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the only one among your friends leave my friends alone she interrupted my friends are of a different stamp you have to me here and made a parade of sentiment when have i last seen you i have governed your kingdom for you in the meanwhile and there i got no help at last when i am weary with a man s work and yoa are weary of your you return to make me a scene of the and his wife i the positions prince are too much reversed and you should understand at least that i cannot at the same time do your work of government and behave myself like a little girl scandal is the atmosphere in which we live we princes it is what a prince should know you play an odious part do you believe this madam should i be here said it is what i want to know she cried the tempest of her scorn increasing suppose you di i say suppose you did believe it i should make it my business to suppose the contrary he answered i thought so o you are made of said she madam he cried roused at last enough of this you my attitude you my patience in the name of your parents in my own name i summon y u to be more is this a request man she demanded madam if i chose i night command said you might sir as the law stands make me prisoner returned short of that you will gain nothing you will continue as before he precisely as before said she as soon as this comedy is over i shall request the yon to visit me do you understand she added rising for my part i have done a romance i will then ask the favor of your hand madam said in every pulse with anger i have to request that you will visit in my society another part of my poor house and yourself it will not take long and it is the last obligation that you shall have the chance to lay me under the last she cried most joyfully she offered her hand and he took it on each side with an elaborate affectation each inwardly he led her out by the private door following where had passed they a corridor or two little frequented looking on a court until they came at last into the prince s the first room was an hung all about with the weapons of various countries and looking forth on the front terrace have you brought me here to me she inquired i have brought you madam only to pass on replied next they came io a library where an old sat half asleep he rose and bowed before the couple asking for orders you will attend us here said the next stage was a gallery of pictures where s portrait hung conspicuous dressed for the chase red roses in her hair as in the first months of had directed he pointed to it without a word she raised her eyebrows in silence and they passed still forward into a mat ted corridor where four doors opened one led to s bedroom one was the door to s and here for the first time left her handy and stepping forward shot the bolt it is long madam said he since it was bolted on the other side one was effectual returned the princess is this all shall i you he asked bowing i should prefer she asked in ringing the conduct of the von summoned the if the yon is in the palace he said bid him attend the princess here and when the official had departed can i do more to serve you madam the prince asked thank you no i have been much amused she answered i have now continued given you your liberty complete this has been for you a miserable marriage miserable said she it has been made light to you it shall be lighter still continued the prince but one things madam you must still continue to bear my father s name which is now yours i leave it in your hands let me see you since you will have no advice of mine apply the more attention of your own to bear it von ia long in coming she remarked a o he cried and that was the end of their interview she tripped to a window and looked out and a little after the announced the von who entered with something of a wild eye and changed complexion confounded as he was at this unusual summons the princess faced round from the window with a smile nothing but her heightened color spoke of was but he was otherwise master of himself von said he oblige me so far the princess to her own apartment the baron still all at sea offered his hand which was accepted and the pair sailed forth through the picture gallery as soon as they were gone and knew the length and breadth of his and how he had done the contrary of all that he intended he stood a so complete and sweeping was even to himself and he laughed aloud in his wrath upon this mood there followed the violence of remorse and to that again as he recalled his provocation anger succeeded afresh so he was tossed in spirit now and lack of temper now flaming up in white hot indignation and a noble pity for himself he paced his apartment like a there was danger in for a flash like a pistol he kill at one moment and the next he might be prince kicked aside but just then as he walked the long floors in his alternate tearing his handkerchief between his hands he was strung to his top note every nerve the pistol you might say was charged and when jealousy from	38
time to time fetched him a lash across the tenderest of his feeling and sent a string of her fire pictures glancing before his mind s eye the of his face was even dangerous he disregarded jealousy s inventions yet they stung in this height of his anger he still preserved his faith in s innocence but the thought of her possible was the bitterest in his pot of sorrow there came a knock at the door and the brought him a note he took it and ground it in his hand continuing his march continuing his bewildered thoughts and some minutes had gone by before the circumstance came clearly to his mind then he paused and opened it it was a pencil scratch from thus conceived the council is privately summoned at once g v h if the council was thus called before the hour and that privately it was plain they feared his interference feared here was a sweet thought too who had always used and regarded him as a mere pleasant lad had now been at the pains to warn him looked for a romance something at his hands well none should be disappointed the prince too long by the lover should now return and shine he summoned his repaired the disorder of his appearance with elaborate care and then curled and scented and adorned prince charming in every line but with a he set forth for the council j chapter vn the prince the council it was as wrote the of sir john s uneasy narrative last of all the scene between and the prince had decided the to take a step of bold timidity there had been a period of bustle messengers here and notes and at half past ten in the morning about an hour before its usual hour the council of i sat around the board it was not a large body at the instance of it had undergone a strict and was now composed exclusively of tools three sat at a side table took the head on her right was the baron on her left below these the count a couple of non and to the surprise of all he had been named a by merely that he might profit by the salary and as he was never known to attend a meeting it had occurred to nobody to his appointment his present appearance was the more ominous coming when it did upon him and the a on his right this black look edged away from one who was so clearly out of favor the hour presses said the baron may we proceed to business at once replied your will pardon me said but you are still perhaps with the fact that prince has returned the prince will not attend the council replied with a momentary blush the there is one for a secretary brought a paper here madam said shall i read it we are all familiar with its terms replied your said it may then be held as read the baron will your sign the princess did so and one of the non followed suit and the paper was then passed across the table to the he proceeded leisurely to read we have no time to doctor cried the baron if you do not choose to sign on the authority of your sovereign pass it on or yon may leave the table he added his temper out i decline your invitation von prince mark and my as j continue to observe with regret is still absent from the board replied the doctor calmly and he resumed the perusal of the paper the rest and exchanging glances madam and gentlemen he said at last what i hold in my hand is simply a declaration of war simply said flashing defiance the sovereign of this country is under the same roof with us continued and i insist he shall be summoned it is needless to my reasons you are all ashamed at heart of this projected treachery the council waved like a sea there were various you insult the princess thundered t maintain ray protest replied at the height of this confusion the door was thrown open an announced gentlemen the prince i and with his most excellent bearing entered the apartment it was like oil upon the troubled waters every one settled instantly into his place and to give himself a countenance became absorbed in the an of his papers but in their eagerness to one and all neglected to rise gentlemen said the prince pausing they all got to their feet in a moment and this reproof still further the weaker brethren the prince moved slowly towards the lower end a of the table then he paused again and fixed his eye on how comes it he asked that i have received no notice of the change of hour your replied the her the princess and there paused i understood said taking him up that you did not propose to be present their eyes met for a second and s fell but her anger only burned the brighter for that private shame and now gentlemen said taking his chair i pray you to be seated i have been absent there are doubtless some but ere we proceed to business you will direct four thousand crowns to be sent to me at once make a note if you please he added as the still started in wonder four thousand crowns asked pray for what madam returned smiling for my own purposes spun ed up underneath the table if your will indicate the destination began the you are not here sir to your prince said looked for help to his commander and came to his aid in and measured tones may be he said and i am convinced he is clear of the intention of offending would have done better to begin with an explanation the resources of the state are	38
at the present moment entirely swallowed up or as we hope to prove wisely invested in a month from now i do not question we shall be able to meet any command your may lay upon us but at this hour i fear that even in so small a matter he most prepare himself for disappointment our zeal is no less although our power may be inadequate how much have we in the treasury asked your protested the we have immediate need of every crown i think sir you me flashed the prince and then turning to the side table mr secretary he added bring me if you please the became deadly pale the expecting his own turn was probably engaged in prayer was watching like a ponderous cat on his part looked on wonder at his cousin he was certainly showing spirit but what in such a time of gravity was all this talk of money and why should he waste his strength upon a personal issue i find said with his finger on the that we have crowns in case that is exact your replied the baron a but all of which are happily not liquid amount to a far larger sum and at the present point of time it would be morally impossible to a single essentially the case is empty we have already presented a large note for material of war material of war exclaimed with an excellent assumption of surprise but if my memory serves me right we settled these accounts in january there have been further orders the baron explained a new park of has been completed five hundred stand of arms seven hundred baggage the details are in a special mr secretary the if you please one would think gentlemen that we were going to war said we are said war cried the prince and gentlemen with whom the peace of has endured for centuries what what insult have we suffered here your said i the it was in the very article of signature when your so entered laid the paper before him as he read his fingers played upon the table was it proposed he inquired to send this paper forth without a knowledge of my pleasure one of the non eager to trim prince an answer the doctor von had just entered his he added give me the rest of this correspondence said the prince it was handed to him and he read it patiently from end to end while the sat foolishly enough looking before them on the table the in the background were exchanging glances of delight a row at the council was for them a rare and welcome feature gentlemen said when he had finished i have read with pain this claim upon is unjust it has not a not a show of justice there is not in all this ground enough for after dinner talk and you propose to force it as a certainly your returned too wise to defend the the claim on is simply a pretext it is well said the prince take your pen the council he began to j withhold all notice of my he said in and addressing himself more directly to his wife and i say nothing of the strange by which this business has been past my knowledge i am content to be in the council he resumed on a further examination of the facts and enlightened by the note in the last despatch from have the pleasure to announce that they are entirely at one both as to fact and sentiment with the grand du court of you have it upon these lines sir you will draw up the despatch a romance if your will allow me said the baron your is so imperfectly acquainted with the internal history of this correspondence that any interference will be merely such a paper as your would be to the whole previous policy of the policy of cried the prince one would suppose you had no sense of humor would you fish in a coffee cup with deference your returned the baron even in a coffee cup there may be poison the purpose of this war is not simply still less is it a war of glory for as your the state of is too small to be ambitious but the body is seriously many ideas are abroad circle within circle a really formidable organization has grown ip about your s throne i have heard of it von put in the prince but i have reason to be aware that yours is the more information i am honored by this expression of my prince s confidence returned it is therefore with a single eye to these that our present external policy has been shaped something was required to divert public attention to employ the idle to your s rule and if it were possible to enable him to reduce the taxes at a blow and to a notable amount the proposed expedition for it cannot without hy prince be called a seemed to the council to combine the various characters required a marked improvement in the public sentiment has followed even upon our preparations and i cannot doubt that when success shall follow the effect will even our hopes you are very von said you fill me with admiration i had not heretofore done justice to your qualities looked up with joy supposing conquered but still waited armed at every point he knew how very stubborn is the revolt of a weak character and the army scheme to which i was persuaded to consent was it secretly directed to the same end the prince asked i still believe the effect to have been good replied the baron discipline and mounting guard are excellent but i will to your i was unaware at the date of that decree of the magnitude of the	38
movement nor did any of us i think imagine that such a army was a part of the republican proposals it was asked strange upon what fancied grounds the grounds were indeed fanciful returned the baron it was conceived among the leaders that a army drawn from and returning to the people would in the event of any popular prove or to the throne a i see said the prince i begin to understand his begins to understand repeated with the sweetest politeness may i beg of him to complete the phrase the history of the revolution replied and now he added what do you conclude i conclude your with a simple reflection said the baron accepting the without a quiver the war is were the contradicted to morrow a considerable disappointment would be felt in many classes and in the present of spirits the most sentiment may be enough to events there lies the danger the revolution hangs imminent we sit at this council board below the sword of we must then lay our heads together said the prince and devise some honorable means of safety up to this moment since the note of opposition fell from the had uttered about twenty words with a somewhat heightened color her eyes generally lowered her foot sometimes nervously tapping on the floor she had kept her own counsel and commanded her anger like a hero but at this stage of the engagement she lost control of her impatience means she cried they have been found and prepared before you knew the need for them sign the despatch and let us be done with this delay prince madam i said honorable returned bowing this war is in my eyes and by von s account an expedient if we have here in are the people of to and pay for our never madam not while i live but i attach so much importance to all that i have heard to day for the first time and why only today i do not even stop to ask that i am eager to find some plan that i can follow with credit to myself and should you fail she asked should i fail i will then meet the blow half way replied the prince on the first open discontent i shall the states and when it pleases them to bid me laughed angrily this is the man for whom we have been laboring she cried we tell him of change he will devise the means he says and his device is sir have you no shame to come here at the hour among those who have borne the heat and of the day do you not wonder at yourself i sir was here in my place striving to your dignity alone i took counsel with the wisest i could find while you were eating and hunting i have laid my plans with foresight they were ripe for action and then she choked then you return for a to ruin all to morrow you will be once more about your pleasures you will give us leave once more to think and work for you and a romance again you will come back and again you will what you had not the industry or knowledge to conceive oh it is intolerable be modest sir do not presume upon the rank you cannot i would not issue my commands with so much it is from no merit in yourself they are obeyed what are you what have you to do in this grave council go she cried go among your equals the very people in the streets mock at you for a prince at this surprising outburst the whole council sat aghast madam said the baron alarmed out of his caution command yourself address yourself to me sir cried the prince i will not bear these burst into tears sir cried the baron rising this lady von said the prince one more observation and i place you under arrest your is the master replied bowing bear it in mind more constantly said bring all the papers to my cabinet gentlemen the council is dissolved and he bowed and left the apartment followed by and the just at the moment when the princess s ladies summoned in all haste entered by another door to help her forth prince chapter viii thb of action half an after was once more with where is he now she asked on his arrival madam he is with the replied the baron wonder of wonders he is at work ah she said he was born to torture me oh what a fall what a humiliation such a scheme to wreck upon so small a trifle but now all is lost madam said nothing is lost something on the other hand is found you have found your senses you see him as he is see him as you see everything where your too good heart is not in question with the with the s eye so long as he had a right to interfere the empire that may be was still distant i have not entered on this course without the plain foresight of its dangers and even for this i was prepared but madam i knew two things i knew that you were born to command that i was bom to serve i knew that by a rare a romance the hand had found the tool and from the first i was confident as i am confident to day that no hereditary has the power to that alliance i bom to command she said do you forget my tears madam they were the tears of alexander cried the baron they touched they thrilled me i forgot myself a moment even i but do you suppose that i had not remarked that i had not admired your previous bearing your great self	38
command ay that was he paused it was a thing to see i drank confidence i tried to imitate your calm and i was well inspired in my heart i think that i was well inspired that any man within the reach of argument had been convinced but it was not to be nor madam do i regret the failure let us be open let me disclose my heart i have loved two things not and my sovereign here he kissed her hand either i must resign my leave the land of my and the queen whom i had chosen to obey or he paused again alas von there is no or said nay madam give me time he replied when first i saw you you were still young not every man would have remarked your powers but i had not been twice honored b r your conversation ere i had found my mistress i have madam i believe prince some genius and i have much ambition but the genius is of the serving kind and to offer a career to my ambition i had to find one born to rule this is the base and essence of our union each had need of the other each recognized master and servant and the of his marriages they say are made in heaven how much more these pure laborious intellectual born to found nor is this all we found each other ripe filled with great ideas that took shape and with every word we grew together ay madam in mind we grew together like twin children all of my life until we met was petty and groping was it not i will flatter myself openly it was the same with you not till then had you those eagle that wide and hopeful sweep of thus we had formed ourselves and we were ready it is true she cried i feel it is the genius your generosity your insight all i could offer you was the position was this throne to be a but i offered it without reserve i entered at least warmly into all your thoughts you were sure of me sure of my support certain of justice tell me tell me again that i have helped you nay madam he said you made me in everything you were my inspiration and as we prepared our policy weighing every step how often have i had to admire your your man a romance like diligence and fortitude you know that these are not the words of flattery your conscience echoes them have you spared a day have you indulged yourself in any pleasure young and beautiful you have lived a life of high intellectual effort of irksome intellectual patience with details well you have your reward with the fall of the throne of your empire is founded what thought have you in your mind she asked is not all ruined nay my princess the same thought is in both our minds he said von she replied by all that hold sacred i have none i do not think at all i am crushed you are looking at the passionate side of a rich nature misunderstood and recently insulted said the baron look into your intellect and tell me i find nothing nothing but tumult she replied you find one word madam returned the baron oh she cried the coward he leaves me to bear all and in the hour of trial he me from behind there is nothing in him not respect not love not courage his wife his dignity his throne the honor of his he forgets them all i yes pursued the baron the word perceive a glimmering there prince i read fancy she returned it is mere madness madness baron i am more than he you know it they can excuse they can love his weakness but me they hate such is the gratitude of said the baron but we trifle here madam are my plain thoughts the man who in the hour of danger speaks of is for me a animal i speak with the of gravity madam this is no hour for the coward in a state of authority is more dangerous than fire we dwell on a if this man can have his way before a week will have been with innocent blood you know the truth of what i say we have looked into this ever possible catastrophe to him it is nothing he will just god and this unhappy country committed to his charge and the lives of men and the honor of women his voice appeared to fail him in an instant he had conquered his emotion and resumed but you madam conceive more of your i am with you in the thought and in the face of the horrors that i see impending i say and your heart it we have gone too far to pause honor duty ay and the care of our own lives demand we should proceed she was looking at her brow thoughtfully i feel it she said but how he has the power the power madam the power is in the army a he replied and then hastily ere she could we have to save ourselves he went on i have to save my princess she has to save her minister we have both of us to save this youth from his own madness he in the outbreak would be the earliest victim i see him he cried torn in pieces and unhappy nay madam you who have the power must use it it lies hard upon your conscience show me how she cried suppose i were to place him under some the revolution would break upon us instantly the baron feigned defeat it is true he said you see more clearly than i do yet there should there must be some way and he waited for	38
his chance no she said i told you from the first there is no remedy our hopes are lost lost by one miserable ignorant fitful who will have disappeared to morrow who knows to his pleasures any would do for the thing he cried striking his brow fool not to have thought of it madam without perhaps knowing it you have solved our problem what do you mean speak i she said he appeared to collect himself and then with a smile the prince he said must go once more a hunting ay if he would cried she and stay there i prince and stay there echoed the baron it was so significantly said that her face changed and the fearful of the sinister of his expressions hastened to explain this time he shall go hunting in a carriage with a good t of our m his destination shall be the it is healthy the rock is high the windows are small and barred it might have been built on purpose we shall the to the he at least will have no scruple who will miss the sovereign he is gone hunting he came home on tuesday on thursday he returned all is usual in that meanwhile the war proceeds our prince will soon weary of his solitude and about the time of our triumph or if he prove very obstinate a little later he shall be released upon a proper understanding and i see him once more directing his sat gloomy plunged in thought yes she said and the despatch he is now writing it it cannot pass the council before friday replied and as for any private note the messengers are all at my disposal they are picked men madam i am a person of precaution it would appear so she said with a flash of her occasional to the man and then after a pause von she added i from this extremity i share your answered a he but what would you have we are else i see it but this is sudden it is a public crime she said nodding at him with a sort of horror look but a little deeper he returned and whose is the crime his she cried his before god i and i hold him liable but still it is not as if he would be submitted i know it she replied but it was still and then as brave men are entitled by right as old as the world s history to the alliance and the active help of fortune the punctual goddess stepped down from the machine one of the princess s ladies begged to enter a man it appeared had brought a line for the von it proved to be a pencil which the had found the means to and despatch under the very guns of and the daring of the act bore testimony to the terror of the actor for had but one influential motive fear the note ran thus at the first council to be withdrawn com so after three years of exercise the right of signature was to be from it was more than an insult it was a public disgrace and she did not pause to consider how she had earned it but morally bounded under the attack as bounds the wounded tiger prince enough she said i will sign the order when shall he leave it will take me twelve hours to collect my men and it had best be done at night to morrow midnight if you please answered the baron excellent she said my door is always open to you baron as soon as the order is prepared bring it me to sign madam he said alone of all of us yon do not risk your head in this adventure for that reason and to prevent all hesitation i venture to propose the order should be in your hand throughout you are right she replied he laid a form before her and she wrote the order in a clear hand and re read it suddenly a cruel smile came on her face i had forgotten his said she they will keep each other company and she and the condemnation of doctor your has more memory than your servant said the baron and then he in his turn carefully the paper said he you will appear in the drawing room baron she asked i thought it better said he to avoid the possibility of a public anything that shook my credit might us in the immediate future you are right she said and she held out her hand as to an old friend and equal a romance chapter ix thb of thb in which goes before a fall the pistol had been practically fired under ordinary circumstances the scene at the table have entirely exhausted s store both of energy and anger he would have begun to examine and condemn his conduct have remembered all that was true forgotten all that was unjust in s and by half an hour after would have fallen into that state of mind in which a catholic to the and a takes refuge with the bottle two matters of detail preserved his spirits for first he had still an of business to and to business for a man of s and habits is the best for conscience all the afternoon he was hard at it with the reading and papers and this kept him in a glow of self approval but secondly his vanity was still alarmed he had failed to get the money to morrow before noon he would have to disappoint old and in the eyes of that family which counted him so little and to which he had to play the part of the heroic he must sink lower than at first to a man of s temper this was death he could not accept the situation and even as he	38
to the funds of my own country by a it is not dignified but it is fun fun she said yes and then she remained silently plunged in thought for an time how much do you require she asked at length three thousand crowns will do he answered for i have still some money of my own excellent she said her levity i am your true and where are we to meet you know the flying he answered in the park three there they have made a seat and raised the statue the spot is handy and the deity congenial child she said and tapped him with her fan a but do you know my prince you are aa your handy place is miles from me you must give me ample time i cannot i think possibly be there before two but as the bell beats two your shall arrive welcome i trust stay do you bring any one she added o it is not for a i am not a i shall bring a groom of mine said i caught him stealing corn hia name she asked i profess i know not i am not yet intimate with my com returned the prince it was in a professional capacity like me she cried but oblige me in one thing let me find you waiting at the seat yes you shall await me for on this expedition it shall be no longer prince and it shall be the lady and the squire and your friend the thief shall be no nearer than the fountain do you promise madam in everything you are to command you shall be captain i am but answered well heaven bring all safe to port i she said it is not friday something in her manner bad puzzled had possibly touched him with suspicion is it not strange he remarked that i should choose my from the other camp fool she said but it is your only wisdom that you know your friends and suddenly in the of the deep window she caught np his hand and kissed it with a sort of passion now go she added go at once he went somewhat staggered doubting in his heart that he was for in that moment she had flashed upon him like a jewel and even through the strong of a previous love he had been conscious of a shock next moment he had dismissed the fear both an the retired early from the drawing room and the prince after an elaborate dismissed his and went forth by the private passage and the back in quest of the groom once more the stable was in darkness once more employed the knock and once more the groom appeared and with terror good evening friend said pleasantly i want you to bring a corn sack empty this time and to accompany me we shall be gone all night your groaned the man i have the charge of the small stables i am here alone come said the prince you are no such in duty and then seeing that the man was shaking from head to foot laid a hand upon his shoulder if i meant you harm he said should i be here the fellow became instantly reassured he got the sack and led him round by several paths and avenues conversing pleasantly by the way and a romance left him at last planted by a certain fountain where a eyed into a rippling thence he proceeded alone to where in a round clearing a copy of s stood in the twilight of the stars the night was warm and a of new moon had lately arisen but it was still too small and too low down in heaven to contend with the immense host of lesser and the rough face of the earth was with down one of the which as it he could see a part of the terrace where a silently paced and beyond that a corner of the town with street lights but all around him the young trees stood in the dim shine and in the stock still the god appeared alive in this and silence of the night s conscience became suddenly and like the dial of a city clock he averted the eyes of his mind but the finger rapidly travelling pointed to a series of that took his breath away what was he doing in that place the money had been but that was largely by his own neglect and he now proposed to the of this country which he had been too idle to govern and he now proposed to the money once again and this time for a private if a generous end and the man whom he had for stealing com he was now to set stealing treasure and then there waa madame von npon whom he looked down with some of that ill favored contempt of the male for the imperfect woman because he thought of her as one degraded below scruples he had picked her out to be still more degraded and to risk her whole irregular establishment in life by in this act it was than a had to walk very briskly and whistle very busily and when at last he heard steps in the and darkest of the it was with a of relief that he sprang to meet the to alone with one s good angel is so hard and so precious at the proper time is a companion certain to be less virtuous than it was a young man who came towards him a young man of small stature and a peculiar gait wearing a wide flapping hat and carrying with great weariness a heavy bag but the young man held up his hand by way of signal and coming up with a panting run as if with the last of his endurance laid	38
the bag upon the ground threw himself upon the bench and disclosed the features of madame von you cried the prince no no she panted the count von my young brother a capital fellow let him get his breath ah madam said he call me count she returned respect my a count be it then he replied and let me that gallant gentleman to set forth at once on our enterprise sit down beside me here she returned patting the further corner of the bench i will follow you in a moment o i am so tired feel how my heart leaps where is your thief at his post replied shall i introduce him he seems an excellent companion no she said do not me yet i must speak to you not but i your thief i any one who has the spirit to do wrong i never cared for virtue till i fell in love with my prince she laughed and even so it is not for your virtues she added was embarrassed and now he asked if you are anyway rested presently presently let me breathe she said panting a little harder than before and what has so wearied you he asked this bag and why in the name of a bag for an empty one you might have relied on my own foresight and this one is very far from being empty my dear count with what have you come laden but the shortest method is to see for myself and he put down his hand she stopped him at once she said no not that way i will tell i will make a clean breast it is done already i have robbed the treasury handed there are three thousand two hundred crowns o i trust it is enough prince her embarrassment was so obvious that the prince was struck into a muse gazing in her face with his hand still outstretched and she still holding him by the wrist you he said at last how and then drawing himself up o madam he cried i you must indeed think of the prince well then it was a lie she cried the money is mine honestly my own now yours this was an unworthy act that you proposed but i love your honor and i swore to myself that i should save it in your teeth i beg of you to let me save it with a sudden lovely change of tone i you let me save it take this from your poor friend who loves you madam madam in the extreme of misery i cannot i must go and he half rose but she was on the ground before him in an instant clasping his knees no she gasped you shall not go do you despise me so entirely it is i hate it i should it at play and be no richer it is an it is to save me from ruin she cried as he again feebly tried to put her from him if you leave me alone in this disgrace i will die here he groaned aloud o she said think what i suffer if you suffer from a piece of delicacy think what i suffer in my shame to have my refused you would rather steal you think of me so you would rather tread my heart in pieces o unkind o ray a prince o o pity me i she was still clasping him then she found his hand and covered it with kisses and at this his head began to turn o she cried again i see it o what a horror i it is because i am old because i am no longer beautiful and she burst into a storm of sobs this was the de had now to comfort and compose her as he could and before many words the money was accepted between the woman and the weak man such was the inevitable end madame von instantly composed her sobs she thanked him with a fluttering voice and resumed her place upon the bench at the far end from now you she said why i bade you keep the thief at distance and why i came alone how i trembled for my treasure madam said with a tearful in his voice spare me you are too good too noble i i wonder to hear you she returned you have avoided a great folly you will be able to meet your good old peasant you have found an excellent for a friend s money you have preferred essential kindness to an empty scruple and now you are ashamed of it you have made your friend happy and now you mourn as the dove come cheer up i know it is to have done exactly right but you need not make a practice of it forgive yourself this virtue come now look me in the face and smile he did look at her when a man has been em by a woman he sees her in a and at a time in the glimmer of the stars she will look wildly well the hair is touched with light the eyes are the face in shadows a sketch you might say by passion became consoled for his defeat he began to take an interest no he said i am no tou promised me fun she returned with a laugh i have given you as good we haye had a stormy he laughed in his turn and the sound of the laughter in either case was hardly come what are you going to give me in exchange she continued for my excellent what you will he said whatever i will upon your honor suppose i asked the crown she was flashing upon him beautiful in triumph upon my honor he replied shall i ask the crown she continued nay what should i do with	38
it is but a petty state my ambition above it i shall ask i find i want nothing she concluded i will give you something instead i will give you leave to kiss me once drew near and she put up her face they were both smiling both on the brink of laughter all was so innocent and playful and the prince when their lips encountered was by the sudden of his being both drew a instantly apart and for an time sat tongue tied was conscious of a peril in the silence but could find no word to utter suddenly the seemed to awake as for your wife she began in a clear and steady voice the word recalled with a shudder from his trance i will hear nothing against my wife he cried wildly and then recovering himself and in a tone i will tell you my one secret he added i love my wife you should have let me finish she returned smiling do you suppose i did not mention her on purpose you know you had lost your head well so had i come now do not be abashed by words she added somewhat sharply it is the one thing i despise if you are not a fool you will see that i am building about your virtue and at any rate i choose that you shall understand that i am not dying of love for you it is a very smiling business no tragedy for me and now here is what i have to say about your wife she is not and she never has been s be sure he would have boasted if she had and in a moment she was gone down the alley and was alone with the bag of money and the flying god chapter x s opinion and the fall completed the left poor with a caress and simultaneously administered the welcome word about his wife and the virtuous ending of his interview should doubtless have delighted him but for all that as he shouldered the bag of money and set forward to his groom he was conscious of many aching to have gone wrong and to have been set right makes but a double trial for man s vanity the discovery of his own weakness and possible had staggered him to the heart and to hear in the same hour of his wife s fidelity from one who loved her not increased the bitterness of the surprise he was about between the fountain and the flying before his thoughts began to be clear and he was surprised to find them he paused in a kind of temper and struck with his hand a little thence there arose instantly a cloud of awakened which as instantly dispersed and disappeared into the thicket he looked at them and when a they were gone continued staring at the stars i am angry by what right by none i he thought but he was still angry he cursed madame von and instantly repented heavy was the money on his shoulders when he reached the fountain he did out of and parade an act he gave the money bodily to the groom keep this for me he said until i call for it to morrow it is a great sum and by that you will judge that i have not condemned you and he strode away as if he had done something generous it was a desperate stroke to re enter at the point of the into his self esteem and like all such it was fruitless in the end he got to bed with the devil it appeared kicked and tumbled till the gray of the morning and then fell into a leaden slumber and awoke to find it ten to miss the appointment with old after all had been too tragic a and he hurried with all bis might found the groom for a wonder faithful to his trust and arrived only a few minutes before noon in the guest chamber of the morning star was there in his sunday s best and looking very gaunt and rigid a lawyer from stood over his papers and the groom and the landlord of the inn were called to serve as witnesses the obvious deference of that great man the plainly affected the old farmer with surprise but it was not until had taken the pen and signed that the truth flashed prince upon him then indeed he was beside himself his i he cried his i and repeated the exclamation till his mind had fairly with the facts then he tamed to the witnesses gentlemen he said a dwell in a country highly favored by god for of all generous gentlemen i will say it on my conscience this one is the king i am an old man and i have seen good and bad and the year of the great famine but a more excellent gentleman no never we know that cried the landlord we know that well in if we saw more of his we should be better pleased it is the kindest prince began the groom and suddenly closed his mouth upon a sob so that every one turned to gaze upon his emotion not last struck with remorse to see the man so grateful then it was the lawyer s turn to pay a compliment i do not know what providence may hold in store lie said but this day should be a bright one in the annals of your reign the shouts of armies not be more eloquent than the emotion on these honest faces and the lawyer bowed stepped back and took snuff with the air of a man who has found and seized an opportunity well young gentleman said if you will pardon me the of calling you a gentleman many a good day s work you have d ne i a romance not	38
but never a better or one that will be better blessed and whatever sir may be your happiness and triumph in that high sphere to which you have been called it will be none the worse sir for an old man s blessing i the scene had almost assumed the proportions of an and when the prince escaped he had but one thought to go wherever he was most sure of praise his conduct at the board of council occurred to him as a fair chapter and this the memory of to he would go was in the library as usual and laid down his pen a little angrily on s entrance well he said here you are well returned we made a revolution believe it is what i fear returned the doctor how said fear fear is the burnt child i have learned my strength and the weakness of others and now i mean to govern said nothing but he looked down and smoothed his chin you cried you are a on the contrary replied the doctor my observation has confirmed my fears it will not do not do what will not do demanded the prince with a sickening of pain none of it answered you are un prince fitted for a life of action you lack the the habit the restraint the patience your wife is greatly better vastly better and though she is in bad hands a very different she is a woman of affairs you are dear boy you are yourself i bid you back to your amusements like a smiling i give you holidays for life yes he continued there is a day appointed for all when they shall turn again upon their own philosophy i had grown to in all and if in the of the there were two i in more than all the rest they were politics and morals i had a kindness for your vices as they were negative they flattered my philosophy and i called them almost virtues well i was wrong i have my il philosophy and i perceive your faults to be you are unfit to be a prince unfit to be a husband and i give you my word i would rather see a man doing evil than about good was still silent in extreme presently the doctor resumed i will take the smaller matter first your conduct to your wife you went i hear and had an explanation that may have been right or wrong i know not at least you had stirred her temper at the council she you well you insult her back a man to a woman a husband to his wife in public next upon the back of this you propose the story runs like to recall the power of signature can a romance she ever forgive that a woman a young woman ambitious conscious of talents beyond yours never and to sum all at such a crisis in your married life you get into a window corner with that dame von i do not dream that there was any harm but i do say it was an idle to your wife why man the an is not decent said i will hear no evil of the you will certainly hear no good of her returned and if you wish your wife to be the pink of you should clear your court of the commonplace injustice of a cried the partiality of sex she is a what then is were she a man it would be all one retorted roughly when i see a man come to years of wisdom who speaks in double and is the of his vices i spit on the other side you my friend say i are not even a gentleman well she s not even a lady she is the best friend i have and i choose that she shall be respected said if she is your friend so much the worse replied the doctor it will not stop there ah cried there is the charity of virtue i all evil in the spotted fruit but i can tell you sir that you do madame von prodigal injustice lee prince you can tell me said the doctor have you tried have you been riding the the blood came into s face ah cried look at your wife and blush i there s a wife for a man to marry and then lose i she s a the soul is in her eyes you have changed your note for i perceive said changed it cried the doctor with a flush why when was it different but i own i admired her at the council when she sat there silent tapping with her foot i admired her as i might a were i one of those who venture upon matrimony there had been the prize to tempt me she as invited the is hard the natives are i believe them cruel but the metropolis is paved with gold and the breeze blows out of paradise yes i could desire to be that conqueror but to with von never senses i them what are they curiosity reach me my to whom do you address yourself cried surely you of all men know that i love my wife i o love cried love is a great word it is in all the if you had loved she would have paid you back what does she ask a little i a it ib hard to love for two replied the prince hard why there s the o i know my poets cried the doctor we are but dust and fire too arid to endure life s and love like the shadow of a great rock should lend shelter and refreshment not to the lover only but to his mistress and to the children that reward them and their very friends should	38
minister his affairs and pleasures this distance which was enough for decency by the easy of the swiftly traversed opened a little door with a key mounted a flight of stairs and entered into s study it was a large and very high apartment books all about the walls papers on the table papers on the floor here and there a picture somewhat scant of a great fire glowing and flaming in the blue hearth and the daylight streaming through a above in the midst of this sat the great baron in his shirt prince sleeves bis business for tbat day fairly at an end and tbe arrived for his expression bis very nature seemed to undergone a at appeared tbe very of on duty he bad an air of massive tbat well became bim and sat upon bis features and along witb bis manners be bad laid aside bis sly and sinister expression he bis bulk before tbe fire a noble animal hey be cried at last tbe stepped into tbe room in silence on a and crossed ber legs in ber lace and velvet witb a good display of black and of snowy and witb tbe refined of ber face and slender of ber body in singular contrast to tbe big black intellectual by tbe fire how often do you send for me cried it is speaking of tbat said be in tbe devil s name were you about you were not till morning i was giving said tbe baron again loud and long for in bis sleeves be was a very creature it is fortunate i am not jealous be remarked but you know my way pleasure and liberty go band in band i believe i it is not but i believe it but now to business have you not read my letter a romance no she said my head ached ah well then i have news indeed cried i was mad to see you all last night and all this morning for yesterday afternoon i brought my long business to a head the ship has come home one more dead lift and i shall cease to fetch and for the princess yes tis done i have the order all in s hand i carry it on my heart at the hour of twelve tonight prince is to be taken in his bed and like the whipped into a chariot and by next morning he will command a most romantic prospect from the of the farewell the war goes on the girl is in my hand i have long been indispensable but now i shall be sole i have long he added long carried this upon my shoulders like with the gates of now i discharge that she had sprung to her feet a little paler is this true she cried i tell you a fact he the trick is played i will never believe it she said an order in her own hand i will never believe it i swear to you said he o what do you care for oaths or i either what would you swear by wine women and song it is not binding she said she had come quite up to him and laid her band upon his arm as for the order no never i will never believe it i will die ere i believe it you have some secret purpose what i cannot guess but not one word of it is true shall i show it you he asked you cannot she answered there is no such thing he cried well i will convert you you shall see the order he moved to a chair where he had thrown his coat and then drawing forth and holding out a paper head said he she took it and her eyes flashed as she it hey cried the baron there falls a and it was i that it and i and you inherit i he seemed to swell in stature and next moment with a laugh he put his hand forward give me the dagger said he but she the paper suddenly behind her back and faced him lowering no no she said you and i have first a point to settle do you suppose me blind she could never have given that paper but to one man and that man her lover here you stand her lover her her master o i well believe it for i know your power but what am i she cried i whom you deceive i jealousy cried i would never have believed it but i declare to you by all that s that i am not her lover i might be i suppose but i never yet risk the a romance the is bo unreal a doll she will and she will not there is no counting on her by god and hitherto i have had my own way without and keep the lover in reserve and i say he added with severity you must break yourself of this new fit my girl there must be no i keep the creature under the belief that i her and if she caught a breath of you and me she is such a fool and dog in the that she is capable of all all very fine returned the lady with whom do you pass your days and which am i to believe your words or your actions the devil take you are you blind cried you know me am i likely to care for such a tis hard that we should have been together for so long and you should still take me for a but if there is one thing that i despise and it is all such figures in wool give me a human woman like myself you are my mate yoa were made for me you amuse me like the play and what have i to	38
gain that i should pretend to you if i do not love you what use are you to me why none it is as clear as do you love me she asked do you truly i tell you he cried i love you next after myself i should be all abroad if i had lost you well then she said folding up the paper and putting it calmly in her pocket i will believe you prince and i join the plot count upon me at midnight did you say it is i see that you have charged with it excellent he will stick at nothing watched her suspiciously you take the paper he demanded give it here no she returned i mean to keep it it is i who must prepare the stroke you cannot manage it without me and to do my best i must possess the paper where shall i find in his rooms she spoke with a rather feverish he said sternly the black countenance of his palace r e taking the place of the more open favor of his hours at home i ask you for that paper once twice and thrice she returned looking him in the face take care i will put up with no both looked dangerous and the silence lasted for a interval of time then she made haste to have the first word and with a laugh that rang clear and honest do not be a child she said i wonder at you if your assurances are true you can have no reason to me nor i to play you false the difficulty is to get the prince out of the palace without scandal his are devoted his a slave and yet one cry might ruin all they must be overpowered he said following her to the new ground and disappear along with him a romance aod your whole scheme along with them she cried he does not take his servants when he goes a hunting a child could read the truth no no the plan is it must he s but hear me you know the prince me i know he said poor i cross his destiny i well now she continued what if i him alone out of the palace to some quiet comer of the the flying for instance can he posted in the thicket the carriage wait behind the temple not a cry not a not a simply the prince what do you say am i an able ally are my f of service ah do not lose your he has power he struck with his open hand upon the chimney witch he said there is not your match for in europe service i the thing runs on wheels kiss me then and let me go i must not miss my she said stay stay said the baron not so fast i wish upon my soul that i could trust you but you are out and in so a devil that i dare not hang it no it s not possible i doubt me she cried doubt is not the word said he i know you once you were clear of me with that paper in your pocket who knows what you would do with it not you at least nor i you see he added prince his head the you are as vicious as a monkey i swear to you she cried by my salvation i have no curiosity to hear you swearing said the baron you think that i have no religion you suppose me destitute of honor well she said see here i will not argue but i tell you once for all leave me this order and the prince shall be arrested take it from me and as certain as i speak i will upset the coach trust me or fear me take your choice and she offered him the paper the baron in a great of mind stood in weighing the two dangers once his hand advanced then dropped well he said since trust is what you call it no more she interrupted do not spoil your attitude and now since you have behaved like a good sort of fellow in the dark i will condescend to tell you why i go to the palace to arrange with but how is to obey me and how can i foresee the hours it may be midnight ay and it may be night fall all s a chance and to act i must be free and hold the strings of the adventure and now she cried your goes me your knight and she held out her arms and smiled upon him radiant well he said when he had kissed her every man must have his folly i thank god mine is no worse off with you i have given a child a a romance chapter xii von act the second she the it was the first impulse of madame von to return to her own villa and her whatever else should come of this adventure it was her firm design to pay a visit to the princess and before that woman so little beloved the would appear at no disadvantage it was the work of minutes von had the captain s eye in of the she was none of those who hang in helplessness among their finery and after hours come forth upon the world as a glance a loosened curl a studied and admired disorder in the hair a bit of lace a touch of color a yellow rose in the bosom and the instant picture was complete that will do she said bid my carriage follow me to the palace in half an hour it should be there in waiting the night was beginning to fall and the shops to shine with lamps along the tree of s capital when the started on her high she was	38
better sport here is life indeed he got to his feet with some alacrity and his face which was a little flushed bore the marks of resolution madame von said he i am neither unconscious nor ungrateful this is the true of your friendship but i see that i must disappoint your expectations you seem to expect from me some effort of resistance but why should i resist i have not much to gain and now that i have read this paper and the last of a fool s paradise is shattered it would be to speak of loss in the same breath with of i have no party no policy no pride nor anything to be proud of for what benefit or principle under heaven do you expect me to contend p or would you have me bite and scratch like a no madam signify to those who sent you my readiness to go i would at least avoid a scandal you go your own will you go v she cried i cannot say so much perhaps he answered but i go with good alacrity i have desired a change some time behold one offered me shall i refuse thank god i am not so destitute of humor as to make a tragedy of such a farce he the order on the table you may signify my readiness he added a romance ah she you are more angry you own i madam angry he cried you i haye no cause for anger in every way i have been taught my weakness my and my for the world i am a of weaknesses an impotent prince a doubtful gentleman and you yourself indulgent as you are have twice my levity and shall i be angry i may feel the but i have sufficient honesty of mind to see the reasons of this from whom have you got this she cried in wonder you think you have not behaved well my prince were you not young and handsome i should you for your virtues you push them to the verge of commonplace and this ingratitude understand me madame von returned the prince flushing a little darker there can be here no talk of gratitude none of pride you are here by what circumstance i know not but doubtless led by your kindness mixed up in what regards my family alone you have no knowledge what my wife your sovereign may have it is not for you no nor for me to judge i own myself in fault and were it otherwise a man were a very empty who should talk of love and start before a small humiliation it is in all the that one should die to please his and shall a man not go to prison love and what has love to do with being prince bent to exclaimed the appealing to the walls and roof heaven knows i think as much of love as any one my life would prove it but i admit no love at least for a man that is not equally returned the rest is i think of love more absolutely madam though i am certain no more tenderly than a lady to whom i am indebted for such returned the prince but this is we are not here to hold a court of still she replied there is one thing you forget if she with against your liberty she may with him against your honor also my honor he repeated for a woman you surprise me if i have failed to gain her love or play my part of husband what right is left me or what honor can remain in such a scene of defeat no honor that i recognize i am become a stranger if my wife no longer loves me i will go to prison since she wills it if she love another where should i be more in place or whose fault is it but mine you speak madame von like too many women with a man s tongue had i myself fallen into temptation as heaven knows i might i should have trembled but still hoped and asked for her forgiveness and yet mine had been a treason in the teeth of love but let me tell you madam he pursued with rising irritation where a husband by facility and ill timed has his wife s patience i will suffer neither man a romance nor woman to her she is free the man has been found wanting because she loves you not the cried you know she is incapable of such a feeling rather it was i who was born incapable of inspiring it said madame von broke into sudden laughter fool she cried i am in love with you myself ah madam you are most compassionate the prince retorted smiling but this is waste debate i know my purpose perhaps to equal you in frankness i know and embrace my advantage i am not without the spirit of adventure i am in a false position so recognized by public do you grudge me then my issue if your mind is made up why should i you said the i own with a bare face i am the go you take my with you or more of it than i desire i shall not sleep at night for thinking of your misery but do not be afraid i would not spoil you you are such a fool and hero alas madam cried the prince and your unlucky money i did amiss to take it but you are a wonderful and i thank god i can still offer you the fair equivalent he took some papers from the chimney here madam are the title deeds he said where i am going they can certainly be of no use to me and i have now no other hope of making up to you	38
your kindness you made the loan without formality obeying your kind hearts the parts are somewhat changed the sun of this prince of is upon the point of setting and i know you better than to doubt you will once more ceremony and accept the best that he can give you if i may look for any pleasure in the coming time it will be to remember that the peasant is secure and my most generous friend no do you not understand my odious position cried the dear prince it is upon your fall that i begin my fortune it was the more like you to tempt me to resistance returned but this cannot alter our relations and i must for the last time lay my commands upon you in the character of prince and with his dignity he forced the deeds on her acceptance i hate the very touch of them she cried there followed upon this a little silence at what time resumed if indeed you know am i to be arrested your when you please exclaimed the r if you choose to tear that paper never i i would rather it were done quickly said the prince i shall take but time to leave a letter for the princess well said the i have advised you to resist at the same time if you intend to be dumb before your i must say that i ought to set about arranging your arrest i offered a romance she hesitated i to manage it intending my dear friend intending upon my soul to be of use to you well if you will not profit by my good will then be of use to me and as soon as ever you feel ready go to the flying where we met last night it will be none the worse for you and to make it quite plain it will be better for the rest of us dear madam certainly said if i am prepared for the chief evil i shall not quarrel with details go then with my best gratitude and when i have written a few lines of leave taking i shall immediately hasten to keep to night i shall not meet so dangerous a be added with a smiling gallantry as soon as madame von was gone he made a great call upon his self command he was face to face with a miserable passage where if it were possible he desired to carry himself with dignity as to the main fact he never or faltered he had come so heart sick and so cruelly from his talk with gk that he embraced the notion of imprisonment with something on relief here was at least a step which he thought here was a way out of his troubles he sat down to write to and his anger blazed the tale of his mounted in his eyes to something monstrous still more monstrous the coldness and cruelty that had required and thus them the pen which he had taken shook in his hand he was amazed prince to find his resignation fled but it was gone beyond his recall in a few white hot words he bade adieu desperation by the name of love and calling his wrath forgiveness then he cast but one look of leave taking on the place that had been his for so long and was now to be his no longer and hurried forth love s prisoner or pride s he took that private passage which he had trodden so often in less momentous hours the porter let him out and the cold air of the night and the pure glory of the stars received him on the threshold he looked round him breathing deep of earth s plain fragrance he looked up into the great array of heaven and was his little life to its true proportions and he saw himself that gi eat flame hearted martyr stand like a speck under the cool of the night thus he felt his injuries already soothed the live air of out of doors the quiet of the world as if by their silent music and his emotions well i forgive her he said if it be of any use to her i forgive and with brisk steps he crossed the garden issued upon the park and came to the flying a dark figure moved forward from the shadow of the i have to ask your pardon sir a voice observed but if i am right in taking you for the prince i was given to understand that you would be prepared to meet me i believe said a romance replied that officer this is rather a business for a man to be embarked in and to find that all is to go pleasantly is a great relief to me the carriage is at hand shall i have the honor of following your colonel said the prince i have now come to that happy moment of my life when i have orders to receive but none to give a most philosophical remark returned the colonel a very remark it might be s i am not a drop s blood to your or indeed to any one in this or else i should dislike my orders but as it is and since there is nothing unnatural or on my side and your takes it in good part i begin to believe we may have a capital time together sir a capital time for a is only a fellow captive may i inquire asked what led you to accept this dangerous and i would fain hope office very natural i am sure replied the officer of fortune my pay is in the meanwhile doubled well sir i will not presume to returned the prince and i perceive the carriage sure enough at the of two of the park a coach and four conspicuous	38
by its stood in waiting and a little way off about a score of were drawn up under the shadow of the trees prince chapter xiii yon act the third i when madame von left the prince she straight to ck and not content with directing the arrangements she had her self accompanied the soldier of fortune to the flying the colonel gave her his arm and the talk between this pair of ran high and lively the indeed was in a whirl of pleasure and excitement her tongue stumbled upon laughter her eyes shone the color that was usually wanting now her face it would have taken little more to bring to her feet or so at least she believed the idea hidden among some bushes she enjoyed the great decorum of the arrest and heard the dialogue of the two men die away along the path soon after the rolling of a carriage and the beat of hoofs arose in the still air of the night and passed speedily farther and fainter into silence the prince was gone madame von consulted her watch she a romance had still she thought time enough for the bit of her evening and hurrying to the palace winged by the fear of s arrival she sent her name and a pressing request for a reception to the princess as the von she was sure to be refused but as an of the baron s for so she chose to style herself she gained entry the princess sat alone at table making a of dining her cheeks were her eyes heavy she had neither slept nor eaten even her dress had been neglected in short she was out of health out of looks out of heart and ridden by her conscience the drew a swift comparison and shone brighter in beauty you come madam de la part de le bar mi the princess be seated i what have you to say to say repeated madame von o much to say i much to say that i would rather not and much to leave that i would rather say for i am like st paul your and always wish to do the things i should not well to be that is the word i took the prince your order he could not credit his senses ah he cried dear madame von it is not possible it cannot be i must hear it from your lips my wife is a poor girl die is only silly she is not cruel man prince said i a girl and therefore cruel youth flies he bad such pain to understand it prince madame von said the princess in most steadfast tones but with a rose of anger in her face who sent you here and for what purpose tell your errand madam i believe you understand me very well returned von i have not your philosophy i wear my heart upon my sleeve excuse the i it is a very little one she laughed and i so often change the sleeve am i to understand the prince has been arrested asked the princess rising while you sat there dining cried the still seated you have discharged your errand was the reply i will not detain you o no madam said the with your permission i have not yet done i have borne much this evening in your service i have suffered i was made to suffer in your service she unfolded her fan as she spoke quick as her beat the fan waved languidly she betrayed her emotion only by the brightness of her eyes and face and by the almost insolent triumph with which she looked down upon the princess there were old scores of between them in more than one field so at least von felt and now she was to have her hour of victory in them all tou are no servant madame von of mine said no madam indeed returned the but we both serve the same person as you know a romance or if you do not then i have the pleasure of informing you your conduct b so light so light she repeated the fan wavering higher like a butterfly perhaps you do not truly understand the rolled her fan together laid it in her lap and rose to a less position indeed she continued i should be sorry to see any young woman in your situation tou began with every advantage birth a suitable marriage quite pretty too and see what you have come to i my poor girl to think of it i but there is nothing that does so much harm observed the finely as of mind and she once more the fan and herself i will no longer permit you to forget yourself cried i think you are mad not mad returned von sane enough to know you dare not break with me to night and to profit by the knowledge i left my poor pretty prince charming crying his eyes out for a wooden doll my heart is soft i love my pretty prince you will never understand it but i long to give my prince his doll dry his poor eyes and send him off happy o you fool the cried rising to her feet and pointing at the princess the closed fan that now began to tremble in her hand o wooden doll i she cried have you a heart or blood or any nature this is a man child a man who loves you o it will not happen twice i it is not common beautiful and clever women look in vain for it and you you pitiful tread prince this jewel you stupid with your vanity before you try to govern you should first be able to behave yourself at home home is the woman s kingdom she paused and a	38
said you are a friend to i shall put the order for his release into your hands this moment give me the ink dish there and she wrote hastily her hand upon the prince table for she trembled like a reed remember madam she resumed handing her the order this most not be nor spoken of at present till i have seen the baron any hurried step i lose myself in thinking the suddenness has shaken me i promise you i will not use it said the till you give me leave although i wish the prince could be informed of it to comfort his poor heart and oh i had forgotten he has left a letter me madam i will bring it you this is the door i think and she sought to open it the bolt is pushed said flushing o i cried the a silence fell between them i will get it for myself said and in the meanwhile i beg you to leave me i thank you i am sure but i shall be obliged if you will leave me the deeply and withdrew a romance chapter xiv the outbreak of the as she was and brave by intellect the princess when first she was alone clung to the table for support the four comers of her universe had fallen she had never nor trusted completely she had still held it possible to find him false to friendship but from that to finding him devoid of all those public virtues for which she had honored him a mere commonplace using her for his own ends the step was wide and the descent giddy light and darkness succeeded each other in her brain now she believed and now she could not she turned blindly groping for the note but von who had not forgotten to take the warrant from the prince had remembered to recover her note from the princess von was an old whose most violent emotion aroused rather than clouded the vigor of her reason the thought recalled to the remembrance of the other letter s she rose and went speedily her brain still and burst into the prince s the old prince was there in waiting and the sight of another face or so she felt on her distress into childish anger go she cried and then when the old man was already half way to the door stay she added as soon as baron arrives let him attend me here it shall be so directed said the there was a letter she began and paused her said the will find a letter on the table i had received no orders or her had been spared this trouble no no no she cried i thank you i desire to be alone and then when he was gone she leaped upon the letter her mind was still obscured like the moon upon a night of clouds and wind her reason shone and was darkened and she read the ds by flashes the prince wrote i will write no syllable of reproach i have seen your order and i go what else is left me i have wasted my love and have no more to say that i forgive you is not needful at least we are now separate forever by your own act you free me from my willing bondage i go free to prison this is the last that you will hear of me in love or anger i have gone out of your life you may breathe easy you have now rid yourself of the husband who allowed yon to desert him of the prince who gave you his a and of the married lover who made it his pride to defend you in your absence how you have him your own heart more loudly tells you than my words there is a day coming when your vain dreams will roll away like clouds and you will find yourself alone then you will remember she read with a great horror on her mind that day of which he wrote was come she was alone she had been false she had been cruel remorse rolled in upon her and then with a more piercing note vanity bounded on the stage of consciousness she a she helpless she to have betrayed herself in seeking to betray her husband she to have lived these years upon flattery the like a with she her swift mind drank the she foresaw the coming fall her public shame she saw the disgrace and folly ot her story through europe she recalled the scandal she had so and alas she had now no courage to it with to be thought the mistress of that man perhaps for that she closed her eyes on swift as thought she had snatched a bright dagger from the weapons that h ne along the wall ay she would escape from that world wide theatre of nodding heads and in which she now beheld herself one door stood open at any cost through any stress of suffering that greasy should be stifled she closed her eyes breathed a prayer and pressed the weapon to her bosom at the astonishing of the she gave a cry and awoke to a sense of escape a little spot of blood was the reward of that great act of desperation but the pain had her like a and her whole design of suicide had passed away at the same instant regular feet drew near along the gallery and she knew the tread of the big baron so often gladly welcome and even now her spirits like a call to battle she concealed the in the folds of her skirt and drawing her stature up she stood firm footed radiant with anger waiting for the foe the baron was announced and entered to him was task like the with his he had	38
neither will nor leisure to remark her beauties but when he now beheld her standing illuminated by her passion new feelings flashed upon him a frank admiration a brief sparkle of desire he noted both with joy they were means if i have to play the lover thought he for that was his constant i believe i can put soul into it meanwhile with his usual ponderous grace he bent before the lady i propose she said in a strange voice not known to her till then that we release the prince and do not the war ah madam he replied tis as i knew it would a romance be i your heart i knew would wound you when we came to this distasteful but most necessary step ah madam believe me i am not unworthy to be your ally i know you have qualities to which i am a stranger aud count them the best weapons in the of our alliance the girl in the queen pity love tenderness laughter the smile that can reward i can only command i am the f but you t and you have the fortitude to command these comely weaknesses to tread them down at the call of reason how often have i not admired it even to yourself ay even to yourself he added tenderly dwelling it seemed in memory on hours of more private admiration but now madam but now von the time for these has gone by she cried are you true to me are you false look in your heart and answer it is your heart i want to know it has come thought you madam he cried starting back with fear you would have said and yet a timid joy you yourself you bid me look into my heart do you suppose i fear she cried and looked at him with such a heightened color such bright eyes and a smile of so a meaning that the baron discarded his last doubt ah madam he cried on his knees do you permit me have you divined my secret it is i put my life with joy into prince your power i you love with as an equal as a mistress as a in arms as an adored desired sweet woman o bride be cried bride of my reason and my senses pity on my love beard bin witb wonder rage and contempt his words offended ber to sickness bis appearance as he upon tbe floor moved ber to as we in o cried absurd and odious would tbe ck say tbat great baron tbe excellent remained for some little time upon bis knees in a frame of mind perhaps we are allowed to pity his vanity within bis iron bosom and if be could blotted all if be could withdrawn part if be bad not called ber bride witb a roaring in bis ears be thus his declaration he got to his feet tottering and in that first moment when a dumb agony finds a vent in words and tbe tongue the inmost and worst of a man be permitted himself a retort which for six weeks to follow be was to repent at leisure ah said he the now i perceive the reason of your s disorder tbe like insolence of tbe words was driven home by a more insolent manner there fell upon one of those storm clouds which bad already blackened upon her reason beard a romance cry out and when the cloud dispersed flung the blood stained dagger on the floor and saw back with open mouth and clapping his hand upon the wound the next moment with oaths that she had never heard he leaped at her in savage passion clutched her as she and in the very act stumbled and drooped she had scarce time to fear his ere he fell before her feet he rose upon one elbow she still staring upon him white with horror he cried help i and then his utterance failed him and he fell back to all appearance dead ran to and fro in the room she wrung her hands and cried aloud within she was all one uproar of terror and conscious of no articulate wish but to awake there came a knocking at the door and she sprang to it and held it panting like a beast and with the strength of madness in her arms till she had pushed the bolt at this success a certain calm fell upon her reason she went back and looked upon her victim the knocking growing louder o yes he was dead she had killed him he had called upon von with his latest breath ah who would call on she had killed him she whose hand could scarce blood from her own bosom had strength to cast down that great at a blow all this while the knocking was growing prince and more unlike the staid career of life in such a palace scandal was at the door with what a fatal following she dreaded to conceive and at the same time among the voices that now began to summon her by name she recognized the s he or another somebody must be the first is von without she called your the old gentleman answered we have heard cries a fall is anything amiss nothing replied i desire to speak with you send off the rest she panted between each phrase but her mind was clear she let the curtain down upon both sides before she drew the bolt and thus secure from any sudden from without admitted the and again made fast the door among the wings of the curtain so that she was clear of it as soon as he my god he cried the baron i have killed him she said o killed him dear me said the old gentleman this is most lovers	38
quarrels he added and then paused but my dear madam he broke out again in the name of all that is practical what are we to do this is exceedingly grave morally madam it is appalling i take the liberty your for one moment a romance of addressing yon as a daughter a loved although respected daughter and i must say that i cannot conceal from you that this is morally most questionable and o dear me we have a dead body she had watched him closely hope fell to contempt she drew away her skirts from his weakness and in the act her own strength returned to her see if he be dead she said not one word of explanation or defence she had scorned to justify herself before so poor a creature see if he be dead was all with the greatest the drew near and as he did so the wounded baron rolled his eyes he lives cried the old turning to madam he still lives help him then returned the princess standing fixed bind up his wound madam i have no means protested the can you not take your handkerchief your anything cried and at the same moment from her light muslin gown she rent off a and tossed it on the floor take that she said and for the first time directly faced but the held up his hands and turned away his head in agony the grasp of the falling baron had torn down the dainty fabric of the and o i cried appalled the terrible disorder of your take tip th m hi die tamed in it to the and attempted some innocent he still breathes he kept a is not yet over he is not yet gone and now said she if is all yon and get some he must instantly go home madam the if t sight wet seen in town dear id state would fall he there is a litter in the palace she replied it is your part to see him safe hay upon you on your life it stands i see it deaf he jerked clearly i see it but how what men prince s yes they had a personal they will be true if any not them i she d take my own man a the grand the c aghast if he bat saw he would the w i ould be she measured the depth of her steadily take you she d and bring the litter here once she was alone she ran to the baron and a sickening heart sought to the of blood the touch of the skin great her to the toes the wound in her ignorant r a looked yet she her aad with more at least than the l e an eye with hate would have admired the baron in his lie looked great and fi it was so powerful a machine that lay arrested and his features cleared for the moment of temper and were seen to be o purely but it was not thus with her victim as he lay read a little his big chest fixed her with his and her flitted for a glimpse began to sound about the palace of feet running and of voices raised the echoes of the eat arched staircase were of some a sion and then the with a quick and tramp it was the followed by four of s and a litter l he servants when they were admitted at the princess and the wounded man speech was denied them but their thou ts were with gk was in the curtains of the litter were lowered the carried it f and the followed behind with a white face ran to the window pressing her face upon the pane she could see the terrace where the lights thence the avenue of lamps that joined the palace and town and overhead e hollow night and the lai er stars presently prince the small procession from the palace crossed the parade and began to thread the glittering alley the swinging couch with its four the behind she watched them with strange thoughts her eyes fixed upon the scene her mind still glancing right and left on the overthrow of her life and hopes there was no one left in whom she might confide none whose hand was friendly or on whom she dared to reckon for the loyalty with the fall of her party her brief popularity had fallen so she sat crouched upon the window seat her brow to the cool pane her dress in barely her her mind revolving bitter thoughts meanwhile consequences were fast mounting and in the quiet of the night and red revolt were the litter had passed forth between the iron gates and entered on the streets of the town by what flying panic by what thrill of air communicated who shall say but the passing bustle in the palace had already reached and re echoed in the region of the with her loud whisper about the town men left their homes without knowing why knots formed along the under the rare lamps and the great the crowd grew and now through the midst of that expectant company the unusual sight of a closed litter was observed approaching and trotting hard behind it that great a romance silence looked on as it went by and as soon as it was passed the whispering over like a boiling pot the knots were and gradually one following another the whole mob began to form into a procession and escort the litter soon a little bolder than their mates began to the with questions never had he more need of that great art of falsehood by whose exercise he had so richly lived and yet now he stumbled the master passion fear betraying him he was pressed he became and then from the litter	38
came a groan in the instant and the gathering of the crowd as to a natural signal the clear eyed heard the catch of the clock before it strikes the hour of doom and for ten seconds he forgot himself this shall for many sins he plucked a bearer by the sleeve bid the princess flee all is lost he whispered and the next moment he was for his life among the multitude five minutes later the wild eyed servant burst into the all is lost he cried the bids you flee and at the same time looking through the window saw the black rush of the begin to the avenue thank you george she said i thank you go and as the man still lingered i bid you go she added save yourself down by the private passage and boon later the last followed the last o book iii fortunate misfortune chapter i thb porter drawn hj the growing turmoil had from the and the door stood open on the darkness of the night as fled up the the cries and loud footing of the mob drew nearer the doomed palace the rush was like the rush of cavalry the sound of lam s above the rest and all she heard her own name among the a sounded at the door of the guard room one gun was fired and then with the yell of hundreds palace was carried at a rush sped by these dire sounds and voices the princess the long garden like a bird the crossed the park which was in that place narrow and plunged upon the farther side into the rude shelter of the forest so at a bound she left the discretion and the cheerful lamps of palace evenings ceased utterly to be a sovereign lady and falling from the whole height of civilization ran forth into the woods a ragged prince she went direct before her through an open tract of the forest full of brush and and where the guided her and beyond that again must thread the blackness of a pine grove joining overhead the of its long branches at that hour the was breathless a horror of night like a presence occupied that of the wood and she went knocking against the her ear strained to aching yet but the slope of tke waa and her and presently she issued on ft hill thai stood forth above the sea of all around were other l g and little of forest between overhead the pen heaven and the brilliancy of countless stars and along the western sky the dim forms of mountains the glory of the great night laid hold upon her her eyes shone with stars she dipped her sight into the and brightness of the sky as she might have dipped her wrist into a spring and her heart at that ethereal began to move more the sun that overhead into gold the fields o daylight scare and uttering the signal to man s has no word apart for man the individual and the moon like a only praises and our pi destiny the stars alone cheerful confer quietly with each of us like friends they give ear to our sorrows like wise old men rich in and by their double scale so small to the eye so vast to the imagination they keep e the mind the double character ol man s nature and fate there the princess looking upon beauty in with these glad bright like pictures clear like a in the of her ear memory re the tumult of the evening the and the dancing f an the big baron on his knees the blood on the polished floor the knocking the swing of the litter down the avenue of lamps the messenger the cries of the charging mob and yet all were far away and and she was still conscious of the peace and glory of the night she looked towards and above the which already hid it from her view a throbbing hinted of fire better so better so that she should fall with tragic greatness lit by a blazing palace i she felt not a trace of for or of concern for that period of her life was closed for ever a of wounded vanity alone she had but one clear idea to flee and another obscure and half rejected although still obeyed to flee in the direction of the she had a duty to perform she must free so her mind said very coldly but her heart embraced the notion of that duty even with and her hands began to for the grasp of kindness she rose with a start of recollection and plunged down the slope into the covert the woods received and closed upon her once more she wan prince and in a blot here and there indeed through rents in the a glimmer attracted her here and there a tree stood out among its neighbors hy some force of outline here and there a brushing among the leaves a notable blackness a dim shine relieved only to the solid oppression of the night and silence and between the darkness would and the whole ear of night appear to be on her steps now she would stand still and the silence would grow and grow till it weighed upon her breathing and then she would address herself again to run stumbling falling and still hurrying the more and presently the whole wood rocked and began to run along with her the noise of her own mad passage through the silence spread and echoed and filled the night with terror panic hunted her panic from the trees reached forth with clutching branches the darkness was lit up and peopled with strange forms and faces she and fled before her fears and yet in the last fortress reason blown upon by these of terror still shone	38
with a troubled light she knew yet could not act upon her knowledge she knew that she must stop and yet she still ran she was already near madness when she broke suddenly into a narrow clearing at the same time the din grew louder and she became conscious of vague forms and fields of whiteness and with that the earth gave way she fell and found her a feet again with an incredible shock to her senses and her mind was swallowed up when she came again to herself she was standing to the mid leg in an icy of a brook and leaning with one hand on the rock from which it poured the spray had wet her hair she saw the white the stars wavering in the shaken pool foam flitting and high overhead the tall pines on either hand serenely drinking and in the sudden quiet of her spirit she heard with joy the firm plunge of the in the pool she scrambled forth dripping in the face of her proved weakness to adventure again upon the horror of blackness in the groves were a suicide of life or reason but here in the alley of the brook with the kind stars above her and the moon presently swimming into sight she could await the coming of day without alarm this lane of pine trees ran very rapidly down hill and wound among the woods but it was a wider than the brook needed and here and there were little and of the forest where the such a lawn she paced taking patience bravely and now she looked up the hill and saw the brook coming down to her in a series of and now approached the margin where it among the rushes silently and now gazed at the great company of heaven with an enduring wonder the early evening had fallen chill but the night was now temperate out of the recesses of the wood there came mild airs as from a deep and peaceful breathing and the dew was heavy on the grass and the tight shut this was the girl s first night under the naked heaven and now that her fears were she was touched to the hj its serene and peace kindly the host a heaven down upon that wandering princess and the honest brook had no words but to age her at last she began to be aware of a revolution compared to which the fire of palace was but the crack and flash of a sion cap the countenance with which the pines regarded her began to change the grass too short as it was and the whole winding staircase of the brook s course began to wear a solemn freshness of appearance and this slow reached her heart and played upon it and it with a serious thrill she looked all about the whole face of nature looked back of meaning finger on lip its glad secret she looked up heaven was almost emptied of stars such as still lingered shone with a changed and brightness and began to faint in their stations and the color of the sky itself was the most wonderful for the rich blue of the night had now melted and softened and brightened and there had succeeded in its place a hue that has no name and that is never seen but as the herald of morning o she cried joy catching at her voice o i it is the dawn in a breath she passed over the brook and i a romance up her ar id fairly ran in the dim aft ran her ears were aware of many more al than in the small dish shaped in the fork of giant arms where they had lain all night lover by lover warmly pressed the bright eyed big hearted singers began to awaken for the day her heart melted and flowed foi th to them in and they from their small and high in the of the wood cathedral peered down at the ragged princess as she flitted below them on the carpet of the moss and soon she had struggled to a certain saw far before her the silent of the day out of the east it and the trembled into light and the stars were extinguished like the street lamps of a human city the whiteness brightened into silver the silver warmed into gold the gold kindled into pure and living fire and the face of the east was barred with scarlet the day drew its first long breath and chill and for around the woods sighed and shivered and then at one bound the sun had floated up and her startled eyes received day s first arrow and the on every side the shadows leaped from their and fell prone the day was come plain and and up the steep and solitary eastern heaven the sun victorious over his continued slowly and to mount drooped lor a little leaning on a pine prince the joy of the mocking hen the shelter of the night the thrilling and joyous changes of the dawn were over and now in the hot eye of the day she turned uneasily and looked about her some way off among the lower woods a pillar of smoke was mounting and melting in the gold and blue there surely enough were human folk the hearth man s fingers had laid the twigs it was man s breath that had quickened and encouraged the baby flames and now as the fire caught it would be playing on the face of its creator at the thought she felt a cold and little and lost in that great out of doors the electric shock of the young and the beauty of the woods began to and her the covert of the house the decent privacy of rooms the swept and regulated fire all that or the	38
the pines themselves whose roots made looked down silently on their green images she crept to the margin and beheld herself with wonder a hollow and bright eyed phantom in the ruins of her palace robe the breeze now shook her image now it would be with flies and at that she smiled and from the fading circles her smiled back to her and looked kind she sat long in the warm sun and pitied her bare arms that were all bruised and with falling and to see that she was dirty and could not grow to believe that she had gone so long in such il strange disorder a romance then with a sigh she addressed herself to make a toilet by that forest mirror washed herself from all the of her adventure took o e her jewels and wrapped them in her handkerchief the of her dress and took down the folds of her hair she shook it her face and the pool repeated her thus veiled her hair had smelt like she remembered saying and so now she tried to smell it and then shook her head and laughed a little sadly to herself the laugh was returned upon her in a childish echo she looked up and lo two children looking on a small girl and a yet smaller boy standing like by the pool below a spreading pine was not fond of children and now she was startled to the heart who are you she cried hoarsely the huddled together and drew back and s heart reproached her that she should have frightened things so quaint and little and yet alive with senses she thought upon the birds and looked again at her two visitors so little larger and so far more innocent on their clear faces as in a pool she saw the reflection of their fears with gracious purpose she arose come she said do not be afraid of me and took a step towards them but alas at the first moment the poor in the wood turned and ran from the princess the most desolate pang was struck into the girl s prince heart here she was twenty two soon and not a creature loved her none but and would even he forgive if she began weeping in these woods alone it would mean death or madness hastily she trod the thoughts out like a burning paper hastily rolled up her locks and with terror her and her whole bosom sick with grief resumed her journey past ten in the she struck a marching in that place between two stately groves a river of sunlight and here dead weary careless of consequences and taking some courage from the human and civilized neighborhood of the road she stretched herself on the green margin in the shadow of a tree sleep closed on her at first with a horror of fainting but when she ceased to struggle kindly embracing her so she was taken home for a little from all her toils and sorrows to her father s arms and there in the meanwhile her body lay exposed by the in tattered finery and on either hand from the woods the birds came flying by and calling upon others and in their own tongue this strange appearance the sun pursued his journey the shadow flitted from her feet shrank higher and higher and was upon the point of leaving her altogether when the of a coach was to and fro by the birds the road in that part was very steep the drew near with great deliberation and ten minutes passed before a gentleman appeared walk a ing with a sober elderly gait upon the grassy margin of the highway and looking pleasantly around him as he walked from time to time he paused took out hid note book and made an entry with a pencil and any spy who had been near enough would have heard him words as though he were a poet verses the voice of the wheels was still faint and it was plain the traveller had far his carriage he had drawn very near to where the princess lay asleep before his eye alighted on her but when it did he started his note book and approached there was a mile stone close to where she lay and he sat down on that and coolly studied her she lay upon one side all curled and sunken her brow on one bare arm the other stretched out limp and her young body like a thing thrown down had scarce a mark of life her breathing stirred her not the fatigue was thus confessed in every language of the sleeping flesh the traveller smiled grimly as though he had looked upon a statue he made a of her charms the figure in that touching freedom of surprised him the flush of slumber became her like a flower upon my word he thought i did not think the girl could be so pretty and to think he added that i am under obligation not to use one word of this i he put forth his stick and touched her and at that she awoke sat up with a cry and looked upon him wildly prince i trust has slept well he said nodding but she only uttered sounds compose yourself said he giving her certainly a brave example in his own my chaise b close at hand and i shall have i trust the singular entertainment of a sovereign princess sir john she said at last at your s disposal he replied she sprang to her feet o she cried have you come from this morning he returned i left it and if there is any one less likely to return to it than yourself behold him the baron she began and paused madam he answered it was well meant and you are quite a but after the	38
s that have elapsed you will probably be relieved to hear that he is fairly well i took his news this morning ere i left doing fairly well they said but suffering hey they could hear his groans in the next room and the prince she asked is anything known of him it is reported replied sir john with the same deliberation upon that point your is the best authority sir john she said eagerly you were generous enough to speak about your carriage will you i you will you take me to the a romance i have business there of an extreme importance i can refuse you nothing replied the old gravely and seriously enough whatever madam it is in my power to do for you that shall be done with pleasure as soon as my chaise shall overtake us it is yours to carry you where you will but added he to his former manner i observe you ask me nothing of the palace i do not care she said i thought i saw it burning prodigious said the you thought and can the loss of forty leave you cold well madam i admire your fortitude and the state too as i left the government was sitting the new government of which at least two members must be known to you by name who had i believe the benefit of being formed in your employment a footman am i right and our old friend the in something of a position but in these the last shall be first and the first last sir john she said with an air of perfect honesty i am sure you mean most kindly but these matters have no interest for me the was so utterly that he hailed the appearance of his chaise with welcome and by way of saying something proposed that they should walk back to meet it so it was done and he helped her in with courtesy mounted to her side and from various for the chaise prince was most completely fitted out produced and liver beautiful white bread and a bottle of delicate wine with these he served her like a father and her to fresh exertions and during all that time as though silenced by the laws of hospitality he was not guilty of the shadow of a sneer indeed his kindness seemed so genuine that was moved to gratitude sir john she said you hate me in your heart why are you so kind to me ah my good lady said he with no of the accusation i have the honor to be much your husband s friend and somewhat his admirer you she cried they told me you wrote cruelly of both of us such was the strange path by which we grew acquainted said sir john i had written madam with particular cruelty since that shall be the phrase of your fair self your husband set me at liberty gave me a ordered a carriage and then with the most boyish spirit me to fight knowing the nature of his married life i thought the dash and loyalty he showed delightful do not be afraid says he if i am killed there is nobody to miss me it appears you subsequently bought of that yourself but i i explained to him it was impossible that i could fight not if i strike you says he very droll i wish i could have put it in my book however i was conquered took the young gentleman to my high favor and tore up my bits of a romance scandal on the spot that is one of the little madam that you owe your husband sat for some while in silence she could bear to be without a pang by those whom she she had none of s eagerness to be approved but went her own way straight and head in air to sir john however after what he had said and as her husband s friend she was prepared to stoop what do you think of me she asked abruptly i have told you already said sir john i think you want another glass of my good wine come she said is unlike you you are not wont to be afraid you say that you admire my husband in his name be honest i admire your courage said the beyond that as you have guessed and indeed said our natures are not sympathetic you spoke of scandal pursued was the scandal great it was considerable said sir john and you believed it she demanded o madam said sir john the question thank you for that answer cried and now here i will tell you upon my honor upon my soul in spite of all the scandal in this world i am as true a wife as ever stood we should probably not agree upon a definition observed sir john o i she cried i have used prince i know that it is not that i mean but if you admire my husband i insist that you shall understand me i can look him in the face without a blush it may be madam said sir john nor have i presumed to think the contrary you will not believe me she cried you think i am a guilty wife you think he was my lover madam returned the when i tore up my papers i promised your good husband to concern myself no more with your affairs and i assure you for the last time that i have no desire to judge you but you will not me ah she cried a will he knows me better sir john smiled you smile at my distress asked at your woman s coolness said sir john a man would scarce have had the courage of that cry which was for all that very natural and i make no doubt quite true	38
but remark madam since you do me the honor to consult me gravely i have no pity for what you call your you have been completely selfish and now reap the consequence had you once thought of your husband instead of singly thinking of yourself you would not now have been alone a fugitive with blood upon your hands and hearing from a old englishman truth more bitter than scandal i thank you she said quivering this is very true will you stop the carriage a romance no child said sir john not until i see you mistress of yourself there was a long pause during which the carriage rolled by rock and and now she resumed with perfect will you consider me composed i request you as a gentleman to let me out i think you do he replied continue if yon please to use my carriage sir john she said if death were sitting on that pile of stones i would alight i do not blame i thank you i now know how i appear to others but sooner than draw breath beside a man who can think of me i would o she cried and was silent sir john pulled the string alighted and offered her his hand but she refused the help the road had now issued from the valleys in which it had been winding and come to that part of its course where it runs like a along the brow of the steep northward face of the place where they had alighted was at a angle a bold rock and some wind tortured it from above far below the blue plains lay forth and melted into heaven and before them the road by a succession of bold was seen mounting to where a tower upon a tall cliff closed the view there said the pointing to the tower you see the your goal i wish you a good journey and regret i cannot be of more assistance prince he to his place and gave a signal and the carriage rolled away stood bj the gazing before her with blind eyes sir john she had already from her mind she hated him that was enough for whatever hated or fell instantly to and was steadily ignored in thought and now she had matter for concern indeed her interview with which she had never yet forgiven him began to appear before her in a very different light he had come to her still thrilling under recent insult and not yet breathed from fighting her own cause and how that knowledge changed the value of his words yes he must have loved her this was a brave feeling it was no mere weakness of the will and she was she incapable of love it would appear so and she swallowed her tears and to see to explain all to ask pity upon her knees for her and if all else were now beyond the reach of to restore at least the liberty of which she had deprived him swiftly she sped along the highway and as the road wound out and in about the and of the mountain saw and lost by glimpses the tall tower that stood before and above her by the mountain air a chapter of a mounted to his rolling prison he found another in a corner of the front seat hut as this person hung his head and the brightness of the carriage lamps shone outward the prince could only see it was a man the colonel followed his prisoner and clapped to the door and at that the four horses broke immediately into a swinging trot gentlemen said the colonel after some little while had passed if we are to travel in silence we might as well be at home i appear of course in an character but i am a man of taste fond of books and informing talk and unfortunately condemned for life to the gentlemen this is my chance don t spoil it for me i have here the pick of the whole court lovely woman i have a great author in the person of the doctor cried it appears said the doctor bitterly that we must go together your had not calculated upon that prince what do yoa infer cried that i had you arrested the is simple said the doctor colonel said the prince oblige me so far and set me right with von gentlemen said the colonel you are both arrested on the same warrant in the name of the princess acting by prime minister von gk and dated the day before yesterday the twelfth i reveal to you the secrets of the prison house he added said i ask you to pardon my suspicions said the prince i am not certain i can grant you that your is i am sure far too to hesitate said the colonel but allow me we speak at home in my religion of the means of grace and i now propose to offer them so saying the colonel lighted a bright lamp which he attached to one side of the carriage and from below the front seat produced a goodly basket adorned with the long necks of bottles tu how does it go doctor he asked i am in a sense your host and i am sure yon are both far too considerate of my embarrassing position to refuse to do me honor gentlemen i drink to the prince a romance colonel said we have a jovial i drink to colonel thereupon all three took their wine very pleasantly and even as they did so the carriage with a turned into the high road and began to make better speed all was bright within the wine had colored s cheek dim forms of forest trees and of the sky now wide and now narrow past the windows through one that was left open	38
the air of the woods came in with a and the roll of wheels and the tune of the trotting horses sounded merrily on the ear toast followed toast glass after glass was bowed across and emptied by the and presently there began to fall upon them a luxurious spell under the influence of which little but the sound of quiet and confidential laughter interrupted the long intervals of meditative silence said after one of these seasons of quiet i do not ask you to forgive me were the parts reversed i could not forgive you well said it is a phrase we use i do forgive you but your words and your suspicions and not yours alone it is idle colonel in view of the order you are carrying out to conceal from you the of my family they have gone so far that they are now public property well gentlemen can i forgive my wife i can of course and do but in what sense i would certainly not any revenge as certainly i could not think of her but as one changed beyond my recognition allow me returned the colonel you will permit me to hope that i am addressing christians we are all conscious i trust that we are miserable i the consciousness said warmed with this good i deny your how sir you never did anything wrong and i heard you asking pardon but this moment not of your gk d sir but of a common fellow worm the colonel cried i own you have me you are expert in argument said the doctor sir i am proud to hear you say so said the colonel i was well indeed at and as for this matter of forgiveness it comes sir of loose views and what is if anything more dangerous a regular life a sound creed and a bad morality that s the root of wisdom you two gentlemen are too good to be the is somewhat forced said pardon me colonel said the prince i readily you of any design of offence but your words bite like satire is this a time do you think when i can wish to hear myself called good now that i am paying the penalty and am willing like your a romance self to think it just of my prolonged o pardon me cried the colonel you have never been from the divinity hall you have never been broke i was broke for a neglect of military duty to tell you the open truth your i was the worse of it s a thing i never do now he added taking out his glass but a man you see who has really tasted the defects of his own character as i have and has come to regard himself as a kind of blind knocking about life begins to learn a very different view about forgiveness i will talk of not others sir when i have made out to forgive myself and not before and the date is like to be a long one my father the reverend alexander was a good man and damned hard upon others i am what they call a bad one and that is just the difference the man who cannot forgive any mortal thing is a green hand in life and yet i have heard of you colonel as a said a different thing sir replied the soldier professional etiquette and i trust without feeling presently after the colonel fell into a deep sleep and his companions looked upon each other smiling an odd fish said and a strange guardian said the prince yet what he said was true rightly looked upon mused it is ourselves that we cannot forgive when we refuse forgiveness to our friend some strand of our own is involved in every quarrel are there not that disgrace the asked are there not bounds of self respect said gk does any man respect himself to this poor of a soldier of fortune we may seem respectable gentlemen but to ourselves what are we unless a and a of deadly weaknesses within i yes said but you you with your interminable industry your keen mind your books serving mankind pleasures and temptations you do not know how i envy you said the doctor in one word and a bitter one to say i am a secret yes i drink too much the habit has robbed these very books to which you praise my devotion of the merits that they should have had it has spoiled my temper when i spoke to you the other day how much of my warmth was in the cause of virtue how much was the fever of last night s wine ay as my poor fellow there said and as i denied we are all miserable put here for a moment knowing the good choosing the evil standing naked and ashamed in the eye of god is it so said why then what are we are the very best a romance there is no best in man said i am not better it is likely i am not worse than you or that poor i was a sham and now you know me that is all and yet it has not changed my love returned softly our do not change us fill your glass let us drink to what is good in this bad business let us drink to our old and when we have done so forgive your too just grounds of offence and drink with me to my wife whom i have so who has so me and i have left i fear i greatly fear in danger what matters it how bad we are if others can still love us and we can still love others ay replied the doctor it is very well said it is the true answer to the and the standing miracle of mankind	38
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
on which i was but now engaged i am so little of a poet and was so ill inspired by prison bars that they have some claim to be at least a curiosity the colonel s countenance lighted as he took the paper the silver spectacles were hurriedly re a placed ha be said the tragic i shall cherish this your like a no more suitable offering although i say it could be made de i immense et des for ts very good he said very good indeed i et du des le most handsome i come governor cried the you can read his poetry when we are gone open your i ask your pardon said the colonel to a man of my character and tastes these verses this handsome reference most moving i assure you can i offer you an escort no no replied the we go as we arrived we ride together the prince will take my servant s horse hurry and privacy that is all we seek and she began impatiently to lead the way but had still to bid farewell to dr and the governor following with his spectacles in one hand and the paper in the other had still to communicate his verses piece by piece as he succeeded in the manuscript to all he came across and still his enthusiasm mounted i declare he cried at last with the air of one who has at length divined a mystery they remind me of burns but there is an end to all things and at length was walking by the side of madame von along that mountain wall her servant following with both the horses and all about them sunlight and breeze and flying bird and the vast regions of the air and the prospect wild wood and climbing and the sound and voice of mountain torrents at their hand and far below them green melting into on the plains they walked at first in silence for s mind was full of the delight of liberty and nature and still he was preparing his interview with but when the first rough of the rock was turned and the concealed behind its bulk the lady paused here she said i will poor and you and i must our spurs i love a wild ride with a good companion as she spoke a carriage came into sight round the corner next below them in the order of the road it came heavily creaking and a little ahead of it a traveller was walking note book in hand it is sir john cried and he hailed him the his note book stared through an eye glass and then his stick and he on his side and the and the prince on theirs advanced with somewhat quicker steps they met at the angle where a thin stream across a and was scattered in rain among the brush and the saluted the prince with much to the on the other hand he bowed with a kind of wonder is it possible madam that you have not heard the news he asked what news she cried news of the first order returned sir john a revolution in the state a republic declared the palace burned to the ground the princess in flight wounded wounded she screamed wounded and suffering said sir john his groans there fell from the lady s lips an oath so potent that in hours it would have made her hearers jump she ran to her horse scrambled to the saddle and yet half seated dashed down the road at full gallop the groom after a pause of wonder followed her the rush of her impetuous passage almost scared the carriage horses over the verge of the steep hill and still she further and the echoed to her flight and still the groom vainly in pursuit of her at the fourth corner a woman trailing slowly up leaped back with a cry and escaped death by a hand but the wasted neither glance nor thought upon the incident out and in about the of the mountain wall she fled and still the groom toiled in her pursuit a most impulsive lady i said sir john who would have thought she cared for him and before the words were uttered he was struggling in the prince s grasp my wife i the princess what of her s she down tke be i left lier twenty minutes back and next moment tbe alone and the prince o was racing down the behind the a chapter iv in thb while the feet of the prince continued to run swiftly his heart which had at first by far his running soon began to linger and hang back not that he ceased to pity the misfortune or to for the sight of but the memory of her coldness awoke within him and woke in turn his own habitual of sell had sir john been given time to tell him all had he even known that she was to the he would have gone to her with as it was he began to see himself once more perhaps by her misfortune and now that she was fallen caresses to the wife who had him in prosperity the sore spots upon his vanity began to bum once more his anger assumed the carriage of a hostile generosity he would utterly forgive indeed he would help save and comfort bis wife but all with distant self denial imposing silence on his heart respecting s as he would the innocence of a child so when at length he turned a corner and beheld the princess it was his first thought to her of prince the purity of his respect and he at once ceased running and stood still she upon her part began to run to him with a little cry then seeing him pause she paused also smitten with remorse and at length with	38
the most guilty timidity walked nearly up to where he stood she said i have ruined all he cried with a sob but did not move partly withheld by his resolutions partly struck stupid at the sight of her weariness and disorder had she stood silent they had soon been locked in an embrace but she too had prepared herself against the interview and must spoil the golden hour with all she went on i have ruined all but in kindness you must hear me not justify but own my faults i have been taught so cruelly i have had such time for thought and see the world so changed i have been blind stone blind i have let all true good go by me and lived on shadows but when this dream fell and i had betrayed you and thought i had killed she paused i thought i had killed she said with a deep flush and i found myself alone as you said the mention of the name pricked the prince s generosity like a spur well he cried and whose fault was it but mine it was my duty to be beside you loved or not but i was a in the grain and found it easier to desert than to oppose you i could never learn that better part a romance of love to fight love s battles bat yet the love was there and now when this toy kingdom of ours has fallen first of all by my and next by your and we are here alone together as poor as job and merely a man and a woman let me you to forgive the weakness and to repose in the love do not mistake me he cried seeing her about to speak and imposing silence with uplifted hand my love is changed it is of any it does not ask does not hope does not wish for a return in kind you may forget forever that part in which you found me so distasteful and accept without embarrassment the affection of a brother you are too generous she said i know that i have your love i cannot take this sacrifice you had far better leave me o go away and leave me to my fate i o no said we must first of all escape out of this s nest to which i led you my honor is engaged i said but now we were as poor as job and behold not many miles from here i have a house of my own to which i will conduct you the prince being down we must try what luck remains to the hunter come show that you forgive me and let us set about this business of escape in the best spirits possible you used to say my dear that except as a husband and a prince i was a pleasant fellow i am neither now and you may like my company without remorse come then it were idle to be can yoa walk forth then said he and he began to lead the way a little below where they stood a good brook passed below the road which it in a single arch on one bank of that water a descended a green here it was rocky and stony and lay on the steep of the here it was choked with and there in fairy it lay for a few paces on the green like ai the with well water the burn kept growing both in force and volume at every it with heavier and span more widely in the pool great had been the labors of that stream and great and agreeable the changes it had wrought it had cut through of stubborn rock and now like a blowing through the along all its humble it had and down the timber of the forest and on these rough it now set and tended gardens and planted woods of willow and made a favorite of the silver through all these friendly features the path its human conducted our two downward before still pausing at the more difficult passages to lend assistance the princess following from time to time when he turned to help her her face would upon his her eyes half him he saw but dared not understand she does not love me he told himself with this is remorse or gratitude i were a no so yet a if i presumed upon these pitiful some way down the the already grown to a good of water was rudely across and a third of it in a wooden the pure water air s first along the rude whose sides and floor it had made with the path bearing it close company a wilderness of and wild rose and presently a little in front the brown of a mill and the tall diamonds arose in the of the en at the same time the music of the broke the the miller hearing steps came forth ta his door and both he and started miller said the prince yon were rights it seems and i was i give yon the and bid you to my throne has fallen great was the fall of it and your good friends of the bear the rule the red faced miller looked supreme astonishment and your he gasped my is away replied straight for the frontier leaving cried the father s son it s not to be permitted do you arrest us friend f asked smiling arrest you i exclaimed the man for what does your take me why sir i make sure is a man in would lay hands upon you prince many many said the prince but from you who were bold with me in my greatness i should even look for aid in my distress the miller became the color of you may say so indeed said he	38
and meanwhile will you and your lady step into my house we have not time for that replied the prince but if you would oblige us with a cup of wine without here you will give a pleasure and a service both in one the miller once more colored to the he hastened to bring forth wine in a and three bright crystal your must not suppose he said as he filled them that i am an habitual the time when i had the misfortune to encounter you i was a trifle overtaken i allow but a more sober man than i am in my ordinary i do not know where you are to look for and even this glass that i drink to you and to the lady is quite an unusual the wine was drunk with due rustic and then refusing further hospitality and once more proceeded to descend the which now began to open and to be invaded by the taller trees i owed that man a said the prince for when we met i was in the wrong and put a sore upon him i judge by myself perhaps but i begin to think that no one is the better for a humiliation ut some have to be taught so she replied a romance well well he said with a painful embarrassment well well but let us think of safety my miller is all very good but i do not pin my faith to him to follow down this stream will bring us but after innumerable to my house here up this there lies a cross cut the world s end for solitude the very deer scarce visit it are you too tired or could you pass that way choose the path i will follow you she said no he replied with a singular of manner and appearance but i meant the path was rough it lies all the way by and and the are both deep and lead on she said are you not the hunter they had now burst across a veil of under wood and were come into a lawn among the forest very green and innocent and solemnly surrounded by trees paused on the margin looking about him with delight then his glance returned to as she stood framed in that and looking at her husband with eyes a weakness both of the body and mind fell on him like the of sleep the of his activity were relaxed his eyes clung to her let us rest he said and he made her sit down and himself sat down beside her on the slope of an mound she sat with her eyes downcast her slim hand in grass like maid waiting far s summons tiie of the wind in the forest swelled and sank and drew near them with a rim mi and died away and away in the distance into fainting whispers nearer hand a bird ont of the deep covert uttered broken and anxious notes all this seemed but a halting to speech to it seemed as if the whole frame of nature were waiting for his words and yet his pride kept the longer he watched that slender and pale hand at the the harder and grew the fight between pride and its kindly be said at last it is right you should know one thing i never he was about to say doubted you but was that true f and if true was it generous to speak of it silence succeeded i pray you tell it me she said tell it me m pity i mean only this he resumed that i understand all and do not blame you i understand how the brave woman must look down on the weak man i think you were wrong in some things but i have tried to understand it and i i do not need to forget or to forgive for i have understood i know what i have done she said i am not so weak that i can be deceived with kind speeches i know what i have been i see myself i am not worth your anger how much less to be fi i a in all this and misery i see only me and you you as you have been always me as i was me above all i o yes i see myself and what can i think ah then let us reverse the parts said it is ourselves we cannot forgive when we deny forgiveness to another so a friend told me last night on these terms you see how generously i have forgiven myself but am not j to be forgiven come then forgive yourself and me she did not answer in words but reached out her hand to him quickly he took it and as the smooth fingers settled and in his love ran to and fro between them in tender and currents he cried o forget the past let me serve and help you let me be your servant it is enough for me to serve you and to be near you let me be near you dear do not send me away he hurried his pleading like the speech of a frightened child it is not love he went on i do not ask for love my love is enough she said as if in pain he looked up into her face it was wrung with the very ecstasy of tenderness and anguish on her features and most of all in her changed eyes there shone the very light of love he cried aloud and with a sudden voice look round you at this she cried and prince where the leaves are on young trees and the flowers begin to blossom this is where we meet meet for the first time it is so much better to forget and to be born again	38
e was to his taste something eminently human from his eye something indeed which never found its way into his talk but which spoke not only in these silent of the after dinner face but more often and loudly in the acts of his life he was austere with himself drank gin when he was alone to a taste for and though he enjoyed dr and mr the theatre had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years but he had an approved for others sometimes wondering almost with envy at the high pressure of spirits involved in their and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to i to gain s he used to say i let my brother go to the devil in his own way in this character it was frequently his fortune to be the last acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down going men and to such as these so long as they came about his chambers he never marked a shade of change in his no doubt the feat was easy to mr for he was at the best and even his seemed to be founded in a similar of good nature it is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready made from the hands of opportunity and that was the lawyer s way his friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest his affections like ivy were the growth of time they story of the door implied no in the object hence no doubt the bond that united him to mr richard his distant the well known man about town it was a nut to crack for many what these two could see in each other or what subject they could find in common it was reported by those who encountered them in their sunday walks that they said nothing looked singularly dull and would hail with obvious relief the appearance of a friend for all that the two men put the greatest store by these excursions counted them the chief jewel of each week and not only set aside occasions of pleasure but even resisted the calls of business that they might enjoy them it chanced on one of these that their way led them down a by street in a busy quarter of london the street was small and what is called quiet but it drove a trade on the week days the inhabitants were all doing well it seemed and all hoping to do better still and laying out the of their gains in so that the shop fronts stood along that dr and mr with an air of invitation like rows of smiling even on sunday when it veiled its more charms and lay comparatively empty of passage the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood like a fire in a forest and with its painted shutters well polished and general cleanliness and gaiety of note instantly caught and pleased the eye of the passenger two doors from one corner on the left hand going east the line was broken by the entry of a court and just at that point a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its on the street it was two high showed no window nothing but a door on the lower and a blind forehead of wall on the upper and bore in every feature the marks of prolonged and sordid the door which was equipped with neither bell nor was and into the recess and struck matches on the children kept shop upon the steps the had tried his knife on the and for close on a generation no one story of the door had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their mr and the lawyer were on the other side of the by street but when they came abreast of the entry the former lifted up his cane and pointed did you ever remark that door he asked and when his companion had replied in the it is connected in my mind added he with a very odd story indeed said mr with a slight change of voice and what was that well it was this way returned mr i was coming home from some place at the end of the world about three o clock of a black winter morning and my way lay through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps street after street and all the folks asleep street after street all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church till at last i got into that state of mind when a man and and begins to long for the sight of a policeman all at once i saw two figures one a little man who was along dr and mb ward at a good walk and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street well sir the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner and then came the horrible part of the thing for the man trampled calmly oyer the child s body and left her screaming on the ground it sounds nothing to hear but it was to see it wasn t like a man it was like some damned i gave a view took to my heels my gentleman and brought him back to where there was already quite a group about the screaming child he was perfectly cool and made no resistance but gave me one look so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running the people who had turned out were the girl s own family and pretty soon the doctor for whom she had been sent put in his appearance well	38
the child was not much the worse more frightened according to the and there you might have supposed would be an end to ii but there was one curious circumstance i had taken a to my gentleman at story of the door first so had the child s family which was only natural but the doctor s case was what struck me he was the usual cut and dry of no particular age and colour with a strong accent and about as as a well sir he was like the rest of us every time he looked at my prisoner i saw that turn sick and white with the desire to kill him i knew what was in his mind just as ho knew what was in mine and killing being out of the question we did the next best we told the man we could and would make such a scandal out of this as should make his name from one end of london to the other it he had any friends or any credit we undertook that he should lose them and all the time as we were it in red hot we were keeping the women off him as best we could for they were as wild as i never saw a circle of such hateful faces and there was the man in the middle with a kind of black frightened too i could see that but carrying it off sir really like satan if you choose to make capital out of this and mr accident said he i am naturally helpless no gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene says he name your figure well we him up to a hundred pounds for the child s family he would have clearly liked to stick out but there was something about the lot of us that meant mischief and at last he struck the next thing was to get the money and where do you think he carried us but to that place with the door whipped out a key went in and presently came back with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a for the balance on s drawn to bearer and signed with a name that i can t mention though it s one of the points of my story but it was a name at least very well known and often printed the figure was stiff but the signature was good for more than that if it was only genuine i took the liberty of pointing out to my gentleman that the whole business looked and that a man does not in real life walk into a cellar door at four in the morning and come out of it with another man s for close upon a hundred pounds but he was quite story of the door easy and set your mind at rest says he i will stay with you till the banks open and cash the so we all set off the doctor and the child s father and our friend and myself and passed the rest of the night in my chambers and next day when we had went in a body to the bank i gave in the myself and said i had every reason to believe it was a not a bit of it the was genuine tut tut said mr i see you feel as i do said mr tes it s a bad story for my man was a fellow that nobody could have to do with a really man and the person that drew the is the very pink of the celebrated too and what makes it worse one of your fellows who do what they call good black mail i suppose an honest man paying through the nose for some of the of his youth black mail house is what i call that place with the door in consequence though even that you know is far from explaining all he added and with the words fell into a vein of musing dr and mr from tliis he was recalled by mr asking r suddenly and you don t know if the drawer of the lives there a likely place isn t it returned mr but i happen to have noticed his address he lives in some square or other and you never asked about the place with the door said mr no sir i had a delicacy was the reply i feel very strongly about putting questions it too much of the style of the day of judgment you start a question and it s like starting a stone you sit quietly on the top of a hill and away the stone goes starting others and presently some bland old bird the last you would have thought of is knocked on the head in his own back garden and the family have to change their name no sir i make it a rule of mine the more it looks like queer street the less i ask a very good rule too said the lawyer but i have studied the place for myself continued mr it seems scarcely a house there is no other door and nobody goes in or out of that one but once in a great while of the door the gentleman of my adventure there are three windows looking on the court on the first floor none below the windows are always shut but they re clean and then there is a chimney which is generally smoking so somebody must live there and yet it s not so sure for the buildings are so packed together about that court that it s hard to say where one ends and another begins the pair walked on again for a while in silence and then said mr that s a good rule of yours yes i think it is returned but for all that continued the lawyer	38
there s one point i want to ask i want to ask the name of that man who walked over the child well said mr i can t see what harm it would do it was a man of the name of hm said mr what sort of a man is he to see he is not easy to describe there is something wrong with his appearance something something downright detestable dr and mb i never saw a man i so disliked and yet i scarce know why he must be somewhere he gives a strong of although i couldn t the he s an extraordinary looking man and yet i really can name nothing out of the way no sir i can make no hand of it i can t describe him and it s not want of memory for i declare i can see him this moment mr again walked some way in silence and obviously under a weight of consideration you are sure he used a key he inquired at last my dear sir began surprised out of yes i know said i know it must seem strange the fact is if i do not ask you the name of the other party it is because i know it already you see your tale has gone home if you have been in any point you had better correct it i think you might have warned me returned the other with a touch of but i have been exact as you call it the fellow had a key and what s story of the door more he has it still i saw him use it not a week ago mr sighed deeply but said never a word and the young man presently resumed here is another lesson to say nothing said he i am ashamed of my long tongue let us make a bargain never to refer to this again with all my heart said the lawyer i shake hands on that dr and mb search for mr that mr came home to his bachelor house in sombre spirits and sat down to dinner without relish it was his custom of a sunday when this meal was over to sit close by the fire a volume of some dry divinity on his reading desk until the clock of the neighbouring church rang out the hour of twelve when he would go and gratefully to bed on this night however as soon as the cloth was taken away he tool up a candle and went into his business room there he opened his safe took from the most private part of it a document on the envelope as dr s will and sat down with a clouded brow to study its contents the will was for mr though he took charge of it now that it was made had refused to lend the least assistance in the making of it it provided not only that in case of the of henry search mr m d d c l ll d f r s c all his possessions were to pass into the hands of his friend and benefactor edward but that in case of dr s disappearance or absence for any period exceeding three months the said edward should step into the said henry s shoes without further delay and free from any or obligation beyond the payment of a few small sums to the members of the doctor s household this document had long been the lawyer s it offended him both as a lawyer and as a lover of the sane and customary sides of life to whom the fanciful was the and hitherto it was his ignorance of mr that had swelled his indignation now by a sudden turn it was his knowledge it was already bad enough when the name was but a name of which he could learn no more it was worse when it began to be clothed upon with detestable attributes and out of the shifting mists that had so long baffled his eye there leaped up the sudden definite of a dr and mr i thought it was madness he said as he replaced the paper in the safe and now i begin to fear it is disgrace with that he blew out his candle put on a great coat and set forth in the direction of square that of medicine where his friend the great dr had his house and received his crowding if anyone knows it will be he had thought the solemn butler knew and welcomed him he was subjected to no stage of delay but ushered direct from the door to the where dr sat alone over his wine this was a hearty healthy red faced gentleman with a shock of hair white and a boisterous and decided manner at sight of mr he sprang up from his chair and welcomed him with both hands the as was the way of the man was somewhat theatrical to the eye but it on genuine feeling for these two were old friends old mates both at school and college both thorough of themselves and of each other and what does not always follow search mb men who thoroughly enjoyed other s company after a little rambling talk the lawyer led up to the subject which so his mind i suppose said he you and i must be the two oldest friends that henry i wish the friends were younger chuckled dr but i suppose we are and what of that i see little of him now indeed said i thought you had a bond of common interest we had was the reply but it is more than ten years since henry became too fanciful for me he began to go wrong wrong in mind and though of course i continue to take an interest in him for old sake s sake as they say i see and i	38
have seen devilish little of the man such added the doctor flushing suddenly purple would have and this little of temper was somewhat of a relief to mr they have only dr and mr differed on some point of science lie thought and being a man of no scientific passions except in the matter of he even added it is nothing worse than that he gave his friend a few seconds to recover his composure and then approached the question he had come to put did you ever come across a g of one he asked repeated no never heard of him since my time that was the amount of information that the lawyer carried back with him to the great dark bed on which he tossed to and fro until the small hours of the morning began to grow large it was a night of little ease to his toiling mind toiling in mere darkness and by tions six o clock struck on the bells of the church that was so conveniently near to mr s dwelling and still he was digging at the problem hitherto it had touched him on the intellectual side alone but now his imagination also was engaged or rather and as he lay and tossed in the gross darkness of the night and the room mr s search mb tale went by before his mind in a of lighted pictures he would be aware of the great field of lamps of a city then of the figure of a man walking swiftly then of a child running from the doctor s and then these met and that human trod the child down and passed on regardless of her screams or else he would see a room in a rich house where his friend lay asleep dreaming and smiling at his dreams and then the door of that room would be opened the curtains of the bed plucked apart the and lo i there would stand by his side a figure to whom power was given and even at that dead hour he must rise and do its bidding the figure in these two phases haunted the lawyer all night and if at any time he over it was but to see it glide more stealthily through sleeping houses or move the more swiftly and still the more swiftly even to through wider of city and at every street comer crush a child and leave her screaming and still the figure had no face by which he might know it even in his dreams it had no face or one that dr and mr fled him and melted before his eyes and thus it was that there sprang up and grew in the lawyer s mind a singularly strong almost an curiosity to behold the features of the real mr if he could but once set eyes on him he thought the mystery would and perhaps roll altogether away as was the habit of mysterious things when well examined he might see a reason for his friend s strange preference or bondage call it which you please and even for the startling of the will at least it would be a face worth seeing the face of a man who was without of mercy a face which had but to show itself to raise up in the mind of the a spirit of enduring hatred from that time forward mr began to haunt the door in the of shops in the morning before office hours at noon when business was plenty and time scarce at night under the face of the city moon by all lights and at all hours of solitude or the lawyer was to be found on his chosen post search for mr k he be mr he had thought i shall be mr seek and at last his patience was rewarded it was a fine dry night frost in the air the streets as clean as a floor the lamps by any wind drawing a regular pattern of light and shadow by ten o clock when the shops were closed the was very and in spite of the low growl of london from all round very silent small sounds carried far domestic sounds out of the houses were clearly audible on either side of the and the rumour of the ap of any passenger preceded him by a long time mr had been some minutes at his post when he was aware of an odd light footstep drawing near in the course of his nightly he had long grown accustomed to the quaint effect with which the of a single person while he is still a great way off suddenly spring out distinct from the vast hum and clatter of the city yet his attention had never before been bo sharply and arrested and it was with a strong superstitious of sue dr and mr that he withdrew into the entry of the court the steps drew swiftly nearer and swelled out suddenly louder as they turned the end of the street the lawyer looking forth from the entry could soon see what manner of man he had to deal with he was small and very plainly dressed and the look of him even at that distance went somehow strongly against the s inclination but he made straight for the door crossing the to save time and as he came he drew a key from his pocket like one approaching home mr stepped out and touched him on the shoulder as he passed mr i think mr shrank back with a hissing of the breath but his fear was only momentary and though he did not look the lawyer in the face he answered coolly enough that is my name what do you want i see you are going in returned the lawyer i am an old friend of dr s mr search mb of gaunt street you must	38
and raised up again into a sober and fearful gratitude by mr the many that he had come so near to doing yet avoided and then by a return on his former subject he conceived a spark of hope this master if he were studied thought he must have secrets of his own black secrets by the look of him secrets compared to which poor s worst would be like sunshine things cannot continue as they are it turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to harry s bedside poor harry what a i and the danger of it for if this the existence of the wiu he may grow impatient to inherit ay i must put my shoulder to the wheel if will but let me he added if will only let me for once more he saw before his mind s eye as clear as a the strange of the will br and mb dr was quite at ease a fortnight later by excellent good fortune the doctor gave one of his pleasant dinners to some five or six old all intelligent men and all judges of good wine and mr so contrived that he remained behind after the others had departed this was no new arrangement but a thing that had befallen many scores of times where was liked he was liked well hosts loved to detain the dry lawyer when the light hearted and the loose had already their foot on the threshold they liked to sit awhile in his company for solitude their minds in the man s rich silence after the expense and strain of gaiety to this rule dr was no exception and as he now sat on the opposite side of the fire a large well made smooth faced man of fifty with something of a cast perhaps but every mark of dr was quite at ease ity and kindness you could see by his looks that he cherished for mr a sincere and warm affection i have been wanting to speak to you began the latter you know that will of yours a close observer might have gathered that the topic was distasteful but the doctor carried it off gaily my poor said he you are unfortunate in such a i never saw a man so distressed as you were by my will unless it were that hide bound at what he called my scientific o i know he s a good you needn t frown an excellent fellow and i always mean to see more of him but a for all that an ignorant i was never more disappointed in any man than tou know i never approved of it pursued the fresh topic my will yes certainly i know that said the doctor a trifle sharply you have told me so dr and mr well i tell you so again continued the lawyer i have been learning something of young the large handsome face of dr grew pale to the very lips and there came a blackness about his eyes i do not care to hear more said he this is a matter i thought we had agreed to drop what i heard was abominable said it can make no change you do not understand my position returned the doctor with a certain of manner i am painfully situated my position is a very strange a very strange one it is one of those affairs that cannot be mended by talking said you know me i am a man to be trusted make a clean breast of this in confidence and i make no doubt i can get you out of it my good said the doctor this is very good of you this is downright good of you and i cannot find words to thank you in i believe you fully i would trust you before dr was quite at ease any man alive ay before myself if i could make the choice but indeed it isn t what you fancy it is not so bad as that and just to put your good heart at rest i will tell you one thing the moment i choose i can be rid of mr i give you my hand upon that and i thank you again and again and i will just add one little word that i m sure you ll take in good part this is a private matter and i beg of you to let it sleep reflected a little looking in the fire i have no doubt you are perfectly right he said at last getting to his feet well but since we have touched upon this business and for the last time i hope continued the doctor there is one point i should like you to understand i have really a very great interest in poor i know you have seen him he told me so and i fear he was rude but i do sincerely take a great a very great interest in that young man and if i am taken away i wish you to promise me that you will bear with him and get his rights for him i think you would if you dr and mb knew all and it would be a weight off my mind if you would promise i can t pretend that i shall ever like him said the lawyer i don t ask that pleaded laying his hand upon the other s arm i only ask for justice i only ask you to help him for my sake when i am no longer here heaved an irrepressible sigh well said he i promise the murder case a year later in the month of october london was startled by a crime of singular ferocity and rendered all the more notable by the high position of the victim the details were few and startling a maid	38
servant living alone in a house not far from the river had gone up stairs to bed about eleven although a fog rolled over the city in the small hours the early part of the night was and the lane which the maid s window overlooked was brilliantly lit by the full moon it seems she was given for she sat down upon her box which stood immediately under the window and fell into a dream of musing never she used to say with streaming tears when she that experience never had she felt more at peace with all men or thought more kindly of the world and as she so sat she became aware of an aged dr and mr and beautiful gentleman with white hair drawing near along the lane and advancing to meet him another and very small gentleman to whom at first she paid less attention when they had come within speech which was just under the maid s eyes the older man bowed and the other with a very pretty manner of politeness it did not seem as if the subject of his address were of great importance indeed from his pointing it sometimes appeared as if he were only inquiring his way but the moon shone on his face as he spoke and the girl was pleased to watch it it seemed to breathe such an innocent and kindness of disposition yet with something high too as of a well founded self content presently her eye wandered to the other and she was surprised to recognise in him a certain mr who had once visited her master and for whom she had conceived a dislike he had in his hand a heavy cane with which he was trifling but he answered never a word and seemed to listen with an ill contained impatience and then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger stamping with the murder case his foot the cane and carrying on as the maid described it like a madman the old gentleman took a step back with the air of one very much surprised and a trifle hurt and at that mr broke out of all bounds and him to the earth and next moment ith like fury he was his victim under foot and down a storm of blows under which the bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped upon the at the horror of these sights and sounds the maid fainted it was two o clock when she came to herself and called for the police the murderer was gone long ago but there lay his victim in the middle of the lane the stick with which the deed had been done although it was of some rare and very tough and heavy wood had broken in the middle under the stress of this cruelty and one half had rolled in the neighbouring the other without doubt had been carried away by the murderer a purse and a gold watch were found upon the victim but no cards or papers except a sealed dr and mr stamped envelope which he had been pro carrying to the post and which bore the name and address of mr this was brought to the lawyer the next morning before he was out of bed and he had no sooner seen it and been told the circumstances than he shot out a solemn lip i shall say nothing till i have seen the body said he this may be very serious have the kindness to wait while i dress and with the same grave countenance he hurried through his breakfast and drove to the police station whither the body had been carried as soon as he came into the cell he nodded yes said he i recognise him i am sorry to say that this is sir good god sir exclaimed the officer is it possible and the next moment his eye lighted up with professional ambition this will make a deal of noise he said and perhaps you can help us to the man and he briefly what the maid had seen and showed the broken stick mr had already at the the murder case name of but when the stick was laid before him he could doubt no longer broken and battered as it was he recognized it for one that he had himself presented many years before to henry is this mr a person of small stature he inquired particularly small and particularly is what the maid calls him said the officer mr reflected and then raising his head if you will come with me in my cab he said i think i can take you to his house it was by this time about nine in the morning and the first fog of the season a great coloured pall lowered over heaven but the wind was continually charging and these so that as the cab crawled from street to street mr beheld a marvellous number of degrees and hues of twilight for here it would be dark like the back end of evening and there would be a glow of a rich lurid brown like the light of some strange and here for a dr and mr moment the fog would be quite broken up and a haggard shaft of daylight would glance in between the wreaths the dismal quarter of seen under these changing glimpses with its muddy ways and passengers and its lamps which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to combat this mournful of darkness seemed in the lawyer s eyes like a district of some city in a nightmare the thoughts of his mind besides were of the and when he glanced at the companion of his drive he was conscious of some touch of that terror of the law and the law s officers which may at times the most honest as the	38
cab drew up before the address indicated the fog lifted a little and showed him n dingy street a gin palace a low french eating house a shop for the of penny numbers and many ragged children huddled in the and many women of many different passing out key in hand to have a morning glass and the next moment the fog settled down again upon the murder case that part as brown as and cut him off from his surroundings this was the home of henry s favourite of a man who was heir to quarter of a million sterling an ivory faced and silvery haired old woman opened the door she had an evil face smoothed by but her manners were excellent yes she said this was mr s but he was not at home he had been in that night very late but had gone away again in less than an hour there was nothing strange in that his habits were very irregular and he was often absent for instance it was nearly two months since she had seen him till yesterday very well then we wish to see his rooms said the lawyer and when the woman began to declare it was impossible i had better tell you who this person is he added this is of scotland yard a flash of odious joy appeared upon the woman s face said she he is in trouble i what has he done mr and the exchanged dr and mr glances he don t seem a very popular character observed the latter and now my good woman just let me and this gentleman have a look about us in the whole extent of the house which but for the old woman remained otherwise empty mr had only used a couple of rooms but these were furnished with luxury and good taste a closet was filled with wine the plate was of silver the elegant a good picture hung upon the walls a gift as supposed from henry who was much of a and the carpets were of many and agreeable iu colour at this moment however the rooms bore every mark of having been recently and hurriedly clothes lay about the floor with their pockets inside out drawers stood open and on the hearth there lay a pile of gray ashes as though many papers had been burned from these embers the the butt end of a green book which had resisted the action of the fire the other half of the stick was found behind the door and as this the case his suspicions the officer declared himself delighted a visit to the bank where several thousand pounds were found to be lying to the murderer s credit completed his gratification you may depend upon it sir he told mr i have him in my hand he must have lost his head or he never would have left the stick or above all burned the book why money s life to the man we have nothing to do but wait for him at the bank and get out the this last however was not so easy of accomplishment for mr had numbered few even the master of the servant maid had only seen him twice his family could nowhere be traced he had never been and the few who could describe him differed widely as common will only on one point were they agreed and that was the haunting sense of with which the fugitive impressed his dr and mr incident of the letter it was late in the afternoon when mr found his way to dr s door where he was at once admitted by and carried down by the kitchen offices and across a yard which had once been a garden to the building which was indifferently known as the or the rooms the doctor had bought the house from the of a celebrated surgeon and his own tastes being rather had changed the destination of the block at the bottom of the garden it was the first time that the lawyer had been received in that part of his friend s quarters and he eyed the dingy structure with curiosity and gazed round with a distasteful sense of strangeness as he crossed the theatre once crowded with eager students and now lying gaunt and silent the tables laden with apparatus the floor incident of thb strewn with and with packing straw and the light falling dimly through the at the further end a flight of stairs mounted to a door covered with red and through this mr was at last received into the doctor s cabinet it was a large room fitted round with glass presses furnished among other things with a glass and a business table and looking out upon the court by three dusty windows barred with iron the fire burned in the grate a lamp was set lighted on the chimney shelf for even in the houses the fog began to lie thickly and there close up to the warmth sat dr looking deadly sick he did not rise to meet his visitor but held out a cold hand and bade him welcome in a changed voice and now said mr as soon as had left them you have heard the news the doctor shuddered they were crying it in the square he said i heard them in my dining room one word said the lawyer was dr and mr my but so are yon and i want to know what i am doing you have not been mad enough to hide this fellow i swear to god cried the doctor i swear to god i will never set eyes on him again i bind my honour to you that i am done with him in this world it is all at an end and indeed he does not want my help you do not know him as i do	38
he is safe he is quite safe mark my words he will never more be heard of the lawyer listened gloomily he did not like his friend s feverish manner you seem pretty sure of him said he and for your sake i hope you may be right if it came to a trial your name might appear i am quite sure of him replied i have grounds for certainty that i cannot share with anyone but there is one thing on which you may advise me i have i have received a letter and i am at a loss whether i should show it to the police i should like to leave it in your hands you would judge wisely i am sure i have so great a trust in you incident of the letter you fear i suppose that it might lead to his detection asked the lawyer no said the other i cannot say that i care what becomes of i am quite done with him i was thinking of my own character which this hateful business has rather exposed awhile he was surprised at his friend s selfishness and yet relieved by it well said he at last let me see the letter the letter was written in an odd upright hand and signed edward and it signified briefly enough that the writer s benefactor dr whom he had long so repaid for a thousand need labour under no alarm for his safety as ho had means of escape on which he placed a sure dependence the lawyer liked this letter well enough it put a better colour on the intimacy than he had looked for and he blamed himself for some of his past suspicions have you the envelope he asked i burned it replied before i thought what i was but it bore no the note was handed in dr and mb shall i keep this and sleep upon it asked i wish you to judge for me entirely was the reply i have lost confidence in myself well i shall consider returned the lawyer and now one word more it was who dictated the terms in your wiu about that disappearance the doctor seemed seized with a of he shut his mouth tight and nodded i knew it said he meant to murder you you haye had a fine escape i have had what is far more to the purpose returned the doctor solemnly i haye had a lesson o god what a lesson i have had and he covered his face for a moment with his hands on his way out the lawyer stopped and had a word or two with by the by said he there was a letter handed in to day what was the messenger like but was positive nothing had come except by post and only by that he added this news sent o f the visitor with his fears incident op the letter renewed plainly the letter had come by the door possibly indeed it had been written in the cabinet and if that were so it be differently judged and handled with the more caution the as he went were crying themselves hoarse along the special edition shocking murder of an m p that was the funeral of one friend and and he could not help a certain apprehension lest the good name of another should be sucked down in the of the scandal it was at least a decision that he had to make and self as he was by habit he began to cherish a longing for advice it was not to be had directly but perhaps he thought it might be for presently after he sat on one side of his own hearth with mr guest his head clerk upon the other and between at a nicely calculated distance from the fire a bottle of a particular old wine that had long dwelt in the foundations of his house the fog still slept on the wing above the drowned city where the lamps like dr and mr and through the and of these fallen clouds the procession of the town s life was still rolling in through the great with a sound as of a mighty wind but the room was gay with in the bottle the were long ago resolved the imperial had softened with time as the colour grows richer in stained windows and the glow of hot autumn on was ready to be set free and to the of london the lawyer melted there was no man from whom he kept fewer secrets than mr guest and he was not always sure that he kept as many as he meant guest had often been on business to the doctor s he knew he could scarce haye failed to hear of mr s familiarity about the house he might draw conclusions was it not as well then that he should see a letter which put that mystery to rights and above all since guest being a great student and critic of handwriting would consider the step natural and obliging the clerk besides was a man of counsel he would scarce read so strange a document without dropping a remark and by incident op the letter that remark mr might shape his future course this is a sad business about sir he said sir indeed it has a great deal of public feeling returned guest the man of course was mad i should like to hear your views on that replied i have a document here in his handwriting it is between ourselves for i scarce know what to do about it it is an ugly business at the best but there it is quite in your way a murderer s guest s eyes brightened and he sat down at once and studied it with passion no sir he said not mad but it is an odd hand and by	38
share his view that we must never meet i mean from henceforth to lead a life of extreme seclusion you must not be surprised nor must you doubt my friendship if my door is often shut even to you you must suffer me to go my own dark way i have brought on myself a punishment and a danger that i cannot name if i am the chief of i am the chief of also i could not think that this earth contained a place for sufferings and terrors so and you can do but one thing to this destiny and that is to respect my silence was dr and mr amazed the dark influence of had been withdrawn the doctor had returned to his old tasks and a week ago the prospect had smiled with every promise of a cheerful and an honoured age and now in a moment friendship and peace of mind and the whole tenor of his life were wrecked so great and unprepared a change pointed to madness but in view of s manner and words there must lie for it some deeper ground a week afterwards dr took to his bed and in something less than a fortnight he was dead the night after the funeral at which he had been sadly affected locked the door of his business room and sitting there by the light of a melancholy candle drew out and set before him an envelope addressed by the hand and sealed with the seal of his dead friend private for the hands of j g and in case of his to be destroyed so it was emphatically and the lawyer dreaded to behold the contents i have buried one friend to day he thought what if this should cost me another and then remarkable incident of dr he condemned the fear as a and broke the seal within there was another likewise sealed and marked upon the cover as not to be opened till the death or disappearance of dr henry could not trust his eyes yes it was disappearance here again as in the mad will which he had long ago restored to its author here again were the idea of a disappearance and the name of henry but in the will that idea had sprung from the sinister suggestion of the man it was set there with a purpose all too plain and horrible written by the hand of what should it mean a great curiosity came on the to disregard the and at once to the bottom of these mysteries but professional honour and faith to his dead friend were obligations and the packet slept in the inmost corner of his private safe it is one thing to curiosity another to conquer it and it may be doubted if from that day forth desired the society of his friend with the same eagerness dr and mr he thought of him kindly but his thoughts were and fearful he went to call indeed but he was perhaps relieved to be denied perhaps in his heart he preferred to speak with upon the and surrounded by the air and sounds of the open city rather than to be admitted into that house of voluntary bondage and to sit and speak with its inscrutable had indeed no very pleasant news to communicate the doctor it appeared now more than ever confined himself to the cabinet over the where he would sometimes even sleep he was out of spirits he had grown very silent he did not read it seemed as if he had something on his mind became so used to the character of those reports that he fell off little by little in the of his visits at the window incident at the window it chanced on sunday when mr was on his usual walk with mr that their way lay once again through the and that when they came in front of the door both stopped to gaze on it well said that story s at an end at least we shall never see more of mr hope not said did i ever tell you that i once saw him and shared your feeling of it was impossible to do the one without the other returned and by the way what an ass you must have thought me not to know that this was a back way to dr s i it was partly your own fault that i found it out even when i did so you found it out did you said utter dr and mr son but if that be so we may step into the court and take a look at the windows to tell you the truth i am uneasy about poor and even outside i feel as if the presence of a friend might do him good the court was very cool and a little damp and full of premature twilight although the sky high up overhead was still bright with sunset the middle one of the three windows was half way open and sitting close beside it taking the air with an infinite sadness of mien like some prisoner saw dr what i i he cried i trust you are better i am very low replied the doctor very low it will not last long thank god you stay too much indoors said the lawyer you should be out up the circulation like mr and me this is my cousin mr dr come now get your hat and take a quick turn with us you are very good sighed the other i incident at the window should like to very but no no no it is quite impossible i dare not but indeed i am very glad to see you tliis is really a great pleasure i would ask you and mr up but the place is really not fit why then said the lawyer good the best thing	38
we can do is to stay down here and speak with you from where we are that is just what i was about to venture to propose returned the doctor with a smile but the words were hardly uttered before the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair as the very blood of the two gentlemen below they saw it but for a glimpse for the window was instantly thrust down but that glimpse had been sufficient and they turned and left the court without a word in silence too they traversed the and it was not until they had come into a neighbouring where even upon a sunday there were still some of life that mr at last turned and looked at his companion they were both dr and mr pale and there was an answering horror in their eyes god forgive us god forgive us said mr but mr only nodded his head very seriously and walked on once more in silence last night the last night mb wa sitting by his fireside one evening after dinner when he was surprised to receive a visit j rom bless me what brings you here he cried and then taking a second look at him what you he added is the doctor ill mr said the man there is something wrong take a seat and here is a glass of wine for you said the lawyer now take your time and tell me plainly what you want tou know the doctor s ways sir replied and how he himself up well he s shut up again in the cabinet and i don t like it sir i wish i may die if i like it mr sir afraid now my good man said the lawyer be explicit what are you afraid of dr and mr been afraid for about a week returned the question and i can bear it no more tbe man s appearance amply bore out his words his manner was altered for the worse and except for the moment when he had first announced his terror he had not once looked the lawyer in the face even now he sat with the glass of wine on his knee and his eyes directed to a comer of the floor i can bear it no more he repeated come said the lawyer i see you have some good reason i see there is something seriously amiss try to tell me what it is i think there s been foul play said hoarsely foul play cried the lawyer a good deal frightened and rather inclined to be irritated in consequence what foul play what does the man mean i t say sir was the answer but will you come along with me and see for yourself mr s only answer was to rise and the last night get his hat and great coat but he observed with wonder the greatness of the relief that appeared upon the butler s face and perhaps with no less that the wine was still when he set it down to follow it was a wild cold night of march with a pale moon lying on her back as though the wind had her and a flying of the most and texture the wind made talking difficult and the blood into the face it seemed to have swept the streets unusually bare of passengers besides for mr thought he had never seen that part of london so deserted he could have wished it otherwise never in his life had he been conscious of so sharp a wish to see and touch his fellow creatures for struggle as he might there was borne in upon his mind a crushing anticipation of calamity the square when they got there was all full of wind and dust and the thin trees in the garden were themselves along the railing who had kept all the way a pace or two ahead now pulled up in the middle of the pavement and dr and mr in spite of the biting weather took off his hat and his brow with a red but for all the hurry of his coming these were not the of exertion that he wiped away but the moisture of some anguish for his face was white and his voice when he spoke harsh and broken well sir he said here we are and god grant there be nothing wrong amen said the lawyer thereupon the servant knocked in a very guarded manner the door was opened on the chain and a voice asked from within is that you it s all right said open the door the hall when they entered it was brightly lighted up the fire was built high and about the hearth the whole of the servants men and women stood huddled together like a flock of sheep at the sight of mr the broke into hysterical and the cook crying out bless god it s mr ran forward as if to take him in her arms what what are you all here said the the last night lawyer very irregular very your master would be far from pleased they re all afraid said blank silence followed no one protesting only the maid lifted up her voice and now wept loudly hold your tongue said to her with a ferocity of accent that to his own nerves and indeed when the girl had so suddenly raised the note of her they had all started and turned towards the inner door with faces of dreadful expectation and now continued the butler addressing the knife boy reach me a candle and we ll get this through hands at once and then he begged mr to follow him and led the way to the back garden now sir said he you come as gently as you can i want you to hear and i	38
don t want you to be heard and see here sir if by any chance he was to ask you in don t go mr s nerves at this for termination gave a jerk that nearly threw him from his balance but he recollected his courage and followed the butler into the i dr and mb building and through the theatre with its lumber of and bottles to the foot of the stair here him to stand on one side and listen while he himself setting down the candle and making a great and obvious call on his resolution mounted the steps and knocked with a somewhat uncertain hand on the red of the cabinet door mr sir asking to see you he called and even as he did so once more violently signed to the lawyer to give ear a voice answered from within tell him i cannot see anyone it said thank you sir said with a note of something like triumph in his voice and taking up his candle he led mr back across the yard and into the great kitchen where the fire was out and the were leaping on the floor sir he said looking mr in the eyes was that my master s voice it seems much changed replied the lawyer very pale but giving look for look changed well yes i think so said the butler have i been twenty years in this the last night man s house to be deceived about his voice no sir master s made away with he was made away with eight days ago when we heard him cry out upon the name of god and who s in there instead of him and why it stays there is a thing that cries to heaven mr this is a very strange tale this is rather a wild tale my man said mr biting his finger suppose it were as you suppose supposing dr to have been well murdered what could induce the murderer to stay that won t hold water it doesn t commend itself to reason well mr you are a hard man to satisfy but i ll do it yet said all this last week you must know him or it or whatever it is that lives in that cabinet has been crying night and day for some sort of medicine and cannot get it to his mind it was sometimes his way the master s that is to write his orders on a sheet of paper and throw it on the stair we ve had nothing else this week back nothing but papers and a closed door and the very meals left there to be dr and mr in when nobody was looking well sir every day ay and twice and thrice in the same day there have been orders and complaints and i have been sent flying to all the in town i brought the stuff back there would be another paper telling me to return it because it was not pure and another order to a different firm this is wanted bitter bad sir whatever for have you any of these papers asked mr felt in his pocket and handed out a note which the lawyer bending nearer to the candle carefully examined its contents ran thus dr presents his compliments to messrs he them that their last is and quite useless for his present purpose in the year dr j purchased a somewhat large quantity from messrs m he now them to search with the most care and should any of the same quality be left to forward it to him at once expense is no consideration the importance of this to dr j the last night can hardly be exaggerated so far the letter had run enough but here with a sudden of the pen the writer s emotion had broken lose for god s sake he had added find me some of the old this is a strange note said mr and then sharply how do you come to have it open the man at s was main angry sir and he threw it back to me like so much dirt returned this is unquestionably the doctor s hand do you know resumed the lawyer i thought it looked like it said the servant rather and then with another voice but what matters hand of write he said i ve seen him seen him repeated mr well that s it said it was this way i came suddenly into the theatre from the garden it seems he had slipped out to look for this or whatever it is for the cabinet door was open and there he was at the far end of the room digging among the he dr and mr looked up when i came in gave a kind of cry and whipped upstairs into the cabinet it was but for one minute that i saw him but the hair stood upon my head like sir if that was my master why had he a mask upon his face if it was my master why did he cry out like a rat and run from me i have served him long enough and then the man paused and passed his hand over his face these are all very strange circumstances said mr but i think i begin to see daylight your master is plainly seized with one of those that both torture and the sufferer hence for aught i know the alteration of his voice hence the mask and the of his friends hence his eagerness to find this by means of which the poor soul some hope of ultimate recovery god grant that he be not deceived there is my explanation it is sad enough ay and appalling to consider but it is plain and natural hangs well together and us from all sir said the butler turning to a	38
wept too but now the ten minutes drew to an end the axe from under a of packing straw the candle was set upon the nearest table to light them to the attack and they drew near with breath to where that patient foot was still going up and down up and down in the quiet of the night cried with a loud voice i demand to see you he paused a moment but there came no reply i give you fair warning our suspicions are and i must and shall see you he resumed if not by fair means then by foul if not of your consent then by brute force said the voice for god s sake have mercy ah that s not s voice it s s cried down with the door the last night swung the axe over his shoulder the blow shook the building and the red door leaped against the lock and hinges a dismal as of mere animal terror rang from the cabinet up went the axe again and again the and the frame bounded four times the blow fell but the wood was tough and the were of excellent and it was not until the fifth that the lock burst in and the wreck of the door fell on the carpet the appalled by their own riot and the stillness that had succeeded stood back a little and peered in there lay the cabinet before their eyes in the quiet a good fire glowing and chattering on the hearth the kettle singing its thin strain a drawer or two open papers neatly set forth on the business table and nearer the fire the things laid out for tea the room you would have said and but for the glazed presses full of the most commonplace that night in london in the midst there lay the body of a man sorely and still dr and mr they drew near on turned it on its back and beheld the face of edward he was dressed in clothes far too large for him clothes of the doctor s the of his face still moved with a semblance of life but life was quite gone and by the crushed in the hand and the strong smell of that hung upon the air knew that he was looking on the body of a we have come too late he said sternly whether to save or punish is gone to his account and it only remains for us to find the body of your master the far greater proportion of the building was occupied by the theatre which filled almost the whole ground story and was lighted from above and by the cabinet which formed an upper story at one end and looked upon the court a corridor joined the theatre to the door on the and with this the cabinet communicated separately by a second flight of stairs there were besides a few dark and a spacious cellar all these they now thoroughly ex the last night each closet needed but a glance for all were empty and all by the dust that fell from their doors had stood long the cellar indeed was filled with crazy lumber mostly from the times of the surgeon who was s but even as they opened the door they were advertised of the of further search by the fall of a perfect mat of which had for years sealed up the entrance nowhere was there any trace of henry dead or alive stamped on the of the corridor he must be buried here he said to the sound or he may have fled said and he turned to examine the door in the it was locked and lying near by on the flags they found the key already stained with this does not look like use observed the lawyer use echoed do you not see sir it is broken much as if a man had stamped on it ay continued and the da and too are rusty the two men looked at each other with a scare this is beyond me said the lawyer let us go back to the cabinet they mounted the stair in silence and still with an occasional glance at the dead body proceeded more thoroughly to examine the contents of the cabinet at one table there were traces of work various measured heaps of some white salt being laid on glass as though for an experiment in which the unhappy man had been prevented that is the same that i was always bringing him said and even as he spoke the kettle with a startling noise boiled over this brought them to the fireside where the easy chair was drawn up and the tea things stood ready to the s elbow the very sugar in the cup there were several books on a shelf one lay beside the tea things open and was amazed to find it a copy of a pious work for which had several times expressed a great esteem the last night in his own hand with startling next in the course of their review of the chamber the came to the glass into whose depths they looked with an horror but it was so turned as to show them nothing but the rosy glow playing on the roof the fire sparkling in a hundred along the glazed front of the presses and their own pale and fearful countenances stooping to look in this glass have seen some strange things sir whispered and surely none stranger than itself echoed the lawyer in the same tones for what did he caught himself up at the word with k start and then conquering the weakness what could want with it he said tou may say that i said next they turned to the business table on the desk among the neat array of papers a large envelope was uppermost and	38
bore in the doctor s hand the name of mr the lawyer it and several dr and mr fell to the floor the first was a will drawn in the same eccentric terms as the one which he had returned six months before to serve as a testament in case of death and as a deed of gift in case of disappearance but in place of the name of edward the lawyer with indescribable amazement read the name of john he looked at and then back at the paper and last of all at the dead stretched upon the carpet my head goes round he said he has been all these days in possession he had no cause to like me he must have raged to see himself and he has not destroyed this document he caught up the next paper it was a brief note in the doctor s hand and dated at the top o the lawyer cried he was alive and here this day he cannot have been disposed of in so short a space he must be still alive he must have fled and then why fled and how and in that case can we venture to declare this suicide o we must be careful i foresee that we may yet involve your master in some dire catastrophe the last night why don t you read it sir asked because i fear replied the lawyer solemnly god grant i have no cause for it and with that he brought the paper to his eyes and read as follows my dear when this shall fall into your hands i shall have disappeared under what circumstances i have not the penetration to foresee but my instinct and all the circumstances of my nameless situation tell me that the end is sure and must be early go then and first read narrative hich warned me he was to place in your hands and if you care to hear more turn to the confession of tour unworthy and unhappy friend there was a third asked here sir said and gave into his hands a considerable packet sealed in several places the lawyer put it in his pocket i would say nothing of this paper if your master has dr and mr fled or is dead we may at least save liis credit it is now ten i must go home and read these documents in quiet but i shall be back before midnight when we shall send for the police they went out the door of the theatre behind them and once more leaving the servants gathered about the fire in the hall back to his office to read the two in which this mystery was now to be explained dr s narrative doctor l narrative on the ninth of january now four days ago i received by the evening delivery a envelope addressed in the hand of my and old school companion henry i was a good deal surprised by this for we were by no means in the habit of correspondence i had seen the man dined with him indeed the night before and i could imagine nothing in our intercourse that should justify formality of the contents increased my wonder for this is how the letter ran th december dear tou are one of my oldest friends and although we may have differed at times on c questions i cannot remember at least on my side any break in our affection there was never a day when if you had said to me my life my honour my reason depend upon you i would not have dr and mr sacrificed my left hand to help yon my life my honour my reason are all at your mercy if you fail me to night i am you might suppose after this preface that i am going to ask you for something to grant judge for yourself i want you to all other engagements for to ay even if you were summoned to the bedside of an emperor to take a cab unless your carriage should be actually at the door and with this letter in your hand for consultation to drive straight to my house my butler has his orders you will find him waiting your arrival with a the door of my cabinet is then to be forced and you are to go in alone to open the glazed press letter e on the left hand breaking the lock if it be shut and to draw out with all its contents as tliey stand the fourth drawer from the top or which is the same thing the third from the bottom in my extreme distress of mind i have a morbid fear of you but even if i am in error you may know the right drawer by its contents some a and a paper book this drawer dr s i beg of you to carry back with you to square exactly as it stands that is the first part of the service now for the second you should be back if you set out at once on the receipt of this long before midnight but i will leave you that amount of margin not only in the fear of one of those obstacles that can neither be prevented nor foreseen but because an hour when your servants are in bed is to be preferred for what will then remain to do at midnight then i have to ask you to be alone in your room to admit with your own hand into the house a man who will present himself in my name and to place in his hands the drawer that you will have brought with you from my cabinet then you will have played your part and earned my gratitude completely five minutes afterwards if you insist upon an explanation you will have understood that these arrangements are of capital importance	38
and that by the neglect of one of them fantastic as they must appear you might have charged your conscience with my death or the of my reason da and ma confident as i am that you will not trifle with this appeal my heart sinks and my hand at the bare thought of such a possibility think of me at this hour in a strange place laboring under a blackness of distress that no fancy can and yet well aware that if you will but serve me my troubles will roll away like a story that is told serve me my dear and save tour friend h j p s i had already sealed this up when a fresh terror struck upon my soul it is possible that the post office may fail me and this letter not come into your hands until tomorrow morning in that case dear do my errand when it shall be most convenient for you in the course of the day and once more expect my messenger at midnight it may then already be too late and if that night passes without event you will know that you have seen the last of henry upon the reading of this letter i made sure dr s narrative my was insane but till that was proved beyond the possibility of doubt i felt bound to do as he requested the less i understood of this the less i was in a position to judge of its importance and an appeal so could not be set aside without a grave responsibility i rose accordingly from table got into a and drove straight to s house the butler was awaiting my arrival he had received by the same post as mine a letter of instruction and had sent at once for a and a carpenter the came while we were yet speaking and we moved in a body to old dr s theatre from which as you are doubtless aware s private cabinet is most conveniently entered the door was very strong the lock excellent the carpenter he would have great trouble and have to do much damage if force were to be used and the was near despair but this last was a handy fellow and after two hours work the door stood open the press marked e was unlocked and i took out the drawer had it filled up with straw and tied in a dr and mr sheet and returned with it to square here i proceeded to examine its contents the were neatly enough made up but not with the of the so that it was plain they were of s private manufacture and when i opened one of the i found what seemed to me a simple salt of a white colour the to which i next turned my attention might have been about half full of a blood red liquor which was highly to the sense of smell and seemed to me to contain and some at the other i could make no guess the book was to ordinary version book and contained little but a series of dates these covered a period of many years but i observed that the ceased nearly a year ago and quite abruptly here and there a brief remark was to a date usually no more than a single word double perhaps six times in a total of several and once very early in the list and followed by several marks of exclamation total failure all dr s this though it my curiosity told me little that was definite here were a of some a paper of some salt and the record of a series of experiments that had led like too many of s to no end of practical usefulness how the presence of these articles in my house affect either the honour the or the life of my if his messenger could go to one place why could he not go to another and some why was this gentleman to be received by me in secret the more i reflected the more convinced i grew that i was dealing with a case of disease and though i dismissed my servants to bed i loaded an old revolver that i might be found in some posture of self defence twelve o clock had scarce rung out over london ere the sounded very gently on the door i went myself at the summons and found a small man crouching against the pillars of the are you come from dr i asked he told me yes by a constrained gesture and when i had him enter he did not dr and mr obey me without a searching backward glance into the darkness of the square there was a policeman not far off advancing with his bull s eye open and at the sight i thought my visitor started and made greater haste these particulars struck me i confess and as i followed him into the bright light of the consulting room i kept my hand ready on my weapon here at last i had a chance of clearly seeing him i had never set eyes on him before so much was certain he was small as i have said i was struck besides with the shocking expression of his face with his remarkable combination of great muscular activity and great apparent of constitution and last but not least with the odd disturbance caused by his neighbourhood this bore some resemblance to and was accompanied by a marked sinking of the pulse at the time i set it down to some personal and merely wondered at the of the symptoms but i have since had reason to believe the cause to lie much deeper in the nature of man and to turn on dr s some nobler than the principle of hatred this person who had thus from the first moment of his entrance struck	38
in me what i can only describe as a curiosity was dressed in a fashion that would have made an ordinary person his clothes that is to say although they were of rich and sober fabric were too large for him in every the trousers hanging on his legs and rolled up to keep them from the ground the waist of the coat below his and the collar wide upon his shoulders strange to relate this ludicrous was far from moving me to laughter as there was something ab normal and in the very essence of the creature that now faced me something seizing surprising and this fresh seemed but to fit in with and to it so that to my interest in the man s nature and character there was added a curiosity as to his origin his life his fortune and in the world these observations though they have taken i dr and mr so great a space to be set down in were yet the work of a few seconds my was indeed on fire with sombre excitement have you got it he cried have you got it and so lively was his impatience that he even laid his hand upon my arm and sought to shake me i put him back conscious at his touch of a certain icy pang along my blood come sir said l you forget that i have not yet the pleasure of your acquaintance be seated if you please and i showed him an example and sat down myself in my customary seat and with as fair an imitation of my ordinary manner to a patient as the of the hour the nature of my and the horror i had of my visitor would suffer me to muster i beg your pardon dr he replied enough what you say is very well founded and my impatience has shown its heels to my politeness i come here at the instance of your dr henry on a piece of business of some moment and i understood he paused and put his hand to his throat and i could see in spite of dr s narrative his collected manner that he was against the approaches of the i understood a drawer but here i took pity on my visitor s suspense and some perhaps on my own growing curiosity there it is sir said i pointing to the drawer where it lay on the floor behind a table and still covered with the sheet he sprang to it and then paused and laid his hand upon his heart i could hear his teeth grate with the action of his jaws and his face was so ghastly to see that i grew alarmed both for his life and reason compose yourself said i he turned a dreadful smile to me and as if with the decision of despair plucked away the at sight of the contents he uttered one loud sob of such relief that i sat and the ni moment in a voice that was already fairly well under control have you a glass he asked i rose from my place with something of an effort and gave him what he asked he thanked me with a smiling nod dr and mr out a few of the red and added one of the the mixture which was at first of a hue began in proportion as the melted to in colour to audibly and to throw off small of suddenly and at the same moment the ceased and the compound changed to a dark purple which faded again more slowly to a watery green my visitor who had watched these with a keen eye smiled set down the glass upon the table and then turned and looked upon me with an air of scrutiny and now said he to settle what remains will you be wise will you be guided will you suffer me to take this glass in my hand and to go forth from your house without further or has the of curiosity too much command of you think before you answer for it shall be done as you decide as you decide you shall be left as you were before and neither richer nor wiser unless the sense of service rendered to a man in mortal distress may be counted as a kind of riches of dr s the soul or if you shall so prefer to choose a new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame and power shall be laid open to you here in this room upon the instant and your sight shall be by a to the of satan sir said i affecting a coolness that i was far from truly possessing you speak and you will perhaps not wonder that i hear you with no very strong impression of but i have gone too far in the way of inexplicable services to pause before i see the end it is well replied my visitor you remember your vows what follows is under the seal of our profession and now you who have so long been bound to the most narrow and material views you who have denied tbe virtue of medicine you who have your behold he put the glass to his lips and drank at one a cry followed he staggered clutched at the table and held on staring with eyes gasping with open x dr and ma and as i looked there came i thought a change he seemed to swell his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter and the next moment i had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall my arm raised to shield me from that my mind in terror o god i screamed and o god again and again for there before my eyes pale and shaken and half fainting	38
and groping before him with his hands uke a man restored from death there stood henry what he told me in the next hour i cannot bring my mind to set on paper i saw what i saw i heard what i heard and my soul at it and yet now when that sight has faded from my eyes i ask myself if i believe it and i cannot answer my life is shaken to its roots sleep has left me the terror sits by me at all hours of the day and night i feel that my days are numbered and that i must die and yet i shall die incredulous as for the moral that man to me even with tears of i cannot even in memory dwell on it without dr s a start of horror i will say but one thing and that if yon can bring your mind to credit it will be more than enough the creature who crept into my house that night was on s own confession known by the name of and hunted for in every comer of the land as the murderer of and mr henry full statement of tub case i was bom in the year to a large fortune endowed besides with excellent parts inclined by nature to industry fond of the respect of the wise and good among my fellow men and thus as might have been supposed with every of an honourable and distinguished future and indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition such as has made the happiness of many but such as i found it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high and wear a more than commonly grave countenance i before the public hence it came about that i concealed my pleasures and that when i reached years of reflection and began to look round me and take stock of my progress and position in the world i stood already committed to a profound of life henry s statement of the case many a man would have even such as i was guilty of but from the high views that i had set before me i re and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame it was thus rather the ex acting nature of my aspirations than any particular degradation in my faults that made me what i was and with even a deeper than in the majority of men severed in me those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man s nature in this case i was driven to reflect deeply and on that hard law of life which lies at the root of religion and is one of the most plentiful springs of distress though so profound a double dealer i was in no sense a both sides of me were in dead earnest i was no more myself when i laid aside restraint and plunged in shame than when i in the eye of day at the of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering and it chanced that the direction of my scientific studies which led wholly towards the mystic and the and shed a strong light dr and mr on this of the war among my members with every day and from both sides of my intelligence the moral and the intellectual i thus drew steadily nearer to that truth by whose partial discovery i have been doomed to such a dreadful that man is not truly one but truly two i say two because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point others will follow others will me on the same lines and i hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere of and independent i for my part from the nature of my life advanced in one direction and in one direction only it was on the moral side and in my own person that i learned to recognise the thorough and primitive of man i saw that of the two natures that in the field of my consciousness even if i could rightly be said to be either it was only because i was both and from an early date even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked henry s statement op the case possibility of such a miracle i bad learned to dwell with pleasure as a beloved on the thought of the separation of these elements if each i told myself could but be in separate life would be relieved of all that was the unjust might go his way delivered from the tions and remorse of his more upright twin and the just could walk and se on his upward path doing the things in which he found his pleasure and no longer exposed to disgrace and by the hands of this evil it was the j curse of mankind that these were thus bound together that in the of consciousness these should be struggling how then were they i was so far in my reflections when as i have said a side light began to shine upon the subject from the table i began to perceive more deeply than it has ever yet been stated the trembling the mist like of this seemingly so solid body in which we walk attired certain agents dr and mb i found to have the power to shake and to pluck back that even as a wind might toss the curtains of a for two good reasons i will not enter deeply into this scientific branch of my confession first because i have been made to learn that the doom and of our life is bound forever on man s shoulders and when the attempt is made to cast it off it but returns upon us with more and more	38
awful pressure second because as my narrative will make alas i too evident my discoveries were enough then that i not only recognised my natural body for the mere and of certain of the powers that made up my spirit but managed to compound a by which these powers should be from their and a second form and countenance none the less natural to me because they were the ex and bore the stamp of lower ments in my soul i hesitated long before i put this theory to the test of practice i knew well that i risked death for any that so controlled henry s statement of the case and shook the very fortress of identity might by the least of an or at the least in the moment of exhibition utterly blot out that which i looked to it to change but the temptation of a discovery so singular and profound at last overcame the suggestions of alarm i had long since prepared my i purchased at once from a firm of a large quantity of a particular salt which i knew from my experiments to be the last required and late one accursed night i the elements them boil and smoke together in the glass and when the had subsided with a strong glow of courage drank off the the most pangs succeeded a grinding in the bones deadly and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death then these agonies began swiftly to and i came to myself as if out of a great sickness there was something strange in my sensations something new and from its very novelty sweet i felt younger lighter hap dr and mr pier in body within i was conscious of a a current of disordered images running like a mill race in my fancy a solution of the bonds of obligation an unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul i know myself at the first breath of this new life to be more wicked more wicked sold a slave to my original evil and the thought in that moment and de lighted me like wine i stretched out my hands in the freshness of these sensations and in the act i was suddenly aware that i had lost in stature there was no mirror at that date in my room that which stands beside me as i write was brought there later on and for the very purpose of these the night however was far gone into the morning the morning black as it was was nearly ripe for the conception of the day the inmates of my house were locked in the most hours of slumber and i determined flushed as i was with hope and triumph to venture in my new shape as far as to my bedroom i crossed the yard wherein the looked down henry s statement op the case ill upon me i could have thought with wonder the first creature of that sort that their vigilance had yet disclosed to them i stole through the a stranger in my own house and coming to my room i saw for the first time the appearance of edward i must here speak by theory alone saying not that which i know but that which i suppose to be most probable the evil side of my nature to which i had now transferred the stamping was less robust and less developed than the good which i had just again in the course of my life which had been after all nine a life of effort virtue and control it had been much less exercised and much less exhausted and hence as i think it came about that edward was so much smaller and younger than henry even as good shone upon the countenance of the one evil was written and plainly on the face of the other evil besides which i must still believe to be the side of man had left on that body an of and decay and yet dr and mr i when i looked upon that ugly idol in the glass i i was conscious of no rather of a leap of welcome this too was myself it seemed natural and human in my eyes it bore a image of the spirit it seemed more express and single than the imperfect and divided countenance i had been hitherto accustomed to call mine and in so far i was doubtless right i have observed that when i wore the semblance of edward none could come near to me at first without a visible of the flesh this as i take it was because all human beings as we meet them are out of good and evil and edward alone in the ranks of mankind was pure evil i lingered but a moment at the mirror the second and experiment had yet to be attempted it yet remained to be seen if i had lost my identity beyond and must flee before daylight from a house that was no longer mine and hurrying back to my cabinet i once more prepared and drank the cup once more suffered the pangs of dissolution and came to myself once more with the s statement of the case character the stature and the face of henry that night i had come to the fatal cross roads had i approached my discovery in a more noble spirit had i risked the experiment while under the empire of generous or pious aspirations all must have been otherwise and from these agonies of death and l i had come forth an angel instead of a the had no action it was neither nor divine it but shook the doors of the of my disposition and like the of that which stood within ran forth at that time my virtue my evil kept awake by ambition was alert	38
and swift to seize the occasion and the thing that was projected was edward hence although i had now two characters as well as two appearances one was wholly evil and the other was still the old henry that compound of whose and improvement i had already learned to despair the movement was thus wholly toward the worse even at that time i had not yet conquered dr and my aversion to the of a life of study i would still be merrily disposed at times and as my pleasures were to say the least and i was not only well known and highly considered but growing towards the elderly man this of my life was daily growing more unwelcome it was on this side that my new power tempted me until i fell in slavery i had but to drink the cup to at once the body of the noted professor and to assume like a thick cloak that of edward i smiled at the notion it seemed to me at the time to be humorous and i made my preparations with the most care i took and furnished that house in to which was by the police and engaged as housekeeper a creature whom i well knew to be silent and on the other side i announced to my servants that a mr whom i described was to have full liberty and power about my house in the square and to i even called and made myself a familiar object in my second character i next drew up that will to which you so much henry s statement of the case objected so that if anything me in the person of doctor i could enter on that of without pecuniary loss and thus fortified as i supposed on every side i began to profit by the strange of my position men have before hired to their crimes while their own person and reputation sat under shelter i was the first that ever did so for his pleasures i was the first that could thus in the public eye with a load of genial respectability and in a moment like a strip off these and spring headlong into the sea of liberty but for me in my impenetrable mantle the safety was complete think of it i did not even exist i let me but escape into my door give me but a second or two to mix and swallow the draught that i had always standing ready and whatever he had done edward would pass away like the stain of breath upon a mirror and there in his stead quietly at home the midnight lamp in his study a man who could afford to laugh at suspicion would be henry dr and mr the pleasures which i made haste to seek in my disguise were as i have said i would scarce use a harder term but in the hands of edward they soon began to turn towards the monstrous when i would come back from these excursions i was often plunged into a kind of wonder at my this familiar that i called out of my own soul and sent forth alone to do his good pleasure was a being and his every act and thought on self drinking pleasure with from any degree of torture to another like a man of stone henry stood at times aghast before the acts of edward but the situation was apart from ordinary laws and relaxed the grasp of conscience it was after all and alone that was guilty was no worse he woke again to his good qualities seemingly he would even make haste where it was possible to undo the evil done by and thus his conscience into the details of the at which i henry s statement the case thus for even now i can scarce grant that i committed it i have no design of entering i mean but to point out the and the successive steps with which my approached i met with one accident which as it brought on no consequence i shall no more than mention an act of cruelty to a child aroused against me the anger of a by whom i recognised the other day in the person of your the doctor and the child s family joined him there were moments when i feared for my life and at last in order to their too just resentment edward had to bring them to the door and pay them in a drawn in the name of henry but this danger was easily from the future by opening an account at another bank in the name of edward himself and when by sloping my own hand backward i had supplied my double with a signature i thought i sat beyond the reach of fate some two months before the murder of sir i had been out for one of my adventures had returned at a late hour and woke the next day in bed with somewhat odd sen dr and mr it was in vain i looked about me in vain i saw the decent furniture and tall proportions of my room in the square in vain that i recognised the pattern of the bed curtains and the design of the mahogany frame something still kept that i was not where i was that i had not where i seemed to be but in the little room in where i was accustomed to sleep in the body of edward i smiled to myself and in my way began lazily to inquire into the elements of this illusion occasionally even as i did so dropping back into a comfortable morning i was still so engaged when in one of my more moments my eyes fell upon my hand now the hand of henry as you have often remarked was professional in shape and size it was large firm white and comely but the	38
considered my position made enough allowance for the complete moral and readiness to evil which were the leading characters of edward yet it was by these that i was punished my had been long he came out roaring i was conscious even when i took the draught of a more a more furious to ill it must have been this i suppose that stirred in my soul that tempest of impatience with which i listened to the of my unhappy victim i declare at least before god no man morally sane could have been guilty of that crime upon so pitiful a provocation and that i struck in no more reasonable spirit than that in which a sick child may break a but i had voluntarily stripped myself of all those instincts by which even the worst of us continues to walk with some degree of among temptations and in my case to be tempted however slightly was to fall instantly the spirit of hell awoke in me and raged with a transport of glee i the henry s statement of the case body delight from every blow and it was not till weariness had begun to succeed that i was suddenly in the top fit of my delirium struck through the heart by a cold thrill of terror a mist dispersed i saw my life to be and fled from the scene of these at once and trembling my lust of evil gratified and stimulated my love of life to the i ran to the house in and to make assurance doubly sure destroyed my papers thence i set out through the streets in the same divided ecstasy of mind on my crime light others in the future and yet still hastening and still in my wake for the steps of the had a song upon his lips as he the draught and as he drank it pledged the dead man the pangs of had not done tearing him before henry with streaming tears of gratitude and remorse had fallen upon his knees and lifted his clasped hands to god the veil of self indulgence was rent from head to foot i saw my life as a whole i followed it up from dr and mil the days of when i had walked with my father s hand and through the toils of my professional life to arrive again and again with the same sense of at the damned horrors of the evening i could have screamed aloud i sought with tears and prayers to down the crowd of hideous images and sounds with which my memory against me and still between the the ugly face of my stared into my soul as the of this remorse began to die away it was succeeded by a sense of joy the problem of my conduct was solved was impossible whether i would or not i was now confined to the better part of my existence and o how i rejoiced to think with what willing humility i embraced anew the of natural with what sincere i locked the door by which i had so often gone and come and ground the key under my heel the next day came the news that the murder had been overlooked that the guilt of was patent to the world and that the henry s statement of the case victim was a man high in public estimation it was not only a crime it had been a tragic folly i think i was glad to know it i think i was glad to have my better impulses thus and guarded by the terrors of the was now my city of refuge let but peep out an instant and the hands of all men would be raised to take and him i resolved in my future conduct to redeem the past and i can say with honesty that my resolve was fruitful of some good you know yourself how earnestly in the last months of last year i to relieve suffering you know that much was done for others and that the days passed quietly almost happily for myself nor can i truly say that i wearied of this beneficent and innocent life i think instead that i daily enjoyed it more completely but i was still cursed with my of purpose and as the first edge of my wore off the lower side of me so long indulged so recently chained down began to growl for license not that i dreamed of the bare idea of that would me dr and mr to frenzy no it was in my own person that i was once more tempted to trifle with my conscience and it was as an ordinary secret sinner that i at last fell before the of temptation there comes an end to all things the most measure is filled at last and this brief condescension to my evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul and yet i was not alarmed the fall seemed natural like a return to the old days before i had made my discovery it was a fine clear january day wet under foot where the frost had melted but overhead and the s park was full of winter and sweet with spring i sat in the sun on a bench the animal within me the of memory the spiritual side a little promising subsequent but not yet moved to begin after all i reflected i was like my neighbours and then i smiled comparing myself with other men comparing my active with the lazy cruelty of their neglect and at the very moment of that thought a came over me a henry s statement op the case rid and tlie most deadly shuddering these passed away and left me faint and then as in its turn the subsided i began to be aware of a change in the temper of my thoughts a greater boldness a contempt	38
of danger a solution of the bonds of obligation i looked down my clothes hung on my limbs the hand that lay on my knee was and hairy i was once more edward a moment before i had been safe of all men s respect wealthy beloved the cloth laying for me in the dining room at home and now i was the common of mankind hunted a known murderer to the gallows my reason wavered but it did not fail me utterly i have more than once observed that in my second character my faculties seemed sharpened to a point and my spirits more elastic thus it came about that where perhaps might have rose to the importance of the moment my were in one of the presses of my cabinet how was i fo reach them that was the problem that crushing my temples in my hands i dr and mr set myself to solve the door i had closed if i sought to enter by the house my own servants would me to the gallows i saw i must employ another hand and thought of how was he to be reached how persuaded supposing that i escaped capture in the streets how was i to make my way into his presence and how should i an unknown and visitor prevail on the famous physician to rifle the study of his dr then i remembered that of my original character one part remained to me i could write my own hand and once i had conceived that spark the way that i must follow became lighted up from end to end thereupon i arranged my clothes as best i could and a passing drove to an hotel in street the name of which i chanced to remember at my appearance which was indeed enough however tragic a fate these garments covered the driver could not conceal his mirth i my teeth upon him with a gust of devilish fury and the smile withered from his face happily s statement of the case for him yet more happily for myself for in another instant i had certainly dragged him from his perch at the inn as i entered i looked about me with so black a countenance as made the attendants tremble not a look did they exchange in my presence but took my orders led me to a private room and brought me to write in danger of his life was a creature new to me shaken with anger strung to the pitch of murder to inflict pain yet the creature was mastered his fury with a great of the will composed his two important letters one to and one to and that he might receive actual evidence of their being posted sent them out with directions that they should be he sat all day over the fire in the private room his nails there he dined sitting alone with his fears the waiter visibly before his eye and thence when the night was fully come he set forth in the comer of a closed cab and was driven to and fro about the streets of the city and mr he i say i cannot say i that child of hell had nothing human nothing lived in him but fear and hatred and when at last thinking the driver had begun to grow suspicious he discharged the cab and ventured on foot attired in his clothes an object marked out for observation into the midst of the passengers these two base passions raged within him like a tempest he walked fast hunted by his fears chattering to himself through the less frequented counting the minutes that still divided him from midnight once a woman spoke to him offering i think a box of lights he smote her in the face and she fled when i came to myself at s the horror of my old friend perhaps affected me somewhat i do not know it was at least but a drop in the sea to the with which i looked back upon these hours a change had come over me it was no longer the fear of the gallows it was the horror of being that me i received s condemnation partly in a dream it was partly in a dream that i came home to my own house and henry s statement of the case got into bed i slept after the of the day with a and profound slumber which not even the that wrung me could avail to break i awoke in the morning shaken weakened but refreshed i still hated and feared the thought of the brute that slept within me and i had not of course forgotten the appalling dangers of the day before but i was once more at home in my own house and close to my and gratitude for my escape shone so strong in my soul that it almost the brightness of hope i was stepping leisurely across the court after breakfast drinking the chill of the air with pleasure when i was seized again with those indescribable sensations that the change and i had but the time to gain the shelter of my cabinet before i was once again raging and with the passions of it took on this occasion a double dose to recall me to myself and alas six hours after as i sat looking sadly in the fire the pangs returned and the had to be re administered in short from that day forth it seemed only by a great effort as of and dr and mr only the immediate of the that i was able to wear the countenance of at all hours of the day and night i would be taken with the shudder above all if i slept or even for a moment in my chair it was always as that i awakened under the strain of this continually	38
impending doom and by the to which i now condemned myself ay even beyond what i had thought possible to man i became in my own person a creature eaten up and emptied by fever languidly weak both in body and mind and solely occupied by one thought the horror of my other self but when i slept or when the virtue of the medicine wore off i would leap almost without transition for the pangs of grew daily less marked into the possession of a fancy with images of terror a soul boiling with and a body that seemed not strong enough to contain the raging energies of life the powers of seemed to have grown with the of and certainly the hate that now divided them was equal on each side henry s statement of the case with it was a thing of instinct he had now seen the full of that creature that shared with him some of the phenomena of consciousness and was co heir with him to death and beyond these links of community which in themselves made the most part of his distress he thought of for all his energy of life as of something not only but this was the shocking thing that the of the pit seemed to utter cries and voices that the dust and that what was dead and had no shape should the offices of life and this again that that horror was knit to him closer than a wife closer than an eye lay in his flesh where he heard it and felt it struggle to be born and at every hour of weakness and in the confidence of slumber prevailed against him and him out of life the hatred of for was of a order his terror of the gallows drove him continually to commit temporary suicide and return to his subordinate station of a part instead of a person but he dr and mr the lie the despondency into which was now fallen and he resented the dislike with which he was himself regarded hence the tricks that he would play me in my own hand on the pages of my books burning the letters and destroying the portrait of my father and indeed had it not been for his fear of death he would long ago have ruined himself in order to involve me in the ruin but his love of life is wonderful i go further i who and at the mere thought of him when i recall the and passion of this attachment and when i know how he fears my power to cut him off by suicide i find it in my heart to pity him it is useless and the time awfully fails me to this description no one has ever suffered such let that suffice and yet even to these habit brought no not but a certain of soul a certain acquiescence of despair and my for the last calamity which has now fallen and which has finally severed me from my own henry s statement op the case face and nature my provision of the salt had never been renewed since the date of the first experiment began to run low i sent out for a fresh supply and mixed the draught the followed and the first change of colour not the second i drank it and it was without tou will learn from how i have had london it was in vain and i am now persuaded that my first supply was and that it was that unknown which lent to the draught about a week has passed and i am now finishing this statement under the influence of the last of the old this then is the last time short of a miracle that henry can think his own thoughts or see his own face now how sadly altered in the glass nor must i delay too long to bring my writing to an end for if my narrative has hitherto escaped destruction it has been by a combination of great prudence and great good luck should the of change take me in the act of writing it will tear it in pieces but if some time shall have elapsed after i and hb have laid it by his wonderful selfishness and to the moment will probably save it once again from the action of his spite and indeed the doom that is closing on us both has already changed and crushed him half an hour from now when i shall again and forever that hated personality i know how i shall sit shuddering and weeping in my chair or continue with the most strained and ecstasy of listening to pace up and down this room my last earthly refuge and give ear to every sound of menace will die upon the or will he find courage to release himself at the last moment god knows i am careless this is my true hour of death and what is to follow concerns another than here then as i lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession i bring the life of that unhappy henry to an end brief lis t of books of fiction published by charles s sons george w cable the new edition i mo old days new edition i mo the same in two parts i mo cloth each paper each madame i mo edward a tale of life illustrated i mo the circuit rider a tale illustrated i mo the illustrated i mo the mystery of illustrated i mo the end of the world a love story illustrated i mo complete sets in box y g holland small i mo the bay path small i mo arthur small i mo miss s career small i mo small i mo that o s illustrated i mo c cloth s illustrated i mo i mo surly tim and other	38
to dr of the good genius of the english in his frosty mountains to dr of paris whom i knew only for a week and to dr of whom i knew only for ten days and who have yet written their names deeply in my memory to dr of to dr of nice to dr whose visits make it a pleasure to be ill to dr so wise in counsel to sir so in kindness and to that wise youth my uncle dr i forget as many as i remember and i ask both to pardon me these for silence those for inadequate speech but one name i have kept on purpose to the last because it is a household word with me and because if i had not received from so many hands and in so many vii quarters of the world it should have stood upon this page alone that of my friend thomas scott of will he accept this although shared among so many for a to himself and when next my which has thus its pleasant side brings him hurrying to me when he would fain sit down to meat or lie down to rest he care to remember that he takes this trouble for one who is not fool enough to be ungrateful r l s j note the human conscience has fled of late the troublesome domain of conduct for what i should have supposed to be the less congenial field of art there she may now be said to rage and with special severity in all that touches dialect so that in every novel the letters of the are tortured and the reader wearied to shades of now is an art of great difficulty in my eyes and i am inclined to lean upon the even in common practice rather than to venture abroad upon new and the tongue has an of its own lacking neither authority nor author yet the temptation is great to lend a little guidance to the bewildered englishman some simple might defend your verses from barbarous and yet not injure any interest so it seems at first but there are x note rocks ahead thus if i wish the ou to have its proper value i may write instead of our many have done so and lived and the pillars of the universe remained but if i did so and came presently to which is the classical of the english i should begin to feel uneasy and if i went on a little farther and came to a classical word like or or i should know precisely where i was that is to say that i was out of sight of land on those high seas of reform in which so many strong have toiled vainly to some the situation is as for me i give one cry and sink the compromise at which i have arrived is and i have no thought of trying to defend it as i have stuck for the most part to the proper i a table of some common sounds which no one need consult and just to prove that i belong to my age and have in me the stuff of a i have used marks throughout thus i can tell myself not without pride that i have added a fresh stumbling block for english readers and note xi to a page of print in my native tongue have lent a new non i note again that among our new the local of every dialect is given to the square mile i could not this if i desired for i simply wrote my as well as i was able not caring if it hailed from or from the or if i had ever heard a good word i used it without shame and when was lacking or the rhyme i was glad like my to fall back on english for all that i own to a friendly feeling for the tongue of and of sir walter both men and i confess that has always sounded in my ear like something partly foreign and indeed i am from the myself it is there i heard the language spoken about my childhood and it is in the voice that i repeat it to myself let the call my speech that of the and if it be not pure alas what matters it the day draws near when this illustrious and tongue shall be quite forgotten and burns s and dr s xii note and scott s brave utterance will be all equally the ghosts of speech till then i would love to have my hour as a native maker and be read by my own in our own dying language an ambition surely rather of the heart than of the head so as it is in prospect of endurance so in bounds of space i contents book v in english i go little book it a song of the road the walked iii the on the great streams iv it is the season v the house beautiful a naked house a naked vi a visit from the sea far from the loud sea vii to a gardener friend in my mountain side viii to a picture frame for you to fill ix to k de m a lover of the bare x to n v de g s the sea xi to will h low youth now xii to mrs will h even in the of july xiii to h f i sit and wait xiv to dear xv et tu in in ancient tales o friend page i i xiv contents xvi xvii xviii xix xx xxi xxii xxiv xxv xxvi xxx pack to w e the year runs through her phases henry es who comes to night the or speaks where the bells we see you as	38
we see a face to f j s i read dear friend under the wide and sky the celestial surgeon if i have faltered our lady of the out of the sun not yet my soul it is not yours o mother to complain the sick child o mother lay your hand on my brow in f a s yet o stricken heart to my father peace and her huge invasion in the states with half a heart a portrait i am a kind of dip sing muse a camp the bed was made the country of the we travelled in the print of wars for love of lovely words the parallel here all is sunny my house i say q my body which my is say not of me that weakly i declined contents xv book in page i the maker to posterity far the years to be ii breeze iii when has fairly come iv a mile an a v a sabbath the o sabbath bells vi the i like to ken vii the it s the sod the my man the it s true ix the it s strange that god should to frame x their to an academy class dinner club dear class er i gang no xi hie the lord in former days xii the s return from abroad in a foreign i ve been xiii late in the xiv my conscience of a the ills that flesh can fear xv to doctor john by and by thames and xvi it s an for age an youth j t i r book in english f j i go little book and wish to all flowers in the garden meat in the hall a bin of wine a of wit a house with it a living river by the door a in the k ii a song of the road the walked with willing foot and aye the played the and what should master play but over the hills and far away er i on my pack and foot it gaily in the track pleasant long since dead hear you on ahead you go with me the self same way the self same air for me you play for i do think and so do you it is the tune to travel to a song of the road for who would gravely set his face to go to this or t other place there s nothing under n so blue that s fairly worth the travelling to on every hand the roads begin and people walk with zeal therein but the tend be sure there s nothing at the end then follow you wherever hie the travelling mountains of the sky or let the streams in civil mode direct your choice upon a road for one and all or high or low will lead you where you wish to go and one and all go night and day over the hills and far away i forest of ill the speaks on the great streams the ships may go about men s business to and fro but i the egg shell sleep on crystal waters ankle deep i whose design of sweeter pine is fashioned on so frail a mould a hand may a hand withhold i rather with the leaping wind among lilies in and out i the green rustic rivers my dipping scarcely shakes the speaks the in the still forth on my green way i beside the cottage garden end and by the fare and take the lovers unaware by willow wood and water wheel speedily my touching by all retired and shady spots where prosper dim forget me by meadows where at afternoon the growing maidens troop in june to loose their on the grass ah than before the glass the backward toilet goes and swift as quiver robe and shift and the rough country stockings lie around each young divinity when following the brook sudden upon this scene i look and light with face on s bathing place loud ring the hills about and all the are abandoned iv it is the season now to go about the country high and low among the hand in hand and two by two in fairy land the brooding boy the sighing maid wholly fain and half afraid now meet along the brook to pass and linger pause and look a year ago and their rough and tumble play they shared they kissed and quarrelled laughed and cried a year ago at s with bursting heart with fiery face she strove against him in the race he her saw that now would touch her skirts with awe now by the she stops and his eyes he drops now they exchange averted sighs or stand and marry silent eyes and he to her a hero is and sweeter she than their common silence dearer far than and are now when they wedded hands joy in their bosom and lovely laughter leaps and falls upon their lips in the house beautiful a naked house a naked a shivering pool before the door a garden bare of flowers and fruit and at the garden foot such is the place that i live in bleak without and bare within yet shall your ragged receive the pomp of eve and the cold glories of the dawn behind your shivering trees be drawn and when the wind from place to place lo doth the cloud chase your garden gloom and gleam again with leaping sun with glancing rain here shall the moon ascend the heavens in the crimson end of day s declining splendour here the army of the stars appear the neighbour hollows dry or wet spring shall with tender flowers beset and oft the morning see rising from	38
the and every fairy wheel and thread of dew when go shall winter time silver the simple grass with the pool and make the cart beautiful and when snow bright the how shall your children clap their hands the house beautiful ii to make this earth our a cheerful and a page god s bright and intricate device of days and seasons doth suffice vi a visit from the sea far from the loud sea where he goes fishing and crying here in the inland garden why is the sea flying here are no fish to for here is the corn and here are the green trees rustling hie away home to sea fresh is the river water and quiet among the rushes a visit from the sea this is no home for the sea but for the and pity the bird that has wandered pity the sailor ashore hurry him home to the ocean let him come here no more high on the sea cliff the white are and crying here among and roses why is the sea flying vii to a gardener friend in my mountain side my plain beholding rosy green and haunted garden ground let still the abound let first the flourish there rose among roots the maiden fair wine scented and poetic soul of the bowl let the to dress the birds and the lover of the shallow brook from all my plots and borders look to a gardener nor crisp and ruddy nor for the child s be lacking nor of the last and least that ever ran about great nature s garden beds nor thence be missed the heads of nor thence the that gathered innocent and green the these tend i and for me thy most long suffering master bring in april when the sing and the days more and more at to the garden door and i being provided thus shall with superb a book a and a cup of country wine sup la solitude viii to with a hand glass a picture frame for you to fill a paltry setting for your face a thing that has no worth until you lend it something of your grace i send unhappy i that sing laid by awhile upon the shelf because i would not send a thing less charming than you are yourself and happier than i alas dumb thing i envy its delight wish you well the looking glass and look you in the face to night ix to k de m a lover of the bare and honest country winds you were the silver rain you took and loved the of the brook dew frost and mountains fire and seas winds that in darkness a tune and the high riding virgin moon and as the pale and sharp springs on some ditch s in our native north you put your forth and on the heath afar from man a strong and bitter virgin ran the keeps the rude and of the wood and you that loved the empty plain all of wind and rain around you still the sings the freshness of the weather the maiden jewels of the rain sit in your locks again x to n v de g s the sea and time and tears the deeds of heroes and the crimes of kings us and the river of events has for an age of years to east and west more widely borne our thou to me art foreign as when at the dawn a land far off and know not which so i approach uncertain so i round thy mysterious and behold surf and great mountains and loud river bars and from the shore hear inland voices call strange is the seaman s heart he hopes he fears draws closer and sweeps wider from that coast last his rent sail and to the deep his shattered puts back yet as he goes he at the of that bright island where he feared to touch his spirit and for years where by his wife he safe at home thoughts of that land him he sees the eternal mountains and yearning for that far home that might have been xi to will h low youth now on foot faint and fainter sounds the songs of gods and still somewhere on the sunny hill or along the winding stream through the a dream but shows a smiling face but with so quaint a grace none can choose to stay at home all must follow all must this is beauty she now in air high and free takes the sun and breaks the blue late with stooping flew trees and wet her wing in silver streams and set shining foot on temple roof now again she flies aloof mountain clouds and kiss t by the evening s in wet wood and lane still we and pound in vain still with leaden foot we chase fainting face still with gray hair we on till behold the vision gone to will h low where hath fleeting beauty led to the doorway of the dead life is over life was gay we have come the way xii to mrs will h low even in the of july there could not run the smallest breath of wind but all the quarter sounded like a wood and in the silence and above the hum of city that sought the ashes shivered into song a and a chatter and a and a long dying hiss it was as though old through all the house had a skirt or the whole sky even in a wink had over in rain to mrs will h low hark in these shady how it talks of the near autumn how the smitten ash and floods o not too long in these delay o not too late from the north trim your escape for soon shall this low roof indeed with rain soon shall your	38
eyes search the foul garden search the darkened rooms nor find one jewel but the blazing log paris xiii to h f brown written during a dangerous sickness i sit and wait a pair of oars on river shores where the immortal dead have tis mine to sit and to re ascend life s without remorse without regret and sing my among the of the and lo as my soul did these unhappy shores to h f brown and wait with an attentive ear the coming of the your fire roll i took your spirited and happy book n despite my frowning fate my soul so all my fancies fled away on a holiday i now thanks to your triumphant care your pages clear as april air the sails the bells the birds i know and the far off snow the land and sea the sun and shade and the blue even lamp for this for these for all o friend for your whole book from end to end li e on the by h f brown originally burned in the fire at messrs paul and co s for s i your am perchance yet may i to your sea city hie and in some day yet light at your pipe my xiv to dear with the hair who glory to have thrown in air high over arm the trembling reed by ale and by till and an equal craft of hand you show the pen to guide the fly to throw i count you happy for god when he with and with rod endowed you bade your fortune lead forever by the of forever by the woods of song and lands that to the muse belong or if in peopled streets or in the it should be yours to wander still airs of the airs of the hill the forest and the seas that break about the should follow over field and plain and find you at the window pane and you again see hill and and the bright springs at your heel so went the forth and so like a brook you go with sound of happy mirth and of daylight whether by the green you fare that moment or the gray whether you dwell in march or may or whether treat of and rods or of the old unhappy gods still like a brook your page has shone and your ink sings of xv et tu in to r a m s in ancient tales o friend thy spirit dwelt there from of old thy childhood passed and there high expectation high delights and deeds thy fluttering heart with hope and terror moved and thou hast heard of the beast and s horn and that war scattering shout of all crowned and perilous lands thou sounding shores and seas and forests island and and mountain dark for thou with rod st or in farthest thou a in side looking thence by night an snatched thee and with wings beyond the mount or hoping gain thou with a jar of money for by sea but chiefly thou in that clear air took st life in the haunted land of song and by the wells where most the gods frequent there old in the taught thee lore the plants he taught and by the shining stars in forests dim to steer there hast thou seen immortal pan dance secret in a and dancing roll his eyes these where they fell shed glee and through the oaks a flying horror winged while all the earth to the god s footing thrilled within or beside the sobbing stream he breathed in his clutched pipe and strains et tu in divine yet brutal which the forest heard and thou with awe and far upon the plain the started and gave ear now things there are that upon him who sees a strong lay and strains there are that hears shall hear for for thou hear st immortal pan and those melodious ever young and ever on the mountains old what was this earth child of the gods to thee forth from thy thou a st and in thine ears the music rang and in thy mind the doings of the dead and those heroic ages long forgot to a so fallen earth alas too late alas in evil days thy steps return to list at noon for to grow d a on the beach till come that came long since a by the pool where that angel no more as when the indian to comes or farthest and where he dwelt he with his a humming city finds awhile amazed he and then to right and like a dog seeks first the then the hearth long cold with rains and where old terror lodged and where the dead so thee hope with all her pack screaming through the years here there thou but nor here nor there the pleasant gods abide the glory dwells that that was not not the god this was not though she seemed a moment and though fair yon river move et tu in she all the way from to seas runs the gods long since her trembling rushes from her plains long since adventure fled and now although the inviting river flows and every cape and every bend or win upon thy soul and to thy hopeful whisper speed yet hope not thou at all hope is no more and o long since the golden groves are dead the cities vanished from the land i xvi to w e the year runs through her phases rain and sun and summer pass winter but one pale season rules the house of death cold falls the imprisoned daylight fell disease by each lean and pain and sleep toss gaping on the pillows but o thou and take thy pipe bid music flow strains by good thoughts attended like the spring the follow over land and sea	38
pain sleeps at once at once with open eyes despair the shepherd sees t to w e his flock come home the seaman hears once more the rattle airs of home youth love and roses blossom the gaunt ward and and opening out shows and forests and the blue beyond of mountains small the pipe but o do thou peak faced and suffering blow therein the of heroes dead and to these sick these dying sound the triumph over death behold each greatly breathes each tastes a joy unknown before in dying for each knows a hero dies with him though yet conquering truly and not dies in vain so is pain cheered death comforted the house of sorrow smiles to listen once again o thou and the bard and the touch the stops again xvii henry james who comes to night we the doors in vain who comes my bursting walls can you contain the that now together throng your narrow entry as with flowers and song as with the air of life the breath of talk lo how these fair women walk behind their maker and we see de and that far different she the trivial and to our feast and and she not least with all their silken all their airy kin do like angels enter in but he attended by these shining names comes best of all himself our welcome james xviii the mirror speaks where the bells peal far at sea cunning fingers fashioned me there on palace walls i hung while that sung but i heard though i listened well never a note never a never a beat of the bell there i hung and looked and there in my gray face faces fair shone from under shining hair well i saw the head but the lips moved and nothing said and when lights were in the hall silent moved the dancers all so awhile i glowed and then fell on dusty days and men long i packed in straw long i none but saw till before my silent eye one that sees came passing by now with an grace to the sparkling fire i face in the blue room at where i wait until the door open and the prince of men henry james shall come again xix we see you as we see a face that in a forest place upon the mirror of a pool forever quiet clear and cool and in the glass appears to between smiles and tears and human airy and true and backed by the reflected blue xx to f j s i read dear friend in your dear face your life s tale told with perfect grace the river of your life i trace up the sun bed to the far distant fountain head not one quick beat of your warm heart nor thought that came to you apart pleasure nor pity love nor pain nor sorrow has gone by in vain but as some lone wood wandering child brings home with him at evening mild the thorns and flowers of all the wild from your whole life o fair and true your flowers and thorns you bring with you xxi under the wide and sky dig the grave and let me lie glad did i live and gladly die and i laid me down with a will this be the verse you grave for me here he lies where he longed to be home is the sailor home from sea and the hunter home from the mil xxii the celestial surgeon if i have faltered more or less in my great task of happiness if i have moved among my race and shown no glorious morning face if beams from happy human eyes have moved me not if morning skies books and my food and summer rain knocked on my sullen heart in vain lord thy most pointed pleasure take and my spirit broad awake or lord if too i choose thou before that spirit die a piercing pain a killing sin and to my dead heart run them in our lady of the out of the sun out of the blast out of the world alone i passed across the and through the wood to where the stood there neither nor breathing nor rumour of the world of life nor confidences low and dear shall strike the meditative ear aloof and unkind the prisoners of the iron mind where nothing speaks except the hell the brothers dwell poor passionate men still clothed afresh with folds of flesh whom the clear eyes still to some bold of the will while fairy fancy far before and musing memory hold the door now to heroic death invite and now fresh delight o little boots it thus to dwell on the remote hill o to be up and doing o and to go in all the uproar and the press about my human business my heart i hear whisper courage in my ear with calls the ancient earth summons me to a daily birth our lady of the thou o my love ye o my friends the of life the end of ends to laugh to love to live to die ye call me by the ear and eye forth from the on the plain where honour has the world to gain pour forth and bravely do your part o knights of the heart forth and forever forward out from prudent and and in the charge to fall but yet to rise again captive ah still to honour bright a captive soldier of the right or free and fighting good with ill but still and ye o brethren what if god when from heaven s top he abroad and sees on this tormented stage the noble war of mankind rage what if his eye o should pass your corner by for still the lord is lord of might in	38
deeds in deeds he takes delight the plough the spear the laden the field the founded city marks he marks the of the streets the singer upon garden seats he sees the in the rocks to him the shepherd folds his flocks for those he loves that with daily virtues heaven s top and bear the falling sky with ease those he that the trade that rock the child that wed the maid that with weak virtues weaker hands our lady of the sow gladness on the peopled lands and still with laughter song and shout spin the great wheel of earth about but ye o ye who linger still here in your fortress on the hill with placid face with tranquil breath the of death our cheerful general on high with careless looks may pass you by f xxiv not yet my soul these friendly fields desert where thou with grass and rivers and the breeze and the bright face of day thy where to thine ear first sang the birds where love and thou that lasting bargain made the ship rides trimmed and from the eternal shore thou airy voices but not yet depart my soul not yet awhile depart freedom is far rest far thou art with life too closely woven nerve with nerve service still craving service love for love love for dear love still with tears not yet my soul alas not yet thy human task is done a bond at birth is a debt doth lie immortal on it grows by vast it grows growth gift upon gift upon from man from god from nature till the soul at that so huge indulgence stands amazed leave not my soul the field nor leave thy debts nor thy place desert without due service rendered for thy life up spirit and defend that fort of clay thy body now whether soon or late she fall whether to day thy friends thee dead or after years a man grown old in honour and the friend of peace contend my soul for moments and for hours each is with service each is as a kingdom conquered where to reign as when a captain to the fight his scattered and beats ruin back he on the field well pleased in mind yet surely him shall fortune overtake him in turn headlong his drive and that dear land now safe to morrow fall but he in the present good solely delights and all the rejoice xxv it is not yours o mother to complain not mother yours to weep though your son again shall to your bosom creep though again you watch your baby sleep though in the paths of earth mother and child no more we wander and no more the birth of me whom once you bore seems still the brave reward that once it seemed of though as all passes day and night the seasons and the years from you o mother this delight this also some profit yet of all your pangs and tears the child the seed the grain of corn the on the hill each for some separate end is bom in season fit and still each must in strength arise to work the almighty will so from the hearth the children flee by that almighty hand led so one by sea goes forth and one by land nor aught of all man s sons escapes from that command so from the sally each the unseen almighty nod so till the ending all their ways loth have trod nor knew their task at all but were the tools of god it is not yours and as the fervent smith of beat out the glowing blade nor in the front of war the weapons that he made but in the tower at home still plied his ringing trade so like a sword the son shall on nobler sent and as the smith remained at home in peaceful pent so sits the while at home the mother well content xxvi the sick child child o mother lay your hand on my brow o mother mother where am i now why is the room so gaunt and great why am i lying awake so late mother fear not at all the night is still nothing is here that means you ill nothing but lamps the whole town through and never a child awake but you child mother mother speak low in my ear some of the things are so great and near the sick child some are so small and far away i have a fear that i cannot say what haye i done and what do i fear and why are you crying mother dear mother out in the city sounds begin thank the kind god the carts come in an hour or two more and god is so kind the day shall be blue in the window blind then shall my child go sweetly asleep and dream of the birds and the hills of sheep in f a s yet o stricken heart remember o remember how of human days he lived the better part april came to bloom and never dim december breathed its killing upon the head or heart doomed to know not winter only spring a being trod the april for a while took his fill of music joy of thought and seeing came and stayed and went nor ever ceased to smile came and stayed and went and now when all is finished you alone have crossed the melancholy stream yours the pang but his o his the gladness dream in f a s all that life contains of torture toil and treason shame death to him were but a name here a boy he dwelt through all the singing season and ere the day of sorrow departed as he came to my father peace and her huge invasion to these shores puts daily home innumerable sails	38
dawn on the far horizon and draw near innumerable loves hopes to our wild not now approach not now obscure since thou and thine are there and bright on the lone isle the the long stands these are thy works o father these thy crown whether on high the air be pure they shine along the sunset and all night among the stars of god they shine to my father i or whether arise and far and wide the low sea level drown each finds a tongue and all night long the bell so shine so toll till night be till the stars vanish till the sun return and in the haven rides the fleet secure in the first hour the seaman in his moves through the bay to where the town its earliest smoke into the air and the rough climb along the beach to the d oar the distant echo speaks the ship lies resting where by and thou and thy lights have led her like a child this hast thou done and i can i be base i must arise o father and to port some lost complaining seaman pilot home in the states with half a heart i wander here as from an age gone by a brother yet though young in years an elder brother i you speak another tongue than mine though both were english born i towards the night of time decline you mount into the youth shall grow great and strong and free but age must still decay to morrow for the states for me england and yesterday san f xxx a portrait i am a kind of dip to the nose and eyes a blue i upon the trees of paradise at mankind s feast i take my place in solemn state and have the air of saying grace while i the dinner plate i am the with the knife the upon i dear heaven with such a life were it not better far to die yet still about the human pale i love to love to race to swing by my tail all over the most holy place and when at length some golden day the at shall bag me all the world shall say thank god and an end of that sing muse or be still sing truer or no longer sing no more the voice of melancholy to wake a weeping echo in the hill but as the boy the of the spring from the green elm a living takes one natural verse then be still v f a camp the bed was made the room was lit by punctual eve the stars were lit the air was still the water ran no need was there for maid or man when we put up my ass and i at god s green from travels with a donkey the of the we travelled in the print of wars yet all the land was green and love we found and peace where fire and war had been they pass and smile the children of the sword no more the sword they and o how deep the corn along the from travels with a donkey for love of lovely words and for the sake of those my and my countrymen who early and late in the windy ocean toiled to plant a star for where was then the haunt of and i on the of this cot the name of a strong tower the parallel here all is sunny and when the the green level of the lawn his wing roses here the house is framed of brick and the mountain pine such clay as artists fashion and such wood as the tree climbing breaks but there eternal granite from the living isle and with brute iron a tower that from its wet foundation to its crown of glittering glass stands in the sweep of winds immovable immortal eminent my house i say but hark to the sunny that make my roof the of their loves that about the all day long and fill the chimneys with their song our house they say and mine the cat declares and his golden upon the chairs and mine the dog and rises stiff with wrath if any alien foot profane the path so too the buck that trimmed my our gardener called the garden his who now my plain abode and his late kingdom only from the road my body which my is and yet my and palaces which is so great that there i go all the day long to and fro and when the night begins to fall throw down my bed and sleep while all the building with even as a child of savages when evening takes her on her way she having a summer s day along the mountain sides and sleeps in an of that which is so broad and high that there as in the fields of air my fancy like to a and in the blue infinite which is so strong my strongest and the rough world s blows not break it and so weak withal death and flows in its loose wall as the green sea in and tops its which is so wholly mine that i can its whole and mine so little that my soul dwells in perpetual control and i but think and speak and do as my dead fathers move me to if this born body of my bones the soul so barely owns what money passed from hand to hand what creeping custom of the land what deed of author or can make a house a thing of mine say not of me that weakly i declined the labours of my and fled the sea the towers we founded and the lamps we lit to play at home with paper like a child but rather say in	38
the afternoon of time a family from its hands the sand of granite and beholding far along the sounding coast its and tall catch the dying sun smiled well content and to this childish task around the fire addressed its evening hours ft book ii in table of common sounds open a as in rare aw as in law ea open e as in mere but this with exceptions as ee ei open e as in mere ie j oa open o as in more ou doubled o as in poor ow ow as in bower u doubled o as in poor ui or u before r say roughly open a as in rare ui or u before any other say roughly close i as in grin y open i as in i pretty nearly what you please much as in english heaven guide the reader through that i but in it usually from the short i as in grin to the open e as in mere find and blind i may remark are pronounced to rhyme with the of grin the maker to posterity far the years to be when a we think an a we see an a we s been by time s an what was and for me lies ther it s possible it s hardly that some after some professor or young heir if still there s either may find an read me an be perplexed what tongue does your speak t hell an i his to no fit to write in greek i wrote in dear to my heart as the as fe v it than my lie d their lane their sense that was arc plain tint a like upon a the but think not you the to you the bitter for a your for your lucky things are than for you my the maker to posterity the hale concern an books writers stars arc upon legs wears the tack d mankind near the law your that in some new tongue ye wrote or pr preached or sung will still be just a an young in fame arc years the hale are about your ears an you to a or some star to ken ye are france or like a railway car in ii breeze an o seas in your trees a bit the s knees secure ye sit an their an a a day your and an here an there your the green i a an paths an a an roses a ring o wa s the hale sheep or men an there the an a by her lane the his weary back a day in the track or stops awhile to crack wi jane the cook or at some worm eaten black to a look the high hills the ca s the sheep gang by the wa s or a o the wild bees seek the wi g or in the an gray the sweet throat tunes her lay the herd comes the an by degrees the way the trees here aft i wi sober heart for meditation sat when loves or art perplexed my mind here a for smart o here aft by my lane wi or perhaps the hours come an my held i gi en a for a i d read but the city street by street an winter fu o an awhile shut in my feet an is the sweet an kettle an the winter winds complain lies the in lane on an lads in the the winter rain an the castle rock an beaten drums wi shock at o clock my frame i mind me on the cock the i mind me on yon an fancy far to sc that yield o sun an to up a fancy s the f iii when has fairly come an birds may in winter s an s for a and some o state love wi her drum than the gate the heart plays wi main an the een are d their dresses are an the winter virtue at the heels an aye as love land to land the drum wi hand a men collect at her command bred or land art an follow in a band her an i sang o rain an an weary winter me in a jacket an my place i the ram raw wi face iv a mile an a a mile an a a mile or the burn the law an an an a an the was clearly went wi the an then the went wi the men an return him the service again an the was clearly the were in house an ha an an an the s face was to the wa an the was clearly a wind got up the sea it blew the stars as dear s could be it blew in the een of a o the three an the was clearly was first to get sleep in his head the best o s he said i m an here i m to my bed an the was clearly o them an their lane the gray an plain an the birds they on stick an an the was clearly o years o years my lads ye ll mind er my lads ye ll mind on the o the law when the was clearly v a sabbath the o sabbath bells to the in shady sounds far an near an through the tells its tale o cheer an to that melodious play a the quiet sway a ken their solemn holiday human the on the the man he than a the lave o men his week joys to ken half dressed he out an in wi leisure an his limbs he ll again wi the the but a bit cries them ben their to upon them or in their to pit wi s on them the clean tap to are	38
in the the stays the shift a on for days an white s the drift a sabbath an to face the mile the s hat o style the we as white s the miller a to the o our et aye keen to crack in the track her a back coats white leads the pack wi a in a wi by for weeks the follows an the his face at the day that this is and aye an while we nearer draw to the lies an here an there the thicker the gate an the in air but hark the bells nearer to the their sides they bang an see black coats already the green and at the the that the the solemn elders at the plate stand deep the pride o state the practised hands as an great as lords o the later named a thing in their expression a sabbath the that mark the wi lengthened lip the read wag a held an then an there their practice an their creed try hard to square it s here our has lain a the table an yon s the grave o sandy an further the s men lie a the here the sail bide to the to see faces clear in fancy s e e to hear voices fa in an on fancy s ear thus on the day o solemn things the bell that in the to a ly rings its an just a thing nearer brings the quick an but the bell is in to their places folk begin the minister will be up the gate filled fu wi about sin an man s estate the are up french to be the french an three the wales out the portions an the into the air wi queer a sabbath follows the prayer the next an than the for the text the three last to find it but kind o proud an than the are an for s the time are seen like a when a in an nearly half the forget their pains there s just a or three to at the bee on glasses or lads that a a glee at meanwhile he an the box the of his words wi an some to wi he the hopes o men that trust in works the ts o an the best o them no better than mere when a s confessed o them what a creed what would christian need the words le his nor steer the and in their graves the sleep aye the deeper a sabbath note it may be guessed by some that i had a certain parish in my eye and this makes it proper i should add a word of in my time there have been two ministers in that parish of the first i have a special reason to speak well even had there been any to think ill the second i have often met in private and long in the due phrase sat under in his church and neither here nor there have i heard an unkind or ugly word upon his lips the preacher of the text had thus no original in that particular parish but when i was a boy he might have been observed in many others he was then like the abroad and by recent it would seem he has not yet entirely disappeared h vi the o i like to ken to the beggar wife says i why are to and to an that s to keep is still to gi e its arc easy says the beggar wife to me o i like to ken to the beggar wife says i i things come to be we find them when we try the in their an the fishes in the sea its an easy says the beggar wife to me o i like to ken to the beggar wife says i why lads are a to sell an a to buy an for but barely or three an easy says the beggar wife to me the o i like to ken to the beggar wife says i gin death s as to men as is to why god has filled the fu o things to easy says the beggar wife to me o i like to ken to the beggar wife says i the reason o the cause an the wherefore o the why riddle brings the tear into my e e an easy says the beggar wife to me vii the it s s the sod the roads a thing o god in mid july if yell just curse the an i he s a place in n ye ken an s us men in the but and ben he ca s the earth a bit inconvenient den no worth the s oi an at times out sees what mankind are about an if he can i ve little doubt their plans he hates a mankind and root an a that s man s an they heart again an life i the sun looks an plain comes a jaw o rain upon their honours god sends a the plain or ers lord safe us life s an thing an winter an spring the damned seasons bring a o trouble i try t to be a king no nor for double i but since we re in it we be wise an an no mind nor god but drink that s my best counsel till e the nod viii the my man the it s true was made for neither me nor you it s just a place to through as job confessed o t and aye the best that well can do is the best o t there s o i m free to say the the	38
bells hie dance your bit destroy an ruin wi the square till your loud to hell to tell the that are an xii the s return from abroad in a letter from mr to mr in a foreign ive been an an seen since mr you and i last upon wi observant een i pass t by sea an land through east an and still in age an station saw but in lands the his hands the s return from abroad at lack of a n an religious he man place to place tries a their means o grace preacher on preacher on this a an a a no a as bad as smith of at last across the weary far i came on side o me i fresh tokens o my native land wi joy i hailed them a the raw by raw the public house the and a the u p but thee the o to john o i the king o drinks as i conceive it or for after years wi a to in a and affliction i t as my sincere conviction of a their foreign tricks an i their they ken it an wi a o and ice an they the kind o to settle s wi as scorn to their s wi an man i was a comer first i out my ye should seen me then wi care the less important prepare the s return from abroad wi it a pour in the wi a jaw i drink i speak i only up the i was pleased therein to i sat an wi my an was i the morrow s to through the corn and after a my strange sit my ain an man it was a joy to me the pit an the to see the in the plate the elders on in state an the first as it should i see sir but i was and i will no deny it at the first a to see in a station it seemed a the was a mere for i understood the an an m i wondered they had i saw i had to blame for had i but remained at though no t they named your humble servant the was filled the door was up to the pit ance i i was pleased than i can tell it was the minister proud proud was i to see his face after grace pleased as i was i m no some were not the s return from abroad for first i an here was news mere hymn books in the a unfit for congregation while i still was on the i at the new i him an a the as though the faith was the prayer was not what i d as it appeared to me was no the man he to be but just as i was he a text an into his wi a on a o what a gale was on my to hear the p o doctrine and a the horrors o set wi faith testimony here we were a damned an that was clear i owned wi gratitude an wonder he was a to sit under xiii late in the in bed i lay the winds were at their weary play an wa s an through n they battered on o hail on o spray the tempest the house it through it the ship it the the it had a the sea it took an blew like feathers the o fear on a were shed an the hair rose an slumber fled an were lit an prayers were said through a the an the terror in bed wi a an to hear in the pit on hie the the they wi land an sea an for the smashed by god be meanwhile far to folks wi in han o ships that winds that ran sign was seen but the in sunshine span as s a late in the i by god s especial grace in a place wi feet wi shaven face wi a grand example to the race o the wind may the heathen rage the may start on the the sick in bed the thief in cage what s a to me in my house a sober sage i sit an see an the to my to lie to live free while better men do an die in places s god i cry an is me to graces i mind the the sailors keep but fire or rest or sleep in darkness an the deep an mind beside the herd that on the hills o sheep has wandered wide i mind me on the the penny on the folk wi the crazy an that aye the winds an rains an labour an i m kind o pleased a an kind o to think for a my o meat an drink an waste o i ll have to wi in kingdom come i j n i late in the for god the judgment bell his ain hand his sail the as tell them that had it and in the pat o hell the rich be o lord if this indeed be let that an happy day again the an gray up wi your an let the enjoy their play i ll my k xiv my conscience of a the ills that flesh can fear the loss o friends the lack o gear a a a s nonsense there s just ae thing i bear an that s my conscience day an a excuse has an is and duty s plain an to my a my lane creep my conscience the pain to my heart my conscience a day wi various ends in view the o time i had to an made a a let be	38
a man my conscience my han s were fu were ye than an there were a the o hfe there on the there anger wi the knife ground in hell my conscience you that s like a wife was i ken it fine just here to the evil appear to the the clear mis ca the great my conscience an to raise a steer a s late like some and blind thieves through the gear to p ind has lain his length an grinned at the disaster an the s s the wind on his master xv to doctor john brown the dear doctor dear to a was still us here i set my pipes his praise to wi a my but dear doctor he s an ne er can hear it by and by thames and by a the various river s in and the seas or here at er there s kindly folk to please they ken your name they ken your name they ken your they ken the honey from your but after a your the to tell it s just your honest they like an no as at the some play r should tee a common ba wi care should flourish and fair his an the ba rise into the air a in the game we writers play there comes to some a day when a dear shall repay their years o strife an like your their things o clay wings o life to doctor john brown ye scarce deserved it i m afraid you that had never learned the trade but just some idle strayed into the an picked the fiddle up an played like your e e was your fingers ye to think but as fast as can link your ye your pen into the ink an there was er your fortune lay by den by an winter an day was aye wi ye an a the folk on a the way were to see ye o sir the gods are kind indeed an ye for an honoured that for a bit reward ye an lend bein his to guard ye though er may be we ve just to turn an a an at heel we re to see wi the of a he a o paper and as the hero sees in hell a pit there the lesser to please while he wi the gods at ease far raised hell to doctor john brown the true far has on business o his ain wi s an his an he at a new hearth by james and xvi it s an for age an youth and it wi denial that the dearest friends are the friends and the young are just on trial there s a rival wi young an and it s him that has me for the friends are the friends and the o mines left me there are kind hearts still for friends to fill and fools to take and break them but the nearest friends are the friends and the grave s the place to seek them printed by r r a list of books london w sold by all or sent for thi published by ike the an by about by sir o ia cloth w works a history of from by aod notices of successful by agony the of the ram lo d by p s works by post boards la of i mrs novels by it second ni bv du cr cl ei es si a si b a novel with ii by p cloth l d post for a sake of love ud cr c ex st in all shades a novel cheaper a ths hand la with a y t crown cloth extra bi of the novels of thb of last eighty critical notes by h t crown l t brown i will with preface by published by bird life in england by crown o cloth extra s art the of amusing a arts games tricks and s by frank v with illustrations cr vo cloth extra d a t w crown cloth extra u each a history of tho chap books of the century with nearly illustrations engraved in of the in the reign of queen anne from original sources with nearly illustrations humour wit and satire of the century with nearly english and satire on t th first with illustrations two vo cloth extra a of the and allied b w bi g b a with t o ol ss d i i l iii j j v l i m a j w i ea k f v t of r to ith lists of ii om i c crown h extra d y rev w works by cloth d each r their sources and third ed pf tut e m w fair rs of by henry with crown vo extra d lord a by t p m p sixth t edition with a new pre ce crown vo cloth r i a novel bv post vo beautiful pictures by british artists a of from our picture galleries all engraved on steel in the highest of art with notices of the artists by s m a imperial doth extra gilt and gilt edges n as pretty seven and other stories collected by with additional tales by the brothers and by small to green and gold cl gilt edges d wanderings in or life among the hunters s with vo cloth extra d one shilling monthly the number for january contained stories by miss do mrs alfred hunt the of and other popular authors a new story by w entitled the frozen begins in the july n timber	38
now ready the volume for march to cloth extra gilt edges od cases for binding t eh holiday number with illustrations is w c ll d works post vo cloth limp each a ballad history of england songs for sa walter and james novels by crown vo cloth r d post vo is s each cloth limp s d each ready money with end crown this son of my l ttie girl the case of mr the golden butterfly by s the of in e bay the side the ten years tenant the of the fleet novels by crown vo cloth extra z d each v boards s each cloth limp d e ch ail sorts and conditions of men an tory with illustrations by the captains c with by k j ah in a garden fair with by h with by charles green and other stories walter continued of a novel new and edition crown vo extra the world fe well then with of portrait hj john k a and by a fore three vo tr vo the art of vo ig library edition of the of walter james rice messrs have in the press a printed library of the messrs and rice the volumes each one containing a complete novel will be printed from a specially cast of type by messrs of the press on a large crown page and will be in six shilling monthly volumes handsomely bound tn cloth by messrs burn co the first volume of f ages now ready is x ready money with of by a and a preface by the story of his literary ship with rice thi ts ill b followed regular intervals by the wing my little girl with harp and crown this son of the golden of walter the of by s he of the fleet the side c c j m novels by vo cloth extra d each post vo each j and ills pupils by with cloth extra d books the heavens a poetical birthday book square yo bound in cloth d birthday flowers their language and legends by w j beautifully illustrated in by in cover crown the birthday with small vo cloth extra d s l art vo illustrated form in si e lor academy notes separate years from to each ib henry continued academy notes with n illustrations academy notes complete in one vol with nearly m vo cloth li ip academy notes complete m one with about illustrations cloth fi notes tt notes separate years from to each notes with numerous is notes r with upwards or illustrations vo cloth limp notes with upwards of vo cloth limp preparing pictures at south with i new preparing the english pictures at gallery illustrations is the old masters at th gallery illustrations a complete illustrated catalogue to the national gallery with notes by h black h aud a ii d v o h limp illustrated catalogue of the gallery k about the of the artists by f di ss the paris from his works by w b scott vi h text half boards india proofs s r i or ten days m it into by f s a with portrait and t cr v cloth extra gilt h d q sketches to half bound boards l each in e leaves from a hunting journal coloured in i i works by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each camp notes stories of sport and adventure in asia africa and america savage l adventures of a globe of no man s land post vo boards books published by brand s observations on popular the origin of our r customs ceremonies and with the additions of sir crown vo cloth extra with numerous illustrations i works by s collected works arranged and by the author complete in five crown vo cloth extra l each vol i poetical and dramatic works with steel portrait and introduction by author vol ii earlier luck of roaring camp and other sketches papers spanish and american vol iii tales op the eastern sketches vol iv vol v stories novels etc the select works of te in prose and poetry with i essay by j m belt of the author and illustrations crown vo cloth extra d s complete poetical works author s edition printed on hand made paper and bound in cr vo b d a novel post vo illustrated boards s an of red dog and other stories post vo boards the of table mountain vo picture cover l luck of roaring camp and other sketches post vo s love story vo picture cover is d post vo cl limp stories including the of mountain story c post vo illustrated boards a novel post vo boards cloth limp d the queen of the isle with original drawings by in colours by ev s m to s rev dr works by the reader s of allusions and stories fifth edition throughout with a new containing a complete english cr vo cloth extra d authors and their works with the dates being the to the reader s separately printed cr vo cloth limp rev dr continued a dictionary of miracles and crown vo cloth extra d half bound s works by worlds than one the creed of the philosopher and the hope of the christian with plates post vo cloth extra d the of science lives of and with portraits post vo cloth extra d letters on natural magic a new edition with numerous illustrations and chapters on the being and faculties of man and additional phenomena of natural magic by j a smith post vo cl ex s a of gen john by major with a royal vo cloth extra as a fine art by translated bv r e m a post vo cloth limp d s robert works crown vo cloth extra each of life	38
love and humour by arthur london poems the book of white rose and red a love story and legends of selected poems of robert with a by t the wanderings in the land of and the outer with by william small a poet s sketch book from the prose writings of robert the earthquake or six days and a th cr vo h extra robert poetical works with steel plate portrait c vo cloth e crown vo cloth extra d each post vo boards each the shadow of the sword a child of nature with a god and the man with illustrations by the of with by a w love me for ever with a by p water the new a s of a the master of the mine pilgrim s progress by rev t scott with steel plates by engraved by and numerous crown vo cloth extra gilt s d mrs novels by surly tim and other stories post vo illustrated boards b vo picture cover is each s luck pi captain works by to the coast for gold a personal narrative by richard f and with maps and two crown vo cloth extra s the book of the sword being a history of the sword and its use in all countries from the earliest times by richard f with over illustrations square vo cloth extra s robert the of melancholy a new edition complete corrected and enriched by of the classical vo cloth extra s d melancholy being an for popular use of s of post vo cloth s d lord a an entirely new edition of this famous poem with over one hundred new by leading artists uniform with the illustrated of the lady of the lake and and bound sm l to s s letters and journals with notices of his life by thomas a of the original edition cr vo cloth extra s d s don complete in one vol post cloth limp s t hall novels by the shadow of a crime cr vo cloth extra s d post vo illustrated boards s a son of new and cheaper edition crown vo cloth extra s od works to the coast for a personal narrative by richard f and with and maps two crown vo cloth extra s the of the black prince commanded by robert master by commander v r n c b d c l with and by p crow n vo cl ex s mrs h novels by crown cloth extra ss d each post vo illustrated boards s each s eve r thomas on the choice of books by thomas with a life of the author b r h shepherd new and edition post vo cloth extra illustrated is d the correspondence of thomas and x to by with portraits two crown vo cloth extra a s s george works vol i contains the plays complete including the doubtful ones vol il the poems and minor with an essay by vol iii the of the and three crown vo cloth extra or separately s h a on wood historical and practical by wm and john with an chapter by henry g and fine illustrations a of the last edition large to half d s for children a golden key by mrs h r with eight coloured pictures and numerous by the author new ed small to cloth extra s for schools bv mrs h r vo cloth limp s chronicle the of the coach cross to j d with illustrations by edward l square ra s d city the of dream a poem vo cloth extra s in the books published by and dreams by edward f r a s author of the childhood of c crown vo cloth s the cure of souls a story by j vo illustrated boards curly an actor s story by john illustrated by j c crown is cloth d novels by crown vo cloth extra illustrated d each post vo illustrated each cloth limp d each by illustrated by sir john and j hide and seek illustrated by sir john and j the dead secret illustrated b sir john queen of illustrated by sir john my with a steel plate portrait of tiie woman in with illustrations by sir john and f a the with illustrations by g du f a man and wife by w small poor iv illustrated by g du and edward miss or mrs with illustrations by s l henry woods the new illustrated by g s the frozen deep illustrated by g du and j the law and the lady illustrated by s l and hall the two the haunted l illustrated by arthur the fallen leaves s daughter the black robe heart and science a story of the present time i say no the evil genius little novels three cr vo novels by crown vo cloth extra f d each post vo illustrated boards each sweet anne page from midnight to midnight a fight with fortune post vo illustrated boards novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each blacksmith and scholar the village comedy you play me false post vo illustrated boards each sweet and twenty c the bar sinister a story by c post vo g s humorous works broad my and slippers and other humorous works prose and poetical of c iu man with life by g b and by crown vo cloth gilt d a family by cr own vo l cloth l d d works by and devil lore two royal vo with a of stories illustrated bv w j square vo th e ra b cook works by crown vo cloth extra s each hours with the players with a steel plate nights at the play a view ot the english stage a novel post vo boards paul foster s daughter crown vo cloth post illustrated boards a of english and foreign	38
and e c square crown vo cloth extra gilt edges a golden heart a novel post vo illustrated boards ss hook s choice humorous works including his ludicrous adventures and with a new life of the author portraits and cr vo cl extra gilt d the house of a novel by mrs george post vo illustrated boards love and duty a novel by crown vo cloth extra post vo illustrated home an poem in three books by richard with portrait from a by sum tenth edition crown vo doth extra of capital and labour and considered being a history and review of the trade of great britain by m p crown vo cloth extra d hunt essays by hunt a tale for a chimney comer and other pieces with portrait and introduction by po t limp hunt mrs alfred novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each thorn s model the leaden self condemned t hat other n by one of them crown is cloth is d m s system containing a translation of all his communications on the subject the ue of his methods the latest c by dr r of the faculties of and paris cr vo cloth extra shortly fated to be free a novel by crown vo cloth extra d post vo illustrated boards irish wit and humour songs of collected and bv a graves post vo cloth limp d tales of a by washington post vo cloth li novels by the dark post vo illustrated boards the queen of con naught crown vo cloth extra post illustrated boards practical for students by a crown vo cloth extra s richard works by crown vo cloth extra each nature near london the life of the fields the open mr h j works by of criticism post vo cloth limp d lord a sketch with a photograph portrait crown vo cloth s tom works by post vo l each cloth l d each the garden that paid the rent household a gossip about flowers illustrated our kitchen garden the plants we glow nd how we t i ip bt ua i bt o li lamb c a t l n word g ib e by f post vo cloth limp d witch the true story of ourselves essays on women crown vo cloth extra s each post vo boards s each the of the well lost which loi d p with a silken thread the rebel of the family my love lone crown cloth extra s d each s complete prose works including the poets and poetry of europe with portrait and illustrations by s works from the original with numerous fine on steel and wood long life to a medical general guide ia health and disease by n e l r c p crown vo doth limp d i i i i ii a novel by henry w crown vo cl ex s d post vo thej of translated into verse by robert puff vo witb fourteen full page plates cloth board and by ai bound in canvas d m p works by l a history of our own times from the accession of victoria to the general of i four vo cloth extra s each also a popular edition in four cr vo ct extra each and a e tion with an of events to the end of s complete in two square vo cloth extra d each continued a short history of our wn one vol crown i c cloth extra history of the f four vo cloth each vol i now ready i i crown vo cloth extra d each post ve illustrated boards each dear lady disdain the neighbours my enemy s a fair saxon miss the o f a season maid of a girl a fortune post illustrated boards the right honourable a romance ut society aiid politics by mc a thy m p and mrs ed tion crown cloth extra s h m p works an outline of the history of ireland from the earliest times to the present day cr vo cloth is d ireland the union sketches of ll history from to s crown vo cloth extra the case for home rule crown vo cloth extra england second edition crown vo cloth doom an atlantic episode crown vo is h d our novel by h crown vo cloth is d in london printed vo gold i j d mr cousins a novel by crown vo cloth extra post vo illustrated b l and players notes on popular by robert post cloth limp a d and un or music at twilight j by charles tl d crown vo cloth extra k id books published by george ll d works by works of fancy and imagination pocket edition ten in handsome cloth case s vol z and without the hidden life vol the the gospel women a book of organ songs vol songs songs of the days and nights a book of dreams roadside poems poems for children vol scotch songs vote and a romance vol the vol the light princess the giant s heart shadows vol cross purposes the golden key the little daylight vol the cruel painter the o the castle the broken swords the gray wolf uncle the volumes are also sold separately in pattern clothe d each the of illustrious literary characters with critical and of the literature of the former half of the present century by william b a with portraits printed on an india tint crown vo cloth extra d mrs works by square vo cloth extra d each in the with fine by thomas r pictures and legends and with ous illustrations by thomas r about with by t	38
r crown vo cloth extra d each through r rough with numerous illustrations by t r post vo illustrated boards each the evil eye and other stories lost rose s own book the performances with cups and balls eggs hats handkerchiefs c all from actual experience by w h with illustrations crown vo cloth extra d magic lantern the and its including full practical directions for producing making gas and lantern by t c with illustrations crown vo l cloth l d an exact of the original in the british museum printed on fine plate paper feet by feet with arms and in gold and colours w h by the new or culture faith and philosophy in an english country house post vo cloth limp cheap edition illustrated boards the new paul and virginia or on an island post vo cloth limp d poems small to in s is life worth living p crown vo cloth extra s d arthur the stories of king arthur and of the knights of the round table by b post vo cloth limp twain works by the works of mark twain and corrected throughout by the author with life portrait and numerous illustrations crown vo cloth extra d the abroad or the new pilgrim s progress being some account of the city s pleasure excursion to europe and the holy with illustrations crown vo cloth extra d cheap edition under the title of mark twain s trip post vo boards it and the at home with illustrations by f a crown vo extra d the glided by twain and with illustrations by t crown vo cloth extra d the adventures of tom with iii illustrations crown vo cloth extra d cheap edition post vo illustrated boards the prince and the with nearly i crown vo cloth extra d twain s a tramp abroad with x tions crown vo cloth extra s d cheap edition post vo boards s the stolen white elephant o crown vo cloth extra post illustrated boards s life on the with about original illustrations crown vo cloth extra s d cheap edition post vo illustrated boards the adventures of with illustrations by e w crown cloth extra d cheap edition post illustrated boards s works including his with notes and by col crown cloth extra novels by crown cloth extra s d each post illustrated boards s each open written in fire post illustrated boards s each a harvest of wild a little fighting the air s plays from the text of william bv col crown cloth extra half a dozen daughters a novel by j man post illustrated boards s a secret of the sea o by post illustrated boards cloth s d library the post cloth limp d per volume a journey round my room by translated by henry and selected by w the agony column of the times from to with an introduction by clay melancholy a popular of s of melancholy as a fine art by library the speeches of charles literary fancies follies and by w t poetical and ties selected and by w t the cupboard papers by fin original by w first containing the v world and charity the the palace of trial by jury original plays by w s series containing broken hearts engaged dan l tom h m s the the of songs of irish wit and humour c by a graves animals and their masters by sir arthur helps social pressure by sir a helps of criticism by henry j the of the breakfast table by illustrated by j pencil and by little sketches and characters by lamb selected from his letters by anecdotes or humour and of the law and men of law by jacob theatrical by jacob d by s true history of by e witch stories by e ourselves essays on women by e and players by robert the new paul and virginia by w h new by w h on by h re bv h l illustrated by george do of by h his life sad aims by h a books published by library by the hon more by the hon the of handwriting by don by stream and sea by william senior old stories re told by walter leaves from a s note book by dr london characters and the humorous side of london life by henry with numerous illustrations crown vo cloth extra d medicine family one thousand medical and hints for infancy life middle a e and old age by n e da l r c p land cr vo is cl is merry circle the a book of intellectual games and amusements by with numerous illustrations crown vo cloth extra s d on a through from the gulf to the a new book of american humour by sweet and of with cr vo extra ts d l novels by post vo illustrated boards each t and go mr n miller for the young or the house of life human y with its application to the preservation of health for classes and popular reading with i by mrs f miller small vo cloth limp d milton j l by sm vo l each cloth ex l d each the f the a set ot for the management of the skin with directions for diet c the bath in diseases of the the laws of life and their relation to diseases the skin r i i ii mrs by mrs author of c doth extra d the or time t aw an historical drama by w o scott with by r a w q r a j a r a a r a r a r a r s a large to bound in d novels by crown extra d each	38
post vo each a life s joseph s coat a father coals of fire by the gate of the sea strange hearts the way of the world a bit of r first person for tune old s hero with by a two post vo north italian by mrs illustrate by square vo extra d nursery i a mother s guide in health and disease by n e l r c p crown vo l cl l d j o lord a biography by t p o m p sixth edition with a new preface bringing the work down to the death of lord crown vo cloth extra d o the a novel by o new and cheaper edition post vo illustrated boards mrs novels by with illustrations by arthur and h s crown vo cloth extra i i iii crown vo doth extra s d each the path the greatest in england o s fortunes a novel w th illustrations by henry t vo illustrated boards o works by songs of a vo cloth extra s d and moonlight cloth extra s d lays of france crown cloth extra lis novels by crown vo cloth extra each post vo boards each held n bondage under two flags il a shoes a dog of f in a city friendship a village in we ine princess ax wisdom wit and pathos selected from the works of by p sm cl ex s page h a works by his life and aims a study with portrait post vo c ji d lights on the way tales with a tale by he late f h r a by h a pace crown c i extra animal anecdotes arranged on a new cr cl sa and in the old days a history of cf political and j any warfare at the s and in the house of from the to victoria illustrated from the original political i satire and popular of the tt me br au of row and his works the life of c vo cloth extra with a coloured by band and nearly illustrations s provincial letters a new translation with hi introduction and notes by t m p p post vo cloth limp patient s the how to get most benefit from medical advice by william knight m r c s and knight l r c p cr o wn vo l cloth l d paul per roll post vo illustrated boards each paul a novel wh y led his wife paul gentle and simple by paul with a by cr vo cloth extra s d post vo illustrated boards james novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each lost sir the best of husbands walter s word what he cost her less black than we re painted by high spirits under one roof a confidential agent some private views a from a thorn for cash only from exile the can on s ward post vo boards each a memory s year a perfect treasure s i s master fallen fortunes a county family at her mercy a woman s vengeance s the of the family the foster brothers found s harvest humorous stories like father like son a marine residence married beneath him abbey i not but won two hundred pounds ard the talk of the town in and stories of marine adventure re a book for boys with numerous crown vo cloth gilt holiday tasks being essays written in time crown vo cloth extra g low worm tales three crown the present in trade its causes and being the hears prize essays of one hundred by and william with an paper by f s a f s s is h works by post cloth limp each on with illustrations re with ten by g du the of de selected and by h c e works by post vo each cl limp is d each beyond the gates by the author of the gates an old maid s paradise in paradise books published by mrs c l novels by with vo p cover if lady post vo illustrated boards i j r works by the of arms or founded upon facts with coloured and illustrations cr vo cloth a d songs and poems from to with an introduction by his daughter mrs crown vo cloth extra s lives of illustrious men translated from the greek with notes critical and historical and a life of by john and william two vo cloth extra with portraits b d ii iii the choice works in prose and poetry of with an by charles portrait and crown vo cl extra d the mystery of and other stories post vo b pope poetical works complete in one vol post vo cl limp mr the right honourable a romance of society and politics by mrs camp and m p cr vo cloth extra princess or the great conspiracy of j i by the princess cr vo cl ex i ii i i i m m i i i im a works by flowers of the sky with small crown vo cloth extra d easy star lessons with star maps for every night in the year draw of the c crown vo cloth extra familiar science studies crown vo cloth extra d and its system new and with steel plates vo cloth extra d the great tomb and temple with illustrations crown vo cloth extra mysteries of time and space with cr vo cloth extra d the universe of and other science with numerous cr vn cloth extra d wages and wants of science workers crown is price e c novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each the foreigners mrs s rival post vo boards	38
works faithfully translated from the french with notes and numerous characteristic illustrations by crown vo cloth extra s d popular by j ram of the of france translated by c b crown vo cloth gilt numerous and a beautifully executed ch art of d charles novels by cr to cloth extra illustrated s d each post vo each by s l a r a by william small it is never too late to mend by g j pin well the course of true love never did run smooth illustrated by the of a thief jack of all trades and james illustrated by stretch love me little love me long illustrated by m the double marriage by sir john r a and c the and the hearth illustrated by charles hard cash by f w illustrated by s l a r a and wm small foul play by du put yourself in his place illustrated by robert a terrible temptation illustrated by and a w the wandering heir illustrated by h s l a r a c and h woods a r a a illustrated by a woman illustrated by and a matter of fact romance illustrated by p good stories of men and animals illustrated by e a abbey and the and other stories illustrated by joseph with a steel plate portrait of charles s reader s the of allusions plots and stories by the rev dr edition with a new containing a complete english cr vo t oo pages cloth extra d red spider a romance by the author of john c two crown vo a of health and other papers by ward m d c crown vo cloth extra j h novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post illustrated boards each her mother s darling the prince of wales s garden party weird s post vo illustrated boards each the house fairy water the in palace gardens alfred works by square cloth gilt d each our old country towns with over illustrations round and with illustrations about england with with illustrations by alfred a robinson a beautiful of major s edition with and two steel plates bv george printed crown vo cloth extra a robinson f w novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards a each women are strange the hand of justice robinson s by crown cloth extra d each the poets birds the poets beasts the poets and nature fishes and insects preparing s and moral reflections with notes and an essay by saints be post c l p s of battle or a list of the principal warriors who came over from w th william the conqueror and settled in this country a d with the principal arms in gold and colours handsomely printed st hon works by post cloth limp s d each and jokes with numerous illustrations more illustrated james by post illustrated boards each cloth limp d each and grace s sweetheart schools and scholars w works by crown cloth extra each post illustrated boards each round the fire on the fo k head a collection of and sea descriptions in the m watch crown cloth extra each a voyage to the cape a book for the h preparing the frozen the new novel by w author of the wreck of the begins in for july and will be continued till january next one shilling monthly and daylight by george post illustrated boards seven generations of of the family to b cr vo cl ex d john novels by crown cloth extra s d each post vo illustrated boards each to the wheel i lion in the path the t wo one against the world post illustrated boards novels by cr cloth extra d each post illustrated boards s each margaret and elizabeth the high mills heart i s rock cloth extra d science an illustrated medium of for students and lovers of nature by j e f l s c devoted to ac price d monthly or per year post free i to xiv may be had at d each and xv to xxii is fi at s each lor finding is d j aa books published by walter poems by with over loo new by leading artists sm t cl ex i the of the last with oyer new by leading ai sm to cl ex secret out series the cr vo cl ox h d each the secret out one thousand with cards and other with entertaining experiments in or white magic by w h the art of amusing a collection of graceful art tricks and b frank with very easy very difficult tricks white magic sl of hand by w h with illustrations the merry circle a book of new n games and amusements by cl many s own book performances with cups and balls eggs hats c all from actual experience by w h sod illustrations by stream and sea by w s r po st l limp d the of man h author of the village life crown vo cloth e x b shakespeare the first mr s histories and published to the true original i copies london printed by and ed a of the extremely rare original in reduced by a process n the accuracy in every detail small vo half d the shakespeare beautiful i v printed in red and black in small but very clear type with engraved of t s portrait cloth extra d for children tales m shakespeare by charles and mary lamb with numerous illustrations coloured and plain by t j smith cr to cl gilt the of shakespeare being an account of pieces of m set to words taken firom the plays and of are the from the age to the present time by alfred to r r a study of shakespeare by non charles crown cloth s complete works with	38
life and anecdotes including his dramatic writings printed from the original his works in prose and poetry speeches jokes c with a collection of crown vo cloth extra gilt with tinted illustrations d s the rivals and the school for scandal with an introduction and notes to each and a sketch of by der with page vo half s s sir philip complete poetical works including all those in with portrait memorial introduction notes c by the rev a b d d three crown vo cl b s their history with anecdotes of famous and remarkable characters by ac b and john crown vo cloth extra with too illustrations d s ms george r how the poor live with by large to is and post vo boards cloth limp d the ring o bells post vo cloth d mary jane s with a photograph of mary jane post vo c loth s d sister a biography by margaret popular edition with additional chapter a new and and four illustrations vo picture cover d cloth d a match in tha dark post vo illustrated boards smith j by the prince of a story of the old greek time small vo cloth extra with a d tales of old with numerous illustrations cr vo cloth gilt the of the water witch a northern with numerous illustrations small vo cl ex w the historical and crown vo cloth extra gilt s d society n london by a resident cheaper edition with an additional chapter on among the and professional classes crown vo la is d e an essay in illustration of the belief in the existence of devils and the powers possessed by them by t a ll b cr cl ex spanish tales by mrs s g c author of round a fire crown vo cloth extra t w novels by the mysteries of with a by m crown vo cloth extra d post vo illustrated a barren title cr is cl l d wife or no wife cr picture cover is cloth is il mm mm i il i for children by m h with illustrations bv walter j crown to with coloured illustrations cloth gilt laws and practice of together with an analysis of the and a on end games my by robert b new edition small cr cloth extra the poets of america with full notes in margin and careful index by author of poets cr vo cl ex j i r louis works by travels with a donkey in the sixth ed by w post vo cl limp s an inland voyage with front by w post cl ip a familiar studies of men and books crown cl new nights cl extra s post vo s the with cr vo cloth extra cheap edition post picture cover is cloth l d prince a fourth edition crown cloth extra p boards tho and other tales and cr cl ex the knife a novel by robert ar cr cloth extra illustrated boards st john a family by st john post illustrated boards m m summer in the south seas by charles crown cl extra cl stories from foreign novel with notices of their lives and writings by and crown cloth a s d post st paul and virginia and the indian cottage hy bee st with life by rev e e post vo cl ip s sports and of the people of england including the rural and domestic may shows c from the earliest period to the time with illustrations by wm cr cl extra d homes ttie of london a resident guide to favourite london their society and associations with notes on their an t house accommodation with map of london cr vo cl ex a d swift a choice worlds to prose and verse with portrait and of the maps in the original edition of liver s travels cr cloth extra d c works by from the poetical of charles v cloth extra in crown ve a cr f poems and first series cr same price and second ff cr vo same price poems and before sunrise cr s d a tragedy cr vo s d ao essay crown songs of two nations cr essays and studies i a tragedy b note of an english on the is note l cr p books published bt s a c a study of cr vo l songs of cr vo ai studies in song crown vo t mary a cr to il of and other poems crown a century of small to si a holiday and other poems crown vo cr vo g a study of victor cr to b crown vo wine women and song latin students son u s n ow first translated into english verse with essay by j small vo i s three in search of the picturesque in search of consolation and in search of a wife with tne whole of s illustrations in colours and a life cf the author by t c m e d vo cloth extra ti d s history of literature translated by van four small vo cloth boards popular edition two crown vo cloth extra s of the echo club of modern writers post vo il limp dr j e f l by crown v cloth ex d each the sagacity and morality of plants a sketch of the life and conduct of the vegetable coloured and loo our common british and where to find them a for students with illustrations s tom historical dare axe and crown the fool s revenge s wife anne plot and passion one vol cr vo cloth extra ft	38
the plays may also be had separately at is each lord a sketch by h j with a photograph portrait crown vo cloth extra to notes and anecdotes illustrated by hundreds of sketches by william humorous incidents in his and favourite characters in the books of his every day r with coloured cr vo cl extra novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each proud the player thomas m a fight for life a novel by w thomas post vo illustrated boards s seasons and of with a and critical introduction by and over fine illustrations on steel and wood crown vo cloth extra gilt edges a d waiter worlds by haunted london by edward m a with by f w f s a crown vo cloth extra the life and correspondence of j m w founded upon letters and papers furnished by his friends and fellow with numerous in colours from s original drawings cr vo cl extra d old stories re told post cloth limp b d for the post vo ill boards john s by crown vo extra d each the history of clubs and club lifts in london with anecdotes of its famous coffee houses and with many english and stones of wealth and fashion and strange sights and sporting scenes eccentric artists theatrical folk men of letters c with nearly e novels by crown vo cloth extra d each post vo illustrated boards each the way we live now kept in the dark mr s family the la nd post vo illustrated boards each the lion of john american france e crown vo cloth extra d each post illustrated boards each like ships upon the sea progress anne a diamond cut diamond and other stories by t post vo illustrated boards s folly a novel by j t post vo ted r ds stories from foreign by and others cr vo cloth extra illustrated boards c c mistress a novel by c c cr vo extra d po st v o boards j novels by crown cloth extra s d each post illustrated boards l each came through the bride s pass saint s city beauty and the beast lady bell crown cloth extra d each illustrated by a b the family with buried di disappeared with six illustrations by p cloth extra van history of french literature by h van three cl d each a double bond a story by picture c over is ed w m a works by the county families of the united kingdom containing notices of the descent birth marriage education c of more than distinguished heads of families their apparent or the offices hold or have held their town and country addresses clubs c twenty seventh annual edition for s cloth gilt the shilling containing an list of the house of lords dates of creation lists of scotch and irish addresses c cloth l published the shilling containing an list of the of the united kingdom short notices dates of creation addresses c mo cloth the shilling containing an list of the knights of tne united kingdom short notices dates ot e c cl li s works continued the shilling house of containing a list of all th members of parliament their n and country addresses c new edition the results of the recent general election cloth l published the complete age and house of in one volume royal a mo cloth extra g edges s haunted london by walter by edward m a with illustrations by f w f s a crown cloth extra d and cotton s complete or the man s being a discourse of rivers fish and fishing written by and bow to angle for a or in a clear stream by charles cotton with original and notes by sir and fix illustrations large crown cloth ue d poems by selected and with an introduction by william m a new edition with a steel portrait crown printed on paper and bound in s wanderer s library the crown cloth extra ss d each wanderings in cm life among the hunters by illustrated camp notes stories of sport and adventure in asia africa and america by savage life by england in the time by george daniel with illustrations by life and by thomas frost the lives of the by thomas frost the old and the old london by thomas frost low life an account of the strange fish to be found there by james the of london by the land and the people by the de with illustrations the life and adventures of a cheap by one of the by charles the world behind the scenes by books published by s library the continued tavern anecdotes and sayings including the n of signs and reminiscences connected with ta coffee houses clubs c with the life and ad of ward by e p with a the story of the london with london characters by may illustrated of of the family i b to by henry summer sing in the south seas by c wai ms ay a journey by charles author of my summer in a garden crown cloth extra it fc i i c warrant to execute charles i an with the fifty nine and corresponding carefully on paper to imitate the original in by in price warrant to execute queen of an exact including the signature of queen and a of the great seal beautifully printed on paper te imitate the ms price an exact m the original e in the museum printed on fine plate paper nearly feet long by feet wide with the arms and in gold and colours the roll of battle abbey or a list of the principal warriors who came ver from with william conqueror and settled in 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colours price the journal of the society of published ly price li number for october ib number ii for january and number iii may are now ready weather how to the with the pocket by f w m k c s f k met c with illustrations crown vo l cloth is d of and or history of those arts from the earliest period by m with illustrations and a list of marks crown vo cloth limp d fi s mr ten o clock uniform with his t art and art critics cr vo shortly w f r a s works by science notes see the s magazine la monthly science in short chapters crown vo cloth extra d a simple on heat crown vo cloth limp with s d the of crown vo cloth extra dr f r s e works by chapters on a popular history of the and allied theories of development third edition crown vo cloth extra with illustrations d leaves from a s note book post vo cloth limp d leisure time studies chiefly third with new preface cr vo cl ex with s studies in life and sense with numerous illustrations crown vo cloth extra s common accidents and how to treat them by dr and others with numerous crown vo is cloth limp is d winter j s stories by cavalry life post vo legends crown vo cloth extra d post vo illustrated boards women the day a dictionary of notable by crown vo cloth extra s wood novel by lady post vo st s words facts and a dictionary of curious quaint and out of the way matters by new and cheaper issue cr vo ci ex d half bound s w r i g ht thomas works by crown vo cloth extra d e ch history of the the house of with pictures window pictures c history of and of the grotesque in art literature and painting by f w lt f s a novels by post vo illustrated boards each the forlorn land at last n new novel by author of red spider a by author john two cr vo new stories little novels by author of the woman in white three crown vo walter new novel the world went very well then i crown vo y s new novel old s hero by d two crown vo s novels s new tion of glow worm tales by james three crown vo new el or the it conspiracy of i by the vo cloth extra s s new novel disappeared a novel by author of saint s city c with six by cr vo cloth p m the novels popular stories by the best authors library many illustrated crown to cloth extra s d each by grant list la in all shades by w rice ready money my little girl the case of mr lu craft this son of with harp and grown the butterfly by s t ie of twas in s bay the side the ten years tenant the of the fleet by walter all sorts and conditions of men the captains room ail in a garden fair j uncle jack children of by child of nature god and the man the shadow of the sword the of love me for ever water i the new i the master of the mine by hall the shadow of a crime a son of by mrs h ever s guardian by sweet anne page from midnight to midnight blacksmith and scholar the village comedy you play mo false by hide and seek the dead secret queen of hearts my woman in white the man and wife poor miss miss or mrs new the deep the and the lady l p haunted the fallen leaves the black heart and i say no by button cook paul foster s daughter by william hearts of gold by t the or port sa y i by james mills a castle in spain by j nt our lady of tears s i by m by mrs fi f by l fatal by r e queen a one by one a real queen by sir a w v by edward the book by continued by charles robin gray lack of gold what will tho world say in honour bound queen of the meadow the flower of the forest a heart s problem the of the golden shaft i of high degree fancy free loving a dream a hard knot by thomas hardy under the tree by prince s wife dust i fortune s fool miss or a name by sir a helps de by mrs the lover s creed by mrs alfred hunt thorn s the leaden self condemned that other person by fated to be free by the queen of by r king a drawn game the wearing of the green by henry number seventeen by e of the world well lost under which lord with a silken thread the rebel of the family my love i lone by henry w by the neighbours my enemy s daughter a fair saxon dear lady disdain miss the of a season maid of by mrs cousins novels by open written in fire by d coals of hearts life s joseph s coat a model father by the gate of the sea the way of the world a bit of human nature first person singular fortune by mrs by margaret a paul gentle and simple by james lost sir best of husbands walter s word what he cost her less black than we re painted by high spirits under one roof a confidential agent from exile a from a for cash only some private views the s ward talk of the town by e c price the foreigners mrs s rival by charles it is never too late to mend hard cash gaunt i foul play the double marriage	38
love me little love me long the and the hearth the course of true love the of a thief put yourself in his place a terrible temptation the wandering heir i a a woman and the good stories of men and other animals by mrs j h her mother s darling prince of wales s garden party weird stories by f w robinson women are strange the hands of justice by john bound to the wheel two the lion in the path s novels by margaret and elizabeth s rock i heart the high by t w the mysteries of by r a stern the knife by thomas proud the player by the way we live now kept in the mr s family the land novels continued by e e ships upon the sea anne s progress by c stories fl om foreign by what she came through the bride s pass saint s city beauty and the beast oblige the family lady bell buried diamonds by c c mistress by j s winter legends cheap of popular novels post vo illustrated by about the by of j by mrs alexander maid wife or widow s fate by grant strange stories by grant by w james rice ready money with harp and crown this son of my little the case of mr the golden butterfly by s the of h was in s bay the side the ten years tenant the of the fleet by walter all sorts and conditions of men the captains room all in a garden fair uncle jack boards each by camp notes i savage life of no man s land by an of red dog the luck of roaring camp stories by robert the of water the new the shadow of the sword a child of nature god and the man love me for ever the master of the mine by mrs surly tim by hall the of a crime by mrs ever s guardian by the cure of souls by c the bar sinister by hide and seek the dead secret queen of hearts my woman in white the books published by cheap popular novels continued continued man and wife poor miss miss op the deep law and the lady wo i n haunted hotel the fallen leaves the black robe and science i say no he evil by sweet anne page i from midnight to midnight a fight with sweet and twenty and the village comedy you play me false by button cook i paul s daughter by c the of the smoky mountains by william of gold by the or port salvation by de a castle in spain by j cup lady of s by charles by i twist by mrs a point of honour by m i by edward by never foi the second seventy five street the lady of by de filthy by r j i queen ua one by one a real queen by sit h by main one of two by edward the cheap popular novels by charles the of the a s of the golden shaft of high fancy free and loving a a knot robin lack of gold what will the in bound in love and the king in pastures queen of the meadow by william s guests the of the mountain james duke by dick temple by john ha s by day papers by lady hardy paul s by thomas hardy the by j the tenth by i el i ice s wife s fool by sir arthur helps de by mrs cash el the s creed by tom hood a golden heart by mrs george the house of by he love and duty by mrs alfred hunt s model the leaden self condemned by fated to be by the the queen of by mark facts and by r king a game the of the by henry castle by e the of learn popular novels e the world well lost under which lord p with a silken thread the rebel of the family my love lone hy henry w by the pf a season of the neighbours my enemy s daughter a fair saxon i by mrs cousins by s the evil eye lost rose by w h the new republic by marry at a little fighting the air written in fire open a harvest of wild by j half a dozen daughters by a secret of the sea by touch and i mr by d hearts way of the world a of human nature first person singular fortune a model father joseph s coat coals of tire by the gate of the strange by o the by mrs by mrs robert o s fortunes by held in bondage shoes i in a winter city under two flags e a dog of friendship i a village com i in cheap popular novels by margaret paul gentle and simple by james lost sir a perfect treasure s s master a county family at her mercy a woman s vengeance s of the family foster brothers found dead best of husbands walter s word fallen fortunes what he cost her humorous stories e harvest reward like father l ke son marine residence married beneath him abbey not but won less black than we re painted by under one high spirits s year a agent some private views from exile a from a thorn for cash only a memory the s ward talk of the town by a the mystery of by e c price the e s mrs s rival by charles it ie never too late to mend hard cash gaunt put yourself in his place the double marriage love me little love long foul play the and the hearth the course of true love of a a terrible temptation the wandering heir a i a wo the and good stories of men and animals by mrs f h her mother	38
the verdict on and was reversed in the other court i wonder will it be the same with its successor r l s lake s t contents john all i the two lads i at ths of thi sin is ii i v thb iii thb iv a n v ab thb vi to thb h end vii thb ii the moat house i dick ii thb two oaths iii thb the iv thb v how dick e boot iii my i the bi the ii a in the bare lo iii st b tv the hope v the good hope vi thb good hope iv the disguise i the den n in iii the dead iv in abbey v vl again v i the she ll ii the battle of in the battle of iv tub sack of v in the vi night ik the dick and vii dick s conclusion t the black arrow a tale of the two b e john all on a certain afternoon in the late the bell upon moat house was ringing at an hour far and near in the forest and in the fields along the river people began to desert their labours and hurry towards the sound and in hamlet a of poor folk stood wondering at the summons hamlet at that period in the reign of old king henry vi wore much the same appearance as it wears to day a score or so of houses heavily framed with oak stood scattered in a long green valley ascending from the river at the foot the road crossed a bridge and mounting on the other side disappeared into the of the forest on its way to the moat house and further forth to abbey half way up the village the church stood among on every s n r i i the black a bide the slopes were crowned and the view hy the green elms and oak trees of the forest hard by the bridge there was a stone cross upon a and here the group had collected half a dozen women and one tall fellow in a discussing what the bell an express had gone through the hamlet half an before and drunk a pot of ale in the saddle not daring to for the harry of his errand but he had been ignorant himself of what was forward and only bore sealed letters from sir daniel to sir the parson who kept the moat house in the master s absence but now there was the noise of a horse and soon oat of the edge of the wood and over the echoing bridge there rode up young master richard sir daniel s ward he at the least would know and they hailed him and b him to explain he drew bridle willingly enough a young fellow not yet eighteen sun and grey eyed in a jacket of deer s leather with a black velvet collar a green hood upon his head and a steel at his back the express it appeared had brought great news a battle was impending sir daniel had sent for every man that could draw a bow or carry a bill to go post haste to under pain of his severe displeasure hut for whom they were to fight or of where the battle was expected dick knew nothing sir would come shortly himself and was at that moment for he it was who should lead the party john s it is the rain of kind a woman said i the live at war must eat roots nay said dick every man that follows shall have sixpence a day and twelve if they live returned the woman that may very well be but how if they die my master they cannot better die than for their natural lord said dick no natural lord of mine said the man in the i followed the so we all did down way till two years ago come and now i must side with it was the law that did it call ye that natural but now what with sir daniel and what with sir that knows more of law than honesty i have no natural lord but poor king the bless him the poor innocent that cannot tell his right hand from his left ye speak with an ill tongue friend answered dick to your good master and my lord the king in the same but king harry praised be the saints i has come again into his right mind and will have all things ordained and as for sir daniel y are very brave behind his back but i will be no tale bearer and let that suffice i say no harm of you master richard returned the peasant y are a but when ye come to a man s inches ye will find ye have an empty pocket i say no more the saints help sir daniel s neighbours and the blessed maid protect his wards i b r ni i g tub black arrow said you speak what i cannot hear with honour sir daniel ia my good master and my guardian come now will ye read me a riddle returned on whose side is sir daniel i know not said dick colouring a little j for his guardian had changed sides continually in the troubles of that period and every change had brought him some increase of fortune ay returned you nor no man for indeed he is one that goes to bed and gets up york just then the bridge rang under horse iron and the party turned and saw come galloping a brown faced fellow heavy of hand and grim of mien armed with sword and spear a steel on his head a leather jack upon his body he was a great man in these parts sir	38
daniel s right hand in peace and war and at that time by his master s interest of the hundred he shouted oft to the moat house and send all other the same gate will give you jack and we must ride before look to it he that ia last at the gate sir daniel shall reward look to it right well i i know you for a man of naught he added to one of the women is old up town i ll warrant you replied the woman in his field for sure t john so the group dispersed and while walked leisurely over the bridge and young rode up the road together through the village and past the church ye will see the old said he will waste more time grumbling and of harry tlie than would a man to shoe a horse and all because he has been to the french wars i the house to which they were bound was the last in the village standing alone among and beyond it on three sides there was open meadow rising towards the borders of the wood dismounted threw his rein over the fence and walked down the field dick keeping close at his elbow to where the old soldier was digging knee deep in his and now and again in a cracked voice singing a snatch of song he was all dressed in leather only his hood and were of black and tied with scarlet his face was like a shell both for colour and wrinkles but his old grey eye was still clear enough and his sight perhaps he was deaf perhaps he thought it unworthy of an old of to pay any heed to such but neither the surly notes of the alarm bell nor the near approach of and the lad appeared at all to move him and he continued digging and up very thin and now dear lady it will be i pray that yon will me on me got the black nick said sir him to you and bide that ye shall come within hour to the moat house there to take command the old fellow looked up save yon my masters he grinning and where master master is to with every man that we can horse returned there is a fight toward it seems and my lord stays a ay verily returned and what will ye leave me to garrison withal i leave you six good men and sir to boot answered it ll not hold the place said the number not it would take two score to make it good why if for that we came to you old replied the other who else is there but yon that could do aught in such a house with such a garrison ay i when the pinch comes ye remember the old shoe returned nick there is not a man of you can back a horse or hold a bill and as for st michael i if old harry the were back again he would stand and let ye shoot at him for a a shoot nay nick there s some can draw a good bow yet said draw a good bow i cried yes but man all shoot shoot it s there the eye in and the head now what might yon call a long shoot well said looking about him it would be a long shoot from here into the forest ay it would be a shoot said the old fellow turning to look over his shoulder and then he put up his hand over eyes and stood staring why what are you looking at asked with a chuckle do you see harry the t the continued looking up the hill in silence the sun shone over the meadows a few white sheep wandered was still but the distant of the bell what is it asked dick why the birds said and sure enough over the top of the forest where it ran down in a tongue among the meadows and ended in a pair of goodly green elms about a from the field where they were standing a flight of birds was to and fro in evident disorder what of the birds said ay returned y are a wise man to go to war master birds are a good in forest places they be the first line of battle look you now if we lay here in camp there might be down to get the wind of us and here would you be none the wiser why old said there be no men the black nearer as than sir daniel h at j are as safe as in london tower and ye raise upon a man for a few and hear bim i grinned how many a rogue would give his two crop ears to have a shoot at either o ns i saint michael man i they hate us like two pole eats well it is they hate sir daniel answered a little ay they hate sir daniel and they hate every man that serves with him said and in the first order of they hate and old the see ye here if there was a stout fellow yonder in the wood edge and you and i stood fair for him as by saint george we stand i which think ye would he choose you for a good answered my to a leather belt it would be you cried the old ye burned they ll ne er forgive you that my master and as for me i ll soon be in a good place god grant and out of bow shoot ay and cannon shoot of all their i am an old man and draw fast to homeward where the bed is ready but for you y are to remain behind here at your own peril and if ye come to	38
and what may this be what enemy hath done this here sir ia the arrow see it is written upon with words said dick nay cried the priest thia is a foul hearing i john all i a right word and black of as for an omen this arrow likes me not but it rather to take who should this be you of so many black ill which should he be that so us i do much question it the nay they are not yet so broken they still think to have the law over us when times change there was too how think ye what think ye sir returned of nay never nay not he said the priest there never any rising from below so all judicious in their opinion but rebellion ever downward from above and when dick tom and harry take them to their bills look ever narrowly to see what lord is thereby now sir daniel having once more joined him to the queen s party is in ill with the lords comes the blow by what g ki le the ck i yet seek but therein lies the nerve of this discomfiture an t please you sir said tlie are so hot in this country that i have long been smelling fire so did this poor sinner and by your leave men s spirits are bo inclined to all of us that it needs neither york nor to spur them on hear my plain thoughts you that are a clerk and sir daniel that sails on any wind ye have taken many men s goods and beaten and hanged not a few y are called to count for this j in the end i not how ye have ever the uppermost at law and ye think all patched but give me leave sir the man that ye have and beaten is but the and some day when the black devil is by be will up with his bow and me a yard of arrow through your nay y are in the wrong ye should be glad to be corrected said sir y are a a a your mouth is wider than your two ears mend it mend it nay i say no more have it as ye list said the the priest now rose from the stool and from the writing case that hung about his neck took forth wai and a and a flint and steel with these he sealed up the chest and the cupboard sir daniel s arms looking on and then the whole party ll somewhat to sally from the house and get to horse tis time we were on the road sir as he held the priest s while he ay hut things are changed the parson there is now no rest his soul to keep the i shall keep you i must have a good man to rest me on in this day o black arrows the arrow that by day the j have no mind of the nay i am a priest i am too deep in men s affairs well let us ride forth master the should be at the church by now so they rode forward down the road with the wind after them blowing the tails of the parson s cloak and behind them ae they went clouds began to arise and blot out the sinking sun they had passed three o the scattered houses that make up hamlet when coming to a they saw the church before them ten or a dozen houses clustered immediately round it hut to the back the churchyard was next the meadows at the gate near a score of men were gathered some in the saddle some standing by their horses heads they were armed and mounted some with some with bills some with bows and some plough horses still with the mire of the for these were the very of the country and all the better men and the fair the black were already with sir in the field we have not done amiss p be the of sir daniel will be right well observed the priest inwardly the troop who goes if ye be true i shouted a man was seen slipping through the churchyard among the and at the sound of this summons he discarded all concealment and fairly to his heels for the forest the men at the gate who had been hitherto unaware of the stranger s presence woke and scattered those who had dismounted began into the saddle the rest rode in pursuit but they had to make the circuit of the consecrated ground and it was plain their would escape them roaring an oath put his horse at the hedge to head him but the beast refused and sent his rider in the dust and though he was up in a moment and had the bridle the time had gone by and the fugitive had gained too great a lead for any hope of capture the wisest of all had been dick instead of starting in a vain pursuit he had whipped his bow from his hack bent it and set a quarrel to the string and now when the others had he turned to and asked if he should shoot shoot i shoot i cried the priest with violence t john cover him master dick said bring me him down like a ripe apple the fugitive was now within but a few leaps of safety but last part of the meadow ran very and the man ran slower in proportion what with the of the falling night and the movements of the it was no easy aim and as dick his bow he felt a kind of pity and a half desire that he might miss the quarrel the man stumbled and fell and a great cheer arose from and the but they were counting their	38
corn before the harvest the man fell lightly he was lightly again turned and waved his cap in a and was out of sight nest moment in the margin of the wood and the plague go with him i cried he has thieves heels he can run by st i but you touched him master he has stolen your quarrel may he never have good i grudge him less i nay but what made he by the church asked sir i am ed there has been mischief here good fellow get ye down from your horse and search thoroughly among the was gone but a little while ere he returned carrying a paper this writing was pinned to the church door he i le the w handing it to the parson i found naught else sir parson now by the power of mother church cried sir but this runs hard on for the king s good pleasure or the lord of the well but that every run the hedge in a green should fasten papers to the door nay it runs hard on and men have for matters of less weight but what have we here the light falls good master richard y have young eyes r ad me i pray this dick took the paper in his hand and read it aloud it contained some lines of a very rugged hardly even written in a gross character and most with the somewhat this is how they ran i had arrows mj belt four for the tbat i have felt four for the of ill that have me now and then one is gone one is old is one is for muster that walls and one for sir that cat sir s throat sir daniel ye have the j we shall think it fur sport all te have own part a in each b get je to knees for to pray ye are bj and nay all of the green wood and his j ii item we have mo and for of following now well a day for charity and the christian graces cried sir this is an ill world and daily worse i will swear upon the cross of i am as innocent of that good knight s hurt whether in act or purpose as the babe neither was his throat cut for therein they are again in error as there still live witnesses to show it boots not sir parson said here is talk nay master not bo keep ye in your due place good answered the priest i shall make mine innocence appear i will no consideration lose my poor life in error i take all men to witness that i am clear of this matter i was not even in the moat house i was sent of an errand before nine upon the clock sir said interrupting since it please you not to stop this sermon i will take other means sound to horse and while the was moved c the black close to the bewildered aad whispered violently in his ear dick saw the eye turned upon him for an instant in a startled glance he bad some cause for thought for this sir harry was his own natural father but he said never a word and kept hie countenance unmoved and sir discussed together for awhile their altered situation ten men it was decided between them should be reserved not only to garrison the moat house but to escort the priest across the wood in the meantime as was to remain behind the command o the was given to master indeed there was no choice the men were fellows dull and in war while dick was not only popular but resolute and grave beyond his age although his youth had been spent in these rough country places the lad had been well taught in letters by sir and himself bad shown him the management of arms and the first principles of command had always been kind and he was one of those who are cruel as the grave to those they call their enemies but faithful and well willing to their friends and now while sir entered the next house to write in his swift exquisite a of the last to his master sir daniel came up to his pupil to wish him god speed upon his enterprise ye must go the long way about master john all he said round by the bridge for your life i keep a sure fifty paces afore yon to draw shots and go softly till y are past the wood if the fall upon yon ride for t j ye will do naught by standing and keep ever forward master turn not back i in an ye love your life there is no help in mind ye that and now since ye go to the great wars about the king and i continue to dwell here in extreme of my life and the saints alone can if we shall meet again below i give you my last counsels now at your riding keep an eye on sir daniel he is put not your trust in the he not amiss hut doth the will of others it is a hand gun for sir daniel get you good where ye go make you strong friends look to it and think ever a while on there are worse than so god speed and heaven be with you returned dick ye were a good friend to me ward and so i shall say ever and look ye master added with a certain embarrassment if this all should get a shaft into me ye might lay out a gold mark or a pound for my poor soul for it is like to go stiff with me in ye shall have your will of it answered dick but what cheer man i we shall meet again where e shall	38
have more need of ale than masses i le thk black the so grant it master dick returned the other but here comes sir an he were as quick with the long bow as with the pen he would be a brave man at arms sir gave dick a sealed packet with this to my master sir daniel he in and dick putting it in the bosom of his jacket gave the word and set westward up the village t i the two lad chapter i at the sign op the u t in sir daniel and his men lay in and about that night warmly and well but the knight of was one who never rested from money getting and even now when he was on the brink of an adventure which should make or mar him he was up an hour after midnight to squeeze poor neighbours he was one who greatly in disputed it was his way to buy out the most unlikely and then by the favour he with great lords about the king procure unjust in his favour or if that was too to the disputed by force of arms and rely on his influence and sir s cunning in the law to hold what he had snatched was one such place it had come very lately into his he still met with opposition from the tenants and it was to discontent that he had led his troops that way by two in the morning sir daniel sat in the inn room close by the fireside for it was cold at that hour tub black among the of by his elbow stood a of ale he had taken off his and sat with his head and thin dark resting on one hand wrapped warmly ia a cloak at the lower end of the room about a dozen of his men stood over the door or lay asleep on benches and somewhat nearer hand a lad apparently of twelve or thirteen was stretched in a mantle on the floor the host of the sun stood before the great man now mark me mine host sir daniel said follow but mine orders and i shall be your good lord ever i must have good men for head and i will have adam a more high see to it narrowly if other men be chosen it shall avail you nothing rather it shall be found to your sore cost for those that have paid rent to i shall take good measure you among the rest mine host good knight said the host i will swear upon the cross of i did but pay to upon nay bully knight i love not the rogue they were as poor as thieves bully knight give me a great lord like you nay ask me among the neighbours i am stout for it may be said sir daniel ye shall then pay twice the made a horrid but this was a piece of bad luck that might befall a tenant in at the of thb w these times and he was perhaps g lad to make his peace so easily tip yon fellow cried the knight and one o led up a poor old man as pale as a candle and all shaking with the fever said sir daniel name an t please your worship replied the man my name is of at your good worship s pleasure have heard you reported on returned the knight ye deal in treason rogue ye the j are heavily of tbe death of how fellow are ye so bold but i will bring you down right honourable and my reverend lord the man cried here is some saving your good presence i am but a poor private man and have hurt none the under did report of you most said the seize me he that of my good lord is my poor name e d the unfortunate or it is all one replied sir daniel coolly for by my y are here and i do suspect your honesty if you would save your neck write me swiftly an obligation for twenty pound t the buck arrow for twenty my good lord i cried here is madness my whole estate not to shilling or returned sir daniel grinning i will run ray peril of that loss write me down twenty and when i have recovered all i may i will be good lord to you and pardon you the rest alas my good lord it may not be j i have no skill to write said well a day returned the knight here then is no remedy yet i would ain have spared yon had my conscience suffered take me this old softly to the nearest elm and hang him tenderly by the neck where i may see him at my riding fare ye well good master dear master y are po t for paradise fare ye then well nay my right pleasant lord replied forcing an smile an ye be so as doth right well become you i will even with all my poor skill do your good bidding friend sir daniel ye will now write two score go to i y are too cunning for a of seventy shillings see him write me this in good form and it duly witnessed and sir daniel who was a very merry knight none in england took a drink of his ale and lay back smiling meanwhile the boy upon the floor began to stir at thb sign of tub in h and presently eat up and looked about him with a scare hither said sir daniel and as the other rose at his command and came slowly towards him he leaned back and laughed outright by the he cried a sturdy boy the lad flashed crimson with anger and darted a look of hate out of his dark eyes now that he	38
was on his legs it was more difficult to make certain of his age his face looked somewhat older in expression but it was as smooth as a young child s and in bone and body he was unusually slender and somewhat awkward of gait ye have called me sir daniel he said was it to laugh at my poor plight nay now let laugh said the knight let laugh i pray you an ye could see yourself i warrant ye would laugh the first well cried the lad flushing ye shall answer this when ye answer for the other laugh while yet ye may i nay now good cousin replied sir daniel with some earnestness think not at i mock at you except in mirth aa between and singular friends i will make you a marriage of a thousand pounds go to i and cherish you exceedingly i took you indeed roughly as the time demanded but from henceforth i shall maintain and cheerfully serve you ye shall be mi s lady thb black by my for the lad bravely tut ye will not for laughter it they are do ea who laugh good good mine host lay me a meal now for my cousin master john sit ye down sweetheart and eat nay said master john i will break no bread since ye force me to this sin i will fast for my soul s interest but good mine host i pray you of courtesy give me a cup of fair water i shall be much to your courtesy indeed ye shall have a go to cried the knight shalt be well by my ith content you then and eat but the lad was obstinate drank a cup of water and once more himself closely in his mantle sat in a c comer brooding in an hour or two there rose a stir in the village of and the clatter of arms and horses and then a troop drew up by the inn door and richard with mud himself upon the threshold save you sir daniel he said how i cried the knight and at the mention of dick s name the other lad looked curiously across what please you sir knight to take of this packet from sir wherein are all things fully stated answered richard presenting the priest s letter i le at thb op thk sun im and please you farther ye were best make all speed to j for on the way hither we encountered one riding furiously with letters and by his report my lord of was sore and lacked exceedingly your presence how say you sore returned the knight nay then we will make speed sitting down good richard as the world goes in poor realm of england he that rides delay they say peril j but it is rather this of doing that men j mark it dick but let me see first what cattle ye have brought a link here at the door i and sir daniel strode forth into the street and by the red glow of a torch his new troops he was ui neighbour and an master but as a leader in war he was well by those who rode behind his his dash his proved coarse his for the soldiers comfort even his rough were all to the taste of the bold blades in jack and nay by the he cried what poor dogs are these here be as crooked as a bow and some as lean as a spear friends ye shall ride in the front of the battle i can spare you friends mark me this old villain on the a two year mutton riding on a h would look more i ha are ye there old rat y are a man i could lose with a good heart ye shall go in front of all with a bull s eye so thb black w painted on your jack to be the better for ye s me the way i will show you any way sir daniel but the way to change sides returned sir daniel laughed a why well said i he cried a shrewd tongue in thy mouth go to t i will forgive you for that merry word see them fed both man and brute the knight re entered the inn now friend dick he said fall to here is good ale and bacon at while that i read sir daniel opened the packet and as he read his brow darkened when he had done he sat a little musing then he looked sharply at his ward dick said he y have seen this penny rhyme the lad replied in the affirmative it bears your father s name continued the knight and our poor of a parson is by some mad soul accused of him he did most eagerly deny it answered he did cried the knight veiy sharply heed him not he has a loose tongue he like a jack some day when i may find the leisure dick i will myself more fully inform you of these matters there was one blamed for it but the times were troubled and there was no justice to be got t at the op thb sun in by it at the moat house dick ventured with a beating at his heart it between the moat house and replied sir daniel calmly but he a covert glance black with suspicion at dick s face and now added the knight speed you with your meal ye shall return to with a line from me dick s face fell sorely sir daniel he cried send one of the i you let me to the battle i can strike a stroke i promise you i it not replied sir daniel sitting down to write but here dick is no honour to be won i lie in till i have sure tidings of the war	38
and then ride to join me with the conqueror cry not on cowardice it is but wisdom dick for this poor realm so with rebellion and the king s name and hands that no man may be certain of the morrow toss pot and wit run in but my lord good counsel sits o one side waiting with that sir daniel turning his back to dick and quite at the farther end of the long table began to write his letter with his mouth on one side for this business of the black arrow stuck sorely in his throat meanwhile was going on heartily enough with his breakfast when he felt a touch upon his arm and a very soft voice whispering in his ear make not a sign i do you said the voice but of your charity teach me the straight way to tub you now good boy comfort a poor soul in peril and distress and set me so far forth upon the way to my repose take the path by the answered dick in the same tone it will bring you to till there inquire in and without turning his head he fell again to eating but with the tail of his eye he caught a glimpse of the young lad called master john y creeping from the room why thought dick he is as young as i good boy doth he call me an i had known i should have seen the hanged ere i had told him well if he goes through the i may come up with him mid pull his ears half an hour later sir daniel gave dick the letter and bade him speed to the moat house and again some half an hour after dick s departure a messenger came in hot haste from my lord of sir daniel the messenger said ye lose great honour by my the fight began again this morning ere the dawn and we have beaten their van and scattered their right wing only the main battle fast an we had your fresh men we should you them all into the river what sir knight i will ye be the last it stands not with your good credit nay cried the knight i was but now upon the march sound me the sir i am with at op tax im ii yoa on the instant it is not two hours the more part of mj command came in sir messenger what would ye have is good meat hut yet it killed the boys i by this time the was sounding cheerily in the morning and from all sides sir daniel s men poured into the main street and formed before the inn they had slept their arms with ers and in ten minutes five score men at arms and equipped and stood and ready the chief part were in sir daniel s livery and blue which gave the greater show to their array the best armed rode and away out of sight at the tail of the column came the sorry of the night before sir daniel looked with pride along the line here be the lads to serve you in a pinch he said they are pretty men indeed replied the messenger it but my sorrow that ye had not marched the earlier well said the knight what would ye v the of a feast and the end of a sir messenger and he mounted into his saddle why how now he cried john i nay by tjie sacred i where is she host where is that girl girl sir daniel cried the landlord nay sir i saw no girl t tee black arrow boy then cried the knight could ye not see it was a she in the coloured she that broke her fast with water a where is she nay the bless us i master john ye called him said the host well i thought none evil he is gone i saw him her i saw her in the stable a good hour ne a was a grey horse now by the cried sir daniel the was worth five hundred pound to me and more sir knight observed the messenger with bitterness while that ye are here roaring for five hundred pounds the of england is elsewhere being lost and won it is well said replied sir daniel fall me out with six cross hunt me her down i care not what it cost but at my returning let me find her at the moat house be it upon your head and now sir messenger we march and the troop broke into a good trot and and his six men were left behind upon the street of with the staring villagers d g l ic chapter ii in thb pen it was near six in the may morning when dick b an to ride down into the upon his homeward way the sky was all blue the jolly wind blew loud and steady the sails were spinning and the over all the rippling and like of com he had been all night in the saddle but his heart was good and bis body sound and he rode right merrily the path went down and down into the marsh till be lost sight of all the neighbouring but on the behind him and the extreme top of forest far before on either hand there were great fields of blowing and pools of water shaking in the wind and treacherous as green as to tempt and to betray the traveller the path lay almost straight through the it was already very ancient its foundation had been laid by roman in the lapse of ages much of it had sunk and every here and there for a few hundred yards it lay below the waters of the about a mile from dick came to one such in tbe plain line of where	38
the and grew like little islands and confused the eye the gap besides was more d d g i it the ow usually long it was a place where any stranger might come readily to mischief and dick him with something like a pang of the lad whom he had bo imperfectly directed as for himself one look backward to where the wind mill sails were turning black i the blue of heaven one look forward to the high ground of forest and he was sufficiently directed and held straight on the water washing to his horse e knees as safe as on a highway half way across and when he had already sighted the path rising high and dry upon the farther side he was aware of a great on his right and saw a grey horse sank to its belly in the mud and still struggling instantly as though it had divined the neighbourhood of help the poor beast began to most it rolled meanwhile a eye insane with terror and as it in the a g clouds of insects rose and about it in the air i thought dick can the poor lad have perished there is his horse for certain a brave grey i nay comrade if thou to me i will do man can to help thee shalt not lie there to drown by inches and he made ready his and put a quarrel through the creature s head dick rode on after this act of rugged mercy somewhat in spirit and looking closely about him for any sign of bis less happy in the way i le is the i would i had dared to tell him further he thought for i fear he has in the and just aa he was so a voice cried upon hie name from the side and looking over his shoulder he saw the lad s face peering from a of are ye there he said in ye lay so close among the that i had passed you by i saw your horse and put him from his agony which by my t an ye had been a more merciful rider ye had done yourself but come forth out of your hiding here be none to trouble you nay good boy i have do arms nor skill to use them if i had replied the other stepping forth upon the pathway why call me boy cried dick y are not i the elder of us twain good master said the other forgive me i have none the least intention to offend rather i would in every way your gentleness and favour for i am now worse than ever having lost my way my cloak and my poor horse to have a riding rod and spurs and never a horse to sit upon and before all he added looking upon his clothes before all to be so tut i cried dick would ye mind a blood of wound or dust of that s a man s t s thk black nay then i like him better plain observed the lad but how shall i do good richard help me with good counsel if i come not safe to i am undone nay said dick i will give more than counsel take my horse and i will run awhile and when i am weary we shall change t ain that so riding and running both may go the so the change was made and they went forward as briskly as they on the dick with his hand upon the other s knee how call ye your name asked dick call me john replied the lad and what make ye to dick continued i seek from a man that would me was the answer the good of is a strong pillar to the weak and how came ye with sir daniel r f pursued dick nay cried the other by the abuse of force he hath taken me by violence from my own place dressed me in these weeds ridden with me till my heart was sick me till i could v wept and when certain of my friends pursued thinking to have me back me in the rear to stand their shot i i was even in the right foot and walk but nay there shall come a day between ns he shall smart for all i t in the ye shoot at the moon with a gun said dick tie a knight and hath a hand of iron an he i had made or with your flight it would go sore with me ay poor boy returned the other y are hu ward i know it by the same token so am i or ao he or else he hath bought my marriage i not rightly which but it ia some handle to me by boy again said dick nay then shall i call you girl good richard asked never a girl for me returned dick i do the crew of them ye speak said the other ye think more of them than ye pretend not i said dick stoutly they come not in my mind a plague of them say give me to hunt and to fight and to feast and to live with jolly i never heard of a maid yet that was for any service save one only and she poor was burned for a witch and the wearing of men s in spite of nature master crossed himself with and appeared to pray what make ye dick inquired i pray for her spirit answered the other with a somewhat troubled voice for a witch s spirit dick cried but pray for the black her an ye list she was the best in europe was this of old the ran from her he said as if she had been nay he was a brave well but good master richard resumed an	38
ye like maids so little y are no true natural man for god made them twain by intention and brought true love into the world to be man s hope and woman s said dick y are a milk baby so to harp on women an ye think i be no true man get down upon the path and whether at fists or bow and arrow i will prove my manhood on your body nay i am no said eagerly i mean no of offence i meant but and if i talk of women it is because i heard ye were to marry i to marry dick exclaimed well it is the first i hear of it and with whom was i to marry one replied colouring it was sir daniel s he hath money to gain upon both sides and indeed i have heard the poor herself of the match it seems she is of your mind or else to the bridegroom well i marriage is like death it comes to all said dick with resignation and she herself pray ye see there bow ik thk are these girls to herself before that she had been me i do i myself not i an i be to marry i will marry dry eyed but if ye know her of what favour ia she fair or foul and is she or nay what matters it said an y are to marry ye can but marry what matters foul or fair these be but toys y are no master richard ye will wed with dry eyes anyhow it is well said replied little i your lady wife is like to have a pleasant lord said she shall have the lord heaven made her for returned dick i there be worse aa well as better ah the poor i cried the other and why so poor asked dick to wed a man of wood replied his companion o me for a wooden husband i i think i be a man of wood indeed said dick to the while you ride my but it is good wood i good dick forgive me cried the other nay y are the heart in england i but laughed forgive me now sweet dick nay no fool words returned dick a little embarrassed by his companion s warmth no harm i done i am not praise the saints and at that moment the wind which was blowing t thb arrow straight behind them as they went brought them the rough of sir daniel s hark said dick the ay said they have found my flight and now i am i and he became pale as death nay what cheer returned dick y have a long start and we are near the and it is i that am i shall be taken i cried the fugitive dick kind dick ye help me but a little i now what thee said dick i help you very but my heart is sorry for bo a fellow and see ye here john john is your name i tide what come what may will see you safe in the saints so do to me again if i de you come pick me up a good heart sir face the way here spur me the horse go faster faster nay mind not for me i can ran like a deer so with the horse trotting hard and dick running easily they crossed the remainder of the and came out upon the banks of the river by the s hut got le thb chapter iii thb pen the river till was a wide water out of and in thia part of its it strained among some score of willow covered it was a dingy stream bnt upon this bright spirited morning everything was become beautiful the wind and the broke it up into innumerable and the reflection of the sky was scattered over all the surface in of smiling blue a creek ran up to meet the path and dose under the bank the s hut lay it was of and clay and the grass grew green upon the roof dick went to the door and opened it within upon a foul old cloak the lay stretched and shivering a great of a man but lean and shaken by the country fever hey master he said be ye for the ill times ill times look to yourself there is a fellowship abroad ye were better turn round on your two heels and try the bridge nay time s in the saddle answered dick time will ride i am hot in a wilful man returned the rising an ye win safe to the moat house y have done thb black but i say no more and then sight of who be this he asked as he paused on the threshold of bis cabin it is my master answered dick give ye good day good said who had dismounted and now came forward leading the horse me boat i we are sore in haste the gaunt continued staring by the mass i he cried at length and laughed with open throat coloured to his neck aud and dick with an angry put his hand on the s shoulder how now he cried fall to thy business aud leave mocking thy his boat and it a little forth into tbe deep water then dick led in the horse and followed ye be mortal small made master said with a wide grin something o the wrong model nay master i am for you he added getting to his oars a cat may look at a king i did but take a shot of the eye at master no more words said dick bend me your back they were by that time at the of the creek and the view opened up and down the river every thk where it was enclosed witb islands clay were	38
falling in waving dipping and there was no sign of man in of waters my master said the keeping the boat steady with one oar i have a shrewd guess that on the island he bears me a black grudge to all sir daniel s how if i tamed me np stream and landed you an arrow flight above the path ye were best not with john how then is he of this company asked dick nay is the word said but i would go up water dick how if master came by an arrow and he laughed again be it answered dick look ye then pursued it shall so be me your cross bow so now make it ready good place me a quarrel ay keep it so and look me grimly what this asked dick why my master if i steal you across it must be under force or fear replied the for else if john got wind of it he were like to prove my most neighbour do these ride so roughly dick inquired do they command sir daniel s own nay whispered the mark sir daniel shall down his time is out he shall down i and he bent over his oars got i the buck they pulled a long way up the river turned the tail of an island and came softly down a narrow channel next the opposite bank then held water in i must land you here among the he said here is no path but willow and answered dick master replied i dare not take ye nearer down for your own sake now he me the lying on his bow all that go by and owe sir daniel he down like i heard him swear it by the an i had not known you of old days ay and from so high upward i would let you go on but for old days remembrance and because ye had this toy with you that s not fit for wounds or warfare i did risk my two poor ears to have you over whole content i can no more on my salvation was still speaking lying on his oars when there came a great shout from among the on the island and sounds followed as of a strong man roughly through the wood a cried he was on the upper island all the while he pulled straight for shore threat me with your bow good dick threat me with it plain he added i have tried to save your skins save you mine the boat ran into a tough thicket of with a crash pale but steady and alert at a sign thb ms from dick along the and leaped ashore j dick taking the horse by the bridle sought to follow but what with the s bulk and what with the of the thicket both stuck fast the horse and trampled j and the boat which was swinging in an came on and os and pitched with it may not be here is no landing cried dick but he still struggled with the obstinate thicket and the startled animal a tall man appeared upon the shore of the island a long bow in bis hand dick saw bim for an instant with the comer of his eye bending the bow with a great effort his face crimson with hurry who goes be shouted who goes tis master john replied the stand dick i the man upon tbe island te shall have no hurt upon the i stand back out dick cried a answer nay ye shall go returned tbe man and he let drive an arrow the horse struck by the shaft out in t ny terror the boat and next moment all were struggling in the of the river when dick came up he was within a yard of the bank and before his eyes were clear his band had closed on something and strong that instantly the buck began to um forward it was the riding rod that crawling forth an overhanging willow had thrust into his grasp by the mass cried dick as he was helped ashore that makes a life i owe you i swim like a cannon ball and he turned instantly towards the island over was swimming with his boat while john a furious at the ill fortune of his shot to him to hurry come jack said run for it i ere can hale bis across or the pair o em can get it we may be ont of cry and adding example to his words he began to run among the and in places leaping from to he bad no time to look for his direction all he could do was to turn his back upon the river and put all his heart to running presently however the ground began to rise which showed mm he was still in the right way and soon after they came forth upon a of solid turf where elms began to mingle with the but here who had been drawing into the rear threw himself down leave me dick he cried i can no more dick turned and came back to where his companion lay nay jack leave thee he cried that were a le s trick to be when ye risked a and a ay and a drowning too to save life drowning in j for why i did not pull you in along with me the saints alone can tell nay said i would v saved us both good dick for i can swim can ye so cried dick with open eyes it was the one manly accomplishment of which he was himself incapable in the order of the things that he admired next to having killed a man in single fight came swimming well he said here is a lesson to despise no man i promised to care for	38
you as far aa and by the jack y are more capable to care for me well dick we re friends now said nay i never was answered dick y are a brave lad in your way something of a too i never met your like before this day but fetch back your breath and let us on here is no place for chatter my foot hurts said nay i had forgot your foot returned dick well we must go the i would i knew rightly where we were i have clean lost the path yet that may be for the better too an th y h the they watch the path as well i would sir daniel were back with two score he would me these as the wind sweeps leaves come jack lean ye on my shoulder ye poor t thk buck nay y are not fall enough what age are ye for a twelve nay i am sixteen said y are poorly grown to height then answered dick but take my hand we shall go softly never fear i owe you a life i am a good jack of good or evil they began to go forward up the slope we must hit the road early or late continued dick and then for a fresh start by the mass but y ave a hand jack if i had a hand like that i would think shame i tell you he went on with a chuckle i swear by the i believe took you for a maid nay never cried the other colouring high a did though for a dick exclaimed small blame to him ye look maid than man nd i tell you more y are a strange looking rogue for a boy j but for a jack ye would be right fair ye would ye would be well favoured for a well said ye know right well that i am none nay i know that i do but jest said dick ye ll be a man before your mother jack what cheer my bully ye shall strike shrewd strokes now which i marvel of you or me shall be first jack for i shall be or die for t sir richard knight it bravely but sir john not amiss thb dick stop till i drink said the other pausing where a little clear spring out of the slope into a basin no bigger than a pocket and o dick if i might come by anything to cat i my very heart with hunger why f did ye not eat at asked dick i had made a vow it was a sin i had been led into stammered but now if it were but dry bread i would eat it sit ye then and cat said dick while that i a little forward for the road and he took a from his wherein were bread and pieces of dry bacon and while fell heartily to struck farther forth among the trees a little beyond there was a dip in the ground where a soaked among dead leaves and beyond that again the trees were better grown and stood wider and oak and began to take the place of willow and elm the continued tossing and pouring of the wind among the leaves sufficiently concealed the sounds of his footsteps on the mast it was for the ear what a night is to the eye but for all that dick went cautiously slipping from one big trunk to another and looking sharply about him as he went suddenly a passed like a shadow through the in front of him and be paused disgusted at the chance this part of the wood had been certainly deserted but now that the poor deer had run she was like a messenger he s l thb black a should have sent before him to announce his coming and instead of pushing farther he turned him to the nearest well grown tree and rapidly began to climb lack had served him well the oak on which he had d was one of the in that quarter of the wood and easily out its neighbours by a and a half and when dick had into the fork and clung there swinging in the great wind he saw behind him the whole plain as far as and the till wandering among and in front of him the white line o high road winding through the forest the boat had been it was even now on the beyond that there was no sign of man nor aught moving but the wind he was about to descend when taking a last view his eye lit upon a string of moving points about the middle of the plainly a small troop was the and that at a good pace and this gave him some concern as he vigorously down the and returned across the wood for his companion chapter iv a was well rested and revived and the two lads winged by what dick had seen hurried through the remainder of the crossed the road in a safety and began to mount the high ground of forest the trees grew more and more in groves with places in between sandy and dotted with old the ground became more and more full of and and with every step of the ascent the wind still blew the and the trees before the like they had entered one of the when dick suddenly clapped down his face among the and began to crawl slowly backward towards the shelter of the grove in great bewilderment for he could see no reason for this sight still his companion s coarse and it was not until they had gained the harbour of a thicket that he turned and b him to explain for all reply dick pointed with his finger at the far end of the clearing	38
a r grew high above the neighbouring wood and planted its black shock of foliage clear against the sky for about fifty feet above the ground the trunk grew straight and solid like a column at that level it split into two and in the fork like a mast headed seaman there stood a man in a green far and wide the sun upon his hair with one hand he shaded his eyes to look abroad and he kept slowly rolling his head from side to side with the regularity of a machine the lads exchanged glances d r lt ic b the black let us try to the left said dick we lad near fallen jack ten minutes afterwards they struck into a beaten path here ia a piece of forest that i know not dick remarked where me this track let us even try said a few yards further the path came to the top of a ridge and l an to go down abruptly into a cup shaped hollow at the foot out of a thick wood of two or three blackened as if by fire and a single tall chimney marked the ruins of a house what may this be whispered nay by the mass i know not answered dick i am all at sea let us go with hearts they descended through the here and there they passed signs of recent fruit trees and pot ran wild among the thicket a sun dial had fallen in the grass j it seemed they were treading what once had been a garden yet a little farther and they came forth before the ruins of the house it had been a pleasant and a strong a dry ditch was dug deep about it but it was now choked with and by a fallen the two farther walls still stood the sun shining through their empty windows but the remainder of the building had and now lay in a great of ruin a with fire already in the interior a few plants were springing green among the now i me whispered pick this must be it was a hold of one sir daniel was his twas that burned it now five years in twas pity for it was a fair house down in the hollow where no wind blew it was both warm and still and laying one hand upon dick s arm held up a warning finger i he said then came a strange sound breaking on the quiet it was twice repeated ere they recognised its nature it was the sound of a big man clearing his throat and just then a hoarse voice broke into sin ing then up and the r the king of the what je here men the and made answer he looked o they need to walk in wood that may not walk in the singer paused a of iron followed and then silence the two lads stood looking at each other whoever he might be their invisible neighbour was just beyond the ruin and suddenly the colour came into s face and next moment he had crossed ths fallen and was climbing cautiously on the huge pile of lumber thb black ow that filled the interior of the house dick would have withheld him had he been in time as it was he was fain to follow right in the comer of the ruin two had fallen and protected a clear space no larger than a in into this the lads silently lowered themselves there they were perfectly concealed and through an arrow commanded a view upon the farther side peering through this they were struck stiff with terror at their to retreat was impossible they scarce dared to breathe upon the very margin of the ditch not thirty feet from where they crouched an iron and above a glowing fire and close by in an attitude of listening as though he had caught some sound of their among the ruins a tall red faced battered looking man stood poised an iron spoon in his right hand a horn and a formidable d at his belt plainly this was the singer j plainly he had been stirring the when some step among the lumber had fallen upon his ear a little further off another man lay rolled in a cloak with a butterfly hovering above his face all this was in a clearing white with and at the extreme a bow a of arrows and part of a deer s upon a fi the fellow relaxed from his attitude of attention raised the spoon to his mouth tasted its a nodded then fell to and singing o they need to walk in wood may not in he taking up his song where he had left it o air we walk not here ai all an thin to do but if we meet with the f ood king s to shoot a shaft into still as he sang he took from time to time another of the upon it and tasted it with all the of an experienced cook at length apparently he judged the mess was ready for taking the horn from his he blew calls the other fellow awoke rolled over brushed away the butterfly and looked about him how now brother he said dinner ay replied the cook dinner it is and a dry dinner too with neither ale nor bread but there is little pleasure in the now time was when a good fellow could live here like a set aside the rain and the white he had his heart s desire both of ale and wine but now are men s spirits dead and this john all save us and guard us i but a stuffed to scare withal nay returned the other y are too set on meat and drinking lawless bide ye a bit the good time look ye returned the cook i	38
have even waited for this good time that i was so hip h i have been thb black a grey i have been a king s i have been a and sailed the seas and i have in before this t and shot the king s deer what of it naught i were better to have in the john more than john all by r lady here they come one after another tall likely fellows began to stroll into the lawn each as he came produced a knife and a horn cup helped himself from the and sat down upon the grass to eat th were very equipped and armed some in rusty and with nothing but a knife and an old bow others in the height of forest gallantry all in green both hood and with dainty arrows in their a horn upon a and a sword and dagger at their sides they came in the silence of hunger and scarce growled a salutation but fell instantly to meat there were perhaps a score of them already gathered when a sound of suppressed cheering arose close by among the and immediately after five or six carrying a upon the lawn a tall fellow somewhat and as brown as a smoked ham walked before them with an air of some authority his bow at his back a bright spear in his hand lads i be cried good all and my right friends y have sung this while on a dry whistle a and lived at little but what said i ever abide fortune constantly she swift and lo t here is her little even that good creature ale there was a murmur of applause as the set down the and displayed a goodly and now haste ye boys the man continued there is work toward a handful of are but now come to the and blue is their wear they are our they shall all taste arrows no man of them shall struggle through this wood for lads we are here some fifty strong each man of us most wronged for some they have lost lands and some friends and some they have been all who then hath done this evil sir daniel by the t shall he then profit shall he sit snug in our houses shall he till our fields shall he the bone he robbed us of i not he him strength at law he cases nay there is one case he shall not gain i have a writ here at my belt that please the saints shall conquer him lawless the cook was by this time already at his second horn of ale he raised it as if to pledge the speaker master he said y are for vengeance well it you i but your poor brother o the that had never lands to lose nor friends to think upon rather for his poor part to the the black arrow profit of the thing he had a gold noble and a of wine than all the in lawless replied the other to reach the moat house sir daniel must pass the forest we make that passage dearer than any battle then when he got to earth with such ragged handful as ue all his great friends fallen and fled away and none to give him aid we shall that old fox about and great be the fall of him tie a fat buck he will make a dinner for us all ay returned lawless i have eaten many of these dinners beforehand but the cooking of them is hot work good master and meanwhile what do we we make black arrows we write aad we drink fair cold water that drink t are will lawless ye still smell of the grey is your answered we took twenty pounds from we took seven marks from the messenger last night a day ago we had fifty from the merchant and to day said one of the men i stopped a fat riding for here is his purse counted the contents five score shillings t be grumbled fool he had more in his or into his y are but a child tom ye have lo t the d o i a but for all that the purse with he stood leaning on his spear and looked round upon the rest they in various attitudes took of the e and liberally washed it down with ale this was a good day they were in luck but business pressed and they were speedy in their eating the first comers had by this time even despatched their dinner some lay down upon the grass and fell instantly asleep like others talked together or their weapons and one whose humour was particularly gay holding forth an ale horn began to sing here ia no law in good green here is no lack of meat mercy and with deer for onr diet in when all is sweet come winter ain with wind and rain come winter with snow and get home to places with on and sit by use fire and eat ah this while the two lads had listened and close only had his cross bow and held ready in one hand the or iron that he used to bend it otherwise they had not dared to stir and this scene of forest life had gone on before their eyes like a scene upon a theatre but now there came a strange interruption the tall chimney which the remainder of the ruins rose right above the their place there came a whistle in the air and then a sounding and the fragments of a broken arrow fell about their ears some one from the upper quarters of the wood perhaps the very they saw posted in the fir had shot an arrow at the chimney top could not restrain a little cry which	38
he instantly and even dick started with surprise and dropped the from his fingers but to the fellows od the lawn this shaft was an expected signal they were all together their their bow strings sword and dagger in the held up his hand his face had suddenly assumed a look of savage energy the white of his eyes shone in his sun face lads he said ye know your places let not one man s soul escape you was a before a meal j but now we go to table i have three men whom i will bitterly harry and striking his broad and by the mass another man came red with hurry through the thorns tis not sir daniel i he panted they are bat seven is the arrow gone it struck but now replied a t cried the messenger heard it whistle and i go i in the space of a minute some some hunter walking sharply according as their were nearer or farther away the men of the black arrow had all disappeared from the of the ruined house and the and the fire which was now burning low and the dead deer s on the remained alone to testify they had been there chapter v a thb hunter the lads lay quiet till the last footstep had melted on the wind then they arose and with many an ache for they were weary with through the ruins and the ditch upon the had picked up the and went first dick following stiffly with his cross bow on his arm and now said forth to to cried dick when good fellows stand shot not i would see you hanged first jack ye would leave me would ye asked ay by my returned dick an i be not in time to warn these lads i will go die with them what i would ye have me leave my own men that i have lived among i not i give me my but there was nothing further from s mind d r l i g c black diet he said ye before the saints that ye would see me safe to would ye be would yoa desert me a nay i for the best returned dick i meant it too but now but look ye jack turn again with me let me but warn these men and i needs must stand shot with them then shall all be clear and i will on again to and mine oath ye but me answered match am these men ye go to are the same that hunt me to my dick scratched his head i cannot help it jack he said here is no remedy what would ye ye run no great peril man j and these are in the way of death death he added think of it what a do ye keep me here for give me the saint george i shall they richard said looking him in the face would ye then join party with sir daniel have ye not ears heard ye not this what he said or have ye no heart for your own kindly blood and the father that men harry he said and sir harry was your as the sun shines in heaven what would ye dick cried again would ye have me credit thieves nay i have heard it before now returned bloody aj the the fame it was sir daniel liim he him under oath in his own house he shed the innocent blood heaven for the on t aod you the man s son ye go about to comfort and defend the murderer cried the lad i know not it may be what know i but see here this man hath bred me up and me and his men i have hunted with and played among and to leave them in the hour of peril o man if i did that i were dead to honour i nay jack ye would not ask it ye would not wish me to be base but your father dick said somewhat wavering your father and your oath to me ye took the saints to witness my father cried nay he would have me go i if sir daniel him when the hour comes this hand shall sir daniel but neither him nor his will i desert in peril and for mine oath good jack ye shall me of it for the lives sake of many men that hurt you not and for mine honour ye shall set me free i dick never returned an ye leave me y are and so i shall declare it my blood said dick give me the i it me i not said i ll save you in your teeth not cried dick i ll make you i b r i got le the bu ck try it said the other they stood looking in each other s eyes each ready for a spring then dick leaped and though turned instantly and fled in two bounds be was overtaken the was twisted from his grasp he was thrown roughly to the ground and dick stood across him flushed and menacing with doubled fist lay where he had fallen with his face in the grass not thinking of resistance dick bent his bow i ll teach you i he cried fiercely oath or no oath ye may go hang for me and he turned and began to run was on his feet at once and began running after him what d ye want cried dick stopping what make ye after me stand off i will follow an i please said this wood is free to me stand back by r lady returned diet raising his bow ah y are a brave boy i retorted shoot dick lowered his weapon in some confusion see here he said y have done me ill enough go	38
then go your way in fair wise or whether i will or not i must even drive you to it well said y are the stronger do your worst i shall not leave to follow thee dick unless thou me he added as thb dick was almost beside himself it went a his heart to beat a creature bo and for the life of him he knew no other way to rid himself of unwelcome and a he began to think perhaps companion y are mad i think he cried fool fellow i am to your foes ae fast as foot can carry me go i thither i care not dick replied the lad if y are bound to die i ll die too i would go with you to prison than to go free without you well returned the other i may stand no longer me if ye must but if ye play me false it shall but little advance you mark ye that shalt have a quarrel in thine boy so saying dick took once more to his heels keeping in the margin of the thicket and looking briskly about him as he went at a good pace he rattled out of the and came a rain into the more open quarters of the wood to the left a little eminence appeared spotted golden and crowned with a black of i shall see from there he thought and struck for it across a clearing he had gone but a few yards when touched him on the arm and pointed to the eastward of the summit there was a dip and as it were a valley passing to the other side the heath was not yet out all the ground was rusty like an and f tub buck dotted with and there one following another dick saw half a score green mounting the ascent and marching at their head conspicuous by his spear in person one after another gained the top showed for a moment against the sky and then dipped upon the further side until the last was gone dick looked at with a eye so y are to be true to me jack he asked i thought ye were of the other party began to sob cried dick now the saints behold us would ye for a word ye hurt me sobbed ye hurt me when ye threw me down y are a coward to abuse your strength nay that is fool s talk said dick roughly y bad no title to my master john i would v done right to have well you if ye go with me ye must obey me and so come had half a thought to stay behind but seeing that dick continued to full the eminence and not so much as looked across hie shoulder he soon thought better of that and began to run in but the ground was very difficult and steep dick had already a long start and had at any rate the lighter heels and he had long since come to the summit crawled forward through the fire and himself in a thick of before bloody a thb like a deer rejoined hint and lay in by his side below in the bottom o a considerable valley the short cut from hamlet wound downwards to the it was well beaten and the eye followed it easily from point to point here it was bordered by open j there the forest closed upon it every hundred yards it ran beside an far down the path the sun shone on seven steel and from time to time as the trees opened and his men could be seen riding briskly still bent upon sir daniel s the wind had somewhat fallen but still merrily with the trees and perhaps had been there he would have drawn a warning from the troubled conduct of the birds now mark dick whispered they be already well advanced into the wood their safety rather in continuing forward but see ye where this wide down before us and in the midst of it these two score trees make like an island there were their safety an they but sound as far as that i will make shift to warn them but my heart me they are but seven against so many and they but carry cross bows the long bow jack will have the uppermost ever meanwhile and his men still wound up the path ignorant of their danger and drew nearer hand once indeed they paused drew into a group and seemed to point and listen but it waa the buck something from far across the plain had arrested their attention a hollow growl of cannon that came from time to upon the wind and told of the great battle it was worth a thought to be sure for if the voice of the big guns were thus become audible in forest the fight must have rolled ever eastward and the day by consequence gone sore sir daniel and the lords of the dark rose but presently the little troop began again to move forward and came next to a very open portion of the way where but a single tongue of forest ran down to join the road they were but just abreast of this when an arrow shone flying one of the men threw up his arms his horse reared and both fell and struggled together in a mass even from where the boys lay they could hear the rumour of the men s voices crying out they could see the startled horses and presently as the troop began to recover from their first surprise one fellow beginning to a second arrow from somewhat farther ofi glanced in a wide arch a second rider bit the dust the man who was lost hold the rein and his horse fled galloping and dragged him by the foot along the road from	38
stone to and battered by the hoofs the four who still kept the saddle instantly broke and scattered one wheeled and rode shrieking towards the the other three with loose rein and flying came galloping up the road from every they passed bloody as the hunter an arrow sped soon a horse fell but the found his feet continued to pursue his comrades till a second shot despatched him another man fell then another horse out of th whole troop there was hut one fellow left and he on foot only in different directions the noise of the galloping of three horses was dying fast into the distance all this time not one of the had for a moment showed himself here and there along the path horse or man rolled in his agony but no merciful enemy cover to put them from their pain the solitary stood bewildered in the road beside his fallen he had come the length of that broad with the island of timber pointed out by dick he was not perhaps five hundred yards from where the boys lay hidden and they could see him plainly looking to and fro in deadly expectation but nothing came and the man began to pluck up his courage and suddenly and bent his bow at the same time by something in his action dick recognised at this offer of resistance from all about him in the covert of the woods there went up the sound of laughter a score of men at least for this was the very of the joined in this cruel and mirth then an arrow glanced over s shoulder and he leaped and ran a little another dart struck quivering at his heel he made for the cover a d shaft the black leaped out right in his face and fell short id front of him and then the laughter waa repeated loudly rising and re echoing from it was plain that his were hut him as men in days the poor bull or as the cat still trifles with the mouse the was well over j farther down the road a fellow in green waa already calmly gathering the ai and now in the evil pleasure of their ts they gave themselves the spectacle of their poor fellow sinner in his torture began to understand he uttered a roar of anger shouldered his cross bow and sent a quarrel at a venture into the wood chance favoured him for a slight cry responded then throwing down his weapon began to run before him up the and almost in a straight line for dick and the companions of the black arrow now began to shoot in earnest but they were properly served their had passed most of them had now to shoot against the sun and as he ran bounded from side to side to and deceive their aim best of all by turning up the he had defeated their preparations there were no posted higher up than the one whom he had just killed or wounded and the confusion of the counsels soon became apparent a whistle sounded thrice and then again twice it was repeated from another quarter the woods on either side became full of the sound of people bursting through the and a bewildered deer ran out bloody as the into the open stood for a second on three feet with nose in air and then plunged again into the thicket still ran bounding ever and again an arrow followed him bat would it beg an to appear as if he might escape dick had his how armed ready to support him even foi of his interest took sides at heart for the poor fugitive and lads glowed and trembled in the of their hearts he was within fifty yards of them when an arrow struck him and he foil he was up ain indeed upon the instant but now he ran staggering and like a blind man turned aside from his direction dick leaped to his feet and waved to him here he cried this way here ia help i nay run fellow run but just then a second arrow struck in the shoulder between the plates of his and piercing through his jack brought him like a stone to earth oh the poor heart i cried with clasped hands and dick upon the hill a mark for ten to one he had speedily been shot for the were furious with themselves and taken unawares by dick s appearance in the rear of their position but instantly out of a quarter of the wood near to the two lads a voice arose the voice of t the black arrow hold it roared shoot not take him alive it is young harry s son and immediately after a shrill sounded several times and was again taken np and repeated farther off the whistle it appeared was john all s battle trumpet by which he published his directions ah fortune cried dick we are undone swiftly jack come swiftly i and the pair turned and ran back through the open ine that covered the summit of the hill vi to the d ay s bi it was indeed high time for them to i un on every side the company of the black arrow was making for the hill some being better or having open ground to run upon had r the others and were already close upon the goal some following valleys had spread out to right and left and the lads on either side dick plunged into the nearest cover it was a ta n grove of oaks firm under foot and clear of and as it lay down hill they made good speed there followed next a piece of open which dick avoided holding to his left two minutes r and the same to the days end obstacle arising the lads followed the	38
same course thus it followed that while the lads bending continually to the left drew nearer and nearer to the high and the river which they had crossed an hour or two before the great bulk of their were leaning to the other hand and running towards the lads paused to breathe there was no sound of dick put his ear to the ground and still there was nothing bnt the wind to he sure still made a turmoil in the trees and it was hard to make certain on i in said dick and tired as they were and with hia injured foot they pulled themselves together and once more down the hill three minutes later they were through a low thicket of high overhead the tall trees made a continuous roof of e it was a grove as high as a cathedral and except for the among which the lads were struggling open and smoothly on the other side pushing through the last fringe of they forth again into the open twilight of the grove stand cried a voice and there between the huge stems not fifty feet before them they beheld a stout fellow in green sore blown with running who instantly drew an arrow to the head and covered them stopped with a cry but dick without a pause ran straight npon the drawing his dagger as he went the other e the whether he was startled by the daring of the or whether he was by his orders did not shoot he stood wavering j and before he had time to come to himself dick bounded at his throat and sent him backward on the turf the arrow went one way and the bow another with a the his but the dagger shone and descended twice then came a couple of groans and then dick rose to his feet again and the man lay motionless to the heart on i said and he once more forward trailing in the rear to say truth they made but poor speed of it by now as they ran and catching for their breath like fish had a cruel and his head swam and as for dick his knees were like lead but they kept up the form of running with courage presently they came to the end of the grove it stopped abruptly and there a few yards before them was the high road from to lying at this point between two even walls of forest at the sight dick paused and as soon as he stopped running he became aware of a confused noise which rapidly grew louder it was at first like the rush of a very high gust of wind but it soon became more definite and resolved itself into the galloping of horses and then in a flash a whole company of arms came driving round the corner swept before the lads and were gone again upon the instant they to day s for their lives in complete disorder some of them were horses galloped at their side with bloody they were plainly from the great battle the noise of their passage had scarce begun to die away towards before fresh hoofs came echoing in their wake and another down the road this time a single rider and by his splendid a man of high degree close after bim there followed several baggage at an the drivers at the horses as if for life these must have run early in the day but their cowardice was not to save them for just before they came abreast of where the lads stood wondering a man in and seemingly beside himself with fury overtook the and with the of a sword began to cut the drivers down some leaped from their places and plunged into the wood the others he as they sat cursing them the while for in a voice that was scarce human all this time the noise in the distance had continued to increase the of carts the clatter of horses the cries of men a great confused rumour came swelling on the wind and it was plain that the of a whole army was pouring like an down the road dick stood sombre he bad meant to follow the highway till the turn for and now he had to change his plan but above all he had the colours of earl and he knew that the battle thb had gone a the rose of had sir daniel joined and was he now a fugitive and ruined or had he deserted to the side of york and was he to honour it was an ugly choice come he said sternly and turning on his heel he began to walk forward through the grove with in his rear for some time they continued to thread the forest in silence it was now growing late the sun was setting in the plain beyond the tree tops overhead glowed golden but the shadows had begun to grow darker and the chill of the night to fall if there was anything to eat cried dick suddenly pausing as he spoke sat down and b n to weep ye can weep for your own supper but when it was to save men s lives your heart was hard enough said dick contemptuously y ave seven deaths upon your conscience master john i ll ne er forgive you that conscience cried looking fiercely up mine and ye have the man s red blood upon your da er and wherefore did ye him the poor soul he drew his arrow but he let not fly he held you in his hand and spared you tis as brave to kill a a a man that not himself dick was struck dumb i him fair i ran me in upon his how he cried it was a coward blow returned y are to tee day s end but a and bully	38
master dick ye but abuse advantages j let there come a cf we will sec you at boot ye care not for vengeance neither for your father s death that goes and his poor ghost that for justice but if there come but a poor creature in your bands that skill and and would you down she shall go dick was too furious to observe that she marry i he cried and here is news any two the one will still be stronger the better man the worse and the worse is well served ye deserve a master for your and to me ward j and what ye deserve ye shall and dick who even in his temper still preserved the appearance of composure began to bis belt here shall be your supper he said grimly had stopped his tears he was as white as a sheet but he looked dick steadily ia the face and never moved dick took a step swinging the belt then he paused embarrassed by the large eyes and the thin weary face of bis companion his courage began to say ye were in the wrong then he said nay said i was in the right come cruel i be lame i be weary i resist not i ne er did thee hurt come beat coward dick raised the belt at this last provocation but the black and drew together with so cruel an apprehension that his heart failed him yet again the fell by his side and he stood feeling like a fool a upon thee i he said an ye be so feeble of hand ye should keep the closer guard upon your tongue but i ll be hanged before i beat you and he put on his belt beat you i will not he continued j but forgive you never i knew ye not ye were my master s enemy i lent you my horse my dinner ye have eaten y ave called me a man o wood a coward and a bully nay by the mass the measure is filled and over tis a great thing to be weak i ye can do your worst yet shall none punish you ye may steal a man s weapons in the hour of need yet may the man not take his own again y are weak nay then if one charging at you with a lance and he is weak ye must let him pierce your body through tut fool words i and yet ye beat me not returned let be said dick let be i will instruct you y ave been ill and yet ye have the of some good beyond all question saved me from the river nay i had forgotten it i am as as but come let us on an we be for this night ay or to morrow early we had best set forward speedily but though dick had talked himself back into his to tub s end good humour had him nothing his violence the recollection of the whom he had slain above all the of the were things not easily to be forgotten i will thank you for the form s sake said but in good master i had find my way alone here is a wide wood let each choose his path i owe you a dinner and a lesson fare ye well i nay cried dick if that be your tune so be it and a plague be with you t each turned aside and they began walking off with no thought of the direction intent solely on their quarrel but dick had not gone ten paces ere his name was called and came running after dick be said it were to part so coldly here is my band and my heart with it for all that wherein you have so served and helped me not for the form but from the heart i thank you fare ye right well well lad returned dick taking the hand which was offered bim good speed to you if speed you may but i it y are too so then they separated for the second time and presently it was dick who was running after here he said take my ci shalt not go t black a bow t said nay boy i have neither the strength to bend nor yet the skill to aim with it it were no help to me good boy but yet i thank you the night had now fallen and under the trees they no longer read each other face i will go some way with you said dick the night is dark i would fain leave you on a path at least my mind me y are likely to be lost without any more words he began to walk forward and the other once more followed him the grew thicker and thicker only here and there in open places they saw the sky dotted with small stars in the distance the noise of the of the army still continued to be faintly but with every step they left it farther in the rear at the end of half an hour of silent progress they come forth upon a broad patch of open it in the light of the stars shaggy with and with of and here they paused and looked upon each other y are weary dick said nay i am weary answered that i could lie down and die i hear the of a river returned dick let go so far forth for i am sore the ground down gently and sure enough in the bottom they found a little murmuring river running among here they threw themselves the pace ss down together by the brink and putting their mouths to the level of a pool tbey drank their till dick said it may not be i can no more i	38
saw a pit as we down said dick let us lie down therein and sleep nay but with all my heart cried the pit was sandy and dry a shock of hung upon one edge and made a partial shelter and there the two lads lay down keeping close together for the sake of warmth their quarrel all forgotten and soon sleep fell upon them like a cloud and under the dew and stare they rested peacefully chapter vii the face they awoke in the grey of the morning the birds were not yet in full song but here and there among the woods the sun was not yet up but the eastern sky was barred with solemn colours half starved and over weary as they were they lay without moving sunk in a delightful and as tliey thus lay the of a bell fell suddenly upon their ears a said dick sitting up can we be then so near to a little a ter the bell again but this time the buck somewhat nearer hand aud from that time forth and still drawing nearer and nearer it continued to sound abroad in the silence of the morning nay what should this said dick who was now broad awake it is some one walking returned and the bell ever as he moves i see that well said dick but wherefore what he in woods jack he added laugh at me an ye will but i like not the hollow sound of it nay said with a shiver it hath a note an the day were not come but just then the bell its pace began to ring thick and hurried and then it gave a single and was silent for a space it is as though the bearer had run for a while and then leaped the river dick observed and now he again to pace forward added nay returned dick nay not so jack tis a man that you right speedily tis a man in some fear of his life or about some hurried business see ye not how swift the beating near it is now close by said they were now on the edge of the pit j and as the pit itself was on a n eminence they commanded a view over the greater proportion of the clearing up to the thick b that closed it in t the the daylight was very clear and grey showed them a of wandering among the it passed some hundred yards from the pit and ran the whole length of the clearing east and west by the line of its course dick judged it should lead more or less directly to the moat house upon this path stepping forth from the margin of the wood a white figure now appeared it paused a little and to about and then at a slow pace and bent almost double it began to draw near across the heath at every step the hell face it had none a white hood not even pierced with veiled the head and as the creature moved it seemed to feel its way with the tapping of a stick fear fell upon the lads as cold as death a said dick hoarsely his touch is death said let ns run not returned dick see ye not he is stone blind he him with a staff let us lie still the wind towards the path and he will go by and hurt us not alas poor soul and we should rather pity him i will pity him when he is by replied the blind was now about half way towards them and just then the sun rose and shone full on his veiled face he had been a tall man before he was bowed by his disgusting sickness and even now he walked with a vigorous step the dismal beating of his bell the of the stick the screen the black before his countenance and the knowledge that he was not only doomed to death and suffering but shut out for ever from the touch of his fellow men filled the lads with dismay j and at every step that brought him nearer their courage and strength seemed t desert them as he came about level with the pit he paused and turned his face full upon the lads mary be my shield i he sees us said faintly hush i whispered he doth but he is blind fool i the looked or listened whichever he was really doing for some seconds then he began to move on again but presently paused once more and again turned and seemed to gaze upon the lads even dick became dead white and closed his eyes as if by the mere sight he might become but soon the bell sounded and this time without any farther hesitation the crossed the remainder of the little heath and disappeared into the covert of the woods he saw us said i could swear it tut i returned dick recovering some sparks of courage he but heard us he was in fear poor soul an ye were blind and walked iu a perpetual night ye would start yourself if ever a or a bird cried peep dick good dick he saw us repeated when a man he doth not as this he fi ob otherwise dick this was seeing it was not hearing he means hark else if his bell be not stopped i such was the case the bell rang no longer nay said dick i like not that nay he cried again i like that little what may this let ue go by the mass he hath gone east added good dick let us go westward straight i shall not breathe till i have my back turned upon that jack y are too cowardly replied dick we shall go fair for or as fair at least as i can guide you and	38
that will be due north they were at once passed the stream upon some stepping stones and began to mount on the other side which was towards the margin of the wood the ground became very full of and hollows trees grew scattered or in it became difficult to choose a path and the lads somewhat wandered they were weary besides with yesterday s exertions and the lack of food and they moved but heavily and their feet among the sand presently coming to the top of a they were aware of the some hundred feet in front of them crossing the line of their march by a hollow his bell was silent his staff no longer tapped the ground and be went before him with the swift and assured footsteps of a man who sees next moment he had disappeared into a little thicket d o i d the black the at the glimpse had crouched behind a o there they lay horror struck certain he us said dick certain he held the of his bell in one hand ye that it not sound now may the saints aid and guide ns for i have no strength to combat what cried what doth he want who ever heard the like that a out of mere malice should pursue hath he not his bell to that very end that people may avoid him dick there is below this something deeper nay i care not moaned dick the strength is gone out of me my legs are like water the saints be mine assistance i would ye lie there idle cried let us back into tbe open we have the better chance he cannot steal upon us unawares not i said dick my time is come and he may pass us by bend me then your bow i cried the other what will ye be a man dick crossed himself would ye have me shoot a he cried the hand would fail me nay now he added nay now let be with sound men i will fight but not with ghosts and which this is i not one or other heaven be our protection now said if this be man s courage the what a poor thing ia m n i but ye will do naught let ng lie close then came a single broken on the bell he hath his hold upon the whispered saints i how near he is i but dick never a word j his teeth were near chattering soon they saw a piece of the white robe between some then the s head was forth from behind a trunk and he seemed narrowly to the neighbourhood before he once again withdrew to their stretched the whole bush appeared alive with and the of twigs and they heard the beating of each other s heart suddenly with a cry the sprang into the open close by and ran upon the lads they shrieking aloud separated and began to run different ways but their horrible enemy fastened upon ran bim swiftly down and had him almost instantly a prisoner the lad gave one scream that echoed high and far over the forest he had one of struggling and then all hia relaxed and he fell limp into hia s arms dick heard the cry and turned he saw fall and on the instant his spirit and his strength revived with a cry of pity and anger he and bent his but ere he had time to shoot the held up bis hand hold your shot cried a familiar u buck voice hold your shot mad wag i know ye not a friend and then laying down on the he the hood from off his face and disclosed the features of sir daniel sir daniel i cried dick ay by the mass sir daniel returned the knight would ye shoot upon your guardian rogue but here is this and there he broke off and pointing to asked how call ye him dick nay said dick i call him master know ye him not he said ye knew him t ay replied sir daniel i know the lad and he chuckled but he has fainted and by my he might have had to faint for hey dick did i put the fear of death upon you indeed sir daniel ye did that said dick and sighed again at the mere recollection nay sir saving your respect i had as v met the devil in person and to speak truth i am yet all a but what made ye sir in such a guise sir daniel s brow grew suddenly black with anger what made i he said ye do well to mind me of it i what i for my poor life in my own wood of dick we were ill sped at the battle we but got there to be swept among the where he my good men at arms dick by the mass i know we were swept down the shot the fell thick among us i have not seen one man in my own colours since i saw three fall for myself i came sound to and being of the black arrow got me this gown and bell and came softly by the path for the moat house there is no disguise to be compared with it the of this bell would scare me the in the forest they would all turn pale to bear it at length i came by yon and i could see but through this hood and was not sure of you being chiefly and for many a good cause astonished at the finding you together moreover in the open where i had to go slowly and tap with my i feared to disclose myself but see be added this poor begins a little to revive a little good will comfort the heart of it the knight from under	38
his long dress produced a bottle and began to rub the temples and wet the lips of the patient who returned gradually to consciousness and began to roll dim eyes from one to another what cheer jack said dick it was no after all it was sir daniel i see swallow me a good draught of this said the knight this will give you manhood thereafter i will give yon both a meal and we shall all three on to for dick he continued laying forth bread and meat upon the grass i will to you in all good conscience it me sorely to be safe between le the black four not since i backed a horse have i been so bard peril o life of land and and to sum up all these in the wood to hunt down but i be not yet some of my lads will pick me their way home hath ten fellows he had six nay we shall soon be strong again j and if i can hut buy my peace with my right fortunate and lord of york why we ll be a man again and go a horseback t and so saying the knight filled himself a bom of and pledged ward in dumb show dick faltered and he paused again sir daniel put down the wine howl he cried in a changed voice speak what of forth the tale of the and the the knight heard in silence but as he listened bis countenance became with rage and grief now here he cried on my right hand i swear to it if that i fail if that i not ten men s souls for each may this hand from my body i broke this like a i him to his door i burned the above his head i drove him from this country and now he back to beard me nay but this time it shall go bitter hard i he was silent for some time his face working r i tub eat i he cried suddenly and you here he added to me an oath to follow straight to the moat house i will pledge mine honour replied what make your honour cried the knight swear me upon your mother s welfare i gave the required oath and sir daniel the hood over his face and prepared his bell and staff to see him once more in that appalling somewhat revived the horror of his two companions but the knight was soon upon his feet eat with despatch he said and follow me to mine house and with that he set forth ain into the woods and presently after the bell began to sound his steps and the two lads sat by their meal and beard it die slowly away up hill into the distance and bo ye go to dick inquired yea verily said when needs must i i am behind sir daniel s back than to his face they ate hastily and set forth along the path through the airy upper of the forest where great stood apart among green and the birds and made merry on the boughs two hours later they began to descend upon the other side and already among the tree tops saw before them the ted walls and of house here said pausing ye shall take your leave of your friend jack whom y are to see no the black more come dick foi ve him what he did amiss as lie for his part cheerfully and lovingly you and wherefore so asked dick an we both go to i shall see you yet again i and that right often ye ll never again see poor jack replied the other that was so fearful and and yet plucked you from the river ye u not see him more dick by mine honour i he held his arms open and the lads embraced and kissed and dick continued my spirit ill y are now to see a new sir daniel j for heretofore hath all in his hands exceedingly and fortune followed but now when his hath come upon him and he runs the adventure of hia life he will prove but a foul lord to both of us he may be brave in battle but he hath the liar s eye there is fear in his eye dick and fear is as cruel as the wolf i we go down into that house saint mary guide us forth again and so they continued their descent in silence and came out at last before sir daniel s forest where it stood low and shady with round towers and stained with moss and in the waters of the moat even as they appeared the doors were opened the bridge lowered and sir daniel himself with and the parson at his side stood ready to receive them t ii the moat house chapter i dick asks the moat house stood not far from the rough forest road it wa a of red stone at each by a round tower pierced for and at the top within it enclosed a narrow court the moat waa perhaps twelve feet wide crossed by a single it was supplied with water by a leading to a forest pool and commanded through its whole length from the of the two southern towers except that one or two tall and thick trees had been to remain within half a of the walls the house was in a good posture for defence in the court dick found a part of the garrison busy with preparations for defence and gloomily discussing the chances of a si e some were making arrows some swords that had long been but even as they worked they shook their heads twelve of sir daniel s party had escaped the battle run the through the wood and come alive to the black arrow the moat house	38
but out of this dozen three had heen gravely two at in tbe disorder of the one by john au s as he crossed the forest this raised the force of the garrison counting sir daniel and young to twenty two effective men and more might be continually expected to arrive the danger lay not therefore in the lack of men it was the terror of the black arrow that oppressed the spirits of the garrison for their open foes of the party of york in these most changing times they felt but a far away concern the world as people said in those days might change again before harm but for their neighbours in the wood they trembled it was not sir daniel alone who a mark for hatred his men conscious of bad carried themselves cruelly through all the country harsh commands had been harshly executed and of the little band that now sat talking in the court there was not one but had been guilty of some act of oppression or and now by the fortune of war sir daniel had become powerless to protect his instruments now by the issue of some hours of battle at which many of them had not been present they had all become to the state outside the of the law a company iu a poor fortress that was hardly and exposed upon all sides to the just resentment of their victims nor had there been lacking of what they might expect i i g dick asks at different periods of the evening and the night no fewer seven horses had come in terror to the gate two were from e troop five belonged to men who had ridden with sir daniel to the field a little before dawn a had come staggering to the moat side pierced by three arrows even as they carried him in his spirit had departed but by the words that he uttered in his agony he must have been the last of a considerable company of men himself showed under his sun brown the of anxiety and when he had taken dick aside and learned the fate of he fell on a stone bench and fairly wept the others from where they sat on or in the sunny angle of the court looked at him with wonder and alarm but none ventured to inquire the cause of his emotion nay master said at last nay but what said i we shall all go was a man of hia hands he was like a brother to me well he has gone second well we shall all follow i for what said their rhyme a black arrow in each black heart was it not so it went smith old gone and there poor john crying poor sinner for the priest dick gave ear out of a low window hard by where they were talking groans and murmurs came to his ear he there he asked t thb black ay in tbe a answered we could not bear him further soul and body were bo bitterly at at every step we lifted him he thought to but now it is the that ever for the priest he and sir i not why still not be a long but poor and poor they had none dick stooped to the window and looked in the little cell was low and dark but he could make out the wounded soldier lying moaning on his poor friend how it he asked master returned the man in an excited whisper for the dear of heaven bring the priest i am sped i am brought very low down my hurt ia to the death ye may do me no more service j this shall be the last now for my poor soul s interest and as a loyal gentleman you for i have that matter on mj conscience that shall dr me deep he groaned and dick heard the grating of his whether in pain or t just then sir daniel appeared upon the threshold of the hall he had a letter in one hand lads he said we have had a we have had a tumble j wherefore then deny it rather it to get speedily again to saddle this old harry the has had the wash we then our hands of him i have a good friend that duke the lord of well i have writ a asks letter to my friend praying his good and offering large for the past and reasonable for the future doubt not but he will lend a favourable ear a prayer without gifts ia like a song without music i him with promises boys i spare not to promise what then ia lacking nay a great thing wherefore should i deceive you a great thing aud a difficult a messenger to bear it the woods y are not ignorant of that lie thick with our ill haste is most needful but without and caution all i naught which then of this company will take me this letter bear it to my lord of and bring me the answer back one man instantly arose i will an t like you he i will even risk ray nay not so returned the knight it likes me not y are sly indeed but not speedy ye were a ever an t be so sir daniel here am t cried another the saints said the knight y are speedy but not sly ye would blunder me into john all s camp i thank yon both for your good courage but in it may not be then offered himself and he also was refused i want you here good y are my right indeed returned the knight and then several j the coming forward in a group sir daniel at one and gave him the letter now he said upon your good speed and	38
better discretion we do all depend bring me a good answer back and before three weeks i will have d my forest of these that brave us to our faces but mark it well the matter is not easy ye must steal forth under night and go like a fox and how ye are to cross till i know not neither by the bridge nor i can swim returned i will come soundly fear not well friend get ye to the replied sir daniel ye shall swim first of all in nut brown ale and with that he turned back into the hall sir daniel hath a wise tongue said aside to dick see now where many a lesser man had the matter over he it out plainly to his company here is a danger a and here difficulty and in the very saying nay by saint he is a born captain i not a man but be is some deal up i see how they fall to work this praise of sir daniel put a thought in the lad s head he said how came my father by bis end ask me not that replied i had no hand nor knowledge in it i will even dick asks be silent master dick for look you in a man s own business there be may bat of matters and of common talk not so ask mo sir ay or if ye will j not me and set off to make the rounds leaving dick in a muse wherefore would he not tell me thought the lad and wherefore named he nay then had a hand in it perchance he entered the house and passing some little way along a and passage came to the door of the cell where the hurt man lay groaning at his entrance started e have ye brought the priest he cried not yet awhile returned dick y ave a word to tell me first how came father harry by his death the man s face altered instantly i know not he replied do nay ye know well returned dick seek not to put me by i tell you i know not repeated then said dick ye shall die here am i and here shall stay there shall no priest come near you rest assured for of what avail is an ye have no mind to right those wrongs ye had a hand in and without confession is but mockery ye say what ye mean not master dick said u the ck it is ill the dying aiid you to speak truth and for as little as it you it shall serve you less stay an ye please ye will condemn my soul ye shall learn nothing there is my last word to you and the wounded man turned upon the other side now dick to say truth had spoken hastily and was ashamed o his threat but he made one more effort he said mistake me not i know ye were but an instrument in the hands of others a must obey hia lord i would not bear heavily on such an one but i begin to learn upon many sides that this great duty on my youth and ignorance to my father then good set aside the memory of my and in pure good will and honest give me a word of help the wounded man lay silent nor say what dick pleased could he extract another word from him well said dick i will go call the priest to you as ye desired for ye be in fault to me or mine i would not be willingly in fault to any least of all to one upon the last change again the old soldier heard him without speech or motion even bis groans he had suppressed and as dick turned and left the room he was filled with admiration for that rugged fortitude and yet he thought of what use is courage wit had hie been clean he would have hie did confess the secret louder than words nay upon all sides proof on me sir daniel he or his men hath done this thing dick paused in the stone passage with a heavy heart at that hour in the ebb of sir daniel s fortune when he was by the of the black arrow and by the victorious was dick also to turn upon the man who had nourished and taught him who had severely punished indeed but yet protected his youth the necessity if it prove to be one was cruel pray heaven he be innocent i he said and then steps sounded on the and sir came gravely towards the lad one you earnestly said dick i am upon the way good richard said the priest it is this poor he is beyond cure and yet his soul is than his body answered dick have ye seen him asked sir with a manifest start i do but come from him replied dick what said he what said he snapped the priest with extraordinary eagerness he but cried for you the more sir it were well done to go the faster for his hurt is grievous returned the lad lam straight for him was the reply well the black we have all our sins we must all come to our latter day good richard ay sir aud it were well if we all came fairly answered dick the priest dropped his aud with an hurried on he too thought dick he that taught me in piety i nay then what a world is thb if all that care for me be blood guilty of my father s death i vengeance alas what a sore fate is mine if i must be upon my friends the thought put in his head he smiled at the remembrance of his strange companion and then wondered where he was ever	38
since they had come together to the doors of the moat house the younger lad had disappeared and dick began to weary for a word with him about an hour after mass being somewhat hastily run through by sir the company gathered in the hall for dinner it was a long low apartment strewn with green rushes and the walls hung with in a design of savage men and here and there hung and bows and a tire blazed in the big chimney there were covered benches round the wall and in the midst the table ly spread awaited the arrival ol the neither sir daniel nor his lady made their appearance sir himself was absent and here again there was no word of dick began to grow alarmed to dick asks questions recall hia s and to wonder to himself if any fool play befallen hi m in that after dinner he found who was hurrying to my lady be said where is master i i saw ye go in with bim when we arrived the old woman laughed aloud ah master dick she said y have a famous bright eye in your head to be sure i and laughed again nay but where is he indeed persisted dick ye will never see him more she returned never it is sure an i do not returned the lad i will know the reason why he came not hither of his full free will such as i am i am bis best protector and i will see bim justly used there be too many mysteries i do begin to weary of the game but ae dick was speaking a heavy hand fell on bis shoulder it was that had come behind him with a jerk of his thumb the dismissed his wife friend dick he said ae soon as they were alone are ye a natural an ye leave not things in peace ye were better in the salt sea than here in moat house y have questioned me y have y have the with hints bear ye more wisely fool and even now when sir daniel you show me a smooth the ck face for the love o wisdom y are to be sharply questioned look to your answers returned dick in all i smell a guilty conscience an ye go not the wiser ye will soon smell blood replied i do but warn you and here one to call you and indeed at that very moment a messenger came across the court to summon dick into the presence of sir daniel chapter il the two oaths daniel was in the hall there he paced angrily before the fire awaiting dick s arrival none was by except sir and he sat backward and muttering over his y have ent for me sir daniel said young i have sent for you indeed replied the knight for what to mine ears have i been to you bo heavy a guardian that ye make to credit ill of me or that ye see me for the some do ye think to quit my party by the mass your father was not so i those he was near those he stood by come wind or weather but you dick y are the two oaths a fair day friend it and now to clear yourself of your an t please you sir daniel not so returned dick firmly i am grateful and faithful where gratitude and faith are due and before more is said i thank you and i thank sir y have great claims upon me both none can have more i i were a hound if i forgot them it ia well said sir daniel j and then rising into anger gratitude and faith are words dick he continued hut i look to deeds in this hour of my peril when my name is when my lands when this wood is full of men that hunger and thirst for my destruction what gratitude what doth faith i have but a little company remaining is it grateful or faithful to poison me their hearts with your save me from such gratitude but come now what ia it ye wish speak we are here to answer if ye have aught against me stand forth and say it sir replied dick my father fell when i was yet a child it hath come to mine ears that he was done by it hath come to mine ears for i will not that ye had a band in his and in all i shall not be at peace in mine own nor very clear to help you till i have certain resolution of these doubts sir daniel sat down in a deep settle he took his chin in his hand and looked at dick t the ck and ye think i would be to tlie s son tbat i bad murdered he asked said dick pardon me if i answer but indeed ye know right well a is most profitable all these years have ye not enjoyed my and led my men have ye not still my marriage t i not what it may be worth it is worth pardon me again but if ye were base enough to a man under trust here were perhaps reasons enough to move you to the lesser when i was a lad of your years returned sir daniel sternly my mind had not so turned upon suspicions and sir here he added why should he a priest be guilty of this act nay sir daniel said dick but where the master there will the dog go it is well known this priest is but your instrument i speak very freely j the time is not for even as i speak so would i be answered and answer get i none i ye but put more questions i ye beware sir daniel for in this	38
way ye will but and not satisfy ray doubts i will answer you fairly master richard said the knight were i to pretend ye have not stirred my wrath i were no honest man but i will be just even in anger come to me with these words when y are grown and come to man s estate and i am no longer your guardian and so helpless to resent them come to me then and i will answer you as ye merit with a thb two oaths in the month till then ye have two either swallow me down these keep a silent tongue and fight in the meanwhile for the man that fed and fought for your infancy or else the door th open the woods are full of mine enemies go the spirit with which these words were uttered the looks with which they were accompanied staggered dick and yet he could not hut observe that he had got no answer i desire nothing more earnestly sir daniel than to believe you he replied assure me ye are free from this will ye take my word of honour dick inquired the knight that would i answered the lad i give it you returned sir daniel upon my word of honour upon the eternal welfare of my spirit and as i shall answer for my deeds hereafter i had no hand nor portion in your father s death he extended his band and dick took it eagerly neither of them observed the priest who at the of that solemn and false oath had half arisen from bis seat in an agony of horror and remorse ah cried dick ye must find it in to pardon met i was a indeed to doubt of you but ye have my hand upon it i will doubt no more nay dick replied sir daniel y are forgiven ye know not the world and its nature l the i was the more to blame dick in tbat the pointed not directly at yourself but at sir as be spoke he turned towards the priest and paused in the middle of the last word this tall ruddy high stepping man had fallen you might say to pieces his colour was gone his limbs were relaxed his lips prayers and now when dick s eyes were fixed upon him suddenly he cried out aloud like some wild animal and buried his face in his hands sir daniel was by him in two strides and shook him fiercely by the shoulder at the same moment dick s suspicious nay he said sir may swear also him they accused he shall swear said the knight sir waved his arms ay by the mass i but ye shall swear cried sir daniel beside himself with fury here upon this book ye shall swear he continued picking up the which had fallen to the ground what ye make me doubt you i swear i say swear i but the priest was still incapable of speech his terror of sir daniel his terror of risen to about an equal height him and just then through the high stained glass window of the hall a black arrow and struck and stuck quivering in the midst of tlie long table tub two ill sir with loud scream fell on the while the knight followed by dick dashed into the court and up the nearest stair to the the were all on the alert the sun shone quietly on green dotted with trees and on the wooded hills of the forest which enclosed the view there was no sign of a whence came that shot asked the knight from yonder sir daniel returned a the stood a little musing then he turned to dick dick he said keep me an eye upon these men i leave you in charge here as for the priest he shall clear himself or i will know the reason why do almost begin to share ip your suspicions he shall swear trust me or we shall prove him guilty dick answered somewhat coldly and the knight giving him a piercing glance hurriedly returned to the hall his first glance was for the arrow it was the first of these he had seen and as he turned it to and fro the dark hue of it touched him with some fear again there was some writing one word ay be broke out tbey know i am home then i ay but there is not a dog among them fit to dig me out sir had come to himself and now scrambled to his feet sir daniel i he moaned y ave sworn a dread oath y are doomed to the end of time i le this ay returned the knight i have an indeed thou but shalt swear a greater it shall be on the blessed cross of look to it get the words ready it shall be sworn to night now may heaven you i replied the priest may heaven incline your heart from this i look you my good father said sir daniel if y are for piety i say no more ye begin late that is all but if y are in any sense bent upon wisdom hear me this lad to me like a i have a need for him for i would sell his marriage but i tell you in all if that he continue to weary me he shall go join his father i give orders now to change him to the chamber above the chapel if that ye can swear your with a good solid oath and an assured countenance it is well the lad will be at peace a little and i will spare him if that ye or or at the swearing he will not believe you and by the mass he shall die there is for thinking on the chamber above the chapel i gasped	38
the priest that same replied the knight so if ye desire to save him save him and if ye desire not go to and let me ite at peace i for an i had been a hasty man i would already have put my sword through you for your intolerable cowardice and folly have ye chosen say i t the two i have chosen said the priest heaven pardon me i will do evil for good i will swear for the lad s so ia it best i said sir daniel send for him then speedily ye see him alone yet i shall have an eye on you i shall be here in the room the knight raised the and let it fall again behind there was the sound of a spring opening then followed the creaking of trod sir left alone cast a glance upward at the covered wait and crossed himself with every appearance o terror and nay if he is in the chapel room the priest murmured were it at my soul s cost i must save him minutes later dick who had been summoned by another messenger found sir standing by the hall table resolute and pale richard he said ye have required an oath from me i might complain i might deny you but my heart is moved toward you for the past and i will even content you as ye choose by the true cross of i did not your father sir returned dick when first we read john au s paper i was convinced of so much but suffer me to put two questions ye did not him granted but had ye no hand in it none said sir and at the same time be the black began to his face and signal with his mouth and like one who desired to convey a warning yet dared not utter a sound dick regarded him in wonder then he turned and looked all about him at the empty hall what make ye he inquired why naught returned the priest hastily bis countenance i make naught i do but suffer i am sick i i dick i must on the true cross of i am clean innocent alike of violence or content ye good lad farewell i and he made bis escape from the apartment with unusual alacrity dick remained rooted to the spot bis eyes wandering about the room bis face a changing picture of various emotions wonder doubt suspicion and amusement gradually as mind grew clearer suspicion took the upper band and was succeeded by certainty o the worst he raised his head and as be did so violently started high upon the wall there was the figure of a savage hunter woven in the with one he held a horn to his mouth in the other he a stout spear his face was dark tor be was meant to represent an african n ow here was what had startled the sun had moved away from the ball windows and at the same time the fire had blazed up high on the wide hearth and a glow upon the roof and thb two in this light the figure of the black hunter had winked at him with a white he continued at the eye the light shone upon it like a it was liquid it was alive again the white closed upon it for a of a second and the nest moment it was gone there could be no the eye that had been watching him through a hole in the was gone the no longer shone on a reflecting surface and instantly dick awoke to the s of his position s warning the mute of the priest this eye that had observed him from the wall ran together in his mind he saw he had been put upon his trial that he had once more betrayed his suspicions and that short of some miracle he was lost if i cannot get me forth out of this house he thought i am a dead man i and this poor too to what a s nest have i not led him he was still so thinking when there came one in haste to bid him help in changing his arms his clothing and his two or three books to a new chamber a new chamber he repeated wherefore so what chamber tis one above the chapel answered the messenger it hath stood long empty said dick musing what manner of room is it t the bu oe nay a brave room returned the man but yet lowering liis voice they call it haunted haunted repeated dick with a chill i have not heard of it nay then and by whom the looked about him and then in a low whisper by the of st john s he said they had him there to sleep one night and in the morning he was gone the devil had taken him they said the more he had drunk the night before dick followed the man with black chapter iii the chapel from the nothing further observed the sun westward and at last went down but to the eyes of all these eager no living thing appeared in the neighbourhood of house when the night was at length fairly come was led to a room overlooking an angle of the moat thence he was lowered with every precaution the ripple of his swimming was audible for a brief period then a black figure was observed to land by the branches of a willow and crawl away among the grass for some half hour sir daniel and stood eagerly thb thi giving ear j but all remained quiet the had got away in safety sir daniel s brow grew clearer he turned to said he this john all is no more than a man ye see he el we will make	38
a good end of him go to the afternoon and evening dick had been ordered hither and thither one command following another till he was bewildered with the number and the hurry of all that time he had no more of sir and nothing of and yet both the priest and the young lad ran continually in his mind it wa now his chief purpose to escape from moat house as speedily as might be and yet before be went he desired a word with both of these at length with a lamp in one hand he mounted to his new apartment it was large low and somewhat dark the window looked upon the moat and although it was so high up it was heavily barred the bed was luxurious with one pillow of down and one of and a red worked in a pattern of roses all about the walls were locked and and concealed from view by of dark coloured dick made the round lifting the sounding the seeking vainly to open the he assured himself that the was strong and the bolt then he set down his lamp upon a and more looked all around for what reason had he been given this chamber the black it was larger and finer than his own it conceal a was there a secret entrance was it indeed haunted his blood ran a little chilly in his reins immediately over him the heavy foot of a trod the leads r him he knew was the arched roof of the chapel and next to the chapel was the hall certainly there waa a secret passage in the hall the eye that had watched him from the gave him proof of that was it not more than probable that the passage extended to the chapel and if so that it had an opening in his room to sleep in a place he felt be he made his weapons ready and took his position in a comer of the room behind the door if ill was intended he would sell his life dear the sound of many feet the challenge and the sounded overhead along the the watch was being changed and just then there came a scratching at the door of the chamber it grew a little louder then a whisper dick dick it is i dick ran to the door drew the bolt and admitted he was very pale and carried a lamp in one hand and a drawn r in the other shut me the door he whispered swift dick this house is full of i hear their feet follow me in the i hear them breathe behind the well content you returned dick it is closed we are safe for this while if there be safety anywhere the room thb within these walls but my heart is glad to bee you by the mass lad i ye were sped where hid ye it matters not returned since we be met it matters not but dick are your eyes open have they told you of to morrow s doings not they replied dick what make they tomorrow to morrow or to night i know not said the other but one time or other dick they do intend upon your life i had the proof of it i have heard them whisper nay they as good as told me ay returned dick is it so i had thought as much and he told him the day s at length when it was done arose and began in turn to examine the apartments no he said there is no entrance visible yet tis a pure certainty there is one dick i will stay by you an y are to die i will die with you and i can help look i i have stolen a dagger i will do my best i and meanwhile an ye know of any issue any sally port we could get opened or any window that we might descend by i will most joyfully face any to flee with you jack said dick by the mass jack y are the best and the truest and the in all england give me your hand jack and he grasped the other s hand in silence tub black i will tell you he resumed there is a window out of which the messenger descended the rope should still be in the chamber tis a hope t said both gave ear there was a sound below the floor then it paused and then began again some one in the room below whispered nay returned dick there is no room below we are above the chapel it is my murderer in the secret passage well let come it shall go hard with him and he ground his teeth blow me the lights out the other perchance he will betray himself they blew out both the lamps and lay still as death the underneath were very soft but they were clearly audible several times they came and went and then there was a loud jar of a key turning in a lock followed by a considerable silence presently the steps began again and then all of a sudden a of light appeared in the of the room in a far corner it a trap door was being opened letting in a of light they could see the strong hand pushing it up and dick raised his waiting for the head to follow but now there came an a distant corner of the moat house shouts began to be heard and first one voice and then several crying aloud upon a name this noise had plainly le the over chapel the murderer for the trap door was silently lowered to its place and the steps hurriedly passed once more close below the lads and died away iii the distance here was a moment s dick breathed deep and then and not	38
the roof and the paved echoed hollow under the tread beyond the door there were two branches at right angles dick chose one of them at random and the pair hurried with echoing footsteps along the hollow of the chapel roof the top of the arched ceiling rose like a whale s hack in the dim glimmer of the lamp here and there were concealed on the other side by the carving of the and looking down through one of these dick saw the paved floor of the chapel the altar with its burning and stretched before it on the steps the figure of sir praying with hands d o i the black at tbe other end they descended a few steps the passage grew the wall upon one hand was now of wood the noise of people talking and a faint flickering of lights came through the and presently they came to a round hole about the size of s eye and dick looking down through it beheld the interior of the hall and some half a dozen men sitting in their about the table drinking deep and a pie these were certainly some of the late here is no help said dick let us try back nay said maybe the passage farther and she pushed on a few yards farther the passage ended at the top of a short flight of steps and it became plain that as long as the soldiers occupied the hall escape was impossible upon that side they their steps with all speed and set forward to explore the other branch it was exceedingly narrow scarce wide enough for a lai man and it led them continually up and down by little stairs until even dick had lost all notion of his whereabouts at length it grew both and lower the stairs continued to descend the walls on either hand became damp and to the touch and far in front of them they heard the and of the rats we must be in the dick the and still there is no outlet added nay but an outlet there must be dick answered presently enough they came to a sharp angle and then the ended in a sight of steps on the top of that there was a solid fl of stone by way of trap and to this they both set their backs it was immovable some one it suggested not so said dick for were a man strong as ten he must still yield a little but this like rock there is a weight upon the trap here is no issue and by my good jack we are here as fairly prisoners as though the were on our sit ye then down and let us talk after a while we shall return when perchance they shall be less carefully upon their guard and who we may break out and stand a chance but ia my poor opinion we are as good as dick she cried alas the day that ever ye should have seen me i for like a most unhappy and maid it is i have led you hither what cheer i returned dick it was all written and that which is written still to pass but t ll me a little what manner of a maid ye are and how ye came into sir daniel s hands j that will do better than to whether for your sake or mine i am an orphan like yourself of father and the black mother said and for my great misfortune dick and hitherto for yours i am a rich marriage my had me to ward it appears sir daniel bought the marriage of me from the king and a right dear price he paid for it so here waa i poor babe with two great and rich men fighting wliich should marry me and i still at nurse well then the world changed and there was a new and sir daniel bought the o tne over the lord s head and then the world changed again and lord bought my marriage over sir daniel s and from then to now it went on ill the two of them but till lord kept me in hands and waa a good lord to me and at last i was to be married or sold if ye like it better five hundred pounds lord was to get for me was the groom s name and to morrow dick of all days in the year waa i to be had it not come to sir daniel i had been wedded sure and never seen thee dick dear dick i and here she took his hand and kissed it with the prettiest grace and dick drew hei hand to him and did the like well she went on sir daniel took me unawares in the garden and made me dress in these men s clothes which is a deadly sin for a woman and besides they fit me not he rode with ine to as ye saw telling me i was to marry you hut i in my heart made sure i would marry in his teeth thb ay cried dick and so ye loved thia nay replied not i i did but hate sir daniel and dick ye helped me and ye were right kind and very bold and my heart turned towards yon in mine own despite and now if we can in any way compass it i would marry you with right and if by cruel destiny it may not be still ye ll be dear to me while my heart beats it ll be true to you and said dick that never cared a straw for any manner of woman until now i took to you when i thought ye were a boy i had s pity to you and knew not why when t would	38
have you the hand failed me but when ye owned ye were a maid jack for still i will call you jack i made sure ye were the maid for me hark i he said breaking off one and indeed a heavy tread was now audible in the echoing passage and the rats again fled in armies dick his position the sudden turn gave him a post of he could thus shoot in safety from the cover of the wall ut it was plain the light was too near him and running some way forward he set down the lamp in the middle of the passage and then returned to watch presently at the far end of the passage in sight he seemed to be alone and he carried in bis hand a burning torch which made him the better mark the black stand t cried another step and y are dead so here ye are returned peering forward into the darkness i see yon not y ave done wisely dick y ave lamp before yon by my though it was done to shoot my own body i do rejoice to see ye profit of my lessons i and now what make ye what seek ye here why would ye shoot upon an old kind friend and have ye the young there nay it is i should question and you answer replied dick why am i in this of my life why do men come to me in my bed why am i now in mine own guardian s strong house and from the friends that i have lived among and never injured master master dick said what told i you y are brave but the most lad that i can think upon well returned dick i see ye know all and that i am doomed indeed it is well here where i am i stay let sir daniel get me out if he be able was silent for a space hark ye he began i return to sir daniel to tell him where ye are and how posted for in it was to that end he sent me but you if ye are no fool had best be gone ere i return repeated dick i would already an i how i cannot move the trap how dick sides put me your hand into the corner and see what ye find there replied s rope is still in the brown chamber fare ye well and turning upon his heel disappeared again into the of the passage dick instantly returned for his lamp and proceeded to act upon the hint at one comer of the trap there was a deep in the wall pushing his arm into the dick found an iron bar which he thrust vigorously upwards there followed a snapping noise and the of stone instantly started in its bed tbey were free of the passage a little exercise of strength easily raised the trap and they came forth a chamber opening on one band upon the court where one or two fellows with bare arms were rubbing down the horses of the last rivals a torch or two each stuck in an iron ring against the wall lit up the scene chapter v how sides dick blowing out his lamp lest it should attract attention led the way up stairs and along the corridor in the brown chamber the rope had been made fast to the frame of an exceeding heavy and bed it bad not been detached and dick taking the to the i thi black window began to lower it slowly and cautiously into the darkness of the night stood by but as the rope lengthened and still dick continued to pay it out extreme fear began to conquer her resolution dick she is it so deep i may not essay it i should fall good dick it was just at the delicate moment of the operations that she spoke dick started the remainder of the slipped from his grasp and the end fell with a splash into the moat instantly from the above the voice of a cried who goes a t cried dick we are paid now i down with you take the rope i cannot she cried an ye cannot no more can i said how can i swim the moat without you do ye desert me then dick she gasped i cannot the strength is gone from me by the mass then we are all i he shouted stamping with his foot and then hearing steps he ran to the room door and sought to close it before he could shoot the bolt strong arms were thrusting it back upon him from the other side he struggled for a second then feeling himself overpowered ran back to the window the girl had fallen against the wall in the of the window she was more than half insensible and when he tried to bow raise her in ms arms her body was limp and at the same the men who had forced the door against him laid hold upon him the first he at a and the others falling back for a second in some disorder he by the chance the window sill seized the cord in both hands and let his body slip the cord was knotted which made it the easier to descend but so furious was dick s hurry and so small his experience of such that he span round and round in mid air like a criminal upon a and now beat his head and now bruised his hands against the rugged of the wall the air roared in his ears j he saw the stars overhead and the stars below him in the moat whirling like dead leaves before the tempest and then he lost hold and fell and head over ears into the icy water when he came to the surface his	38
hand encounter d the rope which newly lightened of his weight was swinging wildly to and there was a red glow overhead and looking up he saw by the light o several and a full of burning coals the lined with faces he saw the men s eyes turning hither and thither in quest of him but he was too far below the light reached him not and they looked in vain and now he perceived that the rope was too long and he began to struggle as well as he could thb black arrow towards the other of the moat still keeping his head above water in this way he got much more than h way over indeed the bank was almost within reach before the rope began to draw him back by its own weight taking his courage in both hands he left go and made a leap for the trailing of willow that had already that same evening helped sir daniel s messenger to land he went down rose again sank a second time and then his hand caught a branch and with the speed of thought he had dragged himself into the thick of the tree and clung there dripping and and still half uncertain of his escape but all this had not been done without a considerable which had so far indicated his position to the men along the and fell thick around him in the darkness thick like driving h l and suddenly a torch was thrown down through the air in its swift passage stuck for a moment on the edge of the bank where it burned high and lit np its whole surroundings like a and then in a good hour for dick slipped off into the moat and was instantly extinguished it had served its purpose the had time to see the willow and dick among its boughs j and though the lad instantly sprang higher np the bank and ran for his life he was yet not quick enough to escape a shot an arrow struck him in the shoulder another his head the pain of his wounds lent him wings and he had how dick changed sides no got upon the level than he took to hia heels and ran straight before him in the dark without a thought for the direction of his flight for a few steps followed him but these soon ceased and when at length he came to a halt and looked behind he was already a good way from the moat house he could still see the moving to and fro along its he leaned against a tree streaming with blood and water bruised wounded and alone for all that he had saved his life for that bout and though remained behind in the power of sir daniel he neither blamed himself for an accident that it had been beyond his power to prevent nor did he any fatal consequences to the girl herself sir daniel was cruel but he was not likely to be cruel to a young who had other willing and able to bring him to account it was more probable he would make haste to marry her to some friend of his own well thought dick between then and now i will find me the means to bring that traitor under for i think by the mass that i be now from any gratitude or obligation and when war is open there is a fair chance for all in the meanwhile here he was in a sore plight for some little way farther he struggled forward through the forest but what with the pain of his wounds the darkness of the night and the extreme and confusion of his mind he soon be t thb black a bow came equally to guide himself or to continue to the close and he was ain at length to sit down and lean his back against a tree when be awoke from sleep and the grey of the morning had begun to take the place of night a little chilly breeze was bustling among the trees and as be still sat staring before him only half awake he became aware of something dark that swung to and fro among the branches some hundred yards in front of him the brightening of tbe day and the return of his own senses at last enabled him to recognise the object it was a man hanging from the of a tall oak his head had fallen forward on his breast but at every stronger of wind his body span round and round and his legs and arms tossed like some ridiculous dick to his feet and leaning on the tree trunks as he went drew near to this grim object the bough was perhaps twenty feet above the ground and the poor fellow had been drawn np so high by his that his boots swung clear above dick s reach and as his hood had been drawn over his face it was impossible to the man dick looked about him right and left j and at last he perceived that the other end of the cord had been made fast to the trunk of a little which grew thick with blossom under the lofty of tbe oak with how dick sides his dagger which alone remained to him of all hie arms young severed the rope and instantly with a dead the corpse fell in a heap upon the ground dick raised the hood it was sir daniel s messenger he had not gone far upon his errand a paper which had apparently escaped the notice of the men of the black arrow stuck from the bosom of his and dick pulling it forth found it was sir daniel s to lord come thought he if the world changes yet ag q i may have here the to shame sir daniel	38

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