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put him down miss was very grave and silent as they drove home i can t trust myself to speak about it she said if it was true it shows such an utter want of principle such deceit and don used to be so honest and straightforward what if we make inquiries at the pier it it may be all a mistake they stopped for this purpose at ay miss he don the iy of a greedy dog does that dug said the old and a makes rare an ly a do they him fine em eh but he s a smart little dug we quite look for him of a morning for his fur the like a like a very greedy christian said his disgusted mistress she said when she returned to the pony cart it s all true i i never have been so deceived in any one and the worst of it is i don t know how to punish him or how to make him feel what a disgraceful trick this is nobody else s dog i ever heard of made his mistress publicly absurd in this way it s so so ungrateful aunt said i ve an idea will you leave him to me and pretend you don t suspect anything i cure him this time i you you won t to whip him said miss because though it s all his own doing he really is not well enough for it just now no said i won t tell you my plan but it s better than and all this time the unconscious don was wearing an expression of suffering and looking meekly sorry for himself with no suspicion in the world that he had been found out next day he felt much better and as the morning was bright he thought that after all he might manage another steamer trip his appetite had come back and hi breath was not nearly so short as it had don the story of a greedy dog been he was just making modestly for the gate when stopped him where are you going sir she inquired don rolled over instantly with all his legs in the air and a feeble apology in his eye i want you for just one minute first said politely and carried him into the morning room was he going to be whipped she couldn t have the heart an like him he tried to protest by his but did nothing of the kind she merely took something that was flat and broad and white and fastened it round his neck with a very ornamental bow and ribbon then she opened the french windows and said in rather a chilly voice now run away and get on your nasty steamer and beg and see what you get by it that seemed as far as he could tell very sensible advice and oddly enough it was exactly what he had been intending to do it did not strike him as particularly strange that should know because don was a dog that didn t go very deeply into matters unless he was obliged he trotted off at an easy pace down to the village getting every minute and hoping that the people on the steamer would have brought nice things to day when close to the turning that led to the landing stage he met and was naturally obliged to stop for a few moments conversation don the story of a greedy dog he was not at all pleased to see him notwithstanding for i am sorry to say that don s had so grown upon him of late that he was actually afraid that his humble friend who was a little slow to find out when he wasn t wanted would accompany him on to the and then of course the good things would have to be divided however don was a dog that was always polite even to his fellow dogs and he did not like to be rude now said in dogs language of course but i have reason to believe that what follows is as nearly as possible what was actually said what s the matter with you this morning don replied that he was rather out of sorts and was going down to a certain lane for a dose of ass a little dog grass won t do me any harm said i ll come too this was awkward but don pretended to be glad and they went a little way together but what s that thing round your neck asked the oh said don that it s a bit of finery they put on me at the cottage it pleases them you know think it s becoming um answered reminds me of a thing a friend of mine used to wear but he had a blind man tied to him i don t see your blind man don of a greedy they would have given me a blind man of course if i d asked for it said don but what s the use of a blind man isn t he rather a bore i didn t ask but my friend said he believed the thing round his neck which was flat and white just like yours only he had a tin underneath his made people more inclined to give him things he didn t know why do you find that how stupid of to forget the thought don i could have brought things home to eat quietly then i don t know he replied to i haven t tried he meant to put it to the test very soon though if only he could get rid of by the way he said carelessly have you been round by the hotel lately no answered not since the threw a brush at me well said don there	44
was a bone outside the porch which if i hadn t been feeling so poorly i should have had a good mind to tackle myself but perhaps some other dog has got hold of it by this time i ll soon make him let go if he has i said who liked a fight almost as well as a bone where was it did you say outside the hotel don t let me keep you it was a beautiful bone good morning said don he did not think it worth while to explain that he don the of a dog had seen it several days ago for don as you will have remarked already was a very artful dog he got rid of his unwelcome friend in this highly manner and strolled on to the pier full of expectation pretty frequently on this particular lake so he had not to wait very long the little soon came hissing up and the moment the was placed don stepped on board with tail proudly erect as usual he examined the passengers first to see who had anything to give then who looked most likely to give it to him generally he did best with children he was not fond of children was quite an exception but he was very fond of cakes and children he had observed generally had the best cakes don was so accomplished a that he would contrive to make every child believe that he or she was the only person he loved in the whole world and he would stay by his victim until the cake was all gone and even a little longer just for the look of the thing and then move on to some one else and begin again there were no children with any cakes or on board this time however there was a stout man up by the bows dividing his attention between scenery and but don knew by experience that are always made with which he hated there were three merry looking round faced young ladies on a centre bench eating don the story of a greedy dog he wished they could have made it cakes because he was rather tired of but they were better than nothing so to these young ladies he went and placing himself where he could catch all their eyes at once he sat up in the way he had always found irresistible i don t suppose any dog ever found his expectations more cruelly disappointed it was not merely that they shook their heads they went into fits of laughter they were laughing at him don was so deeply offended that he took himself off at once and tried an elderly person who was seed cake she did not laugh but she examined him carefully and then told him with a frown to go away he began to think that s collar was not a success he ought to have had a or a blind man or both he did much better when he was left to himself still he and went about his tail and sitting up by and by he began to have an uncomfortable idea that people were saying things about him which were not complimentary he was almost sure he heard the word greedy and he knew what that meant he had been taught by they must be talking of some other dog not him they couldn t possibly know what he was now don was a very intelligent indeed but there was just this defect in his education he could not read he had no idea what things could be conveyed by innocent looking little black don the story of a greedy dog marks f course not some of my readers will probably exclaim he was only a dog but it is not so absurd as it sounds for one very distinguished man has succeeded in teaching his dogs to read and even to spell though i believe they have not got into very advanced books as yet still it may happen some day that all but hopelessly backward or stupid dogs will be able to read and then you may find that your own family dog has taken this book into his and firmly to give it up until he has finished it at present thank goodness we have not come to this and so there is nothing remarkable in the mere fact that don was unable to read i only mention it because if he had possessed this accomplishment he would never have fallen into the trap had prepared for him for the new collar was as you perhaps guessed long ago a card and upon it was written in s and round hand i am a very greedy little dog and have plenty to eat at home so please do not give me anything or i shall have a fit and die i you can easily imagine that when this unlucky don sat up and begged bearing this inscription written on his unconscious httle chest the waa likely to be too much for the gravity of all but very stiff and solemn persons nearly everybody on board the steamer was delighted with him they pointed out the joke to one another and roared with laughter until he grew quite don the story of a greedy ashamed to sit up any more some him by pretending to give him something and then eating it themselves some seemed almost sorry for him and him and one an american said it was playing it too low down to make the little give himself away in that style but nobody quite liked to s written appeal poor don could not understand it in the least he only saw that every one was very rude and to him and he tried to get away under benches but it was all in vain people him out from his hiding places	44
to be introduced to each new comer he could not go anywhere without being stared at and followed and hemmed in and hearing always that same hateful whisper of greedy dog not to be given anything until he felt exactly as if he was being washed poor disappointed greedy dog how gladly he would have given the tail between his legs to be safe at home in the drawing room with miss and how little he had for such a terrible trip as this i am sure that if had ever imagined he would feel his disgrace so deeply she would not have had the heart to send him out with that tell tale card around his neck but then he would not have received a very wholesome lesson and would certainly have eaten himself into a serious illness before the summer ended so perhaps it was all for the don the of a greedy dog this time don did not go the whole round of the lake he had had quite enough of it long before the reached but he did not get a chance until they came to and then watching his opportunity he gave his the slip at last two hours later as and her aunt sat under the big oak on the lawn a dusty little guilty dog stole in under the garden gate it was don and he had run all the way from which though he did not appreciate it had done him a vast amount of good oh cried dropping her paint brush to clap her hands look aunt he has had his lesson already miss was inclined to be shocked when she read the ticket it was too bad of you she said i would never have allowed it if i had known come here don and let me take the horrid thing oflf not yet please pleaded want him to be quite cured and it will take at least till then we ll make it up to him but don had understood at last it was this detestable thing then that had been telling tales of him and all his fun i very well let him find himself alone with it just once and he went oflf very into the whence in a few minutes came sounds of worrying in half an hour don came out again his collar don the story of a dog was gone and in his mouth he a long piece of ribbon which he dropped with the mixture of and reproach at s feet after that of course it was impossible to do anything but take him into favour at once and he was generous enough to let see that he bore her no malice for the trick she had played him what became of the card no one ever discovered perhaps don had buried it though has very strong suspicions that he ate it as his best revenge but what is more important is that from that day he became a slim and dog refusing firmly to go on board a steamer on any pretence whatever and only to sit up after much and as a mark of particular condescension so that s experiment whatever may be thought of it was at least a successful one taken by surprise being the statement op m a there are certain which a man who is before the public is morally bound to combat more for the sake of others than his own as soon as it becomes probable that the popular estimate of his character may be shaken if not shattered should he hold his peace convinced as i am of this and having some ground to anticipate that the next few days may witness a blow to my personal dignity and influence for good i have thought it expedient to publish the true history of an episode which if is only too likely to prejudice me to a serious extent any circumstance that to or lessen the world s reverence for its is a deplorable calamity to be averted at all even when this can only be effected by scarcely less painful to a delicate mind for some years i have consecrated my poor talents to the guidance and education taken by of public taste in questions of art and literature to do this i have at the cost of some personal inconvenience to acquire a critical style of light and playful my lash has ever been in ribbons of rare texture and hues i have thrown cold water in abundance over the flames of young ambition but such water was with of roses and in time the articles appearing in various above the signature of became i may acknowledge without false modesty so many literary events of the first magnitude i attribute this to my early recognition of the true function of a critic it is not for him to set up sign posts or even for those who run and read to attain true distinction he should erect a upon his study table and start the fun himself with a choice selection of the literary of the eggs and futile which served as in the past the public may be trusted to keep it going and also to retain a grateful recollection of the original of the sport my little weekly and monthly became instantly popular for all my were well aimed and my eggs broke and stuck in a highly entertaining fashion we are so constituted that even the worst of us is capable of a kindly feeling towards the benefactor who makes others ridiculous in our eyes and to do this was my a at first my identity with taken by the lively but terrible was kept a profound secret but gradually by some means which i do not at present remember it out and i immediately	44
became a social as well as a literary physically i have been endowed with a presence which though not of unusual height and somewhat inclined to central produces i find an invariably imposing effect especially with members of the more and sex consequently i was not surprised even at the really extraordinary sensation i inspired upon my first introduction to a very charming young lady miss as soon as my de was i forget just now by whom incidentally alluded to however as it turned out she had another and a deeper reason for emotion it seemed she had been engaged to a young poet whose verses to her and girlish judgment seemed inspired by draughts of the true and whose had stirred her maiden heart to its depths well that young poet s latest volume of verse came under my notice for review and in my customary light hearted fashion i held it up to general derision for a column or two and then dismissed it with an kick to spin for ever down the ringing of criticism miss it happened was inclined to correct her own views by the opinions of others and taken by surprise was moreover sensitive to any association of ridicule with the objects of her attachment indeed she once despatched a dog she fondly loved to the chamber at merely because all the hair had come off the poor animal s tail my had her lover in a similar fashion their livid lightning had revealed the the glaring absurdity of the very which once had filled her eyes with tears he was dismissed and soon disappeared altogether from the circles which i had in perfect innocence rendered impossible to him notwithstanding this miss s first sentiments towards me were scarcely oddly enough of gratitude i represented the rod and a very feeling of propriety made her unwilling to kiss me on a first interview though as our intimacy advanced well there are subjects on which i claim the privilege of a manly i hasten over then the stages of fear respect interest and adoration in me she recognised an intellect naturally superior too indifferent and to give life to its own too honest too devoted to humanity to withhold condemnation from those of others i was the radiant sun whose beams melted the wax from the of many a modern or to put the less the shining light in which by an irresistible impulse of self taken by destruction the poetical and artistic flew and one trait in my character which valued above all others was the caution with which i habitually avoided all associations of a ridiculous nature for it was my pride to preserve a of dignity under circumstances which would have been trying if not fatal to an ordinary person so we became engaged and if speaking the advantage of the union inclined to my side i cannot consider that i was the party most by the transaction it was soon after this happy event that entreated from me as a gift a photograph of myself i could not help being struck by this instance of feminine with regard to small since for the trifling sum of one shilling it was perfectly open to her to procure an admirable of me at almost any s for in obedience to a widely expressed demand i had already more than once undergone the ordeal by but no she professed to desire a portrait more peculiarly her own one that should mark the precise epoch of our mutual happiness a caprice which reminded me of the salvation army who was by desire before and after and i a little until insisted with such that although my personal expenses always slightly in excess of my income had taken by been further swelled since my engagement by the in expected by an absurd custom from every lover i gave way at length it was her desire that my portrait should form a to one of herself which had been recently taken by a fashionable and i promised to see that this wish should be gratified it is possible that she expected me to resort to the same artist but there were considerations which induced me to avoid this if i could to the extent of a guinea or even thirty shillings i could refuse her nothing but every one knows what sums are demanded by a who is at all in i might to be sure as a public character have sat without being called upon for any consideration beyond the right to dispose of copies of my photograph but i felt that would be a little hurt if i took this course and none of the west end people whom i consulted in the matter quite saw their way to such an arrangement just then there was a temporary lull they assured me in the demand for of our leading literary men and i myself had been within too recent a period to form any exception to the rule so keeping my promise constantly in mind i never entered a secluded neighbourhood without being on the look out for some which would combine artistic excellence with moderate charges taken by and at last i discovered this whose nest if i may so term it was in a retired which i do not care to upon the street level was a handsome plate glass window in which against a background of dark purple and were displayed and groups in which not even my trained faculties could detect the least inferiority to the more costly productions of the west end while the list of prices that hung by the door was conceived in a spirit of modesty after a brief period of hesitation i stepped inside and on stating my wish to be at once was invited by a very civil youth with a slight cast in his eye to	44
walk upstairs which i accordingly did i mounted flight after flight of stairs till i eventually found myself at the top of the house in an apartment pervaded by a strong of and glazed along the roof and the whole of one side with panes of a tint it was empty at the moment of my entrance but after a few minutes the burst in a tall young man with long hair and pale eyes whose appearance a nervous and high strung temperament perceiving him to be slightly by a certain unconscious dignity in my bearing which frequently does produce that effect upon strangers i hastened to him by upon the specimens of hid art that i had been below taken by and i aw at once that he was readily susceptible to flattery you will find me i told him frankly a little more difficult to satisfy than your ordinary but on the other hand i am peculiarly capable of really good work now i was struck at once by the delicacy of tone the nice of the atmosphere feeling and surface of the examples displayed in your window he bowed almost to the ground but having taken careful note of his prices i felt secure in him even to the verge of extravagance and besides does not the artistic nature demand the of praise to enable it to put forth its full powers he inquired in what style i wished to be taken whether full length half length or i will answer you as as possible i said i have been pressed by one whose least preference is a law to me to have a photograph of myself executed which shall form a or as it were to her own i have therefore taken the precaution to bring her portrait with me for your guidance you will observe it is the work of a firm in my opinion greatly messrs co and while you will follow it in style and the disposition of the you will i make no doubt produce il you take ordinary pains a picture vastly superior in artistic merit this as will be perceived was design ed taken by surprise to put him on his and rouse a useful spirit of he took the portrait of from my hands and carried it to the light where he examined it gravely in silence i presume he said at length that i need hardly tell you i cannot pledge myself to produce a result as pleasing as this under the circumstances that i replied rests entirely with you if you overcome your natural and do yourself full justice i see no reason why you should not obtain something even more satisfactory my encouragement almost him he turned abruptly away and blew his nose violently with a coloured silk handkerchief come come i said smiling kindly you see i have every confidence in you let us begin i don t know by the way i added with a sudden whether in your leisure moments you take any interest in contemporary literature i i have done so in my time he admitted not very lately then i continued watching his countenance with secret amusement for the i find this announcement invariably produces upon persons of any education it may possibly call up some associations in your mind if i tell you that i am perhaps better known by my self conferred of evidently i had to do with a man of some taken by surprise i obtained an even more effect than usual he cried not the great critic the same i said carelessly i thought i better mention it you did well he rejoined very well pardon my emotion may i that hand it is not my practice to shake hands with a but i was touched and gratified by his boyish enthusiasm and he seemed a gentlemanly young fellow too so i made an exception in his favour and he did my hand hard so you are he repeated in a kind of and you have sought me out me of all people in the world to have the honour of taking your photograph that is so i said but pardon me if i warn you that you must not allow your head to be turned by what is in truth due to the merest accident but what an accident he cried after what i have learnt i really could not think of making any charge for this privilege that was a creditable and not unnatural impulse and i did not check it you shall take me as often as you please i said and for nothing and may i he said a little timidly would you give me permission to exhibit the results if i followed my own inclinations i replied i should answer certainly not but perhaps i have taken by no right to deprive you of the advertisement and still less to withhold my unworthy features from public comment i may for private reasons i added thinking of find it advisable to make some show of displeasure but you need not fear my taking any proceedings to restrain you we struggling must be so careful he sighed suppose the case of your lamented it would be a protection if i had some written authority under your hand to show your legal representatives i replied if my brought an action they would find themselves non suited i had studied for the bar at one period of my life quite so he said but they might drag me into court nevertheless i should really prefer to be on the safe side it did not seem unreasonable particularly as i had not the remotest intention either of bringing an action or dying so i wrote him a hasty to the effect that in consideration of his me free of charge i took care	44
to put that in i undertook to hold him free from all or whatever in respect of the sale and circulation of all copies from such as will that do i said as i handed it to him his eyes gleamed as he took the document it by surprise is just what i wanted he said gratefully and now if you will excuse me i will go and bring in a few and we will get to work he withdrew in a state of positive exultation leaving me to congratulate myself upon the happy chance which had led me to his door one does not discover a true artist every day capable of approaching his task in a proper spirit of reverence and enthusiasm and i had hardly expected after my previous failures to be spared all personal my sole regret indeed was that i had not for a share in the profits arising from the sale which would be doubtless a large one but meanness is not one of my vices and i decided not to press this point presently he returned with something which inside his velvet jacket and a heap of things which he threw down in a corner behind a screen a few little properties he said we may be able to introduce them by and by then he went to the door and with a rapid action turned the key and placed it in his pocket you will hardly believe he explained how nervous i am on occasions of importance like this the bare possibility of interruption would render me quite incapable of doing myself justice i had never met any quite so sensitive as that before and i began to be uneasy about bis success but i know what the artistic temper a taken by surprise l ment is and as he said this was not like an ordinary occasion before i proceed to business he said in a voice that positively trembled i must tell you what an exceptional claim you have to my gratitude amongst the many productions which you have visited with your satire you may possibly recall a little volume of poems entitled of passion i shook my head good my good friend i told him if i my memory with all the stuff i have to pronounce sentence upon do you suppose my brain would be what it is he looked no he said slowly i ought to have known you would not remember of course but j do i brought out those your pen tore them to you convinced me that i had mistaken my career and thanks to your i ceased to practise as a poet and became the you now behold and i have known poets i said who have ended far less for even an indifferent is in closer harmony with nature than a poet and i was wasn t i he inquired humbly so far as i recollect i replied for i did begin to remember him now to attribute to you h taken by would have been beyond the audacity of the thank you he said you little know how you encourage me in my present undertaking for you will admit that i can photograph that i is intelligible enough being a pursuit demanding less mental ability in its than that of composition however halting there is something very soothing about your conversation he remarked it my self which really was wounded by the things you wrote i said we must all of us go through that in our at least all of you must go through it yes he admitted sadly but it ain t pleasant is it of that i have never been in a position to judge said i but you must remember that your sufferings though doubtless painful to yourself are the cause under capable treatment of infinite pleasure and amusement to others try to look at the thing without shall i seat myself on that chair i see over there he was me in a curious manner allow me he said i always pose my myself with that he seized me by the neck and elsewhere without the warning and carrying me to the further end of the flung me carelessly taken by face downwards over the cane chair to which i had referred he was a strong young man in spite of his long hair or might that have been as in s case a cause i was like an infant in his hands and lay across the chair in an exceedingly uncomfortable position gasping for breath try to keep as limp as you can please he said the mouth wide open as you have it now the legs careless in fact trailing beautiful don t move and he went to the i succeeded in partly twisting my head round are you mad i cried indignantly do you really suppose i shall consent to go down to posterity in such a position as this i heard a click and to my unspeakable horror saw that he was deliberately covering me from behind the with a revolver that was what i had seen inside his pocket i should be sorry to any in cold blood he said but i must tell you solemnly that unless you instantly resume your original pose which was charming you are a dead man not till then did i the awful truth i was locked up alone at the top of a house in a quiet neighbourhood with a mad to my aid all my presence of mind i resumed the original pose for the space of forty five hours taken by they were seconds really but they seemed hours it was not needful for hun to me to be limp again i was than the thank you very much he said gravely as he covered the i think that will come	44
out very well indeed you may move now i rose but perfectly collected ha ha i laughed in a sickly manner for i felt sick i i perceive sir that you are a since i have abandoned poetry he said as he carefully removed the negative to a dark place i have developed a considerable sense of quiet humour you will find a large hat in that corner might i trouble you to put it on for the next sitting never i cried thoroughly surely with your rare artistic perception you must be aware that such a as that which is no longer worn even by females is out of all keeping with my i will not sit for my photograph in such a preposterous thing i shall count ten very slowly he replied and if by the time i have finished you are not seated on the back of that chair your feet crossed bo as to your right thumb in the corner of your mouth a pleasant smile on your countenance and the hat on your head you will need no more hats on this sorrowful earth one by surprise i was perched on that chair in the prescribed attitude long before he had got to seven how can i describe what it cost me to smile as i sat there under the dry blue light the perspiration rolling in beads down my cheeks exposed to the gleaming of the revolver and the steady glare of that infernal that will be extremely popular he said lowering the weapon as he concluded your smile perhaps was a little too broad but the pose was very fresh and i have always read of the power of the human eye upon wild beasts and dangerous and i fixed mine firmly upon him now as i said sternly let me out at once i wish to go perhaps i did not fix them quite long enough perhaps the power of the human eye has been exaggerated i only know that for all the effect mine had on him they might have been not yet he said not when we re getting on so nicely i may never be able to take you under such favourable conditions again that i thought i could undertake to answer for but who alas could say whether i should ever leave that alive for all i knew he might spend the whole day in me and then with a madman s caprice shoot me as soon as it became too dark to go on any longer the proper course to take i knew was to humour him to keep him in a by good temper fool him to the top of his bent it was my only chance well i said perhaps you re right i i m in no great hurry were you thinking of taking me in some different style i am quite at your disposition he brought out a small but stout property mast and arranged it against a canvas background of coast scenery i generally use it for children in sailor costume he said but i think it will bear your weight long enough for the purpose i wiped my brow you are not going to ask me to climb that thing i faltered well he suggested if you will just arrange yourself upon the cross trees in a attitude down with your tongue as if for medical inspection i shall be perfectly satisfied i tried argument i should have no objection in the world i said it s an excellent idea only do sailors ever climb in that way wouldn t it be better to have the thing correct while we re about it i was not aware that you were a sailor he said are you i was afraid to say i was because i apprehended that if i did it might occur to him to put me through some still more frightful performance come he said you won t compel me to shed blood so early in the afternoon will you up with you taken by surprise i got up but as i hung there i tried to a of some of the details i don t think i said that i ll put out my tongue it s rather eh everybody is taken with his tongue out nowadays it is true he said but i am not well enough known in the profession yet to depart entirely from the conventional your tongue out as far as it will go please i shall have a rush of blood to the head i know i shall i protested look here he said am i taking this photograph or are you there was no possible doubt unfortunately as to who was taking the photograph i made one last remonstrance i put it to you as a sensible man i began but it is a waste of time to put anything to a lunatic as a sensible man it is enough to say that he carried his point i wish you could see the negative he said as he came back from his you were a httle red in the face but it will come out black so it s all right that will be quite a novelty i flatter myself i groaned however this was the end i would get away now at all and tell the police that there was a dangerous at large i got down from the mast with affected well i said i mustn t take advantage of your good nature any taken by surprise longer i m exceedingly obliged to you for the the pains you have taken tou will send the photographs to this address please don t go yet he said are you an by the way if i could only engage him in conversation i felt comparatively secure oh i put in an appearance in	44
the bow sometimes in the season i replied and while i think of it i added with what i thought at the time was an inspiration if you will come with me now i ll show you my horse you might take me on horseback eh i did not possess any such animal but i wanted to have that door unlocked take you on horseback he repeated that s a good idea i had rather thought of that myself then come along and bring your instrument i said and you can take me at the stables they re close by no need for that he replied cheerfully i ll find you a mount here and the wretched lunatic went behind the screen and wheeled out a small wooden covered with large round spots she s a he said observe the so my beauty quiet then now settle yourself easily in the saddle as if you were in the with your face to the tail listen to me for one moment i entreated by surprise i assure you that i am not in the habit of appearing in row on a spotted wooden horse nor does any one i assure you any one mount a horse of any description with his face towards the if you take me like that you will betray your ignorance you will be laughed at when people tell you it is possible to the insane by any show of argument don t believe them my own experience is that persons can be quite logical when it suits their purpose pardon me he said will be laughed at possibly not i i cannot be held responsible for the of my mount please shell carry you perfectly i will i said if you ll give me the revolver to hold i i should uke to be done with a revolver i shall be delighted to do you with a revolver he said grimly but not yet and if i lent you the weapon now i could not answer for your being able to hold the horse as well she has never been broken in to fu hold the revolver one two three i mounted why had i not disregarded the expense and gone to and does not pose his customers by the aid of a revolver i was sure would not put his through these degrading he took more trouble over this than any of the taken by surprise others i was from the back in front and in and if i escaped being made to appear ridiculous it can only be owing to the tragic earnestness which the consciousness of my awful situation lent to my expression as he took the last i rolled off the horse completely i think i gasped faintly i would rather be shot at once without waiting to be taken in any other positions i really am not equal to any more of this he was quite capable i felt of me in a if it once occurred to him compose yourself he said soothingly i have obtained all i wanted i shall not detain you much longer your life i may remark was never in any imminent danger as this revolver is i have now only to thank you for the readiness with which you have afforded me your co operation and to assure you that early copies of each of the photographs shall be forwarded for miss s inspection miss i exclaimed stay how do you know that name if i mistake not it was her photograph that you kindly brought for my guidance i ought to have mentioned perhaps that i once had the honour of being engaged to her until you no doubt from the highest motives invested my little gift of song with a of ridicule that ridicule i am by now enabled to repay with interest calculated up to the present date so you are s poet i burst out for somehow i had not completely identified him till that moment you scoundrel do you think i shall allow you to those with no by heavens my shall i rely upon the document you were kind enough to furnish he said quietly i fear that any legal proceedings you may resort to will hardly the you seem to fear allow me to the door good bye mind the step on the first landing might i beg you to recommend me amongst your friends i went out without another word he was mad of course or he would not have devised so outrageous a revenge for a fancied injury but he was cunning enough to be my match i knew too well that if i took any legal measures he would contrive to shift the whole burden of upon me i dared not court an inquiry for many reasons and so i was compelled to pass over this outrage in silence made frequent inquiries after the promised photograph and i had to them as well as i could which was a mistake in judgment on my part for one afternoon while i was actually sitting with her a packet arrived addressed to miss i did not suspect what it might contain until it taken by was too late she recognised that photographs inside the which she tore open with a cry of rapture and then she had a short fainting fit when she saw the hat and as soon as she revived the extraordinary appearance i presented down on the mast sent her into violent by the time she was in a condition to look at the portraits she had grown cold and hard as marble go she said indicating the door i see i have been wasting my affection upon a vulgar and heartless i went for she would listen to no explanations and indeed i doubt whether even were she	44
or not do it at all it s no pleasure to me to be general i can tell you and if i can t have perfect discipline in the ranks why we might as well drop the army altogether oh all right said jack who was a sweet tempered boy we won t do it again and they went off to carry out their separate instructions remaining by the i have to be a uttle sharp now and then he explained why if i didn t keep an iron rule over them they d be getting in no time you mustn t think i ve any objection to their playing or anything of that sort only discipline must be kept up though it seems severe perhaps to you it doesn t seem to be half bad fun for you at all events said of course added whose cheeks were flushed and eyes suspiciously bright as she plucked all the blades of grass that were within her reach we re glad if you re enjoying being here but it s a little slow for us girls you might give the army a half holiday now and then an army especially a small like ours said ought to be constantly prepared for action else it s no use then look at the pro and it is why we ve just built a fortified place close to the kitchen garden where you could all retire to if we were attacked and properly we could hold out for almost any time thank you said i should feel a good deal safer in the box room and then who s going to attack us well you never know replied but if they did come it s something to feel we should bo able to defend ourselves yes remarked an army would certainly be a great convenience then that would depend on what it did said her sister it wouldn t be much of a convenience if it ran away i don t think jack and would ever do that observed i suppose that means that you think i should inquired who was quick at discovering personal allusions i wasn t thinking about you at all said with supreme indifference we don t know you well enough to say whether you re brave or not we do know our brothers there wouldn t be much sense in my being the general if i wasn t the would there he demanded well as to that you see retorted we don t see much sense in any of it and girls can t be expected to see sense in anything he said at all events no one can be expected to see bravery till there s some danger said and there isn t the least that s all you know about it but i ve something more important to do than stay here i m off to see what the army s up to and he marched off with great pomp when he had disappeared remarked frankly isn t he a pig i don t think it s nice to call our visitors pigs remonstrated and he s not really more greedy than most boys don t lecture i didn t mean he was that kind of pig i said he was a pig and he is said not over i wonder what jack and can see in him i thought that when they wrote asking him to be invited that he d be sure to be such a jolly boy he may be a jolly boy at school was all that even the could find to urge in his favour i believe said that they re not nearly so mad about him as they were didn t you notice about the just now he them that s what it is explained only with talking i mean of course but he talks such a lot and he will have his own way and and if they say anything he reminds them he s a visitor and ought to be humoured i wish it was any use getting uncle to speak to him but he s so stupid is he though said a lazy voice from behind the h uncle cried i didn t know you were there don t was the answer i know it must be a trial to have an uncle on the verge of but bear with me i am at least harmless of course we know you re really rather clever said but you are stupid about some things you never interfere whatever people do don t i really said their uncle as he disposed himself on his back and his hat over his nose you do surprise me what a mistake for a man to make who has come down for perfect quiet whom shall i begin to interfere with well you might that horrid boy instead of encouraging him as you always do encourage him he s got a fine flow of martial enthusiasm and a good supply of military terms and i listen when he gives me long accounts of thrilling engagements when he came out uncommonly strong and the enemy so far as i can gather never came out at all i m passive because i can t help myself and then he me in his that s all and do you believe he s brave uncle i only know that i saw him kill two with his was the reply they don t the victoria cross for it but it s a thing i couldn t have done myself i should hope not exclaimed but everybody knows you re a coward she added she did not intend this remark to be taken seriously and you re awfully lazy still there are some things you might do if that means long leg till tea time i respectfully girls	44
have you never been taught that a uncle is a very solemn and sacred thing now you are going to be again but as to why you must know that we never get a game now and next summer i shall be too old to play i never moan to be too old for said with conviction but we ve had none for weeks uncle positive weeks quite right too observed uncle not a game for girls only spoil your hands do you think i want a set of with like so many signs that s utter nonsense said calmly because we always play in gloves mother makes us at least when we did play now the boys will only play soldiers and if they do happen to be in and for a set at comes up and orders them off as or or something but he s not or is he i always understood this was a free country you know what and jack are they can t bear their visitor to think he isn t welcome well they seem to have made him feel very much at home but it isn t my business if they choose to declare the house in a state of siege and turn the garden into a seat of war i can t help it i d rather they wouldn t but it s your mother s affair not mine and he closed the discussion by lighting a and into a contented silence uncle was short and stout with a round red face a heavy moustache and little green eyes which never seemed to notice anything his were fond of him though they often wished he would pay them the occasional compliment of talking sensibly but he never did and he spent all his time at the in doing nothing at all had gone off in a decided so much so indeed that he left his devoted army to carry out their rather misty without any help from him he was beginning to find a in their of late which was no doubt owing to their sisters it was excessively to him that those girls should be so difficult to convince of and the value of a fortress and especially that they should decline to take his own superior nerve and courage for granted and the worst of it was nothing but some imminent danger was ever likely to convince them such were their prejudice and later that afternoon the family assembled for tea in the cool shady dining room mrs with a gentle anxiety on her usually placid face sat at the head colonel was away shooting in the north just then where are all the boys she said looking round the table why don t they come in it s no use asking us mother said we see so very little of them ever very they are washing their hands said her mother so like them murmured uncle in confidence to his tea cake but here s the noble general at all events well field what have you done with the standing army addressed himself to his hostess h mrs i m so sorry i was late but i had just to run round to the stables for a minute oh the other two they re on duty they re guarding the camp in fact i can t stay here very long myself but the poor dear boys must have their tea cried mrs well you know said their officer as he helped himself to the i don t think and a little it is at all a bad thing for teaches them that a soldier s life is not all jam no said the general seems to get most of that all said was trouble one of you girls for the tea cake i don t think it s fair that the poor army should rough as you call it while you stuff said indignantly mustn t they come in to tea mother it is such nonsense yes dear run and call them in said mrs i can t let my boys go without their meals it s so bad for them it s not discipline said the chief still if they must come you had better take them this permit from me and he a line on a scrap of paper which he handed to who received it with the utmost disdain crossed the lawn and over a little rustic bridge to the kitchen garden and beyond which was the where the fortress had been erected it was a very imposing construction built with some help from the village carpenter of portions of some the had in it and above the top she could see a fluttering flag and the point of a tent jack was perched up on a kind of look out and was pacing solemnly before the covered entrance with a of very mild aspect over his shoulder and who goes there he called out some time after her vouchsafed no direct reply to this challenge you re to come in to tea directly she announced in her most tone advance and give the said the don t be a donkey returned tossing back her long brown hair impatiently his it is when a sister can t enter into the spirit of the thing better than that who ever heard of a being told on not to be a donkey my orders are to fire on all suspicious persons he informed her stopped both her ears no please it makes me jump so there s no cap on said he then there s a or a or something horrid she objected do turn it the other way s all right said jack in rebuke of this excessive zeal we can let her pass as if i wanted to pass exclaimed i only came to bring you back	44
to tea and if you re afraid to go without leave there s a permission from foi you oh come in and have a look now you re here said the garrison more you can t think how jolly the inside ist and well if i must she said though as a matter of fact she was exceedingly curious to see the interior of the it s like the ones in and treasure island you see explained jack proudly and it s pierced for too we could open a withering fire on before they could come near us they would have to be rather stupid to want to this wouldn t they said vi don t see that must something and it is snug isn t it now was secretly much impressed in the centre of the was the commander s tent with a lantern fixed at the pole for night watches and and carpets were strewn about at one of the angles of the was the look out an elaborate of old wine cases and egg boxes on the top of which was fixed a seven and that commanded the surrounding country for quite a hundred yards she was not the person however to go into she merely smiled a rather little smile and said mar but somehow whatever sarcasm this was accepted by both boys as a tribute you can see now said in a reasonable tone that there wouldn t have been room here for all you girls now would there and girls are always in the way everywhere said with a which was quite lost upon her brothers i knew you d be sensible about it said jack you can t think what fun we have in here especially at night when the lantern s lit there s some one calling a shrill whistle sounded from the kitchen garden and a moment after a stone came flying over the and was stopped by the canvas of the tent that s cool cheek said jack get up and quick mounted the and brought the to bear upon the immediate neighbourhood with admirable coolness and science but no particular result we shall have to the bush and see if we can find any traces of the enemy said he with infinite relish was that the stone said pointing to one that lay at the foot of the fence because there seems to be some paper wrapped round it so there is said jack proceeding to it presently he exclaimed i say what is it now asked nothing for it s private said jack mysteriously here come down and look at this read it and whistled we must report this to the general at once he said gravely both boys were very solemn and yet had a certain novel air of satisfied importance shall we tell her asked she must know it some time returned jack we ll break it by degrees we ve just had notice that we re going to be attacked by bed indians don t be alarmed i ll try not to be she said conquering a very strong inclination to laugh she saw that they took it quite seriously and though she had at once suspected that some one in the village was playing them a trick she did not choose to them had a malicious desire to see what the general would do i don t believe he will like the idea at all she said to herself what fun it will be s expectations seemed about to be fulfilled for already she could hear steps on the plank of the uttle bridge and in another minute the general himself entered the fortress i say you fellows he began this is too bad no one on guard and a girl inside why she might be a spy for anything you could tell thank you said for this was rather trying to a person of her dignity i say general began jack never mind about f us now we ve some queer news to report this has just fallen into our hands watched closely as he read the paper it was and printed in lead pencil and contained these words on the on the i herd them saying they ment to fort at from a she was soon compelled to own that she had done him a great injustice he was certainly as far as possible from betraying the slightest fear on tho contrary his eye seemed actually to with satisfaction he behaved exactly as all heroes in books of adventure do on such occasions he went through it twice carefully and then inquired at what time the warning had arrived about five minutes ago bound a stone answered with true military this will be a bad business observed the general his face brightening with the joy of battle we have no time to spare we must give these a lesson they will not forget this was out of the books look to your arms my men and see that we are for a siege you might get the cook to give us some of that and the rest of the cake we had at tea private jack we cannot tell to what straits we may be reduced then inquired you mean to stay here and fight them to the last gasp said the general liked him better then than she had done since his first arrival he really is a boy after all she thought i wonder if it will last act the second where is the the general s self possession and resource were indeed remarkable we ought to have a cannon he said there s a big roll of somewhere in the house if we got that and a and it through it would look just like the of a cannon in the dark would that	44
frighten a bed indian much asked not if he knew what it was perhaps but who s going to tell him jack just run up to the house like a good fellow and see if you can find it will you you can go with him you seem rather to like the idea of being attacked said when she and were alone together he was gratified to notice the new friendliness in her voice well you see he explained i don t and suppose i m than most people but it just happens that i m not afraid of indians that s all when i saw all those at bill s i wasn t even excited it s constitutional i fancy he always his talk a good deal upon books and a crisis like this naturally brought out his largest language i d better see you safe back to the house i think he added i don t expect them for an hour yet but you can never depend on savages they might be lurking about the grounds already for what we know and although had her own private ideas about the reality of the danger she was struck by his coolness and courage for which whether justified or not by the occasion she was quite fair minded enough to give him due credit meanwhile the other two boys bursting with excitement had rushed up to the under which their mother and uncle were sitting mother uncle what do you think our camp is going to be attacked this very night by indians yes said mrs serenely but have you had your yet trifle such as these the martial soul more than but mother did you hear what we said the fort is to be by very well so long as you don t make too much noise was the sole comment of this most and placid lady what she ought to have done was of course to throw down her work raise her eyes to the clouds clasp her hands and observe in an agitated tone heaven protect us we are lost but few mothers are capable of really rising to of this kind and had been playing and the alarming news came up to the steps of the did you say bed indians were coming here uncle shook his head i always warned your father he remarked but he would come to live in why inquired is a bad place for bed indians uncle i should say it was one of the worst places in all europe he said solemnly both and had heard and read a good deal about bed indians lately and had also with their brothers visited the american exhibition so that it did not strike either of them as just then that there should be a few scattered about in england just as are but what are you going to do about it they asked their brother em of course said now you see that an army is some use after all don t be taken alive there s good boys advised their frivolous uncle who seemed still unable to f and the extreme gravity of the occasion sell your as dearly as possible what is the use of telling them that uncle exclaimed they wouldn t get the money and do you think any of us would touch it how can you talk in that horrid way jack and don t go to that camp let the indians have it if they want to you can soon build another you don t understand said jack impatiently we can t have a lot of indians in our camp it wouldn t be safe for you oh i shall go and speak to she cried i m sure he won t want to fight them and she ran down to the end of the lawn where he could be seen returning with i want to speak to you quite alone she said no it s a secret and she drew him aside she said and her blue eyes were dark with fear tell me are the indians really coming you can judge for yourself he said and gave her the paper we ve just had this thrown over the it seems to have been written by somebody who is in their secrets how badly indians do spell said shuddering as she read it may be a white man s writing he said perhaps a prisoner or a who but dear entreated ten minutes and ago she would not have added the epithet you won t stay out and sit up for them will you do you think we re a set of he demanded not you but but jack and are very big boys are they i mean they re a little too young to fight full sized indians there will be all sorts of sized indians i expect said of course i don t say they ll come they may think discretion s the better part of when they find we re prepared but i must say i anticipate an attack myself i wish you would do without jack and couldn t you suggested his eyes gleamed he said tell me the worst the army are getting in a no she cried and then she resolved to sacrifice their reputation for their safety at least they haven t said anything but i m sure they d feel more comfortable in the drawing room can t you order them to stay and guard us you re general and i am to face the foe alone he cried weu i am older than them i must decline to be responsible for the grammar of the characters of this story i have lived my life i shall be the less missed let it be as you say all this was strictly according to the books and be enjoyed himself immensely	44
thank you dear dear i d no idea and you were so noble and brave try not to let those indians hit you i cannot answer for the future he said but since you wish it i will do my best after all there was some good in girls here was one who said exactly the right things without any whatever hunted up jack and who were about in the house you re not to guard the she announced with ill concealed triumph oh aren t we though said who says so not mother no he said i was to tell you to go on duty in the drawing room what said as if any indians would come there i don t care what says i shall go in the so shall i said jack now let s get that piece of and go down sharp the evening star s out already poor was in despair what was to be done when they were so obstinate as this i know where there s some beautiful she said where tell us quick come with me and i ll show you she led the way along a corridor to the wing where the was wait till i see if it s there still she said and and went into the room and looked around yes it is there she told them as she came out i don t see it where they cried from within shut the door softly and turned the key which she had managed to abstract on entering in the outer lock it s on the floor she cried through the i didn t tell a story and don t be angry boys dear it s all for your good then without waiting to hear their indignant she along the corridor and down the staircase with the sounds of muffled shouts and growing fainter behind h r i don t mind so much now she thought they ll be awfully angry when they come out but the indians will have gone by that time had already retreated to his when she entered the drawing room everything seemed as usual uncle in evening dress was playing from mrs came down presently and he took her in to dinner with one of his tiresome jokes no one seemed at all anxious about poor fighting all alone down in the she curled herself up on a by one of the open windows and listened trying to catch the sound of indian she said anxiously do you think the indians will hurt and gave a little laugh i don t think the army s in any very great danger she replied doesn t believe there are any indians at all explained well said softly i ve kept the army out of danger whether there are or not but she felt relieved by her sisters evident tranquillity and by and by when mrs came in from the dining room and settled down with her as if there were not the least chance of a savage coming in the open window almost forgot her fears they came back in full force however as a little later on she heard a quick light step on the gravel outside and started with a little scream of terror don t tell them where the army are she cried and then she saw that her alarm was needless for it was the gallant general who stepped into the room looked up from the which she was making for a children s hospital threw away her book mrs had ceased to but that was because she was peacefully victory said waving his sword then they did come cried triumphantly he replied i couldn t tell how many there were but they were overcome with panic at the first discharge i fancy these indians had never beard and how funny that we shouldn t have heard any now remarked resting her chin on her palms while her grey eyes had a rather mocking sparkle in them not funny at all he said considering the wind was the other way i let them come on and then poured a into the part of their ranks that made them and then i made a and you should have just seen them i wish i had said as she another christmas card into her and weren t you wounded at all a mere scratch he said lightly which is what book heroes always say it looks as if you had been amongst the bushes said examining his arm as he pulled up his sleeve does it well i only know it s lucky for me there were no poisoned arrows t you to have it burnt though just in case suggested in all good faith there s sure to be a red hot in the kitchen but was very decidedly of opinion that such a precaution was not necessary and you re quite sure the indians are all gone she asked there isn t one of em within miles said i ll answer fo that and then come upstairs with me and we ll let the army out they ll be in such a temper they found the two boys who had tired of kicking and shouting by that time sitting gloomily on the long seats in the dark dear jack said timidly you can come out now has beaten the indians without us groaned i ll never speak to you again i we you don t think we do you she locked us up here all the general s native came out now we won t say any more about it he said it was rather a close with only one man to do it all but there i managed somehow and perhaps it was just as well you weren t there the first rush was no joke i can tell you jack his own	44
head with both hands oh it s too bad he said he was almost in tears they ll all think we deserted you did you kill many of them i didn t see any he replied but i shouldn t be surprised if some of them died when they got home they may come again to morrow night said jack more cheerfully not much fear of that they ve had their lesson they were seized with utter panic and which way did they go asked evidently bent on pursuing them oh in all directions but you wouldn t catch them up now they ran too fast for me even then i shall go to bed said the entire army in great depression it is a shame we couldn t be there good night general and poor they marched off to their quarters she looked wistfully after them they ll never forgive me i know they won t she said to don t you mind he said you acted very wisely and after all these raw young troops can never be depended on under fire you know i mean under arrows drew herself up a little i locked them in because i didn t want them to get hurt she said not because i thought they d be afraid uncle did not hear about the result of the engagement until the following day but then to make up for any delay he heard a good deal about it even was not quite prepared for the enthusiasm he showed splendid my boy splendid he repeating while he hit him rather hard on the back you re a hero a grateful country ought to give you the for it i shall take care this affair is generally known and and the poor army looked on hot cheeks and envious eyes but for they might have been heroes too even seemed to have understood that a really brilliant victory had been achieved she brought a magnificent flag of pink glazed on which she had painted in crimson letters indians terror i did not think of making the motto seven at one blow she said with a mischievous i uke the other best said the general jack and went down to the camp as usual but for some time they were in very low spirits in spite of their commander s well meant efforts to raise them you ll do better next time he said kindly but we ve told you over and over again how it was they would exclaim yes i know i know it s all right i m not complaining i never expected you to be as cool as i was your first time but even this did not seem to console the army to any large extent they their shoulders and kicked pebbles about with great apparent interest the fact was they could not help seeing that they had lost their it was true that their mother q nd elder sister at least in spite of the flag did not to treat tbe past with all the seriousness s it deserved it even struck jack and sometimes that they were under the delusion that the whole thing had been only a new development of the game but as the general said even if that were so it was kinder not to them he certainly was contented to leave them in their error he knew well enough what he had had to go through he did not like even now to think of his despair when he found he would have to face the danger all alone he was always making the army by little of this kind and they had cruel that uncle though he was always quite kind and encouraging did not in his heart believe that their unfortunate absence in the hour of peril was quite an accident on their part how they longed for an opportunity of wiping out their disgrace and how their hearts sank when from the depths of his experience declared it very improbable that the attack would ever again be renewed in the school stories the good boy who refuses to fight when he is kicked and is sent to as a coward always gets a speedy chance to clear his character generally the very boy who kicked him falls into a mill stream or a convenient horse runs away or else a mad but considerate bull comes into the and the good boy is always at hand to or hang on to the bridle and be dragged several yards in the dust or retreat backwards throwing down first his hat and and then his coat to amuse and detain the bull but out of stories unfortunately as even jack and dimly perceived things are not always arranged so satisfactorily they might have to wait for weeks perhaps months or years before uncle fell into the fish pond and even if he did he could probably swim better than they could then they were neither of them sure that they could successfully stop a horse or a bull without a httle more practice than they had had as yet however fortune was kind and took pity on them in a most unexpected manner for one morning soon after breakfast when was in the music room and and feeding their jack came up in a highly excited state of mind to the where his officer was seated doing nothing in particular general he said with a very creditable salute do come down to the camp at once oh bother said the warrior who had by the way shown rather a tendency to rest on his of late no but it isn t really protested jack it s something you ll like awfully the general marched down in a very stately manner it would have been to run eager as he was to get down to the	44
thinking it not p and unlikely that the carpenter really had found time to make a cannon for them after all or at the very least that there would be some change in the internal arrangements of the which it would be his duty as superior officer to if not condemn now it must be explained here that during the last two or three days the outside wall of the fort had been with various bills all in the recent of the enemy by a single handed and containing most insulting reflections on the courage of indians as a race while in case they might not have enough knowledge of english to understand these they were accompanied by sketches which were certainly enough to the least susceptible savage to do justice they were not due to any on his part but had all been executed by the army in the wild hope that they might thus stir up the foe to a fresh demonstration when they themselves might recover their lost spurs these as found on reaching the had been over with a kind of red and yellow paint so as to be quite said but that s not the best of it for we found this pinned with an arrow to one of the posts and he produced a thin strip of white bark on which were writing and drawings in crimson they must have done it with their own blood ofl commented jack with great but read it do read it did not need a second invitation to read the document which was as follows na sa yellow chief of blade tribe to the great white chief tin defiance the of yellow wants but one ornament the of the white chief yellow has seen the calling the red warriors women with the hearts of deer he will show the that the anger of the dusky ones is a big heap lot terrible when the sun has set behind the hills and the stars light their watch fires then will yellow and his be at hand the of the shall adorn the of the man in order that there should be no possible mistake about the intention the message was by a rude representation of the process of evidently the work of a practised hand didn t i tell you we had something jolly to show you exclaimed jack but joy or some equally powerful emotion rendered the general incapable of speaking for several moments and act the where is the general it was some little time before gave any opinion upon this document he turned exceedingly red and examined it suspiciously on both sides it seemed as if he did not altogether welcome this second opportunity for himself when he spoke it was with a sort of angry anxiety you think yourselves very clever i dare say he said but you needn t fancy you ll take me in come you had better say so at once you did this selves it is not half bad i will say that for it that we didn t cried why just look at it any one could see that it s an indian s doing no it s all right they really are coming it s all i tell you said still more angrily though he was paler again now what should indians come here for well he says why there said jack and they came the other evening s colour rose again that s different he said i mean it s not the same tribe no these are black said jack what were the first ones i didn t ask them said the general shortly how many should you think na and what s his will bring asked as many as came the other evening how many did come the first time do you think i had nothing better to do than count he retorted is there anything else you would like to know well we ll hang out the lantern to night and watch how many come inside its rays said jack with a which displeased his chief you wouldn t be quite so jolly cheerful over it if you knew what it was like he grumbled why not said you beat the others easily enough by yourself and we shall be three this time oh it s all very fine to talk retorted the general but we shall see what your mother and uncle say about it they they may think we ought not to take any notice of it jack s eyes opened wide at this not take any notice of an attack by black i don t see how we can very well help noticing it it all depends on what mrs says replied the conscientious general i m only a visitor here and it wouldn t be the right thing for me to lead you into danger without leave well you weren t so particular the first time the indians came remarked will you shut up about that first time the commander burst out in it s the and second time now that is if it isn t all that s what i mean to find out first you stay here till i come back will you taking the strip of bark with him he went slowly up to the house he had an uneasy feeling that the indian s challenge was genuine enough but he still hoped to have it pronounced a this may seem strange indeed to some considering the courage of which he had already given proof but i do not wish to make any further mystery particularly as most of my readers will probably have already guessed the secret of this apparent contrast the fact is then that had the best of reasons for being cool and courageous on the previous occasion those indians were entirely imaginary he had written the warning	44
danger he said with meaning mind not in the very least so long as you are enjoying yourself she said kindly there went one card he had but one more could you let and george they were the butler and page come down to the camp about half past eight we should be so much safer if we had them with us what are you thinking of we dine at eight remember how can i send either of them down then you really must be reasonable was by no means an ill boy in general but fear made him insolent at this of course if you think your dinner is more important than us he burst out hotly i can t allow you to speak to me in that way it is ridiculous for you to expect me to alter my arrangements to suit your convenience said mrs leave the room or i shall be really angry with you i don t wish to hear any more go he went with a swelling heart and in the garden he met if he could only induce her to beg him not to risk his life again he disclosed the situation as as he could but alas seemed perfectly tranquil and i m not a bit afraid this time she said because you beat them so easily before there s only one thing you know i t lock the army in again they ve made it up but they so cross over it so i want you to promise to look after them i shall have enough to do to look after myself i expect he answered roughly you don t know what these indians are oh but i do i saw them at the wild west i thought they looked rather nice then and you know you frightened them so before you are so awfully brave aren t you i i don t think i feel quite so awfully brave as i did then he admitted ah but you will jack and will be quite safe with you good bye i m going to get some leaves for my and she ran off cheerfully it was his hard fate that everybody persisted in treating the affair in one of two ways either they looked upon it as part of the army game or else considered him such a champion on the strength of his past exploits that there was practically no danger even if a whole tribe of came to attack him luncheon that day was a terrible meal for him uncle though he was too great a coward to go near the fight himself seemed very anxious that and the should be in good condition give yourself a chance general he would say another of this may just turn the scale between you and yellow look at the army they re for a regular siege but was quite unable to follow their example he was annoyed with them for what he considered was showing off though he might have reflected that to three of jam in rapid succession was an almost impossible form of the rest of the afternoon he spent in trying to lower the army s confidence by telling all the stories of indian warfare he could think of but he frightened himself a great deal more than them and at last had to abandon the attempt in despair for jack and had no nerves to speak of they were eager to clear their reputation and the possibility of harm coming to them did not seem to present itself they had formed rather a poor opinion of bill s indians whose yell turned out to be very uttle more than short and who ran away directly a showed his nose hadn t defeated them with ease already what had done alone they surely could do together and then they had an unbounded belief in the character of their found that he could not them without exposing himself which he would still rather and die than do and he about the grounds making a little mental calculation whenever a clock struck in the heavy afternoon stillness in so many hours from this i shall be fighting hand to hand with real indians then at tea time he thought for the first time the smell of cake quite detestable and he hardly knew how he forced himself to sit quietly on his chair general said uncle before you so to speak go to the front and occupy the post of danger will you oblige me by drawing up the troops before the i should like though unable to accompany you myself to say a few words of farewell and addressed the army soldiers he said a great responsibility rests upon you this day you are expected solemnly and earnestly to strive your utmost not to let the red man dance by our red tree to quote with a trifling from s for myself i have no fears of the result under the of your general victory must crown your arms we peaceful shall rest secure in the absolute confidence such protection and be the first to welcome your triumphant return should your hearts fail you at any moment i have already instructed you how to act and to the commander himself i should consider the mere suggestion an impertinence go then devoted spirits where glory leads and endeavour to avoid the of if only for the sake of appearances soldiers i have done may the god of battles i need hardly explain to scholars that i refer to keep his eye on you and were also on the and used their handkerchiefs freely but principally to conceal their mouths they ll be sorry they laughed by and by thought they ll wish they had cried just a little perhaps a reflection the pathos of which very nearly made him cry	44
the general had already vanished he was crouching outside in the shadow of the he could not bear being up any longer he must at least have a run for his life had the enemy heard him declare his innocence if so it did not seem to have softened them they were stiu crouching silent hidden behind the bushes their to one another for no real ever made so much and noise as that he must make a bolt for it and take his chance of their arrows missing him over the open space of grey green grass he and actually succeeded in reaching the friendly shadow of the hedge but that was probably because they felt so certain of cutting him off at their pleasure on and trembling went the general along the narrow paths green with damp and by the shadows which branches cast in the sickly moonlight just when he was almost clear of the gloom his knees bent under him for there at the end of the walk against the sky stood a towering figure with feather head dress and poised oh please sir don t he faltered and shut his eyes expecting the indian to bound upon him but when he opened his eyes again the savage was gone he must have slipped behind a ragged old which had once been and trimmed to look like a king on through the which was full of terrors warriors stealthy and cruel behind every rustling laurel far away on the lawn he saw their through the tall grass he heard them and in every as they lay in wait for him until at last he gained the broad gravel path at the end of oh how far away they seemed i and were the three lighted windows of the he could see the interior quite plainly and the group round the piano where the shaded lamp made a spot of brilliant colour what were they all doing were they huddled together waiting watching in an agony of suspense nothing of the kind it will be scarcely perhaps but this heartless domestic circle were positively passing the time with music as if nothing were happening if only he could reach that bright drawing room before the rush came he felt that there were forms stealing along behind the flower beds he dared not run but dragged his heavy feet along the gravel and then all at once from the bushes rose a wild yell he could bear it no longer he would make one last effort even if they him on the very somehow he never knew how he found himself in the of that quiet musical party wild with terror scarcely able to speak the indians he gasped don t let them get me save me hide me somewhere and he remembered afterwards that he made a mad endeavour to get inside the piano he was instantly surrounded by the astonished family my dear said mrs you re perfectly you ve been yourself with your own game there are no indians here another howl from the seemed to contradict her there didn t you hear that he cried oh you won t believe me till it s too late there are hundreds of them round the they may have jack and by this time and why ain t you being too inquired uncle i m sure you needn t talk he retorted you weren t any more anxious to fight than i am but isn t that different i thought you had fought them before and conquered then you thought wrong those those weren t real indians i made them up then now we ve got it said uncle well master you ve made your little confession and now it s my turn i made yellow up are you really sure on your honour he asked eagerly honest said you see i began to think the military business was getting rather the army uke s world was too much with us and it occurred to me to see whether the general s courage would stand an outside so i composed that little challenge yes you see before you the only na sa no others are genuine felt that those girls were laughing at him they had probably been in the secret for some time but he could not care much just then the relief was bo delicious it was too bad of you said mrs he was really horribly frightened and there are those other two down in the all alone you might have thought of that they will be half out of their minds by this time my dear was the reply don t be uneasy i did think of it the moment they begin to feel at all uncomfortable they have directions to open a certain packet which explains the whole thing if the gallant general had not been in quite such a hurry he would have spared himself this unpleasant experience let s all go down and see how they re getting on said i know this said the general sullenly they were in quite as big a as i was then why didn t they run in and ask to be hidden too inquired why because they didn t dare retorted boldly you know he remarked to as they were going down together through the warm darkness it s not fair of your uncle to play these tricks on fellows perhaps it isn t quite said but then he didn t begin did he shouted uncle as they and the and he was answered by a ringing cheer from the fortress come on we ain t afraid of you don t there see what you ll get and a of peas and small shot flew about their ears ran forward hi stop that spare our	44
lives he cried laughing jack you young rascal put down that confounded can t you see we re not indians what is it you uncle said in a rather tone where are the indians then they had to go up to town to see their but do you mean to say you haven t opened my envelope after all i thought you told us it was only in case we got frightened said jack what does the general say to that cried but was nowhere to be found he had slipped off to his bedroom and the next morning he announced at breakfast that he thought his people would be wanting him at home so the army was for there was a general and on the afternoon after s departure the entire family engaged in a grand match when lazy uncle came out unexpectedly strong as an i shut out it is towards the end of an afternoon in december and is walking along a crowded london street with his face turned westward a few moments ago and he was scarcely conscious of where he was or where he meant to go he was walking on mechanically in a heavy stupor through which there stole a haunting sense of degradation and despair that tortured him and suddenly as if by magic this has vanished he seems to himself to have from a miserable day dream to the consciousness of youth and hope which are subject to fits of heavy and depression have their sometimes in the reaction which follows the cares as in s poem fold their tents like the and as silently steal away and with their retreat comes an exquisite which more dispositions can never experience is this so with now he only knows that the cloud has lifted from his brain and that in the clear sunshine which bursts upon him now he can shut out look his sorrows in the face and know that there is nothing so terrible in them after all it is true that he is not happy at the big city day school which he has just left how should he be he is dull and and uncouth and knows too well that he is an object of general dislike no one there cares to associate with him and he makes no attempt to overcome their prejudices being perfectly aware that they are different from him and them for it but himself perhaps the most and though all his evenings are spent at home there is little rest for him even there for the work for the next day must be prepared and he sits over it till late sometimes with desperate efforts to master the difficulties but more often staring at the page before him with eyes that are almost vacant all this has been and is enough in itself to account for the gloomy state into which he had sunk but how could he have forgotten it it is over for the present to night he will not have to sit up struggling with the tasks which will only cover him with fresh disgrace on the morrow for a whole month he need not think of them nor of the classes in which the hand of is against him for the holidays have begun to day has been the last of the term is there no reason for joy and in that what a fool he has been to let those black thoughts gain such a hold over him shut out slowly more as if it had all happened a long time ago instead of quite recently the incidents of the morning come back to him vivid and clear once more morning chapel and the doctor s sermon and afterwards the pretence of work and relaxed discipline in the class rooms when the results of the had been read out with the names of the boys who had gained and their remove to the form above he had come out last of course but no one expected anything else from him a laugh had gone round the when his humble total closed the list and he had joined in it to show them he didn t care and then the class had been dismissed and there had been friendly good arrangements for walking home in company or for meeting during the holidays for all but him he had gone out alone and the dull had come over him from which he has only just recovered but for the present at all events he has got rid of it completely he is going home where at least he is not despised where he will find a from and and and the longer he thinks of this the higher his spirits rise and he steps briskly with a kind of exultation until the people he passes in the streets turn and look at him struck by his expression they can see how jolly i m feeling he thinks with a smile the dusk is falling and the shops he passes are brilliant with lights and but he does not shut out stop to look at any of them his mind is busy with settling how he shall employ himself on this the first evening of his liberty the first for so long on which he could feel his own master at first he to read is there not some book he had begun and meant to finish so many days ago now that he has even forgotten what it was all about and only remembers that it was exciting and yet he thinks he won t read to night not on the very first night of the holidays quite yesterday or the day before his mother had spoken to him gently but very seriously about what she called the and savage fits which would bring misery upon him if he did not set	44
himself earnestly to overcome them and there were times he knew when it seemed as if a demon possessed him and drove him to wound even those who loved him and whom he loved times when their affection only roused in him some hideous spirit of sullen contradiction he feels softened now somehow and has a new longing for the love he has so often harshly he will overcome this of his he will begin this very evening as soon as he gets home he will tell his mother that he is sorry that he does love her really only that when these fits come on him he hardly knows what he says or does and she will forgive him only too gladly and his mind will be quite at ease again no not quite shut out there is still something he must do before that he has a vague recollection of a long standing coolness between himself and his younger brother they never have got on very well together is so different much even already for one thing better looking too and better tempered whatever they quarrelled about is very sure that he was the never begins that kind of thing but he will put himself in the right at once and ask to make friends again he will consent readily enough he always does and then he has a bright idea he will take his brother some little present to prove that he really wishes to behave decently for the future what shall he buy he finds himself near a large toy shop at the time and in the window are displayed several of brightly coloured tin warriors the very thing is still young enough to delight in them feeling in his pockets more loose silver than he had thought he possessed and so he goes into the shop and asks for one of the boxes of soldiers he is served by one of two neatly dressed female who stare and at one another at his first words finding it odd perhaps that a fellow of his age should buy toys as if he thinks indignantly they couldn t see that it was not for himself he wanted the things but he goes on feeling happier after his purchase shut out they will see now that he is not so bad after all it is long since he has felt such a craving to be thought well of by somebody a little farther on he comes to a row of people mostly women and s boys standing on the stone opposite a man who is seated in a little wooden box on wheels drawn up close to the pavement he is and blind with a pinched white face framed in an old fashioned fur cap with big ear he seems to be preaching or reading and stops idly enough to listen for a few moments the women making room for him with alacrity and the boys staring curiously round at the new arrival with a grin he hardly pays much attention to this he is listening to the poem which the man in the box is with a and in his voice there s a harp and a crown for you and or me hanging on the boughs of christmas tree i he hears and then on again repeating the mechanically to himself without seeing anything particularly ludicrous about it the words have reminded him of that christmas party at the next door did not ask him particularly to come and did he not refuse her sullenly what a brute he was to treat her like that shut out if she were to him he thinks he would not say no though he does hate parties is a dear girl and never seems to think him good for nothing as most people do perhaps it is sham though no he can t think that when he remembers how patiently and kindly she has borne with his senseless fits of temper and tried to laugh away his gloom not every girl as pretty as is would care to notice him and persist in it in spite of everything yet he has with her of late was it because she had favoured he is ashamed to think that this may have been the reason never mind that is all over now he will start clear with everybody he will ask too to forgive him is there nothing he can do to please her yes some time ago she had asked him to draw something for her he drawing lessons but be has rather a taste for drawing things out of his own head he had told her not too that he had work enough without doing drawings for girls he will paint her something to night as a surprise he will begin as soon as tea is cleared away it will be more than reading a book and then already he sees a vision of the warm little room and himself getting out his colour box and sitting down to paint by lamp for any light does for his kind of while own his mother sits opposite and watches the picture growing under his hand what shall he draw he gets quite absorbed in thinking over this his own tastes run in a direction but perhaps being a girl may not care for battles or desperate a compromise strikes him he will draw a ship that will be rate with the black flag flying on the and the captain on the the ocean with a big glass in search of all about the deck and he can put the crew with red caps and stuck full of pistols and and on the right there shall be a bit of the island with a mast and another black flag he knows he will enjoy picking out the skull and cross bones in thick	44
chinese white and then if there is room he will add a cannon and perhaps a palm tree a island always has palm trees he is so full of this projected picture of his that he is quite surprised to find that he is very near the square where he lives but here just in front of him at the end of the narrow lane is the public house with the coach and four engraved on the ground glass of the lower part of the and above it the bottles full of coloured water and here is the s how long is it since it was a s surely a very little time and there is the s with its outside display shut out of dangling shoes and the row of naked gas blown to pale blue and whistling red tongues by turns as a gust sweeps across them this is his home this uttle dingy old fashioned red brick house at an angle of the square with a small paved space in before it he open the old gate with the iron arch above where an oil lamp used to hang and up to the door with the heavy shell shaped porch impatient to get to the warmth and which await him within the bell has got out of order for only a faint comes from below as he rings he waits a little and then the handle again more sharply this time and still no one comes when does think proper to come up and open the door he will tell her that it is too bad keeping a fellow standing out here in the fog and cold all this time she is coming at last no it was fancy it seems as if had out for something and perhaps the cook is upstairs and his mother may be by the fire as she has begun to do of late losing all patience he for the and groping in vain begins to hammer with bare fists on the door louder and louder until he is interrupted by a rough voice from the behind him now then what are you up to there eh shut out s the voice which belongs to a policeman who has stopped suspiciously on the pavement why says i want to get in and i can t make them hear me i wish you d try what you can do will you the comes slowly in to the gate i he says is there else come suppose you move on a curious kind of dread of he knows not what begins to creep over at this move on he cries why should i move on this is my house don t you see i live here now look ere my i don t want a job over this says the you ll bring a crowd round in another minute if you keep on that mind your own business says the other with growing excitement that s what you ll make me do if you don t look out is the retort will you move on before i make you but i say i m not give you my word i m not i do live here why i ve just come back from school and i can t get in pretty school you come from the on to your lesson books if i knows anything ere out you go s fear i won t i won t he cries and rushing back to the door shut out beats upon it wildly on the other side of it are love and shelter and it will not open to him he is cold and hungry and tired after his walk why do they keep him out like this mother he calls hoarsely can t you hear me mother it s let me in the other takes him not roughly by the shoulder now you take my advice he says you ain t quite yourself you re making a mistake i don t want to get you in trouble if you don t force me to it drop this ere game and go home quiet to wherever it is you do live i tell you i live here you fool shrieks in deadly terror lest he should be forced away before the door is opened and i tell you you don t do nothing of the sort says the policeman beginning to lose his temper no one don t live ere nor ain t done not since i ve bin on the beat use your eyes if you re not too far gone for the first time seems to see things plainly as they are he glances round the square that is just as it always is on winter evenings with its central a shadowy black patch against a glimmer beyond which the lighted windows of the houses make yellow bars of varying length and tint but this house his own why it is all and dark some of the window pan s are broken shut out there is a pale grey patch in one that looks like a dingy bill the has been from the door and on its scraped has words and rough that were surely not there when he left that morning can anything any frightful disaster have come in that short time no he will not think of it he will not let himself be terrified all for nothing now are you goin says the policeman after a pause puts his back against the door and to the sides no he shouts i don t care what you say i don t you they are all in there they are i tell you they are they are in a second he is in the s strong grasp and being dragged struggling violently to the gate when a soft voice a woman s for him	44
as i mean to have i can t say more than that in the way of enjoyment he turns on his heel at the last words and oflf down the narrow lane by which he had come stands for a while looking after his receding form till the fog round it and she can see it no more she feels as if she had seen a ghost and for her at least the before the deserted house next door will be haunted haunted by a forlorn and sobbing there by the as for the man he goes on his way until he finds a door which alas is not closed against him hero a small boys it was the night after had been taken to his first and he had been lying asleep in his little bedroom for now that he was nine he slept in the night nursery no longer he had been asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a brilliant red glare at first he was afraid the house was on fire but when the red turned to a dazzling green he gave a great gasp of delight for he thought the scene was still going on and there s all the best part still to come he said to himself but as he became wider awake he saw that it was out of the question to expect his bedroom to hold all those wonders and he was almost surprised to see that there was even so much as a single fairy in it a fairy there was nevertheless she stood there with a star in her hair and her dress out all around her just as he had seen her a few hours before when she rose up with little inside a great gilded shell and spoke some poetry which he didn t quite catch s hero she spoke audibly enough now nor was her voice bo as it had sounded before little boy she began i am the ruling genius of you entered my kingdom for the first time last night how did you enjoy yourself h said so much it was splendid thank you she smiled and seemed well pleased i always call to inquire on a new acquaintance she said and so you liked our as every sensible boy does well it is in my power to reward you every night for a certain time you shall see again the things you liked best what did you like best the part said promptly for it ought to be said here that he was a boy who had always had a leaning to the kind of practical fun which he saw carried out by the to a pitch of perfection which at once enchanted and him till that he had thought himself a funny boy in his way and it had surprised him that his family had not found him more amusing than did but now he felt all at once that he was only a very humble and had never understood what real fun was for he had not much above hiding behind doors and out suddenly on a passing servant causing her to jump delightfully once indeed he used to be able to sell his family by pretending all s hero manner of but they had grown bo stupid lately that they never believed a single word be said no the would not own him as a he would despise his little attempts at practical jokes still thought i can try to be more like him perhaps he will come to hear of me some day for he had never met anyone he admired half so much as that who was always in a good temper to be sure he had everything his own way but then he deserved to always quick and ready with his excuses and if he did run away in times of danger it was not because he was really afraid then how impudent he was to who but he would have dared to a large by making a door mat of it or to ask the prices of on purpose to throw mud at them not that he couldn t be serious when he chose for once he a union jack and said something quite noble which made everybody clap their hands for two minutes and he told people the best shops to go to for a quantity of things and he could not have been joking then for they were the same names that were to be seen on all the this will explain how it was natural that on being asked which part of the he preferred should say without the slightest hesitation ob the part s the fairy seemed less pleased the part she repeated what those shop scenes on right at the end without rhyme or reason yes said those ones and the great wood with the shifting green and violet lights and the white bands of dancing in circles didn t you like them oh yes said the candid pretty well i didn t care much for them well she said but you liked the grand with all their gorgeous dresses and monstrous figures surely you liked them there was such a lot of it said the was the best and if you could you d rather see those last scenes again than all the rest she said frowning a little oh wouldn t i just said but may i really and truly i see you are not one of my boys said the genius of rather sadly it so happens that those closing scenes are the very ones i have least control over they are a part of my kingdom which has fallen into sad decay and rebellion but one thing i can do for you i will give you the for a friend and companion and much good may	44
he do you but would he come he asked hardly daring to believe in such condescension s hero he must if i bid him it is for you to make him feel comfortable and at home with you the longer you can keep him the better i shall be pleased oh how kind of you he cried he shall stay all the holidays i d rather have him than anybody else what fun we shall have what fun the green faded out and the fairy with it he must have fallen asleep again for when he opened his eyes there was the at the foot of his bed making a face said the i say are you the nice little boy i was told to come and stay with yes yes said i am so glad to see you i m just going to get up i know you are said the and upset him out of bed into the cold bath this he could not help thinking a little bit unkind of the on such a cold morning particularly as he followed it up by throwing a hair brush two pieces of soap and a of shoes at him before he could get out again but it woke him at all events and he ventured with great respect to throw one of the shoes back it just the s top knot to s alarm the set up a as if he was injured you cruel unkind little boy he sobbed to play bo rough with a poor s hero but you threw them at me first pleaded and much harder too i m the oldest said the and you ve got to make me feel at home or i shall go away again i won t do it again and i m very sorry pleaded but the wouldn t be friends with him for ever so long and was only appeased at last by being allowed to put down in a tall basket which stood in a corner then he helped to dress by all his clothes the wrong way and hiding his stockings and while he was doing this the under nurse came in and he up to her and began to dance quietly go away said beautiful said the though was extremely plain i love yer and he put out his tongue and his head at her until she ran out of the room in terror he looked so absurd that was delighted with him again and yet when the bell rang for breakfast he felt obliged to give his new friend a hint i say he said you don t mind my telling you but mother s very particular about manners at table but the him instantly by saying that bo was he very particular and he slid down the and turned in the hall until joined him s i do hope father and mother won t be unkind id him he thought as he went in because he does seem to feel things so but nothing could be more polite than the welcome s parents gave the stranger as he came in bowing very low and making a queer little step s mother said she was always glad to see any friend of her boy s while his father begged the to make himself quite at home all he said was i m disgusted to make your acquaintance but he certainly made himself at home in fact he was not quite so particular about his manners as he had led to expect he volunteered to divide the and bacon himself and did so in such a way that everybody else got very httle and he himself got a great deal if it had been anybody else would certainly have called this as it was he tried to think it was all fun and that he himself had no particular appetite his cousin a little girl of about his own age was staying with them just then and came down presently to breakfast h my said the laying a great red hand on his heart what a nice little are ain t yer come and sit by me my dear no thank you i m going to sit by aunt mary she replied looking rather shy and surprised s hero allow me he persisted to pass you the jam and the i ll have some jam thank you she replied he looked round and chuckled oh i say that little said thank you before she got it he exclaimed there ain t no and i ve eaten all the jam which made choke with laughter flushed that s a very stupid joke she pronounced severely and rude too it s a pity you weren t taught to behave better when you were young so i was said the with his mouth full then you ve forgotten it she said you re nothing but a big baby that you are retorted the so are a big baby which as even saw was not a very brilliant reply it was a singular fact about the that the check seemed to take away all his brilliancy you know you re not telling the truth now said so contemptuously that the began to weep bitterly she says i don t speak the truth he complained and she knows it will be my aunt s birthday last you great silly thing what has that to do with it cried indignantly what is there to cry about which very nearly made quarrel with her for why couldn t she be polite to his friend s hero however the soon dried his eyes on the and recovered his cheerfulness and presently he noticed the times lying folded by s papa s plate oh i say he said shall i air the newspaper for yer thank you if you will was the polite reply he shook it all out	44
in one great sheet and wrapped it round him and about in it until nearly rolled oflf his seat with delight when you ve quite done with it his father was saying mildly as the made a great hole in the middle and thrust his head out of it with a bland smile i m only just looking through it he explained you can have it now and he rolled it up in a tight ball and threw it at his host s head breakfast was certainly not such a dull meal as usual that morning thought but he wished his people would show a little more appreciation instead of sitting there all stiff and surprised he was afraid the would feel discouraged when his papa the ball the paper was found to be torn into long which delighted but his father on the other hand seemed annoyed possibly because it was not so easy to read in that form meanwhile the busied himself in the butter dish into his pockets and this did shock the boy a little for he knew it was not s hero polite to pocket things at meals and wondered how he could be so nasty breakfast was over at last and the took s arm and walked upstairs to the first floor with him who s in there he asked as they passed the spare bedroom said the boy she s staying with us only she always has breakfast in her room you know why you don t mean to say you ve got a cried the with joy you are a nice little boy now we ll have some fun with her felt doubtful whether she could be induced to join them so early in the morning and said so you knock and say you ve got a present for her if she ll come out suggested the but i haven t objected wouldn t that be a story he had forgotten his old fondness for of course it would said the i m always a of em i am was shocked once more as he that his friend was not a truthful but he knocked at the door nevertheless and asked his grandmother to come out and see a friend of his wait one minute my boy she answered and i ll come out was surprised to see his companion s hero preparing to lie face downwards on the mat just outside the door get up he said you ll trip up if you stay there that s what i m doing it for said the but it will hurt her he cried nothing hurts old women said the i ve tripped up of em and i ought to know well you shan t trip up my anyhow said stoutly for he was not a bad hearted boy and his grandmother had given him a splendid box of soldiers on christmas day don t come out it s a mistake he shouted the rose with a look of disgust do you call this like a friend to me he demanded well said she s my you see she ain t my and if she was i d let you trip her up i would i ain t selfish i shan t stop with you any longer oh said we ll go and play somewhere else well said the if you re a good boy you shall see me make a butter slide in the hall then saw how he had wronged him in thinking he had the butter out of mere and he felt ashamed and penitent the s made a beautiful slide though wished he would not insist upon putting all the butter that was left down his back there s a ring at the bell said the i ll open the door and you hide and see the fun so hid himself round a corner as the door opened walk in sir said the politely master in said a jolly hearty voice it was dear old uncle john who had taken him to the the night before i thought i d look in and see if he would care to come with me to the crystal oh and there was a noise and a heavy ran out full of remorse uncle john was sitting on the rubbing his head and oddly enough did not look at all funny oh uncle cried the boy you re not hurt i didn t know it was you i m a bit shaken my boy that s all said his uncle one doesn t come down like a feather at my age and he picked himself slowly up well i must get home again he said no crystal palace to day after this good bye and he went slowly out leaving with the feeling that he had had enough of he even wiped the clean again with a and the clothes brush though the who had been hiding tried to prevent t we ain t ad the fun out of it yet he complained he always spoke in rather a common way as began to notice with pain i ve had enough said it was my uncle john who down that time and he s hurt and he d come to take me to the crystal palace well he hadn t come to take me said the you are about your relations you are you ain t a boy for a bit o fun felt this rebuke very much he had hoped so to gain the s esteem but he would not give in he only suggested humbly that they should go up into the play room the play room was at the top of the house and and two little sisters of s were playing there when they came in the turning in his toes and making awful faces the two uttle girls ran into a corner and seemed considerably frightened by the	44
stranger s appearance but reassured them don t take any notice she said it s only a horrid friend of s he won t interfere with oh the boy protested he s awfully nice if you only knew him he can make you laugh do let us play with you he wants to and he won t be rough do pleaded the i ll behave so pretty s hero well said mind you do then or you shan t stop and for a little while he did behave himself showed him his new soldiers and he seemed quite interested and then he had a ride on the rocking horse and was sorry when it broke down under him and after that he came suddenly upon a beautiful doll which belonged to the youngest sister do let me nurse it he said and the httle girl gave it up timidly of course he nursed it the wrong way up and at last he forgot and sat down on it the head which was wax being crushed to pieces was in fits of laughter at the droll face he made as he held out the crushed doll at arm s length and looked at it with one eye shut exclaiming poor thing what a pity i do i t made its ache but the two little girls were crying bitterly in one another s arms and turned on the with tremendous indignation you did it on purpose you know you did she said go away little girl don t talk to me said the putting in front of him she said what did you bring your friend up here for he only spoils everything he s allowed to touch take him away pleaded he s a visitor you know s hero i don t care she replied mr you shan t stay here this is our room and we don t want you go away she walked towards him looking so fierce that he backed hastily go downstairs she said pointing to the door you too for you encouraged him said the a sound by which he intended to imitate her anger oh please i m going remember me to your mother and he left the room followed rather sadly by who felt that was angry with him that s a very little girl remarked the when they were safe outside and thought it wiser to agree what have you got in your pockets he asked presently seeing a hard in his friend s white trunks only some o your nice soldiers said the and walked into the where there was a fire burning are they brave he asked very said who had quite persuaded himself that this was so look here we ll have a battle he thought a battle would keep the quiet here s two cannon and peas and you shall be the french and i ll be english all right said the and took his share of the soldiers and calmly put them all in the middle of the red hot coals i want to be quite sure they can stand fire first he explained and then as s hero they melted he said there you see they re all running away i never see such was in a great rage and could almost have cried if it had not been for they were his best which he could see dropping down in great glittering stars on the ashes below that s a thing to do he said with i didn t give them to you to put in the fire oh i thought you did said the i beg your pardon and he threw the rest after them as he spoke you re a beast cried indignantly i ve done with you after this oh no yer ain t he returned i have though said we re not friends any longer all right said the when i m not friends with any one i take and use the red ot to em and he put it in the fire to heat as he spoke this terrified the boy it was no use trying to argue with the and he had seen how he used a red hot well i ll forgive you this time he said hastily let s come away from here i tell you what said the you and me ll go down in the kitchen and make a pie forgot his injuries at this delightful idea he knew what the s notion of pie making would be yes he said eagerly that will be jolly only s i don t know he added doubtfully if cook will let us however the soon managed to secure the kitchen to himself he had merely to attempt to kiss the cook once or twice and throw the best dinner service at the other servants and they were left quite alone to do as they pleased what fun it was to begin with the brought out a large deep dish and began by putting a whole turkey and an hare in it out of the after that he put in jam and and in short the first thing that came to hand it ain t full yet he said at last as he looked gravely into the pie no said can t we get anything else to put in the very thing cried the you re just about the right size to fill up my what a pie it s going to be eh and he caught up his young friend just as he was him into the pie and poured on him but he kicked and howled until the grew seriously displeased why t you lay quiet he said angrily like the turkey does you don t deserve to be put into such a nice pie if you make a pie of me said there ll be nobody to look on and laugh at	44
you you know s no more there won t said the and allowed him to crawl out all over it was a pity he declared he fitted so nicely and now they would have to look about for something else but he contrived to make a shift with the contents of the cook s work basket which he poured in wax and all he had tried to put the kitchen cat in too but she scratched his hands and could not be induced to form the finishing touch to the pie how the got the and rolled it and made in a mess with it and how the pie was finished at last would take too long to tell here but somehow it was not quite such capital fun as he had expected it seemed to want the music or something and then was always lest the should change his mind at the last minute and put him in the pie after all even when it was safely in the oven he had another fear lest he should be made to stay and eat it for it had such very peculiar things in it that it could not be at all nice fortunately as soon as it was put away the seemed to weary of it himself let me and you go and take a walk he suggested caught at the proposal for he was fast becoming afraid of the and felt really glad to get him out of the house so he got his s hero cap and the put on a brown overcoat and a tall hat under which his white and red face looked stranger than ever and they forth together once would have thought it a high privilege to be allowed to go out with a but if the plain truth must be told he did not enjoy himself so very much after all people seemed to stare at them so for one thing and he felt almost ashamed of his companion whose behaviour was ridiculous they went to all the family to whom was of course well known and the order the most impossible things and say they were for once he even pushed him into a large s shop full of pretty and contemptuous young ladies and left him to explain his presence as he could but it was worse when they happened to meet an italian boy with a tray of plaster images on his head here s a lark said the and against him in such a way that the tray slipped and all the images fell to the ground with a crash it was certainly amusing to see all the pieces rolling about but while was still laughing the boy began to howl and him to the crowd which gathered round them the crowd declared that it was a shame and that ought l s to be made to pay for it and no one said so more loudly and indignantly than the before he could escape he had to give his father s name and address and promise that he would pay for the damage after which he joined the who had strolled on with a heavy heart for he knew that that business would stop all his pocket money for years after he was grown up he even ventured to reproach his friend i shan t of you of course he said but you know you did it the s only answer to this was a reproof for telling wicked stories at last they passed a s and the suddenly remembered that he was hungry so they w ent in and he borrowed sixpence from which he spent in he ate them all himself slowly and was so very quiet and well behaved all the time that hoped he was down they had gone a little way from the shop when he found that the was eating you might give me one said and the after looking over his shoulder actually gave him all he had left filling his pocket with them in fact i never saw you buy them he said which the said was very peculiar and just then an attendant came up you forgot to pay for those she said the replied that he never took she s hero insisted that they were gone and he must have taken them it wasn t me please said the it was this uttle boy done it why he s got a jam in his pocket now where s a policeman was so by this treachery that he could say nothing it was only what he might have expected for had not the served the exactly the same the night before but that did not make the situation any the now particularly as the made such a noise that two real came hurrying up did not wait for them no one held him and he ran away at the top of his speed what a nightmare sort of run it was the chasing him and the urging them on at the top of his voice everybody he passed turned round and ran after him too still he kept ahead he was surprised to find how fast he could run and all at once he remembered that he was running the opposite way from home quick as thought he turned up the first street he came to hoping to throw them off the scent and get home by a back way for the moment he thought he had got rid of them but just as he stopped to take breath they all came and round the corner after him and he had to on panting and sobbing and staggering and almost out of his mind s hero with fright if he could only get home first and tell his mother but they were gaining on him and the was leading and roaring with as he drew closer	44
and closer he came to a point where two roads met it was round another corner and they could not see him he ran down one and to his immense relief found they had taken the other he was saved for his house was quite near now he tried to hasten but the pavement was all and slippery and his boots felt heavier and heavier and to add to his misery the had found out their mistake as he looked back he could see the galloping round the corner and hear his yell of discovery oh fairy dear fairy he gasped save me this time i do like your part best now she must have heard him and taken pity for in a second he had reached his door and it flew open before him he was not safe even yet so he rushed upstairs to his bedroom and just as he was into his bed if they come up i ll pretend i m ill he thought as he covered his head with the they were coming up all of them there was a great on the stairs he heard the shouting this way mr policeman sir and then a tremendous at his door he lay there shivering under the blankets perhaps they ll think the door s locked and go s hero away he tried to hope and the went on not quite so violently master master it was s voice they had got her to come up and tempt him out well she wouldn t then and then oh horror the door was thrown open he sprang out of bed in an agony keep them out he gasped don t let them take me away lor master keep who out said the the and the he said i know they re behind the door there there said why you ain t done dreaming yet that s what comes of going out to these late your eyes it s nearly eight o clock could have her it was only a dream after all then as he stood there shivering in his the nightmare began to melt away though even yet some of the adventures he had gone through seemed too vivid to be quite imaginary singularly enough his uncle john actually did call that morning and to take him to the crystal palace too and as there was no butter slide for him to fall down on they were able to go on the way told him all about his unpleasant dream s hero i shall always hate a after this uncle he said as he concluded my good said his uncle when you are fortunate enough to dream a dream with a moral in it don t go and apply it the wrong way up the real like a sensible man keeps his fun for the place where it is harmless and appreciated and away from the himself like any other respectable person now your dream i know said meekly should you think the was good here uncle john a the notes op a out tell me she said suddenly with a pretty that seemed to belong to her are you fond of dogs how we arrived at the subject i forget now but i know she had just been describing how a at a dog show she had visited lately had suddenly thrown his round her neck in a burst of affection a proceeding which in my own mind although i kept this to myself i considered less astonishing than she appeared to do for i had had the privilege of taking her in to dinner and the meal had not reached a very advanced stage before i had come to the conclusion that she was the most charming if not the person i had ever met it was fortunate for me that i was honestly able to answer her question in a satisfactory manner for had it been otherwise i doubt whether she would have to bestow much more of her conversation upon me then i wonder she said next if a you would care to hear about a dog that belonged to to i know very well or would it bore you i am very certain that if she had volunteered to relate the adventures of or the history of the thirty tears war i should have accepted the proposal with a quite genuine gratitude as it was i made it plain that i should care very much indeed to hear about that dog she paused for a moment to reject an unfortunate which i confess to doing my best to console and then she began her story i shall try to set it down as nearly as possible in her own words although i cannot hope to convey the peculiar charm and interest that she gave it for me it was not i need hardly say told all at once but was subject to the inevitable which render a dinner table intimacy so precarious this dog she began quietly without any air of beginning a story this dog was called he was not much to look at rather a rough kind of animal and he and a young man had kept house together for a long time for the young man was a bachelor and lived in chambers by himself he always used to say that he didn t like to engaged to anyone because he was sure it would put out so fearfully however he met somebody at last who made him forget about and he proposed and was accepted and then you a she added as a little came in her cheek he had to go home and break the news to the dog she had just got to this point when taking advantage of a pause she made the man on her other side who was	44
i strictly within his rights although i remember at the time considering him a pushing beast struck in with some remark which she turned to answer leaving me leisure to reflect i was feeling vaguely uncomfortable about this story something it would be hard to say what in her way of mentioning s owner made me suspect that he was more than a mere acquaintance of hers was it she then who was responsible for it was no business of mine of course i had never met her in my life till that evening but i began to be impatient to hear the rest and at last she turned to me again i hope you haven t forgotten that i was in the middle of a story you haven t and you would really like me to go on well then oh yes when was told he was naturally a little annoyed at first i he considered he ought to have been consulted previously but as soon as he had seen the lady he withdrew all which his master declared was a tremendous load off his mind for was rather a difficult dog and slow as a rule to take strangers into his affections a little and surly and very easily hurt or offended don t you know dogs who a are sensitive like that i do and i m always so sorry for them they feel little things so much and one never can find out what s the matter and have it out with them sometimes it s shyness once i had a dog who was quite painfully shy self consciousness it was really i suppose for he always fancied everybody was looking at him and often when people were calling he would come and hide his face in the folds of my dress till they had gone it was top ridiculous but about he was devoted to his new mistress from the very first i am not sure that she was quite so struck with him for he was not at all a lady s dog and his manners had been very much neglected still she came quite to like him in time and when they were married went with them for the when they were i i glanced at the card which lay half hidden by her plate surely miss so was written on it yes it was certainly miss it was odd that such a circumstance should have increased my enjoyment of the story perhaps but it undoubtedly did after the my neighbour continued they came to live in the new house which was quite a tiny one and was a very important personage in it indeed he had his mistress all to himself for the greater part of most days as his master had to be away in town so she used to talk to him intimately and tell him more than she would have a thought of confiding to most people sometimes when she thought there was no fear of coming she would make him play and this was quite a new sensation for who was a serious minded animal and took very solemn views of life at first he hadn t the faintest idea what was expected of him it must have been rather like trying to with a parish he was so intensely respectable but as soon as he once grasped the notion and understood that no liberty was intended he lent himself to it readily enough and learnt to quite then he was made much of in all sorts of ways she washed him twice a week with her very own hands which his master would never have of doing and she was always trying new ribbons on his complexion that rather bored him at first but it ended by making him a little conceited about his appearance altogether he was dearly fond of her and i don t believe he had ever been happier in all his ufe than he was in those days only unfortunately it was all too good to last here i had to pass or something to somebody and the other man seeing his chance and to do him justice with no idea that he was interrupting a story struck in once more so that the history of had to remain in for several minutes my uneasiness returned could there be a mistake about that name card after all cards do get re arranged sometimes and she seemed to know that a young couple so very intimately i tried to remember whether i had been introduced to her as a miss or mrs so and so but without success there is some which generally one s attention at the critical moment of introduction and in this case it was perhaps easily accounted for my turn came again and she took up her tale once more i think when i left off i was saying that s happiness was too good to last and so it was for his mistress was ill and though he and scratched and at the door of her room for ever so long they wouldn t let him in but he managed to sup in one day somehow and jumped up on her lap and licked her hands and face and almost went out of his mind with joy at seeing her again only i told you he was a sensitive dog it gradually struck him that she was not quite so pleased to see him as usual and presently he found out the reason there was another animal there a new pet which seemed to take up a good deal of her attention of course you guess what that was but had never seen a baby before and he took it as a personal slight and was dreadfully offended he simply walked straight out of the room and downstairs	44
to the kitchen where he stayed for days i don t think he enjoyed his much poor perhaps he had an idea that when they saw how much he took it to heart they would send the baby away but as time went on and this didn t a to occur to them he decided to come out of the and look over the matter and he came back quite prepared to resume the old footing only everything was different no one seemed to notice that he was in the room now and his mistress never invited him to have a game she even forgot to have him washed and one of his peculiarities was that he had no objection to soap and warm water the worst of it was too that before very long the baby followed him into the sitting room and do what he could he couldn t make the stupid little thing understand that it had no business there if you think of it a baby must strike a dog as a very inferior little animal it can t bark well yes it can howl but it s no good whatever with rats and yet everybody makes a tremendous fuss about it the baby got all poor s bows now and his mistress played games with it though felt he could have done it ever bo much better but he was never allowed to join in so he used to lie on a rug and pretend he didn t mind though really i m certain he felt it horribly i always believe you know that people never give dogs half credit enough for feeling things don t you well at last came the worst of all was driven from his rug his own particular rug to make room for the baby and when he had got away into a corner to cry quietly all by himself that wretched baby came and crawled after him and pulled his tail a l he always had been particular about his tail and never allowed anybody to touch it but very intimate friends and even then under protest so you can imagine how insulted he felt it was too much for him and he lost the last scrap of temper he had they said he bit the baby and i m afraid he did though not enough really to hurt it still it howled fearfully of course and from that moment it was all over with poor he was a ruined dog when his master came home that evening he was told the whole story s mistress said she would be ever so sorry to part with him but after his she should never know a moment s peace until he was out of the house it really wasn t safe for baby and his master was sorry naturally but i suppose he was beginning rather to like the baby himself and so the end of it was that had to go they did all they could for him found him a comfortable home with a friend who was looking out for a good house dog and wasn t particular about breed and after that they heard nothing of him for a long while and when they did hear it was rather a bad report the friend could do nothing with at all he had to tie him up in the stable and then he snapped at who came near and howled all night they were really almost afraid of him so when s mistress heard that she felt a more thankful than ever that the dog had been sent away and tried to think no more about him she had quite forgotten all about it when one day a new who had taken the baby out for an came back with a terrible account of a savage dog which had attacked them and leaped up at the so persistently that it was as much as she could do to drive it away and even then s mistress did not associate the dog with him she thought he had been destroyed long ago but the next time the nurse went out with the baby she took a thick stick with her in case the dog should come again and no sooner had she lifted the over the step than the dog did come again exactly as if he had been lying in wait for them ever since outside the gate the nurse was a strong country girl with plenty of pluck and as the dog came leaping and barking about in a very alarming way she hit him as hard as she could on his head the wonder is she did not kill him on the spot and as it was the blow turned him perfectly giddy and silly for a time and he ran round and round in a dazed sort of way do you think you could lower that candle shade just a little thanks she broke off suddenly as i obeyed well she was going to strike again when her mistress rushed out just in time to stop her for you see she had been watching at the window and although the poor beast was miserably thin and rough and a neglected looking she knew at once that it must be and that he was not in the least mad or dangerous but only trying his best to make his peace with the baby very likely his dignity or his conscience or something wouldn t let him come back quite at once you know and perhaps he thought he had better get the baby on his side first and then all at once his mistress i heard all this through her of course his mistress suddenly remembered how devoted had been to her and how fond she had once been of him and when she saw him	44
standing stupid and shivering there her heart softened to him and she went to make it up with him and tell him that he was forgiven and should come back and be her dog again just as in the old days here she broke off for a moment i did not venture to look at her but i thought her voice trembled a little when she spoke again i don t quite know why i tell you all this there was a time when i never could bear the end of it myself she said but i have begun and i will finish now well s mistress went towards him and called him but whether he was still too dizzy to quite understand who she was or whether his pride came uppermost again poor dear i don t know but he gave her just one look she says she will never forget it never it went straight to her heart and then he walked very slowly and deliberately away she couldn t bear it she followed she felt she a simply must make him understand how very very sorry she was for him but the moment he heard her he began to run faster and faster until he was out of reach and out of sight and she had to come back i know she was crying bitterly by that time and he never came back again i asked after a silence never again she said softly that was the very last they ever saw or heard of him and and i ve always loved every dog since for s sake i m almost glad he did decline to come back i declared it served his mistress right she didn t deserve anything else ah i didn t want you to say that she protested she never meant to be so unkind it was all for the baby s sake i was distinctly astonished for all her sympathy in telling the story had seemed to lie in the other direction you don t mean to say i cried involuntarily that you can find any excuses for her i did not expect you would take the baby s part but i did she confessed with lowered eyes i did take the baby s part it was all my doing that was sent away i have been sorry enough for it since it was her own story she had been telling at second hand after all and she was not miss so i had entirely forgotten the existence of any a other members of the party but our two selves but at the moment of this discovery which was doubly painful i was recalled by a general rustle to the fact that we were at a dinner party and that our hostess had just given the signal as i rose and drew back my chair to allow my neighbour to pass she raised her eyes for a moment and said almost meekly i was the baby you see i introduction i have thought myself justified in the following narrative found among the papers of my dead friend who left me discretion to deal with them as i saw fit it was written indeed as its opening words imply rather for his own solace and relief than with the expectation that it would be read by any other but painful and intimate as it is in parts i cannot think that any harm will be done by it now with some necessary alterations in the names of the characters chiefly concerned before however leaving the story to speak for itself i should like to state in justice to my friend that during the whole of my acquaintance with him which began in our college days i never saw anything to indicate the morbid timidity and weakness of character that seem to have marked him as a boy he undoubtedly was with a taste for solitude that made him shrink from the society of all but a small circle and with a sensitive and shy nature which prevented him from doing himself complete justice but he was very capable of holding his own on occasion and in his disposition as i knew it there was no want of moral courage nor any trace of how far he may have unconsciously exaggerated such in the revelation of his earlier self or what the influence of such an experience as he relates may have done to strengthen the moral fibre are points on which i can express no opinion any more than i can pledge myself to the of the supernatural element of his story it may be that only in the boy s imagination the innocent child spirit came back to complete the work of love and pity she had begun in life but i know that he himself believed otherwise and truly if those who leave us are permitted to return at all it must be on some such errand as s s life was short and in it so far as i am aware he met no one who at all replaced his lost ideal of this i cannot be absolutely certain for he was a man in such matters but i think had it been so i should have known of it for we were very close friends one would hardly expect perhaps that an ordinary man would remain faithful all his days to the far off memory of a child love but then was not quite as other men nor were his days long in the land and if this ideal of his was never for him by some and less spiritual passion who shall say that he may not have been a better and even a happier man in consequence it is not without an effort that i have resolved to break	44
in the course of this narrative the reserve maintained for nearly twenty years but the chief reason for silence is removed now that all those are gone who might have been pained or by what i have to tell and though i shrink still from certain memories that are with pain there are others associated which will surely bring consolation and relief i must have been about eleven at the time i am speaking of and the change which for good or ill comes over most boys lives had not yet threatened mine i had not left home for school nor did it seem at all probable then that i should ever do so when i read i was a great reader of hall and house a combination of which formed my notion of school ufe it was with no more personal interest than a might feel in the notice of an impending for from the battles of school life i was fortunately i was the only son of a widow and we led a secluded life in a london my mother took charge of my education herself and as far as mere went i was certainly not behind other boys of my age i owe too much to that loving and careful training heaven knows to think of casting any reflection upon it here but my surroundings were such as almost necessarily to all and influences my mother had few friends we were content with our own companionship and of boys i knew and cared to know nothing in fact i regarded a strange boy with much the same aversion as many excellent women feel for the most ordinary cow i was happy to think that i should never be called upon to associate with them by and by when i my mother s teaching i was to have a perhaps even go to college in time and when i became a man i was to be a and live with my mother in a covered cottage in some pleasant village she would often dwell on this future with a tender pride she spoke of it on the very day that saw it shattered for ever for there came a morning when on going to her with my lessons for the day i was with an unexpected i uttle knew then though i was to learn it soon enough that my lessons had been all holidays or that on that day they were to end for ever my mother had had one or two previous attacks of an illness which seemed to prostrate her for a short period and as she soon regained her ordinary health i did not think they could be of a serious nature so i devoted my holiday cheerfully enough to the illumination of a text on the gaudy colouring of which i found myself gazing two days later with a dull wonder as at the work of a strange hand in a long dead past for the boy who had painted that was a happy boy who had a mother and for two endless days i had been alone those days and many that followed come back to me now but vaguely i passed them mostly in a state of blank bewilderment caused by the double sense of and strangeness in everything around me then there were times when this gave way to a passionate anguish which refused all attempts at comfort and times even but very very seldom when i almost forgot what had happened to me our one servant remained in the house with me and a friend and neighbour of my mother s was constant in her to relieve my loneliness but i was impatient of them i fear and chiefly anxious to be left alone to indulge my melancholy i remember how as autumn began and leaf after leaf fluttered down from the trees in our little garden i watched them fall with a heavier heart for they had known my mother and now they too were me this morbid state of mind had lasted quite long enough when my uncle who was my guardian saw fit to put a summary end to it by sending me to forthwith he would have softened the change for me by taking me to his own home first but there was of some sort there and this was out of the question i was neither sorry nor glad when i heard of it for all places were the same to me just then only as the time drew near i began to regard the future with a growing dread the school was at some distance from london and my uncle took me down by rail but the only fact i remember connected with the journey is that there was a boy in the carriage with us who cracked all the way and i wondered if he was going to school too and concluded that he was not or he would hardly eat quite so many later we were passing through some wrought iron gates and down an avenue of young which made a gorgeous autumn of scarlet and orange up to a fine old red brick house with a high pitched and a in which a big bell hung tinted a warm gold by the afternoon sun this was my school and it did not look so very terrible after all there was a big bow window by the and looking timidly in i saw a girl of about my own age sitting there absorbed in the book she was reading her long brown hair drooping over her cheek and the hand on which it rested she glanced up at the sound of the door bell and i felt her eyes examining me seriously and then i forgot everything but the fact that i was about to be introduced to my future the this was	44
less of an ordeal than i had expected he had a strong cut face free and abundant white hair with dark grey but there was a kind light in his eyes as i looked up at them and the firm mouth could smile i found pleasantly enough mrs seemed younger and was handsome with a certain and decision of manner which put me less at my ease and i was relieved to be told i might say good bye to my uncle and wander about the grounds as i liked i was not surprised to pass through an empty and to descend by some steep stairs to a deserted for we had been already told that the holidays were not over and that the boys would not return for some days to come it gave me a kind of satisfaction to think of my resemblance just then to my favourite david but i was to have a far companion than poor mr for as i paced the damp paths paved with a of and yellow leaves i heard light footsteps behind me and turned to find myself face to face with the girl i had seen at the window she stood there breathless for an instant for she had hurried to overtake me and against a background i of crimson i saw the brilliant face with its soft but fearless brown eyes small straight nose spirited mouth and crisp golden brown hair which i see now almost as distinctly as i write you re the new boy she said at length i ve come out to make you feel more at home i suppose you don t feel quite at home just yet not quite thank you i said lifting my cap with ceremony for i had been taught to be particular about manners i have never been to school before you see miss i think she was a little puzzled by so much politeness i know she said softly mother told me about it and i m very sorry and i m called generally shall you uke school do you think i might said i if if it wasn t for the boys boys aren t bad she said ours are rather nice i think but perhaps you don t know many i know one i replied how old is he she wished to know not very old about three i think i said i had never wished till then that my only male acquaintance had been of less tender years but i felt now that he was rather small and saw that was of the same opinion why he s only a baby she said i thought you meant a real boy and is that all the boys you know are you fond of games some very said i what s your favourite game she demanded i answered or draughts i meant games draughts are games is games i mean no are an game and that doesn t sound grammar but haven t you ever played not ever really i like it dreadfully myself only i m not allowed to play with the boys and i m sure i can bat well enough for the second eleven said i could last term and i can bowl round hand and it s all no use just because i was born a girl wouldn t you like a game at something they haven t taken in the yet shall we play at that but again i had to confess my ignorance of what was then the popular garden game what do you generally do to amuse yourself then she inquired i read generally or paint or outlines sometimes i thought this accomplishment would surely appeal to her sometimes i do i don t think i would tell the boys that she advised rather gravely she evidently considered me a very desperate case it s such a pity your not knowing any games suppose i taught you now it would be something to go on with and you ll soon learn if you pay attention and do exactly what i tell you i submitted myself meekly to her direction and enjoyed her office of for a time until my extreme wore out her patience and she began to make little murmurs of disgust for which she invariably that s enough for to day she said at last i ll take you again tomorrow but you really must try and pick up games or you ll never be liked let me see i wonder if there s time to teach you a little i think i could do that before she could make any further arrangements the tea bell rang but when i lay down that night in my strange cold bed hemmed round by other beds which were only less formidable than if they had been occupied i did not feel so as i might have done and dreamed all night that was teaching me something i understood to be which however was more like a kind of the next day was allowed to go out walking with me and i came home feeling that i had known her for quite a long time while her manner to me had acquired a tone even more protecting than before and she began to betray an anxiety as to my school prospects which filled me with uneasiness i am so afraid the boys won t like the way you talk she said on one occasion i used to be told i spoke very correctly i said enough but not like boys talk you see i ought to know with such a lot of them about i tell you what i could do though i could teach you most of their words only i must run and ask mother first if i may teaching isn t the same as using it on my	44
own account is it darted off to ask leave to return presently with a slow step and downcast face i t she announced mother says certainly not so there s an end of that still i think myself it s a decided pity and more than once that day she would observe as if to herself i do wish they had let him come to school in different i knew that these remarks and others of a similar tendency were prompted by her interest in my welfare and i admired her too heartily already to be offended by them still i cannot say they added to my peace of mind and on the last evening of the holidays she said good night to me with some solemnity everything will be different after this she said i shan t be able to see nearly so much of you because i m not allowed to be much with the boys but i shall be looking after you all the time and seeing how you get on and oh i do hope you will try to be a popular kind of boy i m afraid i must own that this desire of s was not i do not know that i tried to be and i certainly was not a popular boy the other boys i now know were by no bad specimens of the english as will be evident when i state that for a time my deep mourning was held by them to give me a claim to their forbearance but i had an unfortunate tendency to sudden floods of tears apparently for no cause whatever really from some secret spring of association such as i remember was touched when i first found myself learning latin from the same over which my mother and i had puzzled together and these at first aroused my companions contempt and finally their open ridicule i could not conceal my shrinking dislike to their society which was not calculated to make them more disposed towards me while my tastes my expressions my ways of looking at things were all at total with their own standards the general might well have shown itself in a manner than that of merely my existence and it says much for the tone of the school that it did not unfortunately i felt their indifference almost as keenly as i had dreaded their notice from my masters i met with more favour for i had been thoroughly well and found besides a temporary distraction in my school work but this was hardly likely to render me more beloved by my fellows and so it came to pass that every day saw my more complete something however made me anxious to hide this from s eyes and whenever she happened to be looking on at us in the school grounds or the playing fields i made dismal attempts to appear on terms of equality with the rest and would hang about a group with as much pretence of belonging to it as i thought at all prudent if she had had more opportunities of questioning me she would have found me out long before as it was the only occasion on which we were near one another was at the weekly drawing lesson when although she drew less and talked more than the professor quite approved of she was obliged to herself to a conversation which did not admit of confidences but this negative tinted misery was not to last was harmless enough but then to some natures nothing is so offensive as my was certain to raise me up an enemy in time and he came in the person of one he was a sturdy good looking fellow about two years older than myself good at games and though not brilliant in other respects rather idle than dull he was popular in the school and i believe his general disposition was by no means bad but there must have been some hidden flaw in his nature which might never have disclosed itself for any other but me for me he had displayed almost from the first one of those special that want but little excuse to into hatred my personal appearance i had the misfortune to be a decidedly plain boy happened to be particularly to him and as he had an tongue he used it to me with ridicule until gradually finding that i did not he indulged in acts of petty oppression which though not strictly were even more and humiliating i suspect now that if i had made ever so slight a stand at the outset i should have escaped further but i was not by nature and never made the experiment partly probably from a theory on which i had been reared that all violence was vulgar but chiefly from a tendency unnatural in one of my age and sex to find a sentimental satisfaction in a certain degree of so that i can neither pity myself nor expect pity from others for woes which were so essentially my own creation though they resulted alas in misery that was real enough it was inevitable that quick sighted should discover the into which i had fallen and her final was brought about in this manner and i were together alone shortly before morning school and he came towards me with an exercise of mine from which he had just been his own for we were in the same classes despite the difference in our ages and he was in the habit of thus by my industry thanks he said with a sweetness which i for he was not as a rule so lavish in his gratitude i ve copied out that exercise of yours but it s written so badly that you d better do it over again with which he tore the page he had	44
into the brown gloom keep where you are for a minute i heard cry out it s all right she s not hurt now you can come down i was down in another instant at the foot of th stairs where in a patch of faint that fell from the door above lay with bending over her insensible form she s dead i cried in my terror as i saw her white face i tell you she s all right said he impatiently there s nothing to make a fuss about she slipped coming down and cut her forehead that s all speak to don t look like that tell ry me you re not much hurt i implored her but she only moaned a little and her eyes remained fast shut it s no use worrying her now you know said more gently just help me to get her round to the kitchen door and tell somebody we carried her there between us and amidst a scene of terrible confusion and distress still insensible was carried into the and a man sent off in hot haste for the surgeon a uttle later and i were sent for to the study where dr whose face was white and drawn as i had never seen it before questioned us closely as to our knowledge of the accident could only say that he was out in the when he saw somebody descending the steps and heard a fall after which he ran up and found i sent her into the to bring my said the doctor if i had but gone myself but why should she have gone outside on a frosty night hke this oh dr i broke out i m afraid i m afraid she went for me i saw s face as i spoke and there was a look upon it which made me pity him and you sent my poor child out on your errand could you not have done it yourself i wish i had i exclaimed oh i wish i had i tried to stop her and then and then it was too late please tell me sir is she badly hurt how can i tell he said there i can t speak of this just yet go both of you there was uttle work done at evening preparation that night the whole school was with curiosity and speculation as we heard doors opening and shutting around and the wheels of the doctor s as it rolled up the chestnut avenue i bat with my hands my eyes and ears engaged to all appearance with the books before me while my restless thoughts were employed in making earnest resolutions for the future at last i saw my cowardice in its true light and felt impatient to tell that i did so to prove to her that i had really but when would an opportunity come i might not see her again for days perhaps not at all till after the holidays but i would not let myself dwell upon such a as that and to banish it tried to picture what would say and how she would look when i was allowed to see her again after evening prayers read by one of the assistant masters for the doctor did not appear again we were to go up to our with as uttle noise as possible and we had been in bed some time before the old butler came up as usual to put out the lights on this occasion he was assailed by a fire of eager whispers from every door hi old how is she but he did not seem to hear a cry louder than the rest brought him to our room for god s sake gentlemen don t he said in a hoarse whisper as he turned out the light they ll hear you downstairs but how is she do you know better ay he said she s better she ll be over her trouble soon will miss a low murmur of ran round the room which the butler tried to check in vain don t he said again wait wait till morning go to sleep quiet now and i ll come up first thing and tell you he had no sooner turned his back than the general relief broke out being especially didn t i tell you fellows so he said triumphantly as if it was likely a girl like would mind a little cut like that she ll be all right in the morning you see but this confidence upon me who could not pretend to share it until i was unable to restrain the anxiety i felt you re wrong all of you i cried i m sure she s not better didn t you hear how said it she s she may even be dying i met with the usual treatment of a prophet of evil you young i was told on all sides who asked your opinion who are you to know better than anyone else attacked me hotly for trying to excite a alarm and i was recommended to hold my tongue and go to sleep i said no more but i could not sleep the others dropped oflf one by one being the last but i lay awake listening and thinking until the dread and suspense grew past bearing i must know the truth i would go down and find the doctor and beg him to tell me he might be angry and punish me but that would be nothing in comparison with the of knowing my fear was stealthily i slipped out of bed stole through the dim room to the door and down the old staircase which under my bare feet the dog in the yard howled as i passed the big window through which the stars were sparkling in the keen blue	44
sky outside the room in which lay i listened but could hear nothing at least she was sleeping then and already i went on down to the hall the big clock on a table there was solemnly like a slow the lamp was aught so the doctor must be still up with a heart that beat loudly i went to his study door and lifted my hand to knock when from within rose a sound at which the current of my blood stopped and ran backwards the terrible grief of a grown man boy as i was i felt that an agony like that was sacred besides i knew the worst then i dragged myself upstairs again cold to the bones with a brain that was frozen too my one was to reach my bed cover my face and let the tears flow though when i did regain it no tears and no thoughts came i lay there and shivered for some time with a stony stunned sensation and then i slept as if were well the next morning the bell under the did not and came up with the direction that we were to go down very quietly and not to draw up the window blinds and then we all knew what had happened during the night there was a very genuine grief though none knew as i had known her the more wept the older ones indulged in little conventional comments oddly foreign to their usual tone all even the most thoughtless felt the same hush and awe overtake them i could not cry i felt nothing except a dull rage at my own was dead and i had no tears morning school was a mere pretence that day we dreaded for almost the first time to see the doctor s face but he did not show himself and the arrangements necessary for the breaking up of the school were made by the matron some including and myself could not be taken in for some days during which we had to remain at the school days of shadow and monotony with occasional ghastly of the high spirits which nothing could repress even in that house of mourning but the time passed at last until it was the evening of the day on which had been left to her last sleep the poor father and mother had been unable to stay in the house now that it no longer covered even what had been their child and the only two besides the matron and a couple of servants who still remained there were and i who were both to leave on the following morning i would rather have been just then with anyone but though he had never since that fatal night taken the slightest notice of me he looked worn and haggard to a degree that made me sure he must have cared more for than i could have imagined and yet he would break at times into a feverish gaiety which surprised and me he was in one of these latter moods that evening as we sat as far apart as possible in the empty now he said as he came up to me and struck me on the shoulder wake up man i ve been in the long enough we can t go on always on the night before the holidays too do something to make yourself talk can t you no i can t i said and breaking from him went to one of the windows and looked out into blackness which reflected the long room with its dingy maps and the and forms glistening in the fire beams the ice bound state in which i had been so long was slowly passing away now that the scene by the little grave that raw cheerless morning had brought home the truth that was indeed gone lost to me for ever i could see now what she had been to me how she had made my great loneliness how with her innocent fearless nature she had tried to rouse me from and and i could never hope to please her now by proving that i had learnt the lesson she had gone from me to some world infinitely removed in which i was forgotten and my pitiful trials and struggles could be nothing to her any more i was once more alone and this second revived in all its crushing desolation the first bitter loss which it so closely followed so as i stood there at the window my unnatural calm could hold out no longer the long frozen tears and i could weep for the first time since died but i was not allowed to sorrow i felt a rough grasp on my as asked me angrily what s the matter now oh come to me i could only cry i can t bear it i can t i can t stop that do you hear he said savagely i won t have it who are you to cry about her when but for you he got no farther the bitter truth in such a coming from him stung me to rage i turned and struck him full in the mouth which i cut open with my clenched hand his eyes became all pupil you shall pay me for that he said through his teeth and forcing me against a desk he caught up a large t square which lay near he was far the stronger and i felt myself powerless in his grasp passion and pain had made him beside himself for the moment and he did not know how formidable a weapon the heavily instrument might become in his hand i shut my eyes i think i rather hoped he would kill me and then perhaps i might go where was i did not cry for help and it would have been useless if i	44
corpse lying stiff and swollen at the foot of a precipice which had he been an ordinary person it would have been said he had over now nobody had expected him to die for years to come still less to cease from existence with such an entire absence of parade but he was the first of the new era and consequently entitled to make his own he was obviously dead and the only thing to be done was to bum his body and cast the ashes into water s end brought to the surface a question which many had secretly entertained in his lifetime was he in sober truth a at all compared with his he did not show to great advantage his me was limited his supernatural were of a low and even order and he had enriched the faith with no fresh of any value and those too who had had opportunities of observing him amongst whom was himself could not but see certain a disposition to for instance a after admiration traces of cruelty which without being serious in themselves were slightly inconsistent with a complete conquest of the flesh upon the whole a dead man has perhaps a better chance of being if the matter is postponed for a hundred years as in the catholic faith than when as here his claims must be settled at his but none of s co chose to play the in this case that his admission amongst the would reflect distinction upon the the village and temple and not have a upon the brass trade in which they were all largely interested and the head to whom the point was referred not backed his original opinion was a genuine the first of a new order and as such he was entitled to the reverence of all devout and an image must consequently be set up in his honour and assigned a in the temple of his native village the s decision was of final the idol was set to work and soon produced a small seated image which was as faithful a representation of the real as could be expected or desired the new idol had only spent one night under the temple roof on the morning which witnessed s perplexity beneath the a perplexity of which it was the unconscious cause for the worthy though too humble minded to think of questioning even to himself the wisdom of his superior could not consider his latest deity an acquisition his little had been quite large enough before he was too old to relish having a new object of veneration thrust upon him in this way and so in the day s on the previous evening he had without perhaps any conscious intention reserved the least tempting fruits and the more faded flowers as the share of the new comer and now he was not quite certain whether he felt more self reproach or as the time drew near when he must again enter the inner shrine a fallen idol however these unpleasant meditations of his were to receive as unpleasant an from his seat he command a view of the winding path which led up the from the village gates and now he saw ing a tall and stately figure in which his eyes were keen enough to recognise his bitterest enemy bam the who presided over the massive temple where and and and their son were worshipped he was evidently coming to the temple he was almost at the already and felt a certain flutter at the prospect of such a visitor much as might a minister of the old school on seeing a hat and a pair of coming down his garden path the minister feels he has as good a right to the title of reverend as the bishop but then he is only too well aware that the bishop is of a opinion so claimed to be of the caste and had an uncomfortable suspicion all the time that bam would probably deny his right to any caste worth belonging to he thought he could guess the other s errand it had come to bam s ears that the temple contained as such buildings frequently did an exceedingly handsome image of and on one or two occasions when the rival priests had met in the the had made offers to purchase an idol which as he urged could be but out of place in an alien that bam had any real wish to acquire the the was more than the could believe he was probably acting out of pure ag or with a desire to dictate and which was determined to withstand even while his mild and gentle shrank from the impending as the came in with a general and highly offensive air of precaution against moral and physical the rose and saluted him as courteously as he could bring himself to do bam declined the seat which the other indicated on the stone bench and remaining at some distance began by saying that the errand which alone could bring him to such a place would probably be guessed if said the his visitor had come to renew his offer to purchase the he must with every respect make the same answer as before the replied that he no longer proposed to purchase the image he now demanded that it should be surrendered to him without a price that said was obviously unjust the was his own he had brought it at his own expense from one of the temples at how then could the claim it from him as the of the bam replied it was intolerable to him to know that the image of that mighty one was forced to share the and suffer the companionship of such a herd of insignificant little as he understood were in the temple of the a fallen idol to which answered that his brother was	44
which came the only light that was admitted in the lower tier were the other each idol painted its characteristic colour and in a separate its sacred carved below and the mystic triple forming a kind of over its head the attitude was the same in every case all the cross legged their hands being laid one on the other over the feet whose turned upwards most of the images had been with and of more or less value and before each was a kind of or altar for the reception of in the corner by the doors stood the image of which the for his own temple a large and imposing figure pot painted a sickly blue with a superfluous eye in the middle of its forehead and more arms than even a deity could manage with either comfort or dexterity not been found in the tier of but they had contrived a very comfortable little recess and a temporary altar for him in the opposite wall his image it may be said was in its general character of the same pattern as the rest though owing to a hint which had given the idol con the smaller his was the hunting or the gloom when the priest entered made it difficult to distinguish objects very clearly for a time but as his eyes became more accustomed to it he made a startling discovery some person had entered during the night and stripped the of their the robber had even dared to carry oflf the flowers and fruit for the which himself had seen heaped the night before were but the next moment brought a certain relief it was not after all neither fruit nor flowers had been actually removed the and loaded the idol of the new before which the whole of the previous day s were heaped in profusion the sight made extremely angry notwithstanding the temple for himself merely the ceremonies was youthful and but still it was ill judged of him to give this welcome to the idol of a local he sent for his too zealous subordinate and him severely but unfortunately a vow of silence for that day prevented the from making any attempt at self defence beyond shaking his head with much vehemence that evening as presided over the distribution of the day s he was even more careful than before to s portion both in quantity and quality it was vain to tell himself that the s a idol story had had no influence upon him a saint is like a something is gone from him that can never be restored and then too the had had his doubts from the beginning but the very next morning revealed an outrage of the every one of the had been turned down in his except who was almost hidden under a mass of flowers well knew that no would be guilty of such he saw in it the hand of his adversary bam and was struck with mingled consternation and wrath he got the replaced in a normal position before the arrived and as soon as the morning s rites were ended he went down to the village and had an interview with the to whom he disclosed what had happened the sent him a guard who having a splendid contempt for and alike might be trusted to remain impartial and who were posted around the temple in such a manner that none could approach and then the were all carefully and bathed with water and left for the night with a strong conviction on s part that their tranquillity was not likely to be again invaded but when he entered the idol chamber at dawn next day it was to find it in a condition at the sight of which he staggered back and appalled all that had gone before was child s play to this every on the thb lower tier was bare and in the centre of tbe pavement was a pile of images each one of which proved to have been its nose its ears which were large and stuck out like the african elephant s and the triple umbrella above its head had all been off and upon each altar a nose an umbrella and a pair of ears were laid out with neatness almost lost his senses at the sight for he had spent the whole night in watching in going from post to post and he knew that for this second outrage the could not by any possibility be responsible yet a complete and valuable set of images had been by and the pious would soon be at the gates to perform their morning s what would they think what explanation could he give them to his more enlightened mind the images were but but this was a doctrine wholly beyond his flock and he trembled to think of the view they might take of such a destruction the reader who was quick of resources proposed to restore the to their and trust to the to conceal their imperfect condition but was too dejected and be it added too conscientious to resort to any such and so when the earliest and after their in the porch came into the idol chamber to walk ro md three times and make to the images as usual they found their priest g a fallen idol standing with bent head and his white robes torn behind a heap of and they stood aghast gradually the chamber filled and a of dismayed curiosity rose from the various groups if their gods were cast from their what was left for them to worship and while some of the less minded were rather relieved to have a legitimate excuse for non attendance in future the majority felt a pious regret for their gods their bland sleepy smiling gods who never gave any trouble and whose had become	44
as the faces of old friends my children faltered the priest perceiving they were waiting for some explanation has been at work in the darkness i know no more than ye why this has come upon us to humble me and your hearts it is the evil spirits whispered the and the congregation took it up and cried yes it is the evil spirits it is the and they fell on their knees and struck the floor with their and whatever his private opinions might be did not contradict them now but there was a sudden stir in the crowd several rose to their feet and made way as if for some personage of distinction and with an agony of mortification saw his rival bam approach the very last person he wished to witness his embarrassment a village in any part of the world is not the place for a secret the s suspicions and request for a guard had not been long in reaching the s ears he had come the np to the charge indignantly he gathered om the stir outside the temple that something extraordinary going on within and with his habitual contempt for all prejudices but his own strode in to discover what the matter might be for himself bam avoiding contact with the rest as much as possible stood taking in the situation with no small bewilderment what is this he inquired at last behold said the the of our blessed have been found and as you see and by whose hand we cannot tell why the asked himself had this wretched old creature destroyed the gods by which he lived for of course this was his work bam was not above conducting a or arranging miracles himself but he did not understand a on such a scale as this it seemed wanting in common judgment and then suddenly he saw through the design this priest in his obstinacy had actually destroyed his rather than deliver it to his rival and then to divert suspicion had been forced to his own images where is the image of the und he demanded with a black frown bring it forth that i may look upon it it is there behind you said the and ram turning beheld for the first time the idol on which he had so pretty a quarrel till then he had had no particular desire to possess it for its own c a fallen idol sake now tiie sight of it strengthened his to it out of alien hands it really was a handsome idol rather perhaps in design but still of excellent and notwithstanding its somewhat questionable origin in all its it would do credit to the temple and to his intense surprise he found it absolutely evidently this old fool had not had the nerve when it came to the point to it and render it useless a idol being of course about as formidable as a gun what could have made him attempt such a piece of reckless folly was it and the s brows grew darker at the idea was it intended to throw suspicion on him if that were so he should find he had made a slight he turned upon the with a magnificent gesture hear me he said and answer truly did not i but two days since make demand of you for the restoration of this image of the god from which you and your followers have turned away did i not warn you of the you did him in introducing a miserable who but yesterday was in our streets to be his fellow god and companion in your idol chamber even so bam said the nor will i now deny it behold the warning fulfilled the cried the beautiful the blue has spoken he ha shattered the gods whom he has suffered so long the the were deeply impressed by this less enlightened than their teacher their were for them who could hear their humble prayers and satisfy their moderate wants they had always felt a secret conviction that it was not quite respectful to so and now this neglected had suddenly developed into a tremendous deity who could manifest his displeasure in a very practical manner but s suspicions of the rose again at this attempt to turn the situation to his own advantage he was resolved to dispose of these outrageous pretensions if he could what sign have you bam that it is as you have said he inquired a sign said the is not the image of are not yours and and you ask for a sign i in glancing round the idol chamber had already observed a fact which he did not at first mention for it only perplexed him more but now he turned it to account with desperate readiness has wrought it because his image has gone i he exclaimed how then has he spared the very image which you assert to be the main cause of his wrath if is untouched much more then is the image of for look you to what honour has he been exalted i he pointed as he spoke to the centre in the tier the lately occupied by the idol of there looking to its cell the and smallest a fallen idol with a smile of subdued and private enjoyment in the flood of mysterious glory which had so lately belonged to the the congregation who had not noticed this before saw it now with a cry of rapture surely who had a storm in which so many of so to speak far higher had surely he must be a god of sound and solid qualities a god who could hold his own with the whole the sneered so this after all was what the had been for i he had sacrificed the greater part of his sacred stock to increase the value of the remainder	44
well he would him there at all events i does a tiger lie in wait for a rat he said or shall an elephant charge a fools all of ye and blind not to see that this of yours owes his to his these others are in a measure but he is less than all and therefore the mighty to lift up so much as the little finger of his sixth hand in wrath against him he hath set him thus on high in his derision as the god before whom it is indeed fit that such as ye should bow the round again bam was wise and spoke with assurance he must know best set up your the continued with biting scorn worship them as before for what concern is it of mine or s but detain his image na longer yield it to me his servant for the last time i it thb bam said the mildly but with determination since first it was removed hither yonder idol has refrained firom all disturbance nor has it given the least sign of displeasure i will not believe that these dread signs proceed from it now nor will i ever consent to the chamber which is concentrated to the by it of such an never will i but here with a groan of horror he covered his eye with his hand and rushed into the followed by his anxious flock a fly in it my children he gasped in the name of the blessed and the pure take it out ere it die i a european s chief solicitude under the circumstances would scarcely be on the fly but the are most averse to the destruction of any form of life and take every imaginable precaution even to wearing cloth against the involuntary of the insects so for some moments of intense excitement the priest s eye was surrounded by an eager group all anxious to save the fly if possible the got it out with a strip of linen from his cloth but unhappily the fly had ceased to live in fact it was hardly to be recognised as a fly at all for the priest in the first agony of had so far forgotten himself as to rub his eye with fatal violence when this he sank down heavily quite overcome by the blow upon the nearest stone bench amidst cries of fresh consternation from his a fallen idol people he never sat down anywhere as a general tale without first carefully his proposed seat with a small feather brush not because he was afraid of his robe but from the of all to destroy even the lowest forms of life in his agitation he omitted to use his brush on this occasion a large red spider had dropped upon the bench but one instant before and the most humane person cannot sit upon a spider without putting it to the inconvenience the himself in before its form cast dust upon his shaven head and vowed to accomplish various uncomfortable but the spider would never spin a web again his congregation edged away from him with haste of course similar had occurred to them all now and then but for a priest to twice in such close succession seemed to show that he was pursued by some evil destiny bam whose did not go to quite such had been a spectator of the scene which as usual he sought to to his own ends are you still he said or do you recognise in this the hand of the might have resisted the evidence of the fly but by the spider it was irresistible they fell on their faces lord have pity upon us i they cried had cared to he could have carried them all over to his own there and then but their belief was a matter of total to him these brass workers were too poor to be profitable and you he said you will yield the image the was about to refuse once more but his followers would not hear of it yield it they cried oh yield it lest harm overtake us also i and knew that his hold over them was rudely shaken if not lost for ever sullenly he turned to the and said take it and trouble us no more thus had bam winning a victory he had acquired a most desirable addition to his temple an idol which would have all the interest of a and probably tell for months upon the temple and which pleased him better still he had thoroughly crushed the rival whose temple had always been an to him the was struck by his own the was not precisely the man to spare a defeated adversary a single pang it was good policy to make as much of his advantage as possible and besides it was clearly impossible to walk out with the surrendered idol under his arm this submission is but prudent he said and i accept it in the mighty name of conqueror of death with glory and rejoicing shall the image of be conducted to a more abode at the hour of sunset the idol of ever living shall come himself to escort him see that your gates are open v us when we a fallen idol arrive and should any encounter take place between our respective followers i shall hold you responsible bent his head in silent resignation he felt a sullen impatience to have the measure of his humiliation filled to the brim the of his simple life was snapped the good he had tried to do all undone and he felt a bitter protest against the which could allow such things to be he stood in the for some time after the had gone gazing on the marble flags the reader and the priest were to ask if the morning services were	44
from afar could hardly trust his for the sacred idol of was broken into a dozen pieces his arms were planted with considerable taste and fancy in various comers of the floor and worse still the hardly won idol of was in the same plight its fragments arranged in a upon the principal throne upon the very summit of which with a bland smile on its features the despised image of the least and lowest of the for once ram s presence of mind deserted him he could not lay the blame upon the because of the around the it did o ur the to him to explain bo disastrous an occurrence by the legend of some ancient between and which had prompted their images to fly at one another like fighting but that would be an admission of want of tact on his own part in throwing them together and even then the interference of this little idol remained for so the haughty bam savagely accepting his defeat wrapped his shawl about him and made his way through the shivering dancing girls and villagers out of the of the temple where he had been so there was no desire on the part of the others to remain in that accursed place any longer their were useless and they left the gaudy where it was and filed out of the compound thoroughly and abashed and as they descended a sudden swept from the heights behind them and the rain came down in gleaming and and miserable the procession fled back to the temple they had quitted so triumphantly as if pursued to its gates by the anger of the that their ugly of an idol had proved more than a match for the two chief personages of the now ventured boldly forth and carried s image with rejoicing into the idol chamber where they were joined by henceforth cried triumphantly our reverence is due to alone he has delivered us he has shown himself than the god of old a fallen idol than the blessed i tell ns father is it not so p looked at the idol with an feeling of it is even so he said and may he prove himself as benevolent as he is mighty from that hour the fame of was established and spreading further with every day the other were entirely discarded by the of the locality who transferred their entire homage to the last translated saint a splendid shrine was erected to him which came from from and even from mount to worship at this shrine for a time but after a very brief period retired from the altogether and no one ever made out exactly why though there were that the idol had manifested a pointed dislike to his services he was succeeded by a who gave perfect satisfaction and and signs of a somewhat ad order were of almost daily occurrence at the altar of it soon became clear that the idol was of an jealous disposition keeping his well up to the mark in the matter of and altogether religious enthusiasm was maintained at a high level compared with the and ceremonies which had satisfied the easy going original the which perhaps shows that your idol is not different from other thus for some years shrine and idol flourished and the village found spiritual and commercial benefit from the circumstance until the bad times came when took it into his ill regulated head to force the ith upon all his subjects temples of various were destroyed and the buried by their brighter days should dawn aod possibly some such as this the shrine of for no record of it is to be found later than the ei of and the of by great britain but the legend to this day and as will be seen hereafter an attempt has even been made on the part of a highly cultivated to connect it with certain events which form the european part of this story how far this attempt may be justified this historian not to decide but he the tradition here for what it may be worth on the bare chance that it may be accepted as shedding some faint light upon much that is otherwise inexplicable the london time nineteenth chapter i self i love not less though less the show appear that love is whose rich the owner s tongue doth publish there are parts of london which never seem to have been thoroughly anyone who is at all with the metropolis will be able to recall at least one neighbourhood of this kind the houses are small and neat in the s house style of architecture with a tendency to over indulgence in green blinds and brass and street is almost abandoned in of names charged with rural or sentimental associations its are free from bustle and noise its shops maintain a calm and serious fr nt while its traffic consists of the the milk cart and the piano organ entering such a region as this one cannot but be struck by the contrast between the turmoil self restraint s tliat has only just ceased to be audible and this which if not precisely is distinctly provincial producing as it does a general impression of a sunday afternoon at a second rate inland between the seasons it may possibly excite the smile of superiority when it is added that these characteristics may all be found in a district which in fiction and drama is reserved exclusively for scenes of and guilty splendour the much district of st john s wood but it is the fact nevertheless and as many of the scenes of this story have to be laid in that it seems not wholly impertinent to insist upon it at starting in one of the and most roads in the neighbourhood in question there is a little house or rather cottage with an in	44
front and at the back a long out building whose big north light its use it was in fact at the time of which i am writing the of a young painter who was to be known in art circles and who was at work there on the particular afternoon in early spring with which this narrative opens it was not one of the picturesque it would have made a poor show in an illustrated article for it boasted no carved gallery no stained glass nor rich none of the in short of the man to whom success has brought luxury or who expects his luxury to bring him success was too fond of somewhat daring experiments to have quite gained a fallen idol the confidence of the british art patron and so far inch praise as had been accorded him was greatly in excess of the solid he was too engrossed in his work to care even if he could afford it to surround himself with disturbing influences the rooms in which he lived were as harmonious and artistic as his means could make them but in his reigned a severity which many of his felt as a personal it was big and bare and a cold dry light pervaded it piled dusty casts and dingy studies leaned or hung against the walls on the tables lay heaps of and in stained newspaper here and there was a glowing piece of or a carved but these were strictly for use not show it was easy to infer from the surroundings that their owner was a painter in grim earnest the conviction would only have been confirmed by s appearance as he stood at the large and ambitious looking canvas before him a tall well built man with fair hair which came in a crisp wave over his forehead light blue eyes with a trained in their gaze a blunt nose and a short golden beard and moustache which did not wholly conceal the rather and mouth he was not strictly a handsome man though his face had a power and of its own and his figure would have appeared to advantage in one of the becoming painting suits in which many less well favoured men indulge but while he was not of the order of there were no more traces of an eye to effect in his dress than in his such was as he stood painting with a rapid bold action and an air of entire in his work from which he only paused to give some slightly impatient direction to the model who stood and shivered in classical costume on his right for it was cold work keeping the pose when the stove had been allowed to go out for lack of attention so much engrossed was he that he did not look round when the door which communicated with the house opened and an elderly man with a cross face made his appearance to see you sir he announced with a certain grim relish as he stood at the top of the short flight of steps muttered something which did not sound like delight hang it couldn t you tell him i was busy he said just precisely what i did tell him said with an injured air but it wasn t no use he s a in he is wants to see you on important business to him was an old soldier who had been a professional model for some years and now acted as s his chief characteristic was a in everything and everybody which he seldom lost a chance of expressing as he spoke he stood aside to make way for the visitor who seemed to have no as to his welcome well my dear fellow how are you hard a fallen idol at it as usual i see never saw i a fellow he began in the tone of one who another upon a rather ridiculous i thought i d drop in and look you up can t stop long i wanted to see you about a little matter of mine and he glanced at the model with a meaning which affected not to understand for he continued to paint well he said you won t mind my going on i can listen and work too h wait till we re alone i m not in such a hurry as all that i can take a look round till you re ready said cheerfully what have you been doing for the shows this year eh i shan t send anything in this season after the way they ve treated me but you always manage to get the right side of em somehow was a painter himself so far as he could be said to have a profession at all he had always had a taste for and an eye for colour and as he had a handsome private income he was well able to devote some of it to supporting himself by the exercise of his art he had drifted from one art school to another until he conceived his education complete and then he set up an appointed where he soon became celebrated for his afternoon tea and was reported to have begun several important pictures was inclined to be severe upon contemporary art and had a reputation for extreme which he seldom by praise so he s e from canvas to canvas in s an air of calm superiority which was intensely trying what s this young woman taking a ha i see very good burning putting herself out and that s for the academy um think you ve got that in drawing doesn t look quite right to me and you might have caught more of the greek feeling perhaps after some fruitless attempts to go on with his work had sent his model away and sat down as came round and his latest	44
and largest canvas through his more eh what are you going to call this scene from the war you re only a few centuries out said it s on mount watching the battle of ah to be sure j good subject capital subject not new though is it and to be frank it s not quite what i should call happy no more was at that particular moment said you don t see what i mean it s all too modem a trifle wants what you may call the repose the of really great art and made that little wave of the hand which is so useful as a definition it s the same everywhere nowadays a man two or three models in fancy dress and thinks he has re created the fast it s a mistake sir there are very few men whose art is capable of going back beyond a couple of centuries a fallen idol i ve seen some things of yours that had gone back a good part of the way mine i why i don t attempt historical subject myself i m not a figure painter unfortunately i don t see anything unfortunate about it it might be worse yes that s true there s a good deal to be done in landscape still now and then i confess i rather wish which brings me to what i came about the fact is i ve just finished a landscape study a in forest i rather pleased myself over it congratulate you i m sure growled thanks but with all that it wants something that my dear fellow depends upon you was the answer very sorry but i have to deny myself luxuries said oh ah i didn t expect you to buy it it s this way don t you see i got of bond street to come round and look at it and he said he d take it for that gallery of his and do his best to find a only i must put a figure in the first now i don t pretend to be a figure painter well my word i can t say i never took it up somehow but you now well that s certainly your strong point i always admit that and so it struck me that you wouldn t mind putting me in some kind of a figure i don t care what you will won t you self i don t know said suppose i can t catch the forest feeling nonsense yon can do it if you like and of course take care your name comes in thanks but i couldn t think of that said in some alarm paint your figure for you though whenever you like i suppose there s no particular hurry well i should like it soon ill bring the thing round to morrow and now that s settled i didn t come in to interrupt you so i ll be what another picture portrait this time i must have a look at this before i go he had come upon a large and canvas which had been rolled into a comer and which he now wheeled out to the light i thought i recognised her he cried miss by jove little it is miss said rather coldly it was the portrait of a girl who had thrown herself lazily back in a deep chair her hands lying lightly folded in her lap she had a charming audacious face the eyes wide apart and of a grey were set at an inclination just oriental enough to be and gleamed with a certain playful malice as the full red lips curved into a little smile of submission she was painted in pure white with a knot of blue at her shoulder and behind her were heavily embroidered with strangely coloured birds and beasts and of glittering gold all woven together in one rich harmony and dangerous as such a a fallen idol was it was both rendered and whilst the portrait as a whole was a successful piece of daring which impressed even i should screw up that white another tone or two if it was mine was the only comment he made however as he it through his finger and thumb in the manner and so she s actually been sitting to you all this time he added and his somewhat prominent eyes rather more she actually has it does seem an eccentric thing to do but she did it what me is that should never have breathed a word about it to me we ve always been such particular that it is odd she always carries all her little troubles to me perhaps this was too big to carry said ah i and turned this suggestion over without appearing to make much of it i dare say well i expect it didn t occur to her to mention it i must say my boy you ve succeeded admirably in catching the mere likeness but i miss her expression sort of eager inter look she has if you ever noticed it she would reserve that for a well she s a queer girl but she can be delightful when she chooses i do assure you now how did you find her perfectly civil thank you oh my dear fellow she d be civil of course civil but you ve no idea how different she can be with a man who understands how to treat her wh when she s been talking to me how do you manage to be so sympathetic i i don t manage my dear fellow somehow i don t know why i m a kind of ther to lots of girls give em good advice don t you know and form their taste for em women are like	44
other domestic animals always know the fellows who are used to em and understand em now i ve made rather a study of them myself you know i flatter myself i read em like books thought you only read the said bead the book too if it s worth reading it generally isn t but about this portrait of course i ve often seen you at her aunt s i se she gave you the commission queer old lady isn t she goes in for amateur benevolence hat always going round for some genius astonish the world for a few more that house of hers in place is a sort of patent for only she will fill her with duck s eggs funny isn t it well said you see i was one of the myself oh ah so you were said perfectly but we ll hope turn out more in the ugly line i remember you were tied down in some bank or other and she got you out of it that was how we came to meet where was it at the first i think and then you got into the academy and i didn t but went that sporting and tour to india instead that reminds me i pleased our dear mrs a fallen idol immensely the other day brought a to see her i had met out at when i was over there you know what a is sort of himself or or something i fancy went out to india on some scientific expedition and turned now he s over here dining out and the religion it hasn t been started long but it s pushing its way don t you know and the women run after him a good deal queer looking chap talks till all s blue ever meet him never said what does he do mild miracles sort of parlour prophet don t you know g out to dinner and a little rice all the time and then has a trance upstairs over his tea cup says he sees everybody with an about him so have i after dinner and he s learning to manage his body but he t let it outside the door yet i think he s a bit of a myself but he me he s always holding forth to me on the advantages of being a but as i tell him i don t see the good of it even supposing you pass as a and poor old says it s devilish stiff and thinks he s a safe plough you only learn a lot of secrets you t turn to any account and what s the end of it all being absorbed into which as far as i can make out won t make any difference to old and would be the end of me i call it foolishness not that hasn t powers of some kind i ve seen that fellow do things with that were quite in their way and he produced a succession of out of old lady g head the other evening that i wouldn t have believed unless i d heard em as for bell sounds when he s in form hell all with em and they say he actually a the other day when they were about half a crown apiece only where s the sense of these ain t practical so rattled on not much caring whether he was listened to or not until he ran down and hoped he was going in earnest but he was standing before the portrait again i say he began once more did miss while she was sitting for this know you knew me not that i am aware of why well you just try mentioning my name and see if you don t catch a different expression she looks to me in the picture you know just the least bit bored eh ad if you hadn t tried to interest her you think so said it s very possible i well you can t expect to do justice to a girl like that if you paint her in cold blood my dear fellow i didn t i prefer the ordinary medium you know what i mean here you are sitting down to interpret all the sentiment the poetry the the indescribable charm and grace of a delightful girl for take my word for it she is that if you only knew her you sit down and paint all that with as little emotion as little are to catch the highest power of your subject as if you were painting a i a fallen idol how do you know what i feel when i paint a pump as to the portrait here that s a matter of opinion of course if ive ive failed oh i don t say that it s a clever thing but the foot is only a lover could seize the soul in her ce don t you know i which would account for my not taking i wish was a portrait painter i ve a good mind to ask her for as it is cried i don t mind telling you old fellow but for the last i ve been gradually deeper in love with that little girl i m over head and ears now that is deep said i m no to go on seeing her week after week without a i d propose to morrow only there s no particular hurry she s young and i m not quite tired of bachelor life yet i shall give myself another year of it looked at him he was not distinguished or impressive looking he was short with dark hair parted in the middle a pale rather a loose mouth he had done nothing so far except talk and was never	44
likely to do more but for all that was a personage in his way if he bored most men women found him both instructive and amusing he was and he was particularly well off would anyone say he had not a good chance of winning a young girl s heart and yet to hear him calmly assume that this was so on s nerves self tes got the old lady on my side she s naturally anxious to protect the poor child from any engagement and so i may very well wait and she s so young scarcely developed as yet a little crude even still she wants more atmosphere more perspective don t you know i yes and the violet wants with a little powder and the falls want lighting up with red fire and you re the man to do it all my dear but she does want manner you know you t notice it but it s a why this very morning i came across them in a ft shop in street and when she saw me she haven t we discussed miss about enough asked i can see you ve taken a strong prejudice against the poor girl well i won t talk about her then and i really must bolt now i ve got an appointment at home m bring the landscape round some time tomorrow then when he had really gone broke into a laugh which was rather savage than amused then he went to the portrait and studied it was that ass right he was thinking does that look on her face mean isn t there a touch of something like on her lips it didn t strike me so while i was painting her and yet and yet confound he wheeled the big back into the comer again and returning to his classical picture touched in some a fallen idol details from the studies he had made for them after a while he stopped with an impatient sigh no good he muttered i may as well stop work for to day the light s getting bad too i ll go and get some calling over no i m hanged if i do turn into the park and presently he was crossing one of the canal bridges in the direction of the park it was one of those spring when nature seems to be collecting herself for the decisive movement at first sight everything looked as bare and bleak as it had done for five dreary months past only on closer view could it be discovered that the green of the steep banks was and more vivid that the branches against the sky were closely studded with tiny and the trunks touched with a light softer and more tender than that of a mere afternoon still the cheerfulness was mainly prophetic a yet the roads were moist and gleaming and in the park the paths which cut the slopes in various directions looked cold and against the dead green turf and were soon lost in a misty veil the sunset was represented by a salmon coloured in the grey sky the wind was in the north east had in the last developed a strong affection for the s park and in the absence of any distinct route would turn in there instinctively and his steps always led him in the same direction towards the ornamental water by place it is curious the which one perhaps all unconscious maiden can throw over an entire neighbour self restraint hood for him whom her charms have it can and the least poetic surroundings and has been known to the original cause by many a year so that a man may have to pause and ask his memory it may be in vain for whose sake it is that some very ordinary street or commonplace neighbourhood can thrill him yet with a vague romance as he passes through the divinity for whose sake a particular comer of the park possessed an irresistible attraction for was it may be needless to state miss he did not go there with any expectation scarcely even the wish of meeting her and often as he took that direction he had only seen her on very rare occasions either driving or walking and always in the company of her aunt but he liked to walk there notwithstanding and all the objects and even the people on that side had an interest and a which were entirely wanting in any spot which did not happen to command a view of place on this occasion however longed for a more material solace he was harassed by doubts and depression which nothing would chase away but the actual presence of the adored one and as it happened fate was kind to him for this once for while he was inside the of enchantment he saw a dainty figure coming towards him from one of the bridges and the figure was that of the as she came nearer there was the least little e a fallen idol in her cheek she recognised him evidently she and held out her hand and even called him by his christian name even that dull and unpleasant type of person the most ordinary observer would have instantly suspected from the manner of both that they were on terms of some intimacy and so they were for they were engaged chapter n a there s a present for yon sir i yes thanks to her my pet has been able to buy me a gift had indeed in winning mrs s niece but the elder lady had not as yet been consulted and it was by no means likely that the engagement would meet with her approval it is true that was a of hers she had rescued him from his duties as a bank clerk and enabled him to follow the	44
art he loved and now that he was beginning to be known as a painter of decided promise she could reflect with some complacency that she had discovered him but the of a new country does not invariably feel called upon to live in it and mrs had always maintained a social distance in her relations with the various objects of her benevolence received occasional invitations of an kind but he had never been admitted to any real intimacy and when left school to live with her aunt at place no idea of any danger to either side a fallen idol from the young painter s visits presented itself to s view himself unfortunately had not met miss many times before his peace of mind was seriously disturbed to do him justice he struggled hard to banish her face from his thoughts he refused even the rare opportunities of seeing her that were afforded him he tried to forget her in his work but the very with which he set himself to paint only brought him into such further notice that mrs determined that he and no other should paint her niece s portrait and he could not or at all events did not decline the commission the unhappy young man a combination of torture and ecstasy during the first few every day left him deeper in love and despair for s manner gave him no reason for hope and if it had done so was he not bound to silence by the most principles of honour what right had he who was only just beginning to make a living to ask this or any other delicately reared girl to step down to him into the struggle so he hid his passion under indifference with the usual success in such cases he had interested her from the first so she was merely by his apparent into the resolve to overcome it he was not long in betraying himself though quite unconsciously or at least involuntarily and she was strangely thrilled by the of his secret still he did not speak he would have kept silent to a the end but for a change in his prospects which released him from all further restraint a distant and relative died and him an unexpected enough to make it possible for him to many without or selfishness he hesitated a little even then for s moods had varied so of late that he was afraid to put his fate to the touch just then but at last the opportunity came and he took it and she heard him to the end quite meekly and he found himself accepted but upon one point she had insisted with the sweetest obstinacy no one at home not even her aunt must be told of their engagement until she gave him leave to announce it she had to consent to his writing to her ther who was out in india but if he told anybody else why then this wilful young person declared there should be no engagement to be disclosed he was too desperately in love to run any risk by putting this resolution of hers to the test he and had never been free from self reproach since it had gone on for more than a month now this most unsatisfactory of engagements they saw one another but seldom indeed for part of the time she had been away at she wrote and her letters were gay and affectionate but when he met her again she gave no sign by her manner of greeting him that he was more to her than others were it is true there were others present at the time and true that she contrived to him before he left by some apparently careless speech to which her eyes and a fallen idol voice gave a sweet and special meaning but for all that the strain was telling on his self respect and he under his false position more and more what he suffered under to will after this explanation be readily imagined and now that by a happy accident he had met her he felt the time had come to speak plainly she was the first who spoke i thought this was one of the things we agreed we wouldn t do she observed though with no very great show of displeasure i didn t know i should have the luck to meet you just now he said and you must let me speak to you there is something i want to say she arched her pretty eyebrows something serious she inquired yes rather then suppose we find a seat somewhere i can be so much more serious sitting down they found a sheltered bench near the water s edge where the were half now tell me all about it she said looking lovely as she settled herself comfortably to listen it s simply this i can t stand this secrecy any longer h but why where would be the fun if everybody knew after all one doesn t at least i didn t get engaged for the fan of the thing and if i had i ve had very little of it you might be serious without being disagreeable a is disagreeable to object to have to play an under hand part very because don t you see papa knows all about it he must have had your letter a fortnight ago but your aunt doesn t you know how much she has done for me i never ought to have kept this from her ah but you couldn t help yourself you see i cried gaily it was my secret as well as yours and you were bound to keep it as long as i wished it kept and why were you so anxious to have it kept she was looking at him with meditative eyes will you have	44
a lot of little reasons or one big one she asked i should very much prefer the real one he said rather grimly well said the real one was i d set my heart on having my portrait at the this year i don t see the connection if all goes well it must be there now sir c has seen it and i only want one more sitting to finish it and we re coming for that to morrow yes but you foolish if you had told aunt when you wanted to do you suppose you would ever have had the chance of finishing it in time why i should never have been allowed to come near the till we knew what papa thought of you and perhaps not then all these weeks quite wasted so that by that little of mine for you might have known if you hadn t been a goose i never meant all i said just by that i ve saved you a whole year of fame because i have quite made up my mind that that portrait is going a fallen idol to make yon famous and naturally she added with a little laugh at her own vanity i should like to be a little famous too if that is all said now the portrait is safe you can t object to my speaking out but i do she said don t tell aunt yet but why you must have some reason surely we are very happy as we are hardly as far as i am concerned just think how often do i ever see you why this is the first time since that evening at the that i ve had a chance of being alone with you i have to be content with catching sight of you through some confounded crush and think myself lucky if i get a look or a word in the course of the evening isn t that what you ought to think and really you might bear it a little longer when i ask you it isn t as if there was the least harm in it there wouldn t be if i was under no obligations to mrs but for that i shouldn t complain i dare say i should enjoy keeping this to ourselves as it is nothing can get rid of the fact that i m if you told her do you know what would happen at first she would try to treat me like a naughty little girl and she looked very like one indeed as she spoke and then she would tell somebody about it every body would know what th n a remonstrance why you know how people will come and fuss about and ask questions and congratulate i do hate all that it s all very well for you you won t have to go through it as far as congratulations go i fancy i m in more danger than you but what is there so very objectionable about it after all oh i don t know and she gave a little every girl i particularly will make a point of rushing up directly she sees me to give me little kisses and and i shall have to listen to so glad dear love so sweet of you to be romantic in these days it s really quite do tell me all about it and so on and then all the old ladies and the silly old gentlemen who try to be funny about it it will be horrid and it s no use pretending it won t but it must come some time your father will probably write to mrs soon and he must mention it then papa isn t very regular about letters and at all events we can wait till he does write it isn t at all nice x f you to be so obstinate made a poor pretence at a laugh why don t you say in so words that you are beginning to think you might have done a wiser thing than accept me i suppose i t to wonder that you are not in any very great hurry to own me if her was any index to her feelings was honestly startled and wounded by such a fallen idol doubts her which was not more than half real vanished instantly all her childish left her if you mean what you say she said and her voice trembled it is very cruel you know or you ought to know that i never had such a thought for one moment i have always been so proud of you i yet you can t acknowledge me if you are beginning to repent if you have the slightest don t don t hide them under tell me now i can bear it better now than later you seem to be quite certain you will have to bear it some time she said with averted head you may be asked to throw me over soon for what i know to listen to some fellow who is rich well connected able to give you the position you ought to fill in whose cause your aunt would put all the pressure she could upon you some fellow like well like for instance her colour deepened at least you might wait till you are thrown over poor isn t it rather absurd to be jealous of him whether it is or not said i want to feel sure of you and you must see that this concealment is putting me more hopelessly in the wrong eveiy day making it easier to separate us if i had only known you felt like that about it i said it me when you let such fancies get hold of you but you shall have no excuse	44
for them any longer i did hate a fuss but i won t mind a it now aunt shall be told if you think it right there will that satisfy you it is everything i asked don t think me a brute for on my own way in this darling even now when i know there was no ground for doubting you i think you might have seen that from the first she said but i suppose it is your nature and you can t help it bo i must forgive you and i will tell aunt everything this very evening i can t think of letting you do that he said it ought to come firom me she gave a little sigh of very obvious relief if you think it best she said and when will you tell her to morrow as soon as the sitting is over we shall be dreadfully i know said still so long as it your mind and now she added brightly with a complete return to her original gaiety don t let us think of any more i ve a surprise for you while you were persuading yourself i dare say that i had completely forgotten all about you what do you suppose i was doing for you this morning guess i can t tell i m sure he said if it wasn t slippers of course it wasn t slippers i said indignantly to think you ve no more imagination than that i it was nothing of that kind i don t go in for it well i had better tell you i bought you a little present i never gave you anything in return for that lovely ring which i ve never worn yet a fallen idol yon gave me this he said taking the hand which was nearer to him that didn t cost me anything to give this is a real present are you grateful or will you tell me how foolish it is of me to waste my money on presents which is what aunt used to say when i gave her anything to be sure she added i always had to borrow the money from her first but you will try to like this i think i can promise that he said i haven t any words to thank you with you must wait till you see it perhaps you won t care about it i don t know what made me think you would but i ll tell you how i came to get it i was driving with aunt this morning and we went into a little i shop near oxford street where aunt had heard of some she wanted to look at well the shop was kept by the dearest old man who wore a velvet cap and seemed so low spirited and while aunt was upstairs looking at the old man poured out all his sorrow to me it seems he has had nothing but misfortune for months losses and and and fires all kinds of trouble poor thing well i felt so sorry for him particularly as i knew quite well that aunt wouldn t buy anything she never does so as i had made up my mind to get something for you i thought i would get it there to him up a little but all the things were so dear except one i m not going to tell you what it is because know very soon but it has quite a little story connected with it it was dug up a short time ago by some a captain somebody who had to leave the army shortly after for some disgrace he got into so the old man told me and the ship which brought it over om india was wrecked and all the cargo lost except just that one thing which floated safely to land inside a so it s rather a curiosity in its way evidently said but i had such a fright while i was buying it for in the very middle who should come in but he came smiling up in that way of his swelling his chest out and said well little one and what are we throwing our pocket money away on now eh so of course i had to show him and then he wanted to know possible use could i find for that and i told him i had bought it because his last photographs didn t do him justice and then he went upstairs to find aunt and i had just time to give your address and swear my old gentleman to silence it ought to be at your house by this time i do wonder what you ll think when you see it i think it my chief treasure whatever it is i shall keep it all my life but will you really somehow i don t like to think of your ever parting with it will you promise to keep it whatever happens whatever happens he agreed smiling at her earnest charming face well said we ve had a nice long talk and only one quarrel and now i must go not yet he pleaded a fallen idol yes she rejoined now i aunt to drive home and leave me at the because i wanted to talk with that odious and i assured her my way across the f alone she said one never knows what kind of people one may meet which is quite true for i hadn t the least idea i should meet you i ought to go back at once or she will be feeling nervous about me no you mustn t walk a step further with me i forbid it you will have your own way to morrow they parted and he watched her graceful figure till it disappeared in the dusk and	44
to give a present i should choose something more i should if you must send a bust there s plenty on them italian men s as have a more christian look to em a that s likely enough this is an idol an old indian idol don t you believe it mr it s a deal more likely to be a sham one of them as we keep the heathen going with why ah i and he sat down suddenly upon the nearest chair excuse the liberty i m taking but one of my old me rather severe in the side you ve no faith in eh why no sir i can t say as i consider them altogether judge from my own observation now there s that place you took a likeness of when you was down in last spring stone well you ll never persuade me those big stones are genuine what did them that lived up trees know about building and d ye think any stone could stand our climate for all these of years look at our public buildings erected quite recent and already i why i you bein young believe in that there s needle they ve set up on the i don t the moment i set eyes on it i said it s a do all them marks and on it have been right oflf from our crystal which i myself can well remember when it wasn t built that s what i go upon d ye see no no don t you be took in sir it s the same with them old why you know what they are as well as i do i know a party myself as turns em out by the gross he s only got to draw and colour as bad as he knows how and hang it in the to there s some in the national ry it s true that are clean enough but your a fallen idol own common sense tell you they re too well coloured ever to have been done in them old muddy evil times as they call it they hadn t the education for it you re a wise man the nineteenth s the only genuine century eh all others are and their works prove it and now suppose you suggest for this idol how would it look en the low it wouldn t look no than what it would elsewhere said try it on the where the is now you had better fetch the steps perhaps fetched a pair of steps and bringing them to the mounted laboriously and after the reduced but faithful plaster copy of the antique prepared to establish the oriental in the room of the classic divinity he turned on the steps holding the image out at arm s length as he remarked with strong disgust just think now that there s so as to fall down and worship this here old why i shouldn t have believed but what would not have believed was not destined to appear on that occasion for at that instant he lost his balance and fell accompanied or preceded by his burden a wild clutch at the small brought the entire piece down with its valuable load of old glass and the hard won spoils of s continental wanderings and lay on his back in the midst of the ruin a well said rather grimly as he relieved him of the and picked him out of the fragments you ve contrived to come down on a rather extensive scale sat up and rolled his eyes i ve come down on the edge of the he said it take me a hour to clear up this mess he added in an injured tone i didn t make it confound you said laughing in spite of his anger here get up and collect the fragments my smashed to i see and i suppose the idol has come off no better the idol sir being made uncommon strong has remained and entire which is more than i can say the same of my ed my skull s all in and my brain s in that state of i know what i m a of or whether i m down or standing up all i can say is the next time your friend takes a fancy for sending you a present i hope hell choose one that s easier to that s all but at least s gift had escaped the slightest scratch and in the midst of his annoyance at the destruction was glad that he would not have to tell her that her idol was in fragments where should he place it now perhaps after all the and not the sitting room was the best place for it and there would see it when she came the next day j he had a little chinese round which a gaudy curled itself and upon this he the idol for the present the next morning when he came in to his breakfast a fallen idol it was to find a letter on his plate the stamp and marking of which made his hands shake as he opened the envelope he knew it contained the long expected answer from s father colonel it was a cautious and rather hesitating letter the colonel began by saying that if s position and projects were all he had stated them to be there could be no reasonable objection to the match particularly as his sister who was a better judge of these things than he could be had allowed them to become engaged for he presumed that her would naturally have been obtained in the first place still he added as a father he was bound to take nothing for granted he had been some years away from england which would probably account for s name and works being to	44
how any songs could be worse i then she was so violent threw at the reproof and her language was simply horrible so she had to go and now would you believe it she comes to the door every other afternoon with a piano organ ah it s an ungrateful world or so i have found it why even that young piano who my opinion so modestly of some really charming little verses he s a bitter disappointment why what has he done well he hadn t done the verses copied them if you please almost word for word from an old american magazine where found them the only alteration he made was to spoil the and when i him with it he had the impudence to tell me there was no and that he had only adapted the poems it does seem as if i was doomed to be deceived sooner or later by everybody i try to help i not i hope said with a passing pang of conscience i was not thinking of you when i said that i am sure you will prove yourself an exception by the way from a i expect my brother s father home on leave shortly i ought to have heard from him before this but he never did write home regularly when he does come i must bring him here to see you it s so good for a young man to have a few influential friends as i have found said oh well when i discover genius in any form i uke to encourage it i wish i could say the result was more generally satisfactory what is the matter with he has stolen away where i can t see him but i can tell from his bark that he s excited do kindly go and see mr for i can t leave my i assure you said he is not likely to do any harm here but i m sure some rat must be worrying him poor dear please go and drive it away not a rat in the place i give you my word protested let me get down and see said you not for worlds cried it s too absorbing just now for me to think of allowing you to move ill attend to master as soon as i can t i turn my head she asked yes if you will keep your hands still they were beautiful hands and as they lay lightly folded in all their charming he was rendering their curves and satin surface with the eager the breathless excited care of a painter who was also a lover there was a mischievous sparkle in s eyes when a fallen idol she turned her head towards him would you like to know what it really is that is my aunt s she asked with her audacious smile not one of my productions i hope he said no he seems to have taken one of his sudden to that very hideous little image over there on the is that a new acquisition i don t remember seeing it here last time she said this with the utmost only her eyes danced met those eyes with rather stern and serious ones it was given to me only yesterday he replied by a friend singular thing for a friend to give don t you think remarked depends rather on the spirit it was given in replied what a horrid phrase as if it came in a bottle like a snake but you must have thought just when you first saw it that your friend was laughing at you he frowned slightly i have thought so ever never more than now and yet i have tried to believe too that my my friend would not have deliberately stooped to trifle with me s eyes were soft and at once i think you are right she said softly and she forgot that she had no right to clasp her hands just then very likely your friend bought it because at the time he really thought it was a curiosity and interesting in its way perhaps he fancied too that whatever it was coming from from him you know you would value it f om a al now you have put it in that way i feel sure of it and the friend was not mistaken i do value it if i was giving i liked a present i should be careful to choose a rather hideous one because then if he cared about it i should know it was not for its own sake but for mine certainly your friend s gift is hideous enough with that remarkably unpleasant smile isn t it gifts are not to be are they at least about the mouth and i m not sure that i am not to love this one for its own sake there s something in its face that distinctly grows upon one i should be very sorry if it were to distinctly grow upon me but do you really like it i really do to me there s an irresistible fascination about a really genuine ex idol think of the power it has enjoyed in its day the enthusiasm it has aroused the faith it has inspired this reduced idol has once kept a temple of its own with a of priests all engaged in to its and its virtues nothing expected of it either except an occasional miracle whenever it felt equal to it and even that was probably performed by there it sat in an atmosphere of incense and flowers hearing its own praises from an endless string of it must have grown very conceited said or fearfully bored conceited perhaps but i doubt whether there is any real about as far as the object is concerned none of our	44
popular have ever been heard to complain of the monotony of the thing perhaps a fallen idol because it did not last long enough as for this fellow he enjoyed it all thoroughly you can see that in his face i dare say a sense of humour is left out of most otherwise it must have amused him to have his interference in so much request and find himself with presents to keep him good tempered when all the time he knew he hadn t influence enough to stop a shower or cure a cold we are talking as if it was something real said a good many real people have been much more artificial i dare say it has been a reality to generations which must have encouraged it to believe in itself as as anybody and now what a change for it no one even knows whom it is intended to represent unless it is an image of which for s sake i hope it isn t nobody it even on the weather nobody or even understands its tastes in the matter of flowers or it s a mere a curiosity a fellow that hath had losses without the consolation of everything handsome about him how pathetic you are exclaimed i shall have to send you some lent lilies for it but it seems happy and contented enough just see how it sits smiling down on that poor frantic like a cat on a wall who had evidently taken a violent prejudice against the stranger had been growling and round its for some time and now to refrain from more open of dislike he was barking furiously mr mrs ask you from a once more to bring to me it s not good for him all this excitement he s so sensitive about any poor pet and that image of yours seems to his nerves do put it where it won t him had just fallen back to catch the effect of his latest touches and as he dispersed some of the colour with his thumb and looked about for a rag he said i should have said the was all on s side but in another moment by jove he s brought the whole thing over oh cried forgetting where they were for a moment see the poor dog oh it s horrible move it quick has done any mischief inquired mrs preparing to put down her work and leave the with a stately deliberation to himself i fear replied as he went to the aid of the animal whose last furious leap had upset the and brought the image down upon his own devoted head the idol lay face upwards wearing what the immortal of hon chief justice would describe as the soft and fascinating beams of a and underneath it lay the ill past all mrs was bending over him oh my poor speak to me oh i don t know what i m saying fetch my she might have applied the gold headed bottle quite as to the idol s flat nostrils to quote the q once more it proved after all as if to milk the a fallen idol ram for the had already departed to reside with the morning stars stood by looking rather pale and distressed for her aunt s sake for she had never been very warmly attached to the deceased oh aunt she said i am so very very sorry such an unfortunate accident mrs rose gray and grim and turned towards it was no accident she said harshly it was wilful carelessness if no worse to leave a heavy stone on a where a breath might upset it no it could not have been left there without some motive could hardly believe his own ears do you really suggest that i planned this he asked oh i charge nothing you were never really pleased to have my poor pet in your and no trap could have acted better than this one and i begged you over and over again to interfere and take away but no i was only a silly old woman not worth any attention from such a clever young gentleman i dare say you hoped to see him hurt himself well you have had your wish the old lady s eyes were very bright and her cheeks were now stained a clear crimson she was in a towering passion it would have been unfair to take any serious notice of her wild which she would probably forget by the following day and restrained his own impatience but the chief thought in his mind was i cannot tell from a her about just now i think you are very unjust mrs was all he said not the least unjust sir i had a right which you compel me to remind you of to expect something very different i think you owe something to me and how have you repaid me you are yourself mrs when you speak to me in this way more to cover his own rising anger than for anything else was carefully placing the idol exactly upon the centre of an old cabinet the action seemed only to further his is this a deliberate insult or mere she demanded this that you are doing now it seems only too easy for me to offend this morning he said but i have no notion how i am offending now and you actually intend to keep that dangerous object amongst your ornaments in spite of all really mrs do you expect me to have it hung he said with an irritation he could control no longer it pleases you to be sarcastic sir she replied but no one with a spark of decent feeling to say nothing of taste would care to keep such a thing about him after this supposing it had been	44
a mere accident no he would throw it out of window give it away break it to anything rather than that had been standing a little apart listening with downcast eyes slightly ashamed perhaps of the whole a fallen idol thing and yet as the corners of her lips betrayed quite to the ludicrous side of the situation now at this latest display of on her aunt s part she raised her eyes and looked at her lover with sudden curiosity to know what he would say i can t do that he replied for the fact is this idol was given to me by a very dear friend who made him promise aunt promise solemnly never to part with it added eagerly how do you know that if you please said her aunt sharply and miss remained silent it is the fact however i said i could not part with it even if i wished to well said mrs bitterly i have my reward i suppose i might have expected it and then there was an awkward pause for the door had opened and came self satisfied and serene as usual into the highly atmosphere noticed things and persons in sections his mind being a good deal concentrated upon himself he had shaken hands with without having observed that he was not alone i ve brought the picture i want you to help me with he began got it outside in a cab here he stopped and became vaguely aware of the others oh i m sure why it s mrs so it is and my little what luck this is jolly now i am glad by jove i am he was all and boyish just then a manner which he considered became him rather well from a he shook hands warmly as if he had not seen them for months well he said and how do you think this young lady s portrait is getting on mrs i have been given other things to think about said mrs stiffly have you though said why what s our cross legged friend the idol doing here you don t mean to say you ve brought him here to get mr s opinion he doesn t know anything about indian now i ve been in india i could have told you in a second whether it was worth anything when you were buying it yesterday if you had asked me stop said mrs what are you talking about eh exclaimed why surely you remember yesterday in street i came in while you were buying it we had a little joke about it you and i didn t we my child did we said i have forgotten now i begin to said mrs will you be so good as to go outside and see if you can find the carriage and wait there till we come out i shall not be long but i have some business to arrange with mr first by all means said wouldn t disturb you for worlds when he had gone mrs turned upon now no if you please it seems you are the friend who gave this highly desirable gift o a fallen idol was about to speak but he was checked not you please yet i want my niece to answer yes aunt i gave it said and may i ask if you are in the habit of sending presents to young men with whom you are slightly acquainted her aunt demanded not as a general rule explained but but it makes some doesn t it when you are engaged to the person i thought it did when you are what cried mrs are you insane the truth is mrs that has promised to be my wife said and how long may this have been going on about six weeks he answered indeed six weeks i congratulate you both on your talent for and concealment we wrote to papa directly we knew it ourselves said and we were going to tell you this very day most considerate of you really for of course i had no claim being only your guardian and his best friend to be told at all it was not s fault he wanted to tell you at first but i i wouldn t let him i don t know whom to admire most and has my brother written to approve of this very prudent arrangement i got his answer this morning said as he handed her the colonel s letter he felt extremely small from a thanks to their secret had been disclosed in the most disastrous manner and at the worst possible time mrs read the letter with lips and then returned it to my brother she observed seems to have taken it for granted that you would not have concealed this from me but is too ready to give other people credit for possessing a sense of honour aunt i cried always wanted to tell you hold your tongue mr ought to be very well able to defend himself oh i exclaimed i make no excuses i can find none well sir my brother has left me full discretion it appears until his return i shall exercise it what i have heard gives me very little cause to trust either of you i forbid you mr to call at my house or attempt to see my niece without my permission the least you can do is to engage now not to make conduct any worse looked at her eyes said promise anything i wiu engage he not to attempt to see her for the present provided you allow us to write to one another mrs gave a short harsh laugh oh i shall not attempt the impossible she said understands or she ought to do so that she must abide by her father s decision if	44
you choose to correspond in the meantime i don t suppose i could prevent it if i would but na meetings you understand i will wait patiently said a fallen idol and so will i said softly then i think that is all as for the portrait that must do as best it can if you have a conscience mr it should be troubling you now it is said as he made a movement to open the door thank you we do not require any help from you said mrs mr is outside good day she took up the body of the departed which she had laid upon the and swept out of the painting room followed by who threw a parting glance of half comic despair and resignation shortly after came in with a large canvas here you are pay boy he said throw in an appropriate figure and earn my gratitude i say has there been anything in the shape of a row well yes said i think i may say there has ha i you ve had the ill luck to our charming eh she s oh yes but don t you mind old chap you know what i told you yesterday i ve some little influence in that quarter and if i can make it all right for you why command me thanks said but miss and i have had no quarrel then it s the old lady well i know you must have had a good deal to put up with anything to do with i see he s gone aloft always knew from a that beast would go oflf suddenly one day what was the row about eh my dear fellow that s my affair excuse me said puffing his cheeks but as one who may be rather closely connected with the family don t you know i think it s my affair as well then i will tell you and you will see what right you had to be told mrs has just discovered thanks to you what i was about to disclose myself that miss and i were engaged the devil you are cried sharply i should have told you yesterday said if i had not been pledged to secrecy had turned extremely red if that s so he said after a moment s delay you have made a pretty considerable fool of me between you what do you mean said sternly nothing only if i know anything of women and i used to imagine i did well there what was it said to after the council scene she has deceived her father and may thee i the quotation isn t quite on all but it s near enough i ll reserve my congratulations and it s just possible they may be a trifle fly blown before i have an opportunity of offering them by by ta ta growled when had gone paced the he was ill at ease discontented with the part he had been made to play he knew not why a idol of the future had gone wrong on this unlucky morning and though he knew too well to pay much attention to his windy he felt that and himself had been forced that day to take paths that would lead them ever farther asunder iv last touches by the next s spirits had somewhat risen after all this with mrs was not likely to be final before many weeks he would in all probability find himself in a position which could not be fairly considered the payment of the which had been so left him could not be long delayed and then he had high expectations with respect to his two academy pictures and he knew that his portrait of would attract some attention at the so that if only remained and true to him he had no reason even with mrs against him to expect dismissal from the colonel he found on his breakfast table a letter in a blue envelope on which he read the name of the who had first informed him of his the were ready to pay it in he concluded with satisfaction but he had scarcely opened the envelope before his satisfaction vanished with his appetite for the letter was in the following terms a fallen idol deceased sir we are instructed by the to lose no time in informing you that on sending down to house this day for grant of of the will of above deceased we discovered that a had been entered the object of which as we have subsequently ascertained is to have such will declared void on the ground that at the time of its execution was of mind you will not need to be reminded that should the proceedings which will probably now be necessary in the division have the result of the will in question all will fail in consequence and without of course expressing any opinion here as to our case we would venture to impress upon you the step that they have taken is one which may very seriously prejudice your interests as one of the we are etc and new square s inn uneasy recollections of his relative s came back to as ne letter he had scarcely known him by sight but till now he had flattered himself that he owed his unexpected to the s pride in a s rising fame and it was the more unpleasant to see in it only additional proof of he thought he would go to s inn and hear if there was any real danger that the will not be and the partner who saw him was not un last touches sympathetic and as as his profession allowed but he did not pretend to take a very encouraging view of the case for as he remarked with much weight if the case went into court and it was proved	44
that the deceased had as it was reported devoted much of his later days to fruitless attempts to ducks in his back garden the fact might not increase the jury s confidence in his capacity a view with which poor agreed with a sinking heart he could not learn with any certainty when he might expect to know the worst it appeared that the had entered something known as a warning to the and the next move must come from the other side while some time must pass before the case could be set down for trial upon the whole the cautious succeeded in with the proper degree of gloom if he reflected on his way back this were really about to prove a legal he might find himself in a somewhat embarrassed position for under the impression that his former strict economy was now no longer necessary he had run up some considerable bills of late at his s and s then there was how would this his prospects of success with her father perhaps even with herself at all events it must have the result of the marriage if his own income were no longer assured for colonel was by no means a rich man but resolved to shake off all why should he despair when at that very time possibly a fallen idol his contained that would bring both fame and wealth on inspection however they satisfied him less now that he had become so much more dependent upon them how was it that he had never noticed before how low they were in tone how deficient in colour and breadth of treatment was it too late even then to bring them nearer to his conception of what they might be he decided to make the attempt and had a wonderful sense of mastery and increased vision as he went over the old ground with rapid nervous touches in three hours he had entirely transformed the canvas now the several groups stood out in telling contrast against a flaming sunset sky the faces and had been more boldly dealt with the whole picture was with a sombre glow he was satisfied at last and now had courage to write to tell of the change in his fortunes and ask her to give him some assurance that her constancy was the letter was written in hot haste in his and as he wrote the direction he happened to look up and caught what seemed a look of bland encouragement and approval on the face of the oriental image on the cabinet opposite it was too precious a letter to trust to another hand and he put it in the letter box himself confident of receiving the answer by return of post he waited the next day and two days more but no reply came though he knew that and her aunt were stiu at place last then he went to the post office and made inquiries which he felt at the time were a farce for he had no real doubt that his letter had been delivered in the usual way they gave him a form to be filled up and sent to the general but it occurred to him that might be troubled by official inquiries which would only vex her whether the letter had been received or not so he took the more sensible course of writing again and his letter was one which no girl with any of a heart could leave happened to come into the room shortly afterwards will you be wanting this image for a few minutes he inquired because i thought if you had no objections i d get my to give it a wash down what with the and dust about it s got so that a little soap and water wouldn t do it no arm just as you like said this for the post sir said as he was leaving the room with the idol tucked under his arm like a and saw s letter on the table no let me see i was going to the post with it myself but very well only it must be posted in time for the last collection mind went out with a kind of at being supposed in need of such a in about ten minutes the idol reappeared not a whit in the charge of mrs could you oblige with a little brandy sir she asked a fallen idol certainly you know where to find it isn t he well he s had a slight fall sir and came down rather severe like on the back of his head i don t know what s come to lately he s took so to falling about and himself and later in the day s grim countenance was not improved by a but he made no reference to his accident had a heart or had she not he waited again for some tender lines from her but they never came he sent for and questioned him but was indignant at the mere suggestion of any on his part any letters mr sir as you give me to post i post you gave me that there letter and posted it was you may depend upon it after this he decided not to write again s silence was evidently still he did not blame or doubt her she might be prevented or have promised not to write until she had seen her father declined to believe the worst in her case and tried to his whole energies upon the in which he had now produced a wonderful alteration he was still eagerly at work when the men came with packing cases to carry the two largest to the academy but when they were oflf his hands he found himself more and more troubled by s silence there were phrases of hers which he had thought at the time charming	44
in their of impertinence last touches and were they no affectation after all she never concealed the girlish pleasure she took in making dainty little experiments on his feelings was this only he used to ask himself these questions as he stood before her portrait and even asked the pictured face as if those lips smiling so were able to answer him tell me you are not cruel not indifferent you do love me a little the picture was finished but now he began to feel dissatisfied with it he had meant to do so much more and he felt that he had come very far short of rendering the exact shade of expression he thought to have surprised and there seemed now a want of balance in the composition which he could have wished to set right before it was too late some was needed at the right of the picture to keep the gorgeous firom becoming too prominent and to relieve their somewhat effect it happened that at the instant this occurred to him his eye was resting upon the figure of the idol and he uttered an exclamation of sudden there was his yes it was the very thing in sufficient character to with the surroundings so ugly as to the charm of his subject it seemed as if some instinct had led to give it to him for this particular purpose and then if she were drifting apart firom him would she not when she recognised the addition he had a fallen idol made to her portrait see in it a mute appeal a witness of the link between them it could not and it might even succeed in touching her after this fancy had taken thorough possession of him not all the best judges in london could have him on the most artistic grounds from carrying it out he placed the idol upon the and began to paint it but he had scarcely done more than indicate its position on the canvas before he became enchanted with his success he painted on for two days denying himself to scarcely allowing himself time for meals so strongly did his subject appeal to his imagination and as he went on he was astonished himself at the brilliancy and accuracy with which he had its dingy tone and grotesque features he found himself able too to catch the exact expression in s eyes and mouth which had haunted and him till then it was rendered in so marvellous and a manner that he caught his breath only half able to believe that his hand had really attained to such added skill picture sunday passed but did not affect him for wisely or he had never encouraged the society stream to flow through his and it now passed him by in ignorance still he worked on and improving with ever growing delight until past the regular sending in day for on giving the of the space his picture required he had been granted a few last touches days grace but at last one afternoon he had to allow it to be taken away and saw it depart with a sense of desertion even then he was not disposed to be idle he had forgotten and his landscape all this time but now with a feeling that he owed it as a kind of to his departed rival he painted in a figure from an old sketch book with all the care he could bestow and a fortnight later a letter bearing the royal arms was brought to him containing an official notice which he read with a sick bewilderment two thirds of his year s labour wasted a crushing and double failure and in which he had been so proudly confident rejected his self confidence staggered under the shock where was all the increase of power he had been so conscious of how could he have deceived himself so blindly so if s portrait had not already left the he would have destroyed it then and there in the first mad rush of despair and disappointment it was safe at least from having been sent by express invitation but for all he knew now it might prove as hideous a failure he was still under the bitterness of this when an called who was on the hanging committee that year looked in to see him had always been a kind and friend who had shown a warm interest in from bis student days you ve had your medicine i see eh he said as he saw the young painter s face h a fallen idol yes said with a forced laugh and it down well said i did all i for you but it was no use they wouldn t have you at any price thanks said poor and and did you think them so bad do you want my candid opinion don t say yes if you mean no very well then if you must have it i couldn t believe my eyes when i read your name on em my dear boy what could you have been about to send in such like the pictures outside a shooting saloon or a peep show by they are i i assure you i consider it a good thing for you they are rejected you d have been sir if they d hung you groaned you saw them a couple of months ago and spoke rather well of them well you ve played the very deuce with them since i scarcely knew em again at first come my boy you must set to and turn over a new leaf unless you want to join the noble army of sticks you ve got on a wrong track you re playing to the gallery and a confounded kind of gallery at that i suppose you re right i ve been a fool i ve a	44
portrait too which can t escape the for it s at the if the others are bad i suppose this is even worse for i thought it was the best thing i d done go round to the gallery and see if you can t get them to let you have it back you mustn t play any last touches tricks with reputation just yet my dear fellow leave that to tt shrank from this extreme step i can t do that so much depends on it i can t trust my own judgment any longer you know them there you re exhibiting something yourself aren t you i m leaving town to night i can t stay here now will you see the picture if you can and use your own discretion if it s bad use all your influence to get it taken down hi give you the fullest authority well i don t suppose they re often asked to do such a thing and it may be a business to manage said but try my best if the portrait i seen it so i don t know but if it s poor work and unworthy of you worry them till they give it up they may be glad enough to be let off hanging it said gloomily if it s at all like the other two replied i can t say i should be surprised if they were can t imagine what s come to you this year i expect i belong to the order of s said bitterly and produce a gold and some leaves and then ix n t talk that nonsense to me come come cheer up my boy you ll pull round all right never fear and do what i can about the portrait and let you know the result eh thanked him warmly and gave the address of the little country village where he was going to hide head for the present and they parted b a a fallen idol it was with a bore heart that he the receipt which was to to take back his unlucky and then left town to spare himself the sight of them just then here it may be said that when some days after his return he found courage to look at and once more he was forced to admit the justice of their condemnation he could hardly believe he had painted them they were so crude so in colour far below in everything but the conception all that he had ever done that it seemed as if only some lying spirit could have inspired him with any confidence at all in them however before another week had passed this came to him at the homely inn where he was staying have seen daring very but far from bad think it will do hung on line end of east gallery under i let it stay there what relief this message brought him he was not such a complete failure then after all would not have to think him a wretched and the fate of his academy failures troubled him no more he had intended to remain away from town until after the private view but now he found courage to chapter v explanations if thou wilt leave me do not leave me last other petty have done their spite bnt in the come so shall i taste at first the very worst of fortune s might in spite of the fact that his mind was at ease respecting the portrait was by no means cheerful during his journey to town in all probability he would meet at the private view next day but he could not calculate with any certainty upon the treatment she might see fit to accord him and he could not help feeling himself in a very position she had not written a line to him since he saw her last he could not even be sure whether he might still consider himself engaged or not to morrow her first look would end his doubts but he rather shrank from thinking how they might be determined consequently it was with a thrill rather of anxiety than pleasure that after he had stepped out on the platform he found himself suddenly almost to face with she was coming towards him without the slightest ap of recognition her eyes were the line a r idol of doors and windows with an air of absorbed that looked only too like an attempt at he hesitated pride urged him to pass on common sense suggested that he would be a fool if he concluded the worst without more unmistakable proof and at that instant she saw him and his suspense was over the sudden light in her deep eyes and the frank welcome in her smile and voice were enough to chase away all his brooding no she had not given him up yet you didn t expect to meet me here she said almost in the same breath with her first greeting no he replied i have just come up from in and had no reason to hope for this she shot a glance at him but you were going to pass on at first you know you were i wasn t sure what you would wish he replied dear me laughed perhaps not without a of vexation that was very of you it would never have occurred to me that duty expected us to cut one another not duty exactly he explained then what was it please you took no notice of my letters he said i couldn t tell how they might have changed you but i never got them and so you have been doubting again ah i had more in you did you write no but only because aunt got a promise from explanations me that i would not be the first to begin i	44
shouldn t have promised but i thought you were so certain to write but you did after all so it s all right isn t it strange though that i should never get your letters he said passionately i begin to see your aunt has taken care that my letters should not reach you this is her work she was startled aunt she exclaimed oh if i thought that but it can t be it isn t like her i wouldn t think so if i could avoid it no doubt in keeping back my letters she considered she was doing her duty to you there we won t trouble about it will we for after all her plans have broken down how did you come to be here alone i i forget she said with a happy little laugh oh i know i was sent to meet a miss moon who is coming to stay a few days with aunt i m not alone is here with the carriage and if you look you will see our youthful james staring with all his eyes at you and me but evidently miss moon has missed the train or got into one going the wrong way she generally makes a few circles i believe before she gets on the right track like a pigeon and the question is now what is to be done next wait till the next train suggested doesn t come in till nearly seven she said i don t know what would do if he was asked to wait for three hours couldn t you send the carriage away and wait here with me he suggested desperately a fallen idol she shook her head gently not for three hours and besides i don t miss moon wiu come to day now bat she may pleaded and she ll expect to meet her poor thing how kind of you to think of that i said mis and t you really mind waiting here all by yourself because i could give you her description and you could meet her and explain things and put comfortably into a cab and all that you know i could do it of course he said if you insisted on it but i have so much to talk to you about if you could only stay a little while and listen you forget that you were not to attempt to see me at all she said our meeting like this was an accident he said and in any case your aunt has not kept faith with me i consider i am released those letters contained very important news and if i am not allowed to tell it to you in any other way i must speak don t send me away i never said i meant to do that she replied but what do you propose send back the carriage and let me see you back to place he said boldly it would be great fun she agreed but what w d aunt say she has chosen to suppress my letters after pretending to allow us to correspond she can t fairly complain of the consequences no said and after all we have a perfect right to be together you and t yes you shall take me home the page was told that miss moon had not arrived and that the carriage would go back empty on the box driving home he drew down upon himself a severe from the coachman for certain comments he had ventured respecting the strangeness of miss s last caprice you are a boy james said and as it is not your place to pass remarks on your and what s more if i hear you repeating it in the james i shall feel for to fetch you a over the head as you won t forget not soon james that himself preserved an on the subject is in the highest degree improbable for the servants of a household find their chief drama and fiction in the sayings and doings of the family and it would be too much to expect that the entertainment thus provided should escape all criticism in the meantime after of such luggage as he had was driving with towards york gate from which they intended to walk slowly across the park how delightful that drive with was i for a time he was content to sit almost silent by her side and watch her charming animated face and listen to her voice once more he had that to tell her which might raise a a idol between them he would leave himself he thought this one perfect recollection before he spoke and all too soon they were at s park and it was over it was a lovely spring afternoon with a warmth in the air the foliage generally was still and only the smaller trees had burst into leaf but here and there the chestnut branches ended in a pale and the bare outline of an elm was softened by a delicate mist of green they were outside the ring of the gardens before told his story of defeat but having begun he told it beginning with his threatened and ending with his academy when he had finished she laid her hand upon his sleeve with a pretty sympathetic caress and have you been making yourself wretched all this time by thinking i had given you up i suppose you thought it was only your money i cared about and that i should reject you because the academy did i didn t consult the academy when i accepted you i ah i but my darling it leaves me in a very position from what i was i may lose the only thing which justified me in asking you to have me in any case i have lost ground as a painter by these two failures	44
i may never be anything but a poor beggar all my life now i shan t mind said lightly be a poor beggar too i m afraid your won t hear of that he even if i was selfish enough to ask for it explanations then i will wait oh i know you think me and because i do enjoy you a little but i do really care for you very much all the time and you you might believe in me a little more than you do i a great came over him of intense joy and relief and gratitude and a little shame too that he should again have her it found a vent in broken expressions of self reproach and devotion if you could only know he concluded how wretched i have been making myself i all about nothing too she observed but you won t be so foolish again will you his heart swelled with happiness and love as he saw clearly that all unworthy as he was he might henceforth rest secure of her affection she would never change unless which was absurd he changed first and so they walked on by the edge of the lake where they had met once before and all around them seemed in harmony with their own happiness from the little bridge came the lively clatter of feet over its and the merry shouts of the ragged sliding face downwards on its broad pleasure boats by various methods were over the dark olive water by and the and screamed with the delight of one another in the hunt for bread under the trees on the benches a few tired were sitting their worn faces less haggard as they felt the of the scene with the birds gaily a fallen idol above and the children at play around while outside the traffic rolled with the soothing rise and of a distant sea perhaps the well to do and middle aged are not as of our as they might be if they were we should surely find less in providing for the needs of the london of the future in this respect but the poor and the weary the children and the lovers know the value of such magic where the outside world is left behind at the keeper s lodge for lovers especially not the forest of could offer greater except in the trifling detail of cutting names and on the other hand your park keeper is a less fearful than your lion for at least s park was a paradise on that afternoon and everything in it was eloquent of the long happy summer that was at hand i wonder what aunt will say to me when she hears where i have been and with whom i said i can manage her now though i have found out her plot i shall be fearfully stem and angry if i can only keep it up long enough she really has behaved very badly and i ought to be in a greater rage than i am but even yet i can t quite imagine her doing such a thing it is so unlike her with all her little peculiarities i would rather believe myself that she had no hand in it he agreed but then her getting that promise fix m you is very suspicious i m afraid there is only one explanation i shall know said it s because i was beginning to think she was rather ashamed of making such a fuss about our poor dear idol what is the matter for he had uttered a half suppressed exclamation at the word ah at once he saw the use to which he had lately put the idol in a new and startling light in hi enthusiasm as a lover and a painter he had strangely enough perhaps entirely overlooked the probability that mrs would resent his introduction into s portrait of the image which had been the instrument of her favourite s now he felt that he had been guilty of the folly in thus deliberately re opening the wound he could little enough afford to give fresh cause of complaint and yet in his blindness that was precisely what he had done nothing he replied to s last question that is i was thinking of the portrait at the moment oh i she cried is there something worse to be told yet is that rejected too he smiled at her anxiety oh no he said that s all right in fact i believe it has one of the best places how you frightened me but something is worrying you i m sure i was thinking he said slowly that it might be better if you could persuade your aunt not to go to the to morrow i she exclaimed but of course we shall go when we ve tickets and everything we are going to a idol early and be there about two i thought you would be there and we should meet surely you re not afraid she will make a scene don t you know aunt better than that well he said with a sigh of resignation it can t be helped i suppose you couldn t go alone of course and she will see it some time see what asked but he continued as if to himself and after all she may not think anything of it why should she i don t know dear said because you see i haven t any idea what you re talking about it s a trifle he said an alteration i made at the last moment i wish now but it s no use wishing aunt won t mind if she even notices said she is not very critical in art matters it s hardly a question of art i intended it to touch you and you only i begin to think	44
i was a fool to run such a risk why do you excite my curiosity in this way said tell me at once no said we will see it together dearest to morrow and you shall tell me that you at least are not offended by what i have done i don t like mysteries she said putting up her chin b little other people s mysteries perhaps not he said laughing but i can t give up my little effect i want it to burst upon you suddenly but it doesn t amuse me to have effects bursting explanations suddenly i like to feel prepared for them i didn t know yon were so obstinate if yon really won t tell me i shall go away yes i mean it it s getting late and i dare not stay here any longer i must go and have it out with my wicked aunt and things will be so different after to morrow in a few minutes was at place and went straight to the drawing room where she found her aunt seated by one of the satin shaded lamps with her in her hands she looked sharply up as her niece entered what does this mean she demanded was off her gloves and as she spoke she was removing her hat and her pretty brown hair before a small mirror it means she said oh it means that miss moon never came after all i know that she will not come now till next week i have just had a what i want you to tell me is why did you send the carriage home empty it was such a lovely afternoon i thought i would walk you know very well i don t like you to walk about london alone ah but i wasn t alone was there and mrs s tone and look were awful in their horror what when you both promised came and looked down at her with a smile of conscious power you re a very wicked and cruel old lady she observed a fallen idol and i m extremely angry with you you might have spoilt my life if i hadn t found you out in time mrs down her work if you expect to carry oflf your by being impertinent she said it will not succeed with me you had no business to meet mr without my knowledge it was disgraceful of both of you it was quite an accident still you broke word you said we might write you know you did i don t see how that affects the case said mrs stiffly it s no use aunt i know all about those two letters wrote to me what about them ah you know cried reproachfully i dare say you meant it all for the best but it was not fair indeed it wasn t and so useless because whether you and papa like it or not i shall never marry anybody else you know now be a good old lady and say you won t come between us again in that way i think you have lost your senses said mrs you are talking very strangely ta me then i will speak plainly sent me two letters i never got either aunt i believe you best know why mrs rose stiffly that will do i never thought a niece of mine would insult me like this i keep back letters after giving him leave to write if that is your opinion of me the less we see of one another in future the better explanations instinct told that this indignation was no she clung to her aunt and detained her by gentle force from leaving the room forgive me she entreated i m ever so sorry i could think such a thing i was a wicked wretch to suspect you i presume said the elder lady as she sat down with a non expression that mr was good enough to suggest this we didn t know what to think you see there were two letters they couldn t both could they easily if they were neither of them written said mrs started don t talk like that she said he said he wrote why should he deceive me that i can t tell i only know that i have neither seen nor heard of his letters if you want any further assurances you know i don t cried and sank down at her aunt s knees won t you forgive me now not when you see how penitent and humble i am mrs was disposed to make the most of her grievance she turned away her head and made some inarticulate sounds to convey that she was offended but she could not resist the vivid face very long and presently kissed her on the mouth with a tolerably good grace you re a naughty wilful child she said and i shall be heartily glad when your father comes home and my responsibility is over was playing with the lace on her aunt s i a fallen idol you won t be angry with for this will you she said i have already told you that as soon as your father arrives i shall leave him to deal with this alone till then it s my clear duty to see that it goes no i mean you won t prejudice papa against pursued you discovered him you know you dear old darling as a painter my dear hardly as a however if your father is satisfied i shall not interfere told me to day said that it might be years before we could be married he has been very unfortunate lately ah thought mrs whose experience had rendered her extremely shrewd in going behind appearances so he s trying to get out of it now that he finds i shall do	44
nothing for him and i suppose my dear she said aloud he offered to release you he was going to if he did not in so many words said but of course i wouldn t listen are you quite sure you were not intended to and to consent he knows by this time that your father cannot afford to do much for you how can you say such things cried drawing back indignantly you who can be so kind and good when you choose i won t listen you can t make me doubt him only he himself could do that and he never will why are you so bitter against my poor when you have lived as long in the world as i my dear you may be as suspicious of everything men say that disinterested and noble as i am but i won t say another word mr may be everything that is high minded i m sure i hope so for your sake i suppose he will be at the to morrow by the bye yes said and i forgot to tell you before but lam hung veiy well indeed he says isn t that a good thing and and if we see him there don t be stiff and proud to him be nice and let him see that at least you don t mean to side against him i shall keep you here till you promise i wish you would learn to treat me with more respect mrs protested but she could not withdraw her hands from s warm firm grasp and she had to give the required assent at last there then if mr himself he shall have no cause to complain of ill treatment from me and now go and dress for dinner you self willed child and let me have a little peace and while this conversation was being carried on was fondly his steps across the park for the mere pleasure of recalling the happy hour that had just fled of each step with some charming word or look of his lady s like the lover in garden fancies how lovely she had looked how sweet and she had been how he loved her and the afternoon was gone and the tender spring twilight was far advanced before he had cooled sufficiently to remember that he ought to be returning to he let himself in not without a passing shiver at the sight of l a fallen idol some packing cases by the door his rejected were inside them and found himself assisting at an apparently animated dispute in the painting room between and his wife which was audible from the entrance if you don t tell him i shall that s all t you will will you carry tales against your own wife do then i ve got my to do and as i ain t mixed up in it i feel no in of it let me leave it on master s table and say he won t notice won t he mrs said showing him self at the door of the painting room why mrs put her hand to her side oh sir she i didn t go for to do it there s a woman all over remarked her devoted husband goes and drops a letter down behind a cabinet where it might ha been lost altogether if i hadn t come across it cleaning up i didn t drop it down neither so that s how much you know retorted mrs i went out of my way to be careful as it so happens for it while you was out and i put it so it would your eye sir and to keep the draught from blowing it away i it down with the comer of that bust there and that s the truth if i was to die i say what you like persisted the inexorable you can t get over the fact that i found the letter down behind the cabinet you can t trust women with no explanations documents mr sir their ain t for it when youve both finished talking said i like to have my letter mrs brought it out from underneath her apron i do hope it ain t of any importance sir took the letter which was directed to him in a hand that strangely resembled his own the showed that it had been delivered about a month ago it contained the first letter he had written to after his change of fortune and for some time he could not understand how this could be till it occurred to him that in his haste and excitement he must have written his own name and address on the envelope in mistake for s it was foolish but then a certain of people every year post a letter with no address at all if he told himself he was incapable of a similar folly why there was the envelope to him so there was the of one letter accounted for was the non delivery of the other capable of an equally simple explanation he resolved to question more closely you remember the letter i gave you to post some days ago he said did you notice the direction you give me a many letters to post said was this any one it was one i gave you when you were taking this thing here downstairs to be washed oh said the day i fell down the steps and cut my head open j remember a fallen idol well you told me afterwards you had posted it yoa know in course i posted it if i said so no put in his wife not the day you broke your head against that not day you didn t what are you about how do you know what i did because you never stirred out of	44
the house all that day you mostly laid on a chair and groaned and swore you did till i thought something would come for you and mrs concluded by declaring her conviction that he had the letter somewhere about him still oh you think do you the insulted man i m not one of your sort though there s nothing about me you d like to make out i was no better than yourself i dare say well you won t do it you might examine your pockets though suggested oh i ll do that cheerful i ain t there you see nothing in that is there sir nor in that nor in well i needn t go on should think no said for unless i m mistaken there s the letter what did i tell you cried mrs i can t account for it sir said the chap except that a trifle of that kind will slip out through a split head do what you will there s no call for you to if you d had my excuse i shouldn t have blamed you dismissed the couple to continue below without expressing or indeed feeling any great annoyance now that he and had met the site of his letters had become unimportant the second letter was correctly addressed he found but had not passed through the post at all the one thing tiiat troubled him now was the injustice he had done to his in believing that she had with the correspondence and although the discovery that he had been mistaken was a relief as it proved her to be a less bitter and enemy than he had imagined his conscience reproached him bitterly for his ingratitude he especially wished that he had not communicated his suspicions to still this explanation certainly left him with better grounds for hope than before and he was too happy just then to give more than a passing thought to his own readiness to judge he had intended to dine at his club that evening but after his meeting with he did not care to that bright memory where it might be or he must be alone to enjoy the anticipation of happiness and a little later after an almost untouched dinner he was wandering under the evening sky luminous just then with a deep transparent blue in which the first stars were quivering naturally though he walked far and fast in his content the spirit in his feet brought him at last to place where was the which contained his jewel the curtains of all the windows were close drawn and he could catch no glimpse of any form which a fallen idol he might persuade himself was s but he found a certain in looking up at the roof with its and chimney vaguely against the star sown sky no roof could be quite commonplace which sheltered her and so with his heart throbbing with exquisite exaltation he went home to dream if he might of the morrow chapter vl the private view let not my love be called nor my beloved as an idol show the hour was at band to which had been looking forward so impatiently it was about two in the afternoon when he turned into old bond street from bond street was looking its best on that saturday a sharp brief april shower had given a freshness and brilliancy to the various tints of the house fronts the roofs of the carriages that the glanced and glittered with past rain and present sunlight and here and there above the crowded a striped or projecting gave touches of vivid colour which were softened into harmony by the haze that melted into the tender above the west end of london sombre and gloomy in winter and autumn hot and glaring in summer has in spring a a play of light and colour an animation of pleasure rather than business which give its streets an individual and irresistible charm the season capricious and unaccountable ai a fallen idol social institution is has not as yet had time to find itself out and flag trade and its are inspired with the lively but vague which is as as the blossom itself was just in the mood to be peculiarly to it all was going well with him he was on his way to receive a double reward smiles from his love congratulations fit m his friends no wonder that his heart was light and his step elastic as he entered the and passed up the crimson stairs where the had vanished and attendants received his ticket in a waste paper basket a searching glance into the two chief rooms told him that those he came to see were not arrived as yet the place was in possession for the present of a few who were apparently unaware that they were making an eccentric use of their tickets in looking at the pictures but even these did their inspection with the temporary air of people studying a railway advertisement and kept a watch for acquaintances whom it might be desirable to recognise or be recognised by from the entrance where he stood make out the frame of his portrait which hung as had told him in the best position at the opposite end of the room how it adapted itself to its surroundings he could not tell as the glass which protected the canvas caught the light in a way that left the painting invisible but it was an attention that at such a place and time was flattering to a degree a group the private view was always in front of it and none passed it by with indifference should he go and assure himself that it did not suffer from its neighbours for as has been said he had not chosen to attend on day he still shrank from the inevitable shock	44
of seeing again in cold blood the work of those last impassioned days he told himself he did not want to hear comments whether in praise or blame he would see it first at s side and from her alone he would accept a verdict so he turned down into the little room where he carefully examined a variety of water colours which he never saw till his growing restlessness allowed him to stay no longer but even then it was the west g where his portrait was not that he chose by a kind of half conscious preference it was beginning to fill now though chiefly with professors of art and criticism touched him on the arm and he saw whom he had not seen since the visit after his by the academy and whom he thanked now for what he had done about the portrait nothing to do as it happened said the been to see it not yet said well you should go and chuckled my word to hear some of the remarks made about it they d amuse you by the way who s your model don t know her it s a portrait said she s a young lady a miss a fallen idol and do yon mean to say she s like that i m hardly a judge said laughing think it s not bad bad it s devilish clever but bow does the lady like it eh she hasn t seen it very lately but shell be here presently and i hope she ll approve exactly said and well i m glad you re satisfied with what i did or rather didn t do ah mrs how d ye do soon be a crush now won t there i don t know if you ve met my young mend mr before if not mrs was a personage in her own set with the power of social degrees within a certain area had met her several times at place and she had always treated him with marked and asked him more than once to her parties at square so that he was rather surprised when with the slightest bow she said thank you i have had that advantage and added without looking at him again mr you re the very man i wanted do come and this very and complicated out here it s quite too much for my in and she left planted there wondering a little whether there could be an intention in this capricious coolness before he could settle the point to his o tion consolation came in the form of unexpected cordiality from another and equally influential quarter a little lady in a sensation costume up with an the private view of delighted recognition it is mr i think so very glad to see you had the pleasure of meeting you on several occasions at our dear mrs s was not used to this kind of thing and coming as it did from mrs it was still more surprising for though he had been introduced to her some time ago she had dropped him ever since and he had imagined that this was due in some measure to his failure to respond to some of hers at the expense of his i ve been telling everybody to go and see it she said you know what i mean it really is wonderful quite wonderful the portrait of the year poor little miss will wake up to find herself famous you are too kind said unable to resist a pleasure in this flattery what i liked so very much in your picture was its perfect truth it was quite refreshing yes really to see one knows painted as she actually is in real life and then that charming idol i could worship that idol only you would ever have thought of putting it there i wanted as strong a contrast as i could find he said i m very glad you approve of the result how wicked you are she said you re too clever mr you ll frighten people away it s the black art you are most familiar with i believe or you could never have painted like that but do come and see me gardens you know and always at home on sundays now don t forget and come soon and she and fluttered away into the gathering a fallen idol throng leaving in a not unpleasant bewilderment by jove he was thinking i must have made a real hit this time for that woman to be as civil as all that a voice pronounced his name and looking round he recognised two lady artists with whom he had worked at the three or four years ago he learned inquiry that both were represented in the gallery but he was implored not to attempt to find their productions for after seeing your portrait said the elder we re quite out of conceit with our poor little and oh mr the second struck in we want you to tell us about your mysterious girl is she like that i may not have done her full justice he said still think it is like her fancy anyone being like that they cried j do you think she knows it i should say as little as is possible for anyone of her personal appearance and that s why she sat to you i suppose i shouldn t wonder if she was secretly very conceited i m not in a position to say he answered coldly but the were given at her aunt s request not from any wish of her own she might have should remarked the elder but it s an ill wind that portrait is going to make your name mr i it he found himself unable to follow the of this last remark and why girls especially the view nice girls like these could	44
the private view they made a grotesque pair and the resemblance of this strange looking girl to the quaint carved thing at her elbow seemed to have been worked out in a spirit of brutal which found a repulsive pleasure in upon so ludicrous and degrading an who could have worked this devilish not he he would resist the very thought yet who else had been watching his face curiously and saw it and look grey and old in a moment didn t know you d gone quite so far eh he said are you going to ask my reasons for considering that portrait a cowardly insult no said it is but it s not my work it s been with by some scoundrel no doubt said very probable indeed i he shall answer for it when i find him oh you ll find him all right said and he ll say anything you like to make him you think i m lying groaned poor i think you ve trusted too much to your nerve you see it isn t quite such a funny notion as you thought it would turn out i suppose it was meant to be a little surprise for the fair well now s your time there s mrs over there in the next room and with her what am i to do cried to himself if you ask me i say bolt i you ll only have a scene if you stay i ll explain things for you away said leave her to see that a fallen idol alone no fu stay here she will never believe i could be such an infernal villain no said but you ll admit the other fellow has caught your style very cleverly whoever he is he knows how to paint the same thing had struck who found it impossible to detect any clear traces of his enemy s or to a single touch on grounds and much as he tried to himself he advanced to meet mrs and with a leaden despondency mrs failed to notice him for sometime engaged as she was in a leisurely survey of people who looked so like that they were probably nothing of the kind but at the first sight of his agitated face she laughed not by any means why bless me she said what are you looking like that for i d no idea i was so alarming come if i was a little bit ruffled when we last met you ought to know better than to take all i said literally there we ll bear one another no malice and now you can go and talk to well and how are you was standing near looking lovely in the pretty spring costume which set oflf her slender figure to such advantage now you know where you must take me first she said and then the sparkle in her eyes made a last leap i can guess he said thickly how was he to prepare her he stood before her downcast and troubled some the private view thing seemed have removed them apart and felt that her lover had never appeared to disadvantage there was a scarcely perceptible change in her manner as she said if my portrait isn t here after all why not tell me it is hung he said his lips catching against one another as he spoke only and he paused hopelessly here with an air of graceful consideration the truth is he explained i ve been telling that he really ought not to allow you to see the portrait in its present state believe me my dear child it is better not i should prefer to have a reason please said what is this all about not see the portrait exclaimed mrs and pray why are we to be the only exceptions there have been alterations said so you told me yesterday said but you said they would be a surprise for me which observed softly i should hardly call an over statement stuff and nonsense said the old lady if the portrait is good enough to be exhibited at all i can t see why we shouldn t be allowed to look at it and mrs said it was admirable so if you won t come with us and i must go alone that s all let us go said desperately and he led the way with her to the fatal spot a fallen idol if i were not perfectly certain i shall have nothing to do but admire said i should not come but indeed it s too absurd of you to lose confidence in yourself and in me like this do you think so he said wait her pride was wounded by this strange response what had altered him from the and ardent of only yesterday could this be the moment she had looked forward to so confidently the assembly conscious of superior attractions in themselves had turned their backs by common consent upon the pictures and now as and passed into the east there was a look on several faces of startled incredulous recognition many knew by sight and there were whispers that he was accompanied by the original of his strange portrait there was a likeness indeed but this girl was natural and sweet and altogether charming no man with eyes could have her by that piece oi affectation however she was coming straight to the portrait this was really interesting dramatic even and the rules of ordinary suspended at these and found themselves surrounded by persons who took an eager interest in their proceedings she either was or seemed unaware of this she stood for some moments before the cruelly elaborate of herself and at her side could almost hear the blood up into his brain the view at last she turned her eyes were over as if with pain and her	44
oh i wouldn t have cared how ugly you had made me look at least i shouldn t have cared in this way if i could only think you had done it honestly or or from anything but a kind of mean can t you see that unless this is cleared up and you know you can clear it up if you choose we can never be the same to one another again so long as you go on protesting your innocence i can t listen i know you did it and nothing you can say to the contrary will ever change me i for the last time won t you admit that you have treated me is that so much to ask in the sense you mean too much he replied a idol then i have done she said i gave you every chance i would have done my best to forgive you however hard i found it but you refuse even to admit yourself in the wrong you prefer everything to come to an end between us and perhaps it is best if you can me so cruelly he said i suppose it must end here he walked to the window and looked out as through a mist over the enclosed paths and and to the park across the road with the sparkling lake and rolling green slopes beyond he knew that this time the breach was serious between them when she could believe such things of him in spite of his earnest assurances that they were false then it was time to part and yet the unhappy man had never loved her half so much as now when for a moment her had got the better of her wounded pride and she had offered him forgiveness if he would only stoop to take it unhappily that was just what he could not do it was a hopeless business they must part yes it must end said please go now i cannot bear much more and to think how happy i was yesterday about this time he said yesterday two hours ago i was happy then and now that is enough said she was drawing off a ring from her finger you must take this back she continued holding it out to him yes i wish it and there are other things to be sent to you and my letters if if they are not burnt you will return them a painful interview to night he said with your present the idol you gave me once i don t want it she said i want you to keep it you promised to keep it always don t part with it now it is the last thing i shall ask of you if you see it now and then and it reminds you of this i don t think you deserve to forget it too soon i shall want no he said but i won t part with it if that is your wish and now good bye d bye she said almost she was still bj the chimney piece him with such piteous proud eyes her head slightly inclined her mouth taking a pained downward and that was the last he saw of her henceforth the whole world would be for him he felt like a child coming out from an afternoon into the greasy streets with the commonplace of home in prospect where fairy principles are impossible as he went out the page gave him a sealed envelope which being in no mood to read letters just then he put in his pocket as he strode across the park heard the door close upon him her heart seemed to shut at the same moment as she stood for some time stunned by the new loneliness which had come upon her how could he have done it what had she done that he could her like that and then to persist that he was innocent was wounded vanity responsible for some part of her resentment it would be strange if it were not she had l a fallen idol felt the natural pleasure of a pretty girl in having her portrait painted had even indulged certain harmless of triumph and all this had been rudely shattered the picture was cruelly like her charged with the bitterest mockery the keenest for months to come she would grow hot at the sudden often thought that it was there in the gallery and people were smiling at it that anyone who spoke to her had seen it and was tracing the resemblance it was all very paltry no doubt but she could not help it and to do justice the real bitterness for her lay in the fact that it was her lover who had done all this and had done it from some quite unworthy motive which he was ashamed to justify or even confess still as she thought of it of the bitter contrast between the present and the dreamy tender past of only a few hours ago she broke down and stole hurriedly to her room where she locked herself in to give full vent once for all to the grief that threatened to her but when the fit was past her spirit came to her help no one not even mrs should discover how sorely she had been stricken and so at dinner that evening she made brave attempts to talk and behave to her aunt as usual which however did not greatly deceive that quick sighted old lady she doesn t care already she said to herself well well she won t have to pretend long whom we left entering the park just as he had done the day before the route and he had taken together but this time from that obscure a painful interview impulse of self torture	44
force of contrast another which was not magnificent and a strong manly face with the keen eyes that could be so tender at a word from her rose before her suppose were to to her and beg forgiveness suppose he insisted that he had only read her a well needed lesson would she have firmness enough to maintain her ground if she could only believe that he had not intended to gain his freedom if he could but persuade her of that she might but after all there was no danger of losing her dignity as a justly woman he never would come now what are you looking so serious about asked crossing to her side am i serious i think i was wondering why have a grand piano i never heard you play a fallen idol oh yes he said in a weary high pitched tone i a little it is one of my few pleasures if so it was at least a simple one for he himself to one finger won t you come and try it she rose and passed into the with him yes he said leaning languidly on the instrument my piano is my favourite companion my constant i fly to it when i am restless i m glad i amuse you could never maintain her gravity when he struck the pathetic note you are too funny when you want to be pitied and for too now confess that most of your painting is done at this piano though i must say she added as she played softly you have let it get out of tune or is the poor thing too he was rather angry i wish you could be serious you never seem to consider me a real painter i will if you will only paint a real picture but you are so lazy that i don t believe you ever will he was not offended for such is our fallen nature that most men accept this reproach from a woman as a compliment besides she was affording him the opening he had been waiting for you wrong me he said i may not do all i might but then i have no one to inspire me to urge me on to care what work i produce no she agreed and it s too bad to expect you to do anything till you find somebody who will do all that for you isn t it you turn everything into ridicule be said im wounds patiently and yet i could show you a picture if i chose that will prove to you that i can work when i take the trouble then please do once i looked forward to showing it to you but that is all over i cannot show it least of all to you and why because it has been ruined i thought an oil painting was never hopeless at least you could show it to me who knows i might encourage you it is probably much better than you think and surely you need not dread my opinion he said it is best that you should not see it this time perhaps you will take my warning he risked the allusion which however escaped her at the moment she was pleased to be as to the existence of any picture how was sincere in his wish to keep her from seeing it he probably could not have said himself he had a distinct grievance he wanted her to know it for many reasons but with all his he was no fool and was quite alive to the danger of seeming to force his inquiry laughed you shall not escape like that if you refuse me you will not refuse aunt or if you do i shall know what to think and she went back to the room in time to hear her aunt after questioning closely upon the precise hue of her observe not really a sort of how truly hideous the very last colour i should care to be seen in i do tell me now a idol is there anything i can do to change it appeal coming at that moment was not too received if has any hesitation in showing you his picture she replied depend upon it he has excellent reasons i m surprised you should condescend to press him don t be hard on a fellow mrs said i shall be very happy to show the canvas to you and leave you to say whether i am not right this is getting mysterious said so there really is a picture do go mrs was struck by something in s manner and followed him into a room beyond the leaving her niece to entertain the eyed him rather as he sat there he looked so very mystic and presently he fixed his pale eyes upon her and said in his deep tones you are not much interested in you do not even perhaps believe that such things can be it s no good saying pretty things to him if he really can read thoughts she considered and decided upon perfect it is a good deal to believe all at once you know she said i don t pretend to understand it but i should have thought if you had all these marvellous powers you might make some use of them how use of them he demanded it isn t such a happy world surely she said there is no one in it to be saved from danger or temptation or misery of some sort if you can read the future wounds and see forces at work that we can t see you might do so much to warn or help people if you chose it is not he said a little reluctantly we have you see to be very careful not to interfere	44
with the of and think what is any one human earth life only a bead upon a long string of successive its sufferings either they are deserved in the life or else they are in the next to be no no that we who are must not a bower is believe me a wise and many times has my explained that to me said nothing though her expression was not one of entire conviction and before the could bring any further arguments to bear upon her mrs called her rather to her relief to come at once to the room where s picture was to be seen and she obeyed with some curiosity quite right of to consider your feelings my dear said mrs who was standing before an on which the canvas had just been placed but i knew you were too sensible to mind seeing it and i thought it as well that jou should i like the landscape part said after examining it you are not quite so lazy as i accused you of being only and she drew her eyebrows together what does that extraordinary figure mean in the middle of it and what is it sitting on ah my dear said mrs with a sigh of meaning that is the point i a f idol that s just the thing said that i m not responsible for it was like this my dear explained mrs has been telling me all about it he d painted the landscape and wanted it for his gallery in bond street only he thought it ought to have a figure in the well and so took it to a of his who was a good figure painter has never gone in for figure painting and he told him what an opportunity this was for him and asked him to do it and he said he would and this is what he chose to do a horrid figure which is too absurd hanging in the air and out of all proportion and keeping besides and is afraid won t take it now and if he does he can t sell it and he t try to scrape it out or paint it over for fear of making it worse it was a piece of jealousy and deliberate spite on the friend s part what a hateful mean wretch he must be cried but why and then she stopped do i know him oh don t say it was he aunt you might yes you might have spared me this and her short upper lip quivered indignantly i thought it necessary it should not be hidden from you my dear said the old lady calmly then please understand both of you as you are kind enough to discuss my affairs together said that it was not necessary at all i wanted no warning to tell me that mr is a treacherous friend whatever he chooses to do now does not concern me in the least and you insult me when you think it can wounds and she turned away with the gesture of an princess she was very angry indeed all the because she had needed the warning only too well listening to the s conversation was better than remaining there after that and she went back to the little with the stained glass followed her out of the room with eyes that s just what i was afraid of you know he said in an she ll blame me most over this business not when she has bad time to cool it was far better to her once for all she was not half as angry as she ought to have been about the other matter i could see from several things that she was quite disposed for a reconciliation which would never have done but that is all over now if i know her she s the kind of girl to be far more for anybody else s injury than her own she s a darling i know that muttered mrs looked at him with a rather surprised approval so you are beginning to find that out she said at last i ve known her ever since she was a little girl with long hair don t you know said and a little girl she was too only somehow i never fell quite so desperately in love till i heard she was engaged to that confounded and and do you think there s a chance for me if you don t worry the poor child too soon yes it is quite what i should wish for her myself and so would a fallen idol her ther i m sure you may upon my doing all i can for you thanks and you think i can make my mind pretty easy i don t say that you must be patient and bide time and let her forget that most worthless and ungrateful young man and then and then we shall see something in s appearance as she came back to him struck the who was beginning to feel a decided interest in this pale proud english girl who looked so sensitive and so sweet tell me he began almost at once you have seen in there something which has disturbed you and made you so yes a little said too miserable just then to his curiosity i was reminded in the picture of a per i mean of things i hoped i had forgotten please don t ask me any more i am going now he said to make a it is not quite what i myself think that which i now say of not interfering und so you see as yet i am only what you would call a half i yet trust to my own my who is a very wise man does not encourage it	44
he is always in the way he is right and i not yet enough made to direct my powers with still i do not know without can no be and my heart s beloved is not in material things a man of business and i tell you you made me reflect till now wounds i never use my power except in quite a way and not at all for benevolent ends but the first time and i you this the first time that i see a case in which my of advantage might i hesitate not whether my is willing or not to you shall see that powers is not entirely an imagination s work only smiled for even then the s confidences and solemn conviction of his own mystic appealed to her sense of humour but she was somewhat impressed by him notwithstanding she could not think him a she was sure he was perfectly sincere and simple minded in his queer and cloudy philosophy mrs and were not long in and the visit which from s point of view had not proved wholly was brought to a close a very unusual humility in s manner as he went down the stairs of the flat by s side made her feel an impulse of self reproach after all it was not his fault he had even tried to keep from her what she had just learnt so her eyes were and sweet without a trace of or malice in them as she said i didn t mean to be cross to you just now it was not fair to treat you y m were kind at least his face cleared visibly that s right we re fellow partners in misfortune we ve both been i the same that is we ought to be drawn together more a fallen idol as the words left him he wished he had held his for instantly and did not speak again until they reached the carriage when returned to his own flat after seeing visitors off he found standing before his picture like it he said no not at all replied the why have you a performing his in the posture i thought you would say that poor little miss couldn t stand that either it upset her most awfully why then do you so as to upset people awfully demanded the you have learnt that in india yes if you must know that isn t my work at all it was done for some low purpose of his own by a scoundrel named but it upset that so charming t yes that s a long story but the of it is that he had almost her into to marry him till he played very much the same trick upon her that he did on me i see i see well muttered the it was that then which she to forget desired tell me where does this live i want to look him up and him you shall have his address old boy said with much and he gave it to the who departed with all the exaltation of a great mission it was evident to him that the english girl who had wounds with such pensive sadness of the of helping those in danger spoke with a strong personal meaning it was an appeal and he was to have the privilege of coming to her rescue his highly trained faculties had detected in an instant that the pictured was not a mere copy of the ordinary religious from some indian sketch book there were marks upon him which to the s experienced eyes betrayed an of no mean skill an however who had used his knowledge for unworthy ends this painter was clearly in league with this of the black magic he had been an innocent maiden to persecution well he should find that she was not so helpless as he fondly imagined and she he muttered she shall recognise that there ih at last something in a fallen idol chapter ix put to the test if it is true what the p write that the heathen gods are all stocks and stones shall we for the sake of being polite feed them with the of our when a young man of spirit finds himself suddenly scorned and rejected by the mistress he his most obvious course is to plunge into reckless which may reach her ears a result of which the advantages are too clear to need demonstration nor must he omit to rail against the one and her sex with all the he can command but hard hit as he was could not have been a young man of spirit for he did neither the one nor the other not the first because in spite of everything he still hoped and was determined to do nothing now which might hereafter keep him from s side not the second because even in his most despair he admitted that could not have acted otherwise than she had done she was still his ideal parted from him by a misunderstanding which he could only trust to live down in time though it is sometimes a sanguine pro put to the to enter into a with ihey are apt to as do but for some time his life crept on a broken wing and he about other men s rather and smoked and was a good deal at his club where he perhaps played more than was good for his pocket even if he did not lose more than the fair value of temporary forgetfulness then he left town to make some studies of and and thorn but he could not stay away long and for the first time the loveliness of spring lost its charm for him his only chance of peace of mind lay in desperate hard work and he came	44
back resolved to throw his whole energy into some studies he had made earlier in the year for his next picture there was little peace of mind however in his own where his nerves and temper were constantly being tried by a series of petty and small most of us have had short experiences of this kind when objects seem inspired by a ingenuity of malice a quite indispensable article for example the violet in its retiring modesty and when and not until the need for it has ceased turning up in some obvious place with a brazen assumption upon it of having been there from the first and in the search we haye ourselves it may be in all the most impossible places and against furniture which goes positively out of its way to annoy us we have a fallen idol our most fragile possessions and they have broken other things yet more cherished we have made ourselves hot and and generally unfit for whatever we have to do perhaps a burst of this kind lasts at most five minutes but if the reader can conceive it extending over hours and over days some idea may be formed of s state of mind at the end of it accidents small but were continually taking place in his he had not a cast or study on his walls which was not injured or in some way and after denying the damage as long as possible ascribed it at last to cats though it was hard to see what the most rigid could object to in graceful copies from greek or was perpetually haunted by an impression that he ought to do something he did not know what at once that time was pressing and the thing still undone and this would make him so restless so nervous irritable and that his models refused to sit to him and his friends grew of looking him up he was in his sitting room one night smoking and wondering whether he could summon sufficient energy to go as far as his club in the course of the evening when brought him in a foreign looking card on which the name of was printed can t say as i like the looks of him myself observed his i told him bein a f as you weren t in need of no models at present but he wouldn t take a to the test denial and i caught him a of the very suspicious the name did not happen to suggest anything to just then and it was late for a stranger to call however he was spared the trouble of deciding whether to receive him or not for the had followed in and to him to leave the room which after glancing at for confirmation he did with an air of all responsibility for anything that might follow said nothing for some moments but only stood stiff and silent within the of the lamp and fixed his eyes solemnly upon the astounded painter who began to feel distinctly uncomfortable and moved within easy reach of the bell your guilty tells you already for what i am began the at last it has not mentioned it at present said hadn t you better take a chair and tell me yourself ha cried with a you think to make a of me with this hell s coolness if you do not know why do you so startled look at me my dear sir it is not so usual as you seem to think for me to receive distinguished foreigners in a state of obvious excitement i am then to tell you that your evil must all this night to an end com you see i know well who and what you are if you are under any impression that fm the job you may find yourself mistaken presently observed if a fallen idol you are a of beauty and innocence that is what you are let me advise you for your own sake not to be an ass would i an ass than a serpent be your tastes have evidently been considered now look here will you be civil and come to the point or do you want me to pitch you out of the window what on earth do you mean by all this if i speak to you in said the who seemed to attach another meaning to the term it is only because you well deserved the day i was in mr s where also came a and as the lily and her name was have you heard a good deal too much cried whose temper was roused at last what right have you to mention that young lady to me will you leave the house at once not at all said the with an unconscious of s you must hear i was there when she saw the shape you for mr now at last i you yes said if it s any gratification to you you have ill hear you tell me everything she saw it then well what did she do what did she say i tell you only you will never never she regards you with an unspeakable horror agitation ah said and and she sent you here to tell me so eh no one send me i com on my own head said put to the test and afraid you will go out in the same way said unless you can give me some reason for this interference listen said the you do not seem to me all as yet obey the of your and let your natural heart up again and safe you from before too late this this master or servant no more with the bad black magic stared at him helplessly is there anything else you would recommend me to do he said sell	44
my and give up my little trip to the moon don t let any delicacy restrain you from mentioning it beware you cannot with me said seriously i was not proposing to play with you retorted who was gradually forgetting his annoyance now can t you tell me what it s all about you indian to help you to to herself to you you in magic of the left hand side well if you are mystic i also am mystic and me is my it is white magic against the black i and my master against you and your think what chances you it sounds sporting said but my dear good man you re talking i m not a mystic i don t enter into with indian beggars i m not acquainted with sacred but i should not f a fallen idol have imagined they would be of much assistance in a european love the passed his hand across his forehead with a bewildered air you are speaking the truth he said i feel it all the time i was wondering that your could of so favourable a remain still if it is not a and you are not to blame why did you a in meditation where you seen such a thing it is very done a more curious thing than that said and i know just as little how i came to do it sat down opposite to and laid a hand upon his knee it may be that only can supply the me that i so hasty was and tell me what it is you do not there was a kind of ponderous innocence about this which was rather engaging and found himself completely by it shall i he said well it can do no harm and at all events you are sure to believe me and he told him how cruelly and his portrait had been altered and how everything had been persistently going wrong ever since the heard him with the deepest attention and when he had finished touched him on the breast with his forefinger to the importance of what he was going to say there are who would tell you in my that put to the test it wall a case simply of i say but you re not going to confine yourself to that explanation said at first i i was now i com to the that you are being by one of those semi intelligent of the light which we call whom you attracted into your neighbourhood ah said gravely you see you are evidently what in our philosophy is termed a sensitive and your spirit has by the of this this until between your own part and the spirit an identity of is at times established is that clear simplicity itself said i it not said the highly delighted with his own and now you understand but what does this thing mean by my demanded it could not itself tell you in these there is a if that is an s notion of fun i can t follow him said well you have found a theory but i want something more i want to get at that and punch his head and take his fun out of him i dare say you will say that is impossible and i m much of the same opinion myself but you must have some remedy to suggest s a fallen idol a remedy oh yes said the there is one which all as very against hostile send to your for one or for two and put them in a plate with one it will drive him away most likely could retain his gravity no longer he roared with laughter why not poison he said most my dear sir i can t help it i m afraid you can t assist me very much though it s kind of you to wish to try let me dry still more said the you laugh now some day perhaps you do not laugh on a word from you i will all my in your service i will even though it will probably make him very cross with my venerable shook his head no no my dear he said it s only fair to tell you i can t believe in all these things they seem to me the merest perhaps said the rising to go only remember is not less real as sunshine and he glided out and down the small garden path with the air of a man who was above the empty of vanishing but when he was alone he was by the result of his mission this english maiden was no beauty in distress after all her emotion at the sight of s work was merely a revival of female vanity he could do nothing for her and he had been so positive where had his put to the test insight gone to be so much at fault his finer and more spiritual faculties were being and by so much forced contact with natures why wondered poor had the sent him to this city why could he not have studied in peace under the wing of the good brothers still he had something to do now here was a mystery to be what a triumph for if he were to be permitted to find the clue and then that sweet miss would smile with approval and confess that had real powers and could use them for unselfish ends whether it was that did not follow the and or from other causes things went no better with him after the s visit he began to have a dismal conviction that they never would go well again bills came in and he was beginning to be pressed for money the proceedings on which so much depended were naturally it was only	44
too far i that ought to draw him if he has the spirit of a said but he bears it you see smiles as he was wont to smile and i still breathe we shall see was the s sole observation he seemed at once disappointed and relieved a fallen idol ah you re said laughing never mind we won t quarrel about it you will not object if i submit the case to my for his advice said i will get the brother who is over to forward a for me and if it is not too great an interference with and if the happens in a temper to be i shall perhaps an answer which will my receive and be able then to tell you what you ought next to do do just as you please about it said but i can t promise to follow your directions chapter x conviction on the evening of the day when had accused the idol went to his club and as had become a habit of his joined the playing set in the but that night he did not play long whether the light was bad or he was more than usually careless in glancing at his hand he found himself confidently on a supposed red flush or a of hearts and diamonds when the final challenge to show his cards would invariably reveal the presence of an or club which of course by the laws of was fatal to his pretensions even then he could not accept the ruling of the rest without some protest and found himself so continually at on the question of suits and that at last after losing more heavily than usual he left the game in disgust only just from his suspicion of a combination to persuade him against his own senses this as he saw when he had grown cooler was not probable conduct in such a place but the men had certainly behaved very oddly and be decided to avoid the card room for the future he had quite dismissed the incident however by the a v idol following day when he was able to return to the study he was making for his next picture a scene from the lost sense of power and delight in work came back to his mend who looked in about this time was surprised by his animation hear you made yourself rather unpleasant at the club last night he began some of the younger fellows thought you meant to charge them with and swear they ll bring the matter before the committee said who now he came to think of it was afraid he might have gone too x such an idea never entered my head i m sorry they should have misunderstood me like that all i thought was that it was a practical joke between them for when i found they all insisted my hearts were why you know it was and i had nothing but red all through hum said going up to the study got a red flush here too i see what is it the for romance had chosen as his subject the first meeting of the lovely lady and the dangerous in the wood i remember said the elder artist on being told the subject but wasn t it a midnight wood and hadn t one of them a silken robe of white that shadowy in the moonlight shone if i remember my why have you made em meet at sunset you call that sunset i thought i had caught rather a good moonlight effect myself conviction b very well but crimson moss and scarlet turf come this is more eccentric than ever crimson scarlet nonsense and you mean why where are your eyes making the green one red uke this i may be wrong said with a quiet forbearance that provoked may be my dear fellow you are he said we ll soon settle it and he shouted down his for who presently appeared as usual under protest were you requiring me for any purpose in he said i was just going about those frames you ordered but of course if i m here i can stay just come over and tell mr and me what strikes you as the chief colour in this picture behind his hand and looked from one man to the other at last he said with a feeling that it was a case for caution and well if it was me i shouldn t leave it about loose where there was are y m going to me it s red cried pillar boxes is fools to it returned and dismissed him impatiently when they were alone said kindly don t let this upset you it s that s all only if i were you i should see about it you know turned a ghastly face upon him i see he slid i m colour blind then i m afraid there s some temporary affection bless you it s the commonest thing in the world said a fallen idol nothing to give way about man just stick to black and white for a few days and see an and be all right i ll make it all right with those fellows at the club so you needn t worry about that by the way there was that head of of mine you wanted to make some studies of now s your time ill send it over to you only be careful with it i had the cast taken expressly for me at and i don t believe i could get it replaced thanks said it s very good of you don t talk rubbish and see here i ve taken a for the summer it s at just now why not run down for a few days come with me next saturday	44
if this lasts said i shan t be able to trust myself near a river it won t last i shall expect you then and let you know about the train that s all right and you have the this evening after he had gone gave himself up to the gloomy of his future colour blind why it was only a degree better than total blindness henceforth he could trust no tints no hue that might for the moment delight his eye and if he tried to place them on canvas his too would lie to him it was the end of his career as a unless he could all he knew and paint as a man with no ear may play powerless either to correct or enjoy his own performance as he sat with his face buried in his hands crushed by this last blow a hand was laid on his shoulder and he turned to find the u ha lie said wildly you come in time to congratulate me just discovered i m colour blind pleasant that for a painter eh and now at last you cried believe in what oh i see what you mean and glanced at the face of the idol which was almost pathetic in its gentle resignation it s too ridiculous i won t believe it have you the head so hard said the the test was yours i tell you this is serious for heaven s sake don t drag that foolish idol into it can t you let me forget and anxious to remove all traces of an act which in this last seemed so frivolous and caught up a piece of old which happened to come first to hand and hastily wiped the idol s downcast eyes now that s done with he said if i could clear my own eyes as easily but oh if i could have thought all that he had come back to the again green i must be a hopeless case no one can cure me by jove though if if i see it as it really is now i must be cured but why how and he sat down trembling violently good god i he said hoarsely you were right after all it s too horrible never said the now that the spell is reversed besides i bring you a i a from my received the brother through whom it came found it this morning in blue upon his a fallen idol bad and sent it on at once to me it points out the only way for you to remove out of all your troubles but the way is luckily quite simple i you my was a man i gave a little groan but after the idol he hardly strain at a well what does he say he asked i am going to read i must tell you at beginning his english is very listen i quite true he begins the idol is the of most of your friend s sea of troubles though your theory to account for it is the fiddle and of a fat head there is at all about my dear old only one who was a and a goose cap would suppose that an image could possibly be charged with as you have chosen to worry me about it i tell you plainly that the only way out of the knot with which your friend is stuck in the mud i think where he gets all his words and phrases nor can the brother who sets them down is at once to return the idol to the hand from which it came as for your and then he writes some more in a way you see it is simple and quite easy he concluded only return the idol to the place you bought it at you can do that perfectly it happens to be a present said to the then that is still i it s impossible i tell you en if that s the u li conviction best suggestion your can make lie might as well have left it alone but why tell me why isn t it obvious how can i if i believe and heaven help me i do believe this cursed thing is able to injure those who cross its path in some unaccountable way how can i send it back to who thought sh he was doing me a kindness in giving it but if the says it is the only way put in the if it was the only way to save my soul i hope i shouldn t do it just ask yourself how can i tell what infernal trick it may play if i do send it back i couldn t be such a scoundrel to send it without a word of warning and if i warn would anyone in his senses take it in at all no your may be a very learned person but he doesn t seem to understand european notions it is true said the he does not know the world not this world he is not as i always say a man of business i i do not his advice it does not seem at all i am afraid he has not given all his to what to him is only an trifle you mustn t disturb him again on my account there s sure to be a way out of it somehow we will find it together you will not do as the most certainly not i then i am but i cannot any more advise a fallen idol i am his and whether he is right or wrong i cannot ask for his wisdom and then act quite way is that etiquette said with a bitter smile you throw up	44
the case then very well if you must leave me to fight that that influential image all alone i must see what i can do with it i wish now you had left me in my ignorance what was the good of opening my eyes if you mustn t do anything for me i ve lost all my nerve look at my hand i shall go mad if i think of this much longer how can i believe in an idol and yet i do and that s the worst of it don t stay and listen to my you can t do any good go like a good chap go and leave me i can t say in peace but go and not without much reluctance and com passion went when had gone sat and stared at that idol of his with growing dismay he did not know what to think about it he was ashamed of believing that it could harm him and yet his experiments had given him a sharp lesson in defiance of all reason he must recognise that he had to deal with a mysterious force which was only too ready to the least failure in respect to an absurd image he had no theories about it the idol might be a mere conductor a sort of consecrated jar or it might have a horrible life of its own he only knew that when it was insulted it struck back and generally below the belt it had its last stroke but there was small conviction comfort in that when the unseen finger might touch him again at any time and he knew all this and had no one to advise him might not be remarkable for profound wisdom but at least he understood these things he had exposed the now he was gone could not even speak of his sufferings to anyone else for who else would believe in them what was he to do he might this idol but he persuaded himself that he was prevented by his promise to though to tell the honest truth the reason was that he was afraid to do anything of the kind as for sending it back to her he was incapable of even thinking of such a thing if s knew anything and it really desired to return to her hand it could be for no good purpose he was sure and he would never allow this sinister shadow to touch his lost love if he could prevent it suppose he were to get rid of it in some way there was his unlucky promise twice given of course if she knew au would in common humanity release him but what would she think if he asked to be relieved what reason could he give with the least and if he did without her permission and some day as he had not even yet ceased to hope they met again would not one of her first questions be whether he still had her gift and would not an answer in the negative be quite fatal at all events he would do nothing for a little while very likely there was son e natural after all a fallen idol for the average healthy minded young englishman will not go over to worship without a struggle and had moments of indignant revolt against the terror that haunted him and as he fell back again within its dominion he began to wonder whether it would always be content with but still temporary acts of vengeance and direct its destructive power solely against his household effects what if it were only with him all this while and some tremendous doom as the finishing stroke it was an ugly thought but he could not get rid of it he was afraid at last to be alone in the with the idol and went out for a restless stroll on his way back he passed a s where be bought the most expensive flowers he could see in the window and arranged them after his return in his piece of he called and told him to take them into the painting room anywhere in particular asked no said with affected carelessness it s of no consequence it doesn t matter at least and he showed a slight confusion here now i come to think of it you may put it on the carved cabinet just in front of that indian idol yes put it there nowhere else and i shall dine out this evening he came home late not even to himself would he acknowledge that he had determined to his idol if it was possible to do so and preserve any self respect at all i may try my hand at painting those flowers to conviction morrow he had told himself though he was not believed and in the meanwhile why the deuce they be on that cabinet but somehow before he went to his bedroom he took a light into his to assure himself that had made no mistake about the flowers the flowers had evidently been placed on the cabinet but now they lay scattered and crushed at its foot and the which had held them was broken into a hundred pieces while the idol kept its usual place above with something now to s excited fancy of deadly and hostility upon its glistening countenance as he stood there in the big painting room where all but that particular comer was lost in gloom his flesh crept at the thought that this thing was not to be nor appeased by anything he could do he had himself for nothing his was rejected with scorn and then in the dead silence with the shadows shooting and about him as the light shook in his trembling hand from some impulse he could not resist spoke to this image what do	44
you want he said in a hoarse whisper only tell me that whatever you are be reason able but the ugly thing gave no reply no sign of aiid disgusted with his own superstition went to bed in a state of stony despair the next morning he rose with a weary impatience of his surroundings he felt that he ought to do a fallen idol to break the spell of horror but he wanted resolution to deal with his formidable his nerves were and he felt ill and discouraged so when he found with the cast which had according to promise a note saying that he was going down to his that very day and proposing that should come with him at once instead of waiting tiu saturday he welcomed this as a means of escaping from the idol and its vague suggestions of evil and accepted eagerly before he left came up with a troubled counter about that there of flowers sir he began i think you ought to be told stopped him i know i know he said hurriedly it s all right i i had an accident with it last night who could have thought that he would sink to such as this to lay before a barbarous idol and when it them actually to shield it at his own expense let no one imagine that did not feel this degradation he despised himself for it bitterly s usually wooden face became quite a for emotions oh very well sir i m sure was all he could manage to say but when he was by himself his perplexity found a vent now what the governor to tell me that he asked himself can t say i see what he s up to at all however so long as he a satisfied tain t none o my business and had driven oflf with the thought that perhaps had suspected or seen something to have his miserable plight known to his servant would be intolerable and s sole comfort was in the recollection of s a fallen idol chapter after one or two mrs s projected evening was actually about to come off she had often exerted herself before for the benefit of struggling to whom she had been of real assistance people were apt to compare her benevolence to that of the which though it does not and it was perhaps true that her heart opened more readily than her purse aft r all money is not the only or the most valuable contribution in all cases and even of money mrs could be liberal when she saw occasion but it was quite a new sensation to her to figure as the of a rising faith which might with a little assistance society and she received her friends with deep satisfaction i do think she assured several of them that we are going to have a most interesting dear mr hopes to be allowed to go quite beyond the usual phenomena the rooms filled and as the chariot wheels which bore the hero of the evening still there was little to distinguish the gathering from an ordinary evening party young men stood talking with the usual conviction that it was uncommonly good of them to talk at all down to the eager girl faces to catch their here and there with an evident pride in his social dexterity would pick his way through the groups until he dropped into the opening he desired much as the marble in the game of nursery down a of pins everybody seemed to be talking at once at high pressure and full speed and the effect at a short distance was painfully suggestive of the monkey house but there were the usual silent individuals without whom no social evening would be complete the men who don t know a soul and who are to be seen sometimes together for mutual encouragement like cattle in wind more often brooding apart in comers wondering why they came and one another with a there were the airy little greetings which not carried a hidden sting and the intended least of all for the actual the slow beat of and the restless shifting of crush hats the only features were a certain suppressed excitement and the fact that the talk ran everywhere in the same the probable nature of the s performances concerning which there was much vague speculation mr come here and tell me all about this said mrs in her imperious tones what will it be like youve seen it before i know well let me see said if you can conceive a fallen idol a cross between a rather clumsy foreign and a performing you ll get a faint idea of the kind of thing is it amusing then inquired the lady solemnly there s an element of quiet fun without vulgarity about it certainly said we must make him bring out his best miracles we shall have you a mrs before the evening s over he was passing on in the endeavour to reach the spot where stood by one of the open windows when he was again delayed this time by little mrs tell me mr isn t it getting fearfully late i really don t think this prophet man can be coming now if he ever meant to for they re obliged of course to be very particular where they go just at starting aren t they they can t go everywhere it s a great disappointment to dear mrs no doubt after getting us all here to meet him but perhaps she was a little too ready to take his acceptance for granted don t you think so i am so grieved about it well i wouldn t begin to despair yet said i think he is pretty sure to turn up some time ah said mrs you	44
are always so good natured and willing to look at the bright side but i feel quite a conviction we shall not hear much to night yes i see by your eyes you re as much struck as i was by that pale girl did you ever see anyone bo gone off in your life can t say i see any startling change for the worse l said who was thinking looked particularly charming that evening well a woman notices these things more perhaps see it not that i ever admired her though some people i dare say called her pleasing once i declare i m getting quite good natured in my old age oh you re a long way off that at present don t you know said not particularly caring in which sense she chose to apply his consolation and then he made his escape and worked his way by slow approach to where was standing with a girl friend who was her devoted admirer mr don t you call it too bad this person here sternly refuses to prepare me for what we are to see but if i don t know myself protested i can prepare you both said there will be signs and wonders shapes all over the room we shan t see them but we shall know they re here because will tell us so there will be thought reading or rather and you must try and him to give us a that never fails to surprise and delight the young the of an in an hat poor mr he really believes in it all said well he believes in himself said but here comes the mystic man at last isn t he being though and he he don t like it was feeling a supreme exaltation at the pro a fallen idol of being at last allowed to some of the mysteries of to a larger assembly than he had ever yet addressed the brotherhood through their had withdrawn their opposition he felt himself in so highly a condition as to be capable of producing phenomena far more startling than any he had hitherto ventured upon might he not in this drawing room one of the of frivolous fashion it was nothing of the kind but he knew no better accomplish results which would bring all thoughtful london around him nothing was needed but courage and unlimited in himself dear mrs was saying i began to be a aid you had deserted me but long as you are here at last and you know this ic a great opportunity for you some of the people here tonight would be real to way religion and quite open to conviction too as for me i m too old you tell me to change my views but i take a great interest in your cause for all that and now do tell me is there any thing you would like done by way of preparation should the room be darkened or chairs moved or anything please give your own directions everything will do as at present quite well said the i shall only ask a less talking from and conversation after two or three was finally the took up a position on the from which he contemplated his audience through spectacles with a gaze of dreamy emotion darling whispered her friend i m getting go frightened i will they turn out the lamps do you think you are so brave do let me hold your hand and too would have professed panic if he could have hoped to share the remedy the had already started with a rapid and enthusiastic though slightly on the powers which were to be attained by the human will when guided and fortified by training he upon these at such length that his hearers showed slight but unmistakable signs that their attention was wandering though it took some time longer to discover that he was expected to cut the dialect and come to the then by way of introduction to the more mysteries be obtained sharp double and silvery unexpected quarters it s quite dreadful i cried miss i don t believe it s right i it is quite possible however to bell sounds and it must be owned that the in his pleasure at his own performances produced them in profusion long after they had lost their first freshness but the interest was revived when he announced an intention of a for even a student as myself said taking a from the case had fetched from his overcoat even for myself to a thing and afterwards to it exactly the same again is at we only to restore it to the raw a fallen idol material and then again to it somebody please will make his private mark on this pen and ink were procured and a large cross and a couple of small marked upon the which the then held over the flame of a candle until it was burnt in five minutes he said if you will open the top of the piano i see in that other room you will find there your now it may be well here to make it clearly stood that there could be no possibility of or the owner of the was a complete stranger to nor had been in the house before that evening while all present had seen the slowly burning the experiment beyond all doubt was perfectly genuine and this in the face of certain recent cannot be too much insisted upon as soon as the five minutes were up there was a general movement towards the piano the top of which raised amidst great excitement well said the impatiently as he stood on the why do you not take it out i think do you know said we d better give it another five minutes you need not be afraid	44
said with dignified contempt he not it you why then do you not take him out for all to see well i would said only it a very singular thing but he ain t there i not at all singular retorted the with some temper when you are there a and gross influence by which the must totally be if you will only allow to go near the piano the will be able in peace to himself shrugged his shoulders and retired with sentiments the reverse of amiable at this public reproof and not best pleased at being thus out approached the instrument and looked in she said at last i can t see anything either no said the who did not seem particularly abashed i am going to you why the phenomenon has failed simply the was not with my own sufficiently i made too great hurry to destroy it i ought to have kept it upon me a longer time up his sleeve suggested under his breath but it has to say we try again once more but mrs perhaps from doubt whether were likely to improve the tone of her piano here oh no dear you mustn t trouble to do it all over again you see we all quite understand the process i think we would rather see some other phenomenon if you don t mind you are still not satisfied i do not be frightened anybody but there is one of the in form upon the now we shall be able to have a very and beautiful p a fallen idol perhaps this lady who is opposite and he bowed to mrs will be so gracious to think of she has long ago lost and would be joyful to see again don t you hope shell ask for her whispered mrs but mrs was so fortunate as to be able to remember nothing and the appealed to the company generally who from a mean dread of being as witnesses avoided his eye with singular at last an lady with a sad smile and a low voice said when i was quite a child i had a possession i dearly dearly loved a poor old doll with no legs and arms and no features just an ordinary it was but it was almost the only thing i cared for in the world i do you know i have so often wished i could see its poor old round head and long neck once more there was a touch of pathos about this that touched all with any tendency to sentiment the himself was charmed by the simplicity and poetry of the request which he readily undertook to gratify for some minutes he stood with folded arms absorbed and silent with his eyes bent on one of the open windows at length he came out of his reverie with a start if you will look inside the chair upon which you are sitting there will your long lost be he said the lady started up with a cry of rapture how can i thank and then she gave a pretty little moan of dismay but i t the chair i oh mrs may i may i have it cut open i m a wretch i know but i should so like to see my poor old once more h my dear said mrs how can you wait to ask cut it open by all means it was a large very and when the covering was removed it revealed a richly stuff from an old pattern this was up with as little damage as possible and a white appeared which was also cut open the condition of each covering proving that it could not have been with for the were strong and the material still un the excitement reached a climax the floor was gradually strewn with and flock from the chair which began to present a and appearance but nowhere in its recesses was the interesting are you sure it s not in one of the asked mrs with questionable good faith i don t think mrs would like all her chairs opened like don t you know remonstrated particularly for such a very pearl well perhaps not was the but how warm the poor man s getting i quite feel for him i am sorry the confessed with his first approach to confusion but among so many indifferent or opposing i my will power upon a if i till a fallen idol ing i shall do and the out on the is gone away this statement was received in silence broken by a few dry mrs who had just her drawing room decided that it was not to have the at her own house and mrs already regretted that she had allowed hers to be the scene of such perhaps suggested your might do something for you if you ask him the seemed struck by an idea now listen he said half aloud my is far away in don t you think that if i write to him and get a back in this room those people will not a doubt of it said capital notion how will it come it will from the ceiling down said the i want you all to have still patience he said addressing the assembly i am going to write to my in and you shall see the answer when it arrives and hear also what he has to say conducted him to a small writing cabinet where the hastily a few lines i shall next place it on a and it will instantly to transported be he explained as he stepped out upon the balcony and stood there holding out his mystic in the warm stillness in spite of themselves the majority were impressed by the sight of the tall strangely attired figure standing silent there and there was a murmur of approbation when he	44
re entered saying quietly it is gone and now until the arrive some will a song sing sang good bye and after the applause had subsided the said excitedly the will be soon in minute sharp work to and from in ten minutes said there is no time and no space for the true answered but the anxiously awaited letter declined to deliver itself if somebody would again upon the the suggested at last feeling himself very much in the situation of the priests whom so left in a but at last when the general attention was directed to the who was just sitting down at the piano a sudden exclamation from startled the room and all eyes perceived a pink cocked hat note slowly sailing down from the ceiling and drifting towards the s feet in the reaction which followed all gathered eagerly round him while with flushed face and triumphant smile he picked up the mysterious i you he said proudly the has the cause by sending to you this greeting and he reverently unfolded the cocked hat and began to read the contents to himself many who had remained and unmoved through all the preceding began to now a fallen idol and on all sides there was a anxiety to hear what the j l had to say it was not gratified after studying the note with a confused and an crushed it in hi hand and thrust it into his s but t we look cried mrs i should bo love to see what an note looks like i am not able to the said the too tremendous for our weak minds to inquired r was the answer to read it aloud not be of advantage and after this i do not think i shall succeed more results this evening the announcement brought back the former frost in increased severity eyebrows were significantly lifted and smiles of private incredulity freely indulged in nobody had a good word to say for a faith which was not even able to entertain them for a single evening mrs began to send people downstairs where a light supper had been provided you never touch supper i she said as sh passed him to night yes he replied then perhaps you will take down by and by she said with a marked contrast to the distinction she had shown him earlier in the evening and left him standing but patient in the room where he aroused s compassion i mustn t till i ve seen everybody else go she said to who was hoping to secure her as his com s nobody has asked that pretty miss come with me and be introduced when she had got rid of him thus and only a few scattered couples were left she went up to will you be very good and take me down for some supper she said not now it s crowded and it will be pleasanter out on the balcony she stepped outside and he followed with submission when they were both seated made some ordinary remark but he was so long silent that began to feel uncomfortable at last he spoke i in my mind to my he said glancing at her to see how she took this tremendous piece of information have you said feeling in spite of her sympathy a very strong inclination to laugh why said vehemently he is so he does not know how to b in they are well not and a long time j borne but to it is too to him and he leaf me alone other of less standing are assisted to make but for me there is done sa om to night i will no longer a be i up i m so glad said i think it s so sensible of you you do are glad that i ah you do not know how happy you make me when you say that i and don t you believe in any more i the as ever yes that to night i obtained only a few phenomena makes it is not a idol that the will bower and currents will not work there will be and as on a railway line and as you saw there did arrive the from my but you wouldn t show it to us you know that is where my was so he me a but he take care that i should be unable to show it or read it i will tell you so that you will see how insulting he can make himself when i open the note i see in greek characters and me that i such to you at all but i see written there do not a was obliged to caress her lips somewhat with the head of her fan before she could express her indignation with becoming gravity after that you know there must an end com and so to night i shall him a formal resignation he has never taken any pains when i him sometimes he never answers one sometimes the answer when it comes is well it is not i will tell you one instance there is a young of mine a but you know him he made that bad of you in the he is named well said suddenly serious well for weeks he is very unlucky altogether as you say his he lose his name his and his money and his work he is iu he and he cannot tell why and all the time he never guessed till i him that it was all caused by one idol and when you told him said did he believe it at j no but in the end yes as almost as l and this will show you what my is like i write to ask him what is the best thing	44
own opinion as to his state of mind besides he would probably refuse to give the idol up unless she made him understand that he must do so she could not help shrinking from the possible results of receiving back this thing which might after all bring ill luck with it but that must be all nonsense and at the worst at the first sign of anything at all sinister she could always get rid of the suspected one whereas poor would probably feel by his engagement to keep it and she was supported by a secret excitement she was about to see him again her dread of supernatural powers her pride were alike powerless to prevail against that thought and her heart fluttered from other causes than a fallen idol fear as she walked on with the sulky past the little gardens fragrant with and towards the house where lived and worked looked more than ever in the warm sabbath stillness and under a sky which was just beginning to melt from throbbing blue to a luminous green there was no one to be seen except a pair of lovers parting at a comer and the beginning his rounds at the end of a turning and now was at the door and it seemed to her that was within often sat and smoked there she knew in the evenings she had as or rather but she began to wish she had not come and to hesitate suppose s man or a model were to come to the door what should she say her hand was already on the bell when from within a peal of laughter rang out on the silence and she shrank back terrified for it was laughter that conveyed an insult full of coarse triumph and cynical mockery and yet it was like s laughter as it might become after some sad she turned to the maid with a white face and startled eyes i i don t think i will go in just now after all mr seems engaged just as you think best miss i m sure said and they went back to place had seen her coming did he fancy she came because she no he could not be so worthless old s sake as to think that but all that story about the idol must have been a or an attempt to work upon her feelings and she had believed it and that was why he laughed in that hateful way well she could let him know that she was not such a as he imagined and if as she could easily understand he really wanted to part with the idol why she cared far too little to think of preventing him on his return to his lodgings which were in a quiet street in set about the business of his it took him some hours to compose a document which should strike a remorse into his s bosom but he finished it at last i will not send it by he reflected because he will want to talk and to argue and induce me to and i do not wish to i will despatch it to the myself by means he will get it quite as soon and then his was over the vision of knowledge and power faded he could no longer flatter himself with the secret consciousness of superiority to the rest of mankind he had deliberately reduced himself to their level but for the next few days he enjoyed an relief the vaguely tremendous which would try his nerve and knowledge to the utmost loomed before him no more he need not now repress the softer feelings and his flesh he could be as sentimental as his heart desired and he was not that be had forgotten and his affairs al a fallen idol together on the contrary he was anxious to help him no that he was no longer by his and by frequent study of the message which had been by means of the had arrived at a new reading which supplied a solution at once more practicable and more than the first and put the master s judgment in a better light he was so delighted at his own ingenuity that he determined to go to at once and impart his discovery but while he was preparing to do so there came a sharp rap at his door and the painter entered you com at a time said cheerfully said nothing he only stood and looked possibly he was struck by the change in the mystic s appearance for the ex had returned to the garb of ordinary citizens and had sacrificed his curls and the greater part of his beard leaving his coloured hair short and rather he had destroyed his own without even the such a sacrifice deserved he said i forget you not seen me since i the no said and i wish to heaven i had never seen you before when did i ask you to interfere between miss and myself that i found it when i came back to town last night he tossed a note on the table before i don t know what object you may have had in trying to induce me through mr to take back for old sake s sake my present but i am sure now that it was not a very creditable one i shall not ask you to return the idol because if you don t want it yourself i want it even less if you really think yourself still bound by what i was so foolish as to make you promise of course you are nothing of the kind and are quite at liberty to get rid of it by all means as soon as ever you please i do not said as he laid it down then explain you ve been talking to her	44
and by some infernal or other made her think i was asking her to take that idol back but why should she take it back you ve read the letter it was her present to me when we were engaged she made me promise never to part with it you that idol you are to her repeated the it came upon him with a terrible shock he scarcely knew till then how far his hopes had gone not now it was broken oflf some time since the s dream re formed itself like the severed in the of the lock but i still hoped till i read that thanks to you it s all over this time but let me tell you this it is about your idol broke in i there has been a it was more than a little mistake when you took upon yourself to mention my to miss j was f to write jo her but you have put an end to all that q a fallen idol now after this trouble you to leave me to manage my own business i say only this the real advice that my wrote i don t care to know it i wish i had never been idiot enough to confide in you said the angry you ve done more harm by your and than that miserable idol could if it was everything you say it is and i ve had enough of it i am free to turn that thing loose as soon as i please now and i can do that without anybody s assistance and in future perhaps you ll be kind enough not to interfere the poor was deeply hurt had meant to serve he did not even yet quite understand how he had offended so that he could offer no defence but as concluded s pride and anger were kindled at last he had meant till then to give the painter the benefit of his latest discovery but if he would not be warned why after all it was no longer any business of his why should he take any further interest in maintaining the credit of if the allowed himself to blunder he might correct his errors for himself it was so his eyes blazed red like a hungry dog s as he said you are ungrateful and a certainly i do not any more myself with you you refused to listen to what i dry to say very well i shall not again speak i my hands at you when the interview was over it is only too much to foe old sake s sake be feared that was rather relieved than otherwise his hitherto rival had refused all warning he could safely trust the idol he thought to dispose of all s pretensions for the future from which reflections it may appear that the ex had already somewhat from the lofty and standard of thorough going too was not dissatisfied with the result of his visit he had freed his mind and himself of the headed in which he was ashamed of having placed such little confidence as he had felt the next thing to be done was to get rid of the idol as he how felt himself at liberty to do he was beginning to feel less about it its behaviour had so as he knew been most since he had been away up the thames and he had almost argued himself out of the notion that it could possess any sort of intelligence but for all that he was determined not to have it about him any longer it had such painful associations it was in the way in his painting room it was so ugly he had innumerable most excellent reasons for his resolution and he was quite certain that anything like alarm or apprehension was not amongst them one would think it was easy enough to dispose of a superfluous ornament or curiosity but in this case there were difficulties for reasons he would not admit even to himself did not attempt to destroy his idol nor he bestow it upon a friend or a fallen idol even press it upon some passing stranger perhaps it was some lingering regard for the s suggestion that inspired him to take the idol up to street find the old man who had sold it to and see if he could not be induced to take it back there was an old man in one of the curiosity shops there but he denied having sold the idol though rightly or suspected from his look that he had seen it before he declined to purchase on the plea that were dull and there was no demand at all for them at another shop o the idol at so low a price that it was declined with a that seemed due to a doubt whether it had been honestly come by that was unpleasant and at the next place he asked an extravagant sum upon the and of the indian in such terms that the proprietor said he could not think of him of such a treasure he then gave up street and crossed to street where he made some futile attempts to leave it to be disposed of on commission no one would give it house room he was beginning to grow tired of carrying this most idol about london when at last towards dusk he passed a s a little shop near green which seemed as if it could not be very exclusive no one was near he was not likely to meet any acquaintances in that neighbourhood j and slipped through the swinging door at the back and after a little i old safe s sake to save with a trifling advance and came out again with a sigh of relief then for the first time that afternoon he began to doubt whether he was justified	44
in such a curse was it not almost as bad as selling a dog with a suspicion that it was sickening for this made him very uneasy until he had persuaded himself that the cases were altogether different he would not have let take it to save his life but that was from his desire to shield her from the remotest possibility of a danger which with the single exception of himself and the there was probably hardly a person in england who would not laugh to scorn indeed now that the idol was out of his hands he began to in it again himself yet perhaps he was not sorry to find that he had the and thus was protected from any temptation to return and redeem the dangerous pledge the search which he made for the missing ticket was neither long nor vigorous a day and a half passed in delightful s spirits rose now this weight was removed and he was thinking rather contemptuously of the s attempts to solve a problem which was so obvious and simple when a note was brought him in an handwriting the letter was apparently the production of one who in his kindest actions always contrived to protect himself against a too gratitude s a fallen idol it began by stating that the writer who remained was unknown to but had followed his career with interest and had been shocked to discover the straits to which an artist of such promise and talent was evidently reduced thinking that the article with which he had been compelled to part was very probably to mr by association the writer felt sincere pleasure in restoring it to him which the fortunate discovery of the bearing his name and address enabled him to do all he asked in return was that should in future do his best by his ways to avoid such degrading necessity with a dismal of what was coming the parcel and the idol looking more cheerful than ever rolled out of it it was kindly meant no doubt but it was a mistake for all that a liberty which in his strongest language as it happened he was so unused to any transactions with that it had never occurred to him to give a false name and address he had merely thought of the idol and getting away as soon as possible and had not time to invent precautions however that piece of carelessness followed by the dropping of the ticket had given this stranger the necessary clue and all the business of himself from the piece of must be gone through over again this time he decided not to try to sell or the image after all it was possibly selfish he now saw and certainly he would simply for old sake s lose it and then no one would be compelled to have any connection with it and his conscience would be clear he was determined not to let another night pass with such a thing in his house and he got into the park that evening shortly before the gates closed bearing the idol under the cape of his coat near the ornamental water he found an empty seat the very seat where he had sat with when she had first told him of her gift here abandoned his idol and fled but as he was letting himself into the he felt a touch at his sleeve and looking round saw that he had been followed by a he had probably been attached to the chinese court at the health exhibition or else engaged as an at the police courts for he spoke english how do john he said with of friendly familiarity how are you said who are you and what do you want found your john all and to s disgust his oriental friend produced the irrepressible idol how do you know it s mine asked but the only grinned and nodded john knew was all he would condescend to explain and john poor poor give john tea for bringing back he had a bewildering way of using john to both the first and second persons confound you i said angrily and then remembering that it was not the s fault he added a fallen idol of course i m much obliged to you and all that but the thing is of no further use to me do you understand you may keep it if you like i youve more accustomed to the care of than i am take it home worship it make it happier than ever i do you see it s for you the however did not seem at all disposed to profit by s john no heathen he explained proudly not my he deposited it on the of the and spread out his hands in give john tea he repeated evidently the converted entertained a secret awe of the pagan symbol and would have none of it he did not actually propose to join at the tea table as his request seemed to imply that was merely a of his for money and when this was understood and acted upon he soon took his departure and vanished in the summer dusk carried his idol into the painting room with a groan of resignation and set it in its familiar place on the cabinet it might be only another series of but for all that though he was not nearly so inclined as he had been to credit the idol with large supernatural powers he did not like the with which it returned time after time to his roof it seemed so very much as if it really was by some design i suppose i must keep it here to night he said feeling utterly helpless and inwardly resolved schemes for for old safe s sake the morrow he was agreeably surprised the next morning to find	44
that the idol had refrained from any further during the night it is true that there were more than the usual number of bills and one county court on his breakfast table but he could hardly believe the idol enough to make use of such weapons no it was apparently on its best behaviour in the hope of being allowed to stay but that could not be not again would he expose himself to a dread harmless or potent the thing must go and this time no one should have a chance of assisting it to find him again he had meant to wait till nightfall before carrying out his plan but after painting all the morning he felt giddy and confused that he determined to get the deed done while he was still capable of action he placed the idol inside a small leather bag and it down after which he walked out with his burden towards north bank it was a lovely afternoon so hot that the warm air felt like a caress and as leaned over the of the canal bridge he enjoyed full possession of his faculties again and only waited to be quite secure from observation before his purpose for the spectacle of a well dressed young man deliberately casting a bag into a canal might attract notice and even suspicion very few people were about however the children were all at home lying down after their dinners no carriages had yet appeared in the drive only one errand a fallen idol boy by the and he had his back turned and no glided through the green water under the hanging foliage a universal seemed to obtain in that non commercial region now was his time it was horribly like drowning a but he let the bag fall as if by accident and saw it sink with a sullen splash then as the last ripple from the place it had struck and spread to either bank he turned away with a sigh of relief he had done it at last if the idol had been capable of understanding its situation it would surely have made resistance before to be confined in a watery prison like the solomon sealed up in the somehow he did not feel inclined to risk a return of his headache by going back to his hot with the sickly smell of and and he turned into the park thinking might pass away the afternoon there but the lake reflected a dazzling glare and the turf was dotted with and in the shade under the trees he was haunted by memories of his lost love he did not stay long there and as he turned into a passing carrying an advertisement of the military at suggested a method of killing time and so it came about that an hour or so later he was underneath the gallery which the agricultural hall picking his way through the dim and narrow space filled with a crowd of and leather looking for old sake s sake to eyes in caps shell and white guns and and from above and all around rolled of applause but nothing could be seen until he came to a large through which he looked up the vast hall with its plain vanishing in a haze of light above which rose dim of heads and the blue panes of the tinted arch of glass and iron in the the contest was just finishing and the winning team was driving round at the gallop the posts and up the tan in brown at all the comers he stood at the for a time watching the brightly touched the glancing coats of the horses and the lead coloured gun as they flashed in and out of the broad shafts of light he was moving away when he fancied he saw in the stream of people who were passing him the face which was never long out of his thoughts it was only for a second and then there was a cry that the team was coming out and an order to stand back from the the warning was promptly obeyed the crowd divided hastily retreating to a safe distance with the single exception of a girl who did not seem to have heard the order or understand what was coming there she stood alone in the opening looking back as if in search of and close upon her the team was bearing down while owing to the of the comer the officer in command would see nothing till too late and the girl as saw at once with a thrill of a fall idol horror was he called to her to stand back nobody else seemed to have eyes for her danger till then when a general shout was raised whether she was confused by that or by a mutual recognition or her deadly peril could not be known but she advanced with uncertain steps into yet more direct danger and then stopped fascinated by fear and evidently powerless to move a step brushed aside some who stood in his way and rushing out into the open space caught her and drew her back just as the heavy gun swept by with the rattle of gear and of metal through the and pulled up sharp some yards beyond the spot where had been standing another second and well as the team was handled nothing could have saved from a sudden and terrible death he kept his arm round her and if at first she seemed inclined to reject the support she submitted after one quick side glance at his face which was softened by a joy though the shadow of his recent horror still lingered upon it and the stream of people moved on backwards and forwards and few knew how nearly they had missed assisting at a tragedy in fact no one took any further notice except a	44
military looking man who came up immediately in the greatest anxiety and he had the excuse of being s father good god he said it was the nearest thing i saw it all and was coming as well as i could in that crush you would have been killed before i could get anywhere old s sake near you but for this gentleman why you know him he broke off as if suddenly enlightened by something in her expression can t you guess who it is papa said with the faintest smile and a light broke over the colonel s face as he shook s disengaged hand with why to be sure he cried of course to think we should have met like this well my little girl under providence he jerked this in as a kind of owes her life to you i was just taking her down for a cup of tea and we got separated somehow and the next time i saw her she was well we won t talk about it couldn t have made your acquaintance at a better moment i and now added the colonel with a sly chuckle at his own tact and penetration i had better go back and tell my sister where you are eh you take her somewhere for a good strong cup of tea and that will put her all right again will tell you where to find us afterwards and before either or could say a word the colonel had gone off and left them together could stand and walk without assistance now and was little the worse for the shock she drew away slightly and stood looking at him from under her long as if she expected him to speak said i suppose i ought to say miss it s not my fault that tm forced upon you in this way you must admit that is it very painful for you she said half amused and half wistful tell me what you wish me to do a fallen you were told to take me somewhere where there was tea she said meekly a wild incredulous joy seized at her words for he saw clearly that for some reason she was angry with him no longer and leaving the pair at this stage the story must go back for a few moments if only to account for the colonel s singular he had only returned from india within the last two days and mrs had insisted upon his coming with them that afternoon she had taken four seats two of them at some distance from the others and the fourth seat was to be occupied by for the time had come in her opinion when might propose to with perfect confidence and mrs being an old lady who liked her own way even in details had arranged that her niece should be won in the course of this particular afternoon and in some part of the agricultural hall the colonel was strictly not to his daughter which as he was growing and of her every moment he thought hard he had rejoiced greatly to hear that s engagement was broken off less on account of its than of the opportunity it left for making his daughter s acquaintance before a lover could step in between them and w a fresh lover was at hand already and the colonel felt an injured man however his sister was so ardent in her of and so earnestly on the necessity of foe old s sake protecting from falling again into s that the colonel yielded at last if you say he s a good fellow he well i shall see him at this affair and then we can talk about it but to mrs s the fourth chair remained though the colonel who sat in it delighted with his daughter s pleasure in things military and with her looks and her talk and all that was hers felt he could manage to bear it if stayed away altogether it was very hot where they were and he thought at last she was looking pale and suggested that she should come somewhere for afternoon tea to which who was finding the contest beginning to pall and had a secret dread that they might take it into their heads to fire the gun assented willingly enough and the father and daughter departed leaving mrs who remained in case should arrive presently mrs saw her brother coming along the chairs beaming become of he said in answer to her inquiries oh it s all right she s in good hands whom should we meet downstairs but this young and i remembered your orders and it struck me by they d get on better without third party wasn t that right eh and i like the fellow i must say he deserves her for his pluck and with this the colonel told the incident of the if she had mien nothing could have saved either of em it was touch and go by think of losing my little just when and in that way it s wonderful a special providence really a fallen idol and you ve done quite the right thing mil have something to tell us when he comes back so in high good humour mrs watched the light cavalry as they made their horses lie down and afford cover behind which they discharged their and her content lasted until she saw a well hand held out and attired was standing over against her chair well is it all right she asked anxiously oh yes thanks couldn t get here before don t you know he had delayed from policy thinking it well that should begin by missing him and unwise to appear too eager and where is the dear child continued mrs land oh when i think of	44
what might have been but for your bravery and is it all settled where did you leave her does she want me meaning inquired why why i haven t you come from her eh said i haven t seen a sign of her what does this mean do try and collect yourself this is mr the colonel s jaw dropped as he bowed mechanically then then who was the other fellow he murmured ah commented mrs in a bitter under tone if you have come all the way from india for this and probably the agricultural hall did not contain a lady of her years and position in a worse temper chapter in tt hich the luck turns more i perhaps considering that s conduct still required explanation may be charged with some want of firmness in the past as she did but setting aside the fact that it is not easy for a generous girl to be very severe upon a man who whatever his may have has just saved her from imminent danger at the risk of his own life was really too to see just then to give a thought to her dignity it was a relief after all she had heard to find him so little changed she could not look at him and believe that he had allowed any troubles real or imaginary to him she could not doubt that he loved her still as as ever and then she had recently learnt from himself to whom she had happened to sit next at dinner the even ing before that whoever it had been who had her from the that sunday evening it was certainly not who as the had distinctly said had been his companion on the from friday till monday had not recognised her as the original of the portrait which was not perhaps a k idol astonishing so that by a few judicious and apparently careless questions she was able to obtain some facts about s recent fortunes that bore out much of the s story as for he felt it must be all a mocking dream from which he would wake in his own or the club smoking room but in the the vision was carried out with the most perfect even to the in the refreshment room and the doubtful and he and were at one of the little tables with only a bowl of very cloudy sugar between them and she was resting her chin in her palm and looking at him as she used to do it was altogether a pleasanter dream than any he had been accustomed to of late i want to tell you she began with a certain how sorry i am i wrote you that horrid letter it was all s said but you don t think now that i ever dreamed of asking you you of all persons in the world to take back that idol not now i didn t then till till i was obliged to believe you were trying to frighten me into coming to you and i did come oh i must tell you i came to the to take it back and she described her visit when she came to the strange laugh grew pale i know you were not there she added hastily you were with mr at he told me but who was it in which the luck more than once if i were to tell you what i believe you would think me mad he said but thank heaven you didn t go in you don t mean that you believe my idol had anything to do with it it was a laugh i heard a laugh like yours would be if you had grown wild and bad i know he said gravely for au i can say it may have had some object in making you think you heard me confound its impudence it s capable of anything but dear do think what you are saying an i know i know it must sound mad but i firmly believe there is something evil in that accursed image and i can t help suspecting it must have some special spite against you i confess i m deeply thankful you were not induced to go in it was not as clever as hood s wolf said it drove me away but i can t bear for you to have these horrible fancies about it i wish oh how i wish i had never bought it for you i can t imagine how i came to buy it she cried it seemed just the right thing then and now promise me promise you won t keep it a day longer don t be uneasy dearest it is all right at last though you would scarcely believe how hard i found it to shake it and here gave her an account of his various attempts to part with it it almost seems said as if the thing had taken some dreadful to you if it has said with a i y i ve its growing attachment b a idol this time it must be fond of me if it any affection at the bottom of a canal inside a leather bag for that s where it is just now and only see how the luck turned directly i come straight here and meet you better still your father who i expected would be prejudiced against me is as jolly and friendly as possible s eyes had a mischievous sparkle in them yes but i ve been thinking she said that perhaps poor dear papa didn t gather who you were but he recognised me yes as he was to have met us here a cloud passed over s face he exclaimed tell me am i in time still do you	44
suppose i should let you be here if you were not but ah i don t like to think what i might have been driven to do in the end if i had had to give up all faith in you i nearly lost it several times and i am sure aunt hopes to get her own way even now but you won t let her you do believe in me now i can t help it she said simply though i don t understand it all yet nor i for that matter but so long as you me through everything nothing can part us again can it nothing shall and if papa once came to you shall you be at the academy to night we are going gave me a ticket i h n t intended to in which the turns than once it because you see when they haven t hung you it isn t a particularly pleasant way to spend the evening but i will go now and continued if by any chance i can t bring you together to night i shall insist on taking papa to see you to morrow and aunt may say just whatever she chooses we are going to be happy again after all you will see how weu everything will go now wished the waiter would look another way so that he might gain possession of s hand which lay so near him but the waiter who possibly carried a heart under his dress shirt kept a eye upon them and his chin had a contemptuous twist if it never goes worse than this was saying and at that moment mrs swept into the refreshment room with the manner of a queen followed by the colonel looking as if he would very much rather not have come while felt that after all the waiter s eye had its advantages rose and stood upon his defence mrs drew one of the light chairs up to the table and sat down while the waiter drew near she was evidently in an extremely bad temper which was not improved by the necessity of ordering a cup of before she could get rid of the waiter and open fire well mr she began do you think this is behaviour on your part i have done nothing to my knowledge mrs he replied stiffly our meeting here was a fallen idol quite an accident and colonel himself asked md to take charge of your niece took you for else growled the colonel you knew there must be some mistake and you made no effort to your father he has only been home two days and you deceive him already papa pleaded i hadn t seen for so long and then he saved my life jove you know said the colonel in an to his sister she s right there mrs was not to be it was too bad this should have turned up just when her plans seemed about to succeed he may have saved her life she said i was not there but even if he did he had no right to presume upon it we won t detain you here any longer mr mrs scarcely returned his farewell and the colonel did so with a that cost him a secret effort the young fellow might be as as possible but he thought his sister was rather hard on him however he had made a mess of it and concluded to hold his tongue till he saw his way more clearly but cared little believed in him loved him still sooner or later things would come right he could wait now as he came out into the passage again and passed the the hall was with a military spectacle brilliant and so that the might be enchanted by it the musical ride of the household in which the turns than once but he was in no mood to be by it just then the vast hall seemed too to contain his happiness he had to seek the open air and the crowded streets he walked fast and hard for a great joy like a great grief demands action of some sort and got back to st john s wood by a long round some time before it was necessary to begin to dress for the after a fashion he had already dined somewhere though he probably could not have said what his dinner consisted of and so there was nothing to do now but sit in his and build castles in the air most people would not have thought his prospects particularly hopeful his reputation as a painter had certainly fallen off he had bills to meet and no notion where to turn for money but he had shaken off the hideous image that was all his confidence and courage and immediately his horizon had brightened what did he care for the p st now it had not divided him from his darling she was true to him and he would win her yet so he dreamed as the dusk drew on and the clock in the struck eight and then nine in half an hour or so he would begin to dress it was unusually dark for the time he thought so dark that he could not see the clock and could scarcely believe it was no more than nine just then a church clock began to strike it took a long time surely to strike nine he counted the strokes twelve he lit a candle to himself and then saw something which struck consternation and despair into his soul above the clock rose the too familiar a fallen countenance bland and beaming as ever of the thing he bad fondly believed to be smothered in the black mud of the canal how had it burst the of its bag and returned thus out of the depths to confound him it	44
was not muddy it was not damp it bore no traces of its temporary seclusion and then he missed s cast the lovely little head of of which he had been to be careful what if from the confusion his head had been in or under the strange illusion which this image to shed around it at will he had the cast for the idol that would for its submission for its presence here still and now it was too late to go to the and meet his darling that evening the idol must have his clock and caused it to lull him into a false security his had returned with this hideous he felt by the old superstitious dread what was he to do must he submit to this presence in the house and when was to bring her father there next day how could he tell what its malice might not suggest and its enable it to carry out whatever it was limited as it might be in power and intelligence it had shown already a marvellous readiness in itself to circumstances as if able in its new surroundings to observe and turn its observations to account with oriental it might h ve some and consistent design through in which the luck turns than once all this but if it really meant anything but sheer it surely might find some clear means of conveying its wishes as it was he dared not let her life by venturing within range of it he must find some method of it at least to temporary only what was left which had not been tried and proved a failure already we must leave endeavouring to with his revived and return to the colonel s mistake at the military had upset mrs s plan and without telling more than was desirable she gave him to understand that he would have to speaking to till later he was not particularly uneasy even though he guessed to whose care she had been must long ago have given up all pretensions or he would not have acted as he had done most probably the interview was equally involuntary and irksome on both sides the colonel came back to his seat alone explaining that his sister had gone home with his daughter who was feeling the shock she had received and he watched the rest of the entertainment in company and but the invitation to dine with them that evening upon which had reckoned was not given didn t hit it off with him somehow he reflected afterwards never mind i ve got the women on my side he had fortified himself with a good dinner and driven home to dress when he found at the door f his flat w re you coming to look me up h paid a fallen idol i wanted to consult you as a said come in i can spare you ten minutes and then i must dress i m due at the academy in an hour now said as he lighted candles what can i do for you how is the custom in this country for a who wishes a maiden for his does he first to the speak all depends you ve more chance with the parent if you speak to him first but you ve less chance with the girl as a general rule you don t mean to say you re asking for your own information is this why you ve got yourself up with entirely new scenery and effects are you in love she is so said with eyes like the stars and a soul snow pure yes but my dear chap you can t marry on stars and snow don t you know has she got any other property i do not know i not ask well have you enough with what i shall gain at giving philosophy lessons to live upon with care doesn t sound hopeful take my advice and stick to a single life you say that because you are bachelor and a of all joys shows how much you know about it do you see this ticket and he took one from his this card is my to felicity when the porter takes it he will take my bachelor existence too in the luck more than once you don t follow well i m going to meet the sweetest girl in the world at this same and i ve made up my mind to ask her to have me this very evening and you no what she will say smiled well i don t want to boast but i fancy i ve as good a chance as any other fellow i used to be afraid of that confounded but he has done for himself now i it is not possible that you are speaking of miss ah i forgot you knew something of them but there s no harm in mentioning names you see it s time i married and she s a dear little girl i don t see how i could do better do you no said the in a low voice not you and not the greatest in the land could do better he was greatly discouraged by finding a rival where he had hoped for a what chance had he against this with his wealth and his easy glad you think so said well of course this is all in the confidence at present i only told you to get you out of that notion of yours that i was a confirmed bachelor and now there s just five minutes left for your own love i thought by the way you were vowed to all your life it was not a vow only it is found that even the purest is rather a to progress but that matters not now since i my further all all a fallen idol	44
you t mean to tell me you ve only just found them out i believe in them just as before only my is become you remember at place the letter which came you fancy what was within unless it recommended you by any chance not to be a condemned fool said you know but how then how simply because i wrote it and burst into a shout of laughter it oflf while you were out on the balcony greek character because you knew my hand and i didn t know your s then i gave it a twist up in the air behind everybody s back and there s one communication accounted for so you took it all in and actually went home and solemnly your and the bounding brothers of and all their works on the strength of it i why i made sure that you would see through my little joke though i was pretty certain you wouldn t say so at the time it s too funny yes it is too ny said savagely they will think me a worthless which will very amusing be and i all the hopes which made this earth life i shall be quoted in their annual as a failure all because of your ah you are a so charming that you will appreciate a of in return for yours you are to meet this at the academy to night well said have you any objection ik which the than yes you do not see her to another a rival perhaps whom you do not fear will speak in your place and it will not be your cause he will plead you will not be there i should like to see anyone try to stop me you are going to see me you may not know that in of an kind i am as you would call a high distinguished often only by always looking at him i a man from eating his dinner you think not eh on the contrary said i ve no doubt you could spoil any man s dinner if you gave your mind to it but i ve had mine still you shall an illustration of what i can do with my will powers look here of course i know it s all j but i won t have any tricks played on me if it is it cannot affect you see now i direct toy will against yours i wish you to give me your admission ticket nonsense said in a thick sleepy tone are you mad give you that well don t make a fuss i don t mind letting you have it to look at not to keep mind i m acting of my own free will of my own free there take the ticket and now said as he took the card and stood looking at the uneasy go and sit down in that chair see you first i well why shouldn t i sit down he added as he obeyed it happens to be a chair of mine t i was going a fallen idol there before you spoke confound you what are you doing to me take those eyes of yours off take them off i say i you will not stir till it ia o clock it s a devilish comfortable chair i can tell you but if you think give me that ticket back i see what you re after that rascal s at the bottom of this give me that ticket will you oh very well i ve changed my mind i shan t go out to night it s too much trouble don t imagine you ve anything to do with it i choose to sit here that s all i and he sat motionless his prominent eyes fixed in a stare however s power may have been assisted by the that bis subject had been recently dining the weaker will of the two just then was certainly s a thousand thanks for your so kind gift of a ticket said the i tell you are sleepy and not able to come yourself night i probably heard and understood but he made no answer and shut the door with a laugh at the success of his experiment that evening the rows of guests who line each side of the at academy and lend such suggestions of landing at to the ceremony of reception were much entertained by the of a foreigner with a short and yellow beard whose appearance as he bowed to the president provoked discreet but hearty merriment the shrubs however was that his dress suit had not learnt as yet to accommodate itself to his figure in which the luck turns more than once nor would the fact have interested him had he known it he was absorbed by one idea just then to find the fair english maiden and speak as his heart bade him it is never very easy to find the right person in a crush nor are the academy rooms adapted to the pursuit made his way painfully from room to room with a conviction that his object was always a room ahead of him and then just when he had given up in despair he saw her behind a marble group in the gallery too had been faces with slowly hopes why did not come surely nothing would have kept him away that night if au were weu so her face lighted up at the sight of that friend of his and he welcomed the greeting as a favourable sign you have something to say to me haven t you she said taking advantage of the fact that her aunt was too far away to hear i think i should like an ice or something if you can take me out of	44
this crush mr wiu you tell my aunt that i shall be back almost directly and before mrs who on her side was impatiently expecting the twice could notice what was happening with no very clear idea where he was going was mounting a staircase by s side seemed to him more than ever that evening and he was beginning to with triumph at the idea of having when her first words somewhat dashed his confidence you do come from him don t you she said ah i knew it i no no ice thank you they were passing a a s idol at the head of the stairs see this library quiet now tell me why isn t he here it was cool and dim in the library with its sombre colouring of and mahogany seen by shaded lamps they had the place to themselves and could not have found a better opportunity though his thoughts were too sadly fluttered by this ill timed reference to to avail himself of it just then he was a after his dinner he said he ask me to make his cried i can t believe that you are deceiving me something some misfortune has happened to him please tell me all no no he is quite well there has happen and me he is not for you so to care i you are against him too i thought you were his friend i not any he has done it himself and i am i shall make you angry and if you only could tell me it is not you felt for mr had anyone else asked such a question she would have been but had a child s of you ve no right to any answer when you put such questions as that she said still just this once i will satisfy your curiosity mr is nothing to me do you understand nothing ah i how you make me glad he exclaimed with a deep sigh of relief which imagined was on i account in the luck turns more than once then ro mr has not told you she said i thought you came from him you know we were once engaged and then it was broken off and i always be very very grateful to you because you first made me suspect that there might be an excuse for him i could never have dreamed of and now i am sure of it and and we met only this afternoon and everything is as it used to be the poor man s castle came rattling down about his ears perhaps it was the dust it made that choked and blinded him for a few moments he was indeed unfortunate no sooner had as he imagined hopelessly himself than a new rival presented himself in the shape of and just when he had ceased to be formidable reappeared triumphant no he said i did not know i did not know that yes and she added anxiously he was to have been here to night but it is so late and i can t help uneasy even when he has got rid of the idol at last how got rid inquired and told him what she had been told herself i tell you will he get rid of it in such way it will come back time more and more angry he said when he had heard her story he will not what it wants and i myself i can only guess but i suspect that in the s was a which makes a great but you can find out surely urged a fallen idol not unless i and you forget we no more i have him oflf yes i am sorry said with a gloomy satisfaction te could not altogether disguise but i am mr is having more with that idol and that is why he is not here to night oh but it can t be that it s all so impossible cried and yet he believed it it may be all true that wicked thing may have come back oh do help us too late he said without my i cannot know if i am right about the and the remedy and with him i quarrel but you can make friends with him again he may be more amiable when you come to know him better and if is in danger see i gave him that thing and if any more mischief were to come from it it would kill me it would really you ask me to do all this he cried almost savagely to back to my s feet like a beaten if i never had seen you so would i still be for your sake i my and my both i would be free to yes i tell you it was and for you and now you want me to eat my to put my bride in my and myself a fool all for mr was beyond all measure surprised and shocked it had never occurred to her that there was any room in s head for thoughts of love i am so sorry so very sorry she said looking at him with eyes in which the luck turns more than once in which wonder was still lingering if i had known i would never have pained you like this and now you have told me i can t of course ask for your help after all we may be ourselves about nothing don t you think so but it is the uncertainty that s so dreadful and the not having any idea what to do her sorrow and resignation seemed to produce a in do not please he entreated or i also shall and i so i been a fool ever to you might me ever to	44
think i could be like other happy and since i cease to be a i grow selfish and my sixth is slowly there is in that idol and something tells me now he has not done with mr if it is not too late i will dry to get with my to morrow early i go to mr he is the brother you know who was the medium for our i will promise anything i will and roll and and then perhaps they wiu tell me the best thing to do and if i was right in my suspicion that there was a in the last message it may be thought that the was rather a broken reed to rely upon in any emergency but was glad to secure his assistance notwithstanding if the idol was really disposed of there would be no occasion for s services but if it had reappeared and meant mischief the person who predicted the danger was after all best able to cope with it for a great of evil had come over i a fallen idol and s failure to keep his word more and more significant she was restless feverish with the dread of what might even now be taking place and was the only person who understood her terrors in the least and will you go to mr at once and warn him of all you suspect if you wait till to morrow you may not be in time dear tell me you will go to night it is late now he said past but if it is your wish i go she made him take her back to the gallery at once and leave her to listen to her aunt s speculations regarding s non appearance while her own thoughts were engaged in trying to account for another s absence which surely nothing but an calamity could have caused nor would she have been in any way relieved could she have known the result of s visit for he found the little house and in dark and silent and he came away at last not having dared to ring or knock with a conviction that his repentance and his help had come too late i will go to mr at once he is never an early he decided he will tell me if i am right and who knows there may be time yet but he reflected more and more i dread that through the of that and my own folly and falling it is out of my power to help now when i willingly do so e was too much stillness in that chapter xiv the second all confused i could not know whether i suffered or i did for all seemed guilt remorse or my own or others still the same life stifling fear soul stifling shame for some time after the fact that the idol possessed a instinct surpassing that of the most domestic cat sat and stared at it with blank and intense disgust it would take no hints and offer no suggestions it was only too easy to off end it and apparently impossible to get rid of it willingly would have exchanged it for s much quoted monster for from that creature you knew the worst to expect and it had the tact to absent itself for considerable periods but none could say what this wanted or how far it would go in asserting its dignity for the present it sat there and as though in apology for its but poor had learned to hate its smile with a deadly hatred all the because it was so largely tempered by a fallen idol what was he to do with it he must do something and quickly too the hour was late and he would not give it hospitality for another night it was useless to attempt to lose it again he return knew him well as the song says and then the direction of s to him what if that person assuming him to exist cultivated the obscurity of the what if the hand from which it came was a for the earth which had held it so long in its grasp what if the idol like an classic shade only decent burial was not the man to resist so rational a desire the plan commended itself to him for many reasons even if he was mistaken the idol could work but little at the bottom of a good deep hole it would be out of his sight out of the house where it could not harm his it is painful to have to record such superstition on the part of a sturdy and healthy minded young englishman but let those who are disposed to s uneasiness ask themselves candidly whether his experiences did not justify some degree of apprehension at all events he wrapped the image in the piece of which had already been spoilt in its service and providing himself with a knife as the best at his disposal he went out into the little plot of ground in front of his house and began his task it was a close night with a sky through the second which the very moon looked hot and flushed found it warmer and more difficult work than he had imagined to dig with such a substitute as he had for a however he scratched up the mould in little showers as well as he could and while thus engaged he heard the heavy tramp of a night ringing down the flags of that quiet road did not disturb himself there is no police forbidding a man to bury any of his household gods in his garden it may be eccentric but it is not so he like s traveller the steps came nearer now and then the stopped to try a gate or flash his bull s eye through a or	44
listen at but at last just as had constructed a really handsome hole for the idol s reception the steps paused at his own gate and a patch of light from the lantern danced over the garden and up the house front what are you doing of in there eh said a voice across the well said i don t suppose you would ever guess i guess you can t be up to any good at this time o night if that s what you mean why cried with sudden recognition i ought to know that voice isn t your name quite correct sir mrs s man that was and i you now mr sir but without wishing to make trouble i don t what business you can have inside of another party s front garden a fallen idol but it s mj own garden this is my house have you forgotten that in your new duties i can t say said that i ever give the much attention beyond knowing you were a artist you see when i was at place i always used to bear a sort of a prejudice like against you not for what you was for i m one of them that draws no distinctions in that way if a man feels he can t get a living in any other way except as a artist let him be a artist i say i don t blame him for it those are broad views observed some may call em so but they re mine well as i was saying i didn t take to you all the same you was too free and easy to please tne i didn t like your conversation when you with us i didn t hold with your views you don t mind me a telling you this now i m only sorry you didn t drop me a hint at the time it wasn t for want of inclination but as you t be aware perhaps there s a social etiquette in these things no butler that respects himself would take it upon him to interfere let the family his feelings ever so in their talk and that was one of the things that made service go against me so you don t only put your body into a livery you put your opinions and your sentiments i ve heard ignorance talked at table to that extent i could and the dishes for indignation but it wasn t my place to say more than or and you get more freedom of opinion in the police well i don t know said thoughtfully i don t get what i call the second why you ve all the what is it v division haven t you ah but the police take em as a body ain t what i call an intellectual lot you don t get much exchange of on or off duty amongst them i assure you that for general information there was a little club of gentlemen s men that i used to belong to which i ve not met their equals in the force up to now and you find yourself for intellectual society asked well sir i do not that i regret the change for some things as a policeman i m more looked up to by the outside public i ve more weight and i find i ve gained influence in my former when i go amongst it but it s lonely there s no denying it it s got to be a pleasure to me to talk with almost anybody you can see that by my staying here talking to you yes but if your country calls you said continuing his you mustn t let me you you know there s no hurry for a minute or two said it would make you laugh if i was to tell you what i took in head when i first saw you in here i couldn t get it off my mind as you was trying to get rid of something perhaps i am said ah but i mean something such for instance as a burial now there was a case down green way last week that was a baby sorry to disappoint you said laughing but a a matter of feet a fallen idol he had his hole and was preparing to deposit the idol at the bottom of it when a horrible thing happened the thing moved under the in his hand he dropped it as if it had bitten him as a matter of fact he continued without knowing what he was saying i m only doing what i have a perfect right to do in my own interests every can a nuisance i think you call it but i am keeping you no you are not keeping me thank you sir said cheerfully as i said a little conversation is a treat to me did you say you was a something sir for a nuisance a trap i take it yes said stealthily putting out his hand to assure himself by touch that his had deceived him and that nothing stirred inside the i suppose now he continued not knowing how he was to get rid of the official and seeking desperately for a safer topic i suppose you have a good many opportunities of ah on your beat well said i all i care to know about that already there s charles s now i can point him out with anybody oh said feeling his own and and the great bear do you know that i seem to have heard of the great bear and ain t there a called the plough too and s belt why you re quite an cried oh i ve read in my time mind you and it s wonderful	44
messages to morrow once more do you want me to whistle had to submit escape was madness where he was known and would be at once besides escape would be an admission of his guilt he said i give you my word you will not be the ends of justice in any way you will not harm a living soul if you let yourself be persuaded by me now to take a sovereign i mean a five the second pound or rather a ten pound and and go away and think no more of this little incident you were not quite bo with your tips at place said no sir there s things as can t be not at no price excuse me while i make a note of what you said incident was the term you employed i think thank you sir now i m ready and we ll be along i ll come quietly said with a groan spare me as much as you can we ll stroll along as if we d just met and were casual i don t want to act otherwise than as a gentleman if you re sensible so give up that instrument and i d better take this unfortunate infant myself there now then sir strode along by his prisoner s side with one hand within his arm for some time he kept a solemn silence while glanced with a dull interest at the face under the and the letter and number gleaming on the collar but the was not the man to walk long without attempting conversation he was burning with curiosity and that passion for cross examination which members of even longer standing in the force mr he began i little thought when i used to you at place that one day i should have to show you into a police station made no reply come sir be pleasant aid i m trying to make this walk as agreeable a j idol as i meet me sir if you d like to give account of how you came to contemplate such a why i m here to listen and it will pass the time if it does no more the less i say the better was all said in reply to this i wouldn t say that sir of course i m not holding out no promises nor yet threats but still if you could bring yourself to tell me quiet like why you took such a rash into your head you might find it a relief i should be inclined to now that you d been led into it as much as you please only keep it to yourself now now remonstrated why bring any temper into it ain t angry with you i ll change the conversation if you prefer it see how the moon s gone in since we ve been seems to me there s a storm somewhere the air s that stifling i m rather partial to a moon on my beat it s company like not of course he added i m not in the best of company at the present moment now some folks tell you they see an old man in the moon and a dog and what not all i can make out is a female s face all twisted like as if she d a bitter taste in her mouth is that how you see it it ain t no use a of the poor moon now don t get ard he resumed about this ere now this feels to me like a fine grown child i ve got here it s uncommon heavy wonderful how sensible children are i it s as good as the second now it knows it s safe don t you feel just a bit sorry for it now it s over sir eh it isn t as likes babies but lor there s ways of keeping separate from em without burying them in holes in a garden now ain t there sir why you could ha sent it to the or the now and here you ve gone and got yourself into a serious mess like this there ain t no sense in it sir as you must see yourself by this time confound you wiu you hold your tongue burst out exasperated do you think i m talking for my own pleasure i only do it to keep your spirits up it ain t every that would make himself so i can tell you and if it wasn t for being an old acquaintance there s a dance going on somewhere near here you can tell that by the are you a dancing gentleman sir oh yes i remember you used to come to our dances occasionally well well there s no harm in dancing if you d never done worse than that and here drew a sigh about how old might this here child be it s as quiet as any christian not i as you d ever think to have it now what is the good of all that bad language that walk seemed to like a ghastly dream pilgrimage with s conversation which was largely prompted by mingled malice and curiosity as a running accompaniment now and then the stopped to try a gate or a window and once he reported himself to a fixed point but nothing interrupted his small talk long t t a fallen idol all at once a man in evening dress passed them and then stopped and turned back he cried the very man i was coming to look up i it was who had recovered from his recent and too late for the had started to find who he expected would reach st john s wood about the same time and whom he believed to	44
be the of the liberties had taken with him he was the last man expected or desired to see just then he thrust his hat down over his eyes and took refuge in obstinate silence here said just turn back with me i ve something to say to you very sorry sir but he s got an appointment with me at present said laughed why you haven t found on him have you no not so bad as that mr sir said who knew him well do you mean to tell me you re really taking him to the station cried in astonished delight what have you been about why don t he answer eh well said you can see for yourself that he ain t in no condition to answer questions by jove cried as accepted this excuse anything was better than having to reveal his awful position to his rival enemy so he s been kicking up a row eh dear dear dear well the second i mustn t interrupt you two are company don t be rough with him poor devil and he went hastily lest he might be called upon to furnish which he had no desire whatever to do under the circumstances pleasant spoken little chap mr ain t he said when they were alone and liberal with his crowns i m downright fond of mr i am aren t you sir well there s no occasion to bust out like that anyhow you are to night i must say and he said no more now for they were in a narrow quiet street with a square building at one end over the door of which burned a lamp with a blue pane one or two night joined them here and accompanied them to the threshold but shut the door sharply in their faces and found himself in a brightly lit room with dingy coloured walls and a of green there were a table and benches at one end and at the other a little inner office like a hotel bar deposited the bundle on the table you sit down here sir he said to we ll attend to you presently the s engaged with that gentleman just now against the wall was a small in space with a at the side and up in this was a and dirty little man who smiled affectionately at the for whom he seemed to have conceived a violent fancy though he evidently considered it a fallen idol a good point of cunning as bacon says to give a different address every minute this took time and had ample leisure to think calmly over his situation how would it end the idol had waited long before striking but it had taken a deadly revenge at last it had overwhelmed him in a scandal from which whether he was or not his name would never recover but how could he be what plausible explanation could he give and how account for the infant the knife the pit he had dug and a thought which nearly drove him mad what would think when she came to know the little man smiling more than ever had suddenly and completely like a or a chinese lantern inside the rails and they him delicately out by the coat collar and propped him up against a bench close to whom he informed as a great that he was ash nearly drunk ash i now sir said and presently found himself inside the dock with the bar upon him a child eh said the who regarded the as a mere matter of business dead or alive alive sir said it was when i first found it sir why didn t you send round for the doctor at once there go at once somebody and don t lose any more time leave the child where it is now we can do no good till we know what the doctor says more minutes of suspense during ain the second strained his eyes to catch some indication of under the folds he could see none the bundle lay and silent and a new horror chilled his blood what if this thing had completed its revenge by dying if he were charged with actual murder convicted he clutched the rail with moist palms as he thought of it he would have just then to hear it give even one of those hideous anything to get rid of this uncertainty the surgeon a short rough bustling man came in now then fetch that child over here by the lamp will you and let us have a look at it he said brought the bundle to him and stood by as the surgeon slowly the folds s heart beat hard what did you say this was infant doctor said whose gaze was directed to the ceiling tou re a pretty policeman said the surgeon contemptuously there s no infant here the idol had then ah the relief of it i rubbed his eyes well i could ha sworn i heard it howl he said but if it ain t that doctor what wit you ve been wool gathering you know i shall have to report you for this said the mr sir you can bear me out sir said you heard it and saw it sir too i told you at the time you were mistaken said you wouldn t listen a fallen idol and quite right too as it happens said the surgeon do you see what this is the touched it it looks to me he said like some form of exactly i ve never seen it in this particular form but i ve no doubt in my own mind that it is well thought it was serious enough but at least it was more respectable than the other charge why the devil couldn t	44
you say so at once eh said the you ve made me make a false entry what s come to you to take a parcel of for an infant hear of this again let me teu you the unfortunate with his dreams of promotion shattered stood dumb and trembling as the altered the charge with some temper now sir he said to do you wish to say anything at this stage no said except that i know nothing whatever of any very well you will be detained for the night on suspicion and to morrow when we ve made inquiries you will be taken before the sitting magistrate at the police court put him in number and so found himself locked in a cell he sat there for long with faculties wondering what would come next and staring at the in the corridor as it through the glass he knew perfectly well that he had lost now her father and aunt would never consent to her marriage a man whose name had figured in the police reports the second and when only that afternoon he had regained his darling when she was actually to have brought her father to see him next day oh it was hard hard he tried to think whether he could have acted why did this indian behave in this way he had tried to get rid of it what more could he do what else did it want and his excited fancy began to upon the which the idol might next choose to assume it could not be long in finding out that it had made an error in the second or had it some even fell purpose in this did it intend to and involve itself and him in common ruin was that its revenge and would hear where he had and never know why and so the night dragged on and now and then there military and rough brief reports and orders heard at times came the of the wild beasts at the neighbouring and the drunken prisoner who occupied an adjoining cell where he seemed to sleep but badly his by repeatedly a female by the name of to wait till the clouds rolled by and when this had apparently lasted for hours fell asleep on the bench and his troubles and slipped away for one long vague second a fallen idol chapter xv the day after opened his heavy eyes to find the blue light of morning streaming in through the glass pane of his were from neighbouring back gardens were crying in the streets outside milk were and boys whistling the was with its usual short lived cheerfulness all these familiar sounds upon just then they his humiliation in another two hours or so he would be standing in a police court dock charged with well whatever new crime the taste and fancy of this of an idol might see fit to fasten upon him his name would be in all the evening papers the magistrate would probably him and refuse oh the bitter shame of it all his heart was consumed with helpless rage at the utter of his situation thought from it and he fell at last into a state of what he believed was calm which was actually a stunned at last a not unlocked his door the day after wishes to see you sir in the office he said enough and followed him to the room in which he had been charged the night before the looked up with a distinctly worried expression look here sir he began we re not used to this kind of thing here i ve taken two distinct charges against you for the same thing and i should like to hear any answer you may have now before we go any further with the case i reserve my defence said all i can say is whatever the charge is i m innocent of it come sir if you ll tell me what the thing was that no found on you i may meet you farther than you fancy was it a trap it might be but decided upon perfect as his only chance you won t believe me said but it was neither more nor less than an indian image in fact an idol right sir said the and if you ll cast your eye into that bucket you ll see it and in the bucket of water was the idol head downwards but not appearing to resent the breathed freely whether it had or had merely arrived at the end of its resources it evidently did not intend to carry things further at present well said the i don t know how i came to detain you i really don t i made certain last night and so did the surgeon that it was one of those preparations it s been locked up safe in my inner room a fallen idol all night in that bucket and it certainly don t look anyway like an now can t you explain it anyway i think said you re the person to explain things the i am sure he said you re not the gentleman to make any fuss about this little mistake you see we re bound to look after ourselves naturally if you were not willing to meet us half way why we could make it unpleasant for you as it is it does no man any good in the long run having the police against him if you follow me sir saw that his immediate discharge was only a matter of arrangement the being mainly anxious to avoid the consequences of any public complaint or proceeding and shortly after to his own intense surprise ha left the station a free man how delicious the june morning was the shadows stretched blue and cool across	44
the roads the over the garden bright faced girls cleaned steps or shook at the doors and he noted all these things with a new pleasure it promised to be a very hot day already the heat made a haze in the middle distances and heavy lurid clouds touched with pink and gold rose like a range at the end of each long vista walked slowly with his detested burden under his arm half expecting it to some fresh peculiarity he was annoyed as he went in by the door to find there you re up early sir this said the man with his eye on the idol which it was useless to conceal the day yes j am rather early said in a tone he hoped was if you must go out without telling no one and stop out all night which i made sure something had happened said the there don t seem no sense in taking that there idol along with you my poor wife thought it had been stole she did but as i told her there ain t no one likely to steal it i says but you ve been making quite a companion of it these last few days i d sooner set up a monkey if it was me i would at any other time might have recommended him to mind his own business but he was too then to do anything but make a lame attempt to account for himself why you see he said i didn t know i should be out so long i met an old acquaintance and he he takes an interest in these things and i was detained so long over it that he insisted on putting me up for the night to which explanation which was both superfluous and his merely vouchsafed a of more than doubt there s that party as used to have all them curls waiting to see you he added he said he couldn t stop long i t old him i thought you was a bed and on going to his room found just about to leave felt a certain embarrassment at the recollection of their last interview but the was evidently willing to resume the old footing and the painter was in no mood just then to decline any a fallen idol ha said as he observed the idol which his friend was still carrying under one arm so you him still yes said wearily he doesn t seem tired of me yet i ve given him the slip several times but he always turns up smiling last night i tried putting him in a hole and he would not remain no said the he not only would not remain but he managed to put me in the hole instead said with the pleasing result that we both spent the night in a cried the but i knew always that alone you could you may dry and dry but always will it the same be and now when i learnt still more but you will not listen you think i am said rather if you ll forget how i behaved last time and help me like a good fellow i shall be grateful i ve found out by bitter experience that i m no match for this devilish thing alone you are all on the wrong track i tell you last night i meet your and and i talk with her i want to her some and i find there is now but one way and so if you will only to place yourself entirely in my hand i will if there is not yet a way to that idol well said poor helplessly do just what the bay after you think best i leave it all to you only tell me what you are going to do it is something which i before done but which i am quite sure by a effort and faith i shall be now able to perform said but listen and i tell you from the beginning when you com to see me that day i had on a had the suspicion that my had not after all given you bad advice the message you know was through the by means and it struck me all that either by a want of of the or the was not just then attending an h was quite possibly along the current by mistake for an i so late last night i went to mr and ask him if it might not be so and he quite more he has me a legend which for me accounts for nearly all that has occurred now do you why said i m afraid i m still rather i cannot stay now to clear your fog in a vile i com back and exactly what i am going to do and why now there is no time i must go and fetch my steel and do and then i begin to for you but in the meantime objected how do i know that this thing t begin again it is too soon yet after so force leave him down in your paint room till i can com at him oh he will be quiet i i answer for him a fallen idol of what intended to do of course had not the conception though he gathered that it would be performed with a he could only pray that it might have as little of the ludicrous in its operation as was with the nature of the case and just as hopeful persons spend money on advertised because it seems clear from the that other people believe they have been so was he by s faith in his latest had not of course forgotten s promise to bring her father that day though it had seemed extremely uncertain for a time whether he	44
would be at home to receive fortunately the worst was over now and yet he began to doubt whether this interview if it came would be much of a success and when later in the morning colonel was shown down to the painting room alone felt a pang of dread why had not come was she angry with him for not appearing last night and if so how should he excuse himself the colonel looked and indeed felt by no means at his ease he did not relish his mission which he had been despatched upon as the result of a long interview between his sister and daughter the night before and he was an peace loving man who hated giving pain now mr he began embarrassment making him ive called to tell you plainly that anything like an engagement between my daughter and you can t it s quite out of the question now don t you that yourself p the day after answered that he should not dream of asking to bind herself in any way still less to share his present difficulties but he hoped that a time would come when he should be justified in asking her to renew their engagement that s all very well said the colonel still you will do me the favour not to hope for anything so so by from all i hear sir till yesterday when i m bound to say you behaved uncommonly well you ve not shown yourself very deserving of such a girl as my you ll not deny that i suppose i deny that i have ever done anything to make me deserve her less if you will tell me where you think i have acted i think i shall be able to make you see you have done me an injustice the colonel however after all mrs s against her former only retained a general impression that he had taken an advantage of her by her for a worthless portrait of which her father had not yet been to see we won t go into that sir he said there s no need i you could find excuses enough if that were all but my sister gives me to understand that was taken by surprise yesterday afternoon and said more than she really felt and and in short as a gentleman you wouldn t wish to press any advantage you may have had under such circumstances does she your daughter make that appeal said or do you i am here to make it for her sir these are things a young girl can best say through her father a fallen idol if she will write and tell me that it is as you say or if you would let her speak to me i would never trouble her again and even as it is i only ask leave to hope i can t give that up unless she orders me to do you suppose i should tell you a lie demanded the colonel hotly if had come with me she would i haven t the smallest doubt tell you exactly what i tell you now and that is mrs and miss said opening the upper door and with a look of constrained fear in her eyes came down the steps and stood between the two let her speak for herself said with a at his heart ha said the colonel this is irregular you know irregular you had no business to come here it s not my fault said mrs who had just made her appearance she found out that you had gone here and nothing i could say would prevent her from coming too so of course i had to accompany her well now she is here said the innocent colonel let her tell mr downright that she finds she her feelings yesterday don t be frightened my love he has promised to take your word are you said mrs st in an angry whisper it s for you to put a stop to this and at once the idea of leaving it to her was looking from her father to with a puzzled of her eyebrows i don t understand day after ae said why do you look at me like that what am i to tell him papa you told me she felt like that the colonel wa saying aside to his sister would feel like that in time she rejoined you are to tell him nothing she said to leave him to your father and me but had gone to her lover s side nothing has happened to you then she said softly tell me why didn t you come last night i i made so sure you would he felt he could not tell her the whole truth i was detained he said cursing himself for the in both phrase and tone i didn t think you would let anything detain you she said rather sadly and just at that moment her eyes fell on the idol which was on a chair by a window with the knife which had so nearly provided it with a grave and which the had returned to with other property oh she cried with an awe struck reflection it has come back was it that which detained you yes he said it is the old story only worse much worse broke in mrs your father wishes you to go home with me at once how the most ordinary proper pride can allow you to speak to mr at all after the manner in which he has thought fit to insult you and the ingratitude not that you would think anything of that with which he has rewarded me is one those things i can t attempt to i u a fallen idol papa pleaded don t send me away not just yet you	44
don t know how you and aunt both he has done nothing at least whatever he did do he never meant it is all the idol all the idol repeated the colonel do you know what you re talking about my dear child yes yes she repeated wildly look at it that ugly thing on the chair and it was i who gave it to him that s the worst of it oh i know i explain very badly but then i don t in the least understand it myself then i shouldn t try to explain it said mrs i have very good reason to know that idol unhappily and the less mr says about it the better anyone else would have got rid of it long ago i i don t know how anyone else would have managed said no one could have tried harder to get rid of it than i have but the confounded thing won t go won t go said the colonel that s a curious way of speaking i have tried to sell it said but no one will buy or say thank you for it i even it and a kind friend it i lose it and it gets itself brought home somehow i drop it into a canal but it doesn t stay there i tried to bury it and it well it buried doesn t seem to me a bad sort of idol said the colonel passing by these statements as wilful usual kind of image seen scores of em in why should you be so anxious to get rid of it what s wrong with it the day after i don t know said i can only say that ever since it came into this house nothing has been as it used to be it began by killing mrs s dog for merely barking at it as she will tell you herself mrs here intimated that she could give a very different version of that accident in an evil hour i painted it into a portrait i was doing of your daughter and in some abominable way when i saw it again the idol had absorbed all her features and given her its own i can t believe my academy pictures would have been what they were if i had not been in a sort of way i its face with paint once as a test and i was perfectly colour blind till i wiped it clean again there must be something the matter with it with yourself you should say said mrs if you really believe all you re telling us it lies between two things either you are under a delusion or well i leave the to you then i m under a delusion too said for believe it and ah i here is mr he believes it too he will tell you so the colonel was understood to say something about confounded nonsense as entered by the door and joined them with a look of mystic enthusiasm and determination on his face that in that idol there are properties resident he said in answer to certainly i him more also i com now expressly to to how and why to my latest a fallen idol tions theory this is and even papa you will listen too cried mr my father she added as the colonel gave a acknowledgment of the introduction if is going to try to persuade us that are right and we are wrong put in mrs i must really ask to be excused we had better hear anything mr may have to tell us said the colonel and the was by no means loth to detail his latest discovery to the larger audience as for it was no doubt ungrateful on his part but he wished had come at any other time he had an instinctive dread that the excellent would throw new and more ridiculous lights upon the question and that his last scientific solution would be as practical as its however it was useless to think of interfering the evidently in a state of high and enjoyment was already beginning to discourse first of all what i to tell you he began is that your idol is most likely not a emblem at all he is or so my friend the brother thinks a idol and the as you know are still a flourishing in india you do not see what difference that makes well i am going to tell you their images are all to some one who when alive was a very holy man a he is now there is a tradition that within the last year the day for a time got into the saints without any business and afterwards turns out to be not a true at all but only an and what the brother and i also is that not unlikely that idol there on the chair is the very same which once was erected to him i know what you all are thinking if he was an how can his idol in any way wrong the more the more will his idol work not of course that his idol can do anything at all that is too for anyone to t but an and if he has dead on a gone is more likely to manifest i will show you why all these men in their earth lives have been and instructed in the nature secrets and engaged in out their higher and becoming therefore if the of whom this is the idol was truly all he was supposed when his body is dead he is all sixth and seventh principles he has done altogether with the earth and all further upon it he is away everywhere so happy in the non existence of what has he to do with	44
any idol i but now if he is not holy or not so as he pretended but a great large only what then all his life he has a part acted of one who has the passions and desires and in his inside he knows well it is quite why should he such a mask wear from pride and from ambition from the love to and to be by the and a fallen idol and the same while he has really such skill as every or who all are in their low way would possess very well this sham dies his body is away from him and yet he has not deserved he has even his spiritual so starved that it no longer exists and his doom is that for ever the whole individuality is in the fifth principle here paused either for or breath and the colonel hopelessly at sea but thinking he ought to say something said quite so with a yes continued he is now no more than a shadowy an invisible ghost essence of the passions and desires which had too much vitality to with the body and are yet too of the earth to rise far away from it and this thing is some extent it has all the faculties and powers though they too will slowly decay which are of the pure intellect and all the dominant thoughts and ideas of his life remain as a power and force until they of their own violence themselves you do not see yet i am to it what will be the dominant ideas of an who all his life has aimed to be respected and feared why of the of his individuality wiu all be in maintaining his reputation and his reputation is in his idol with his skill which he still has it is easy enough to arrange for him and exact homage and i have no doubt his idol was for a time quite generally respected the day then whether he was perhaps found out or his worship put down it must have com somehow to the end for years after this idol if it is the same was out of the earth dug and all these years that his idol is buried what is the spirit about he is lying and up force like the electric until his idol is again and he has something once more to think about next over to he but at first he does not everything is and he feels only that no one any more pays notice to his idol which makes him very annoyed and so whenever he can he and he and ever comes of it that is how even after he comes he but by this time this so greedy for is more and more growing able to remember and to observe and though quite what he meant by his first tricks no one c an tell you perhaps he himself could not explain perhaps it was only cross temper but to me it seems that he wanted to poor mr from from all his friends and have him altogether to himself so from time to time his of which he is all made up is upon this so unfortunate mr and that is perhaps why he so often rather for you see when the stream of this is directed upon him then w ill he not what is in his own mind uppermost but only such subjects what are then occupying that dead energies and those subjects are most a idol chiefly himself as he used formerly to be and his idol representation as it now is i see said interested in spite of himself and that is how you would explain my putting the idol in that portrait and painting that why it may even account for the colouring in those unlucky academy pictures of mine i perhaps either vanity or malice or jealousy i cannot say but all the time a stronger purpose than all is slowly himself by his tricks he is striving more and more to make himself disliked with some success remarked i like him but why even i myself could not till quite lately guess at last he has found out that in this land his idol is not he now desires to go away where it will be at home so that my dear was so right to say as he did for i must now tell you i have no doubt and so also mr that what he meant to write was the idol to the not hand from which he came then to this result the imitation spirit puts all the he can upon mr and mr can only respond to his wish to go by trying himself to part with him but no that is not what he wants at all and every time he is taken out he comes back always a more angry and where does he want to go to said because i ve no desire to detain to india of but over all india there are day and mr does not even know to which part the legend belongs but there at least you an explanation i it you for what it is and having finished his lecture looked about him with much innocent satisfaction his hearers received it as might be expected in various manners the colonel who did not happen to have had any previous acquaintance with doctrines seemed considerably taken and gasped where he had begun by gaping mrs was angry holding that a mystic should mind his own business instead of up fantastic excuses for a young mai whose treachery and ingratitude it was so highly to just then was and more uneasy than ever and though secretly impressed by this new theory of his persecution failed to see that it greatly	44
improved matters well said mrs breaking the silence are you satisfied aren t you going to say something the colonel pinched his chin my word he said i don t exactly know what to say it s a queer story very queer but do you believe in an angry idol you must be able to say that why of course said the colonel that s all nonsense i still i must say i think if i were mr i shouldn t like to have it about me i do think that and pray why well this indian magic s a curious thing i ve seen a fallen idol something of it in my time makes you doubt your own senses by and then when you come to look at it it is rather too bad to put these native gods about our houses as ornaments we shouldn t like it if a stuck up well say one of our eagle said the colonel casting about for an illustration and made a of it we should call it bad taste on his part now oh there s no question about mr s taste in this matter but i can see you half believe already thank goodness here comes a rational person how did you find out we were here they told me at place he replied i wanted to explain my absence last night i must say he added looking him in the face i didn t expect to find you here not in his own cried an something in his tone he s not you the was dumb he suddenly remembered when and how he had met him the night before and the misunderstanding that s must have occasioned worse he saw that remembered too and meant mischief and too said dear me two unexpected pleasures i on reflection he concluded not to make any allusion to the s performance i suppose he went on the magistrate thought a fine would meet your case eh what magistrate cried mrs a special providence the day after hasn t he told you said the amiable who had from s expression that extreme measures were necessary after all though i don t suppose you would be here like this if he had but it s his story i won t spoil it and i said see no occasion to tell it pardon me said mrs is every occasion it s unfair to press him said for really now judging from what i saw i doubt if he can remember it himself and has his own ideas about how to spend an evening with combined profit and pleasure was with me yesterday afternoon said proudly i m not afraid to hear what he did afterwards you have that quality my child said which the poet tells us is superior to a take my advice and ask no questions said with a sweet the of telling such a story then and there came upon him with a crushing force by what evidence could he support it who would believe him against he turned away with a stifled groan everything s against me i he said i can t tell even you and at this moment the door above opened and s stolid face looked down upon them called and says he must see you at once sir he announced from the police station i a idol was this infernal idol about to bring some new disaster npon him when too he had thought to have done with for a while i s heart seemed to reverse its action he stood helpless speechless in the track of this unknown advancing calamity what police station mrs inquired in an awful voice i don t know of course said but i should imagine it was the establishment which had the honour of receiving him last night this is too disgraceful cried mrs indignantly but had come nearer to her lover s side papa aunt she cried he has done nothing disgraceful it is that idol again was it not you know i would never deceive you darling he said it was cried the colonel in violent revolt there are limits really mr you can t make that ridiculous image the for everything you know why not observed softly the worship of we all know is not attended by excess especially of the kind in which he seemed to have been indulging when i had the pleasure of meeting him under police escort early this morning it s a lie said fiercely i was arrested last night i did spend it in a police station but for nothing of that kind if i told you how i came to be taken up you wouldn t believe me i would said i know you have done no wrong the day after god bless you darling i said the poor man i was speaking to the others and to them it s useless defending myself i know then i think said mrs there s nothing to keep us here any longer one minute said i have been informed i m a b ar i should like to have that point cleared up and i shouldn t wonder if the policeman whom we are keeping waiting all this time could throw some on it if we sent for him shall we see do you agree to that mr said the colonel with stiff politeness knew only too well after the s hint that the police were not likely in their own interests to admit that they had been mistaken but he had ceased to keep any hold on the situation things might end as they pleased if only they would end quickly i agree he said you can show the man down here a fallen idol chapter xvi as if made for the contemplation of heaven and all noble objects should nothing bat before a little i	44
me it s still i do not think it from so much force expenditure as the personality must have made there will be a and besides he has accomplished his aim mr will not again try to bury it weu no said he may make himself easy about that now he will save himself up for his real to be to the spot on which he formerly flourished with no more delay sent back and as we don t know it and are not likely to guess it said i suppose i may in the words of the weather prophet expect fresh there is a way said solemnly and dangerous but a way still and i am now about to try it and what do you propose to do asked the colonel i shall by my will power compel this invisible spirit of the false himself to he will then be able to be asked questions and to answer then i can him that if he only will help we are willing to assist him to return it is the only way there was something so self assured in his manner that even was impressed for the moment and mrs was seized with horror mr she said let me go before you begin i can t stay here and see an evil spirit raised i no one must stay except me only he said as he i began to describe a large figure upon the bare boards with a piece of s may i ask said the colonel it what that is the sacred of all explained the still drawing see at each angle i write one of the name the who came and have passed away ha exactly said the colonel and what s it for to step inside if the spirit when he appears should i wish i could have had some lamps of burning with them it is more safe but there is no time for that and now he added as he rose to his full height now i am prepared and perhaps if you would care to how i succeed mr will tell you where you can all wait till it is over there is my sitting room said if you will come there he added in a lower voice are you quite sure anything will come of this for heaven s sake don t let this end in some ghastly turned upon him with an air of solemn offence it will end either that i com to a with him or that i myself am into torn he said was by his earnestness then i can t let you face this thing alone he answered i will stay too no no protested the that will only make it more both with those and by x a idol and by when it is time i com for you one you leaf me you must me liberty to act for you can i do my dear fellow said if you really can get me out of this frightful business make any terms you but i m afraid you are going to find yourself disappointed i you to say to me just now that is i want all my faith and you dry to frighten her away said now go and if i do not com soon to fetch you it will be and here he wiped his eyes i shall be all torn up you shall not run the risk cried mt s not worth it i ll put up with anything rather than let you do it give it up i wish it i you forget said the there is whose happiness depends on me and between you and me i do not he could get at me inside my even if he is so bad enough to try and now i am too far gone to stop take them all away he produced a small steel from his pocket and pointed with it to the door where is this room of yours mr said the colonel because really it s all so extraordinary that i m rather curious to see the end of it so there was nothing for to do but allow the to have his way and conduct the whole party to his room for they all decided to remain mrs from a feeling that if she consulted her own wishes and i hear brother would do something foolish and to watch the case on his own behalf felt his position more ridiculous than ever hope as he might he could not really believe that would make good his professions if he had believed he would not have deserted him so readily he knew only too well he was clutching at a straw and too while she never doubted the s sincerity could not banish the uncomfortable recollection of his in her aunt s drawing rooms when he was quite as serenely self confident so that as they all sat there they formed anything but a cheerful party and might have been mistaken for preparing for a with their while the physical atmosphere charged as it was with the storm that had been gathering for some time served to increase their depression the brilliant sky of the morning had changed to dull copper and livid green against which houses took a tone and chimneys sent up smoke in straight threads of black yellow and white the trees uneasily in the hot dry air and the had a note of alarm in it the quiet neighbourhood was hushed to a deeper and expectant stillness as if it shared their suspense and how long are we expected to sit here like this demanded mrs unable to bear the silence any longer if we wait till a ta or whatever it is out of the depths	44
of his inner consciousness said i should say a considerable time a fallen idol i don t think you were absolutely pressed to stay remarked whereupon his rival who had every reason for remaining held his peace i wish said mrs i wish i could feel i was doing right in remaining at all we re as well here as anywhere else said the practical colonel till this storm has burst oh dear moaned his sister don t you hear something it s awful it was growing darker and darker and nature still held her breath from the below a sound as of strange tongues through the two closed doors and at last steps were heard outside and the next moment had entered the room and closed the door behind him with the of a wild beast leaving the cage they could not see his face for the gloom but they heard him breathing hard and quick well cried everybody it has been hard labour he said but i made him com oh i can tell you he made me run inside my he did not like at all to be now he is a bit i tried him with and and and he does not seem quite to but it is true that what he wants is to be taken to his own land and i promised for you that he shall where does he want to go to asked because by jove he shall be packed by the next p and he will not tell me till i bring you said and you must not him away alone you also yourself must go cried nonsense oh yes you must go also he must have who can be trusted to build him up again a temple and restore his worship as it formerly was my good sir do you really imagine i m going out to india as high priest to that confounded image why hang it all i should never hold up my head again too late now to g said the gloomily i it so you gave me i the combined and absurdity of such an arrangement drove furious if what you call arranging he said i can only tell you it seems to me you ve landed me in a worse mess than ever but i it as if i could possibly go out to india and build a shrine to set that thing going again it s monstrous absurd and i shall just make that understand that i m not going to have any nonsense about this his idol must go out alone like any other parcel everything shall be done handsomely i ll pay it s carriage all the way wherever it is take a berth for it if he makes a point of it i ll the thing heavily but hell have to look after it himself i won t i oh that is wild boy s talk said do you know what this bad spirit will do if you go back now and him a fallen i don t said and i don t care tell yon he ll most likely strike yon your dearest one said in a quivering whisper and she and not you is in danger by your obstinacy set his teeth i see he said you ve left me no choice then there i give in ill go i it is not to do said the to go out to india with your idol and build him his temple shrine and com but confound it sir the colonel almost shrieked you ought to know that you can t go out there on such an errand as that you d have all the natives in a directly why the government wouldn t hear of it we do not want the government to hear of it said the you can t seriously mean that you are going out to deliberately lower our nation in the eyes of the heathen by encouraging them in their cried mrs after all we ve spent for years and years on mission funds mr i can hardly believe that even you will do that was trembling don t go she entreated don t trust yourself far away alone with that wicked creature it will play you false oh for my sake don t go you don t know all darling said if what tells me is true i mv t go mrs colonel do you suppose i don t see the risk and the absurdity and well tbe of this i journey do you think i shall enjoy my voyage i have to go and i shall go and there s no use saying any more about it he was prepared to make ever such an ass of himself rather than risk any harm to s dear head burst into a laugh you may have pressing reasons for getting beyond the he said but i doubt if you and the idol will get much farther than retorted even now you do not said there may be a ghostly about in s but we ve only your word for it it is only through two doors said the go and see for yourself if you dare thanks very much said but it s no business of mine i see no necessity for moving perhaps the colonel will you step down and see eh colonel i will not sir said the colonel i don t give any opinion one way or the other but unless i proposed to that thing i see nothing very com in at it behind its back i wish it was over somehow let us go said but stopped them oh think first what you are going to do she cried how can it be right to lend yourselves to help that idol to deceive more	44
had grown somewhat lighter and on turning round they all saw the huddled up inside his mystic motionless his face hidden in his arms oh don t touch him i cried mrs don t let me see his face he s dead i know he is and the same thought seized them all until the slowly rose with a dazed look where am i he stammered ah i remember i in a been your will is that so accursed idol is now safely on the top of landed i myself seen him arrive for once the current has successfully worked my dear good said from the other end of the room i don t want to ask rude questions but some of it at all events seems to have been left behind look there the chair on which the idol had lately been placed was now a and wreck and all around it were scattered half fragments of some like substance see i said this looks like its ugly h and here s a bit of its with a sort of tiger scratched on it and there s a foot and hand looks as if it had got on the wrong current and run into something eh the folded his arms calmly without appearing to be at all put out by this slight i remember now more clearly he said the other was a vision only i him with and it was he threw up his and in despair he that lightning and then as you see was into pieces and where is the the gentleman himself now inquired the colonel who had certainly lost some of his colour the said oh now that th re is no longer his idol to care for he cannot any a fallen more hold together he is dissolved and again into the mighty and a good thing too said the colonel a conclusion with which few perhaps will be found to what can be said of s theory had the spirit of this long dead indian used his old mastery over the powers of nature to his final or had he intended to call down lightning to him and instead been with his own or an even more important point had there ever been a ghostly at all in attendance upon that particular idol or was the story adapted to it by the dusky and these are questions which will decide for himself according to his own inclination and capacity for the marvellous and whatever may exist in s theory has not as yet succeeded in finding a more plausible explanation of his mysterious woes though to be sure this may be due to the fact that he has never troubled himself to try at all events was not inclined just then to s services she went to him and held out her hand we are very grateful to you she said it is said the with becoming modesty at least it was not put on his glasses you ll excuse my impertinent curiosity he said but even now i can t quite gather what it was you did do i did those he said proudly indicating the shattered idol unless you mean that you ordered the in which case no one of course can very well contradict you said that strikes me as rather a strong assertion come isn t it just barely possible that that knife i see on the floor there attracted the lightning i will not reply to such and fanciful said with much dignity well i must say said the colonel who now that it was lighter and the storm was already growling in the distance had round to his former incredulity that seems a plain straightforward way to account for it fact is all this thunder in the air upset our nerves a bit don t you think so mr laid his hand on n s shoulder i don t know he said i was frightened enough just now i can t the danger quite so soon i want a little more time before i forget all the trouble mr took on my behalf said the so you are what whose is the but now he added i must say and for yes i am going to far away to find my beloved i understood you weren t on speaking terms said through your monkey for a time i lost retorted and even so rash and as to him became my who was y a fallen idol harsh and severe perhaps but more than i deserved that he was but and here he addressed and it is a thing and you will how it could be yet it is quite true i a a in which i formally my old who had done and this i for myself by the telegraph well will you that only last night i find that very same in my mr who is a great as you know me he has very grand reason to think it quite as my received it at all if so he knows and it is all well but i have a need to and tell him all and for that i must myself see him through a more advanced as mr well they are not so and the himself quite he is anxious for me to go and seek my for myself far away in and he wishes very that i find him and i also for you know is large and my a what you call shy i may to hunt a long while and when do you start asked who secretly shared the s last apprehension to night it is not for me with the forces of so much i long to throw myself upon the bosom of	44
shan my and find strength for the i must day undergo and i want to be alone and do thinking so my dear i wish you farewell i you are going to now a earth life and for successive it must surely be that one so gracious and so will ever and but think of me as i go up along my climb road to and pardon me that i shall not dare for a time at least to think of you he raised her hand in both his and kissed it and as he did so there was a moisture in his pale eyes which it may be feared was not the result of any exaltation the next minute without to take leave of any but the two lovers he had vanished out of their lives and no one unless the brothers at knows what has become of him since or whether he is still his somewhat in the mountain of far now mr said mrs a few words with you please and he left and crossed to where the old lady stood looking both grim and embarrassed i see from my she began that you do not seem to have presented the i sent you for my niece s portrait has it i tore it up he said and her face lightened you felt and very properly that you would not be justified in accepting money for what you had done not as you it well you decline at all events and and i should not dream of your feelings by it to you again but of course i can t keep the portrait now a fallen idol it is mine again he cried ah if you had only aid at once i did not know then about the she said with a deeper tint on her apple cheeks and i was angry and quite rightly then but it is understood then the whole transaction is at an end i keep the money and the portrait is yours to destroy as soon as it comes back from the i don t wish on calmer reflection to a work which can only damage your reputation in so many ways you are very considerate if it comes a little late he said and the truth was that mrs had been herself for some time for paying so large a sum without necessity she had bought with it the right to revenge but revenge is too a to seem long an equivalent for hard cash meanwhile was engaging the colonel unaware that he had already inspired that with a secret but cordial dislike of course he began you and i as men of the world know what to think of all this but unless you put your foot down pretty firmly i m afraid from all i ve seen to day that your daughter may ah allow herself to be impressed by it you may leave that to me sir said the colonel with a little movement of weak irritation for he felt no anxiety to put his foot down on s behalf and yet he foresaw that he might be obliged to do so was enough to have discovered already that whatever chances he might have had with had been hopelessly lost in the course of the morning and he now devoted all his energies to his rival you don t seem to understand colonel he said that unless you are careful you will have flinging herself away on that scoundrel over there but perhaps that wouldn t you i should most certainly put a stop to anything of the kind said the colonel coldly so you need give yourself no further trouble but as far as the young fellow himself is concerned he seems to me a gentlemanly nice young fellow enough what have you got against him i should have thought there was enough against him and i don t see myself how all the in the world can him said i think i ve some reason to bear a grudge against him too he deliberately ruined the best picture i ever painted or ever shall paint and he told again his oft repeated story of the and the british landscape which it so happened the colonel had not till then heard in all its bearings and which as told it made things look very black against his rival you re right said the colonel at the end of it with a feeling that this would at least strengthen his case against that was a shabby thing to do he s a dangerous fellow and i must get rid of him he crossed to where was standing with mrs and addressed him with a marked change in a fallen idol his we have had some extraordinary statements this morning he began and we were required to accept them as excuses for your behaviour but there can be no excuse for the disgraceful way in which you betrayed friend for he was your friend then you have probably he tells me crippled his artistic career i can only say said that i did it in all innocence if poor hasn t convinced you that some influence was over me nothing i can say will i offered to paint out the as soon as i saw what i had done but declined to let me touch it and really if he thought it was his career he would hardly let exhibit it by artificial light at a shilling a head you didn t tell me that said the colonel to don t see how it affects what he did replied rather as i said continued i ve as little to do with any credit for the thing as for any blame as as intention goes but he might set off the one against the other particularly	44
that he thought of going to the that afternoon would come with him mrs interposed was not strong enough to bear such a trial again dear must not think of taking her she herself would accompany him instead for the moment was willing enough to be excused but the thought that she might show her trust in her lover by going her to face that mocking portrait once more it was not his work and she would tell them so as they stood before it she would not fail in her loyalty to the more so as she suspected the source from which the proposition originally came so on that monday afternoon for the first time since that saturday she entered the gallery this time with a mind prepared for what she was to see there you know papa dear she said as they went upstairs painters see people so and and oh if you find something you don t like in it remember was painting the idol too said the colonel whose mind had quite regained its usual strength where is this thing eh tell you what i think when i see it mrs declined to enter the east gallery and sat down to wait in the larger room so went with her ther alone she wished herself well over the next five minutes would people stare and smile as they had done that other time but now that she knew or rather felt that had no part in this for his sake she could bear it all she would make excuses persuade the colonel if she could that the picture rather flattered her than otherwise anything but seem to join even by in the cry against her poor persecuted the gallery was not of course as full as when she had last seen it still there was a sur e and ah again there was a knot of people before her portrait she turned faint for the moment she felt as if she could not ace it but she was brave and herself to go on once more the glass in front of the canvas baffled them for a time and then her courage failed her she shut her eyes well her father was saying i don t call that such a bad likeness i call it an uncommon good likeness by jove what did your aunt mean a fallen idol ventured to open her eyes again what td thing waa this which happened the idol was gone out of the canvas on the lay a spray of white and she herself oh i could she be as lovely as for the pictured face had the bloom of youth and health the cold had died out of the eyes and left only a subdued amusement the expression with all its animation and spoke of nothing that was not womanly and tender and true as stood there trying to what had happened and what it might mean mrs rejoined them she said what do you think i just happened to you know the american daughter going to marry lord oh don t be so stupid you have heard of them at any rate you have now well they were sitting next to me in the other room and i actually heard them they spoke so loud arranging that miss s portrait should be painted on her marriage by whom do you think positively by mr why it may make his fortune and yet one would think they must have seen why what who is this it s s idea of me said as i appear without my idol good gracious was all that mrs felt equal to remarking for the moment but presently she said to the colonel in a very awed and serious tone i have always felt that there may be ire with onr limited knowledge cannot expect to understand i assure you when i last saw this picture and now as soon as the actual idol is destroyed the portrait is everything it ought to be if you see no significance in that i am sorry for you you have treated that young man very badly and i think it right to tell you so plainly but the reason of the alteration which had worked such a reaction in mrs s feelings was in point of fact a perfectly simple and straightforward one now that the picture was his once more could it as he pleased and by bringing special influence to bear had obtained the necessary permission and accordingly the day before when the gallery was closed even to sunday parties had spent some happy hours in restoring the canvas to its original condition and now on this monday afternoon the fancy seized him to go and see how his portrait looked and it chanced that at the moment the colonel was trying to his views to meet his sister s sudden change of front he saw himself enter the gallery they had withdrawn some distance from and her back was turned to them all three mrs made a signal that he was to approach and he went up with an anxious heart am i to have my answer here he said why you see began the colonel who had not had time to learn his lesson yet and helplessly you see mr a fallen idol nonsense you had better leave this to me said mrs now mr if you re so very anxious to have your answer at once the best advice i can give you is to go over there and ask yourself for it and he went and the answer that awaited him being a conclusion it is only necessary to add that the tale of s misfortunes ended almost where it began with as small prospect of ever	44
age xii a race against time contents chapter a struggle xiv a grand finish the of list of illustrations page gave the animal into as a of the peace her with an eloquence that moved all present to abandon her and dismayed the beast by his determined and ferocious aspect the bullet had a large circular in s hat the executed a leap with my daughter i foresee many which will inevitably befall thee the road was full with every description of conveyance the notorious blue ribbon was pinned by the judge upon his proud and heaving bosom t r t preliminary preliminary i have the honour humbly to inform my readers that after prolonged consumption of midnight oil i succeeded in this imposing society novel which is now by the indulgence of my friends and kind fathers the laid at their feet my to this enterprise was the spectacle of very inferior rubbish oflf by so called popular such as hope and the but feminine of the red thumb in the all of whom profess a from very very to give accurate descriptions of indian english or scotch the pity of it that a magnificent and british public should be like a babe on such and small beer would no one arise by the pure enthusiasm of his and write a romance which shall secure the of british american indian and continental readers by dint of its imaginary power and fidelity to nature and since echo answered that no one replied to this invitation i like a fool as some will say rushed in where angels were apprehensive of being too to be borne preliminary being naturally acquainted with gentlemen of my own and education and also of course knowing london and society ab ad or from the new laid to the stage when it is beginning to go bad i decided to take as my theme the adventures of a splendid representative of young india on british soil and i am in earnest hopes to avoid the shocking and indulged in by ordinary english i have been compelled to take to of this sort owing to pressure of the increase of to fortune and falling of from my profession as at law therefore i hope that all concerned will a from smile upon my new departure and will please kindly understand that if my english literary style has suffered any it is solely due to my being out of practice and such spots on the sun must be excused as mere flies in after forming my resolution of writing a large novel i confided it to my mr ram who warmly recommended me to in such a so i became every evening from to p m all entreaties from feminine relatives to stop and indulge in a blow out on ordinary like when was captured who was so engrossed in writing on the sand that he was totally unaware that he was being preliminary and at length my colossal was completed and i had written myself out after which i had the indescribable joy and felicity to read my composition to my mothers in law and wives and their respective and whereupon although they were not acquainted with a word of english they were overcome by such severe admiration for my and native eloquence that they with rapture i am not a superstitious but i took the trouble to consult a as to the probable fortunes of my undertaking and he at once confidently predicted that my novel was to render all readers dumb as fishes with sheer amazement and prove a very fine feather in my cap for all the above reasons i am modestly i a from confident that it will be generally recognised as a especially when it is remembered that it is the work of a native indian whose hand is still a in the of fiction i cannot conclude without some allusion to the drawings which are i believe to adorn my work but which i have not yet been enabled to inspect owing to the fact that having fish of more importance to at the time i a certain young english fi the same who furnished sundry poetic for chapters to engage a for the department needless to say i intended that he was to the apple only to some royal of distinguished talents yet i at the hour when too late to make other arrangements i am informed that the job has been to a certain whose name though probably certainly a of native indian origin whether he is fully competent for such a task i cannot at present say but unless he is qualified like myself by actual residence in great britain i fear that he may not possess sufficient familiarity with the customs and of english society to avoid at least a few ludicrous and even lamentable mistakes to guard against such i shall a note or comment opposite each picture as it is submitted to me pointing out in what respects if any the artist a from a from has failed to represent the author s intentions i sincerely hope that i may now and then be able to pat the mr p on the back instead of acting as a to rap his chapter i from to cambridge route a from at sea the stomach far far away from native soil when ocean s heaving burst out in boil written at sea by h b j the waves of erected their and angry to incredible overhead in storm clouds the thunder its terrific and from time to time the ghastly of lightning illuminated the entire neighbourhood the tempest howled like a lost dog through the of the good ship captain o which through a from the deep as though overtaken by the drop too much at one moment her was pointed towards celestial regions at another it aimed itself at the recesses of	44

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