this way unless we stop all the letters directed to the vicinity of new york doesn t this man s name appear in any of dock s papers op or no i have looked in vain for it mr said suddenly springing to his feet i am sure i can find both mr and mr looked at him with interest he had done a similar work once before and his confident expression was entitled to respect i am as sure as i want to be that the is somewhere in new york bay dock s letter says so he sent her there intending to join her as soon as he had collected his black mail the facts and the theory agree with each other u admit what you say added mr a and there is no doubt of it what shall we do tt i will go to new york in the flag i can tell the as far as i can see her by night or by day i will stand off and on by sandy hook so that she cannot pass me you and mr shall go to new york to night a small steamer and explore all the and below the city till you find her w she may escape before you get there suggested mr half bound the world a no she will wait till she hears from dock it may get into the newspapers we will see that it does not various to s plan were considered but it was adopted without material alteration mr thought it would be better to a steamer in new york for s use but he preferred the she would be under his control and at the critical moment would not be out of coal or her machinery out of order determined to sail as soon as the examination of dock was finished he engaged three extra hands and put provisions and water enough on board to meet any emergency in case the should be unexpectedly prolonged he was confident that his plan could not fail and if had not been unfit for a place of trust probably it would not have failed either in whole or in | 36 |
gentleman who once walked at his own funeral and the editor or perhaps his late paris correspondent adds the adverse circumstances have been various in the philosophy of ill luck it may be laid down as a principle that every point of to one common centre of defeat when the do in one discomfiture their is wonderful so has it happened in the case of the constitutional in the first place a delay of some months consequent upon the of the newspaper stamp on the minds of many who were originally parties to the enterprise in the next the majority of those who remained faithful were wholly inexperienced in the art and mystery of the practical working of an important daily journal in the third and consequent upon the other two there was the want of those abundant means and of that wise application of resources without which no efficient organ of the the interests of any class of men � to say nothing of the interests of that first and greatest class whose welfare has been our dearest aim and most constant object � can be successfully established then came farther on the part of friends and the of friends in disguise the venture proved in every way a disastrous one although supported by a joint stock company the burden of the undertaking really rested upon the original of whom major was the principal while his mr also lost nearly all that remained of his fortune it was shortly after the failure of the constitutional that mr married in paris a miss sister of the captain an indian officer who was one of the at his funeral an irish lady of good family who bore him two daughters the elder of whom has recently shown something of her illustrious father s talent in the remarkable story of elizabeth written by her and published in the magazine in he left that city with his family and resided for two years in london when for the and the man of letters first time he began to devote himself seriously to literary labour adding according to a french writer occasional work as an we are told that he contributed some papers to the times during s � an article on among them he is believed to have been connected with two literary papers of his time � the torch by esq and the which must not be confounded with a literary journal with the same name recently existing the torch which was started on the th of august ran only for six months and was immediately succeeded by the which had a longer existence in neither paper however is it possible to trace any sign of that shrewd criticism or overflowing humour which distinguish the papers in for the latter publication he and it was at this time that the papers appeared with occasional notices of the of paintings in london among his writings of this period we also find s or the fatal boots contributed to his friend s comic for the and since included in the by a long continuous story founded on the crime of the celebrated of the last century and intended to ridicule the novels of the school of jack and u two stories and to the in he visited paris again at the request of the proprietor of in order to write an account of the french exhibition of paintings which appears in the december number on his return he devoted himself to the writing of the shabby genteel story which was begun in for june and continued in the numbers for july august and october when it stopped unfinished at the ninth chapter the story of this strange failure is a mournful one while busily engaged in writing this beautiful and affecting story a dark shadow descended upon his household making all the associations of that time painful to him forever the terrible truth long suspected that the chosen partner of his good and evil fortunes could never in the success for which he had toiled became confirmed and the man of letters the mental disease which had attacked his wife rapidly developed itself until the hopes which had sustained those to whom she was most dear were wholly extinguished mr was not one of those who love to parade their domestic sorrows before the world no explanation of his strange failure to complete his story was given to his readers but years afterwards in it in his he alluded to the circumstances which had his hand and rendered him incapable of ever the thread of his story with a touching for those who knew the facts the tale was interrupted he said at a sad period of the writer s own life when the of the was announced it was his intention to complete the little story � but the colours were long since dry � the artist s hand had changed it was best he says to leave the sketch as it was when first resigned seventeen years ago the memory of the past is renewed as he looks at it it was in that mr contributed to the westminster a beautiful and vol r p the article upon the productions of his mend george illustrated � an unusual thing for the great organ of the philosophers of the schools of j mill and sir w � with numerous specimens of the comic sketches of the subject of the papers his defence of from the of those who loved to dwell upon his defects as a is fall of sound criticism his claim for his friend as something far greater a man endowed with that of all faculties the power to create are inspired by a generous enthusiasm which give a life and spirit to the paper not often found in a critical review but perhaps the finest passage in the article is the concluding words � many artists we hear hold his | 8 |
poet it is not yet deserved by me i know it grant me i may but on your tend and be their servant or their friend and if desert hereafter worthy make me then for a fellow if it please you take mc george from tht hunting never did the nine impart the sweet secrets of their art unto any that did scorn we should see their worn therefore unto those that say were they pleased to sing a lay they could do t and will not tho this i speak for this i know none e er drunk the spring and knew how but he did sing for that once d in man makes him t do what he can nay those that do only or but e en their fingers dip in that sacred poor of that brood will themselves yea in hope to get them fame they will speak though to their shame let those then at thee that by their wits measure thine needs those songs must be thine own and that one day will be known that poor too i myself do undergo but it will appear ere long that twas envy sought our wrong who at twice ten have sung more than some will do at cheer thee honest then and begin thy song again fain i would but i do fear when again my lines they hear the english poets if they yield they are my they will some other crimes and tis no safe venturing by where we see lie for do what i can i doubt she wiu pick some quarrel out and i oft have heard said is soon see st thou not in days oft thick cloud heaven s rays and that which do breathe from the earth s gross beneath seem not to us with black to the sun s bright beams and yet vanish into air leaving it d fair so my shall it be with s breath on thee it shall never rise so high as to stain thy as that sun doth oft from each rotten so sometime gross from muddy brains mists of envy of spite men s judgments and her light but so much her power may do that she can them if thy verse do bravely tower as she makes wing she gets power yet the higher she doth she s still the more till she to the high st hath past then she rests with fame at last let therefore thee but make forward in thy flight george for if i could match thy rhyme to the very stars climb there begin ag n and fly till i reach d eternity but alas my muse is slow for thy place she flags too low yea the more s her fate her short wings were of late and poor i her fortune am myself put up a but if i my cage can rid fly where i never did and though for her sake i m though my best hopes i have lost and knew she would make my trouble ten times more than ten times double i should love and keep her too spite of all the world could do for though banish d from my flocks and confined within these rocks here i waste away the light and the sullen night she doth for my comfort stay and keeps many cares away though i miss the fields with those sweets the though i may not see those groves where the shepherd s chant their loves and the more than the sweet d though of all those pleasures past nothing now remains at last but remembrance poor relief that more makes than my grief she s my mind s companion still envy s evil will whence she should be driven too were t in mortal s power to do the english poets she doth tell me where to borrow comfort in the midst of sorrow makes the place to her presence be a grace and the to be pleasing ornaments in my former days of bliss her divine skill taught me this that from everything i saw i could some invention draw and raise pleasure to her height through the meanest object s sight by the murmur of a spring or the least boughs by a whose leaves spread shut when goes to bed or a shady bush or tree she could more in me than all nature s beauties can in some other wiser man by her help i also now make this place allow some things that may gladness in the very of sadness the dull the black shade that these hanging have made the strange music of the waves beating on these hollow this black den which rocks overgrown with eldest moss the rude that give light more to terror than delight this my chamber of neglect about with from all these and this dull air a fit object for despair she hath taught me by her might to draw comfort and delight george therefore thou best earthly bliss i will cherish thee for this thou sweet st content that e er heaven to mortals lent though they as a trifle leave thee whose dull thoughts cannot conceive thee though thou be to them a scorn that to but earth are bom let my life no longer be than i am in love with thee though our wise ones call thee madness let me never taste of gladness if i love not thy mad st fits more than all their greatest wits and though some too seeming holy do account thy folly thou dost teach me to what makes and fools of them the author s resolution in a shall i wasting in because a woman s fair or make pale my cheeks with care cause are be she fairer than the day or the in may if she not well of me what care i how she | 45 |
policy of course we who for the could not carry it nor over the but that body was not content to stand on tlie it attached to the great civil and bill since divided a provision for the organization of the new � of course without tlie against slavery � and in effect said to us you shall agree to this or the new administration shall not have a dollar to spend after the st of we had one or two by committee but neither house would give way finally the bill came back to us on this last � the on its each side had rallied in full force there were l ut of all the representatives ch from the slave states who were not in their seats and we were morally certain to be beaten on a motion to � three or four weak brethren changing their recollections of a busy life rather than leave the government when some one on our � i believe it was w of � got in a motion to with an tliis accepted the s project of tlie new barely adding a that tlie laws remain in force till by c of the existing laws were those of and this motion prevailed as i recollect the vote on important division stood one hundred and eleven to one ed and and completely changed the whole aspect of the r tlie pro slavery men were now aa anxious to tlie as they had previously been to it at all and the out its provision and let the bill pass as it originally was leaving the of in the new aa a of trouble to the administration was a move more clever than that motion to with an it bad been carried through house and while the was upon it there ensued a or � the house having really nothing to do but a as it was reply you lie rejoined johnson whose powers of observation were not then in their best estate and he sprang forward as though to clutch when mr samuel w of rushed upon the latter and struck him two or three blows with a cane order order � do your duty interposed the speaker and the was promptly arrested what did you fall upon for inquired one of his neighbors being an intensely pro slavery as were lu e and johnson why i thought explained that the fight between the and the south had commenced and i mi lit as well pitch in i did not hear him say this but it was reported to me directly afterward and i have no doubt that he said and thought so mr went over to the side of the that night and made some remark to an acquaintance on the change of aspect since we had made and sustained our motion to with an � when he was and was glad to get away quite rapidly i am confident i could not have passed quietly through that side of the house between ten and two o clock of that night without and had i resisted beaten within an inch of my life if not killed outright yet i had proposed nothing said nothing on the exciting topic i was only because i was j resumed earnestly hostile to slavery i believe it was just a m of the th of march � the day of general s � when the two houses having finished all the inevitable business of the were without day and i walked down to mv hotel free to mind my own business i have not since been a member nor held any post under the government it is not likely that i shall ever again hold one i look t upon those three months i spent in as among the most employed of any in the course of my life i saw things from a novel point of view and if i came away from the no wiser than i went thither the fault was entirely my own i believe i heard vaguely of what were called the soon after they were proclaimed or to in the spring of but they did not attract my attention till during a brief absence from new york � perhaps in � i a connected account of the alleged phenomena signed by several prominent citizens of and communicated by them to the wherein i read it it made little impression ou my mind though i never had that to or stubborn incredulity regarding called supernatural which is evinced by many my of l i � which the so called had first occurred or been noted � first at the little hamlet known as near co n y � came to new york and stopped at a hotel where i called upon them and heard the so called but was neither nor enlightened thereby nothing beyond the which even if deemed inexplicable did not much interest me in fact i should have regretted that any of my departed ones had been impelled to address me in the presence and hearing of the throng of strangers gathered around the table on which the were generally made i had no desire for a second sitting and might never have had one but my wife � then specially and deeply interested in all that to the unseen world because of the recent loss of our darling � visited the twice or thrice at their hotel and invited them thence to spend some week or so with her at our house there along with much that seemed trivial unsatisfactory and unlike what might naturally be expected from tlie land of souls i received some to my questions of a very remarkable character knowledge of of which no one not an of our family in former years could well have been most of these could have no significance or to strangers but one of them seems it was | 19 |
in its golden fruit and blossoms how did we talk together then fairest friend thou tell me all and yet thou that even then had i asked any part of thy it would have been to bear the sweet fruit rather than the sweeter blossoms my wish had been expressed by another e of lake o that i were an tree that busy plant then should i ever laden be and never want some fruit for him that me thou seem to me the happiest of all spirits in wealth of nature in fulness of utterance how is it that i find thee now in another habitation how is it man that thou art now content that thy life bears no golden fruit it is i replied that i have at last through been into the secret of peace without unable to find myself in other forms of nature i was driven back upon the centre of my being and there found all being for the wise the obedient child from one point can draw lines and in one read all the possible of successive life o replied the flower and ever for that reason am i trying to my being how happy i was in the spirit s when first it was wed i told thee in that earlier day but after a while i grew weary of that fulness of speech i felt a shame at telling all i knew and all sympathies i was never i was never alone i had a voice for every season for day and night on me the merchant counted the bride looked to me for her the nobleman for the chief ornament of his hall and the poor man for his wealth all sang my praises all my beauty all blessed my and for a while my heart swelled with pride and pleasure but as years passed my mood changed the lonely moon me as she hid from the wishes of man nor would return till her due change was passed the inaccessible sun looked on me with the same ray as on all others my endless profusion could not bribe him to one smile sacred to me alone the mysterious wind passed me by to tell its secret to the solemn pine and the sang to the rose rather than me though she was often silent and buried herself yearly in the dark earth i had no mine or thine i belonged to all i could never rest i was never at one painfully i felt this want and from every blossom sighed entreaties for some being to j the of lake come and satisfy it with every bud i implored an answer but each bud only produced � an orange at last this feeling grew more painful and thrilled my very root the earth trembled at the touch with a pulse so sympathetic that ever and anon it seemed could i but retire and hide in that silent bosom for one calm winter all would be told me and tranquillity deep as my desire be mine but the law of my being was on me and man and nature it they called on me for my beautiful gifts they themselves with them nor cared to know the heart of the o how cruel they seemed at last as they visited and me yet never sought to aid me or even paused to think that i might need their aid yet i would not hate them i saw it was my seeming riches that me of sympathy i saw they could not know what was hid beneath the perpetual veil of glowing life i ceased to expect aught from them and turned my eyes to the distant stars i thought could i but from the daily expenditure of my till i grew tall enough i might reach those distant which looked so silent and consecrated and there pause a while from these weary joys of endless life and in the lap of winter find my spring but not so was my hope to be fulfilled one night i was looking hoping when a sudden breeze came up it touched me i thought as if it were a cold white beam from those stranger worlds the cold gained upon my heart every blossom trembled every leaf grew and the fruit began to seem with the stem soon i lost all feeling and morning found the pride of the garden black stiff and powerless as the rays of the morning sun touched me consciousness returned and i strove to speak but in vain sealed were my fountains and all my heart beats still i felt that i had been that tree but now only was � what � i knew not yet i was and the voices of men said it is dead cast it forth and plant another in the costly a mystic shudder of pale joy then separated me wholly from my former abode a moment more and i was before the queen and guardian of the flowers of this being i cannot speak to thee in any language now possible us for this is a the of lake being of another order from thee an order whose presence thou feel nay approach step by step but which cannot be known till thou art it nor seen nor spoken of till thou hast passed through it suffice it to say that it is not such a being as men love to paint a fairy � like them only lesser and more exquisite than they a goddess larger and of proportion an angel � like still only with an added power man never he only the lines and colors of his own existence only a fancy could from the elements the form that took me home secret radiant profound ever and never to be known was she many forms indicate and none declare her like all such beings she was feminine | 37 |
a the season of the trade was drawing to an early close and the had not yet begun to blow they can t dance worth a damn said i had happened to mention that the dances were superior to the and this had denied for no other reason than his but it was too hot to argue and i said nothing besides i had never seen the people dance fu prove it to you he announced to the black new boy a labor who served as cook and general house servant hey you boy you tell m one king come along me the boy departed and back came the prime minister ill at ease and with explanation in short the king slept and was not to be disturbed king he plenty strong sleep was his final sentence was in such a rage that the prime minister fled to return with the king himself they were a magnificent pair the king especially who must have been all of six feet three inches in height his features had the eagle like quality that is so frequently found in those of the north american indian he had been both and born to rule his eyes flashed as he listened but right meekly he obeyed s command to fetch a couple of hundred of the best dancers male and female in the village and dance they did for two mortal hours under that sun they did not love him for it and little he cared in the end them with abuse and the abject of those magnificent savages was how could it be what was the secret of his rule more and more i puzzled as the days went by and though i observed perpetual examples of his never a was there as to how it was one day i happened to speak of my disappointment in failing to trade for a beautiful pair of orange the pair was worth five pounds in if it was worth a cent i had offered two hundred sticks of tobacco to the owner who had held out for three hundred when i casually mentioned the situation immediately sent for the man took the shells from him and turned them over to me fifty sticks were all he permitted me to pay for them the man accepted the tobacco and seemed at getting off so easily as for me i resolved to keep a bridle on my tongue in the future and still i over the secret of s power i even went to the extent of asking him directly but all he did was to cock one ye look wise and take another drink one night i was out fishing in the with the man who had been of the i had made up to him an additional hundred and fifty sticks and he had come to regard me with a respect that was almost veneration which was curious seeing that he was an old man twice my age at least what name you all the same i began on him this he one you plenty too much you just like m dog � plenty fright along that he no eat you he no get m teeth along him what name you too much fright s pose plenty kill m he asked he die i retorted you kill m plenty white man long time before what name you fright this white man yes we kill m plenty was his answer my word any amount long time before one time me young too much one big ship he stop outside wind he no blow plenty we get m plenty we go catch m that ship my word � we catch m big fight two three white men shoot like hell we no fright we come alongside we go up side plenty maybe i think fifty ten five hundred one white mary woman belong that ship never before i see m white mary by plenty white man finish one he no die five six white man no die he sing out some white man he fight some white man he lower away boat after that all together over the side they go he white mary down after that they row strong plenty too much father belong me that time he strong he throw m one spear that spear he go in one side that white mary he no stop my word he go out other side that mary she finish me no fright plenty too much no fright old s pride had been touched for he suddenly stripped down his and showed me the unmistakable of a bullet before i could speak his line ran out suddenly he checked it and attempted to haul in but found that the fish had run around a coral branch casting a look of reproach at me for having him from his he went over the side feet first turning over after he got under and following his line down to bottom the water was ten i leaned over and watched the play of his feet growing dim and as they stirred the wan into ghostly fires ten � sixty feet � it was nothing to him an old man compared with the value of a hook and line after what seemed five minutes though it could not have been more than a minute i saw him flaming upward he broke surface and dropped a rock into the the line and hook the latter still fast in the fish s mouth it may be i said you no fright long ago you plenty fright now along that yes plenty fright he confessed with an air of the subject for half an hour we pulled up our lines and flung them out in silence then small fish began to bite and after losing a hook apiece we hauled in and waited for the to go their way i speak you true broke into speech | 21 |
not know this was surprised she longed to have for a butler so silently and easily did he himself among the frail and dainty silver tom remembered great days on the and the manners of foreign who dined with the officers and long jack being irish supplied the small talk till all were at their ease in the we re here s cabin the fathers took stock of each other behind their cigars knew well enough when he dealt with a man to whom he could not offer money equally well he knew that no money could pay for what had done he kept his own counsel and waited for an opening i n t done anything to your boy or fer your boy make him work a piece an learn him how to handle the yoke said he has twice my boy s head for by the way answered casually what d you calculate to make of your boy a captains courageous removed his cigar and waved it round the cabin dan s jest plain boy an he don t allow me to do any of his he this able little packet when i m laid by he ain t anxious to quit the business i know that ever been west mr troop bin s fer york once in a boat i ve no use for no more dan salt water s good enough fer the troops i ve been most everywhere � in the way o course i can give him all the salt water he s likely to need � till he s a s that i thought you a kinder railroad king told me so when � i was in my we re all apt to be mistaken i fancied perhaps you might know i own a line of � san to � six of em � iron built about seventeen hundred and eighty tons apiece blame that boy he never told i d ha listened to o his an pony carriages he did n t know captains courageous little thing like that slipped his mind i guess no i only � took hold of the blue m � and s old line � this summer where he sat beside the stove great caesar almighty i i ve bin from one end to the other why he went from this very town six year back � no seven � an he s mate on the san now � twenty six days was her time out his sister she s here yet an she reads his letters to my woman an you own the blue m nodded if i d known that i d ha jerked the we re here back to port all on the word perhaps that would n t have been so good for ef i d only known ef he d only said about the line i d ha understood i never stand on my own again � never they re well found he says so i m glad to have a recommend from that captains courageous � quarter s of the san now what i was getting at is to know whether you d lend me dan for a year or two and we see if we can t make a mate of him would you trust him to it s a taking a raw boy � i know a man who did more for me that s look at here i ain t dan special because he s my own flesh an blood know bank ways ain t ways but he t much to learn steer he can � no boy better ef say it � an the rest s in our blood an get but i could wish he war n t so weak on will attend to that he ship as a boy for a voyage or two and then we can put him in the way of doing better suppose you take him in hand this winter and i send for him early in the spring i know the pacific s a long ways off � we troops an dead are all around the earth an the seas thereof but i want you to understand � and i mean this � any time you think you d like to see him tell me and i attend to the t won t cost you a cent captains courageous ef you walk piece with me we go to my house an talk this to my woman i ve bin so crazy in all my it don t seem to me this was like tp be real they went over to troop s eighteen hundred blue trimmed white house with a retired full of in the front yard and a parlor which was a museum of plunder there sat a large woman silent and grave with the dim eyes of those who look long to sea for the return of their beloved addressed himself to her and she gave consent wearily we lose one hundred a year from only mr she said � one hundred boys an men and i ve come so s to hate the sea as if t alive an god never made it fer to anchor on these o yours they go straight out i take it and straight home again as straight as the winds let em and i give a for record passages tea don t improve by being at sea when he little he used to play at keeping store an i had hopes he might follow that up but soon s he could a o captains courageous i knew that were goin to be denied me they re square mother an well found remember what s sister reads you when she his letters i ve never known as told lies but he s too like most of em that use the sea ef dan sees fit mr he can go � fer all | 39 |
suppose this is the residence of the american minister continued ben the moment an american sets his foot on that threshold he is on united states territory is he then let s set our feet on it immediately shall we call on the minister why not asked the captain who considered himself equal to the occasion we have no one to introduce us we are strangers i can t say mr minister allow me to introduce my friend captain haven because mr minister might very naturally reply before you introduce your friend captain haven perhaps you will be so good as to get some one to introduce you he would be an fellow to do that let s try at all events persisted the captain if we are going to be the and the and all that sort of thing of the next generation we are not going to be frightened at the prospect of meeting an old gentleman come on ben was never behind any one and they entered the stone and walked up the alley on the rough pavement for as people who live in these grand young america in france and never walk there was no smooth u y a t il four service called an old woman in the of tones exclaimed ben clearing his throat for as he was in the it was a choking operation for a to speak it we � that is � desirous le responded the woman coming out of the dark hole where she sat � and where it may be added she ate and drank and cooked and slept and lived with her husband and two children though the visitors were not informed of the fact � and on the rough pavement with her wooden shoes au fond � au fond de la a son excellence est je ne pas ce au fond � au fond a i whistled ben that s a big dose of french but i caught enough of it to know where to go his is at home and we are to turn to the left at the foot of the court we ll try it the old woman was a french institution her tongue went like a railroad train she was an creature she wore a yellow handkerchief tied around her head and an immense blue apron with one great pocket in the centre of it they would have drowned her as a witch if they had caught her in whispered captain haven up to the age of about thirty french women of the o palace and cottage or lower class are blooming merry and as pretty looking as one would wish to see after they pass that age they dry up like withered apples their faces become yellow and wrinkled their forms and their finger joints knotted and and taking them all together they are very women give them the and they seem to be ready for a flight in the air after seeing a few of them one is not greatly surprised to read that the women were worse than the men in the which have paris the ancient saw that the young gentlemen did not yet know where to go and she wildly towards the back of the court yard la la jar cried she pointing with her fingers la si do i sang ben striking the notes of the scale at the end of the court yard stood quite a handsome house on which was the same sign they had seen at the door rang the bell and a neat looking man servant dressed in black with a white neck tie and gloves opened the door le said ben the man who was polite polished good looking and attentive � the very reverse of the old woman � desired them to have the kindness to walk in to take the trouble to sit down and to be good enough to give him their cards with which he disappeared within an inner room the apartment in which the visitors sat was neatly but not furnished young america in france and on the wall hung an of washington which reminded them of home and called forth some patriotic remarks from ben who declared the original was ever so much more of a man than the kings and of europe the minister made his appearance and gave the young gentlemen a cordial welcome the shoulder and bands of captain haven did not escape his attention and in a short time the story of the of the had been told including the capture of the his had heard of the academy before and was pleased to learn of the arrival of the students in paris can i do anything to make your stay in the city more agreeable asked the minister you seem however to be in good hands if you are attended by a lieutenant of police and the de yes sir we are well cared for but some of us would like to go to court if you can manage it for us to court exclaimed the minister well i have a great many but perhaps i can arrange it captain haven was amazed at the audacity of his companion but he did not object to putting his feet within the court of they took their leave and strayed next into the des habits de said captain haven reading a sign in the window of a fashionable tailor court clothes added ben the sign i never thought of that i wonder if we mustn t get a monkey dress to go to court in palace and cottage or on added captain reading another sign in the window � english spoken here we will go in and see about the court dresses they went in and captain haven stated his business ye ne pas interposed the his shoulders and shaking his head demanded ben un why don t you speak it then laughed | 36 |
hold to my shoulder she placed her feet upon the he made of his hand and was high enough to get a view of the natural surface of the hill over the bank can you now climb on to level ground � i am afraid not i will try what can you see � the sloping common � what upon it purple and some grass nothing more � no man or human being of any kind nobody � now try to get higher in this way you see that of sea pink above you get that well into your hand but don t trust to it entirely then step upon my shoulder and i think you will reach the top with trembling limbs she did exactly as he told her the quiet and solemnity of his manner a pair of blue eyes upon herself and gave her a courage not her own she made a spring from the top of his shoulder and was up then she turned to look at him by an ill fate the force downwards of her bound added to his own weight had been too much for the block of upon which his feet depended it was indeed originally an into the enormous masses of black which had since been worn away from the sides of the alien fragment by centuries of frost and rain and now left it without much support it moved knight seized a of sea pink with each hand the rock which had been his salvation was worse than useless now it rolled over out of sight and away into the same sky that had the one of the by which he held came out at the root and knight began to follow the it was a terrible moment uttered a low wild wail of agony bowed her head and covered her face with her hands between the turf covered slope and the gigantic perpendicular rock a weather worn series of jagged edges forming a face yet than the former slope as he slowly slid inch by inch upon these knight made a last desperate dash at the lowest of vegetation � the last knot of starved ere the rock appeared in all its it arrested his further descent knight was now literally suspended by his arms but the incline of the brow being what would call about a quarter in one it was sufficient to relieve his arms of a portion of his weight but was very far from offering an flat face to support him in spite of this dreadful of body and mind a pair of blue eyes knight found time for a moment of was safe she lay on her side above him � her fingers clasped seeing him again steady she jumped upon her feet now if i can only save you by running for help she cried oh i would have died instead why did you try so hard to deliver me and she turned away wildly to run for assistance how long will it take you to run to and back three quarters of an hour that won t do my hands will not hold out ten minutes and is there nobody nearer no unless a chance may happen to be he would have nothing with him that could save me is there a pole or stick of any kind on the common she gazed around the common was bare of everything but and grass a minute � perhaps more time � was passed in mute thought by both on a sudden the blank and helpless agony left her face she vanished over the bank from his sight knight felt himself in the presence of a loneliness a woman s way h cliffs of every ugly are as common as sea fowl along the line of coast between and land s end but this and specimen was the of them all their are not safe places for scientific experiment on the principles of air currents as knight had now found to his dismay he still clutched the face of the � not with the hold of despair but with a dogged determination to make the most of his every of endurance and so give the longest possible scope to s intentions whatever they might be he hand in hand with the world in its infancy not a blade not an insect which spoke of the present was between him and the past the of these black to all for life is in no way more forcibly suggested than by the of of grass or on their knight pondered on the meaning of s hasty disappearance but could not avoid an instinctive conclusion that there existed but a doubtful hope for him a pair of blue eyes as far as he could judge his sole chance of lay in the possibility of a rope or pole being brought and this possibility was remote indeed the soil upon these high downs was left so that they were for miles except by a casual bank or dry wall and were rarely visited but for the purpose of collecting or counting the flock which found a scanty means of at first when death appeared improbable because it had never visited him before knight could think of no future nor of anything connected with his past he could only look sternly at nature s treacherous attempt to put an end to him and strive to her from the fact that the cliff formed the inner face of the of a huge having the sky for a top and the sea for a bottom which enclosed the to the extent of more than a he could see the face round on each side of him he looked far down the and realized more thoroughly how it threatened him was in every feature and to its very the shape was desolation by one of those familiar of things wherewith the world | 45 |
appears to be indicated by the ex to hasty night from the city � of total destruction as it is not contained in the tj pe can apparently have been gathered only from result but in the first place tlie description in daniel with the expressions c b and r ix f xii which by and ia may easily be also understood of a total and secondly if once in with the sins of the nation the temple and city had been destroyed and the people carried iy captive every enthusiastic to whom the religious and moral condition of his appeared corrupt and might expect and a repetition of that former judgment according to this c en particulars in which as we have seen in the foregoing section his fellow in are not of a kind to oblige us to suppose either a su x or a on the all may be explained by a close consideration of is concerning the first destruction of in kings xxv on and there is only one point which as the author of this discourse could not have from any types but must have di entirely from himself namely tlie declaration that the catastrophe which he described would arrive within the resent generation this we must hesitate to derive from a supernatural knowledge for the reason already noticed that it is only half fulfilled while the other side of the fact the striking fulfilment of at least the one half of tlie prophecy might incline us to distrust the supposition of a merely natural calculation and to regard this determination of time aa a feature introduced into the discourse of after the issue it is clear from the passages at the conclusion of the last section that the themselves expected the return of christ to take place lifetime and it is not improbable tiiat also believed that this event with the ruin of the city and temple which according to daniel was to it was very near at hand the more general of the expectation namely the an caring at some future time in the clouds of heaven to awake the dead to sit in judgment and to found an everlasting kingdom would necessarily from a consideration of daniel where such a coming is ascribed to the son of man be contemplated by as a part of his own destiny so soon as he held t the life of je u to be the while with to the time it was natural that he not conceive a very long interval as destined to between his first coming in and hia second in glory one objection to the of the on the second advent is yet in e it has however less weight in our point of view than in that of the criticism of the this objection is derived from the absence of any detailed description of the second advent of in the gospel of it is that the elements of the doctrine of s return are plainly in the fourth gospel also t therein to himself the offices of the judgment and the of the dead john v � last is not indeed ed among the of the advent of t in the but not seldom appears in that elsewhere in tlie new c g xv iv when in the gospel sometimes that he is come into the world for judgment iii viii xii this only to his presence on earth and is limited by opposite in which that he is come into world for judgment ix viii to tiie sense that the object of his mission is not to condemn but to and tliat his judgment is not individual or partial that it consists not in an sentence proceeding from himself but in an act proceeding from the tendency of things a doctrine which is significantly expressed in the declaration that him who hears his word without believing he judges not but the wont which he has spoken shall e in he last day a bv iv r i a xii i when the of s gospel says of the ov he is not c f he shall not come into iii v this is to be understood of a judgment with a issue when on the contrary it is said of the rf k he is already iii this only means that the of the lot to each is not reserved until the future judgment at the end of all things since each one in his inward di j bears within himself the fate which is his due this does not a future so act of judgment wherein that which has at present only a latent existence will be made matter of awful revelation for in the very passage last quoted we the to condemnation and elsewhere the of future v f vi f associated with the last day and the in like manner says in also in the same in which he describes his return as a still future external catastrophe f he kingdom of god a not with observation f ie i t f the bearing on h � are collected and explained in c jf p ff i in lot and in ih tj i if op his advent shall they say lo here or lo there for the kingdom of god is you a certain of words uttered by the of john s gospel even to intimate tliat liis was not fur distant the expressions already mentioned in the farewell in wliich promises his not to leave but after having gone to the father shortly xvi to again to them xiv are not seldom understood of the return of christ at tjie last day but when we hear say of tliis same return that lie will reveal himself only to his and not to world xiv it is to of it as the return to judgment in which tliat he should reveal himself to good and bad | 14 |
mother caught the spirit and a moment later declared with a new tone in her voice that that was better than mrs and still they were better off than she for they still had two left to help each other while she had not a soul i ll care o us all repeated the girl once more it was only a few things that mills took with him that morning when he set out in the darkness to overtake the company before they should break camp � hardly his old game bag half full for the of the boys had stripped the little cabin of everything that could be of use he might only have seemed to be going hunting as he down the path with his old long gun in his hand and his game bag over his shoulder and disappeared in h k little the darkness from the eyes of the two women standing in the cabin door the next morning mrs mills paid mrs the first visit she had paid on that side the branch since the day three years before when and the boys had the row with little it might have seemed accidental but mrs was the first person in the district to know that all the mills men were gone to the army she went over again from time to time for it was not a period to keep up open and she was younger than mrs and better off but never went and mrs never asked after her or came ii the company in which little and the mi uses had was one of the many hundred companies which joined and were in the army it was in no way particularly by anything that it did it was commanded by the gentleman who did most toward getting it up and the officers were gentlemen the seventy odd men who made the rank and file were of all classes from the sons of the oldest and in the neighborhood to little and the in the district the war was very different from what those who went into it expected it to be until it had gone on some time it seemed mainly marching and and staying in camp quite as seemed to many and and doing nothing much of the especially later on � was given to marching and getting food but and camp duties at first took up most of it this was hard on the poorer men no one knew what it was to them io little some some fell sick of the former class was little he was too strong to be sickly as one of the mills boys was who died of fever in hospital only three months after they went in and too silent to be as the other who was jolly and could dance and sing a good song and was soon very popular in the company more popular even than old who was popular in several rights as being about the oldest man in the company and as having a sort of dry wit when he was in a good humor which he generally was little was hardly distinguished at all unless by the fact that he was somewhat taller than most of his comrades and somewhat more he was only a common soldier of a common class in an ordinary company such a company as was common in the army he still had the little which he had picked up in the path that morning he left home he had asked both of the mills boys vaguely if they ever had owned such a piece of property but they had not and when old told him that he had not either he had contented himself and carried it about with him somewhat wrapped up and tied in an old piece of and in his inside jacket pocket for safety with a vague feeling that some day he might find the owner or re little turn it he was never on specially good terms with the mi uses indeed there was always a trace of coolness between them and him he could not give it to them now and then he and it in a secret place and read a little in the testament but that was all he never touched a needle or so much as a pin and when he the parcel he generally counted them to see that they were all there so the war went on with battles coming a little oftener and food growing ever a little but the company was about as before nothing particular � what with killing and fever a little a good deal faded and little just one in a crowd marching with the rest sleeping with the rest fighting with the rest starving with the rest he was hardly known for a long time except for his silence outside of his mess men were fighting and getting killed or wounded constantly as for him he was never touched and as he did what he was ordered silently and was silent when he got through there was no one to sing his praise even when he was sent out on the line as a sharp if he did anything no one knew it he would disappear over a crest or in a wood and as silent as if he were hunting in the of the ot little clean his gun cut up wood eat what he could get and sit by the fire and listen to the talk as silent awake as asleep one other thing distinguished him he could handle an axe better than any man in the company but no one thought much of that � least of all little it only brought him a little more work occasionally one day in the heat of a battle which the men knew was being won if shooting and cheering and rapid advancing could tell anything the advance | 46 |
a after exposure to x rays corresponding to the dose which the human is capable of without being followed by or permanent directions are given to place the on a support � that is with a metal � at half distance between and skin since the its original colour if exposed to daylight directions are given that the examination of a during exposure and comparison of it with the standard tint should be quickly done so as to prevent daylight interfering with the action after a few such it will be noted that the colour of the has changed to that of the standard at this point the exposure may be considered complete and the current off under ordinary conditions the exposure from fifteen to twenty minutes one might reasonably say that if note were made of that time and those conditions then by the conditions the time should be a good enough index of the current exposure but as we have already pointed out we cannot rely upon exact of practical x ray work the conditions and no mechanical so far devised can justify making a exposure without some such direct check as we describe it is stated by some workers that the after exposure regain their original colour and can be used again but we prefer to use a fresh for each exposure made about fifteen days after such an exposure � usually on the sixteenth day � the hairs will fall out from the area exposed and with them the during this interval it is customary to apply daily to the part and the surrounding parts some to prevent spread of the process meanwhile for this purpose uses and of in of spirit after the head should be washed daily and any weak hairs left should be pulled out by the thirty fifth day all hair should be out remains for two months and the head should return to its normal condition in about four months this is doubtless a radical cure for and much in advance of older methods so often tedious and there is a slight danger of and burn followed by permanent but this should not happen if proper care be taken on the other hand if the exposure be too short then all the hair may not come out and the process cannot be repeated till after twenty one days from the first exposure but this also should be of rare occurrence it is possible that this treatment good as it undoubtedly is may be replaced soon by another method probably more rapid more safe and less expensive this method is by or with of or of copper but until the process is made more certain in operation we may consider x ray application the best radical cure for � in a similar way to that described for x rays may be used for and similar affections results quoted are very good but of the treatment of either by this method we have little personal experience and are relieved by application of x rays in a rapid and effective manner difficult to explain but none the less definite and valuable and disappear under x ray treatment in a remarkable manner whilst contracted following operation burns or wounds benefit from such exposure is stated in reports from the islands to respond in a promising manner to x ray in a case we had the opportunity of treating for a time we noted distinct improvement of individual the were however advanced and and the patient was very irregular in his attendance at hospital so we had little chance of making observations in such an condition certainly a thorough trial should be given to this form of treatment and should not be exposed if in the acute form but cases derive marked benefit from careful x ray treatment where the hands are affected by either condition such treatment is especially useful and the effect is very in of the or accompanied by much irritation though it may not be evident till after seven or eight days those and similar points are set out in a most instructive manner in a paper by h e which is quoted in the british medical journal for september in all recent works on x ray treatment is discussed and at least one text book is published which solely with this subject hence we do not consider it necessary nor advisable to enter further into detail of suitable cases and port wine is another condition so that any safe treatment promising benefit should certainly have a trial we have had one case recently under x ray treatment with encouraging result and a few cases are reported by practical x ray work other workers where marked benefit has been obtained here a fairly severe reaction must be produced requiring long intervals between the and special care to observe the effect of each previous reaction before another ordinary treatment may respond to x ray which remark may also apply to and favourable reports are published of similar benefit in certain conditions other treatment such as and g marked temporary improvement under treatment by x rays but we have hitherto been disappointed with whenever the treatment is this seems to be the general experience but the relief of symptoms obtained is often valuable in the treatment of disease it is still more to the true position of x rays are conflicting and many of them whilst the effect of contemporary treatment is frequently not thus in most conditions a definite opinion must be withheld the least questionable results in some cases especially of the form the benefit received from x ray treatment is certainly most remarkable where other treatment had failed one such case of apparent cure is reported in the for june forms also receive benefit from the treatment the and long bones being all exposed to the rays other reports state that the treatment is not uniformly favourable but even the admitted | 28 |
her dress and hand waving them aside impatiently asked the men if anything had been seen or heard of her father they answered ko some of their number had started up the river to search for him on the same day when she was captured but they had not returned and no tidings had come from them or him do not be alarmed said seeing the distress and anxiety written on her face doubtless he has gone further than he anticipated and the men have not been able to find him i fear that something has happened to him she answered he should have been back by now he promised to return within the fortnight by this time the story of the capture and destruction of the slave camp was spread abroad among the people by the rescued men and the excitement rose to its height the death of seeing a favourable opportunity to trumpet his master s fame to and fro through the crowd shaking a spear and s praises after the fashion he said i look at him ye people and be astonished look at him the white elephant and hear his deeds in the night he fell upon them he fell upon them the armed men in a place he did it alone no one helped him but a black monkey and a woman with a shaking hand he them with a tongue of honey he smote them with a spear of iron he won the from the midst of them to be a wife to him he satisfied the yellow devil he satisfied him with gold the praying man prayed over them then strife arose their greatest warrior gave him battle he broke him with his fist then the monkey played his tricks and the shaking hand made a great noise a noise of thunder they fell dead they fell dead in heaps the fire roared behind them in front of them the bullets hailed they cried like women but the fire stayed not it licked up their strength ashes are all that is left of them they are dead the armed men no more shall they bring desolation the day of slavery is gone by who did it he did it the terrible lion the lion with the white face he gave the to the sword he doomed their captain to death he loosened the irons of the now shall they eat the bread of freedom praise him ye people who broke the strength of the praise him the shepherd of the who led her from the house of the wicked praise him ye children of in whose hands are death and life r the people of the mist no such deeds have been told of in the land praise the who gives you back your children ay praise said who was standing by praise him children of my father since but for him none if us would see the light to day at this juncture himself arrived upon the scene just in time to bear s words all the people of the settlement took up tbe cry and hundreds of other natives collected there joined in it they rushed towards him shouting praise to thee shepherd of tbe i praise to thee then in a fury hold of that if he dared to say another word he would instantly break his neck and the tumult ceased but from that day forward he was known among the natives as the and by no other name that evening as and tbe priest sat within the walls of the settlement house with the plunder of the slave camp piled about them talking anxiously of tbe fate of mr and wondering if anything could be done to discover his whereabouts they heard a stir among tbe natives without at this moment rushed in crying has come instantly they sprang to their feet and ran outside the house headed by there borne on the shoulders of six travel worn men and followed by a crowd of na they saw a litter upon which lay the figure of a i covered with blankets oh he is dead said stopping suddenly and pressing her hands to her heart for a moment thought that she was right before lie could speak however they heard a feeble voice calling to the men who carried the litter to be more careful in their movements and once more sprang forward crying father father then the brought their burden into the house and set it down upon the floor looking saw before him a tall and handsome man of about fifty years of a e and saw also by many unmistakable signs that he was at the point of death gasped her father is that yon then you i have escaped thank god now i can die happy the th of ma it would serve little purpose to set out in detail the broken conversation which followed but by degrees learnt the story it seemed that mr was disappointed in his purpose of the of ivory which he went out to seek and unwilling to return pushed on up the river with the hope of obtaining more in this he failed also and had just begun his homeward journey when he was met by the party which despatched and heard the terrible tidings of the of his daughter by it was nightfall when the messengers arrived and too dark to travel for a while mr sat brooding over the news of this crushing disaster perhaps the most fearful that could come to a father s ears then he did what he was but too prone to do � flew for refuge to the bottle when he had drunk enough to destroy his judgment he rose and insisted upon continuing their march through the darkness of the night in vain did his men saying that the road was rocky and full of danger he would take no | 18 |
word until she was gone away and her was under sea again then he said he d cry by the hour and round and round the light at him and water with his foot hands at last he took it into his pore sick head that the ships and particularly the that came by � there wasn t many of them � made the streaks instead of the tides as was natural he used to sit he told me cursing every boat that come along � sometimes a sometimes a dutch and now and again a steamer head and about in the mouth of the strait or d come a boat from running north past old hunting for a fair current but never throwing out any papers that might pick up for to read speaking the kept more but now and again they came looking for and the west coast of used to shout to them to go round by the passage and not to come past him making the water all but it wasn t likely they d hear he says to himself after a month give them one more chance he says if the next boat don t attend to my just representations � he says he the of traffic remembers using those very words to � ru stop the the next boat was a two streak cargo boat very anxious to make her she through under old at the south end of the strait and she passed within a quarter of a mile of the light at the north end in seventeen o water the tide against her took the trouble to come out with in a little that they had � all and � and he lay in the waving a palm branch and so he told me wondering why and what for he was making this fool of himself up come the two streak boat and shouts don t you come this way again making my head all go round by and leave me alone some one looks over the port and a at and that s all sits down in the bottom of the boat and cries fit to break his heart then he says what am i a crying for nd they fetch up by the light on the half flood he says there s too much traffic here and that s why the water s so as it is it s the and the and the that do it he says and all the time he was speaking he was thinking lord lord what a crazy fool i am said nothing because he couldn t speak a word of english except say dam and he � the phantom said that where you or me would say yes lay down on the of the light with his eye to the crack and he saw the muddy water below and he never said a word slack water because the streaks kept him at such times at slack water he says wc must this for and he holds up his hands several times showing that of had come about in the and says dam that very afternoon he and goes to the village in the woods that the li t was named after and � and of and rope thick and fine all sorts � and they sets to work making square by of the together said he took longer over those than might have been needed because he rejoiced in the comers they being square and the streaks in his head all running he lashed the together cross and any way but � and they made up twelve foot square like then he stepped a twelve foot or a bundle of in the centre and to the head of that he lashed a big six foot w letter all made of and painted the float dark green and the w white as a wreck should be painted between them two they makes a round dozen of these new kind of wreck and it was a two the of traffic months job there was no big owing to it being on the turn of the but what there was cursed at and the streaks in his head they ran with the tides as usual day after day so soon as a was ready would take it out with a big rock that half sunk the and a and drop it dead in the he did this day or night and could see him of a clear night when the sea climbing about the with the sea fire dripping oflf him they was all put into place twelve of them in seventeen water not in a straight line on account of a there but and two one behind the other mostly in the centre of the you must keep the centre of those currents for currents at the side is and in narrow water before you can turn a spoke you get your nose took round and rubbed upon the rocks and the woods knew that just as well as any he knew that no t run through in a six knot current he told me he used to lie outside the light watching his and dipping so friendly with the tide and the motion was comforting to him on account of its being different from the run of the streaks in his head three weeks after he d done his business up comes a steamer through straits think the phantom ing she d run sea before ni t he saw her slow down then she backed then one man and another came up on the bridge and he could see there was a regular and the ood was driving her right on to s that she spun round and went back south and nearly killed himself with laughing but a few weeks after that a couple of came through from the north arm in arm | 39 |
it is good to look at the little people he spoke in english and with a strong french accent they are so gay always they know so little of care to sing and shout and jump that is the business of life well as good a business as any other when all is said and done he shrugged his shoulders and folded his arms upon his hollow chest shivering as the keen sea by graves s breeze crept in at the of his and his gaunt body he did not beg or seem about to the impulse was self prompted that stretched s hand to him with a silver coin in it take this you look ill or hungry hungry madame said the man softly a thousand thanks he hid the coin about him and saluted lady again the lifted cap revealed a narrow head shaved almost to the skin upon the temples was a livid new healed and ugly you are a stranger to a stranger madame i came from yesterday a brought me in his boat i am not particular as to my accommodation as madame will guess nor was the yet he took all my money and left me without enough to buy a meal you have friends in the island no and yes the man returned the little daughter of one who was an old comrade of mine lives here in charge of a woman who was her foster mother and has married a of the stone works madame has seen her playing with the children of the good she did not know who looked at her and questioned of her name just now when last i saw her five years ago she was but four years old at four years by the fate of old the little could not be expected to understand � madame is cold shrunk and shivered at the sound of that hated name she recovered herself in another instant she looked at the forlorn creature who tried to interest her in his little story with compassionate gentleness can the father not come himself to see his child she asked is he an invalid or the man answered her shortly and harshly the father is in prison he laughed a grating laugh and ground the heel of his broken boot upon the pavement has madame patience to hear his story common enough common enough the father of the little black haired one was once a clerk in a bank at he had assured prospects enough for present wants a charming � oh a charming wife � and a child charming women are apt to be vain vain ones are apt to be extravagant madame she wanted money � always money her husband was like wax in her hands i she her wax well � so well she made of an honest man a rogue madame a and a thief he broke off to wipe away the leaden drops that had gathered on his face with a miserable rag of a tattered handkerchief his gaunt figure quivered and the started out like on the ba pf wasted hands by graves spoke to him gently it you to speak of it she said it me to speak of it figure to yourself madame how this man must have loved that wretch to sin so at her bidding and she � she had not even the merit of being faithful to him he found that out before the trial � for the were discovered and he was arrested he her as his she fled before the law could lay hands on her � with one who had been for long her secret lover his face was frightful as he said the words if he had been himself the wretched whose dreadful story he had upon his lips he could not have looked and spoken with greater but he went on so my friend � always my friend madame will remember � is found guilty and to imprisonment for eight years he is sent to the at labor absolute silence silence in the silence in the silence in the yard silence in bed from half past six until six the next morning is the routine madame would never imagine how many cries of and despair how many sobs of anguish how many oaths of vengeance can be packed into the space of one human breast that has the of the law upon it by the fa te of he struck his own breast as he spoke fiercely and shook his clenched hand in the air i have been a prisoner myself he went on madame is not afraid of me i knew that man at prisoners have methods of communication in spite of rules and i knew his sorrow as he my own i promised him when my hour of came i would visit the island to which his child had been taken see her without speaking to her and send him word the last two years of his sentence have yet to before my friend can speak unless he grows desperate as a man does when the end is near and escapes from prison is a strong place but there is a way out of it he has told me so here are the little ones returning you are madame accept my thanks the gratitude of a poor man whom you have helped upon his way i have not wearied you with the story of my friend a common criminal no more and once having been in prison as people say it is twenty to one that he will eventually return there i myself also but the next crime of which that man is found guilty will not be yielded to an impulse she looked full into the hollow glistening eyes she put a question to the ragged creature not she said repeating his words � what then by graves the man bent toward her | 4 |
influenced by some personal power in the man which she felt moved to resent he compelled in her an interest which she had never yet felt in any member of the other sex are you resident in mrs s household he asked as he took the cup from her hand with a word of thanks yes i have been here exactly six days it is not long he said with a smile but long enough i to convince you that you will be very happy here our friends possess in a wonderful degree the gift of making their fellow creatures feel happy and at home at the hour as he uttered these words his glance fell upon who under the influence of congenial society was in one of his most brilliant moods saw that his glance was at once affectionate and admiring and it was an instant to her confidence you are quite right she said with an absence of reserve which surprised herself i have never met people like them i already feel as if i had been here for years of course you are aware that i come from a colder where we make friends slowly although i think i may say that when are made they are worth the keeping i have only been privileged to know one of humble origin but i observed in her the very characteristic of which you speak have you only recently come from the north � i have been in london only three weeks answered and observing her closely he saw a painful shadow gather in her eyes there were few moments when the strange confusion and uncertainty of her life were absent from s mind at the hour three weeks he repeated it is not long i was bom in london and i love the very stones of her streets that i suppose seems incredible to you why should it asked i have myself already felt its strange charm i suppose it is the the volume of its life which appeals to one i don t wonder that you who have been born here love it better than any place in the world chapter xii regarded her attentively he had never seen a face which interested him more he discerned in her a reserve of power a strong individuality which made him desire some closer knowledge the study of humanity was the business of his life to find a new type in this unexpected corner was an for piece of good fortune so he might have expressed himself had he put his thoughts into words in what part of scotland is your home he asked i don t know much but your name has a sound you are quite right i belong to a very old family � a family that unfortunately for me and for others has fallen on very evil days she lowered her voice as she uttered these words half ashamed indeed of having at the hour given even so little of her confidence the majority of families both distinguished and obscure have a record of evil days in their annals he said it is one of the inexorable laws of nature that none of us either in our individual or capacity shall enjoy the sunshine of prosperity for ever i am sure i need not remind you that it is not desirable that we should there are few things more fatal to mental or spiritual growth than unbroken success i have not thought about it in that light said lifting her clear beautiful eyes full of the intelligence to his face perhaps because i have had so little of brightness or success in my life it is not unnatural that i should sometimes wish for a taste of it not unnatural at all he said quickly but you will certainly have your share perhaps even now it may be within reach i trust that you are not cast on this great city i was quite until i had the good fortune to meet with mrs i take it as an omen that the tide of your at the hour fortune has turned then he said lightly i am sure that you will find my old friends and and jack very promising pupils especially i know that her father and mother grieve over her unmistakable literary bent why should they if it is there nothing will keep it in check i suppose you have already heard our friend on the woes of the literary life he is specially eloquent on the degradation of the public taste there was not an of sarcasm or in this speech laughed and the unusual brightness of her look made her appear for the moment almost beautiful she had the clear ruddy northern colour and a freshness of look and manner which to seemed altogether delightful suddenly she looked him full in the face and asked him a straight question are you a literary man i have that honour he answered with a little bow for the last ten years i have been more or less before the reading public though somewhat in disguise i have found it convenient for many reasons to strictly i i at the hour to my de after a moment s hesitation he mentioned a name so well known in the world of letters that was for the moment aghast wondering how she had dared to speak so familiarly to a man for whose written words the world waited with respect now if you look so aghast i shall regret my moment of confidence he said with a smile perhaps you are one of those who regard literary men something like the of the � best viewed from a respectable distance if so pray allow me to become plain again at your service i should be sorry if an acquaintance so pleasantly begun should in any way you must understand something at least of what i feel | 17 |
was written sir john at this she knocked a timid little tap which met no response then she tried again this time a more loudly in reply to which a voice fi om within roared to her to enter she opened the door and found herself in a room where two clerks were sitting each at a separate desk can i see sir john she asked half hesitatingly one of the clerks looked up miss he asked in an tone yes that is my name sir john expects to see me he got up at once yes madam please come this way sir john is waiting for you poor little thing he remarked to his companion as he sat down at his desk again meantime with a quickly beating heart had walked into the presence of the great q c sir john i hope she said as she laid her hand in his that you do not think me very bold to come here and ask advice of you he was a very tall and large man and he stood looking down upon her with a very kindly expression upon his clean shaven rather ugly face my dear miss he said speaking in a rich mellow voice it is a perfectly natural thing that your aunt s niece should come here to ask advice of me we were great friends she and i i regret her death deeply sit down my dear young lady if there is sir john q c anything that i can do to serve you why it is done already she hesitated for a moment well she said i ought to tell you that has not left me much to live upon � all that she had poor darling but it was not much because she lived herself upon an i didn t know it never told me she always seemed to think that money should not be talked about � as if it were not quite to talk about money but now i am left i have got to think about money and to think a lot ah that often happens so said sir john in the tone of one to whom nothing can come as a surprise of course i knew that your aunt never had much money but i thought of late years that she had enough to live upon so she had but it was from an my george an for her � left it to her explained and i � i want to earn money and i want you to help me to help you to earn money ah now you have set me a difficult task he said i don t think so said you know everybody i want to go on the stage sir john go on the stage my dear child all young ladies want to go on the stage yes i know they say so i know they say that it s the dream of every woman s life but i am different i am not afraid of work and i h� ive ability i have talent see � look at this she hastily drew from the recesses of her an envelope containing half a dozen slips of newspaper just the few which had been written about the at little sir john just glanced at them my dear child he said you don t need me to tell you that it is one thing to play to a friendly audience in heart and sword one s own village and it is quite another thing to make one s living by acting out in the world i am not afraid said they never are said the great q c shaking his head solemnly i never knew a girl who wanted to go on the stage who was afraid of anything yet they say you know my dear child that every private soldier in the french army carries a field s h ton in his and equally certain is it that every girl who desires to go on the stage feels that she can without any trouble or become an or a but sir john said won t you give me a chance you know all these people � there is not a manager in london that you don t know intimately i don t ask you to do more than give me just a chance i can do the rest for myself it is the chance i want just the chance of a hearing he looked at her hard for just a minute or so where are you living now he asked i am staying at the for a few days � with the � yes and what do they think of this crack scheme of yours i haven t told them yet they didn t quite like � at least mrs didn t quite like � my coming to london without my having somebody with me to take care of me but i had s consent so i didn t think it mattered is that young yes i am going to marry him you know some day but i am afraid it will be a long time first as we haven t either of us got any money and you want to make some yes i want to make some if i can sir john q c what does he do he is in the service he is going out to india next year ah really what regiment � the black horse i see not much money making in that and he doesn t mind you going on the stage i have his consent to do as i like said flushing painfully at thus in a measure deceiving him and you think you will become a famous young woman my dear child it is a very hard and a very precarious life it is only one out of a thousand or so that makes a decent living | 30 |
gown her forehead was mild and benevolent between the smooth curves of gray hair there were meek downward lines about her nose and mouth but her eyes fixed upon the old man looked as if the had been the result of her own will never of the will of another they were in the bam standing before the wide open doors the spring air full of the smell of growing grass and unseen blossoms came in their faces the deep yard in front was with farm and piles of wood on the edges close to the fence and the house the grass was a vivid and there were some the old man glanced at his wife as he the last on the harness she looked as immovable to him as one of the rocks in his pasture land bound to the earth with generations of vines he the reins over the horse and started forth from the bam father i said she � by mary e the old man pulled up what is it i want to know what them men are over there in that field for � they re a cellar i s pose if you ve got to know a cellar for what a bam a bam you ain t goin to build a bam over there where we was goin to have a house father the old man said not another word he hurried the horse into the farm wagon and out of the yard as oil his seat as a boy the woman stood a moment looking after him then she went out of the bam across a corner of the yard to the house the house standing at right angles with the great bam and a long reach of sheds and out buildings was compared with them it was scarcely as for people as the little boxes under the bam were for a pretty girl s face pink and delicate as a flower was looking out of one of the house windows she was watching three men who were digging over in the field which the yard near the road line she turned quietly when the woman entered what are they digging for mother said she did he tell you they re for � a cellar for a new bam o mother he ain t goin to build another bam � that s what he says a boy stood before the kitchen glass his hair he slowly and arranging his brown hair in a smooth over his forehead he did not seem to pay any attention to the conversation did you know father was going to build a new bam asked the girl the boy � he turned and showed a face like his father s under his smooth crest of hair yes i s pose i did he said reluctantly how long have you known it asked his mother bout three months i guess � why didn t you tell of it � didn t think do no good by mary e i don t see what father wants another bam for said the girl in her sweet slow voice she turned again to the window and stared out at the digging men in the field her tender sweet face was full of a gentle distress her forehead was as bald and innocent as a baby s with the light hair strained bad from it in a row of curl papers she was quite large but her soft curves did not look as if they covered muscles her mother looked sternly at the boy is he goin to buy more cows said she the boy did not reply he was his shoes i want you to tell me if he s goin to buy more cows i s pose he is � how many � four i guess his mother said nothing more she went into the and there was a clatter of dishes the boy got his cap from a nail behind the door took an old from the shelf and started for school he was lightly built but clumsy he went out of the yard with a curious spring in the that made his loose home made jacket up in the rear the girl went to the sink and began to wash the dishes that were piled up there her mother came promptly out of the and her aside � you wipe em said she � i ll wash there s a good many this the mother plunged her hands vigorously into the water the girl wiped the plates slowly and � mother said she � don t you think it s too bad father s going to build that new bam much as we need a decent house to live in her mother a dish fiercely � you a n t found out yet we re women folks said she � you a n t seen enough of men folks yet to one of these days you find it out an then you ll know that we know only what men folks think we do so far as any use of it goes an how we d ought to reckon men folks in with providence an not complain of what they do any more than we do of the weather � i don t care i don t believe george is anything like that anyhow said her delicate face flushed pink her lips softly as if she were going to cry by mary e wait an see i guess george ain t no better than other men you hadn t ought to judge father though he can t help it cause he don t look at things jest the way we do an we ve been pretty comfortable here after all the roof don t � a n f never but once � that s one thing father s kept it right up i do wish we had a parlor | 4 |
a poor boy always hanging round the station joe had taught him how to operate just to help him along so he left him in the office and tore home for half an hour knowing he could get back before the eastern express came along he had n t been gone five minutes when a ran off the rails about a mile up the track it was a very still and the boy heard the and and knew something had happened he couldn t tell what it was but the minute he heard it he sent a message over the wires like a and caught the eastern express just as it was pulling out a cup of cold water of the station above if he d hesitated a second or made any mistake the express would have come on and the loss of life would have been fearful the next day the papers were full of s presence of mind they all said he d be promoted that was early in november and joe didn t hear an from the company till the first of january meanwhile the boy had gone home to his father s farm out in the country and before christmas he was dead well on new year s day joe got a notice from the company saying that his pay was to be raised and that he was to be promoted to a big near in recognition of his presence of mind in stopping the eastern express it was just what we d both been for and i was nearly wild with joy but i noticed joe did n t say much he just for leave and the next day he went right up to and told the there what had really happened when he came back he told us they d suspended him i cried every night for a week and even his mother said he was a fool after that we just lived on at and six months later the company took him back but i don t suppose they ll ever promote him now her voice again trembled with emotion was n t it beautiful of him ain t he a real hero she said and i m sure you d behave just like him s a cup of cold water jou d be just as gentle about little things and you d never move an inch about big ones you d never do a mean action but you d be sorry for people who did i can see it in your face that s why i trusted you right off s eyes were fixed on the window he hardly seemed to hear her at length he walked across the room and pulled up the shade the electric lights were in the gray of the dawn a rattled down the street and like a witch returning late from the sabbath a stray cat into an area so rose the appointed day turned back drawing from his pocket the roll of bills which he had thrust there with so different a purpose he counted them out and handed her fifteen dollars that will pay for your boards including your breakfast this morning he said we breakfast together presently if you like and meanwhile suppose we sit down and watch the sunrise i have n t seen it for years he pushed two chairs toward the window and they sat down side by side the light came gradually with the icy reluctance of winter at last a red pushed itself above the opposite house tops and a long cold gleam across their window did not talk much there was a awe in the spectacle presently rose and looked again at his watch a cup of cold water i must go and cover up my dress coat he said and u had better put on your hat and jacket we have to be starting in half an hour as he turned away she laid her hand on his arm you haven t even told me your name she said no he answered but if you get safely back to joe you can call me providence but how am i to send you the money oh � well i ll write you a line in a day or two and give you my address i don t know myself what it will be i m a wanderer on the face of the earth but you must have my name if you mean to write to me well what is your name and i think � i almost think you might send the letter right to joe s � send it to the station very well you promise of course i promise he went back into his room thinking how appropriate it was that she should have an absurd name like as he re entered the room where the gas in the daylight it seemed to him that he was returning to some forgotten land he had passed with the last few hours into a wholly new phase of consciousness he put on his fur coat turning up the a cup of cold water collar and crossing the to hide his white tie then he put his cigar case in his turned out the gas and picking up his hat and walked hack through the open doorway had prepared herself for departure and was standing before the mirror patting her curls into place her eyes were still red but she had the happy look of a child that has its grief on the floor he noticed the tattered fragments of the letter which a few hours earlier he had seen her place before the mirror shall we go down now he asked very well she assented then with a quick movement she stepped close to him and putting her hands on his shoulders lifted her face to his i believe you re the best man i ever knew | 10 |
the would say when it was given back to them she it did old she was true to it and while she lived she would never let it be disgraced by falling into the hands of those that she held in horror most and light headed this but travellers in the valley of the shadow of death are apt to be light headed and worn out old people of low estate have a of reasoning as in differently as they live and doubtless would appreciate our poor law more on an income of ten a year so keeping to and human approach this troublesome old woman hid herself and on all the dreary day yet so unlike was she to in general that sometimes as the day advanced there was a bright fire in her eyes and a quicker beating at her feeble heart as though she said the lord will see me through it t by what hands she was led along upon that journey of escape from the by what voices hushed in the she seemed to be addressed how she the dead child in her arms again and times innumerable adjusted her shawl to keep it warm what infinite variety of of tower and roof and the trees took how many furious rode at her crying th re she goes i stop stop i and melted as the came dose be these things on and hiding hiding and on the poor harmless creature as though she were a and the whole country were up after her wore out tiie day and gained the night � water meadows or such like she had sometimes murmured on ihe day s when she had raised her head and taken any note the real objects about her there now arose in the darkness a great building foil of lighted smoke waa from a nigh chimney in the rear of it and there was the sound of a at the side between her and the lay a piece of water in which the lighted windows were reflected and on its margin was a plantation of trees i thank the power and the glory said holding np her withered hands that i have come to my journey s end she among the trees to the trunk of a tree whence she see beyond some trees and branches the lighted windows both in their reality and their reflection in the water she placed her orderly little basket at her side and sank upon the herself against the tree it brought to her mind the of tne cross and she committed herself to him who died upon it her strength held out to enable her to arrange the letter in her breast so as that it could be seen that she had a paper there it had held out for this and it departed when this was done i am safe here was her last thought when i am found dead at the foot of the cross it will be by some of my own sort some of the working people who work among the lights yonder i cannot see the lighted windows now but they are there i am for all the darkness gone and a ce bending down it cannot be the lady i don t understand what you say let me wet your lips i with this brandy i hare been away to fetch it did yon think that i was long gone it is as the � ace of a woman shaded by a quantity of rich dark hair it is the earnest face of a woman who is young and but all is over with me on earth and this must be an angel have i been dead i don t understand what you say let me wet your lips again i hurried all i could and brought no one back with me lest yoa should die of the shock of strangers am i not dead i cannot understand what you say your is so low and broken that i cannot hear you do you hear me t yes do you moan yes yes i was coming from my work just now alone the path i was up with the night hands last night and i heard a groan and you lying here what did you ask what work at the paper mill where is it your oe is turned up to the sky and you can t see it it is dose by you can see my face here between you and the sky i lift you not yet mutual s not even lift your head to get it on m ana i will do it by veiy gentle degrees yon shall hardly feel it not yet paper letter this paper in your breast bless ye let me wet your lips again am i to open it to read it bless ye she reads it with surprise and looks down with a new and an added interest on the motionless oe she beside i know these names i have heard them often will you send it my dear i cannot understand you let me wet your lips again and your id there poor thing poor thing i these words through her tears what was it that you asked me wait till i bring my ear quite dose will you send it my dear will i send it to the writers is that your wish yes certainly not give it up to any one but them na as you must grow in time come to your dying hour my dear you ll not give it up to any one but them no most solemnly never to the parish with a struggle no most solemnly nor let the parish touch me nor yet so much as look at me with another struggle na faithfully a look of and triumph lights the worn old the eyes which have been darkly fixed upon | 8 |
old workings let in by a single blow whereby scores and scores of strong men were overwhelmed whose floated about for months in the dark drowned pit before their above ground get at them his speech was somewhat sullen and hesitating and what he said was interrupted by of smoke and of liquor but the of the subject was so absorbing that it needed no of eloquence it interested richard in spite of himself and solomon was not indifferent to the which the yoimg artist s attention conveyed and scarcely needed the entreaties of to persuade him to throw off his native what he forgot and had mentioned in former the landlord i and when became and obscure the other performed the part of chorus or if former had been some gifted and the latter its proprietor he not have taken a greater pride in the exhibition of its talent than did the landlord in these now he would look at richard and nod and wink as though to his special attention to what was coming and now he wave his pipe like a dumb playing slow music to e press the tremendous nature of a perhaps he was impressed by these tales � perhaps he was by a feigned admiration for s and exploits to his choice of a law not ther suited to his harry to do the justice he was by no means so as his and and would express his regrets to richard that it was so hard to get to dismiss and talk about himself it s here yon see explained he behind his hand but in a tone audible to the other tenants of the bar parlor or else he would tell yon how the of tiie pit once fell upon him so as nothing free but his head and bis left hand and yet he never lost his wits in all his agony but told the men where to saw and what to do but he don t like to boast before the then richard taking tho hint inquired of solomon whether any incident striking had ever happened to himself during his experience and solomon replied witb affected carelessness ho not as i know on nothing particular then broke in with what not when you was shut oh yes to be said as though the recollection of the circumstance had only just occurred to him there was that but it was when i was quite a boy i was not quite seventeen when was drowned the poured right in upon it and they have not got the water out of it in places lo this day it was always said that the pit was being worked too near the river but that was thou t about by those as was most concerned and it never disturbed the head of a lad uke me of com se it was in the afternoon of the th of december a date as i am not likely to forget when the thing happened two � one old man and a middle aged one � and myself were at work in a heading together when we heard a noise like thunder that s never says one the lord have mercy on ns cries the other for as i et risk was quite well known though it considered and made a jest of nothing that ever i heard was equal to that noise the waves in here during storm are a whisper to it the whole pit seemed to he roaring in npon us we all ran up tho gallery which fortunately for us had a great bred in the bone slope and down at the end of it we the water pouring in and filling all the us and then pouring in and ours it reached our feet and left ag but a very limited space in which t ie air was compressed when the noise of the hear one another we knew that the whole mine had become a lake by that time and that it would lake months to drain her if she was ever drained we knew that wo were buried alive hundreds of feet beneath the earth and yet we did not quite lose heart there was of hope supposing that the next gallery which was on a higher level than our own was not also we could be got at teu the we did not know the fact that it was more than sixty feet of solid coal and would have taken under ordinary circumstances at four weeks to dig through we only knew that if a door of escape was to open any where it must open there we kept tapping with the heels of our boots at equal intervals against this the b signal explained the landlord with ft wave of bis pipe we felt that if we were once heard and if hard work do it that our mates would save us yet and we encouraged one another as well as we could but presently the oil in our lamps gave out and we were in darkness and then our hope grew indeed we had knocked for four and twenty hours without any reply we did not cease however to discuss the possibilities of escape we knew that all was being done for us that could be done that he of the mine were well executed and that it was known exactly where we were if we were alive at all there were more than a hundred men employed in the lower workings and it was a certainty that not one of them could have escaped death the attention therefore of the would be concentrated npon those parts of the mine that might possibly be left above water on the second night of our imprisonment we heard a distinct reply to our signal the old man who was of our company began lo weep for joy he was doomed as | 25 |
it seemed to me the sleeves were short and ragged at the borders and her shawl which she took off on account of the heat was old and faded � the and dress that i ever saw a woman wear yet she was plump and looked comfortable in body and mind i imagine that she must have had a better dress at home but had come to the theatre and not going to the dress circle considered her ordinary gown good enough for the occasion the other girl seemed as young or younger than herself she was small with a particularly intelligent and pleasant face not handsome perhaps but as good or better than if it were it was with whatever sentiment chanced to be in her mind as quick and a face in its movements as i have ever seen cheerful too and of a sunny though i should think it might be a hasty temper she was dressed in a dark gown i suppose the women call it a good homely dress proper enough by v ic american note books for the fireside but a strange one to appear in at a theatre both these girls appeared to enjoy themselves very much � the large and heavy one in her own mode the smaller her by gestures pointing at the stage and with so vivid a talk of countenance that it was precisely as if she had spoken she was not a and this made the vivacity of her expression the more agreeable her companion on the other hand was so dark that i rather suspected her to have a tinge of african blood there were two men who seemed to have some connection with these girls � one an elderly gray headed personage well stricken in liquor talking loudly and foolishly but good the other a young man sober and doing his best to keep his elder friend quiet the girls seemed to give themselves no uneasiness about the matter both the men wore hats i could not make out whether either of the men were the father of the child though i was inclined to set it down as a family party as the play went on the house became crowded and warm and the poor little baby grew dark red or purple almost with the uncomfortable heat in its small body it must have been accustomed to discomfort and have concluded it to be the condition of mortal life else it never would have remained so quiet perhaps it had been with a sleeping the two young women were not of it but passed it to and fro between them each willingly putting herself to inconvenience for the sake of tending it but i feared it might die in some kind of a fit so hot by v ic american note books was the theatre so purple with heat yet strangely quiet was the child i was glad to hear it cry at last but it did not cry with any great rage and vigor as it should but in a stupid kind of way the smaller of the two girls after a little at once settled the question of by nursing her baby children must be hard to kill however the treatment the two girls and their remained till nearly the close of the play i should like well to know who they are � of what condition in life and whether as members of the class to which they belong my own judgment is that they are so throughout the evening drunken young sailors kept stumbling into and out of the boxes calling to one another from different parts of the house shouting to the and singing the burden of songs it was a scene of life in the rough may y h � a stable opposite the house ran old wooden construction low in three distinct parts the centre being the stable proper where the horses are kept and with a chamber over it for the hay on one side is the department for and carriages on the other the little office where the books are kept in the interior region of the stable everything is dim and � half outlines of sometimes the shadowy aspect of a horse generally a groom is dressing a horse at the stable door with a care and accuracy that leave no part of the animal by the and brush the horse meanwhile evidently enjoying it but sometimes when the more sensitive parts pre by ic american note books touched giving a half playful kick with his hind legs and a little if the men bestowed half as much care on their own personal cleanliness they would be all the better and men they appear to be busy men these yet have a lounging way with them as if were somehow diffused through their natures the apparent head of the establishment is a sensible thoughtful looking large and homely man past the middle age clad rather in gray stooping somewhat and without any about him there is a groom who seems to be a very comfortable kind of personage � a man of forty five or r w says he was one of his but not looking so old not to say fat with a white frock which his goodly bulk almost fills him from neck nearly to ankles on his head he wears a cloth cap of a shape his are turned up an inch or two at bottom and he wears on his feet his hair as may be seen when he takes off his cap to wipe his brow is black and in perfect preservation with not exactly a curl yet a and elastic kind of twist in it his face is fresh colored comfortable sufficiently vivid in expression not at all by his because the man possesses vigor enough to carry it off his bodily health seems perfect so indeed does his | 35 |
ocean beat against the sea wall and its awful had been music to them what did it matter thought the neighbors if the heir of the tower and the child of his foster mother found their chief pleasure in each other s society s step father george bore it is true a very indifferent character but even if he did teach the lad to a hare or kill a on its perch without the aid of a gun they were his father s and and would be his own one day there was no flaw to speak of in this reasoning only the good folks who took this philosophic view of the matter overlooked the lapse of time which brings about other changes than decay and death mr the elder whose business it was as they justly said to look after the lad did not much concern himself with matters but kept his thoughts fixed on higher things whereas mr george whose business it was to look after the girl saw nothing objectionable in the intimacy between the two young people and in fact had done his best especially of late to it s mother was a well meaning but weak woman rather afraid of her daughter who in addition to an independent fortune of two hundred pounds to come to her when of age had a very decided temper of her own and very much afraid of her husband whose arguments power ful in themselves it was whispered were sometimes hy the application of a handle or other handy weapon of persuasion the coarse of master richard s true love had therefore hitherto run smoothly enough as regarded the young lady s family but he had now received intimation of opposition on the part of his own and from an unexpected quarter it seemed to him a most as well as proceeding that sister dead as she professed to be to earthly should with any affair of the heart yet this she had done in his case and with considerable vigor on her return from the children s on that sunday afternoon she had had a long private interview witli her nephew in which she had exhibited quite for views of practical life and conduct he had done his best to block everything she said as he afterward expressed it for he knew that was out of the question but be was nevertheless out i have found out how you spent your money sir since you came to london were her first words dick s face was a picture for a moment he looked a little anxious like some gentleman of shady habits at a court who has not yet heard the particular charge upon which he has been apprehended but almost immediately he began to laugh outright you must be very clever aunt for upon my life i can t tell you how it has gone myself yon bought a gold with it for thereupon was at once the assertion that no boy in the fifth form can blush for into dick s olive ce came a very decided tinge of color i did buy her a but it was not with that money replied he with unwonted it was a very foolish reply and one which would have only occurred to a very young indeed had he been really the gentleman in trouble of whom we have spoken he would have previously been put upon his by the law itself and solemnly warned not to commit himself by any such impulsive statement poor dick thought he had found a flaw in the instead of laying himself open to a new and equally serious charge then where did you get the first money did your father you with any other sums than the head master s fee and which you it was my own money i raised it at the s on my watch and dick his guard with nothing at the end of it to his tion it was very lucky for him that sister through her relations with her poor was familiar with the system and was therefore not so shocked at this as other persons in her position would have been lady for example would have been by such a revelation of nevertheless her manner was very grave and almost stem as she replied oh you the watch that your grandmother gave you on your birthday suppose she was to ask to see it i should not tell a lie aunt here the accused made the first point in his own favor and i am afraid the court was with him that moment notwithstanding its less black than we be painted boy s so different from the and she was accustomed to meet with in the youth of another class and she did not perhaps take into account how generous treatment and a position of social superiority lead to truth except in the characters as naturally as and dependence to lying i suppose not richard yet the truth would distress her almost as much as a lie that watch must be at once i m awfully sorry aunt but i tore np the ticket tore up the ticket i what for well i ll tell you and then you ll see that it s not worth while to get the watch out i was running down stairs at my s and it somehow jumped out of my pocket and fell on the pavement of the hall it never went again except for a moment or two it was laid upon its back and so i � it for three pounds you may wonder how i got so much money on it but the fact is the man had had it once or twice before the accident � and not knowing it had now only a movement as i ve heard him call it he advanced the same sum as usual and you see i knew | 25 |
upon a sea of congenial talk they said they had not seen an educated lady for two years and pressed me to go and visit them i rode home on dr s horse after dark to find neither fire nor light in the cabin mrs c had gone back saying those english talked just like savages i couldn t understand a word they said i made a fire and a light with some fat and a of rag and came in to discuss my visit and to a k me a question concerning a matter which had roused the latent curiosity of the whole family i had told him he said that i knew no one but his woman told him that dr h and i spoke constantly of a mrs whom we both knew and disliked and who was settled as we said not far off he had never heard of her he said and he was the of the and there was a man up here from who said he was sure there was not a mrs in the district unless it was a woman who went by two names the wife and family had then come in and i felt completely i longed to tell that it was he and such as he there or anywhere a lady s life in t with narrow hearts bitter tongues and harsh judgments who were the true mrs checking lawful freedom of speech and making men for a word but i how myself from the difficulty not the rest of the evening has been spent in preparing to cross the mountains says he knows the way well and that we shall sleep tomorrow at the foot of long s peak mrs of having consented and up visions of what the family will come to when left and of among the cows and i could tell her that the eldest son and the hired man have to close the saw and go on a hunting and fishing expedition that the cows will stray and that the individual spoken respectfully of as mr will make in the hen house nameless region rocky mountains september this is indeed far removed it seems farther away from you than any place i have been to yet except the frozen top of the of it is so little by man that if one were compelled to live here in solitude one might truly say of the bears deer and which abound their is shocking to me it is the world of big game just now a heavy headed with horns fully three feet long stood and looked v the rocky at me and then quietly trotted away he was so near that i heard the grass crisp with frosty under his feet bears stripped the within a few yards of us last night now two lovely blue birds with on their heads are picking about within a stone s throw this is the great lone land until lately the hunting ground of the indians and not yet settled or traversed or likely to be so owing to the want of water a solitary hunter has built a log cabin up here which he for a few weeks for the purpose of hunting but all the region is and mostly it is a m the sun has not yet risen high enough to melt the frost and the air is clear bright and cold the stillness is profound i hear nothing but the far off mysterious roaring of a river in a deep which we spent two hours last night in trying to find the horses are lost and if i were disposed to retort upon my companions the term they invariably apply to me i should now write with bitter emphasis that man and woman have gone in search of them the scenery up here is glorious with beauty and in the elastic air fatigue has dropped off from me this is no region for and women only for a few and bear hunters at times and its freshness gives me new life i by any words give you an idea of a lady s in so from any that you or i have ever seen this is an valley of grass and flowers of and sloping and beds of dry streams and of pines placed and mountain sides the pines breaking into as they come down upon the park and the mountains breaking into of bold grey rock as they pierce the blue of the sky a single of bright green grass on which dwarf of the scarlet poison oak look like beds of slopes towards the west as if it must lead to the river which we seek deep vast all lie in purple pine clad rising into the top of storm r peak all run too and all the beauty and glory are but the frame out of which pure in its lustre as glorious a mountain as the sun red in either � the lonely ghastly imposing double summit of long s peak the of northern this is a view to which nothing needs to be added this is truly the lodge in some vast wilderness for which one often sighs when in the midst gray s peak and s peak have their but after � them au under favourable aspects long s peak stands in my memory as it does in that vast of mountains alone in imperial grandeur thb mountains of a bustle at once sordid and trivial in spite of dr johnson these monstrous do the imagination and the understanding this scenery my soul now the mountains � nay exceed � the dream of my childhood it is magnificent and the air is life giving i should like to spend some time in these higher regions but i know that this will turn out an expedition owing to the stupidity and of there is a most romantic place called | 20 |
on a little and hear him talk one of the who stood near spoke to by the pretty sister of him quickly when he saw us � as if he knew us � and presently the same came and spoke to and soon came and spoke too the one who approached us first was one of the three who drank at the table near us on the evening after the fight once in his boyhood lived near the village you left he knew and some others he was pleased to see and speak of them � it was as if they were friends at once he has a good heart put in they all say that of him he remembered everything � even old who lived to be a hundred and was bent double he asked if he lived yet it seems strange that he was once so near us and was a little lad ill used and poor he is not too proud to remember it he would be a good friend to one in trouble � � though he is rich and spoken of by the whole world so great a was convinced by the pretty sister of must be known to the entire universe that night as made ready for her bed old who had retired lay and looked at her the girl stood in the flood of brilliant white moonlight which bathed part of the bare room her round arms were lifted as she the soft dusky of her hair to which there yet clung a few stars of there was the shadow of a smile on her lips and she was humming a tune what does he want with � this said who knows said he wants something went on they don t make friends with those beneath them for nothing these fine ones they all talk of you these foolish fellows and he has heard and makes friends so that he can see you what do they say of me asked without to look up by the pretty sister of men are all fools grumbled and they think girls are fools too they say you have a pretty face and he thinks you are not one does he said with a cruel little smile let him come to morrow � to night let him begin he will begin soon enough answered you will see be sure he does not play the old game with you as he did with shook the small stray blossoms out of her hair and began to the breaking into singing in a dear voice white white is the flower let its light thee here to mj where i await thee white white is the flower sweet sweet is the heart of the rose sweet mj mouth s she stopped short and dropped her arms by x shook the small stray blossoms out of her hair c � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by the pretty sister of see she said let him want what he will let him come a thousand times and i will never speak to him in the gardens the next sunday they met him was talking to a young girl whose name was and whose brother was following in the footsteps of and the rest it was who first saw the and uttered an your brother is coming she cried with � yes with s simple face was on fire with delight but looked less gay and his step was less carelessly than it had been in the bull ring as he approached the group he looked only at but looked only at her eyes laughing is cross she said she has been asking for you she wishes to go home s eyes were fastened upon her face upon her red lips as she spoke he by the pretty sister of had heard that she was like this that she gave her glances to no man that she was prettier than the rose in bloom and as cruel as a young hawk and his heart beat as he found himself near to her since the hour he had seen her he had thought only of how he might see her again of how he might find her he had made one bold plan after another and had been forced to abandon each of them and then mere chance had thrown in his path and now the instant he approached her she was about to him he spoke a few hurried words to it was too early to go away the pleasure of the day was scarcely at its height he wished to entertain them they must not go i will go and speak to said and he went leaving the four together the two ones were somewhat abashed by the splendor of the dashing figure they gazed at it with mingled by the pretty sister of and joy to be so near it was enough without effort at conversation moved to s side a spanish lover loses little time i saw you he said at the bull fight looked over his shoulder and smiled at a passing woman who had greeted her her face and she showed her small white teeth it was as if she did not see the at all it was at the fight he persisted two weeks ago you had a red flower in your hair aa you have to y ever it was not true said to what i said of she is | 13 |
not very numerous nevertheless the assumption that the average depth of the ocean far this amount there is no ocean in which there has not been found a depth of the ocean and its meaning in nature june several thousand feet thus we know that in the ocean whose bottom is very in latitude � n did not find ground at feet captain found as much as feet in s bay the atlantic opposite the coast of the united states has been sounded in several places by the officers of the united states coast survey who have found from to feet but the of the southern seas are above all remarkable for their great depth we know that captain at the west of the cape of hope sounded feet and the same did not reach the bottom with a line of feet west of st a depth which is almost equal to the height of the peak of the chain by these facts with other considerations connected with the form of the surrounding some recent have come to the conclusion that the average depth of the atlantic must be at least two miles and a half and that of the pacific at least three miles as to the of the bottom of the ocean it is stated by some that they are even much more considerable than those of the land according to captain the great or valleys run nearly at right angles to the great mountain chains of this continent there is at the a depression to nearly the th parallel of south latitude where a ridge occurs at the th parallel there is another depression to be found degrees further south we have another ridge and it a ain and then in depth twice towards the circle it remains to consider the ocean as one of the productive agents in the economy of nature important the ocean may appear when examined from the points of view already considered they do not constitute its only or even its chief claim to our attention to consider the phenomena of nature merely in their connections with one another to look only at their useful or agreeable side is to judge the works of god from a narrow point of view and to mistake their true every object in nature exists in itself and for itself before it forms a part of any whole in other words it bears in itself the reason of its existence it is true the oak in the forest with other trees to furnish food for beasts of the field and a shelter for the birds of the it ia true a shady bower and us with its the ocean and us meaning in nature and its shade but shall we from this that things have no other part to play in nature shall we rest contented here that we have learned all the meaning of tiie pole star because it renders such signal services to the struggling the storm or because it serves as a guide to the slave in his pilgrimage towards the land of freedom no more does the ocean exist solely to serve a useful purpose and for the sake of its connection with the rest of the universe before the first ventured on its waves it washed the as now and before animals dwelt in its bosom it covered with its waters the face of this youthful sphere then as now it had a independent of its form and of its relation with the rest of the material world it was the ocean majestic and powerful as at this day to comprehend it in all its grandeur m all the extent of its influence it is not enough to study it in its present form and its actual condition we must study die ocean in its history and in its development the doctrine that the ocean is the or point of departure of all things a doctrine announced in the old and laid down as a principle in the philosophical schools of the is now by the results of in short teaches us not only that the of the with the ocean have been different at but in going back through the ages we come to an epoch when according to all appearances the solid earth did not exist and when the sur ce of our globe was entirely covered with water this was the period of chaos � a term which does not by any means imply confusion but merely the absence of separation a general containing the principles of all the elements which were to be developed and in this sense an egg is a chaos � though it contains the elements of the young chicken hereafter to be developed the materials which form the greater part of the solid land were prepared in the bosom of the waters as we trace on a the successive which we know are of we commonly arrive at a point where what are now entire countries are represented by only a few islands little by little these islands become enlarged the spaces which separate them become filled up and vast tracts of firm land appear to day where once the ocean reigned as absolute master is not the place to inquire what part has been no vn ocean and iu meaning in nature june performed by the physical agents in the history of the formation of the to do this it would be necessary to enter the department of and to discuss anew the old questions so oft n agitated by the and which at the be of this century gave rise to the celebrated between the and the leaving out of sight for a moment the agents which have built up the wc assume as a fact that from the time when the solid earth first existed it must enter into opposition with the liquid element and occasion a series of actions | 37 |
questions like this were profane x recollections op of arc and not worthy of serious notice she answered indifferently but the question brought to her mind another matter and she turned upon and said i had two rings they have been taken away from me during my you have one of them it is the gift of my brother give it back to me if not to me then i pray that it be given to the church the judges conceived the idea that maybe these rings were for the working of perhaps they could be made to do a damage where is the other ring the have it where did you get it my father and mother gave it to me describe it it is plain and simple and has and mary engraved upon it everybody could see that that was not a valuable to do devil s work with so that trail was not worth following still to make one of the judges asked if she had ever cured sick people by touching them with the ring she said no now as concerning the that were used to abide near by whereof there are many reports and traditions it is said that your surprised these creatures on a summer s night dancing under the tree called de is it not possible that your pretended saints and angels are but those j s mark twain is that in your she made no other answer have you not conversed with st and st under that tree i do not know or by the fountain near the tree yes sometimes what promises did they make you none but such as they had god s warrant for but what promises did they make that is not in your yet i will say this much they told me that the king become master of his kingdom in spite of his enemies and what else there was a pause then she said they promised to lead me to paradise if faces do really betray what is passing in men s minds a fear came upon many in that house at this time that maybe after all a chosen servant and herald of god was here being hunted to her death the interest deepened movements and ceased the stillness became almost painful have you noticed that almost from the beginning the nature of the questions asked showed that in some way or other the very often already knew his fact before he asked his question have you noticed that somehow or other the usually knew just how and where to search for s secrets that they really knew the bulk of her � a fact not suspected by her � and that they had no task before them but to trick her into exposing tho secrets x recollections op op arc do you remember the the treacherous priest tool of do j u remember that under the sacred seal of the freely and revealed to him everything concerning her history save only a few things regarding her supernatural revelations which her voices had forbidden her to tell to any one � and that the judge was a hidden listener all the time now you understand how the were able to devise that long army of questions questions whose and ingenuity and are astonishing until we come to remember s performance and recognize their source ah bishop of you are now this cruel these many years in hell f yes verily unless one has come to your help there is but one among the that would do it and it is futile to hope that that one has not already done it � of arc we will return to the court and the did they make you still another promise yes but that is not in your i will not tell it now but before three months will tell it you the judge seems to know the matter he is asking about already one gets this idea from his next question did your voices tell you that you would be before three months often showed a little flash of surprise at the good of the judges and she showed one this time i was frequently in tenor to find my mind mark twain which could not control the voices and saying they counsel her to speak boldly � a thing she would do without any suggestion from them or anybody else � but when it comes to telling her any useful thing such as how these manage to guess their way so into her affairs they are always off attending to some other business i am by nature and when such thoughts swept through my head they made me cold with fear and if there was a storm and at the time i was so ill that i could but with difficulty abide at my post and do my work answered that is not in your i do not know when i shall be set free but some who wish me out of this world will go from it before me it made some of them shiver have your voices told you that you will be delivered from this prison without a doubt they had and the judge knew it before he asked the question ask me again in three months and i will tell you she said it with such a happy look the tired prisoner and i and drooping yonder � why the floods of joy went streaming through us from crown to sole it was all that we could do to hold still and keep from making fatal exposure of our feelings she was to be set free in three months that was what she meant we saw it the voices had told her so and told her true � true to the very day � recollections of op arc may th but we know now that they had hidden from her how | 34 |
she handed to her husband one afternoon his return from the mills she sat behind the tea table in the draw l ing room now at last transformed not into mrs s vision of something lovely in seize but into a warm yet sober setting for books for scattered for deep chairs and shaded lamps in pleasant to other raised his eyes from the letter thinking as he did so how well her bright head with its flame like play of fitted into the background she had made for il still of external details he was beginning to feel a vague well being of the eye wherever her touch had passed well we must do it he said simply oh must we she murmured holding out his cup he smiled at her note of unnatural woman new york � do you really dislike it so much she tried to bring a tone of consent into her voice i shall be very glad to be with again � and that of course she reflected is the reason why mr wants us � if it is it s a good reason but how much shall you be with us af ik tree if i o m the fruit of the tree if you say so i ll arrange to get away for a month or two oh no i don t want that she said with a smile that a little but why should not come here if mr is cut off from his usual amusements i m afraid that would only make him more lonely yes i suppose so she put aside her cup resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her clasped hands in the attitude habitual to her in moments of inward debate rose and seated himself on the sofa beside her dear what is it he said drawing her hands down so that she had to turn her face to his nothing i don t know a superstition i ve been so happy here is our happiness too to be she smiled and answered by another question you don t mind doing it then hesitated shall i tell you i feel that it s a sort of ring of it may buy off the jealous gods a faint shrinking from some suggestion seemed to press her closer to him then you feel they are jealous she breathed in a half laugh i pity them if they re not yes she agreed to his tone i only had a fancy that they might overlook such a dull place as the fruit of the tree drew her to him isn t it on the contrary the ash heaps that the rag there was no it she was growing afraid of her happiness her husband s of the ring expressed her fear she seemed to herself to carry a jewel on her breast � something that out for human envy and divine pursuit she had preposterous longing to dress plainly and y subdue her voice and gestures to try to slip through fe unnoticed yet all the while she knew that her jewel ould shoot its rays through every disguise and from le depths of ancient instincts came the hope was right � that by sacrificing their precious to mr s convenience they might still the gods once pledged to her new task as usual it with it was pleasant even among joys to see her husband again frankly by mr to see bloom into at their coming and to mr exclaim in a confidential aside to his son in law it s wonderful the that wife of yours bout her the element of was the only one in which it could draw breath and to those who him in it he was prodigal of delicate the experiment in short was a complete and even s necessary weeks at rd had the merit of giving a finer to his brief the fruit of the tree of all this was thinking as she drove down fifth avenue one january afternoon to meet her husband at the grand central station she had tamed her happiness at last the quality of fear had left it and it in her heart like some wild creature subdued to human ways and as her inward bliss became more and more a quiet habit of the mind the longing to help and minister returned absorbing her more deeply in her husband s work she dismissed the carriage at the station and when his train had arrived they emerged together into the cold winter twilight and turned up avenue these walks home from the station gave them a little more time to themselves than if they had driven and there was always so much to tell on both sides this time the news was all good the work at was and on s side there was a more cheerful report of mr s health and � best of all � his promise to give them for the summer and were both anxious that the child should spend more time at that her young associations should begin to gather about and in the fact that the suggestion had come from mr himself while she and were still planning how to lead him up to it they reached the house while this triumph was still engaging them and in the doorway turned to her with a smile and of course � dear man � he believes the idea is all his there s nothing you can t make people believe you little i don t think there is she boasted falling gaily the of the tree i into his tone and then as the door opened and she entered the hall her eyes fell on a blotted envelope which lay among the letters on the table the parlour maid proffered it with a word of explanation a gentleman left it for you madam he asked to see you | 10 |
moment of her life for the decision of either raised her to a throne or condemned her to a prison cell courage madame whispered bending forward a daring heart wins i will be satisfied with one kingdom replied with apparent lightness if i win i win if i lose i lose for either future i am prepared you have indeed a brave heart i should have been a man said the princess with a fiery glance but though a woman i will rule like a king while the words were yet on her lips the door opened to admit cardinal and all arose save the princess who remained seated in absolute silence this conduct seemed to the general who could not but feel that he had acted a cowardly part at the villa and indeed but that he was afraid of would not again in london have supported the cause of his wronged sovereign for a he stood and then with a sudden decision moved forward to the chair of the princess on arriving at which he flung himself on his knees before her i entreat you madame to pardon my conduct it is hardly deserving of pardon said sternly i do not care for affection that is bought for gold madame said the general i have experienced the gratitude of princes before in the person of your late father therefore it was but right that i should make myself secure let it be so then replied the princess slowly this time the money you desire shall be paid to you before you leave this room if so will you swear to support my cause i swear it you swore before said the deep voice of the but broke your oath pardon said rising to his feet i swore to help the princess if certain were paid they were not paid so i was released from ray oath you did not keep your part of the bargain i did not keep mine and you followed me to the frontier said the princess rising in her turn yes i would have arrested you if i could have done so replied boldly a thrill of indignation ran through the assemblage and several of the placed their hands on their sword however smiled at the down with the republic boldness of the reply and held out her hand for to kiss i like boldness in an enemy she said i am not your enemy now madame said bowing but your friend and i hope you will be my subject and the of my throne replied the princess with a bland smile well the money you desire will be yours major the major bowed and led towards who opened the box beside which he was standing double the amount you asked for is there he said solemnly double the amount replied four hundred thousand yes good madame i am yours he crossed over to the princess and kissed her hand once more in doing so he could not see her face it was just as well for it was the face of a demon will you have that box taken down and delivered to three soldiers who are waiting below said to and then we can settle all farther matters yes will do that the indian vanished and returned with two of his servants the three with great difficulty owing to the weight of the metal managed to carry the box down the stairs and when the door was closed spoke once more in london now that your has performed your part of the contract i will perform mine myself and my soldiers are yours and what about i hate exclaimed fiercely he would trick me into danger and banish me from the country i am no longer a servant of the republic here is my real mistress it was an astonishing scene here was a man wh held the of in his hands coolly betraying his party for a bribe true he was d the country to his sovereign nevertheless he was selling it all the same there was neither honor nor dignity in the and as was in many ways she keenly felt the humiliation of being obliged to buy the influence of this traitor when she could she would punish him but the time was not yet ripe for such daring had the army at his back and could either make or mar her at present she had gained his support but she fully made up her mind to punish him when she was able knew perfectly well what was passing in her mind and it was for this reason that he had demanded the money could he have trusted to her gratitude he would have done so but having experienced the temper of the before he did not care about making such a experiment with his influence he could have made himself president of the republic in place of but preferred a wealthy exile to an position obtained by fraud he trusted neither nor down with the republic and as soon as he had fulfilled his promise and set her on the throne intended to place himself at once beyond the reach of her vengeance that she hated him for the he had made her suffer he knew perfectly well and now that the price of his treachery was duly paid would make himself safe from her hate meanwhile like he acted a part and to hear him making all arrangements one would have thought that he was the devoted friend of the the design for the of the queen however was due to the genius of the who now placed it before the assembly to morrow said slowly as you all know has ordered high mass to be celebrated and a te to be sung in the cathedral as a mark of gratitude for the preservation of the republic the president with his friends will be there but there | 12 |
the house was pretty and well deserved its name � the white house the tall roses that clustered over the porch being thrown into relief by rough of the most brilliant white yet the garden and were mr s glory as well they might be and there was nothing in which he had a more innocent pride � peace to a good man s memory all his pride was innocent � than in conducting a hitherto visitor over his grounds and making him in some degree aware of the advantages possessed by the inhabitants of the white house in the matter of red apples northern excellent for swan egg and early vegetables to say nothing of bushes more than mrs could use and in short a of every thing that a person retired from business could desire to possess himself or to share with his friends the garden was one of those old fashioned which hardly exist any longer except as memories of our childhood no separation between flower and kitchen garden there no monotony of enjoyment for one sense to the of another but a charming mingling of all that was pleasant to the eyes and good for food the rich flower border running along walk with its endless succession of spring � sweet and tiger lilies had its taller beauties such as moss and roses varied with apple trees the crimson of a was carried out in the lurking crimson of the neighboring beds you gathered a moss rose one moment and a bunch of the next you were in a delicious between the scent of and the of then what a high wall at one end by a summer house so lofty that after ascending its long flight of steps you could see perfectly well there was no view worth looking at what and garden seats in all directions and along one side what a hedge tall and firm and unbroken like a green wall it was near this hedge that mr was standing when sally found him he had set down the basket of on the gravel and had lifted up little in his arms to look at a bird s nest peeped and then looked at her with round blue eyes and then peeped again d ye see it he whispered yes she whispered in return putting her lips very near s face at this moment sally appeared eh eh sally what s the matter is mr come no sir an says she s sure he won t come now an she wants you to come in an tea dear heart miss you ve stained your an i shouldn t wonder if it s gone through to your frock there ll be fine work come wi me do nay nay nay we ve done no harm we ve done no harm we the wash tub all right again sally regarding the wash tub from a different point of view looked serious and hurried away with who trotted along her little head in under a large bonnet while mr followed leisurely with his full broad shoulders in rather a stooping posture and his large good natured features and white locks shaded by a broad hat mr i wonder at you said mrs in a tone of indignant � by a deep sense b of injury as her husband opened the parlor door when will you leave off people to meals an not em know the time i ll answer for t you said a word to mr as we ould tea at five o clock it s just like you nay nay answered the husband in a soothing tone there s amiss i told mr as we took tea at five s a on him he s a deal to do an to think on remember why it s struck six i the kitchen a ready it s nonsense to look for him now you may s well ring for th urn now sally s got th i th fire we may s well th urn in though he doesn t come i see the like o you mr for people an me the trouble o things down an an after all they don t come i shall to wash every one o these tea things myself for there s no sally � she d break a i ci i no time � but why will you give yourself trouble our tea things would ha done as well for mr an they re a deal to hold yes that s just your way mr you re al a wi my because i bought it myself afore i was married but let me tell you i how to choose if i didn t know how to choose a husband an where s you ve left her i the garden by herself wi her white frock on an clean be easy my dear be easy s come in wi sally she s her took off i ll be bound ah there s mr a through the gate mrs began hastily to her and the expression of her countenance for the reception of the clergyman and mr went out to meet his guest whom he greeted outside the door mr how do you do mr welcome to the white i m glad to see you sir i m glad to see you if you had heard the tone of mingled veneration and in which this greeting was uttered even without seeing the face that completely with it have no difficulty in the notes of mr s character to a fine ear that tone said as plainly as possible � whatever itself to me thomas as piety and goodness shall have my love and honor ah friends this pleasant world is a sad one too isn t it let us help one another let us help one another and it was entirely owing to this basis of character not at | 14 |
the body less than its core they knew that it meant snow and in the night the snow came who continued to live at the cottage with the warm that cheered any lonely who paused beside it awoke in the night and heard above the noises which seemed to signify that the roof had turned itself into a of all the of the d winds when she lit her lamp to get up in the morning she found that the snow had blown through a in the forming a white of the finest powder against the inside and had also come down the chimney so that it lay sole deep upon the floor on which her shoes left tracks when she moved about without the storm drove so fast as to create a snow mist in the kitchen but as yet it was too dark out of doors to see anything knew that it was impossible to go on with the and by the time she had breakfast beside the solitary little lamp arrived to tell her that they were to join the rest of the women at reed drawing in the bam till the weather changed as soon therefore as the uniform cloak of darkness without began to turn to a disordered of they blew out the lamp wrapped themselves up in their tied their round their necks and across their and started for the bam the snow had followed the birds from the basin as a white pillar of a and individual could not be seen the blast smelt of seas and white bears the snow so that it licked the land but did not on it they with bodies through the fields keeping as well as they could in the shelter of hedges which however acted as rather than the air afflicted to with the multitudes that it twisted and spun them suggesting an chaos of things but both the young women were fairly cheerful such weather on a dry is not in itself ha ha the cunning northern birds knew this was coming said depend upon t they keep just in front o t all the way from the north star your husband my dear is i make no doubt having weather all this time lord if he could only see his pretty wife now not that this the woman pays weather hurts your beauty at all � in fact it rather does it good you mustn t talk about him to me said severely well but � surely you care for n do you instead of answering with tears in her eyes faced in the direction in which she imagined south america to lie and putting up her lips blew out a passionate kiss upon the snowy wind well well i know you do but my body it is a rum life for a married couple there � i won t say another word well as for the weather it won t hurt us in the wheat bam but reed drawing is fearful hard work � worse than i can stand it because i m stout but you be than i i can t think why should have set ee at it they reached the wheat bam and entered it one end of the long structure was full of com the middle was where the reed drawing was carried on and there had already been placed in the reed press the evening before as many of wheat as would be sufficient for the women to draw from during the day why here s said it was and she came forward she had walked all the way from her mother s home on the previous afternoon and not the distance so great had been arriving however just before the snow b an and sleeping at the ale house the farmer had agreed with her mother at market to take her on if she came to day and she had been afraid to disappoint him by delay in addition to and there were two women from a neighbouring village two sisters whom with a start remembered as dark car the queen of and her the queen of diamonds � those who had tried to fight with her in the midnight quarrel at they showed no recognition of her and possibly had none for they had been under the influence of liquor on that of the d occasion and were only temporary there as here they did all kinds of men s work by preference including well sinking and without any sense of fatigue not reed drawers were they too and looked round upon the other three with some putting on their gloves all set to work in a row in front of the press an formed of two posts connected by a cross beam which the to be drawn from were laid ears outward the beam h g down by pins in the and lowered as the diminished the day hardened in colour the light coming in at the barn doors upwards from the snow instead of downwards from the sky the girls pulled handful after handful from the press but by reason of the presence of the strange women who were and not at first talk of old times as they wished to do presently they heard the muffled tread of a horse and the farmer rode up to the bam door when he had he came close to and remained looking at the side of her face she had not turned at first but his fixed attitude led her to look when she perceived that her employer was the native of from whom she had taken flight on the of his allusion to her history he waited till she had carried the drawn to the piles outside when he said so you be the woman who took my civility in such ill part be drowned if i didn t think you might be as soon | 45 |
a foot above his own so this is the said very soft is his skin and he is not so unlike the log have a care that i do not mistake thee for a monkey some twilight when i have newly changed my coat the book we be of one blood thou and i answered i take my life from thee to night my kill shall be thy kill if ever thou art hungry o all thanks little brother said though his eyes and what may so bold a hunter i ask that i may follow when next he goes abroad i kill nothing � i am too little � but i drive toward such as can use them when thou art empty come to me and see if i speak the truth i have some in these he held out his hands and if ever thou art in a trap i may pay the debt which i owe to th ee to and to good hunting to ye all my masters well said growled for had returned thanks very prettily the dropped his head lightly for a minute on s shoulder a brave heart and a courteous tongue said he they shall carry thee far through the but now go hence quickly with thy friends go and sleep for the sets and what follows it is not well that see the moon was sinking behind the hills and the of trembling huddled together s hunting on the walls and looked like ragged of things went down to the for a drink and began to put his fur in order as glided out into the of the terrace and brought his jaws together with a ringing snap that drew all the eyes upon him the moon sets he said is there yet light to see from the walls came a moan like the wind in the tree tops we see o good begins now the dance � the dance of the hunger of sit still and watch he turned twice or thrice in a big circle weaving his head from right to left then he began making and figures of eight with his body and soft that melted into squares and five sided figures and never resting never hurrying and never stopping his low humming song it grew darker and darker till at last the dragging shifting disappeared but they could hear the rustle of the scales and stood still as stone growling in their throats their neck hair and watched and wondered log said the voice of at last the book can ye stir foot or hand without my order speak without thy order we cannot stir foot or hand o good come all one pace nearer to me the lines of the swayed forward helplessly and and took one stiff step forward with them nearer and they all moved again laid his hands on and to get them away and the two great beasts started as though they had been from a dream keep thy hand on my shoulder whispered keep it there or i must go back � must go back to a ah i it is only old making circles on the dust said let us go and the three slipped off through a gap in the walls to the said when he stood under the still trees again never more will i make an ally of and he shook himself all over he knows more than we said trembling in a little time had i stayed i should have walked down his throat s hunting many will walk that road before the moon rises again said he will have good hunting � after his own fashion but what was the meaning of it all said who did not know anything of a s powers of fascination i saw no more than a big snake making foolish circles till the dark came and his nose was all sore ho ho said angrily his nose was sore on thy account as my ears and sides and and s neck and shoulders are bitten on thy account neither nor will be able to hunt with pleasure for many days it is nothing said we have the man again true but he has cost us most heavily in time which might have been spent in good hunting in wounds in hair � i am half plucked along my back � and last of all in honor for remember i who am the black was forced to call upon for protection and and i were both made stupid as little birds by the hunger dance all this man came of thy playing with the log true it is true said sorrowfully i am an evil man and my stomach is sad in me the book what says the law of the did not wish to bring into any more trouble but he could not with the law so he sorrow never stays punishment but remember he is very little i will remember but he has done mischief and blows must be dealt now hast thou anything to say nothing i did wrong and thou art wounded it is just gave him half a dozen love from a s point of view they would hardly have one of his own but for a seven year old boy they amounted to as severe a beating as you could wish to avoid when it was all over and picked himself up without a word now said jump on my back little brother and we will go home one of the beauties of law is that punishment settles all scores there is no afterward laid his head down on s back and slept so deeply that he never when he was put down by mother side in the home cave s hunting road song of the log here we go in a flung half way up to the jealous moon don t you envy | 39 |
not let so light a business as that take you away to morrow dame and i will tell you the tale to night captain � to night truly i must go the papers should be delivered by a hand � i may not leave it to an ordinary messenger now if garret � but i will ask no such service from the good man at this time of night it is a long way no no i must do my own errand there is no reason upon earth said the landlady why garret should not do it it is but a step to the fort and back i can take my and ride there in twenty minutes said by ic rob of the bowl t garret i warrant his will think the message to me then get you gone without the dame the key of the stable wife said garret if you will go master garret said and it is very obliging of do it quickly tell to look in my he will find the packet addressed to his take it and see it safely put into his s hands say to moreover that i will be at the fort before ten to night you comprehend i comprehend replied garret as his wife gate him the key of the stable and he departed from the room now captain well mistress you must know that the who in the main is a discreet man yes a discreet man � i mean some follies which of for this trading and naturally f � a man has so much to do with the world in that and the world mistress is inclined by temper to be somewhat so that they who have much to do with it learn which other folks do not now in our of caution is a virtue which we soon send to the � no matter where and thereby you may see how it is that we are more honest than other people caution and honesty do not much together but of the s wife captain ay the s wife � i shall come to her presently well as you have often seen is a shade or so jealous of that his wife who looks when she is out in her new cloak more like a brown in motion than a living woman by ic rob of the bowl yes interrupted the dame laughing and with a sun burnt top her red on her shoulders is no better i her husband who at best is but a � one of those fellows who has a fear of his wife which you know mistress truly makes both man and wife to be laughed at a husband should have his own way and follow his humor no matter whether the dame rails or not you agree with me in this mistress in part captain i am not for a husband in hi lawful walks but the wife should have an eye to his ways she may counsel him oh in reason i grant but she should not him i mean nor look too narrowly into his hours that s all now s dame has a free foot and the himself somewhat of a sulky brow well the who is a mad wag for mischief and who is withal a sure customer of the s in small wares comes to s house bringing with him master hay the at this moment the sound of horse s feet from the court yard showed that garret had set forth on his ride i am keeping you waiting said fill up another cup for yourself and and go your ways stay not for me friends or if it pleases you wait for me in the tap room i will be ready in a brief space the and the indian after another glass withdrew the continued is a handsome man � and a merry man on occasion too i had heard it whispered before � but not liking to raise a scandal upon a neighbor i kept my thoughts to that the s wife had rather a warm side for the but be that as it may there was by ic rob of the bowl the most played on the by and the together last night that ever was heard of it was thus they had a game at blind and when it fell to to be the somehow the fat was caught in his arms and so the hood next came to her well she was and there was an agreement all round that no one should speak a word ay i understand � i see it said the hostess eagerly drawing her chair nearer to the captain no you would never guess replied if you your brains from now till christmas but i can show you mistress better by the acting of the scene here get down on your knees and let me put your over your eyes what can that signify inquired the dame do it mistress � you will laugh at the explosion give me the handkerchief down dame upon your bones � it is an excellent jest and worth the learning the landlady dropped upon her knees and the captain secured the round her eyes how many fingers dame he asked holding his hand before her face never a finger can i see captain it is well now stand up � forth and away i that was the word given by the turn mistress and through the room oh you shall laugh at this dame the obedient and landlady began to through the apartment and quietly opening the door stole to the tap room where being joined by his comrades they with all speed towards the fort leaving the dame after a jest at least until they got beyond the hail of her voice by ic chapter xi pale lights on w� r� and midnight heard to moan even said the | 29 |
fingers and thumb in it exactly as it came out of her hand never mind said i must only do the best i can with if all fail i ll give him a cast of to keep the wind out of his stomach or a of oak bark to draw it in a bit but above all things think of some plan to get fin out of the scrape he s in otherwise he s a lost man you know you used to be sharp and ready and my own opinion is that it will go hard with you of you ll yet she then made a high smoke on the top of the hill after which she put her finger in her mouth and gave three and by that knew he was invited to � for this was the way that the irish long ago gave a sign to all strangers and travellers to let them know they were welcome to come and take share of whatever was going in the meantime fin was very melancholy and did not know what to do or how to act at all was an ugly customer no doubt to meet with � and moreover tne idea of the confounded cake the very heart within him what chance could he have strong and brave though he was with a man who could when put into a passion walk the country into and knock into the thing was impossible and fin knew not on what hand to turn him right or left � backward or forward � where to go he could form no guess whatsoever said he can you do nothing for me where s all your invention am i to be like a rabbit before your eyes and to have my name disgraced for ever in the sight of all my tribe and me the best man among them how am i to fight this man mountain � this huge cross between an earthquake and a � m k wc sl s� pocket that was once j legend up easy fin replied of you keep your toe in your pump talking of maybe weu give aa good as any he brings with otherwise if i don t treat him to as smart feeding he s got this many a day never trust again leave him to me and do just as l bid you tliis relieved fin very much for after all he ii great confidence in his wife knowing as he did she had got him out of many a the present however was the greatest of all b still lie began to get mil rage and was able to eat i as usual then drew the threads of different colours which she did to find out the best way of succeeding in an thing of importance she went about she them into three with three colours in putting one on her right arm one round her hear and the third round tier right ankle for then knew that nothing could fail with her that undertook having everything now prepared she sent to the neighbours and and twenty ire which she took ami into the hear of aud twenty cakes of bread and these she on this ire in the usual way setting them aside in tl cupboard according as they were done she then pi down a large pot of new milk which she made and and gave i m di r instructions how to use tiie when t should come done all this she sat down quite contented wai for his arrival on the next day about two o clock the hour at which he w is expected � for fi knew as much by the of his thumb j this was a curious ty kin s thumb but notwithstanding all the wisdom and logic he tn out it could never have here were it not for the wit of his wife in tliis � thing moreover he was very much resembled by foe for it was u huge strength possessed all lay i� a legend op of his right hand and that if he happened by any to lose it he was no more notwithstanding his bulk than a common man at length the next day he was seen coming across the valley and knew that it was time to commence operations she immediately made the cradle and desired fin to lie down in it and cover himself up with the clothes you must pass for your own child said she so just lie there snug and say nothing but be guided by me this to be sure was to fin � i mean going into the cradle in such a cowardly manner � but ne knew well and finding that he had nothing else for it with a very face he gathered himself into it and lay snug as she had desired him about two o clock as he had been expected came in god save all here said he is this where the great fin m lives t indeed it is honest man replied god save you kindly � won t you be sitting v thank you ma am says he sitting down you re mrs m i suppose i am said she and i have no reason i hope to be ashamed of my husband no said the other he has the name of being the strongest and man in ireland but for all that there s a man not far from you that s very desirous of taking a shake with him is he at home why then no she replied and if ever a man left his house in a fury he did it appears that some one told him of a big of a giant called being down at the to look for him and so he set out there to try if he could catch him i hope for the poor | 50 |
necessary just then to throw some slight into my greeting she not perhaps was flattered by my preference and begged me to give her a little instruction in riding which � heaven forgive me for it � i took upon myself to do even now i scarcely see how i could have acted otherwise i could not leave her side until had exhausted the pleasures of with his grey friend and the time had to be filled up somehow but oh the torture of seeing at a distance and knowing that only a miserable misunderstanding between our respective kept us apart feeling constrained even to avoid looking in her direction lest she should summon me to her side the horse one day as i was riding with miss she glanced at me over her sharp right shoulder and said do you know only such a uttle while ago i never even dreamed that we should ever become as intimate as we are now it seems almost incredible does it not you must not say so i replied surely there is nothing singular in my helping you a little with your riding though it struck me that it would have been very singular if i had perhaps not singular she murmured looking modestly down her nose but will you think me very if i confess that to me those lessons have developed a dawning danger you are perfectly safe on the grey i said i � i was not thinking of the grey she ned dear mr i must speak a girl has so many things to consider and i am afraid you have made me forget how and i have been of late i cannot help suspecting that you must have some motive in seeking my society in so � so marked a manner miss said i i can disguise nothing i have and you have not been merely amusing yourself all this time before heaven i cried with i have you are not one of those false men who give their the horse bridle reins a shake and ride off with adieu for � tell me you are not i might shake my bridle reins till i was tired and nothing would come of it unless was in the humour to depart so that i was able to assure her with truth that i was not at all that kind of person then why not let your heart speak there is such a thing i said gloomily as a heart that is can no word no hint of mine the she wished to know what you are silent still then mr though i may seem harsh and cruel in saying it our pleasant intercourse must end � we must ride together no more no what would say to that i was miss i said in great agitation i entreat you to those words i � i am afraid i could not undertake to accept such a dismissal surely after that you will not insist she sighed i am a weak foolish girl she said you are only too able to overcome my judgment there mr look happy again � i you may stay if you will you must believe that i felt thoroughly ashamed of myself for i could not be blind to the encouragement which though i sought to confine my words to strict truth i was innocently affording but with a horse like mine what was a man to do what would you have done yourself as soon as was prudent i the a hinted to that his confidences had lasted long enough and as he trotted away with me he remarked � i thought you were never going was he weary of the grey my heart leaped i said thickly are you strong enough to bear a great joy speak out he said and do try to keep those heels out of my ribs i cannot see you suffer i told him with a sense of my own all the time i must tell you � circumstances have come to my knowledge which lead me to believe that we have both judged wild rose too hastily i am sure that her heart is yours still she is only longing to tell you that she has never really from her it is too late now he said and the back of his head looked obstinate we have kept asunder too long no i said listen i take more interest in you than you are perhaps aware of and i have thought of a little plan for bringing you together again what if i find an opportunity to see the lady she belongs to � we h ve not met lately as you know and i do not pretend that i desire a renewal of our intimacy you like the one on the grey best i saw that long ago he said and i left him in his error in any case for your sake i will sacrifice myself i said i will begin to morrow the talking horse come you will not let your lives be wrecked by a foolish lovers quarrel he made a little half hearted opposition but finally as i knew he would consented i had gained my point i was free from miss at last that evening i met in the hall of a house in square she was going downstairs as i was making my way to the ball room and greeted me with a rather cool uttle nod you have quite deserted me lately she said smiling but i could read the reproach in her eyes you never ride with us now my throat was swelling with passionate eloquence � and i could not get any of it out no i never do was all my stupid tongue could find to say you have discovered a more congenial companion said cruel miss i said eagerly you don t know how i | 44 |
great sacrifice you made i said gently but doubtless it had its reward did she give you her hand in exchange for the no he answered we were not married until a year after that she was grateful to me but soon we quarrelled again the fact is that i took a call which she insisted was meant for her she felt that disappointment terribly indeed she has not got over it yet she cannot speak about it without crying you mean i said that you years ago deprived her of the privilege of to is it a an audience surely she would not let that prey on her mind you don t understand he replied that fame is food and drink to an artist it was months she forgave me that though she is naturally the most tender hearted creature our man stole fifty pounds from her and she would not him because she knew his sister but you see it was not money that i deprived her of � it was fame and did you win your way back into her favour i asked by letting her take a call that was meant for you no he said several times i determined to do so but when the moment came i could not make the sacrifice i spent about half my salary in presents to her but although she took them she refused to listen to any proposal of marriage by this time i had confessed my love for her well we parted and soon afterwards i got an engagement as chief o is it a in the powder monkey company which was then on tour she was playing in it fancy that woman flinging herself away on i made a big hit in my part the observer said mr james the celebrated jolly little jim created a but about miss o i asked we got on at first he said she had decided to forgive you no she was the first day but i put her up to a bit of business that used to be nightly and then she accepted my of marriage but a week after i had given her the engagement ring she returned it to me i don t blame her you admit that she had just cause of complaint against you yes no woman who was an artist could have stood it the fact is that one night i took the up side of her in our comic love is it a scene that is to say i had my face to the audience and so she was forced to turn her back to them i had no right to do it but a sort of madness came over me and i yielded to the impulse as soon as we had made our she flung the ring in my � ah she gave me back the ring and for the remainder of the tour she was not civil to me the tour ended abruptly indeed the manager owing us all a fortnight s salary and we were in without money to pay for our lodgings not to speak of our tickets back to london i my watch and sold my fur coat and shared what i got for them with her and so the engagement was resumed no no that was merely a friendly act and it was accepted as such the engagement was not resumed until i got a par about her into a sunday paper but that is the bell i ll tell you the rest after her death scene is it a iii miss o died as slowly as the management would allow her and when she had gasped her last gasp with her hair down jolly little jim that was led the tears and the cheers cried out superb by jove that woman has all the talents in a nut shell and from the in a manner that invited the rest of the audience to follow but everybody save mr and myself remained to see the comic man produce the missing will and so my little friend and i got the smoking room to ourselves the next time we were on tour together he continued after i had given the death scene a was in letters of fire with a real steam engine i was bill the returned and the age said mr who as jolly little jim made such a is it a the engagement was resumed by this time i asked i told you the par had done that however we had another during because i got the to speak i dare say that would have led to a had not had not she loved you so deeply i suggested she loved me fondly he replied but she loved fame more every true genius does no the reason she did not break with me then was that i was on in her great scene in the fourth act you see as chief i had a right to a little comic by play in that scene and if i had exercised that right i should have drawn away attention from herself thus i had the whip hand of her i am inclined to think that had i pressed the point i could have married her during the run of that piece by threatening if she delayed the wedding � to introduce comic business into her great yes but i did not and you are no doubt wondering why the fact is i thought my self denial would soften her heart and so bring about the results i was for perhaps it would have done so but unfortunately letters of fire did not draw though a great success and we had to put london on in its place in that piece the leading played up to her so well that she began to neglect me i was in despair and so not quite for my actions nevertheless you | 45 |
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