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diff --git a/15223-h/15223-h.htm b/15223-h/15223-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6bcd629 --- /dev/null +++ b/15223-h/15223-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14080 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Doctor Claudius, by F. Marion Crawford. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Doctor Claudius, A True Story, by F. Marion Crawford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Doctor Claudius, A True Story + +Author: F. Marion Crawford + +Release Date: March 1, 2005 [EBook #15223] +[Last updated: October 2, 2015] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOCTOR CLAUDIUS, A TRUE STORY *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Murray, Charlie Kirschner and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<br /><br /> +<img src="images/001.png" width="20%" alt="" title="" /> +<br /><br /> +</div> + + + + +<h1>DOCTOR CLAUDIUS</h1> + +<h2>A True Story</h2> + + + +<h3>BY F. MARION CRAWFORD</h3> + +<h5>Author OF "MR. ISAACS"</h5> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class='center'> +<b>London</b><br /> +MACMILLAN AND CO.<br /> +1883<br /> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<b>Dedicated</b><br /> +<br /> +TO<br /> +<br /> +MY DEAR FRIENDS<br /> +<br /> +THE COUNTESS MARGARET AND<br /> +CLAUDIUS, PH.D.<br /> +<br /> + + <a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX.</b></a><br /> + </div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h1>DOCTOR CLAUDIUS.</h1> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" />CHAPTER I.</h2> + + +<p>"I believe I am old," said the Doctor, pushing his +straight-backed wooden chair from the table, and +turning from his books to look out of his small +window. "Yes, I am certainly very old," he said +again, rapping absently on the arm of the chair with +the pen he held. But the fingers that held the +instrument were neither thin nor withered, and there +was no trembling in the careless motion of the hand. +The flaxen hair, long and tangled, was thick on the +massive head, and the broad shoulders were flat and +square across. Whatever Dr. Claudius might say of +himself, he certainly did not look old.</p> + +<p>And yet he said to himself that he was, and he +probably knew. He said to himself, as he had said +every day for many long months, that this was the +secret of the difference he felt between his life and the +life of his companions—such companions as he had, +between his thoughts and their thoughts, between his +ways and their ways. Of late the fancy had gained +a stronger hold on his imagination, excited by solitude +and an undue consumption of the midnight oil, and +as he turned his face to the evening light, an observer, +had there been one, might have felt half inclined to +agree with him. His face was pale, and the high +aquiline nose looked drawn. Moreover, the tangled +hair and beard contrasted strangely with his broad, +spotless collar, and his dressing-gown of sober black. +The long habit of neatness in dress survived any small +vanity of personal looks.</p> + +<p>He rose, and throwing the pen impatiently on the +table, went to the little window and looked out. His +shoulders overlapped the opening on both sides as he +thrust his yellow head out into the evening sunshine, +and Master Simpelmayer, the shoemaker down in the +street, glanced up, and seeing that the Herr Doctor +was taking his evening sniff of the Neckar breeze, laid +down his awl and went to "vespers,"—a "maas" of +cool beer and a "pretzel." For the Herr Doctor was +a regular man, and always appeared at his window +at the same hour, rain or shine. And when Simpelmayer +mended the well-worn shoes that came to him +periodically from across the way, he was sure that the +flaxen-haired student would not call over to know if +they were finished until the sun was well down and +the day far spent. On this particular evening, however, +there was no mending in hand for the Herr +Doctor, and so the crooked little shoemaker filled himself +a pipe, and twisted his apron round his waist, +and stumped leisurely down the street to the beer-shop +at the corner, where he and his fellows took their +pots and their pipes, undisturbed by the playful pranks +of the students.</p> + +<p>But the Doctor remained at his window, and neither +vouchsafed look nor greeting to Master Simpelmayer. +He was not thinking of shoes or shoemakers just then, +though, to judge by his face, he was thinking very +intently of something. And well he might, for he +had been reading serious stuff. The walls of his little +chamber were lined with books, and there was a small +sliding-rack on the table, presumably for those volumes +he immediately required for his work. A rare copy +of <i>Sextus Empiricus</i>, with the Greek and Latin side +by side, lay open on an inclined desk at one end, and +the table was strewn with papers, on which were +roughly drawn a variety of mathematical figures, margined +all around with odd-looking equations and +algebraically-expressed formulæ. Well-thumbed volumes +of mathematical works in English, German, and French, +lay about, opened in various places, and there was a +cracked old plate, half full of tobacco ashes and the +ends of cigarettes. The remaining furniture of the +room was simple and poor: a neat camp bedstead, +a boot-jack, and a round mirror, not more than four +inches in diameter; a tin tub and an iron washing-stand; +a much battered old "schläger," with the +colours at the hilt all in rags, hung over the iron +stove; and that was all the room contained besides +books and the working-table and chair. It would be +impossible to live more simply, and yet everything +was neat and clean, and stamped, too, with a certain +<i>cachet</i> of individuality. There were probably hundreds +of student-rooms in the town of Heidelberg which +boasted no more adornment or luxury than this, +and yet there was not one that looked like it. A +student's room, as he grows up, is a reflection of himself; +it is a kind of dissolving view, in which the one +set of objects and books fades gradually away as his +opinions form themselves, and as he collects about him +the works that are really of interest to him, as distinguished +from those with which he has been obliged to +occupy himself prior to taking his academic steps. +Then, as in the human frame every particle of bone +and sinew is said to change in seven years, the student +one day looks about him and recognises that hardly a +book or a paper is there of all the store over which he +was busied in those months before he took his degree, +or sustained his disputation. When a man has entered +on his career, if he enters on it with a will, he soon +finds that all books and objects not essential as tools +for his work creep stealthily into the dusty corner, or +to the inaccessible top shelf of the bookcase,—or if he +is very poor, to the second-hand bookshop. He cannot +afford to be hampered by any dead weight.</p> + +<p>Now Dr. Claudius had gone through many +changes of thought and habit since he came to Heidelberg +ten years ago. But he had never changed his +quarters; for he loved the garret window and the +isolation from visits and companions that he gained +by his three flights of stairs. The camp-bed in the +corner was the same whereon he had lain after his +first duel, with a bag of ice on his head and his bosom +friend by his side, with a long pipe. At that very +table he had drawn his first caricature of Herr Professor +Winkelnase, which had been framed and hung +up in the "Kneipe"—the drinking-hall of his corps; +at the same board he had written his thesis for his +doctorate, and here again he had penned the notes for +his first lecture. Professor Winkelnase was dead; not +one of his old corps-brothers remained in Heidelberg, +but still he clung to the old room. The learned +doctors with whom he drank his wine or his beer of +an evening, when he sallied forth from his solitude, +wondered at his way of living; for Dr. Claudius was +not poor, as incomes go in South Germany. He had +a modest competence of his own to begin with, and +his lectures brought him in something, so that he +might have had a couple of rooms "<i>parterre</i>"—as the +Germans call the <i>rez-de-chaussée</i>—and could have +been as comfortable as he pleased. But no one ever +attempted to account for Dr. Claudius at all. He was +a credit to the University, where first-rate men are +scarce,—for Heidelberg is not a seat of very great learning; +and no one troubled to inquire why he did not +return to his native country when he had obtained his +"Phil.D." Only, if he meant to spend the rest of his +life in Heidelberg, it was high time he married and +settled down to genuine "Philisterleben"—at least so +Dr. Wiener had said to Dr. Wurst over the second +"schoppen" every night for a year past.</p> + +<p>But Claudius did not marry, nor did he even allow +his blue eyes to rest contemplatively on black-eyed +Fräulein Wiener, or red-cheeked Fräulein Wurst. He +would indeed occasionally accept an invitation to drink +coffee at his colleagues' houses, but his talk was little +and his manner a placid blank. He had been wild +enough ten years before, when his yellow hair and tall +straight presence were the admiration of every burgher's +daughter in the Hirschgasse or the Langestrasse; but +years and study had brought out the broad traits of +his character, his uniformly quiet manner, his habits +of regularity, and a certain deliberateness of gait and +gesture which well became his towering figure and +massive strength. He was utterly independent in all +his ways, without the least trace of the arrogance that +hangs about people whose independence is put on, and +constantly asserted, in order to be beforehand with the +expected opposition of their fellow-men.</p> + +<p>Dr. Claudius was a Swede by birth and early +education, and finding himself at twenty free to go +where he would, he had wandered to Heidelberg in +pursuit of the ideal student-life he had read so much +of in his Northern home. Full of talent, independent +and young, he cared little for the national enmities of +Scandinavians and Germans, and, like all foreigners +who behave sensibly, he was received with open arms +by the enthusiastic students, who looked upon him as +a sort of typical Goth, the prototype of the Teutonic +races. And when they found how readily he learned +to handle schläger and sabre, and that, like a true son +of Odin, he could drain the great horn of brown ale at +a draught, and laugh through the foam on his yellow +beard, he became to them the embodiment of the +student as he should be. But there was little of all +that left now, and though the stalwart frame was +stronger and tougher in its manly proportions, and the +yellow beard grown long and curly, and the hair as +thick as ever, the flush of youth was gone; and Dr. +Claudius leaned out of his high window and smelled +the river breeze, and said to himself it was not so +sweet as it used to be, and that, for all he only had +thirty summers behind him, he was growing old—very +old; and that was why he did not care to spend more +than half-an-hour of an evening with Dr. Wiener and +Dr. Wurst.</p> + +<p>In truth it was an unnatural life for a man just +reaching his prime, and full of imagination and talent +and love for the beautiful. But he had fallen into +the philosophical groove of study which sooner or later +seems to absorb so many gifted minds, only to lay +them waste in nine cases out of ten. A brilliant +mathematician, he had taken his doctorate without +difficulty, and his thesis had even attracted some +attention. From the higher speculations of modern +mathematics to the study of philosophy is but a step, +and Claudius had plunged into the vast sea of Kant, +Spinoza, and Hegel, without, perhaps, having any very +definite idea of what he was doing, until he found himself +forced to go forward or to acknowledge himself +baffled and beaten. This he was not willing to do, +and so he had gone on and on, until one day, some six +months ago, he had asked himself what it all led to? +why he had laboured so hard for years over such +things? whether the old free life and ready enjoyment +were not better than this midnight prowling among +other people's thoughts, which, whatever they might +have been when spoken, never seemed quite clear on +paper? Or would it not be better to leave the whole +thing and go back to his Northern home? He might +find plenty of adventure there, and breathe in fresh +youth and vitality in the cold bright life of the Norwegian +fisheries or of some outlying Swedish farm. +And yet he could not make up his mind to move, or +to acknowledge that he had laboured in vain. It was +in vain, though, he said, as he looked out at the flowing +river. Had he gained a single advantage either for +his thoughts or his deeds by all his study of philosophy? +In his weariness he said to himself that he had not; +that he had been far better able to deal with questions +of life, so long as he had only handled the exact +sciences, than he was now, through all this uncertain +saturation of foggy visions and contradictory speculations. +Questions of life—but did questions of life +ever arise for him? He had reduced it all to its +simplest expression. His little store of money was +safely invested, and he drew the income four times a +year. He possessed no goods or chattels not stowed +away in his garret chamber. He owed no man anything; +he was not even a regular professor, tied to his +University by a fixed engagement. In a word, he was +perfectly free and untrammelled. To what end? He +worked on from force of habit; but work had long +ceased to amuse him. When had he laughed last? +Probably not since his trip on foot to the Bavarian +Highlands, where he had met a witty journalist +from Berlin, with whom he had walked for a couple +of days.</p> + +<p>This evening he was more weary than usual. He +almost thought he would go away if he could think of +any place to go to where life might be more interesting. +He had no relations excepting an uncle, who had +emigrated to America when Claudius was a baby, and +who wrote twice a year, with that regular determination +to keep up his family ties which characterises the +true Northman. To this uncle he also wrote regularly +at stated intervals, telling of his quiet student-life. +He knew that this solitary relation was in business in +New York, and he inferred from the regular offers of +assistance which came in every letter that he was in +good circumstances,—but that was all. This evening +he fell to thinking about him. The firm was "Barker +and Lindstrand," he remembered. He wondered what +Mr. Barker was like. By the by it would soon be +midsummer, and he might expect the half-yearly letter +at any time. Not that it would interest him in the +least when it came, but yet he liked to feel that he +was not utterly alone in the world. There was the +postman coming down the street in his leisurely, old-fashioned +way, chatting with the host at the corner +and with the tinman two doors off, and then—yes, he +was stopping at Dr. Claudius's door.</p> + +<p>The messenger looked up, and, seeing the Doctor at +his window, held out a large envelope.</p> + +<p>"A letter for you, Herr Doctor," he cried, and his +red nose gleamed in the evening glow, strongly foreshortened +to the Doctor's eye.</p> + +<p>"Gleich," replied Claudius, and the yellow head disappeared +from the window, its owner descending to +open the door.</p> + +<p>As he mounted the dingy staircase Claudius turned +the great sealed envelope over and over in his hand, +wondering what could be the contents. It was postmarked +"New York," but the hand was large and +round and flourished, not in the least like his uncle's +sexagenarian crabbedness of hieroglyphic. In the +corner was the name of a firm he did not know, and +the top of the letter was covered with a long row of +stamps, for it was very thick and heavy. So he went +into his room, and sat down on the window-sill to see +what Messrs. Screw and Scratch of Pine Street, New +York, could possibly want of Claudius, Phil.D. of +Heidelberg.</p> + +<p>His curiosity soon gave way to very considerable +surprise. The first part of the letter contained the +formal announcement of the sudden decease of Gustavus +Lindstrand, of the firm of Barker and Lindstrand of New +York. Claudius laid down the letter and sighed. +His one relation had not been much to him. He had +no recollection even of the old gentleman's appearance, +but the regular correspondence had given him a feeling +of reliance, a sensation of not being absolutely alone. +He was alone now. Not a relation of any description +in the world. Well, he would read the remainder of +the letter. He turned over the page.</p> + +<p>"We enclose a copy of the will," the lawyer continued, +"for your inspection. You will see that Mr. +Screw of our firm is appointed joint executor with Mr. +Silas B. Barker, and we await your further instructions. +In view of the large fortune you inherit," . . .</p> + +<p>Claudius looked up suddenly and gazed blankly +out of the window; then he went on—</p> + +<p>. . . "by the aforesaid will of your uncle, the late +Mr. Gustavus Lindstrand, it might be well if, at your +convenience, you could pay a visit to this country."</p> + +<p>Here Claudius thought it was time to look at the +will itself. Unfolding the document, which was very +short, he acquainted himself with the contents. There +were a few legacies to old servants, and one or two to +persons who were probably friends. Everything else +was devised and bequeathed "to my nephew, the son +of my sister, Claudius, <i>privat-docent</i> in the University +of Heidelberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany." +And it appeared that the surplus, after deducting all +legacies and debts, amounted to about one million and +a half of dollars.</p> + +<p>Claudius carefully reread the papers without betraying +the smallest emotion. He then put them back +in the envelope, and opening a small iron cash-box, +which stood on a shelf of the book-case, locked up will, +letter, power of attorney, and all. Then he shook his +long limbs, with a sigh, and having rolled a thick +cigarette, lighted it, and sat down in his chair to think. +The shadows were deepening, and the smoke of his +tobacco showed white against the gloom in the room. +The news he had just received would have driven +some men crazy, and certainly most people would +experience some kind of vivid sensation at finding +themselves suddenly endowed with immense wealth +from a quarter where they did not even suspect it +existed. Moreover, old Lindstrand's will was perfectly +unequivocal, and contained none of those ill-natured +restrictions about marrying or not marrying, or assuming +the testator's name, or anything which could +put the legatee to the slightest inconvenience. But +Claudius experienced no sensation of pleasure at finding +himself sole master of a million and a half.</p> + +<p>It was not that he was foolish enough to despise +money, or even to pretend to, as some people do. He +would have felt keenly the loss of his own little store, +and would have hated to work for money instead of +working for work's sake. But he had enough, and +had always had enough, for his small wants. He +loved beautiful things intensely, but he had no desire +to possess them; it was enough that he might see them, +and carry away the remembrance. He loved books, +but he cared not a jot for rare editions, so long as +there were cheap ones published in Leipzic. That old +copy of <i>Sextus Empiricus</i>, on the desk there, he had +bought because he could not get an ordinary edition; +and now that he had read it he did not care to keep +it. Of course it contained a great deal that was good, +but he had extracted the best of it, and meant to sell +the volume to the first bidder—not that he wanted +the money, but because it was in the way; if he +allowed things to accumulate, there would be no turning +round in his little den. So he leaned back in his +straight-backed chair and wondered what in the world +he should do with "all that money." He might travel. +Yes, but he preferred to travel with a view of seeing +things, rather than of reaching places. He would +rather walk most of the way. The only way in which +he could possibly live up to such an income must be +by changing his entire mode of life—a house, somewhere +in a great city, horses, servants, and even a +wife—Claudius laughed for the first time in many +months, a deep Homeric laugh—they would all help him +to get rid of his money. But then, a life like that—pshaw! +impossible. He was sick of it before beginning, +then what would he feel after a month of it?</p> + +<p>The problem faced him in the dark, like an +unsolved equation, staring out black and white before +his eyes, or like an unfinished game of chess when +one goes to bed after five or six hours' play. Something +he must decide, because it was his nature to +decide always, before he left a subject, on some course +of thought. Meanwhile he had been so little disturbed +by the whole business that, in spite of his +uncle's death, and a million and a half of money, he +was hungry and thirsty. So he struck a match and +lit his study-lamp, and found his coat and hat and +stick. Then he paused. He did not want to meet Dr. +Wiener and Dr. Wurst that evening; he would fetch +himself something to eat and drink, and be quiet. So he +slung a heavy stone jug on his arm, and, turning his +lamp down to save the oil, trudged down the stairs +and out into the street. He made for the little inn at +the corner, and while the fat old landlord filled his +jug with the best Markgräfler, he himself picked out +a couple of smoked sausages from the great pile on +the counter, and wrapping them up with half a dozen +pretzels, transferred the package to his capacious +pocket. Then he took the jug from the innkeeper, +and having paid half a gulden for the whole supply of +eatables and wine, he departed to consume them in +solitude. It was his usual supper. He had done the +same thing for ten years, off and on, whenever he was +not inclined for company.</p> + +<p>"But I suppose it is incongruous," he soliloquised, +"that, being a millionaire, I should fetch my own +supper." Once more he laughed aloud in the crowded +street, for it was warm and the people were sitting in +front of their houses, Simpelmayer the shoemaker, +and Blech the tinman, and all the rest, each with his +children and his pot of beer. As the Doctor laughed, +the little boys laughed too, and Blech remarked to +Simpelmayer that the Herr Doctor must have won the +great prize in the Hamburg lottery, for he had not +heard him laugh like that in three years.</p> + +<p>"Freilich," returned the crooked shoemaker, "but +he was used to laugh loud enough ten years ago. I +can remember when he first moved in there, and his +corps-fellows locked him in his room for a jest, and +stood mocking in the street. And he climbed right +down the woodwork and stepped on the signboard of +the baker and jumped into the street, laughing all the +while, though they were holding in their breath for +fear he should break his neck. Ja, he was a right +student; but he is changed now—the much reading, +lieber Blech, the much reading." And the old fellow +looked after Claudius as he disappeared into the dark +doorway.</p> + +<p>The Doctor mounted his three flights with even +tread, and, turning up his light, proceeded leisurely to +eat his twisted rolls and sausages. When he had +done that, he took the great stone jug in his hand, as +if it had been a wine-glass, and set it to his lips and +drank a long draught.</p> + +<p>The result of his cogitations, assisted by the soothing +influence of supper, was to be foreseen. In the +first place, he reflected that the problem was itself a +myth. No one could require of him that he should use +his money unless he liked. He might let it accumulate +without any trouble to himself; and then, why should +he tell any one of his inheritance? Surely he might +go on living as he was living now for an indefinite +period, and nobody would be the wiser. Besides, it +would be a novel sensation to feel that while living +like a simple student he possessed a great power, put +away, as it were, on the shelf, whereby he could, if he +liked, at any moment astonish the whole country. +Very novel, indeed, and considering the importance of +the question of the disposal of his income, he could +well afford to give it six months' consideration. And +he might move undisturbed about the University and +eat his supper with Dr. Wiener and Dr. Wurst without +being the object of general interest, which he +would at once become if it were known that he, a +simple <i>privat-docent</i>, with his decent black coat and +his twice-mended shoes, was the richest man in the +Grand Duchy of Baden.</p> + +<p>These reflections of Dr. Claudius, strange as they +must seem in the eyes of men of the world, were only +what were to be expected from a man of his education +and character. He had travelled after a fashion, it is +true, and had frequented society when he was younger; +for the Heidelberg student is a lover of the dance, +and many of the wild young <i>burschen</i> become the +brilliant officers of the crack regiments of the first +army in the world. He had been in Paris and +Vienna and Rome for a few weeks, and, being of a +good family in the North, had received introductions +through the diplomatic representatives of his country. +His striking personality had always attracted attention, +and he might have gone everywhere had he chosen. +But he had only cared enough for society and its life +to wish to see it now and then, and he fancied that +he understood it at a glance—that it was all a sham +and a glamour and vanity of vanities. There was, of +course, a potent reason for all this. In his short +peregrinations into the world of decorations and blue +ribbons and cosmopolitan uniforms he had never come +across a woman that interested him. He had a holy +reverence for woman in the abstract, but he had not met +one to whom he could do homage as the type of the +ideal womanhood he worshipped. Perhaps he expected +too much, or perhaps he judged too much by small +and really insignificant signs. As no man living or dead +has ever understood any woman for five minutes at +a time, he was not to be blamed. Women are very like +religion—we must take them on faith, or go without.</p> + +<p>Moreover, Dr. Claudius had but an indifferent +appreciation of the value of money; partly because +he had never cared for what it would buy, and had +therefore never examined its purchasing power, and +partly because he had never lived intimately with +people who spent a great deal. He knew nothing of +business, and had never gambled, and he did not +conceive that the combination of the two could be of +any interest. Compared with the questions that had +occupied his mind of late, it seemed to make no more +difference whether a man were rich or poor than +whether he had light hair or dark. And if he had +seriously asked himself whether even those great problems +which had occupied the minds of the mightiest +thinkers led to any result of importance, it was not +likely that he would bestow a thought on such a +trivial matter as the question of pounds, shillings, +and pence.</p> + +<p>So, before he went to bed, he took out a sheet of +paper and an envelope—he never bought but one +package of envelopes a year, when he sent his New +Year's card to the other doctors of the University—and +wrote a short letter to Messrs. Screw and Scratch +of Pine Street, New York. He acknowledged the +receipt of their communication, deplored the death of +his only relation, and requested that they would look +after his money for him, as he had no use whatever +for it at present. He objected, he said, to signing a +power of attorney as yet, for as there was no hurry +they might consult him by letter or telegraph as often +as they liked. When Messrs. Screw and Scratch read +this epistle they opened their eyes wide, wondering +what manner of man Claudius, Phil.D., might be. +And it took them some time to find out. But +Claudius put out his light when he had signed and +sealed the missive, and slept the sleep of the strong +and the just, undisturbed by the possession of a fortune +or by any more doubts as to the future.</p> + +<p>Before receiving this letter he had thought seriously +of going away. Now that a move was almost thrust +upon him, he found that he did not want to make it. +A professor he would live and die. What could be +more contemptible, he reflected, than to give up the +march of thought and the struggle for knowledge, in +order to sit at ease, devising means of getting rid of +so much cash? And he straightened his great limbs +along the narrow camp-bed and was asleep in five +minutes.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" />CHAPTER II.</h2> + + +<p>When Claudius awoke at daybreak he had a strong +impression that he had been dreaming. His first +action was to open his iron box and read the will over +again. That being done, he reflected that his determination +to keep his fortune a secret was a wise one, +and that for the present he would abide by it. So he +went out and got a notary to attest his signature to +the letter, and posted it to Messrs. Screw and Scratch, +and returned to his books. But the weather was +intensely hot, and the sun beat down fiercely on the +roof over his head, so that after two or three hours he +gave it up and sallied forth to seek coolness abroad. +His steps turned naturally upwards towards the overhanging +castle where he was sure of a breeze and plenty of +shade; and as he passed the famous old "Wirthshaus +zum faulen Pelz" on the ascent, he turned in and took +a drink of the cool clear ale and a pretzel, an operation +termed in Germany the "Frühschoppen," or "early +glass," and as universal a practice as the early tea in +the tropics before the sun is up, or the "vermouth" of +the Italian before the evening meal. Having offered +this customary libation to the summer deities, the +Doctor leisurely climbed the hill and entered the +precincts of the Schloss. Sure enough, there was a +breeze here among the ruins, and shade in abundance +wherein to lie and read all through the summer day, +with an occasional shift of position as the sun rose +and sank in the blazing sky.</p> + +<p>Claudius stretched himself out near the great +ruined tower under a bit of wall, and, pulling out a +book, began to read. But the book did not interest +him, and before long he let it drop and fell to thinking. +The light wind stirred the broad green foliage over +him, and the sun struck fiercely down beyond the +border of shade; but then, again, beyond there were +more trees and more shade. The nameless little +crickets and flies and all manner of humming things +panted musically in the warm air; the small birds +chirped lazily now and then in desultory conversation, +too hot to hop or fly; and a small lizard lay along the +wall dazed and stupid in the noontide heat. The +<i>genius loci</i> was doubtless cooling himself in the +retirement of some luxurious hole among the ruins, and the +dwarf Perkéo, famous in song and toast, had the best +of it that day down in the cellar by the great tun.</p> + +<p>But Claudius was of a tough nature, and minded +neither heat nor cold; only when a large bluebottle +fly buzzed round his nose he whisked his broad hat +to drive the tormentor away, and said to himself that +summer had its drawbacks even in Germany, though +there were certainly more flies and mosquitoes and +evil beasts on the wing in Sweden during the two +months' heat there. On the whole, he was pretty +comfortable among the ruins on this June day, though +he ought to begin considering where his summer foot +tour was to take him this year. It might be as well, +certainly. Where could he go? There was the Black +Forest, but he knew that thoroughly; Bohemia—he +had been there; Switzerland; the Engadine—yes, he +would go back to Pontresina and see what it had grown +into since he was there six years ago. It used to be +a delightful place then, as different from St. Moritz as +anything could well be. Only students and artists +and an occasional sturdy English climber used to go to +Pontresina, while all Europe congregated at St. Moritz +half a dozen miles away. He would go there as he +went everywhere, with a knapsack and a thick stick +and a few guldens in his pocket, and be happy, if so +be that he had any capacity for enjoyment left in him.</p> + +<p>"It is absurd," said Claudius to himself, argumentatively. +"I am barely thirty years old, as strong +as an ox, and I have just inherited more money than +I know what to do with, and I feel like an old cripple +of ninety, who has nothing left to live for. It must +be morbid imagination or liver complaint, or something."</p> + +<p>But it was neither liver nor imagination, for it was +perfectly genuine. Tired of writing, tired of reading, +of seeing, of hearing, and speaking; and yet blessed +with a constitution that bid fair to carry him through +another sixty years of life. He tried to argue about +it. Was it possible that it came of living in a foreign +country with whose people he had but a fancied sympathy? +There are no folk like our own folk, after all; +and there is truly a great gulf between Scandinavians +and every other kind of people. But it seemed to +Claudius that he loved the Germans and their ways—and +indeed he did; but does not everyday experience +show that the people we admire, and even love, the +most are not necessarily those with whom we are most +in sympathy or with whom it is best for us to live? He +would have been better among his own Northern people; +but that did not strike him, and he determined he +would go to the Engadine to-morrow or next day.</p> + +<p>The Doctor, having made up his mind, shifted his +position and sat up, pulling a pipe from his pocket, +which he proceeded to fill and to light. The flame of +the match was white and transparent in the mid-day +glare, and the smoke hung lazily about as he puffed +at the ungainly instrument of enjoyment.</p> + +<p>Before he had half finished his pipe he heard footsteps +on the path. He looked up idly and saw a +lady—<i>two</i> ladies—coming leisurely towards him. +Beyond the fact that it was an unusual hour for +strangers to visit the Schloss—and they evidently +were strangers—there was nothing unusual in the +apparition; and Claudius merely rose to his feet and +moved slowly on, not from any desire to get out of +the way, but merely because he was too well bred to +remain seated by the path while a lady passed, and +having risen, he could not very well stand still. So +he moved on till he stood by the broken tower, and +seeing that by climbing down he could reach a more +secure resting-place, with the advantage of a view, he +let himself drop easily on to a projecting ledge of +masonry and resumed his pipe with philosophic indifference. +Before long he heard voices above him, or +more properly a voice, for one of the parties confined +her conversation strictly to yea and nay, while the other +spoke enthusiastically, and almost as if soliloquising, +about the scene.</p> + +<p>It was a deep-strung voice, that would have been +masculine if it had been the least harsh; but it was +not—it was only strong and large and smooth, a +woman's voice with the gift of resonance that lends +interest where there might otherwise seem to be none. +There is a certain kind of voice in woman that seems +to vibrate in a way especially its own. Whether it +be that under certain conditions of the vocal organs +harmonic sounds are produced as they may be upon a +stringed instrument or upon an organ pipe; or whether, +again, the secret lies deeper, depending on the subtile +folding and unfolding of new-shaped waves of sound +to which our ordinary ears are not used—who can +tell? And yet there are voices that from the first +produce upon us a strange impression unlike anything +else in the world. Not that we necessarily become +interested in the possessor of the voice, who may +remain for ever utterly indifferent to us, for the magic +lies in the tone merely, which seems to have a power +of perpetuating itself and rebounding among the echoes +of our recollections. Barely, very rarely, singers possess +it, and even though their powers be limited there +comes a strange thrill into their singing which fixes it +indelibly on the memory.</p> + +<p>Such a voice it was that Claudius heard as he lay on +his ledge of masonry some ten feet below, and listened +to the poetic flow of the strange lady's thoughts on +Heidelberg and the scene at her feet. He did not +move, for he was sure she had not seen him; and he +supposed she would go away in a few minutes. He +was destined to be seen, however. She stopped talking, +and was apparently lost in thought; but in a moment +there was a small cry.</p> + +<p>"O mon Dieu!" and a dainty lace-covered parasol +fell over the edge, and, striking the platform where +Claudius was lying, went straight to the bottom of the +ruin, some twenty feet farther.</p> + +<p>"What a nuisance," said the thrilling voice from +above, "I can never get it back now; and there are +no gardeners or people about."</p> + +<p>"Permit me, Madam," said Claudius, stepping as far +out as he dared, and looking up to catch a glimpse of +a beautiful woman in black and white staring down at +the unlucky parasol in a rather helpless fashion. "Do +not be disturbed, Madam; I will get it for you in a +moment." And he began to descend.</p> + +<p>The fair unknown protested—Monsieur must not +trouble himself; Monsieur would certainly break his +neck—<i>enfin</i>, it was very obliging on the part of +Monsieur to risk himself in such a terrible gulf, etc. +etc. But "Monsieur," when once he had caught sight +of those dark eyes, climbed steadily down to the bottom, +and had reached the lost parasol before the string of +polite protestations had ceased. The ascent was +quickly accomplished, and he stood at the summit, hat +in hand, to return the object of his search to its rightful +owner. There was not a trace of embarrassment +on his face; and he looked the foreign lady boldly in +the eyes as he bowed. She could not express her +thanks sufficiently, and would probably have wished to +continue expressing them for some time longer to the +handsome and herculean young man, who had apparently +started out of space to her assistance; but when +Claudius had taken a good look he simply answered—</p> + +<p>"Il n'y a pas de quoi, Madame," and bowing low +walked off. Perhaps the least contraction of curiosity +was in his eyes; and he would have liked to know who +the lady was who had the crown and the large M carved +in the ivory of her parasol stick. But, after all, he came +to the conclusion that he did not care, and so went +strolling down the path, wondering where he could hide +himself if visitors were to infest the Schloss at this time +of year, and in the hottest hours of the day.</p> + +<p>"I will leave here to-morrow," he said, "and see +if I cannot be more comfortable in Pontresina." He +reached another part of the Schloss, and sitting down +resumed his pipe, which seemed destined to interruptions.</p> + +<p>The lady of the parasol had made an impression on +Dr. Claudius, for all his apparent indifference. It was +rarely, indeed, nowadays that he looked at a woman +at all; and to-day he had not only looked, but he +owned to himself, now it was past, that he would like +to look again. If he had had any principle in avoiding +women during the last few years, he would not +have admitted now that he would like to see her again—just +for one moment. But he had no principle in +the matter. It was choice, and there it ended; and +whenever he should take it into his head to associate +with the fair sex again, he would consider it a sign +that his youth had returned, and he would yield without +the smallest struggle. But in this ease—"Pshaw!" +thought the humble <i>privat-docent</i>, "she is some great +lady, I suppose. How should I make her acquaintance? +Oh! I forgot—I am a millionaire to-day; I have +only to ask and it shall be opened." He smiled to +himself, and, with the returning sense of the power to +do what he pleased, the little undefined longing for +another glimpse of the fair stranger subsided for a time.</p> + +<p>Then he regretted it. He was sorry it was gone; +for while it had been there he had felt a something +telling him he was not old after all, but only very +young—so young that he had never been in love. As +a consequence of his wishing his little rag of sentiment +back again, it came; but artificially this time, and as if +expecting to be criticised. He would contemplate for +a space the fair picture that had the power to rouse +his weary soul, even for an instant, from the sea of +indifference in which it was plunged.</p> + +<p>Claudius lay back in the grass and crossed one leg +over the other. Then he tried to recall the features +of the woman who had begun to occupy his thoughts. +She was certainly very beautiful. He could remember +one or two points. Her skin was olive-tinted and +dark about the eyes, and the eyes themselves were like +soft burning amber, and her hair was very black. That +was all he could recollect of her—saving her voice. +Ah yes! he had seen beautiful women enough, even in +his quiet life, but he had never heard anything exactly +like this woman's tones. There are some sounds one +never forgets. For instance, the glorious cry of the +trumpeter swans in Iceland when they pass in full +flight overhead in the early morning; or the sweet +musical ring of the fresh black ice on the river as it +clangs again to sweep of the steel skate. Claudius tried +to compare the sound of that voice to something he +had heard, but with little success.</p> + +<p>Southern and Eastern born races fall in love at first +sight in a way that the soberer Northener cannot +understand. A face in a crowd, a glance, a droop of +the lashes, and all is said. The seed of passion is sown +and will grow in a day to all destroying proportions. +But the Northern heart is a very different affair. It +will play with its affections as a cat plays with a mouse; +only the difference is, that the mouse grows larger and +more formidable, like the one in the story of the Eastern +sage, which successively changed its shape until it became +a tiger, and the wise man was driven to take +precautions for his own safety. There is never the +least doubt in the mind of an Italian or an Oriental +when he is in love; but an Englishman will associate +with a woman for ten years, and one day will wake up +to the fact that he loves her, and has loved her probably +for some time past. And then his whole manner +changes immediately, and he is apt to make himself +very disagreeable unless indeed the lady loves him—and +women are rarely in doubt in their inmost hearts as +to whether they love or not.</p> + +<p>The heart of the cold northern-born man is a strange +puzzle. It can only be compared in its first awakening +to a very backward spring. In the first place, the previous +absence of anything like love has bred a rough +and somewhat coarse scepticism about the existence of +passion at all. Young Boreas scoffs at the mere mention +of a serious affection, and turns up his nose at a +love-match. He thinks young women no end of fun; +his vanity makes him fancy himself the heartless hero +of many an adventure, and if, as frequently happens, +he is but an imperfect gentleman, he will not scruple +to devise, imagine, and recount (to his bosom friend, of +course, in strictest secrecy) some hairbreadth escape +from an irate husband or an avenging father, where he +has nearly lost his life, he says, in the pursuit of some +woman, generally a lady of spotless reputation whom +he barely knows. But put him in her society for an +hour, with every opportunity of pressing his suit, and +the veriest lambkin could not be more harmless. He +has not yet tasted blood, though he will often smack +his lips and talk as if he had.</p> + +<p>It is generally chance that makes him fall in love +the first time. He is thrown together with his fate—tall +or short, dark or fair, it makes no difference—in +some country house or on some journey. For a long +time her society only amuses him and helps to pass +the hours, for Boreas is easily bored and finds time a +terrible adversary. Gradually he understands that she +is a necessity to his comfort, and there is nothing he +will not do to secure her on every possible opportunity +for himself. Then perhaps he allows to himself that +he really does care a little, and he loses some of his +incrustation of vanity. He feels less sure of himself, +and his companions observe that he ceases to talk of +his alleged good fortunes. Very, very slowly his real +heart wakes up, and whatever is manly and serious +and gentle in his nature comes unconsciously to the +surface. Henceforth he knows he loves, and because +his love has been slow to develop itself it is not +necessarily sluggish or deficient when once it is come. +But Englishmen are rarely heroic lovers except in their +novels. There is generally a little bypath of caution, +a postern gate of mercantile foresight, by which they +can slip quietly out at the right moment and forget +all about the whole thing.</p> + +<p>Claudius was not an Englishman, but a Scandinavian, +and he differed from the imaginary young man +described above in that he had a great broad reverence +of woman and for woman's love. But it was all a +theory, of which the practice to him was as yet unknown. +He had soon wearied of the class of women +he had met in his student-life—chiefly the daughters of +respectable Heidelberg Philistines, of various degrees of +south Teutonic prettiness; and the beautiful women of +the world, of whom he had caught a glimpse in his +travels had never seemed real enough to him to be in +any way approached. He never had realised that his +own personality, combined with his faultless manners, +would have soon made him a favourite in what is +called society, had he chosen to court it.</p> + +<p>After all, it was very vague this passing fancy for +the dark-eyed woman of the Schloss. Perhaps Dr. +Claudius watched his symptoms too narrowly, and was +overmuch pleased at finding that something could +still rouse a youthful thrill in him, after the sensation +of old age that had of late oppressed him. A +man, he said to himself, is not old so long as he can +love—and be loved—well, so long as he can love, say, +and let the rest take care of itself. And by and by +the sun went westering down the hill, and he shook +himself out of his dreams, and pocketed his book and +turned homeward. His day, he thought, had not +amounted to much after all, and he would spend the +evening in sober study, and not dream any more until +bedtime. But he would be sociable this evening and +eat his supper—now he thought about it, it would be +dinner and supper combined—in the company of his +colleagues at their favourite haunt. And he would go +to-morrow, he would certainly go to the Engadine.</p> + +<p>But to-morrow came, and the Herr Doctor looked out +of his window as usual, and he did not go to Pontresina +or anywhere else, nor the next day, nor the day after. +Only up to the Schloss every day through the hot +week, with his book and his pipe, and there he would +lie and read and smoke, and say to himself, "To-morrow +I will certainly go." There was something +almost pathetic in Claudius, thus day after day revisiting +the scene where he had experienced a momentary sensation +of youth and vitality, where he had discovered, +somewhat to his surprise, that he was still alive and +full of strength and sanguine hope, when he thought +himself so old. And lying among the ruins he called +up the scene again and again, and the strange woman +gradually got possession of his mind, as a cunning +enchantress might, and she moulded his thoughts about +her till they clung to her and burned. He did not +seriously think to meet her again in the Schloss, if he +thought of it at all, for he knew of course that she +must have been a bird of passage, only pausing an +instant on that hot day to visit some scene long +familiar to her memory. And of course, like a true +philosophical student, he did not attempt to explain to +himself his own conduct, nor to catalogue the reasons +for and against a daily visit to the old castle.</p> + +<p>So the week passed, and another after it, and one +day, late in the afternoon, Claudius descended the +hill and went up as usual to his chamber above the +river, to spend an hour indoors before going to supper. +It was a beautiful evening, and he left his door partly +open on to the landing that the breeze might blow +through the room as he sat by the window. A book +was in his hand before he had sat many moments, +from sheer force of habit; but he did not read. The +sounds of the street rose pleasantly to his ear as the +little boys and girls played together across each other's +doorsteps. To tell the truth, it all seemed very far +off, much farther than three flights of steps from the +little crowd below to the solitary nest of learning aloft +where he sat; and Dr. Claudius was, in his thoughts, +incalculably far away from the shoemaker's Hans and +the tinman's Gretel and their eight-year-old flirtation. +Claudius was flirting with his fancies, and drawing +pretty pictures in the smoke, with dark eyes and +masses of black hair; and then he moved uneasily, +and came back to his threadbare proposition that he +was old, and that it was absurd that he should be.</p> + +<p>"Ah! what would I not give to enjoy it all—to +feel I could wish one moment to remain!" He sighed +and leaned back in the straight-backed chair. The +door creaked slightly, he thought it was the evening +wind. It creaked again; he turned his head, and +his gaze remained riveted on the opening. A beautiful +pair of dark eyes were fixed on him, deep and +searching, and on meeting his, a great silky black head +was pushed forward into the room, and a magnificent +black hound stalked slowly across the floor and laid +his head on the Doctor's knee with a look of evident +inquiry.</p> + +<p>Claudius was fond of animals, and caressed the +friendly beast, wondering to whom he might belong, +and speculating whether the appearance of the dog +heralded the approach of a visitor. But the dog was +not one of those that he knew by sight in the streets +of Heidelberg—one of those superb favourites of the +students who are as well known as the professors +themselves to every inhabitant of a university town in +Germany. And the Doctor stroked the beautiful head +and listened for steps upon the stairs. Before long he +heard an ominous stumbling, as of some one unfamiliar +with the dark and narrow way, and in a moment more +a young man stood in the doorway, dazzled by the +flood of the evening sunshine that faced him.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Claudius live here?" interrogated the stranger +in a high and metallic, but gentlemanly voice.</p> + +<p>"I am Dr. Claudius," said the tenant of the old +chair, rising politely. "Pray be seated, sir," and he +offered his one seat to his visitor, who advanced into +the middle of the room.</p> + +<p>He was a young man, dressed in the extreme of +the English fashion. He was probably excessively +thin, to judge by his face and neck and hands, but he +was made up admirably. He removed his hat and +showed a forehead of mediocre proportions, over which +his dark hair was conscientiously parted in the middle. +Though not in appearance robust, he wore a moustache +that would not have disgraced a Cossack, his eyes were +small, gray, and near together, and his complexion was +bad. His feet were minute, and his hands bony.</p> + +<p>He took the offered chair, and Claudius sat down +upon the bed, which was by no means so far removed +in the little room as to make conversation at that +distance difficult.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius?" the stranger repeated, and the +Doctor nodded gravely. "Dr. Claudius, the nephew +of the late Mr. Gustavus Lindstrand of New York?"</p> + +<p>"The same, sir. May I inquire to what good +fortune I am indebted—"</p> + +<p>"Oh! of course," interrupted the other, "I am Mr. +Barker—Silas B. Barker junior of New York, and +my father was your uncle's partner."</p> + +<p>"Indeed," said Claudius, rising and coming forward, +"then we must shake hands again," and his face wore +a pleasant expression. He thought nothing of first +impressions, and was prepared to offer a hearty welcome +to any friend of his uncle, even of the most +unprepossessing type. Mr. Barker was not exactly +unprepossessing; he was certainly not handsome, but +there was a look of action about him that was not +unpleasing. Claudius felt at once, however, that the +American belonged to a type of humanity of which he +knew nothing as yet. But they shook hands cordially, +and the Doctor resumed his seat.</p> + +<p>"And is it long since you received the news, +Professor?" inquired Mr. Barker, with the ready +Transatlantic use of titles.</p> + +<p>"I heard of my uncle's death about three weeks +ago—rather less."</p> + +<p>"Ah yes! And the news about the will—did you +hear that?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly," said the Doctor; "I received the +intelligence simultaneously."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the American, "do you propose to +continue living here?"</p> + +<p>Claudius looked at his visitor. He was as yet +unfamiliar with New World curiosity, and thought the +question a rather strange one. However, he reflected +that Mr. Barker's father might have some moral claim +to know what his old partner's heir meant to do with +his money; so he answered the question categorically.</p> + +<p>"I was, as perhaps you may imagine, greatly surprised +at the intelligence that I had inherited a great +fortune. But you will hardly understand, with your +tastes,"—the Doctor glanced at Mr. Barker's faultless +costume,—"that such abundant and unexpected wealth +may not be to me a wholly unalloyed blessing." +Claudius proceeded to explain how little he cared for +the things that his money might bring him, and +announced his intention of continuing his present +mode of life some time longer. Mr. Silas B. Barker +junior of New York opened his small eyes wider and +wider, as his host set forth his views.</p> + +<p>"I should think you would be bored to death!" he +said simply.</p> + +<p>"<i>Ennui</i>, in the ordinary sense, does not exist for +a man whose life is devoted to study. What corresponds +to it is a very different thing. I sometimes feel +oppressed with a sense of profound dissatisfaction with +what I am doing—"</p> + +<p>"I should think so," remarked Mr. Barker. Then, +checking himself, he added, "I beg your pardon, don't +misunderstand me. I can hardly conceive of leading +such a life as yours. I could never be a professor."</p> + +<p>Claudius judged the statement to be strictly true. +Mr. Barker did not look like a professor in the least. +However, the Doctor wanted to be civil.</p> + +<p>"Have you just arrived? Have you seen our +sights?"</p> + +<p>"Came last night from Baden-Baden. I have been +here before. You had better come around to my +hotel, and take dinner with me. But first we will +drive somewhere and get cool."</p> + +<p>Claudius put on his best coat and combed his hair, +apologising to Mr. Barker for the informality. Mr. +Barker watched him, and thought he would make +a sensation in New York.</p> + +<p>"We might go up to the castle," said the American, +when they were seated in the carriage. So to the +castle they went, and, leaving their carriage at the +entrance, strolled slowly through the grounds till they +reached the broken tower.</p> + +<p>"If they had used dynamite," said Mr. Barker, +"they would have sent the whole thing flying across +the river."</p> + +<p>"It would have been less picturesque afterwards," +said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"It would have been more effective at the time."</p> + +<p>Claudius was thinking of the dark woman and her +parasol, and how he had climbed down there a few +weeks before. To show to himself that he did not +care, he told his companion the incident as graphically +as he could. His description of the lady was so +graphic that Mr. Barker screwed up his eyes and put +out his jaw, so that two great lines circled on his +sallow face from just above the nostril, under his heavy +moustache to his chin.</p> + +<p>"I could almost fancy I had seen her somewhere," +said he.</p> + +<p>"Where?" asked Claudius eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I thought he would give himself away," was the +American's terse inward reflection; but he answered +coolly—</p> + +<p>"I don't know, I am sure. Very likely I am mistaken. +It was pretty romantic though. Ask me to +the wedding, Professor."</p> + +<p>"What wedding?"</p> + +<p>"Why, when you marry the fascinating creature +with the parasol."</p> + +<p>Claudius looked at Mr. Barker with some astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Do you generally manage things so quickly in +your country?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I was only joking," returned the American. +"But, of course, you can marry anybody you like, and +why not the dark lady? On the whole, though, if I +were you, I would like to astonish the natives before I +left. Now, you might buy the castle here and turn it +into a hotel."</p> + +<p>"Horrible!" ejaculated Claudius.</p> + +<p>"No worse than making a hotel of Switzerland, +which is an older and more interesting monument than +the castle of Heidelberg."</p> + +<p>"Epigrammatic, but fallacious, Mr. Barker."</p> + +<p>"Epigrams and proverbs are generally that."</p> + +<p>"I think," said Claudius, "that proverbs are only +fallacious when they are carelessly applied."</p> + +<p>"Very likely. Life is too short to waste time over +weapons that will only go off in some singular and old-fashioned +way. When I start out to do any shooting, +I want to hit."</p> + +<p>So they went to dinner. Claudius found himself +becoming gayer in the society of his new acquaintance +than he had been for some time past. He could not +have said whether he liked him or thought him interesting, +but he had a strong impression that there was +something somewhere, he could not tell what, which +Mr. Barker understood thoroughly, and in which he +might show to great advantage. He felt that however +superficial and unartistic the American might be, he +was nevertheless no fool. There was something keen +and sharp-edged about him that proclaimed a character +capable of influencing men, and accustomed to deal +boldly and daringly with life.</p> + +<p>They dined as well as could be expected in a country +which is not gastronomic, and Mr. Barker produced +a rare brand of cigars, without which, he informed his +guest, he never travelled. They were fat brown +Havanas, and Claudius enjoyed them.</p> + +<p>"Let us go to Baden-Baden," said Barker, sucking +at his weed, which protruded from his immense moustache +like a gun under the raised port-hole of an old-fashioned +man-of-war.</p> + +<p>"If I were seeking innocent recreation from my +labours, that is not exactly the spot I would choose to +disport myself in," replied Claudius. "The scenery is +good, but the people are detestable."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you; but it is a nice place for all that. +You can always gamble to pass the time."</p> + +<p>"I never play games of chance, and there is no play +in Baden now."</p> + +<p>"Principle or taste, Professor?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose I must allow that it is principle. I +used to play a little when I was a student; but I do +not believe in leaving anything to fortune. I would +not do it in anything else."</p> + +<p>"Well, I suppose you are right; but you miss a great +deal of healthy excitement. You have never known +the joys of being short of a thousand N.P. or Wabash +on a rising market."</p> + +<p>"I fear I do not understand the illustration, Mr. +Barker."</p> + +<p>"No? Well, it is not to be wondered at. Perhaps +if you ever come to New York you will take an interest +in the stock market."</p> + +<p>"Ah—you were referring to stocks? Yes, I +have read a little about your methods of business, but +that kind of study is not much in my line. Why do +you say Baden, though, instead of some quiet place?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose I like a crowd. Besides, there are some +people I know there. But I want you to go with me, +and if you would rather not go to Baden-Baden, we +can go somewhere else. I really think we ought to +become better acquainted, and I may prevail on you to +go with me to New York."</p> + +<p>Claudius was silent, and he blew a great cloud of +smoke. What sort of a travelling companion would +Mr. Barker be for him? Could there be a greater contrast +to his own nature? And yet he felt that he +would like to observe Mr. Barker. He felt drawn to +him without knowing why, and he had a presentiment +that the American would drag him out of his quiet life +into a very different existence. Mr. Barker, on the +other hand, possessed the showman's instinct. He had +found a creature who, he was sure, had the elements +of a tremendous lion about town; and having found him, +he meant to capture him and exhibit him in society, +and take to himself ever after the credit of having unearthed +the handsome, rich, and talented Dr. Claudius +from a garret in Heidelberg. What a story that would +be to tell next year, when Claudius, clothed and clipped, +should be marrying the girl of the season, or tooling +his coach down the Newport avenue, or doing any of +the other fashionable and merry things that Americans +love to do in spring and summer!</p> + +<p>So Mr. Barker insisted on driving Claudius back to +his lodging, though it was only five minutes' walk, and +exacted a promise that the Doctor should take him on +the morrow to a real German breakfast at the Fauler +Pelz, and that they would "start off somewhere" in +the afternoon.</p> + +<p>Claudius said he had enjoyed a very pleasant evening, +and went up to his room, where he read an elaborate +article on the vortex theory by Professor Helmholtz, +with which, having dipped into transcendental +geometry, he was inclined to find fault; and then he +went calmly to bed.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" />CHAPTER III.</h2> + + +<p>Claudius told his old landlord—his <i>philister</i>, as he +would have called him—that he was going away on +his customary foot tour for a month or so. He packed +a book and a few things in his knapsack and joined +Mr. Barker. To Claudius in his simplicity there was +nothing incongruous in his travelling as a plain student +in the company of the exquisitely-arrayed New Yorker, +and the latter was far too much a man of the world +to care what his companion wore. He intended that +the Doctor should be introduced to the affectionate +skill of a London tailor before he was much older, +and he registered a vow that the long yellow hair +should be cut. But these details were the result of +his showman's intuition; personally, he would as +readily have travelled with Claudius had he affected +the costume of a shoeblack. He knew that the man +was very rich, and he respected his eccentricity for +the present. To accomplish the transformation of +exterior which he contemplated, from the professional +and semi-cynic garb to the splendour of a swell of the +period, Mr. Barker counted on some more potent influence +than his own. The only point on which his +mind was made up was that Claudius must accompany +him to America and create a great sensation.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we shall meet her," remarked Mr. +Barker reflectively, when they were seated in the +train.</p> + +<p>"Whom?" asked Claudius, who did not intend to +understand his companion's chaff.</p> + +<p>But Mr. Barker had shot his arrow, and started +cleverly as he answered—</p> + +<p>"Did I say anything? I must have been talking +to myself."</p> + +<p>Claudius was not so sure. However, the hint had +produced its effect, falling, as it did, into the vague +current of his thoughts and giving them direction. +He began to wonder whether there was any likelihood +of his meeting the woman of whom he had thought so +much, and before long he found himself constructing +a conversation, supposed to take place on their first +encounter, overleaping such trifles as probability, the +question of an introduction, and other formalities with +the ready agility of a mind accustomed to speculation.</p> + +<p>"The scenery is fine, is it not?" remarked Claudius +tritely as they neared Baden.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, for Europe. We manage our landscapes +better in America."</p> + +<p>"How so?"</p> + +<p>"Swivels. You can turn the rocks around and see +the other side."</p> + +<p>Claudius laughed a little, but Barker did not smile. +He was apparently occupied in inventing a patent +transformation landscape on wheels. In reality, he +was thinking out a <i>menu</i> for dinner whereby he might +feed his friend without starving himself. For Mr. +Barker was particular about his meals, and accustomed +to fare sumptuously every day, whereas he had observed +that the Doctor was fond of sausages and decayed +cabbage. But he knew such depraved tastes +could not long withstand the blandishments and caressing +hypersensualism of Delmonico, if he ever got the +Doctor so far.</p> + +<p>Having successfully accomplished the business of +dining, Mr. Barker promised to return in an hour, and +sallied out to find the British aristocracy, whom he +knew. The British aristocracy was taking his coffee +in solitude at the principal <i>café</i>, and hailed Mr. +Barker's advent with considerable interest, for they +had tastes in common.</p> + +<p>"How are you, Duke?"</p> + +<p>"Pretty fit, thanks. Where have you been?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, all over. I was just looking for you."</p> + +<p>"Yes?" said the aristocracy interrogatively.</p> + +<p>"Yes. I want you to introduce me to somebody +you know."</p> + +<p>"Pleasure. Who?"</p> + +<p>"She has black eyes and dark hair, very dark +complexion, middling height, fine figure; carries an +ivory-handled parasol with a big M and a crown." +Mr. Barker paused for a look of intelligence on the +Englishman's face.</p> + +<p>"Sure she's here?" inquired the latter.</p> + +<p>"I won't swear. She was seen in Heidelberg, +admiring views and dropping her parasol about, something +like three weeks ago."</p> + +<p>"Oh! ah, yes. Come on." And the British +aristocracy settled the rose in his button-hole and led +the way. He moved strongly with long steps, but +Mr. Barker walked delicately like Agag.</p> + +<p>"By the by, Barker, she is a countrywoman of yours. +She married a Russian, and her name is Margaret."</p> + +<p>"Was it a happy marriage?" asked the American, +taking his cigar from his mouth.</p> + +<p>"Exceedingly. Husband killed at Plevna. Left +her lots of tin."</p> + +<p>They reached their destination. The Countess was +at home. The Countess was enchanted to make the +acquaintance of Monsieur, and on learning that he was +an American and a compatriot, was delighted to see +him. They conversed pleasantly. In the course of +twenty minutes the aristocracy discovered he had an +engagement and departed, but Mr. Barker remained. +It was rather stretching his advantage, but he did not +lack confidence.</p> + +<p>"So you, too, Countess, have been in Heidelberg +this summer?"</p> + +<p>"About three weeks ago. I am very fond of the +old place."</p> + +<p>"Lovely, indeed," said Barker. "The castle, the +old tower half blown away in that slovenly war—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, such a funny thing happened to me there," +exclaimed the Countess Margaret, innocently falling +into the trap. "I was standing just at the edge with +Miss Skeat—she is my companion, you know—and +I dropped my parasol, and it fell rattling to the +bottom, and suddenly there started, apparently out of +space—"</p> + +<p>"A German professor, seven or eight feet high, +who bounded after the sunshade, and bounded back +and bowed and left you to your astonishment. Is not +that what you were going to say, Countess?"</p> + +<p>"I believe you are a medium," said the Countess, +looking at Barker in astonishment. "But perhaps +you only guessed it. Can you tell me what he was +like, this German professor?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. He had long yellow hair, and a beard +like Rip van Winkle's, and large white hands; and he +was altogether one of the most striking individuals you +ever saw."</p> + +<p>"It is evident that you know him, Mr. Barker, and +that he has told you the story. Though how you +should have known it was I—"</p> + +<p>"Guess-work and my friend's description."</p> + +<p>"But how do you come to be intimate with German +professors, Mr. Barker? Are you learned, and that +sort of thing?"</p> + +<p>"He was a German professor once. He is now an +eccentricity without a purpose. Worth millions, and +living in a Heidelberg garret, wishing he were poor +again."</p> + +<p>"What an interesting creature! Tell me more, +please."</p> + +<p>Barker told as much of Claudius's history as he +knew.</p> + +<p>"Too delightful!" ejaculated the Countess Margaret, +looking out of the window rather pensively.</p> + +<p>"Countess," said the American, "if I had enjoyed +the advantage of your acquaintance even twenty-four +hours I would venture to ask leave to present my +friend to you. As it is—" Mr. Barker paused.</p> + +<p>"As it is I will grant you the permission unasked," +said the Countess quietly, still looking out of the +window. "I am enough of an American still to know +that your name is a guarantee for any one you introduce."</p> + +<p>"You are very kind," said Mr. Barker modestly. +Indeed the name of Barker had long been honourably +known in connection with New York enterprise. The +Barkers were not Dutch, it is true, but they had the +next highest title to consideration in that their progenitor +had dwelt in Salem, Massachusetts.</p> + +<p>"Bring him in the morning," said the Countess, +after a moment's thought.</p> + +<p>"About two?"</p> + +<p>"Oh no! At eleven or so. I am a very early +person. I get up at the screech of dawn."</p> + +<p>"Permit me to thank you on behalf of my friend +as well as for myself," said Mr. Barker, bending low +over the dark lady's hand as he took his departure.</p> + +<p>"So glad to have seen you. It is pleasant to meet +a civilised countryman in these days."</p> + +<p>"It can be nothing to the pleasure of meeting a +charming countrywoman," replied Mr. Barker, and he +glided from the room.</p> + +<p>The dark lady stood for a moment looking at the +door through which her visitor had departed. It was +almost nine o'clock by this time, and she rang for +lights, subsiding into a low chair while the servant +brought them. The candles flickered in the light +breeze that fanned fitfully through the room, and, +finding it difficult to read, the Countess sent for Miss +Skeat.</p> + +<p>"What a tiny little world it is!" said Margaret, by +way of opening the conversation.</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat sat down by the table. She was thin +and yellow, and her bones were on the outside. She +wore gold-rimmed eyeglasses, and was well dressed, in +plain black, with a single white ruffle about her long +and sinewy neck. She was hideous, but she had a +certain touch of dignified elegance, and her face looked +trustworthy and not unkind.</p> + +<p>"Apropos of anything especial?" asked she, seeing +that the Countess expected her to say something.</p> + +<p>"Do you remember when I dropped my parasol at +Heidelberg?"</p> + +<p>"Perfectly," replied Miss Skeat.</p> + +<p>"And the man who picked it up, and who looked +like Niemann in <i>Lohengrin</i>?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and who must have been a professor. I +remember very well."</p> + +<p>"A friend of mine brought a friend of his to see +me this afternoon, and the man himself is coming +to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"What is his name?" asked the lady-companion.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I don't know, but Mr. Barker says +he is very eccentric. He is very rich, and yet he +lives in a garret in Heidelberg and wishes he were +poor."</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure he is in his right mind, dear +Countess?"</p> + +<p>Margaret looked kindly at Miss Skeat. Poor lady! +she had been rich once, and had not lived in a garret. +Money to her meant freedom and independence. Not +that she was unhappy with Margaret, who was always +thoughtful and considerate, and valued her companion +as a friend; but she would rather have lived with +Margaret feeling it was a matter of choice and not of +necessity, for she came of good Scottish blood, and +was very proud.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes!" answered the younger lady; "he is very +learned and philosophical, and I am sure you will like +him. If he is at all civilised we will have him to +dinner."</p> + +<p>"By all means," said Miss Skeat with alacrity. +She liked intelligent society, and the Countess had of +late indulged in a rather prolonged fit of solitude. +Miss Skeat took the last novel—one of Tourguéneff's—from +the table and, armed with a paper-cutter, began +to read to her ladyship.</p> + +<p>It was late when Mr. Barker found Claudius scribbling +equations on a sheet of the hotel letter-paper. +The Doctor looked up pleasantly at his friend. He +could almost fancy he had missed his society a little; +but the sensation was too novel a one to be believed +genuine.</p> + +<p>"Did you find your friends?" he inquired.</p> + +<p>"Yes, by some good luck. It is apt to be the other +people one finds, as a rule."</p> + +<p>"Cynicism is not appropriate to your character, +Mr. Barker."</p> + +<p>"No. I hate cynical men. It is generally affectation, +and it is always nonsense. But I think the +wrong people have a way of turning up at the wrong +moment." After a pause, during which Mr. Barker +lighted a cigar and extended his thin legs and trim +little feet on a chair in front of him, he continued:</p> + +<p>"Professor, have you a very strong and rooted dislike +to the society of women?"</p> + +<p>Assailed by this point-blank question, the Doctor +put his bit of paper inside his book, and drumming on +the table with his pencil, considered a moment. Mr. +Barker puffed at his cigar with great regularity.</p> + +<p>"No," said Claudius at last, "certainly not. To +woman man owes his life, and to woman he ought to +owe his happiness. Without woman civilisation would +be impossible, and society would fall to pieces."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" ejaculated Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"I worship woman in the abstract and in the concrete. +I reverence her mission, and I honour the gifts +of Heaven which fit her to fulfil it."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"I think there is nothing made in creation that +can be compared with woman, not even man. I am +enthusiastic, of course, you will say, but I believe that +homage and devotion to woman is the first duty of +man, after homage and devotion to the Supreme Being +whom all different races unite in describing as God."</p> + +<p>"That will do, thank you," said Mr. Barker, "I am +quite satisfied of your adoration, and I will not ask +her name."</p> + +<p>"She has no name, and she has all names," continued +Claudius seriously. "She is an ideal."</p> + +<p>"Yes, my feeble intelligence grasps that she cannot +be anything else. But I did not want a confession of +faith. I only asked if you disliked ladies' society, +because I was going to propose to introduce you to +some friends of mine here."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Claudius, and he leaned back in his +chair and stared at the lamp. Barker was silent.</p> + +<p>The Doctor was puzzled. He thought it would be +very rude of him to refuse Mr. Barker's offer. On the +other hand, in spite of his protestations of devotion to +the sex, he knew that the exalted opinion he held of +woman in general had gained upon him of late years, +since he had associated less with them. It was with +him a beautiful theory, the outcome of a knightly +nature thrown back on itself, but as yet not fixed or +clearly defined by any intimate knowledge of woman's +character, still less by any profound personal experience +of love. Courtesy was uppermost as he answered.</p> + +<p>"Really," he said at last, "if you are very desirous +of presenting me to your friends, of course I—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, only if it is agreeable to you, of course. If it +is in any way the reverse—" protested the polite +Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"Not that—not exactly disagreeable. Only it is +some time since I have enjoyed the advantage of an +hour's conversation with ladies; and besides, since it +comes to that, I am here as a pedestrian, and I do not +present a very civilised appearance."</p> + +<p>"Don't let that disturb you. Since you consent," +went on Mr. Barker, briskly taking everything for +granted, "I may tell you that the lady in question has +expressed a wish to have you presented, and that I +could not do less than promise to bring you if possible. +As for your personal appearance, it is not of the least +consequence. Perhaps, if you don't mind a great deal, +you might have your hair cut. Don't be offended, +Professor, but nothing produces an appearance of being +dressed so infallibly as a neatly-trimmed head."</p> + +<p>"Oh, certainly, if you think it best, I will have my +hair cut. It will soon grow again."</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker smiled under the lambrikin of his +moustache. "Yes," thought he, "but it sha'n't."</p> + +<p>"Then," he said aloud, "we will go about eleven."</p> + +<p>Claudius sat wondering who the lady could be who +wanted to have him presented. But he was afraid to +ask; Barker would immediately suppose he imagined +it to be the dark lady. However, his thoughts took it +as a certainty that it must be she, and went on building +castles in the air and conversations in the clouds. +Barker watched him and probably guessed what he +was thinking of; but he did not want to spoil the surprise +he had arranged, and fearing lest Claudius might +ask some awkward question, he went to bed, leaving +the Doctor to his cogitations.</p> + +<p>In the morning he lay in wait for his friend, who +had gone off for an early walk in the woods. He +expected that a renewal of the attack would be +necessary before the sacrifice of the yellow locks could +be accomplished, and he stood on the steps of the +hotel, clad in the most exquisite of grays, tapering +down to the most brilliant of boots. He had a white +rose in his buttonhole, and his great black dog was +lying at his feet, having for a wonder found his master, +for the beast was given to roaming, or to the plebeian +society of Barker's servant. The American's careful +attire contrasted rather oddly with his sallow face, and +with the bony hand that rested against the column. +He was a young man, but he looked any age that +morning. Before long his eye twinkled and he +changed his position expectantly, for he saw the tall +figure of Claudius striding up the street, a head and +shoulders above the strolling crowd; and, wonderful to +relate, the hair was gone, the long beard was carefully +clipped and trimmed, and the Doctor wore a new gray +hat!</p> + +<p>"If he will black his boots and put a rose in his +coat, he will do. What a tearing swell he will be +when he is dressed," thought Mr. Barker, as he looked +at his friend.</p> + +<p>"You see I have followed your advice," said Claudius, +holding out his hand.</p> + +<p>"Always do that, and you will yet taste greatness," +said the other cheerfully. "You look like a crown +prince like that. Perfectly immense."</p> + +<p>"I suppose I am rather big," said Claudius apologetically, +not catching the American idiom. Mr. +Barker, however, did not explain himself, for he was +thinking of other things.</p> + +<p>"We will go very soon. Excuse the liberty, Professor, +but you might have your boots blacked. There +is a little cad down the backstairs who does it."</p> + +<p>"Of course," answered Claudius, and disappeared +within. A small man who was coming out paused +and turned to look after him, putting up his eyeglass. +Then he took off his hat to Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"Pardon, Monsieur," he began, "if I take the +liberty of making an inquiry, but could you inform me +of the name of that gentleman, whose appearance fills +me with astonishment, and whose vast dimensions +obscure the landscape of Baden?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker looked at the small man for a moment +very gravely.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he pensively, "his royal highness <i>is</i> a +large man certainly." And while his interlocutor was +recovering enough to formulate another question, Mr. +Barker moved gently away to a flowerstand.</p> + +<p>When Claudius returned his friend was waiting +for him, and himself pinned a large and expensive +rose in the Doctor's buttonhole. Mr. Barker surveyed +his work—the clipped head, the new hat, the shiny +boots and the rose—with a satisfied air, such as Mr. +Barnum may have worn when he landed Jumbo on +the New York pier. Then he called a cab, and they +drove away.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" />CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + +<p>The summer breath of the roses blew sweetly in through +the long windows of the Countess's morning-room from +the little garden outside as Barker and Claudius entered. +There was an air of inhabited luxury which was +evidently congenial to the American, for he rubbed his +hands softly together and touched one or two objects +caressingly while waiting for the lady of the house. +Claudius glanced at the table and took up a book, with +that singular student habit that is never lost. It was +a volume of English verse, and in a moment he was +reading, just as he stood, with his hat caught between +the fingers that held the book, oblivious of countesses +and visits and formalities. There was a rustle and a +step on the garden walk, and both men turned towards +the open glass door. Claudius almost dropped the +vellum-covered poet, and was very perceptibly startled +as he recognised the lady of his Heidelberg adventure—the +woman who had got, as by magic, a hold over +his thoughts, so that he dreamed of her and wondered +about her, sleeping and waking.</p> + +<p>Dark-eyed Countess Margaret, all clad in pure white, +the smallest of lace fichus just dropped over her heavy +hair, moved smoothly up the steps and into the room.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Mr. Barker, I am so glad you have +come," said she, graciously extending her hand in the +cordial Transatlantic fashion.</p> + +<p>"Permit me to present my friend, Professor Claudius," +said Barker. Claudius bowed very low. The plunge +was over, and he recovered his outward calm, whatever +he might feel.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker flatters me, Madam," he said quietly. +"I am not a professor, but only a private lecturer."</p> + +<p>"I am too far removed from anything learned to +make such distinctions," said the Countess. "But since +good fortune has brought you into the circle of my +ignorance, let me renew my thanks for the service you +did me in Heidelberg the other day."</p> + +<p>Claudius bowed and murmured something inaudible.</p> + +<p>"Or had you not realised that I was the heroine +of the parasol at the broken tower?" asked Margaret +smiling, as she seated herself in a low chair and +motioned to her guests to follow her example. Barker +selected a comfortable seat, and arranged the cushion +to suit him before he subsided into repose, but the +Doctor laid hands on a stern and solid-looking piece of +carving, and sat upright facing the Countess.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me," said he, "I had. But it is always +startling to realise a dream." The Countess looked at +Claudius rather inquiringly; perhaps she had not expected +he was the sort of man to begin an acquaintance +by making compliments. However, she said nothing, +and he continued, "Do you not always find it so?"</p> + +<p>"The bearded hermit is no duffer," thought Mr. +Barker. "He will say grace over the whole barrel of +pork."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I have few dreams," replied the Countess, +"and when I do have any, I never realise them. I am +a very matter-of-fact person."</p> + +<p>"What matters the fact when you are the person, +Madam?" retorted Claudius, fencing for a discussion of +some kind.</p> + +<p>"Immense," thought Mr. Barker, changing one leg +over the other and becoming interested.</p> + +<p>"Does that mean anything, or is it only a pretty +paradox?" asked the lady, observing that Claudius had +thrown himself boldly into a crucial position. Upon +his answer would probably depend her opinion of him +as being either intelligent or <i>banal</i>. It is an easy +matter to frame paradoxical questions implying a compliment, +but it is no light task to be obliged to answer +them oneself. Claudius was not thinking of producing +an effect, for the fascination of the dark woman was +upon him, and the low, strange voice bewitched him, +so he said what came uppermost.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he, "there are persons whose lives may +indeed be matters of fact to themselves—who shall say?—but +who are always dreams in the lives of others."</p> + +<p>"Charming," laughed the Countess, "do you always +talk like that, Professor Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"I have always thought," Mr. Barker remarked in +his high-set voice, "that I would like to be the dream +of somebody's life. But somehow things have gone +against me."</p> + +<p>The other two laughed. He did not strike one as +the sort of individual who would haunt the love-sick +dreams of a confiding heart.</p> + +<p>"I would rather it were the other way," said +Claudius thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"And I," rejoined the American, "would drink +perdition to the unattainable."</p> + +<p>"Either I do not agree with you, Mr. Barker," said +the Countess, "or else I believe nothing is unattainable."</p> + +<p>"I implore you to be kind, and believe the latter," +he answered courteously.</p> + +<p>"Come, I will show you my garden," said Margaret +rising. "It is pleasanter in the open air." She led +the way out through the glass door, the men walking +on her right and left.</p> + +<p>"I am very fond of my garden," she said, "and I +take great care of it when I am here." She stopped +and pulled two or three dead leaves off a rosebush to +illustrate her profession of industry.</p> + +<p>"And do you generally live here?" asked Claudius, +who was as yet in complete ignorance of the Countess's +name, title, nationality, and mode of life, for Mr. +Barker had, for some occult reason, left him in the +dark.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the Countess guessed as much, for she +briefly imparted a good deal of information.</p> + +<p>"When Count Alexis, my husband, was alive, we +lived a great deal in Russia. But I am an American +like Mr. Barker, and I occasionally make a trip to my +native country. However, I love this place in summer, +and I always try to be here. That is my friend, Miss +Skeat, who lives with me."</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat was stranded under a tree with a newspaper +and several books. Her polished cheekbones and +knuckles glimmered yellow in the shade. By her side +was a long cane chair, in which lay a white silk wrap +and a bit of needlework, tumbled together as the +Countess had left them when she went in to receive +her visitors. Miss Skeat rose as the party approached. +The Countess introduced the two men, who bowed low, +and they all sat down, Mr. Barker on the bench by the +ancient virgin, and Claudius on the grass at Margaret's +feet. It was noonday, but there was a light breeze +through, the flowers and grasses. The conversation +soon fell into pairs as they sat.</p> + +<p>"I should not have said, at first sight, that you +were a very imaginative person, Dr. Claudius," said the +Countess.</p> + +<p>"I have been dreaming for years," he answered. +"I am a mathematician, and of late I have become a +philosopher in a small way, as far as that is possible +from reading the subject. There are no two branches +of learning that require more imagination than mathematics +and philosophy."</p> + +<p>"Philosophy, perhaps," she replied, "but mathematics—I +thought that was an exact science, where +everything was known, and there was no room for +dreaming."</p> + +<p>"I suppose that is the general impression. But do +you think it requires no imagination to conceive a new +application of knowledge, to invent new methods where +old ones are inadequate, to lay out a route through the +unknown land beyond the regions of the known?"</p> + +<p>"Ordinary people, like me, associate mathematics +with measurement and figures and angles."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Claudius, "but it is the same as though +you confused religion with its practical results. If +the religion is true at all, it would be just as true if +man did not exist, and if it consequently had no +application to life."</p> + +<p>"I understand the truth of that, though we might +differ about the word. So you have been dreaming +for years—and what were your dreams like?" The +Countess looked down earnestly at Claudius, who in +his turn looked at her with a little smile. She thought +he was different from other men, and he was wondering +how much of his dreams he might tell her.</p> + +<p>"Of all sorts," he answered, still looking up into +her face. "Bitter and sweet. I have dreamed of the +glory of life and of mind-power, of the accomplishment +of the greatest good to the greatest number; I have +believed the extension of science possible 'beyond the +bounds of all imaginable experience' into the realms +of the occult and hidden; I have wandered with +Hermes by the banks of the Nile, with Gautama along +the mud-flats of the Ganges. I have disgusted myself +with the writings of those who would reduce all +history and religion to solar myths, and I have striven +to fathom the meaning of those whose thoughts are +profound and their hearts noble, but their speech +halting. I have dreamed many things, Countess, and +the worst is that I have lived to weary of my dreams, +and to say that all things are vanity—all save one," +he added with hesitation. There was a momentary +pause.</p> + +<p>"Of course," Mr. Barker was saying to Miss Skeat, +with a fascinating smile, "I have the greatest admiration +for Scotch heroism. John Grahame of Claver-house. +Who can read Macaulay's account—"</p> + +<p>"Ah," interrupted the old gentlewoman, "if you +knew how I feel about these odious calumnies!"</p> + +<p>"I quite understand that," said Barker sympathetically. +He had discovered Miss Skeat's especial +enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>Margaret turned again to the Doctor.</p> + +<p>"And may I ask, without indiscretion, what the +one dream may be that you have refused to relegate +among the vanities?"</p> + +<p>"Woman," answered Claudius, and was silent.</p> + +<p>The Countess thought the Doctor spoke ironically, +and she laughed aloud, half amused and half annoyed. +"I am in earnest," said Claudius, plucking a blade +of grass and twisting it round his finger.</p> + +<p>"Truly?" asked she.</p> + +<p>"Foi de gentilhomme!" he answered.</p> + +<p>"But Mr. Barker told me you lived like a hermit."</p> + +<p>"That is the reason it has been a dream," said he.</p> + +<p>"You have not told me what the dream was like. +What beautiful things have you fancied about us?"</p> + +<p>"I have dreamed of woman's mission, and of +woman's love. I have fancied that woman and +woman's love represented the ruling spirit, as man and +man's brain represent the moving agent, in the world. +I have drawn pictures of an age in which real chivalry +of word and thought and deed might be the only law +necessary to control men's actions. Not the scenic +and theatrical chivalry of the middle age, ready at any +moment to break out into epidemic crime, but a true +reverence and understanding of woman's supreme +right to honour and consideration; an age wherein it +should be no longer coarsely said that love is but an +episode in the brutal life of man, while to woman it is +life itself. I have dreamed that the eternal womanhood +of the universe beckoned me to follow."</p> + +<p>The Countess could not take her eyes off Claudius. +She had never met a man like him; at least she had +never met a man who plunged into this kind of talk +after half an hour's acquaintance. There was a thrill +of feeling in her smooth deep voice when she answered: +"If all men thought as you think, the world would be +a very different place."</p> + +<p>"It would be a better place in more ways than +one," he replied.</p> + +<p>"And yet you yourself call it a dream," said +Margaret, musing.</p> + +<p>"It is only you, Countess, who say that dreams are +never realised."</p> + +<p>"And do you expect to realise yours?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—I do." He looked at her with his bold blue +eyes, and she thought they sparkled.</p> + +<p>"Tell me," she asked, "are you going to preach a +crusade for the liberation of our sex? Do you mean +to bring about the great change in the social relations +of the world? Is it you who will build up the +pedestal which we are to mount and from which we +shall survey countless ranks of adoring men?"</p> + +<p>"Do you not see, as you look down on me from +your throne, from this chair, that I have begun already?" +answered Claudius, smiling, and making a pretence of +folding his hands.</p> + +<p>"No," said the Countess, overlooking his last +speech; "if you had any convictions about it, as you +pretend to have, you would begin at once and revolutionise +the world in six months. What is the use of +dreaming? It is not dreamers who make history."</p> + +<p>"No, it is more often women. But tell me, +Countess, do you approve of my crusade? Am I not +right? Have I your sanction?"</p> + +<p>Margaret was silent. Mr. Barker's voice was heard +again, holding forth to Miss Skeat.</p> + +<p>"In all ages," he said, with an air of conviction, +"the aristocracy of a country have been in reality the +leaders of its thought and science and enlightenment. +Perhaps the form of aristocracy most worthy of admiration +is that time-honoured institution of pre-eminent +families, the Scottish clan, the Hebrew tribe—"</p> + +<p>Claudius overheard and opened his eyes. It +seemed to him that Barker was talking nonsense. +Margaret smiled, for she knew her companion well, +and understood in a moment that the American had +discovered her hobby, and was either seeking to win +her good graces, or endeavouring to amuse himself by +inducing her to air her views. But Claudius returned +to the charge.</p> + +<p>"What is it to be, Countess?" he asked. "Am I +to take up arms and sail out and conquer the universe, +and bring it bound to your feet to do you homage; or +shall I go back to my turret chamber in Heidelberg?"</p> + +<p>"Your simile seems to me to be appropriate," said +Margaret. "I am sure your forefathers must have been +Vikings."</p> + +<p>"They were," replied Claudius, "for I am a +Scandinavian. Shall I go out and plunder the world +for your benefit? Shall I make your universality, +your general expression, woman, sovereign over my +general expression, man?"</p> + +<p>"Considering who is to be the gainer," she answered, +laughing, "I cannot well withhold my consent. +When will you begin?"</p> + +<p>"Now."</p> + +<p>"And how?"</p> + +<p>"How should I begin," said he, a smile on his +face, and the light dancing in his eyes, "except by +making myself the first convert?"</p> + +<p>Margaret was used enough to pretty speeches, in +earnest and in jest, but she thought she had never +heard any one turn them more readily than the yellow-bearded +student.</p> + +<p>"And Mr. Barker," she asked, "will you convert +him?"</p> + +<p>"Can you look at him at this moment, Countess, +and say you really think he needs it?"</p> + +<p>She glanced at the pair on the bench, and laughed +again, in the air, for it was apparent that Mr. Barker +had made a complete conquest of Miss Skeat. He +had led the conversation about tribes to the ancient +practices of the North American Indians, and was +detailing their customs with marvellous fluency. A +scientific hearer might have detected some startling +inaccuracies, but Miss Skeat listened with rapt attention. +Who, indeed, should know more about Indians +than a born American who had travelled in the +West?</p> + +<p>The Countess turned the conversation to other +subjects, and talked intelligently about books. She +evidently read a great deal, or rather she allowed +Miss Skeat to read to her, and her memory was good. +Claudius was not behind in sober criticism of current +literature, though his reading had been chiefly of a +tougher kind. Time flew by quickly, and when the +two men rose to go their visit had lasted two hours.</p> + +<p>"You will report the progress of your conquest?" +said the Countess to Claudius as she gave him her +hand, which he stooped to kiss in the good old German +fashion.</p> + +<p>"Whenever you will permit me, Countess," he said.</p> + +<p>"I am always at home in the middle of the day. +And you too, Mr. Barker, do not wait to be asked +before you come again. You are absolutely the only +civilised American I know here."</p> + +<p>"Don't say that, Countess. There is the Duke, +who came with me yesterday."</p> + +<p>"But he is English."</p> + +<p>"But he is also American. He owns mines and +prairies, and he emigrates semi-annually. They all +do now. You know rats leave a sinking ship, and +they are going to have a commune in England."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mr. Barker, how can you!" exclaimed Miss +Skeat.</p> + +<p>"But I am only joking, of course," said he, and +pacified her. So they parted.</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker and Claudius stood on the front door-step, +and the former lit a cigar while the carriage drove up.</p> + +<p>"Doctor," said he, "I consider you the most +remarkable man of my acquaintance."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Claudius as he got into the +carriage.</p> + +<p>"Well, for several reasons. Chiefly because though +you have lived in a 'three pair back' for years, and +never seen so much as a woman's ear, by your own +account, you nevertheless act as if you had never been +out of a drawing-room during your life. You are the +least shy man I ever saw."</p> + +<p>"Shy?" exclaimed Claudius, "what a funny idea! +Why should I be shy?"</p> + +<p>"No reason in the world, I suppose, after all. +But it is very odd." And Mr. Barker ruminated, +rolling his cigar in his mouth. "Besides," he added, +after a long pause, "you have made a conquest."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense. Now, you have some right to flatter +yourself on that score."</p> + +<p>"Miss Skeat?" said Mr. Barker. "Sit still, my +heart!"</p> + +<p>They drove along in silence for some time. At +last Mr. Barker began again,—</p> + +<p>"Well, Professor, what are you going to do about it?"</p> + +<p>"About what?"</p> + +<p>"Why, about the conquest. Shall you go there +again?"</p> + +<p>"Very likely." Claudius was annoyed at his companion's +tone of voice. He would have scoffed at +the idea that he loved the Countess at first sight; but +she nevertheless represented his ideal to him, and he +could not bear to hear Mr. Barker's chaffing remarks. +Of course Barker had taken him to the house, and had +a right to ask if Claudius had found the visit interesting. +But Claudius was determined to check any kind +of levity from the first. He did not like it about +women on any terms, but in connection with the +Countess Margaret it was positively unbearable. So +he answered curtly enough to show Mr. Barker he +objected to it. The latter readily understood and drew +his own inferences.</p> + +<p>A different conversation ensued in the Countess's +garden when the visitors were gone.</p> + +<p>"Well, Miss Skeat," said Margaret, "what do you +think of my new acquaintances?"</p> + +<p>"I think Mr. Barker is the most agreeable American +I ever met," said Miss Skeat. "He has very sound +views about social questions, and his information on the +subject of American Indians is perfectly extraordinary."</p> + +<p>"And the Doctor? what do you think of him?"</p> + +<p>"He dresses very oddly," said the lady companion; +"but his manners seem everything that could be +desired, and he has aristocratic hands."</p> + +<p>"I did not notice his dress much. But he is very +handsome. He looks like a Scandinavian hero. You +know I was sure I should meet him again that day in +Heidelberg."</p> + +<p>"I suppose he really is very good-looking," assented +Miss Skeat.</p> + +<p>"Shall we have them to dinner some day? I think +we might; very quietly, you know."</p> + +<p>"I would certainly advise it, dear Countess. You +really ought to begin and see people in some way besides +allowing them to call on you. I think this solitude +is affecting your spirits."</p> + +<p>"Oh no; I am very happy—at least, as happy as I +can be. But we will have them to dinner. When +shall it be?"</p> + +<p>"To-morrow is too soon. Say Thursday, since you +ask me," said Miss Skeat.</p> + +<p>"Very well. Shall we read a little?" And Tourguéneff +was put into requisition.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when the Countess's +phaeton, black horses, black liveries, and black cushions, +swept round a corner of the drive. Claudius and +Barker, in a hired carriage, passed her, coming from +the opposite direction. The four people bowed to each +other—the ladies graciously, the men with courteous +alacrity. Each of the four was interested in the others, +and each of the four felt that they would all be thrown +together in the immediate future. There was a feeling +among them that they had known each other a long +time, though they were but acquaintances of to-day +and yesterday.</p> + +<p>"I have seldom seen anything more complete than +that turn-out," said Mr. Barker. "The impression of +mourning is perfect; it could not have been better if +it had been planned by a New York undertaker."</p> + +<p>"Are New York undertakers such great artists?" +asked Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Yes; people get buried more profusely there. +But don't you think it is remarkably fine?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I suppose you are trying to make me say +that the Countess is a beautiful woman," answered +Claudius, who was beginning to understand Barker. +"If that is what you want, I yield at once. I think +she is the most beautiful woman I ever saw."</p> + +<p>"Ah!—don't you think perhaps that Miss Skeat +acts as an admirable foil?"</p> + +<p>"Such beauty as that requires no foil. The whole +world is a foil to her."</p> + +<p>"Wait till you come to America. I will show you +her match in Newport."</p> + +<p>"I doubt it. What is Newport?"</p> + +<p>"Newport is the principal watering-place of our +magnificent country. It is Baden, Homburg, Bigorre, +and Biarritz rolled into one. It is a terrestrial paradise, +a land of four-in-hands and houris and surf-bathing +and nectar and ambrosia. I could not begin to give +you an idea of it; wait till you get there."</p> + +<p>"A society place, I suppose, then?" said Claudius, +not in the least moved by the enthusiastic description.</p> + +<p>"A society place before all things. But you may +have plenty of solitude if you like."</p> + +<p>"I hardly think I should care much for Newport," +said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Well, I like it very much. My father has a place +there, to which I take the liberty of inviting you for +the season, whenever you make up your mind to enjoy +yourself."</p> + +<p>"You are very good, I am sure; and if, as you say, +I ever go to America, which seems in your opinion +paramount to enjoying myself, I will take advantage of +your kind invitation."</p> + +<p>"Really, I hope you will. Shall we go and dine?"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" />CHAPTER V.</h2> + + +<p>On the following day Claudius and Mr. Barker received +each a note. These communications were in +square, rough envelopes, and directed in a large feminine +handwriting. The contents intimated that the +Countess Margaret would be glad to see them at dinner +at half-past seven on Thursday.</p> + +<p>"That is to-morrow," said Mr. Barker pensively.</p> + +<p>Claudius, who was generally the calmest of the +calm, made a remark in German to the effect that he +fervently desired a thousand million bushels of thunder-weather +to fly away with him that very instant.</p> + +<p>"Did you say anything, Professor?" inquired Mr. +Barker blandly.</p> + +<p>"I did. I swore," answered Claudius. "I have +half a mind to swear again."</p> + +<p>"Do it. Profanity is the safety-valve of great minds. +Swear loudly, and put your whole mind to it."</p> + +<p>Claudius strode to the window of their sitting-room +and looked out.</p> + +<p>"It is extremely awkward, upon my word," he said.</p> + +<p>"What is awkward, Professor? The invitation?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—very."</p> + +<p>"Why, pray? I should think you would be very +much pleased."</p> + +<p>"Exactly—I should be: but there is a drawback."</p> + +<p>"Of what nature? Anything I can do?"</p> + +<p>"Not exactly. I cannot wear one of your coats."</p> + +<p>"Oh! is that it?" said Mr. Barker; and a pleasant +little thrill of triumph manifested itself, as he pushed +out his jaw and exhibited his circular wrinkle. "Of +course—how stupid of me! You are here as a pedestrian, +and you have no evening dress. Well, the sooner +we go and see a tailor the better, in that case. I will +ring for a carriage." He did so, remarking internally +that he had scored one in putting the Doctor into a +position which forced him to dress like a Christian.</p> + +<p>"Do you never walk?" asked Claudius, putting a +handful of cigarettes into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"No," said the American, "I never walk. If man +were intended by an all-wise Providence to do much +walking he would have four legs."</p> + +<p>The tailor promised upon his faith as a gentleman +to make Claudius presentable by the following evening. +Baden tailors are used to providing clothes at short +notice; and the man kept his word.</p> + +<p>Pending the event, Barker remarked to Claudius +that it was a pity they might not call again before the +dinner. Claudius said in some countries he thought it +would be the proper thing; but that in Germany +Barker was undoubtedly right—it would not do at all.</p> + +<p>"Customs vary so much in society," said Barker; +"now in America we have such a pretty habit."</p> + +<p>"What is that?"</p> + +<p>"Sending flowers—we send them to ladies on the +smallest provocation."</p> + +<p>"But is not the Countess an American?" asked +Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Yes, certainly. Old Southern family settled north."</p> + +<p>"In that case," said Claudius, "the provocation is +sufficient. Let us send flowers immediately." And +he took his hat from the table.</p> + +<p>Thought Mr. Barker, "My show Doctor is going it;" +but he translated his thoughts into English.</p> + +<p>"I think that is a good idea. I will send for a +carriage."</p> + +<p>"It is only a step," said Claudius, "we had much +better walk."</p> + +<p>"Well, anything to oblige you."</p> + +<p>Claudius had good taste in such things, and the +flowers he sent were just enough to form a beautiful +<i>ensemble</i>, without producing an impression of lavish +extravagance. As Mr. Barker had said, the sending +of flowers is a "pretty habit,"—a graceful and gentle +fashion most peculiar to America. There is no country +where the custom is carried to the same extent; there +is no other country where on certain occasions it is +requested, by advertisement in the newspapers, "that +no flowers be sent." Countess Margaret was charmed, +and though Miss Skeat, who loved roses and lilies, +poor thing, offered to arrange them and put them in +water, the dark lady would not let her touch them. +She was jealous of their beauty.</p> + +<p>The time seemed long to Claudius, though he went +in the meanwhile with Barker and the British aristocracy +to certain races. He rather liked the racing, +though he would not bet. The Duke lost some money, +and Barker won a few hundred francs from a Russian +acquaintance. The Duke drank curaçao and potass +water, and Mr. Barker drank champagne, while +Claudius smoked innumerable cigarettes. There were +a great many bright dresses, there was a great deal of +shouting, and the congregation of the horse-cads was +gathered together.</p> + +<p>"It does not look much like Newmarket, does it?" +said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"More like the Paris Exposition, without the +exposition," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"Do you have much racing in America?" asked +Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Just one or two," answered Barker, "generally +on wheels."</p> + +<p>"Wheels?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Trotting. Ag'd nags in sulkies. See how +fast they can go a mile," explained the Duke. "Lots +of shekels on it too, very often."</p> + +<p>At last the evening came, and Claudius appeared +in Barker's room arrayed in full evening-dress. As +Barker had predicted to himself, the result was surprising. +Claudius was far beyond the ordinary stature +of men, and the close-fitting costume showed off his +athletic figure, while the pale, aquiline features, with +the yellow heard that looked gold at night, contrasted +in their refinement with the massive proportions of +his frame, in a way that is rarely seen save in the +races of the far north or the far south.</p> + +<p>The Countess received them graciously, and Miss +Skeat was animated. The flowers that Claudius had +sent the day before were conspicuously placed on a +table in the drawing-room. Mr. Barker, of course, +took in the Countess, and Miss Skeat put her arm in +that of Claudius, inwardly wondering how she could +have overlooked the fact that he was so excessively +handsome. They sat at a round table on which were +flowers, and a large block of ice in a crystal dish.</p> + +<p>"Do you understand Russian soups?" asked Margaret +of Claudius, as she deposited a spoonful of a +wonderful looking <i>pâté</i> in the middle of her <i>consommé</i>.</p> + +<p>"Alas" said the Doctor, "I am no gastronome. +At least my friend Mr. Barker tells me so, but I +have great powers of adaptation. I shall follow your +example, and shall doubtless fare sumptuously."</p> + +<p>"Do not fear," said she, "you shall not have any +more strange and Cossack things to eat. I like some +Russian things, but they are so tremendous, that +unless you have them first you cannot have them +at all."</p> + +<p>"I think it is rather a good plan," said Barker, +"to begin with something characteristic. It settles the +plan of action in one's mind, and helps the memory."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean in things in general, or only in +dinner?" asked the Countess.</p> + +<p>"Oh, things in general, of course. I always generalise. +In conversation, for instance. Take the traditional +English stage father. He always devotes himself +to everlasting perdition before he begins a sentence,—and +then you know what to expect."</p> + +<p>"On the principle of knowing the worst—I understand," +said Margaret.</p> + +<p>"As long as people understand each other," Claudius +put in, "it is always better to plunge <i>in medias res</i> +from the first."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Dr. Claudius, you understand that very +well;" and Margaret turned towards him as she spoke.</p> + +<p>"The Doctor understands many things," said Barker +in parenthesis.</p> + +<p>"You have not yet reported the progress of the +crusade," continued the Countess, "I must know all +about it at once."</p> + +<p>"I have been plotting and planning in the spirit, +while my body has been frequenting the frivolities of +this over-masculine world," answered the Doctor. At +this point Miss Skeat attacked Mr. Barker about the +North American Indians, and the conversation paired +off, as it will under such circumstances.</p> + +<p>Claudius was in good spirits and talked wittily, +half in jest, one would have thought, but really in +earnest, about what was uppermost in his mind, and +what he intended should be uppermost in the world. +It was a singular conversation, in the course of which +he sometimes spoke very seriously; but the Countess +did not allow herself the luxury of being serious, +though it was an effort to her to laugh at the enthusiasm +of his language, for he had a strong vitality, and +something of the gift which carries people away. But +Margaret had an impression that Claudius was making +love, and had chosen this attractive ground upon +which to open his campaign. She could not wholly +believe him different from other men—at least she +would not believe so soon—and her instinct told her +that the fair-haired student admired her greatly.</p> + +<p>Claudius, for his part, wondered at himself, when +he found a moment to reflect on what he had been +saying. He tried to remember whether any of these +thoughts had been formulated in his mind a month +ago. He was, indeed, conscious that his high reverence +for women in the abstract had been growing in him +for years, but he had had no idea how strong his +belief had grown in this reverence as an element in +social affairs. Doubtless the Doctor had often questioned +why it was that women had so little weight in +the scale, why they did so little of all they might do, +and he had read something of their doings across the +ocean. But it had all been vague, thick, and foggy, +whereas now it was all sharp and clean-edged. He +had made the first step out of his dreams in that he +had thought its realisation possible, and none but +dreamers know how great and wide that step is. The +first faint dawning, "It may be true, after all," is as +different from the remote, listless view of the shadowy +thought incapable of materialisation, as a landscape +picture seen by candle-light is different from the +glorious reality of the scene it represents. Therefore, +when Claudius felt the awakening touch, and saw his +ideal before him, urging him, by her very existence +which made it possible, to begin the fight, he felt the +blood run quickly in his veins, and his blue eyes +flashed again, and the words came flowing easily and +surely from his lips. But he wondered at his own +eloquence, not seeing yet that the divine spark had +kindled his genius into a broad flame, and not half +understanding what he felt.</p> + +<p>It is late in the day to apostrophise love. It has +been done too much by people who persuade themselves +that they love because they say they do, and because +it seems such a fine thing. Poets and cynics, and good +men and bad, have had their will of the poor little god, +and he has grown so shy and retiring that he would +rather not be addressed, or described, or photographed +in type, for the benefit of the profane. He is chary of +using pointed shafts, and most of his target practice is +done with heavy round-tipped arrows that leave an +ugly black bruise where they strike, but do not draw the +generous blood. He lurks in out-of-the-way places and +mopes, and he rarely springs out suddenly on unwary +youth and maid, as he used to in the good old days before +Darwin and La Rochefoucauld destroyed the beauty of +the body and the beauty of the soul,—or man's belief +in them, which is nearly the same. Has not the one +taught us to see the animal in the angel, and the other +to detect the devil in the saint? And yet we talk of +our loves as angels and our departed parents as saints, +in a gentle, commonplace fashion, as we talk of our +articles of faith. The only moderns who apostrophise +love with any genuine success are those who smack +their lips sensuously at his flesh and blood, because they +are too blind to see the lovely soul that is enshrined +therein, and they have too little wit to understand that +soul and body are one.</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker, who seemed to have the faculty of +carrying on one conversation and listening to another +at the same time, struck in when Claudius paused.</p> + +<p>"The Professor, Countess," he began, "is one of +those rare individuals who indulge in the most unbounded +enthusiasm. At the present time I think, +with all deference to his superior erudition, that he is +running into a dead wall. We have seen something +of the 'woman's rights' question in America. Let us +take him over there and show him what it all means."</p> + +<p>"My friend," answered Claudius, "you are one of +those hardened sceptics for whom nothing can be hoped +save a deathbed repentance. When you are mortally +hit and have the alternative of marriage or death set +before you in an adequately lively manner, you will, +of course, elect to marry. Then your wife, if you get +your deserts, will rule you with a rod of iron, and you +will find, to your cost, that the woman who has got +you has rights, whether you like it or not, and that +she can use them."</p> + +<p>"Dollars and cents," said Barker grimly, "that is +all."</p> + +<p>"No, it is not all," retorted Claudius. "A wise +Providence has provided women in the world who can +make it very uncomfortable for sinners like you, and if +you do not reform and begin a regular course of worship, +I hope that one of them will get you."</p> + +<p>"Thanks. And if I repent and make a pilgrimage +on my knees to every woman I know, what fate do +you predict? what countless blessings are in store for +me?"</p> + +<p>The Countess was amused at the little skirmish, +though she knew that Claudius was right. Barker, +with all his extreme politeness and his pleasant +speeches, had none of the knightly element in his +character.</p> + +<p>"You never can appreciate the 'countless blessings' +until you are converted to woman-worship, my friend," +said Claudius, evading the question. "But," he added, +"perhaps the Countess might describe them to you."</p> + +<p>But Margaret meant to do nothing of the kind. +She did not want to continue the general conversation +on the topic which seemed especially Claudius's own, +particularly as Mr. Barker seemed inclined to laugh at +the Doctor's enthusiasm. So she changed the subject, +and began asking the American questions about the +races on the previous day.</p> + +<p>"Of course," she said, "I do not go anywhere now."</p> + +<p>The dinner passed off very pleasantly. Miss Skeat +was instructed in the Knickerbocker and Boston peerage, +so to speak, by the intelligent Mr. Barker, who did +not fail, however, to hint at the superiority of Debrett, +who does not hesitate to tell, and boldly to print in +black and white, those distinctions of rank which he +considers necessary to the salvation of society; whereas +the enterprising compilers of the "Boston Blue Book" +and the "New York List" only divide society up into +streets, mapping it out into so many square feet and +so much frontage of dukes, marquesses, generals, and +"people we don't know." Miss Skeat listened to the +disquisition on the rights of birth with rapt attention, +and the yellow candle-light played pleasantly on her +old corners, and her ancient heart fluttered sympathetically. +Margaret, on the other side, made Claudius talk +about his youth, and took infinite pleasure in listening +to his tales of the fresh Northern life he had led as a +boy. The Doctor had the faculty of speech and told +his stories with a certain vigour that savoured of the +sea.</p> + +<p>"I hope you will both come and see me," said the +Countess, as the two men took their departure; but as +she spoke she looked at Barker.</p> + +<p>Half an hour later they sat in their sitting-room at +the hotel, and Barker sipped a little champagne while +Claudius smoked cigarettes, as usual. As usual, also, +they were talking. It was natural that two individuals +endowed with the faculty of expressing their thoughts, +and holding views for the most part diametrically opposed, +should have a good deal to say to each other. +The one knew a great deal, and the other had seen a +great deal; both were given to looking at life rather +seriously than the reverse. Barker never deceived +himself for a moment about the reality of things, and +spent much of his time in the practical adaptation of +means to ends he had in view; he was superficial in +his knowledge, but profound in his actions. Claudius +was an intellectual seeker after an outward and visible +expression of an inward and spiritual truth which he +felt must exist, though he knew he might spend a lifetime +in the preliminary steps towards its attainment. +Just now they were talking of marriage.</p> + +<p>"It is detestable," said Claudius, "to think how +mercenary the marriage contract is, in all civilised and +uncivilised countries. It ought not to be so—it is +wrong from the very beginning."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is wrong of course," answered Barker, who +was always ready to admit the existence and even the +beauty of an ideal, though he never took the ideal into +consideration for a moment in his doings. "Of course +it is wrong; but it cannot be helped. It crops up everywhere, +as the question of dollars and cents will in every +kind of business; and I believe it is better to be done +with it at first. Now you have to pay a Frenchman +cash down before he will marry your daughter."</p> + +<p>"I know," said Claudius, "and I loathe the idea."</p> + +<p>"I respect your loathing, but there it is, and it has +the great advantage that it is all over, and there is no +more talk about it. Now the trouble in our country is +that people marry for love, and when they get through +loving they have got to live, and then somebody must +pay the bills. Supposing the son of one rich father +marries the daughter of another rich father; by the time +they have got rid of the novelty of the thing the bills +begin to come in, and they spend the remainder of their +amiable lives in trying to shove the expense off on to +each other. With an old-fashioned marriage contract +to tie them up, that would not happen, because the wife +is bound to provide so many clothes, and the husband +has to give her just so much to eat, and there is an end +of it. See?"</p> + +<p>"No, I do not see," returned Claudius. "If they +really loved each other—"</p> + +<p>"Get out!" interrupted Barker, merrily. "If you +mean to take the immutability of the human affections +as a basis of argument, I have done."</p> + +<p>"There your cynicism comes in," said the other, +"and denies you the pleasure and profit of contemplating +an ideal, and of following it up to its full development."</p> + +<p>"Is it cynical to see things as they are instead of +as they might be in an imaginary world?"</p> + +<p>"Provided you really see them as they are—no," +said Claudius. "But if you begin with an idea that +things, as they are, are not very good, you will very +soon be judging them by your own inherent standard +of badness, and you will produce a bad ideal as I produce +a good one, farther still from the truth, and extremely +depressing to contemplate."</p> + +<p>"Why?" retorted Barker; "why should it be depressing +to look at everything as it is, or to try to? +Why should my naturally gay disposition suffer on +making the discovery that the millennium is not begun +yet? The world may be bad, but it is a merry little +place while it lasts."</p> + +<p>"You are a hopeless case," said Claudius, laughing; +"if you had a conscience and some little feeling +for humanity, you would feel uncomfortable in a bad +world."</p> + +<p>"Exactly. I am moderately comfortable because I +know that I am just like everybody else. I would +rather, I am sure."</p> + +<p>"I am not sure that you are," said Claudius thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Oh! not as you imagine everybody else, certainly. +Medieval persons who have a hankering after tournaments +and crawl about worshipping women."</p> + +<p>"I do not deny the softer impeachment," answered +the Doctor, "but I hardly think I crawl much."</p> + +<p>"No, but the people you imagine do—the male +population of this merry globe, as you represent it to +the Countess."</p> + +<p>"I think Countess Margaret understands me very +well."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Barker, "she understands you very +well." He did not emphasise the remark, and his +voice was high and monotonous; but the repetition was +so forcible that Claudius looked at his companion rather +curiously, and was silent. Barker was examining the +cork of his little pint bottle of champagne—"just one +square drink," as he would have expressed it—and his +face was a blank.</p> + +<p>"Don't you think, Professor," he said at last, "that +with your views about the rights of women you might +make some interesting studies in America?"</p> + +<p>"Decidedly."</p> + +<p>"You might write a book."</p> + +<p>"I might," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"You and the Countess might write a book together."</p> + +<p>"Are you joking?"</p> + +<p>"No. What I have heard you saying to each other +this evening and the other day when we called would +make a very interesting book, though I disagree with +you both from beginning to end. It would sell, +though."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me you rather take things for granted +when you infer that the Countess would be willing to +undertake anything of the kind."</p> + +<p>Barker looked at the Doctor steadily, and smiled.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think so? Do you imagine that +if you would do the work she would have any objection +whatever to giving you the benefit of her views and +experience?"</p> + +<p>"In other words," Claudius said, "you are referring +to the possibility of a journey to America, in the company +of the charming woman to whom you have introduced +me."</p> + +<p>"You are improving, Professor; that is exactly what +I mean. Let us adjourn from the bowers of Baden to +the wind-swept cliffs of Newport—we can be there +before the season is over. But I forgot, you thought +you would not like Newport."</p> + +<p>"I am not sure," said Claudius. "Do you think +the Countess would go?"</p> + +<p>"If you will call there assiduously, and explain to +her the glorious future that awaits your joint literary +enterprise, I believe she might be induced."</p> + +<p>Claudius went to bed that night with his head full +of this new idea, just as Mr. Barker had intended. He +dreamed he was writing with the Countess, and travelling +with her and talking to her; and he woke up with +the determination that the thing should be done if it +were possible. Why not? She often made a trip to +her native country, as she herself had told him, and +why should she not make another? For aught he +knew, she might be thinking of it even now.</p> + +<p>Then he had a reaction of despondency. He knew +nothing of her ties or of her way of life. A woman in +her position probably made engagements long beforehand, +and mapped out her year among her friends. +She would have promised a week here and a month +there in visits all over Europe, and the idea that she +would give up her plans and consent, at the instance of +a two days' acquaintance, to go to America was preposterous. +Then again, he said to himself, as he came +back from his morning walk in the woods, there was +nothing like trying. He would call as soon as it was +decent after the dinner, and he would call again.</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker was a man in whom a considerable +experience of men supplemented a considerable natural +astuteness. He was not always right in the judgments +he formed of people and their aims, but he was more +often right than wrong. His way of dealing with men +was calculated on the majority, and he knew that there +are no complete exceptions to be found in the world's +characters. But his standard was necessarily somewhat +low, and he lacked the sympathetic element which +enables one high nature to understand another better +than it understands its inferiors. Barker would know +how to deal with the people he met; Claudius could +understand a hero if he ever met one, but he bore himself +toward ordinary people by fixed rules of his own, +not caring or attempting to comprehend the principles +on which they acted.</p> + +<p>If any one had asked the Doctor if he loved the +Countess, he would have answered that he certainly did +not. That she was the most beautiful woman in the +world, that she represented to him his highest ideal, +and that he was certain she came up to that ideal, +although he knew her so little, for he felt sure of that. +But love, the Doctor thought, was quite a different +affair. What he felt for Margaret bore no resemblance +to what he had been used to call love. Besides, he +would have said, did ever a man fall in love at such +short notice? Only in books. But as no one asked +him the question, he did not ask it of himself, but only +went on thinking a great deal of her, and recalling all +she said. He was in an unknown region, but he was +happy and he asked no questions. Nevertheless his +nature comprehended hers, and when he began to go +often to the beautiful little villa, he knew perfectly +well that Barker was mistaken, and that the dark +Countess would think twice and three times before she +would be persuaded to go to America, or to write a +book, or to do anything in the world for Claudius, +except like him and show him that he was welcome. +She would have changed the subject had Claudius proposed +to her to do any of the things he seemed to +think she was ready to do, and Claudius knew it +instinctively. He was bold with women, but he never +transgressed, and his manner allowed him to say many +things that would have sounded oddly enough in Mr. +Barker's mouth. He impressed women with a sense +of confidence that he might be trusted to honour them +and respect them under any circumstances.</p> + +<p>The Countess was accustomed to have men at her +feet, but she had never treated a man unjustly, and if +they had sometimes lost their heads it was not her +fault. She was a loyal woman, and had loved her +husband as much as most good wives, though with an +honest determination to love him better; for she was +young when they married, and she thought her love +stronger than it really was. She had mourned him +sincerely, but the wound had healed, and being a brave +woman, with no morbid sensitiveness of herself, she +had contemplated the possibility of marrying again, +without, however, connecting the idea with any +individual. She had liked Claudius from the first, and +there had been something semi-romantic about their +meeting in the Schloss at Heidelberg. On nearer +acquaintance she liked him better, though she knew that +he admired her, and by the time a fortnight had +passed Claudius had become an institution. They +read together and they walked together, and once she +took him with her in the black phaeton, whereupon +Barker remarked that it was "an immense thing on +wheels."</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker, seeing that his companion was safe for +the present, left Baden for a time and lighted on his +friend the Duke at Como, where the latter had discovered +some attractive metal. The Duke remarked +that Como would be a very decent place if the scenery +wasn't so confoundedly bad. "I could beat it on my +own place in the west," he added.</p> + +<p>The British aristocracy liked Mr. Barker, because +he was always inventing original ways of passing the +time, and because, though he was so rich, he never +talked about money except in a vague way as "lots of +shekels," or "piles of tin." So they said they would +go back to Baden together, which they did, and as +they had talked a good deal about Claudius, they called +on the Countess the same afternoon, and there, sure +enough, was the Swede, sitting by the Countess's side +in the garden, and expounding the works of Mr. +Herbert Spencer. Barker and the Duke remained half +an hour, and Claudius would have gone with them, +but Margaret insisted upon finishing the chapter, so +he stayed behind.</p> + +<p>"He's a gone 'coon, Duke," remarked Barker, beginning +to smoke as soon as he was in the Victoria.</p> + +<p>"I should say he was pretty hard hit, myself. I +guess nothing better could have happened." The Duke, +in virtue of his possessions in America, affected to +"guess" a little now and then when none of those +horrid people were about.</p> + +<p>"Come on, Duke," said Barker, "let us go home, +and take them with us."</p> + +<p>"I could not go just now. Next month. Autumn, +you know. Glories of the forest and those sort of +things."</p> + +<p>"Think they would go?"</p> + +<p>"Don't know," said the Duke. "Take them over +in the yacht, if they like."</p> + +<p>"All right. We can play poker while they bay +the moon."</p> + +<p>"Hold on, though; she won't go without some other +woman, you know. It would be in all the papers."</p> + +<p>"She has a lady-companion," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"That won't do for respectability."</p> + +<p>"It is rather awkward, then." There was silence +for a few moments.</p> + +<p>"Stop a bit," said the Duke suddenly. "It just +strikes me. I have got a sister somewhere. I'll +look her up. She is never ill at sea, and they have +sent her husband off to Kamtchatka, or some such +place."</p> + +<p>"That's the very thing," said Barker. "I will talk +to Claudius. Can you manage the Countess, do you +think? Have you known her long?"</p> + +<p>"Rather. Ever since she married poor Alexis."</p> + +<p>"All right, then. You ask her." And they reached +their hotel.</p> + +<p>So these two gentlemen settled things between +them. They both wanted to go to America, and they +were not in a hurry, so that the prospect of a pleasant +party, with all the liberty and home feeling there is on +board of a yacht, was an immense attraction. Barker, +of course, was amused and interested by his scheme for +making Claudius and the Countess fall in love with +each other, and he depended on the dark lady for his +show. Claudius would not have been easily induced +to leave Europe by argument or persuasion, but there +was little doubt that he would follow the Countess, if +she could be induced to lead. The Duke, on the other +hand, thought only of making up a well-arranged +party of people who wanted to make the journey in +any case, and would not be on his hands after he +landed. So two or three days later he called on the +Countess to open the campaign. It was not altogether +new ground, as they had crossed together once before. +The Duke was not very good at leading the conversation +up to his points, so he immediately began talking +about America, in order to be sure of hitting somewhere +near the mark.</p> + +<p>"I have not been over since the autumn," he said, +"and I really ought to go."</p> + +<p>"When will you start?" asked Margaret.</p> + +<p>"I meant to go next month. I think I will take +the yacht."</p> + +<p>"I wonder you do not always do that. It is so +much pleasanter, and you feel as if you never had gone +out of your own house."</p> + +<p>"The fact is," said he, plunging, "I am going to take +my sister, and I would like to have a little party. Will +you not join us yourself, Countess, and Miss Skeat?"</p> + +<p>"Really, Duke, you are very kind. But I was not +thinking of going home just yet."</p> + +<p>"It is a long time since you have been there. Not +since—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know," said Margaret gravely. "And perhaps +that is why I hesitate to go now."</p> + +<p>"But would it not be different if we all went together? +Do you not think it would be much nicer?"</p> + +<p>"Did you say your sister was going?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, she will certainly go."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Countess after a moment's thought, +"I will not say just yet. I need not make up my +mind yet; need I? Then I will take a few days to +think of it."</p> + +<p>"I am sure you will decide to join us," said the +Duke pressingly.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I ought to go, and it is so kind of you, +really, to give me such a delightful chance." She had a +presentiment that before long she would be on her way +to join the yacht, though at first sight it seemed rather +improbable, for, as Claudius had guessed, she had a +great many engagements for visits. If any one had +suggested to her that morning that she might make a +trip to America, she would have said it was quite +impossible. The idea of the disagreeable journey, the +horror of being cast among an immense crowd of unknown +travellers; or, still worse, of being thrown into +the society of some chance acquaintance who would +make the most of knowing her—it was all sufficient, +even in the absence of other reasons, to deter her from +undertaking the journey. But in the party proposed +by the Duke it was all very different. He was a +gentleman, besides being a peer, and he was an old +friend. His sister was a kind-hearted gentlewoman of +narrow views but broad humanity; and not least, the +yacht was sure to be perfection, and she would be the +honoured guest. She would be sorry to leave Baden +for some reasons; she liked Claudius very much, and +he made her feel that she was leading an intellectual +life. But she had not entirely realised him yet. He +was to her always the quiet student whom she had +met in Heidelberg, and during the month past the feeling +she entertained for him had developed more in +the direction of intellectual sympathy than of personal +friendship. She would not mind parting with him any +more than she would mind laying down an interesting +book before she had half read it. Still that was something, +and the feeling had weight.</p> + +<p>"Miss Skeat," she said, when they were alone, "you +have never been in America?"</p> + +<p>"No, dear Countess, I have never been there, and +until lately I have never thought I would care to go."</p> + +<p>"Would you like to go now?"</p> + +<p>"Oh!" exclaimed the ancient one, "I would like it +of all things!"</p> + +<p>"I am thinking of going over next month," said +Margaret, "and of course I would like you to go with +me. Do you mind the sea very much?"</p> + +<p>"Oh dear, no! I used to sail a great deal when I +was a girl, and the Atlantic cannot be worse than our +coast."</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat's assent was a matter of real importance +to Margaret, for the old gentlewoman was sincerely +attached to her, and Margaret would have been very +unwilling to turn her faithful companion adrift, even +for a time, besides the minor consideration that without +a companion she would not go at all. The end of it +was that by dinner-time she had made up her mind to +write excuses to all the people who expected her, and +to accept the Duke's invitation. After all, it was not +until next month, and she could finish the book she +was reading with Claudius before that. She postponed +writing to the Duke until the following day, in order +to make a show of having considered the matter somewhat +longer. But her resolution did not change, and +in the morning she despatched a friendly little note to +the effect that she found her engagements would permit +her, etc. etc.</p> + +<p>When Margaret told Miss Skeat that they were +going in one of the finest yachts afloat, with the Duke +and his sister, her companion fairly crackled with joy.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" />CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + +<p>The Duke was away during the day, and did not receive +the Countess's note until late in the evening. To tell +the truth, he was very glad to find that she was going; +but he felt there might be difficulties in the way; for, +of course, he was bound to let her know the names of +his remaining guests. She might hesitate when she +heard that Claudius and Barker were to be of the +party. After all, Barker was the companion whom +the Duke wanted. He knew nothing about Claudius, +but he had met enough men of all types of eccentricity +not to be much surprised at him, and as the Doctor +was evidently a gentleman, there was no objection. +Therefore, as soon as the Duke knew of Margaret's +determination, he sallied forth, armed with her note, to +find Mr. Barker. It was late, but the American was +nocturnal in his habits, and was discovered by his +friend in a huge cloud of tobacco smoke, examining his +nails with that deep interest which in some persons +betokens thought.</p> + +<p>"It's all right," said the Duke; "she will go."</p> + +<p>"You don't mean it?" said Barker, taking his legs +off the sofa and wrinkling his face.</p> + +<p>"There you are. Note. Formal acceptance, and +all the rest of it." And he handed Margaret's letter +to Barker.</p> + +<p>"Well, that is pretty smart practice," remarked the +latter; "I expected you would have difficulties."</p> + +<p>"Said she would take some days to make up her +mind. She wrote this the same evening I called, I +am sure. Just like a woman."</p> + +<p>"Well, I think it's deuced lucky, anyhow," said +Barker. "Did you tell her who was going?"</p> + +<p>"I told her about my sister. I have not mentioned +you or your friend yet. Of course I will do that as +soon as I am sure of you both."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker, "if you don't mind, perhaps +you might write a note to the Doctor. He might be +shy of accepting an invitation by word of mouth. Do +you mind?"</p> + +<p>"Not in the least," said the Englishman; "give me +a rag of paper and a quill, and I'll do it now."</p> + +<p>And he accordingly did it, and directed the invitation +to Claudius, Phil.D., and Barker pushed it +into the crack of the door leading to the apartment +where the Doctor was sleeping, lest it should be forgotten.</p> + +<p>The next morning Claudius appeared with the +Duke's note in his hand.</p> + +<p>"What does this mean?" he asked. "I hardly +know him at all, and here he asks me to cross the +Atlantic in his yacht. I wish you would explain."</p> + +<p>"Keep your hair on, my young friend," replied Mr. +Barker jocosely. "He has asked you and me because +his party would not be complete without us."</p> + +<p>"And who are 'the party'?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, very small. Principally his sister, I believe. +Hold on though, Miss Skeat is going."</p> + +<p>"Miss Skeat?" Claudius anticipated some chaff +from his friend, and knit his brows a little.</p> + +<p>"Yes; Miss Skeat and the Countess; or, perhaps I +should say the Countess and Miss Skeat."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" ejaculated Claudius, "any one else?"</p> + +<p>"Not that I know of. Will you go?"</p> + +<p>"It is rather sudden," said the Doctor reflectively.</p> + +<p>"You must make up your mind one way or the +other, or you will spoil the Duke's arrangements."</p> + +<p>"Barker," said Claudius seriously, "do you suppose +the Countess knows who are going?"</p> + +<p>"My dear boy," replied the other, peeling a peach +which he had impaled on a fork, "it is not likely the +Duke would ask a lady to go with him without telling +her who the men were to be. Be calm, however; I +have observed your habits, and in two hours and +twenty-three minutes your mind will be at rest."</p> + +<p>"How so?"</p> + +<p>"It is now thirty-seven minutes past nine. Do +you mean to say you have failed once for weeks past +to be at the Countess's as the clock strikes twelve?"</p> + +<p>Claudius was silent. It was quite true; he went +there daily at the same hour; for, as appeared in the +beginning of this tale, he was a regular man. But he +reflected just now that the Countess would not be +likely to speak of the party unless she knew that he +was to be one. He had not accepted his invitation +yet, and the Duke would certainly not take his acceptance +as a foregone conclusion. Altogether it seemed +probable that he would be kept in suspense. If he +then accepted without being sure of the Countess, he +was binding himself to leave her. Claudius had many +things to learn yet.</p> + +<p>"If I were you," said Barker, "I would write at +once and say 'Yes.' Why can't you do it now?"</p> + +<p>"Because I have not made up my mind."</p> + +<p>"Well, a bird in the hand is the soul of business, +as the good old proverb says. I have accepted for +myself, anyhow; but I would be sorry to leave you on +this side."</p> + +<p>So Claudius went to the Countess as usual, and +found her in her morning-room awaiting him. He +bent over her hand, but as he took it he thought it +was a trifle colder than usual. It might have been +imagination, but he fancied her whole manner was less +cordial than before. And he said to himself, "She has +heard I am going, and she is annoyed, and is not +glad to see me." There was a preternatural solemnity +about their conversation which neither of them could +break through, and in a few minutes they both looked +as though they had not smiled for years.</p> + +<p>Now Claudius was entirely mistaken. Margaret +had not heard that he was going. If she had, she +would have spoken frankly, as was her nature to do +always, if she spoke at all. Margaret had accepted +the Duke's invitation, and intended to keep her word, +and she had no suspicion whatever of who the other +guests might be. She foresaw that such a journey +would break up her acquaintance with Claudius, and +she regretted it; and especially she regretted having +allowed the Doctor so much intimacy and so many +visits. Not that he had taken advantage of the footing +on which he was received, for any signs of such a +disposition on his part would have abruptly terminated +the situation; he had been the very model of courtesy +from the first. But she knew enough of men to perceive +that this gentle homage clothed a more sincere +admiration than lay at the root of the pushing attentions +of some other men she had known. Therefore +she made up her mind that as there were yet three +weeks before sailing, after the expiration of which she +would never be likely to see Claudius again, she would +let him down easily, so to speak, that there might be +no over-tender recollections on his part, nor any little +stings of remorse on her own. He had interested +her; they had spent a couple of pleasant months; she +had given him no encouragement, and he was gone +without a sigh: that was the way in which Countess +Margaret hoped to remember Dr. Claudius by that +time next month. And so, fearing lest she might +inadvertently have been the least shade too cordial, +she began to be a little more severe, on this hot morning +when Claudius, full of indecision, followed her out +to their favourite reading-place under the trees. It +was the same spot where they had sat when Barker +first brought him to see her. Margaret had no particular +feeling about the little nook under the trees. It +was merely the most convenient place to sit and work; +that was all. But to Claudius the circle of green +sward represented the temple of his soul, and Margaret +was to him Rune Wife and prophetess as well as +divinity. In such places, and of such women, his +fair-haired forefathers, bare-armed and sword-girt, had +asked counsel in trouble, and song-inspiration in +peace.</p> + +<p>Here they sat them down, she determined to do +the right by him, and thinking it an easy matter; he +utterly misunderstanding her. Without a smile, they +set to work at their reading. They read for an hour +or more, maintaining the utmost gravity, when, as luck +would have it, the word "friendship" occurred in a +passage of the book. Claudius paused a moment, his +broad hand laid flat on the open page.</p> + +<p>"That is one of the most interesting and one of +the most singularly misunderstood words in all languages," +he said.</p> + +<p>"What word?" inquired Margaret, looking up from +her work, to which she had attentively applied herself +while he was reading.</p> + +<p>"Friendship."</p> + +<p>"Will you please define what it means?" said she.</p> + +<p>"I can define what I myself mean by it, or rather +what I think I mean by it. I can define what a dozen +writers have meant by it. But I cannot tell what it +really means, still less what it may ultimately come to +mean."</p> + +<p>"You will probably be best able to explain what +you mean by it yourself," answered Margaret rather +coldly. "Will you please begin?"</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," Claudius began, "that the difficulty +lies in the contradiction between the theory and +the fact. Of course, as in all such cases, the theory +loses the battle, and we are left groping for an explanation +of the fact which we do not understand. Perhaps +that is a little vague?" Claudius paused.</p> + +<p>"A little vague—yes," said she.</p> + +<p>"I will try and put it more clearly. First take +the fact. No one will deny that there have occasionally +in the world's history existed friendships which have +stood every test and which have lasted to the very +end. Such attachments have been always affairs of +the heart, even between man and man. I do not think +you can name an instance of a lasting friendship on a +purely intellectual basis. True friendship implies the +absence of envy, and the vanity of even the meanest +intellect is far too great to admit of such a condition +out of pure thought-sympathy."</p> + +<p>"I do not see any contradiction, even admitting +your last remark, which is cynical enough." Margaret +spoke indifferently, as making a mere criticism.</p> + +<p>"But I believe most people connect the idea of +friendship, beyond ordinary liking, with intellectual +sympathy. They suppose, for instance, that a man +may love a woman wholly and entirely with the best +kind of love, and may have at the same time a friend +with whom he is in entire sympathy."</p> + +<p>"And why not?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Simply because he cannot serve two masters. If +he is in entire sympathy with more than one individual +he must sometimes not only contradict himself, as he +would rightly do for one or the other alone, but he +must also contradict one in favour of the other in case +they disagree. In such a case he is no longer in entire +sympathy with both, and either his love or his friendship +must be imperfect." Claudius looked at the +Countess to see what impression he had made. She +did not return his glance.</p> + +<p>"In other words?" was her question.</p> + +<p>"In other words," he answered in a tone of conviction, +"friendship is only a substitute for love, and +cannot exist beside it unless lover and friend be one +and the same person. Friendship purely intellectual +is a fallacy, owing to the manifest imperfections of +human nature. It must, then, be an affair of the heart, +whatever you may define that to be, and cannot, therefore, +exist at the same time with any other affair of +the heart without inevitable contradiction. How often +has love separated old friends, and friendship bred discord +between lovers!"</p> + +<p>"I never heard that argument before," said Margaret, +who, to tell the truth, was surprised at the result +of the Doctor's discourse.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of it?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I am not sure, but the point is interesting. I +think you are a little vague about what an 'affair of +the heart,' as you call it, really is."</p> + +<p>"I suppose an affair of the heart to be such a situation +of the feelings that the heart rules the head and +the actions by the head. The prime essence of love +is that it should be complete, making no reservations +and allowing of no check from the reason."</p> + +<p>"A dangerous state of things."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Claudius. "When the heart gets the +mastery it knows neither rest nor mercy. If the heart +is good the result will be good, if it is bad the result +will be evil. Real love has produced incalculably +great results in the lives of individuals and in the life +of the world."</p> + +<p>"I suppose so," said Margaret; "but you made out +friendship to be also an 'affair of the heart,' so far as +you believe in it at all. Is true friendship as uncalculating +as true love? Does it make no reservations, +and does it admit of no check from the reason?"</p> + +<p>"I think, as I said, that friendship is a substitute +for love, second best in its nature and second best, too, +in its unselfishness."</p> + +<p>"Many people say love is selfishness itself."</p> + +<p>"I know," answered the Doctor, and paused as if +thinking.</p> + +<p>"Do you not want to smoke?" asked Margaret, with +a tinge of irony, "it may help you to solve the +difficulty."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, no," said he, "the difficulty is solved, +and it is no difficulty at all. The people who say that +do not know what they are talking about, for they +have never been in love themselves. Love, worth the +name, is complete; and being complete, demands the +whole, and is not satisfied with less than the whole +any more than it is satisfied with giving less than all +that it has. The selfishness lies in demanding and +insisting upon having everything, while only offering +rags and shreds in return; and if one may find this +fault in ordinary love affairs, one may find it tenfold +in ordinary friendships. Friendship may be heroic +but love is godlike."</p> + +<p>Margaret had become interested in spite of herself, +though she had preserved the constrained manner she +had first assumed. Now, however, as Claudius turned +his flashing blue eyes to hers, she understood that she +had allowed the conversation to go far enough, and +she marvelled that on the very day when she was +trying to be most unapproachable he should have said +more to show what was next his heart than ever +before. She did not know enough of exceptional +natures like his to be aware that a touch of the curb +is the very thing to rouse the fierce blood. True, he +spoke generally, and even argumentatively, and his +deep voice was calm enough, but there was a curious +light in his eyes that dazzled her even in the mid-day +sun, and she looked away.</p> + +<p>"I am not sure I agree with you," she said, "but +you put it very clearly. Shall we go on reading?"</p> + +<p>Claudius was some time in finding his place in the +open book, and then went on. Again he misunderstood +her, for though he could not remember saying +anything he regretted, he fancied she had brought the +conversation to a somewhat abrupt close. He read on, +feeling very uncomfortable, and longing for one of those +explanations that are impossible between acquaintances +and emotional between lovers. He felt also that if he +ever spoke out and told her he loved her it would be +in some such situation as the present. Margaret let +her needlework drop and leaned back in the long +chair, staring at a very uninteresting-looking tree on +the other side of the garden. Claudius read in a +steady determined tone, emphasising his sentences with +care, and never once taking his eyes from the book. +At last, noticing how quietly he was doing his work, +Margaret looked at him, not furtively or as by stealth, +but curiously and thoughtfully. He was good to look +at, so strong and straight, even as he sat at ease with +the book in his hand, and the quivering sunlight +through the leaves played over his yellow beard and +white forehead. She knew well enough now that he +admired her greatly, and she hoped it would not be +very hard for him when she went away. Somehow, +he was still to her the professor, the student, quiet +and dignified and careless of the world, as she had +first known him. She could not realise Claudius as +a man of wealth and power, who was as well able to +indulge his fancies as the Duke himself,—perhaps more +so, for the Duke's financial affairs were the gossip of +Europe, and always had been since he came of age.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Doctor reached the end of the +chapter, and there was a pause. Neither spoke, and +the silence was becoming awkward, when a servant +came across the lawn announcing the Duke.</p> + +<p>"Ask his Grace to come outside," said Margaret, +and the representative of the aristocracy was striding +over the green, hat in hand, a moment afterwards. +Margaret put out her hand and Claudius rose. Each +felt that the <i>deus ex machinâ</i> had arrived, and that the +subject of the yachting excursion would be immediately +broached.</p> + +<p>"Immense luck, finding you both," remarked the +Duke when he was seated.</p> + +<p>"We have been reading. It is so pleasant here," +said Margaret, to say something.</p> + +<p>"I have come to thank you for your kind note, +Countess. It is extremely good of you to go in such +a party, with your taste for literature and those sort +of things."</p> + +<p>"I am sure it is I who ought to thank you, Duke. +But when are we to sail?"</p> + +<p>"About the tenth of next month, I should say. +Will that be convenient?"</p> + +<p>Margaret turned to Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Do you think we can finish our book by the +tenth, Dr. Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"If not," broke in the Duke, "there is no reason +why you should not finish it on board. We shall +have lovely weather."</p> + +<p>"Oh no!" said Margaret, "we must finish it before +we start. I could not understand a word of it alone."</p> + +<p>"Alone?" inquired the Duke. "Ah! I forgot. +Thought he had told you. I have asked Dr. Claudius +to give us the pleasure of his company."</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed!" said Margaret. "That will be very +nice." She did not look as if she thought so, however. +Her expression was not such as led the Duke to believe +she was pleased, or Claudius to think she would like +his going. To tell the truth, she was annoyed for +more than one reason. She thought the Duke, although +he was such an old friend, should have consulted her +before making up the list of men for the party. She +was annoyed with Claudius because he had not told +her he was going, when he really thought she knew it, +and was displeased at it. And most of all, she was +momentarily disconcerted at being thus taken off her +guard. Besides, the Duke must have supposed she +liked Claudius very much, and he had perhaps contrived +the whole excursion in order to throw them +together. Her first impulse was to change her mind +and not go after all.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Claudius was much astonished at the +turn things had taken. Margaret had known nothing +about the invitation to the Doctor after all, and her +coldness this morning must be attributed to some +other cause. But now that she did know she looked +less pleased than ever. She did not want him. The +Doctor was a proud man in his quiet way, and he was, +moreover, in love, not indeed hopelessly as yet, for +love is never wholly irrevocable until it has survived +the crucial test, attainment of its object; but Claudius +loved, and he knew it. Consequently his pride revolted +at the idea of thrusting himself where he was not +wanted, and his love forbade him to persecute the +woman he worshipped. He also said to himself, "I +will not go." He had not yet accepted the invitation.</p> + +<p>"I had intended to write to you this afternoon," +he said, turning to the Duke. "But since it is my +good fortune to be able to thank you in person for +your kind invitation, let me do so now."</p> + +<p>"I hope you are going," said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"I fear," answered Claudius, "that I shall be prevented +from joining you, much as I would like to do +so. I have by no means decided to abandon my +position in Heidelberg."</p> + +<p>Neither Margaret nor the Duke were in the least +prepared for this piece of news. The Duke was +taken aback at the idea that any human being could +refuse such an invitation. Following on his astonishment +that Margaret should not be delighted at having +the Doctor on board, the intelligence that the Doctor +did not want to go at all threw the poor man into +the greatest perplexity. He had made a mistake +somewhere, evidently; but where or how he could +not tell.</p> + +<p>"Barker," he said to himself, "is an ass. He has +made me muff the whole thing." However, he did +not mean to give up the fight.</p> + +<p>"I am extremely sorry to hear you say that, Dr. +Claudius," he said aloud, "and I hope you will change +your mind, if I have to send you an invitation every +day until we sail. You know one does not ask people +on one's yacht unless one wants them very much, and +we want you. It is just like asking a man to ride +your favourite hunter; you would not ask him unless +you meant it, for fear he would." The Duke seldom +made so long a speech, and Claudius felt that the +invitation was really genuine, which gave his wounded +pride a pleasant little respite from its aches. He was +grateful, and he said so. Margaret was silent and +plied her needle, planning how she might escape the +party if Claudius changed his mind and went, and +how she could with decency leave herself the option of +going if he remained. She did not intend to give +people any farther chance of pairing her off with +Claudius or any one else whom they thought she +fancied, and she blamed herself for having given people +even the shadow of an idea that such officious party-making +would please her.</p> + +<p>Claudius rose to go. The position was not tenable +any longer, and it was his only course. The Countess +bade him good morning with more cordiality than she +had displayed as yet; for, in spite of her annoyance, she +would have been sorry to wound his feelings. The +change of tone at first gave Claudius a thrill of pleasure, +which gave way to an increased sense of mortification +as he reflected that she was probably only +showing that she was glad to be rid of him—a +clumsy, manlike thought, which his reason would soon +get the better of. So he departed.</p> + +<p>There was silence for some minutes after he had +gone, for Margaret and the Englishman were old +friends, and there was no immediate necessity for +making conversation. At last he spoke with a certain +amount of embarrassment.</p> + +<p>"I ought to have told you before that I had asked +those two men."</p> + +<p>"Who is the other?" she inquired without looking +up.</p> + +<p>"Why, Barker, his friend."</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course! But it would have been simpler +to have told me. It made it rather awkward, for of +course Dr. Claudius thought I knew he was asked and +wondered why I did not speak of it. Don't you see?" +she raised her eyes as she put the question.</p> + +<p>"It was idiotic of me, and I am very sorry. Please +forgive me."</p> + +<p>"As he is not going, it does not make any difference, +of course, and so I forgive you."</p> + +<p>Considering that Barker had suggested the party, +that it was Barker whom the Duke especially wanted +to amuse him on the trip, that Barker had proposed +Margaret and Claudius, and that, finally, the whole +affair was a horrid mess, the Duke did not see what he +could have done. But he knew it was good form to +be penitent whenever it seemed to be expected, and he +liked Margaret well enough to hope that she would go. +He did not care very much for the society of women +at any time. He was more or less married when he +was at home, which was never for long together, and +when he was away he preferred the untrammelled conversational +delights of a foreign green-room to the +twaddle of the embassies or to the mingled snobbery +and philistinism produced by the modern fusion of the +almighty dollar and the <i>ancienne noblesse</i>.</p> + +<p>And so he was in trouble just now, and his one +idea was to submit to everything the Countess might +say, and then to go and "give it" to Mr. Barker for +producing so much complication. But Margaret had +nothing more to say about the party, and launched +out into a discussion of the voyage. She introduced a +cautious "if" in most of her sentences. "<i>If</i> I go I +would like to see Madeira," and "<i>if</i> we join you, you +must take care of Miss Skeat, and give her the best +cabin," etc. etc. The Duke wisely abstained from +pressing his cause, or asking why she qualified her +plans. At last he got away, after promising to do +every conceivable and inconceivable thing which she +should now or at any future time evolve from the +depths of her inventive feminine consciousness.</p> + +<p>"By the way, Duke," she called after him, as he +went over the, lawn, "may I take old Vladimir if I +go?"</p> + +<p>"If you go," he answered, moving back a step or +two, "you may bring all the Imperial Guards if you +choose, and I will provide transports for those that the +yacht won't hold."</p> + +<p>"Thanks; that is all," she said laughing, and the +stalwart peer vanished through the house. The moment +he was gone Margaret dropped her work and lay back +in her long chair to think. The heavy lids half closed +over her dark eyes, and the fingers of her right hand +slowly turned round and round the ring she wore +upon her left. Miss Skeat was upstairs reading Lord +Byron's <i>Corsair</i> in anticipation of the voyage. Margaret +did not know this, or the thought of the angular +and well-bred Scotchwoman bounding over the glad +waters of the dark blue sea would have made her +smile. As it was, she looked serious.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry," she thought to herself. "It was +nice of him to say he would not go."</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the strong-legged nobleman footed it +merrily towards Barker's hotel. It was a good two +miles, and the Duke's ruddy face shone again under +the August sun. But the race characteristic was +strong in him, and he liked to make himself unnecessarily +hot; moreover he was really fond of Barker, +and now he was going to pitch into him, as he said to +himself, so it was indispensable to keep the steam up. +He found his friend as usual the picture of dried-up +coolness, so to say. Mr. Barker never seemed to be +warm, but he never seemed to feel cold either, and at +this moment, as he sat in a half-lighted room, clad in a +variety of delicate gray tints, with a collar that looked like +fresh-baked biscuit ware, and a pile of New York papers +and letters beside him, he was refreshing to the eye.</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, Barker, you always look cool," +said the Duke, as he sat himself down in an arm-chair, +and passed his handkerchief round his wrists. "I +would like to know how you do it."</p> + +<p>"To begin with, I do not rush madly about in the +sun in the middle of the day. That may have something +to do with it."</p> + +<p>The Duke sneezed loudly, from the mingled dust +and sunshine he had been inhaling.</p> + +<p>"And then I don't come into a cold room and +catch cold, like you. Here I sit in seclusion and fan +myself with the pages of my newspapers as I turn +them over."</p> + +<p>"You have got us all into the deuce of a mess with +your confounded coolness," said the Duke after a pause, +during which he had in vain searched all his pockets +for his cigar-case. Barker had watched him, and +pushed an open box of Havanas across the table. +But the Duke was determined to be sulky, and took +no notice of the attention. The circular wrinkle +slowly furrowed its way round Barker's mouth, and his +under jaw pushed forward. It always amused him to +see sanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, +and "gave themselves away" so recklessly.</p> + +<p>"If you won't smoke, have some beer," he suggested. +But his Grace fumed the redder.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand how a man of your intelligence, +Barker, can go and put people into such awkward +positions," he said. "I think it is perfectly idiotic."</p> + +<p>"Write me down an ass, by all means," said Barker +calmly; "but please explain what you mean. I told +you not to buy in the Green Swash Mine, and now I +suppose you have gone and done it, because I said it +might possibly be active some day."</p> + +<p>"I have been to see the Countess this morning," +said the Duke, beating the dust from his thick walking-boot +with his cane.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Barker, without any show of interest. +"Was she at home?"</p> + +<p>"I should think so," said the Duke. "Very much +at home, and Dr. Claudius was there too."</p> + +<p>"Oh! so you are jealous of Claudius, are you?" +The ducal wrath rose.</p> + +<p>"Barker, you are insufferably ridiculous."</p> + +<p>"Duke, you had much better go to bed," returned +his friend.</p> + +<p>"Look here, Barker—"</p> + +<p>"Do not waste your vitality in that way," said the +American. "I wish I had half of it. It quite pains +me to see you. Now I will put the whole thing +clearly before you as I suppose it happened, and you +shall tell me if it is my fault or not, and whether, after +all, it is such a very serious matter. Countess Margaret +did not know that Claudius was going, and did +not speak of the trip. Claudius thought she was +angry, and when you arrived and let the cat out of +the bag the Countess thought you were trying to +amuse yourself by surprising her, and she was angry +too. Then they both made common cause and would +have nothing more to do with you, and told you to go +to the devil, and at this moment they are planning to +remain here for the next forty or fifty years, and are +sending off a joint telegram to Professor Immanuel +Spencer, or whatever his name is, to hurry up and get +some more books ready for them to read. I am glad +you have not bought Green Swash, though, really." +There was a pause, and the Duke glared savagely at +the cigar-box.</p> + +<p>"Is your serene highness satisfied that I know all +about it?" asked Barker at last.</p> + +<p>"No, I am not. And I am not serene. She says +she will go, and Claudius says he won't. And it is +entirely your fault."</p> + +<p>"It is not of any importance what he says, or +whether it is my fault or not. If you had bestirred +yourself to go and see her at eleven before Claudius +arrived it would not have happened. But he will go +all the same; never fear. And the Countess will persuade +him too, without our doing anything in the +matter."</p> + +<p>"You would not have thought so if you had seen +the way she received the news that he was invited," +grumbled the Duke.</p> + +<p>"If you associated more with women you would +understand them better," replied the other.</p> + +<p>"I dare say." The Englishman was cooler, and at +last made up his mind to take one of Mr. Barker's +cigars. When he had lit it, he looked across at his +friend. "How do you expect to manage it?" he +inquired.</p> + +<p>"If you will write a simple little note to the +Countess, and say you are sorry there should have +been any misunderstanding, and if you and I leave +those two to themselves for ten days, even if she +invites us to dinner, they will manage it between +them, depend upon it. They are in love, you know +perfectly well."</p> + +<p>"I suppose they are," said the Duke, as if he did +not understand that kind of thing. "I think I will +have some curaçao and potass;" and he rang the bell.</p> + +<p>"That's not half a bad idea," he said when he was +refreshed. "I begin to think you are not so idiotic as +I supposed."</p> + +<p>"Waal," said Barker, suddenly affecting the accents +of his native shore, "I <i>ain't</i> much on the drivel <i>this</i> +journey <i>any</i>how." The Duke laughed; he always +laughed at Americanisms.</p> + +<p>"I guess <i>so</i>," said the Duke, trying ineffectually +to mimic his friend. Then he went on in his natural +voice, "I have an idea."</p> + +<p>"Keep it," said Barker; "they are scarce."</p> + +<p>"No; seriously. If we must leave them alone, +why—why should we not go down and look at the +yacht?"</p> + +<p>"Not bad at all. As you say, we might go round +and see how she looks. Where is she?"</p> + +<p>"Nice."</p> + +<p>So the one went down and the other went round, +but they went together, and saw the yacht, and ran +over to Monte Carlo, and had a good taste of the dear +old green-table, now that they could not have it in +Baden any longer. And they enjoyed the trip, and +were temperate and well dressed and cynical, after +their kind. But Claudius stayed where he was.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" />CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + +<p>The daily reading proceeded as usual after Barker's +departure, but neither Margaret nor Claudius mentioned +the subject of the voyage. Margaret was friendly, and +sometimes seemed on the point of relapsing into her +old manner, but she always checked herself. What +the precise change was it would be hard to say. +Claudius knew it was very easy to feel the difference, +but impossible to define it. As the days passed, he +knew also that his life had ceased to be his own; and, +with the chivalrous wholeness of purpose that was his +nature, he took his soul and laid it at her feet, for +better for worse, to do with as she would. But he +knew the hour was not come yet wherein he should +speak; and so he served her in silence, content to feel +the tree of life growing within him, which should one +day overshadow them both with its sheltering branches. +His service was none the less whole and devoted +because it had not yet been accepted.</p> + +<p>One evening, nearly a week after they had been +left to themselves, Claudius was sitting over his solitary +dinner in the casino restaurant when a note was +brought to him, a large square envelope of rough paper, +and he knew the handwriting. He hesitated to open +it, and, glancing round the brilliantly-lighted restaurant, +involuntarily wondered if any man at all those tables +were that moment in such suspense as he. He thought +it was probably an intimation that she was going away, +and that he was wanted no longer. Then, for the first +time in many days, he thought of his money. "And +if she does," he said half aloud, "shall I not follow? +Shall not gold command everything save her heart, and +can I not win that for myself?" And he took courage +and quietly opened the note.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"MY DEAR DR. CLAUDIUS—As the time is approaching, +will you not do me a favour? I want you to +make a list of books to read on the voyage—that is, if +I may count on your kindness as an expounder. If +not, please tell me of some good novels.</p> + +<p>"Sincerely yours,"</p></div> + +<p>and her full name signed at the end. The hot blood +turned his white forehead red as Claudius finished +reading. He could not believe his eyes, and the room +swam for a moment; for he was very much in love, +this big Swede. Then he grew pale again and quite +calm, and read the note over. Novels indeed! What +did he know about novels? He would ask her plainly +if she wanted his company on the yacht or no. He +would say, "Shall I come? or shall I stay behind?" +Claudius had much to learn from Mr. Barker before he +was competent to deal with women. But then Claudius +would have scorned the very expression "to deal" with +them; theirs to command, his to obey—there was to +be no question of dealing. Only in his simple heart +he would like to know in so many words what the +commands were; and that is sometimes a little hard, +for women like to be half understood before they speak, +and the grosser intellect of man seldom more than half +understands them after they have spoken.</p> + +<p>A note requires an answer, and Claudius made the +usual number of failures. When one has a great deal +more to say than one has any right to say, and when +at the same time one is expected to say particularly +little, it is very hard to write a good note. All sorts +of ideas creep in and express themselves automatically. +A misplaced plural for a singular, a superlative adjective +where the vaguer comparative belongs; the vast +and immeasurable waste of weary years that may lie +between "dear" and "dearest," the gulf placed between +"sincerely yours, John Smith," and "yours, J.S.," and +"your J.," until the blessed state is reached wherein +the signature is omitted altogether, and every word +bears the sign-manual of the one woman or one man +who really exists for you. What a registering thermometer +of intimacy exists in notes, from the icy zero +of first acquaintance to the raging throb of boiling +blood-heat! So Claudius, after many trials, arrived at +the requisite pitch of absolute severity, and began his +note, "My dear Countess Margaret," and signed it, +"very obediently yours," which said just what was +literally true; and he stated that he would immediately +proceed to carry out the Countess's commands, and +make a list in which nothing should be wanting that +could contribute to her amusement.</p> + +<p>When he went to see her on the following day he +was a little surprised at her manner, which inclined +more to the severe coldness of that memorable day of +difficulties than to the unbending he had expected from +her note. Of course he had no reason to be disappointed, +and he showed his inexperience. She was +compensating her conscience for the concession she had +made in intimating that he might go. It was indeed +a concession, but to what superior power she had +yielded it behoves not inquisitive man to ask. Perhaps +she thought Claudius would enjoy the trip very +much, and said to herself she had no right to make +him give it up.</p> + +<p>They read together for some time, and at last +Claudius asked her, in connection with a point which +arose, whether she would like to read a German book +that he thought good.</p> + +<p>"Very much," said she. "By the by, I am glad +you have been able to arrange to go with us. I +thought your engagements were going to prevent you."</p> + +<p>Claudius looked at her, trying to read her thoughts, +in which he failed. He might have been satisfied, but +he was not. There was a short silence, and then he +closed the book over his hand and spoke.</p> + +<p>"Countess, do you wish me to go or not?"</p> + +<p>Margaret raised her dark eyebrows. He had never +seen her do that before. But then he had never said +anything so clumsy before in his whole life, and he +knew it the moment the words were out of his mouth, +and his face was white in sunshine. She looked at +him suddenly, a slight smile on her lips, and her eyes +just the least contracted, as if she were going to say +something sarcastic. But his face was so pitifully pale. +She saw how his hand trembled. A great wave of +womanly compassion welled up in her soul, and the +smile faded and softened away as she said one word.</p> + +<p>"Yes." It came from the heart, and she could not +help it if it sounded kindly.</p> + +<p>"Then I will go," said Claudius, hardly knowing +what he said, for the blood came quickly back to his face.</p> + +<p>"Of course you will, I could have told you that +ever so long ago," chirped a little bullfinch in the tree +overhead.</p> + +<p>A couple of weeks or more after the events last +chronicled, the steam yacht <i>Streak</i> was two days +out on the Atlantic, with a goodly party on board. +There were three ladies—the Duke's sister, the Countess, +and Miss Skeat, the latter looking very nautical in +blue serge, which sat tightly over her, like the canvas +cover sewn round a bicycle when it is sent by rail. +Of men there were also three—to wit, the owner of the +yacht, Mr. Barker, and Dr. Claudius.</p> + +<p>The sea has many kinds of fish. Some swim on +their sides, some swim straight, some come up to take +a sniff of air, and some stay below. It is just the same +with people who go to sea. Take half a dozen individuals +who are all more or less used to the water, +and they will behave in half a dozen different ways. +One will become encrusted to the deck like a barnacle, +another will sit in the cabin playing cards; a third +will spend his time spinning yarns with the ship's +company, and a fourth will rush madly up and down +the deck from morning till night in the pursuit of an +appetite which shall leave no feat of marine digestion +untried or unaccomplished. Are they not all stamped +on the memory of them that go down to the sea in +yachts? The little card-box and the scoring-book of +the players, the deck chair and rugs of the inveterate +reader, the hurried tread and irascible eye of the +carnivorous passenger, and the everlasting pipe of the +ocean talker, who feels time before him and the world +at his feet wherein to spin yarns—has any one not +seen them?</p> + +<p>Now, the elements on board of the <i>Streak</i> were +sufficiently diverse to form a successful party, and by +the time they were two days out on the long swell, +with a gentle breeze just filling the trysails, and everything +stowed, they had each fallen into the groove of +sea life that was natural to him or to her. There were +Barker and the Duke in the pretty smoking-room +forward with the windows open and a pack of cards +between them. Every now and then they stopped to +chat a little, or the Duke would go out and look at the +course, and make his rounds to see that every one was +all right and nobody sea-sick. But Barker rarely +moved, save to turn his chair and cross one leg over +the other, whereby he might the more easily contemplate +his little patent leather shoes and stroke his bony +hands over his silk-clad ankles; for Mr. Barker considered +sea-dressing, as he called it, a piece of affectation, +and arrayed himself on board ship precisely as he +did on land. The Duke, on the other hand, like most +Englishmen when they get a chance, revelled in what +he considered ease; that is to say, no two of his +garments matched or appeared to have been made in +the same century; he wore a flannel shirt, and was +inclined to go about barefoot when the ladies were not +on deck, and he adorned his ducal forehead with a red +worsted cap, price one shilling.</p> + +<p>Margaret, as was to be expected, was the deck +member, with her curiously-wrought chair and her furs +and her portable bookcase; while Miss Skeat, who looked +tall and finny, and sported a labyrinthine tartan, was +generally to be seen entangled in the weather-shrouds +near by. As for the Duke's sister, Lady Victoria, she +was plain, but healthy, and made regular circuits of the +steamer, stopping every now and then to watch the +green swirl of the foam by the side, and to take long +draughts of salt air into her robust lungs. But of all +the party there was not one on whom the change from +the dry land to the leaping water produced more palpable +results than on Claudius. He affected nothing +nautical in dress or speech, but when the Duke saw +him come on deck the first morning out, there was +something about his appearance that made the yachtsman +say to Barker—</p> + +<p>"That man has been to sea, I am positive. I am +glad I asked him."</p> + +<p>"All those Swedes are amphibious," replied Barker; +"they take to the water like ducks. But I don't believe +he has smelled salt water for a dozen years."</p> + +<p>"They are the best sailors, at all events," said the +Duke. "I have lots of them among the men. Captain +a Swede too. Let me introduce you." They were +standing on the bridge. "Captain Sturleson, my friend +Mr. Barker." And so in turn the captain was made +known to every one on board; for he was an institution +with the Duke, and had sailed his Grace's yachts +ever since there had been any to sail, which meant for +about twenty years. To tell the truth, if it were not +for those beastly logarithms, the Duke was no mean +sailing-master himself, and he knew a seaman when he +saw one; hence his remark about Claudius. The Doctor +knew every inch of the yacht and every face in the +ship's company by the second day, and it amused the +Countess to hear his occasional snatches of the clean-cut +Northern tongue that sounded like English, but was yet +so different.</p> + +<p>Obedient to her instructions, he had provided books +of all sorts for the voyage, and they began to read +together, foolishly imagining that, with the whole day +at their disposal, they would do as much work as when +they only met for an hour or two daily to accomplish +a set purpose. The result of their unbounded freedom +was that conversation took the place of reading. +Hitherto Margaret had confined Claudius closely to +the matter in hand, some instinct warning her that +such an intimacy as had existed during his daily visits +could only continue on the footing of severe industry +she had established from the first. But the sight of +the open deck, the other people constantly moving to +and fro, the proper aspect of the lady-companion, just +out of earshot, and altogether the appearance of publicity +which the sea-life lent to their <i>tête-à-tête</i> hours, brought, +as a necessary consequence, a certain unbending. It +always seemed such an easy matter to call some third +party into the conversation if it should grow too confidential. +And so, insensibly, Claudius and Margaret +wandered into discussions about the feelings, about +love, hate, and friendship, and went deep into those +topics which so often end in practical experiment. +Claudius had lived little and thought much; Margaret +had seen a great deal of the world, and being gifted +with fine intuitions and tact, she had reasoned very +little about what she saw, understanding, as she did, +the why and wherefore of most actions by the pure +light of feminine genius. The Doctor theorised, and it +interested his companion to find facts she remembered +suddenly brought directly under a neat generalisation; +and before long she found herself trying to remember +facts to fit his theories, a mode of going in double +harness which is apt to lead to remarkable but fallacious +results. In the intervals of theorising Claudius +indulged in small experiments. But Barker and the +Duke played poker.</p> + +<p>Of course the three men saw a good deal of each +other—in the early morning before the ladies came on +deck, and late at night when they sat together in the +smoking-room. In these daily meetings the Duke +and Claudius had become better acquainted, and the +latter, who was reticent, but perfectly simple, in speaking +of himself, had more than once alluded to his +peculiar position and to the unexpected change of +fortune that had befallen him. One evening they were +grouped as usual around the square table in the brightly-lighted +little room that Barker and the Duke affected +most. The fourfold beat of the screw crushed the +water quickly and sent its peculiar vibration through +the vessel as she sped along in the quiet night. The +Duke was extended on a transom, and Claudius on the +one opposite, while Barker tipped himself about on his +chair at the end of the table. The Duke was talkative, +in a disjointed, monosyllabic fashion.</p> + +<p>"Yes. I know. No end of a queer sensation, +lots of money. Same thing happened to me when I +came of age."</p> + +<p>"Not exactly the same thing," said Claudius; "you +knew you were going to have it."</p> + +<p>"No," put in Barker. "Having money and being +likely to have it are about the same as far as spending +it goes. Particularly in England."</p> + +<p>"I believe the whole thing is a fraud," said the +Duke in a tone of profound reflection. "Never had a +cent before I came of age. Seems to me I never had +any since."</p> + +<p>"Spent it all in water-melon and fire-crackers, +celebrating your twenty-first birthday, I suppose," +suggested Barker.</p> + +<p>"Spent it some way, at all events," replied the +Duke. "Now, here," he continued, addressing Barker, +"is a man who actually has it, who never expected to +have it, who has got it in hard cash, and in the only +way in which it is worth having—by somebody else's +work. Query—what will Claudius do with his +millions?" Exhausted by this effort of speech, the +Duke puffed his tobacco in silence, waiting for an +answer. Claudius laughed, but said nothing.</p> + +<p>"I know of one thing he will do with his money. +He will get married," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"For God's sake, Claudius," said the Duke, looking +serious, "don't do that."</p> + +<p>"I don't think I will," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"I know better," retorted Barker, "I am quite +sure I shall do it myself some day, and so will you. +Do you think if I am caught, you are going to escape?"</p> + +<p>The Duke thought that if Barker knew the +Duchess, he might yet save himself.</p> + +<p>"You are no chicken, Barker, and perhaps you are +right. If they catch you they can catch anybody," he +said aloud.</p> + +<p>"Well, I used to say the mamma was not born who +could secure me. But I am getting old, and my +nerves are shaken, and a secret presentiment tells me +I shall be bagged before long, and delivered over to the +tormentors."</p> + +<p>"I pity you if you are," said the Duke. "No +more poker, and very little tobacco then."</p> + +<p>"Not as bad as that. You are as much married +as most men, but it does not interfere with the innocent +delights of your leisure hours, that I can see."</p> + +<p>"Ah, well—you see—I am pretty lucky. The +Duchess is a domestic type of angel. Likes children +and bric-à-brac and poultry, and all those things. +Takes no end of trouble about the place."</p> + +<p>"Why should not I marry the angelic domestic—the +domestic angel, I mean?"</p> + +<p>"You won't, though. Doesn't grow in America. +I know the sort of woman you will get for your +money."</p> + +<p>"Give me an idea." Barker leaned back in his +chair till it touched the door of the cabin, and rolled +his cigar in his mouth.</p> + +<p>"Of course she will be the rage for the time. +Eighteen or nineteen summers of earthly growth, and +eighteen or nineteen hundred years of experience and +calculation in a former state."</p> + +<p>"Thanks, that sounds promising. Claudius, this is +intended for your instruction."</p> + +<p>"You will see her first at a ball, with a cartload +of nosegays slung on her arms, and generally all over +her. That will be your first acquaintance; you will +never see the last of her."</p> + +<p>"No—I know that," said Barker gloomily.</p> + +<p>"She will marry you out of hand after a three +months' engagement. She will be married by Worth, +and you will be married by Poole. It will be very +effective, you know. No end of wedding presents, and +acres of flowers. And then you will start away on +your tour, and be miserable ever after."</p> + +<p>"I am glad you have done," was Barker's comment.</p> + +<p>"As for me," said Claudius, "I am of course not +acquainted with the peculiarities of American life, but +I fancy the Duke is rather severe in his judgment."</p> + +<p>It was a mild protest against a wholesale condemnation +of American marriages; but Barker and the +Duke only laughed as if they understood each other, +and Claudius had nothing more to say. He mentally +compared the utterances of these men, doubtless +grounded on experience, with the formulas he had +made for himself about women, and which were undeniably +the outcome of pure theory. He found himself +face to face with the old difficulty, the apparent discord +between the universal law and the individual +fact. But, on the other hand, he could not help comparing +himself with his two companions. It was not +in his nature to think slightingly of other men, but he +felt that they were of a totally different mould, besides +belonging to a different race. He knew that however +much he might enjoy their society, they had nothing +in common with him, and that it was only his own +strange fortune that had suddenly transported him into +the very midst of a sphere where such characters were +the rule and not the exception.</p> + +<p>The conversation languished, and Claudius left the +Duke and Barker, and went towards his quarters. It +was a warm night for the Atlantic, and though there +was no moon, the stars shone out brightly, their reflection +moving slowly up and down the slopes of the long +ocean swell. Claudius walked aft, and was going to +sit down for a few minutes before turning in, when he +was suddenly aware of a muffled female figure leaning +against the taffrail only a couple of paces from where he +was. In spite of the starlight he could not distinguish +the person. She was wrapped closely in a cloak and +veil, as if fearing the cold. As it must be one of the +three ladies who constituted the party, Claudius +naturally raised his cap, but fearing lest he had +chanced on the Duke's sister, or still worse, on Miss +Skeat, he did not speak. Before long, however, as +he leaned against the side, watching the wake, the +unknown remarked that it was a delightful night. It +was Margaret's voice, and the deep musical tones +trembled on the rise and fall of the waves, as if the +sounds themselves had a distinct life and beating in +them. Did the dark woman know what magic lay +in her most trivial words? Claudius did not care a +rush whether the night were beautiful or otherwise, +but when she said it was a fine evening, it sounded as +if she had said she loved him.</p> + +<p>"I could not stay downstairs," she said, "and so +when the others went to bed I wrapped myself up +and came here. Is it not too wonderful?"</p> + +<p>Claudius moved nearer to her.</p> + +<p>"I have been pent up in the Duke's <i>tabagie</i> for at +least two hours," he said, "and I am perfectly suffocated."</p> + +<p>"How can you sit in that atmosphere? Why +don't you come and smoke on deck?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! it was not only the tobacco that suffocated +me to-night, it was the ideas."</p> + +<p>"What ideas?" asked Margaret.</p> + +<p>"You have known the Duke a long time," said he, +"and of course you can judge. Or rather, you know. +But to hear those two men talk is enough to make +one think there is neither heaven above nor hell +beneath." He was rather incoherent.</p> + +<p>"Have they been attacking your favourite theories," +Margaret asked, and she smiled behind her veil; but +he could not see that, and her voice sounded somewhat +indifferent.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I don't know," he said, as if not wanting to +continue the subject; and he turned round so as to +rest his elbows on the taffrail. So he stood, bent over +and looking away astern at the dancing starlight on +the water. There was a moment's silence.</p> + +<p>"Tell me," said Margaret at last.</p> + +<p>"What shall I tell you, Countess?" asked Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Tell me what it was you did not like about their +talk."</p> + +<p>"It is hard to say, exactly. They were talking +about women, and American marriages; and I did not +like it, that is all." Claudius straightened himself +again and turned towards his companion. The screw +below them rushed round, worming its angry way +through the long quiet waves.</p> + +<p>"Barker," said Claudius, "was saying that he +supposed he would be married some day—delivered +up to torture, as he expressed it—and the Duke +undertook to prophesy and draw a picture of Barker's +future spouse. The picture was not attractive."</p> + +<p>"Did Mr. Barker think so too?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. He seemed to regard the prospects of +matrimony from a resigned and melancholy point of +view. I suppose he might marry any one he chose in +his own country, might he not?"</p> + +<p>"In the usual sense, yes," answered Margaret.</p> + +<p>"What is the 'usual sense'?" asked the Doctor.</p> + +<p>"He might marry beauty, wealth, and position. +That is the usual meaning of marrying whom you +please."</p> + +<p>"Oh! then it does not mean any individual he +pleases?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. It means that out of half a dozen +beautiful, rich, and accomplished girls it is morally +certain that one, at least, would take him for his +money, his manners, and his accomplishments."</p> + +<p>"Then he would go from one to the other until he +was accepted? A charming way of doing things, upon +my word!" And Claudius sniffed the night air discontentedly.</p> + +<p>"Oh no," said Margaret. "He will be thrown into +the society of all six, and one of them will marry him, +that will be the way of it."</p> + +<p>"I cannot say I discover great beauty in that social +arrangement either, except that it gives the woman +the choice."</p> + +<p>"Of course," she answered, "the system does not +pretend to the beautiful, it only aspires to the practical. +If the woman is satisfied with her choice, domestic +peace is assured." She laughed.</p> + +<p>"Why cannot each satisfy himself or herself of the +other? Why cannot the choice be mutual?"</p> + +<p>"It would take too long," said she; and laughed +again.</p> + +<p>"Very long?" asked Claudius, trying not to let his +voice change. But it changed nevertheless.</p> + +<p>"Generally very long," she answered in a matter-of-fact +way.</p> + +<p>"Why should it?"</p> + +<p>"Because neither women nor men are so easily +understood as a chapter of philosophy," said she.</p> + +<p>"Is it not the highest pleasure in life, that constant, +loving study of the one person one loves? Is not +every anticipated thought and wish a triumph more +worth living for than everything else in the wide +world?" He moved close to her side. "Do you not +think so too?" She said nothing.</p> + +<p>"I think so," he said. "There is no pleasure like +the pleasure of trying to understand what a woman +wants; there is no sorrow like the sorrow of failing to +do that; and there is no glory like the glory of success. +It is a divine task for any man, and the greatest have +thought it worthy of them." Still she was silent; and +so was he for a little while, looking at her side face, +for she had thrown back the veil and her delicate profile +showed clearly against the sea foam.</p> + +<p>"Countess," he said at last; and his voice came and +went fitfully with the breeze—"I would give my whole +life's strength and study for the gladness of foreseeing +one little thing that you might wish, and of doing it +for you." His hand stole along the taffrail till it +touched hers, but he did not lift his fingers from the +polished wood.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius, you would give too much," she +said; for the magic of the hour and place was upon her, +and the Doctor's earnest tones admitted of no laughing +retort. She ought to have checked him then, and the +instant she had spoken she knew it; but before she +could speak again he had taken the hand he was +already touching between both of his, and was looking +straight in her face.</p> + +<p>"Margaret, I love you with all my soul and heart +and strength." Her hand trembled in his, but she +could not take it away. Before she had answered he +had dropped to his knee and was pressing the gloved +fingers to his lips.</p> + +<p>"I love you, I love you, I love you," he repeated, +and his strength was as the strength of ten in that +moment.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius," said she at last, in a broken and +agitated way, "you ought not to have said this. It +was not right of you." She tried to loose her hand, +but he rose to his feet still clasping it.</p> + +<p>"Forgive me," he said, "forgive me!" His face +was almost luminously pale. "All the ages cannot +take from me this—that I have told you."</p> + +<p>Margaret said never a word, but covered her head +with her veil and glided noiselessly away, leaving +Claudius with his white face and staring eyes to the +contemplation of what he had done. And she went +below and sat in her stateroom and tried to think it +all over. She was angry, she felt sure. She was +angry at Claudius and half angry at herself—at least +she thought so. She was disappointed, she said, in +the man, and she did not mean to forgive him. Besides, +in a yacht, with a party of six people, where +there was absolutely no escape possible, it was +unpardonable. He really ought not to have done it. Did +he think—did he flatter himself—that if she had +expected he was going to act just like all the rest of +them she would have treated him as she had? Did +he fancy his well-planned declaration would flatter +<i>her</i>? Could he not see that she wanted to consider +him always as a friend, that she thought she had found +at last what she had so often dreamed of—a friendship +proof against passion? It was so common, so commonplace. +It was worse, for it was taking a cruel advantage +of the narrow limits within which they were both +confined. Besides, he had taken advantage of her +kindness to plan a scene which he knew would surprise +her out of herself. She ought to have spoken strongly +and sharply and made him suffer for his sin while he +was yet red-handed. And instead, what had she done? +She had merely said very meekly that "it was not +right," and had sought safety in a hasty retreat.</p> + +<p>She sighed wearily, and began to shake out the +masses of her black hair, that was as the thickness of +night spun fine. And as she drew out the thick tortoise-shell +pins that bore it up, it rolled down heavily +in a soft dark flood and covered her as with a garment. +Then she leaned back and sighed again, and her eyes +fell on a book that lay at the corner of her dressing-table, +where she had left it before dinner. It was the +book they had been reading, and the mark was a bit +of fine white cord that Claudius had cunningly twisted +and braided, sailor fashion, to keep the place. Margaret +rose to her feet, and taking the book in her hand, +looked at it a moment without opening it. Then she +hid it out of sight and sat down again. The action +had been almost unconscious, but now she thought +about it, and she did not like what she had done. +Angry with him and with herself, she was yet calm +enough to ask why she could not bear the sight of the +volume on the table. Was it possible she had cared +enough about her friendship for the Doctor to be seriously +distressed at its sudden termination? She hardly +knew—perhaps so. So many men had made love to +her, none had ever before seemed to be a friend.</p> + +<p>The weary and hard-worked little sentiment that +we call conscience spoke up. Was she just to him? +No. If she had cared even as much as that action +showed, had he no right to care also? He had the +right, yes; but he had been wanting in tact. He +should have waited till they were ashore. Poor fellow! +he looked so white, and his hands were so cold. Was +he there still, looking out at the ship's wake? Margaret, +are you quite sure you never thought of him +save as a friendly professor who taught you philosophy? +And there was a little something that would not be +silenced, and that would say—Yes, you are playing tricks +with your feelings, you care for him, you almost love +him. And for a moment there was a fierce struggle +in the brave heart of that strong woman as she shook +out her black hair and turned pale to the lips. She +rose again, and went and got the book she had hidden, +and laid it just where it had lain before. Then she +knew, and she bowed her head till her white forehead +touched the table before her, and her hands were wet +as they pressed her eyelids.</p> + +<p>"I am very weak," she said aloud, and proceeded +with her toilet.</p> + +<p>"But you will be kind to him, Margaret," said the little +voice in her heart, as she laid her head on the pillow.</p> + +<p>"But it is my duty to be cold. I do not love him," +she argued, as the watch struck eight bells.</p> + +<p>Poor Saint Duty! what a mess you make of human +kindness!</p> + +<p>Claudius was still on deck, and a wretched man he +was, as his chilled hands clung to the side. He knew +well enough that she was angry, though she had reproached +herself with not having made it clear to him. +He said to himself he ought not to have spoken, and then +he laughed bitterly, for he knew that all his strength +could not have kept back the words, because they were +true, and because the truth must be spoken sooner or +later. He was hopeless now for a time, but he did +not deceive himself.</p> + +<p>"I am not weak. I am strong. And if my love +is stronger than I what does that prove? I am glad +it is, and I would not have it otherwise. It is done +now and can never be undone. I am sorry I spoke +to-night. I would have waited if I could. But I +could not, and I should despise myself if I could. +Love that is not strong enough to make a man move +in spite of himself is not worth calling love. I wonder +if I flattered myself she loved me? No, I am quite +sure I did not. I never thought anything about it. +It is enough for me that I love her, and live, and have +told her so; and I can bear all the misery now, for she +knows. I suppose it will begin at once. She will +not speak to me. No, not that, but she will not expect +me to speak to her. I will keep out of her way; it is +the least I can do. And I will try and not make her +life on board disagreeable. Ah, my beloved, I will +never hurt you again or make you angry."</p> + +<p>He said these things over and over to himself, and +perhaps they comforted him a little. At eight bells +the Swedish captain turned out, and Claudius saw him +ascend the bridge, but soon he came down again and +walked aft.</p> + +<p>"God afton, Captain," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"It is rather late to say good evening, Doctor," +replied the sailor.</p> + +<p>"Why, what time is it?"</p> + +<p>"Midnight."</p> + +<p>"Well, I shall turn in."</p> + +<p>"If you will take my advice," said the captain, +"you won't leave any odds and ends lying about to-night. +We shall have a dance before morning."</p> + +<p>"Think so?" said Claudius indifferently.</p> + +<p>"Why, Doctor, where are your eyes? You are a +right Svensk sailor when you are awake. You have +smelled the foam in Skager Rak as well as I."</p> + +<p>"Many a time," replied the other, and looked to +windward. It was true; the wind had backed to the +north-east, and there was an angry little cross sea +beginning to run over the long ocean swell. There +was a straight black belt below the stars, and a short, +quick splashing, dashing, and breaking of white crests +through the night, while the rising breeze sang in the +weather rigging.</p> + +<p>Claudius turned away and went below. He took +the captain's advice, and secured his traps and went to +bed. But he could not sleep, and he said over and over +to himself that he loved her, that he was glad he had +told her so, and that he would stand by the result of his +night's work, through all time,—ay, and beyond time.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" />CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + +<p>Lady Victoria was not afraid of the sea. No indeed, +and if her brother would go with her she would like +nothing better. And Miss Skeat, too, would she like +to come? Such a pity poor Margaret had a headache. +She had not even come to breakfast.</p> + +<p>Yes, Miss Skeat would come, and the boatswain +would provide them both with tarpaulins and sou'-westers, +and they would go on deck for a few minutes. +But Mr. Barker was so sorry he had a touch of neuralgia, +and besides he knew that Claudius was on deck +and would be of more use to the ladies than he could +ever be. Mr. Barker had no idea of getting wet, and +the sudden headache of the Countess, combined with +the absence of Claudius from her side, interested him. +He meant to stay below and watch the events of the +morning. Piloted by the Duke, the strong English +girl and the wiry old Scotch lady made their way up +the companion, not without difficulty, for the skipper's +prediction was already fulfilled, and the <i>Streak</i> was +ploughing her way through all sorts of weather at once.</p> + +<p>The deck was slippery and sloppy, and the sharp spray +was blowing itself in jets round every available corner. +The sky was of an even lead colour, but it was hard to +tell at first whether it was raining or not. The Duke's +face gleamed like a wet red apple in the wind and +water as he helped his sister to the leeward and +anchored her among the shrouds.</p> + +<p>"Hullo, Claudius, you seem to like this!" he sang +out, spying the tall Swede near the gangway. Claudius +came towards them, holding on by the pins and cleats +and benches. He looked so white that Lady Victoria +was frightened.</p> + +<p>"You are not well, Dr. Claudius. Please don't +mind me, my brother will be back in a moment. Go +below and get warm. You really look ill."</p> + +<p>"Do I? I do not feel ill at all. I am very fond +of this kind of weather." And he put one arm through +the shrouds and prepared for conversation under difficulties. +Meanwhile the Duke brought out Miss Skeat, +who rattled inside her tarpaulin, but did not exhibit +the slightest nervousness, though a bit of a sea broke +over the weather-bow just as she appeared.</p> + +<p>"Keep your eye peeled there, will you?" the Duke +shouted away to the men at the wheel; whereat they +grinned, and luffed a little, just enough to let the lady +get across.</p> + +<p>"Steady!" bawled the Duke again when Miss Skeat +was made fast; and the men at the wheel held her off +once more, so that the spray flew up in a cloudy sheet.</p> + +<p>Claudius was relieved. He had expected to see +Margaret come up the companion, and he had dreaded +the meeting, when he would almost of necessity be obliged +to help her across and touch her hand; and he inwardly +blessed her wisdom in staying below. The others +might have stayed there too, he thought, instead of +coming up to get wet and to spoil his solitude, which +was the only thing left to him to-day.</p> + +<p>But Claudius was not the man to betray his ill-temper +at being disturbed; and after all there was +something about these two women that he liked—in +different ways. The English girl was so solidly +enthusiastic, and the Scotch gentlewoman so severely +courageous, that he felt a sort of companionable sympathy +after he had been with them a few minutes.</p> + +<p>Lady Victoria, as previously hinted, was married, +and her husband, who was in the diplomatic service, +and who had prospects afterwards of coming into +money and a peerage, was now absent on a distant mission. +They had not been married very long, but his +wife was always ready to take things cheerfully, and, +since she could not accompany him, she had made up +her mind to be happy without him; and the trip with +her brother was "just the very thing." Mr. Barker +admired what he called her exuberant vitality, and +expressed his opinion that people with a digestion like +that were always having a good time. She was strong +and healthy, and destined to be the mother of many +bold sons, and she had a certain beauty born of a good +complexion, bright eyes, and white teeth. To look at +her, you would have said she must be the daughter of +some robust and hardworking settler, accustomed from +her youth to face rain and snow and sunshine in ready +reliance on her inborn strength. She did not suggest +dukes and duchesses in the least. Alas! the generation +of those ruddy English boys and girls is growing +rarer day by day, and a mealy-faced, over-cerebrated +people are springing up, who with their children again, +in trying to rival the brain-work of foreigners with +larger skulls and more in them, forget that their English +forefathers have always done everything by sheer +strength and bloodshed, and can as easily hope to +accomplish anything by skill as a whale can expect +to dance upon the tight rope. They would do better, +thought Lady Victoria, to give it up, to abandon the +struggle for intellectual superiority of that kind. They +have produced greater minds when, the mass of their +countrymen were steeped in brutality, and Elizabethan +surfeit of beef and ale, than they will ever produce +with a twopenny-halfpenny universal education. What +is the use? Progress. What is progress? Merely +the adequate arrangement of inequalities—in the words +of one of their own thinkers who knows most about +it and troubles himself least about theories. What +is the use of your "universal" education, to which +nine-tenths of the population submit as to a hopeless +evil, which takes bread out of their mouths and puts +bran into their heads; for might they not be at work +in the fields instead of scratching pothooks on a slate? +At least so Lady Victoria thought.</p> + +<p>"You look just like a sailor," said she to Claudius.</p> + +<p>"I feel like one," he answered, "and I think I +shall adopt the sea as a profession."</p> + +<p>"It is such a pity," said Miss Skeat, sternly clutching +the twisted wire shroud. "I would like to see +you turn pirate; it would be so picturesque—you and +Mr. Barker." The others laughed, not at the idea of +Claudius sporting the black flag—for he looked gloomy +enough to do murder in the first degree this morning—but +the picture of the exquisite and comfort-loving Mr. +Barker, with his patent-leather shoes and his elaborate +travelling apparatus, leading a band of black-browed +ruffians to desperate deeds of daring and blood, was +novel enough to be exhilarating; and they laughed +loudly. They did not understand Mr. Barker; but +perhaps Miss Skeat, who liked him with an old-maidenly +liking, had some instinct notion that the gentle +American could be dangerous.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker would never do for a pirate," laughed +Lady Victoria; "he would be always getting his feet +wet and having attacks of neuralgia."</p> + +<p>"Take care, Vick," said her brother, "he might hear +you."</p> + +<p>"Well, if he did? I only said he would get his +feet wet. There is no harm in that, and it is clear he +has neuralgia, because he says it himself."</p> + +<p>"Well, of course," said the Duke, "if that is what +you mean. But he will wet his feet fast enough when +there is any good reason."</p> + +<p>"If you make it 'worth his while,' of course," said +Lady Victoria, "I have no doubt of it." She turned +up her nose, for she was not very fond of Mr. Barker, +and she thought poorly of the Duke's financial enterprises +in America. It was not a bit like a good old +English gentleman to be always buying and selling +mines and stocks and all sorts of things with queer +names.</p> + +<p>"Look here, Vick, we won't talk any more about +Barker, if you please."</p> + +<p>"Very well, then you can talk about the weather," +said she.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Claudius, "you may well do that. +There is a good deal of weather to talk about."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I like a storm at sea, of all things!" exclaimed +Lady Victoria, forgetting all about Mr. Barker in the +delicious sense of saltness and freedom one feels on +the deck of a good ship running through a lively sea. +She put out her face to catch the fine salt spray on +her cheek. Just then a little water broke over the +side abaft the gangway, and the vessel rose and fell to +the sweep of a big wave. The water ran along over +the flush deck, as if hunting for the scuppers, and +came swashing down to the lee where the party were +standing, wetting the ladies' feet to the ankle. The +men merely pulled themselves up by the ropes they +held, and hung till the deck was clear again.</p> + +<p>"I don't suppose it hurts you to get wet," said +the Duke to his sister, "but you would be much better +under hatches while this sort of thing is going on."</p> + +<p>"I think, if you will help me, I will go down and +see how the Countess is," said Miss Skeat; and Claudius +detached her from the rigging and got her down the +companion, but the Duke stayed with his sister, who +begged for a few minutes more. Once below, Claudius +felt how near he was to Margaret, who was doubtless +in the ladies' cabin. He could reach his own quarters +without entering that sanctum, of course, but as he +still held Miss Skeat's arm to steady her to the door, +he could not resist the temptation of putting his head +through, for he knew now that she must be there. It +was a large sitting-room, extending through the whole +beam, with big port-holes on each side. Miss Skeat +entered, and Claudius looked in.</p> + +<p>There was Margaret, looking much as usual, her +face turned a little from him as she lay in a huge arm-chair. +She could not see him as she was, and his +heart beat furiously as he looked at the face he loved +best of all others.</p> + +<p>Margaret spoke to Miss Skeat without turning her +head, for she was working at some of her eternal +needlework.</p> + +<p>"Have you had a good time? How did you get +down?"</p> + +<p>"Such an airing," answered the lady-companion, +who was divesting herself of her wraps, "and Dr +Claudius—"</p> + +<p>The last was lost to the Doctor's ear, for he withdrew +his head and beat a hasty retreat. Miss Skeat +also stopped speaking suddenly, for as she mentioned +his name she looked naturally towards the door, supposing +him to be standing there, and she just saw his +head disappear from between the curtains. Margaret +turned her eyes and saw Miss Skeat's astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Well, what about Dr. Claudius?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, nothing," said Miss Skeat, "you asked me +how I got down, and I was going to say Dr. Claudius +gave me his arm, and I thought he had come in here +with me."</p> + +<p>Neither Miss Skeat nor Claudius had noticed Mr. +Barker, who was ensconced on a corner transom, with +his nails and a book to amuse himself with. He saw +the whole thing: how the Doctor put his white face +and dripping beard through the curtains, and suddenly +withdrew it at the mention of his name, and how Miss +Skeat held her peace about having seen it too. He +reflected that something had happened, that Miss +Skeat knew all about it, and that she was a discreet +woman. He wondered what it could be. Claudius +would not look like that unless something were wrong, +he thought, and he would certainly come back in five +minutes if everything were right. He had not seen +him at breakfast. He took out his watch softly and +let it drop on his book, face upwards. Meanwhile he +talked to the two ladies about the weather, and listened +to Miss Skeat's rapturous account of the spray and the +general slipperiness of the upper regions. When five +minutes were elapsed he put his watch back and said +he thought he would try it himself, as he fancied the +fresh air would do him good. So he departed, and +obtained a pair of sea-boots and an oilskin, which he +contemplated with disgust, and put on with resolution. +He wanted to find the Duke, and he wanted to see +Claudius; but he wanted them separately.</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker cautiously put his head out of the +cuddy door and espied the Duke and his sister. This +was not exactly what he wanted, and he would have +retired, but at that moment Lady Victoria caught +sight of him, and immediately called out to him not to +be afraid, as it was much smoother now. But Mr. +Barker's caution had proceeded from other causes, and +being detected, he put a bold face on it, stepped on +the deck and slammed the door behind him. Lady +Victoria was somewhat surprised to see him tread the +slippery deck with perfect confidence and ease, for she +thought he was something of a "duffer." But Barker +knew how to do most things more or less, and he +managed to bow and take off his sou'wester with considerable +grace in spite of the rolling. Having obtained +permission to smoke, he lighted a cigar, crooked one +booted leg through the iron rail, and seated himself on +the bulwark, where, as the steamer lurched, he seemed +to be in a rather precarious position. But there was a +sort of cat-like agility in his wiry frame, that bespoke +unlimited powers of balancing and holding on.</p> + +<p>"I thought there were more of you," he began, +addressing Lady Victoria. "You seem to be having +quite a nice time here."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I wish I had come up sooner; the atmosphere +downstairs is very oppressive."</p> + +<p>"I thought you had neuralgia," said Lady Victoria.</p> + +<p>"So I had. But that kind of neuralgia comes and +goes very suddenly. Where is the giant of the North?"</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius? He went down with Miss Skeat, +and when he came up again he said he would go +forward," answered she, giving the nautical pronunciation +to the latter word.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I see him," cried Barker, "there he is, just +going up the bridge. By Jove! what a height he +looks."</p> + +<p>"Yes," put in the Duke, "he is rather oversparred +for a nor'-easter, eh? Rather be your size, Barker, +for reefing tawpsels;" and the Englishman laughed.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker, "when I first knew him he +used to wear a balustrade round his neck to keep from +being dizzy. I wouldn't care to have to do that. I +think I will go and have a look too." And leaving +his companions to laugh at his joke, Mr. Barker glided +easily from the rail, and began his journey to the +bridge, which he accomplished without any apparent +difficulty. When he had climbed the little ladder he +waved his hand to the Duke and his sister, who +screamed something complimentary in reply; and then +he spoke to Claudius who was standing by the skipper, +his legs far apart, and both his hands on the railing.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, Barker?" asked Claudius; "you are +well disguised this morning."</p> + +<p>"Claudius," said the other, "what on earth is the +row?" The captain was on the other side of the +Doctor, and could not hear in the wind.</p> + +<p>"What row?" asked Claudius. Barker knew +enough of his friend by this time to be aware that +roundabout methods of extracting information were +less likely to be successful than a point-blank question.</p> + +<p>"Don't pretend ignorance," said he. "You look +like a ghost, you are so pale, and when you put your +head through the curtains a quarter of an hour ago, I +thought you were one. And you have not been near +the Countess this morning, though you have never +been away from her before since we weighed anchor. +Now, something has happened, and if I can do anything, +tell me, and I will do it, right away." It is a +good old plan, that one of trying to satisfy one's curiosity +under pretence of offering assistance. But Claudius +did not trouble himself about such things; he wanted +no help from any one, and never had; and if he meant +to tell, nothing would prevent him, and if he did not +mean to tell, no power would make him.</p> + +<p>"Since you have found it out, Barker, something +has happened, as you say; and thanks for your offer +of help, but I cannot tell you anything more about it."</p> + +<p>"I think you are unwise."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps."</p> + +<p>"I might help you a great deal, for I have some +natural tact."</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Besides, you know I am as secret as the grave."</p> + +<p>"Quite so."</p> + +<p>"I introduced you to the Countess, too."</p> + +<p>"I know it."</p> + +<p>"And I should be very sorry indeed to think that +my action should have had any evil consequences."</p> + +<p>"I am sure you would."</p> + +<p>"Then, my dear fellow, you must really take me a +little more into your confidence, and let me help you," +said Barker, in the tone of an injured man.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I ought," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Then why will you not tell me what has happened +now?"</p> + +<p>"Because I won't," said Claudius, turning sharply +on Barker, and speaking in a voice that seemed to +make the railings shake. He was evidently on the +point of losing his temper, and Barker repented him +too late of his attempt to extract the required information. +Now he changed his tone.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Claudius, I did not mean to offend +you."</p> + +<p>"You did not offend me at all, Barker. But please—do +not ask me any more questions about it." +Claudius was perfectly calm again.</p> + +<p>"No indeed, my dear fellow, I would not think of +it;—and I don't seem to think that I should advise +anybody else to," he added mentally. He made up +his mind that it must be something very serious, or +Claudius, who was so rarely excited, would hardly +have behaved as he had done. He made a few +remarks about the weather, which had certainly not +improved since morning; and then, resolving that he +would find out what was the matter before he was +much older, he glided down the ladder and went aft. +Lady Victoria had disappeared, and her brother was +trying to light a short black pipe.</p> + +<p>"Duke," Barker began, "what the deuce is the +matter with Claudius this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Don't know, I'm sure. My sister thinks it is +very odd."</p> + +<p>"Well, if you don't know, I don't either, but I can +make a pretty good guess."</p> + +<p>The Duke's vesuvian was sputtering in the spray +and wind, and he got a good light before he answered.</p> + +<p>"I'll take six to four he marries her, at all events."</p> + +<p>"I don't go in for playing it as low down as that +on my friends," said Barker virtuously, "or I would +take you in hundreds. You must be crazy. Can't +you see he has shown up and is sold? Bah! it's all +over, as sure as you're born."</p> + +<p>"Think that's it?" said the other, much interested. +"You may be right. Glad you would not bet, anyhow."</p> + +<p>"Of course that's it. The idiot has proposed to +her here, on board, and she has refused him, and now +he has to face the fury of the elements to keep out of +her way."</p> + +<p>"Upon my soul, it looks like it," said the Duke. +"He won't stay on the bridge much longer if this +lasts, though."</p> + +<p>"You had best ask your sister," answered Barker. +"Women always know those things first. What do +you say to a game? It is beastly dirty weather to be +on the deck watch." And so they pushed forward to +the smoking-room, just before the bridge, and settled +themselves for the day with a pack of cards and a box +of cigars.</p> + +<p>As Margaret had not put in an appearance at +breakfast, which was a late and solid meal on board, +and as there was no other regular congregation of the +party until dinner, for each one lunched as he or she +pleased, it was clear that the Countess and Claudius +would not be brought together until the evening. +Margaret was glad of this for various reasons, some +definable and others vague. She felt that she must +have misjudged Claudius a little, and she was glad to +see that her exhibition of displeasure on the previous +night had been sufficient to keep him away. Had he +been as tactless as she had at first thought, he would +surely have sought an early opportunity of speaking to +her alone, and the rest of the party were so much used to +seeing them spend their mornings together that such +an opportunity would not have been lacking, had he +wished it. And if he had misunderstood her words +and manner—well, if he had not thought they were +meant as a decisive check, he would have followed her +there and then, last night, when she left him. She +felt a little nervous about his future conduct, but for +the present she was satisfied, and prepared herself for +the inevitable meeting at dinner with a certain feeling +of assurance. "For," said she, "I do not love him in +the least, and why should I be embarrassed?"</p> + +<p>Not so poor Claudius, who felt the blood leave his +face and rush wildly to his heart, as he entered the +saloon where the party were sitting down to dinner. +The vessel was rolling heavily, for the sea was running +high under the north-easter, and dinner would be no +easy matter. He knew he must sit next to her and +help her under all the difficulties that arise under the +circumstances. It would have been easy, too, for them +both to see that the eyes of the other four were upon +them, had either of them suspected it. Claudius held +himself up to the full of his great height and steadied +every nerve of his body for the meeting. Margaret +belonged to the people who do not change colour easily, +and when she spoke, even the alert ear of Mr. Barker +opposite could hardly detect the faintest change of +tone. And yet she bore the burden of it, for she +spoke first.</p> + +<p>"How do you do, Dr. Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"Thank you, well. I was sorry to hear you had a +headache to-day. I hope you are better."</p> + +<p>"Thanks, yes; much better." They all sat down, +and it was over.</p> + +<p>The conversation was at first very disjointed, and +was inclined to turn on small jokes about the difficulty +of dining at an angle of forty-five degrees. The weather +was certainly much heavier than it had been in the +morning, and the Duke feared they would have a +longer passage than they had expected, but added +that they would be better able to judge to-morrow at +twelve. Claudius and Margaret exchanged a few +sentences, with tolerable tact and indifference; but, for +some occult reason, Mr. Barker undertook to be especially +lively and amusing, and after the dinner was +somewhat advanced he launched out into a series of +stories and anecdotes which served very well to pass +the time and to attract notice to himself. As Mr. +Barker was generally not very talkative at table, +though frequently epigrammatic, his sudden eloquence +was calculated to engage the attention of the party. +Claudius and Margaret were glad of the rattling talk +that delivered them from the burden of saying anything +especial, and they both laughed quite naturally +at Barker's odd wit. They were grateful to him for +what he did, and Claudius entertained some faint hope +that he might go on in the same strain for the rest of +the voyage. But Margaret pondered these things. +She saw quickly that Barker had perceived that some +embarrassment existed, and was spending his best +strength in trying to make the meal a particularly gay +one. But she could not understand how Barker could +have found out that there was any difficulty. Had +Claudius been making confidences? It would have +been very foolish for him to do so, and besides, Claudius +was not the man to make confidences. He was reticent +and cold as a rule, and Barker had more than once +confessed to the Countess that he knew very little of +Claudius's previous history, because the latter "never +talked," and would not always answer questions. So +she came to the conclusion that Barker only suspected +something, because the Doctor had not been with her +during the day. And so she laughed, and Claudius +laughed, and they were well satisfied to pay their +social obolus in a little well-bred and well-assumed +hilarity.</p> + +<p>So the dinner progressed, in spite of the rolling and +pitching; for there was a good deal of both, as the sea +ran diagonally to the course, breaking on the starboard +quarter. They had reached the dessert, and two at +least of the party were congratulating themselves on +the happy termination of the meal, when, just as the +Duke was speaking, there was a heavy lurch, and a +tremendous sea broke over their heads. Then came a +fearful whirring sound that shook through every plate +and timber and bulkhead, like the sudden running +down of mammoth clock-work, lasting some twenty +seconds; then everything was quiet again save the +sea, and the yacht rolled heavily to and fro.</p> + +<p>Every one knew that there had been a serious +accident, but no one moved from the table. The Duke +sat like a rock in his place and finished what he was +saying, though no one noticed it. Miss Skeat clutched +her silver fruit-knife till her knuckles shone again, and +she set her teeth. Mr. Barker, who had a glass of +wine in the "fiddle" before him, took it out when the +sea struck and held it up steadily to save it from being +spilled; and Lady Victoria, who was not the least +ashamed of being startled, cried out—</p> + +<p>"Goodness gracious!" and then sat holding to the +table and looking at her brother.</p> + +<p>Margaret and Claudius were sitting next each other +on one side of the table. By one of those strange, +sympathetic instincts, that only manifest themselves in +moments of great danger, they did the same thing at +the same moment. Claudius put out his left hand and +Margaret her right, and those two hands met just below +the table and clasped each other, and in that instant +each turned round to the other and looked the other +in the face. What that look told man knoweth not, +but for one instant there was nothing in the world for +Margaret but Claudius. As for him, poor man, he had +long known that she was the whole world to him, his +life and his death.</p> + +<p>It was very short, and Margaret quickly withdrew +her hand and looked away. The Duke was the first +to speak.</p> + +<p>"I do not think it is anything very serious," said +he. "If you will all sit still, I will go and see what +is the matter." He rose and left the saloon.</p> + +<p>"I don't fancy there is any cause for anxiety," said +Barker. "There has probably been some slight accident +to the machinery, and we shall be off again in an hour. +I think we ought to compliment the ladies on the +courage they have shown; it is perfectly wonderful." +And Mr. Barker smiled gently round the table. Lady +Victoria was palpably scared and Miss Skeat was silent. +As for Margaret, she was confused and troubled. The +accident of her seizing Claudius's hand, as she had done, +was a thousand times more serious than any accident +to the ship. The Doctor could not help stealing a glance +at her, but he chimed in with Barker in praising the +coolness of all three ladies. Presently the Duke came +back. He had been forward by a passage that led +between decks to the engine-room, where he had met +the captain. The party felt reassured as the ruddy +face of their host appeared in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"There is nothing to fear," he said cheerfully. +"But it is a horrid nuisance, all the same."</p> + +<p>"Tell us all about it," said Lady Victoria.</p> + +<p>"Well—we have lost our means of locomotion. +We have carried away our propeller."</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do about it?" asked +Barker.</p> + +<p>"Do? There is nothing to be done. We must +sail for it. I am dreadfully sorry."</p> + +<p>"It is not your fault," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Well, I suppose not. It happens even to big +steamers."</p> + +<p>"And shall we sail all the way to New York?" +asked his sister, who was completely reassured. "I +think it will be lovely." Miss Skeat also thought sailing +much more poetic than steaming.</p> + +<p>"I think we must hold a council of war," said the +master. "Let us put it to the vote. Shall we make +for Bermuda, which is actually nearer, but which is +four or five days' from New York, or shall we go straight +and take our chance of a fair wind?"</p> + +<p>"If you are equally willing to do both, why not let +the ladies decide?" suggested Barker.</p> + +<p>"Oh no," broke in the Countess, "it will be much +more amusing to vote. We will write on slips of paper +and put them in a bag."</p> + +<p>"As there are five of you I will not vote," said +the Duke, "for we might be three on a side, you +know."</p> + +<p>So they voted, and there were three votes for New +York and two for Bermuda.</p> + +<p>"New York has it," said the Duke, who counted, +"and I am glad, on the whole, for it is Sturleson's +advice." Barker had voted for New York, and he +wondered who the two could have been who wanted +to go to Bermuda. Probably Miss Skeat and Lady +Victoria. Had the Countess suspected that those two +would choose the longer journey and out-vote her, if +the decision were left to the ladies?</p> + +<p>Meanwhile there had been heavy tramping of feet +on the deck, as the men trimmed the sails. She could +only go under double-reefed trysails and fore-staysail +for the present, and it was no joke to keep her head +up while the reefs were taken in. It was blowing considerably +more than half a gale of wind, and the sea +was very heavy. Soon, however, the effect of the sails +made itself felt; the yacht was a good sea-boat, and +when she fairly heeled over on the port-tack and began +to cut the waves again, the ladies downstairs agreed +that sailing was much pleasanter and steadier than +steam, and that the next time they crossed in a yacht +they would like to sail all the way. But in spite of +their courage, and notwithstanding that they were +greatly reassured by the explanations of Mr. Barker, +who made the nature of the accident quite clear to +them, they had been badly shaken, and soon retired to +their respective staterooms. In the small confusion +of getting to their feet to leave the cabin it chanced +that Claudius found himself helping Margaret to the +door. The recollection of her touch and look when +the accident happened was strong in him yet and gave +him courage.</p> + +<p>"Good-night, Countess," he said; "shall I have the +pleasure of reading with you to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," she answered; "if it is very fine. Fate +has decreed that we should have plenty of time." He +tried to catch a glance as she left his arm, but she +would not, and they were parted for the night. Barker +had gone into the engine-room, now quiet and strange; +the useless machinery stood still as it had been stopped +when the loss of the propeller, relieving the opposition +to the motor-force, allowed it to make its last frantic +revolutions. The Duke and Claudius were left alone +in the main cabin.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Duke, "we are in for it this time, +at all events."</p> + +<p>"We are indeed," said Claudius; "I hope the delay +will not cause you any serious inconvenience, for I +suppose we shall not reach New York for a fortnight +at least."</p> + +<p>"It will not inconvenience me at all. But I am +sorry for you—for you all, I mean," he added, fearing +he had been awkward in thus addressing Claudius +directly, "because it will be so very disagreeable, such +an awful bore for you to be at sea so long."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt we shall survive," said the other, +with a smile. "What do you say to going on deck +and having a chat with Sturleson, now that all is +quiet?"</p> + +<p>"And a pipe?" said the Duke, "I am with you." +So on deck they went, and clambered along the lee to +the smoking-room, without getting very wet. Sturleson +was sent for, and they reviewed together the situation. +The result of the inquiry was that things looked much +brighter to all three. They were in a good sea-boat, +well manned and provisioned, with nothing to fear from +the weather, and if they were lucky they might make +Sandy Hook in a week. On the other hand, they +might not; but it is always well to take a cheerful view +of things. People who cross the Atlantic in yachts are +very different from the regular crowds that go backwards +and forwards in the great lines. They are +seldom in a hurry, and have generally made a good +many voyages before. Perhaps the Duke himself, in +his quality of host, was the most uncomfortable man +on board. He did not see how the Countess and the +Doctor could possibly survive being shut up together +in a small vessel, for he was convinced that Barker +knew all about their difficulty. If he had not liked +Claudius so much, he would have been angry at him +for daring to propose to this beautiful young friend of +his. But then Claudius was Claudius, and even the +Duke saw something in him besides his wealth which +gave him a right to aspire to the highest.</p> + +<p>"I can't make out," the Duke once said to Barker, +"where Claudius got his manners. He never does +anything the least odd; and he always seems at his +ease."</p> + +<p>"I only know he came to Heidelberg ten years ago, +and that he is about thirty. He got his manners +somewhere when he was a boy."</p> + +<p>"Of course, there are lots of good people in Sweden," +said the Duke; "but they all have titles, just as they +do in Germany. And Claudius has no title."</p> + +<p>"No," said Barker pensively, "I never heard him +say he had a title."</p> + +<p>"I don't know anything about it," answered the +Duke. "But I have been a good deal about Sweden, +and he is not in the least like a respectable Swedish +burgher. Did you not tell me that his uncle, who left +him all that money, was your father's partner in +business?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I remember once or twice hearing the old +gentleman say he had a nephew. But he was a silent +man, though he piled up the dollars."</p> + +<p>"Claudius is a silent man too," said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"And he has sailed into the dollars ready piled."</p> + +<p>But this was before the eventful day just described; +and the Duke had forgotten the conversation, though +he had repeated the reflections to himself, and found +them true. To tell the truth, Claudius looked more +like a duke than his host, for the sea air had blown +away the professorial cobwebs; and, after all, it did +not seem so very incongruous in the Englishman's eyes +that his handsome guest should fall in love with the +Countess Margaret. Only, it was very uncomfortable; +and he did not know exactly what he should do with +them for the next ten days. Perhaps he ought to +devote himself to the Countess, and thus effectually +prevent any approaches that Claudius might meditate. +Yes—that was probably his duty. He wished he +might ask counsel of his sister; but then she did not +know, and it seemed unfair, and altogether rather a +betrayal of confidence or something—at all events, it +was not right, and he would not do it. Barker might +be wrong too. And so the poor Duke, muddle-headed +and weary with this storm in his tea-cup, and with +having his tea-cup come to grief in a real storm into +the bargain, turned into his deck-cabin to "sleep on it," +thinking the morning would bring counsel.</p> + +<p>Claudius had many things to think of too; but he +was weary, for he had slept little of late, and not at all +the night before; so he lay down and went over the +scenes of the evening; but soon he fell asleep, and +dreamed of her all the night long.</p> + +<p>But the good yacht <i>Streak</i> held on her course +bravely, quivering in the joy of her new-spread wings. +For what hulk is so dull and pitifully modern as not to +feel how much gladder a thing it is to bound along +with straining shrouds and singing sails and lifting keel +to the fierce music of the wind than to be ever conscious +of a burning sullenly-thudding power, put in her +bosom by the unartistic beast, man, to make her grind +her breathless way whither he would, and whither she +would not? Not the meanest mud-scow or harbour +tug but would rather have a little mast and a bit of +canvas in the fresh salt breeze than all the hundreds +of land-born horse-powers and fire-driven cranks and +rods that a haste-loving generation can cram into the +belly of the poor craft. How much more, then, must +the beautiful clean-built <i>Streak</i> have rejoiced on that +night when she felt the throbbing, gnashing pain of the +engines stop suddenly in her breast, and was allowed to +spread her beautiful wings out to be kissed and caressed +all over by her old lover, the north-east wind?</p> + +<p>And the grand crested waves came creeping up, +curling over their dark heads till they bristled with +phosphorescent foam; and some of them broke angrily +upward, jealous that the wind alone might touch those +gleaming sails. But the wind roared at them in his +wrath and drove them away, so that they sank back, +afraid to fight with him; and he took the ship in his +strong arms, and bore her fast and far that night, through +many a heaving billow, and past many a breaking crest—far +over the untrodden paths, where footsteps are +not, neither the defiling hand of man.</p> + +<p>But within were beating hearts and the breathings +of life. The strong man stretched to his full length on +his couch, mighty to see in his hard-earned sleep. And +the beautiful woman, with parted lips and wild tossing +black hair; dark cheeks flushed with soft resting; +hands laid together lovingly, as though, in the quiet +night, the left hand would learn at last what good work +the right hand has wrought; the fringe of long eyelashes +drooping with the lids, to fold and keep the +glorious light safe within, and—ah yes, it is there!—the +single tear still clinging to its birthplace—mortal +impress of immortal suffering. Is it not always there, +the jewelled sign-manual of grief?</p> + +<p>But the good yacht <i>Streak</i> held on her course +bravely; and the north-easter laughed and sang as he +buffeted the waves from the path of his love.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" />CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + +<p>The Duke was the first to be astir in the morning, and +as soon as he opened his eyes he made up his mind +that the weather was improving. The sea was still +running high, but there was no sound of water breaking +over the bulwarks. He emerged from his deck-cabin, +and took a sniff of the morning air. A reef had +been shaken out of the trysails, and the fore-topsail and +jib were set. He went aft, and found the mate just +heaving the patent log.</p> + +<p>"Nine and a half, your Grace," said the officer +with a chuckle, for he was an old sailor, and hated +steamers.</p> + +<p>"That's very fair," remarked the owner, skating off +with his bare feet over the wet deck. Then he went +back to his cabin to dress.</p> + +<p>Presently Mr. Barker's neat person emerged from +the cuddy. He looked about to see if any one were +out yet, but only a party of red-capped tars were +visible, swabbing the forward deck with their pendulum-like +brooms, and working their way aft in a regular, +serried rank. The phalanx moved with an even stroke, +and each bare foot advanced just so many inches at +every third sweep of the broom, while the yellow-haired +Norse 'prentice played the hose in front of +them. Mr. Barker perceived that they would overtake +him before long, and he determined on flight, not +forward or aft, but aloft; and he leisurely lifted himself +into the main-shrouds, and climbing half-way, +hooked his feet through the ratlines. In this position +he took out a cigar, lighted it with a vesuvian, and, +regardless of the increased motion imparted to him +at his greater elevation, he began to smoke. The +atmosphere below must have been very oppressive +indeed to induce Mr. Barker to come up before breakfast—in +fact, before eight o'clock—for the sake of smoking +a solitary cigar up there by the catharpings. Mr. +Barker wanted to think, for an idea had struck him +during the night.</p> + +<p>In ten minutes the parade of deck-swabbers had +passed, and Claudius also appeared on deck, looking +haggard and pale. He did not see Barker, for he +turned, seaman-like, to the weatherside, and the try-sail +hid his friend from his sight. Presently he too +thought he would go aloft, for he felt cramped and +weary, and fancied a climb would stretch his limbs. +He went right up to the crosstrees before he espied +Barker, a few feet below him on the other side. He +stopped a moment in astonishment, for this sort of +diversion was the last thing he had given the American +credit for. Besides, as Barker was to leeward, the +rigging where he was perched stood almost perpendicular, +and his position must have been a very uncomfortable +one. Claudius was not given to jocularity +as a rule, but he could not resist such a chance for +astonishing a man who imagined himself to be enjoying +an airy solitude between sky and water. So he gently +swung himself into the lee rigging and, leaning far +down, cautiously lifted Mr. Barker's cap from his head +by the woollen button in the middle. Mr. Barker +knocked the ash from his cigar with his free hand, and +returned it to his mouth; he then conveyed the same +hand to the top of his head, to assure himself that the +cap was gone. He knew perfectly well that in his +present position he could not look up to see who had +played him the trick.</p> + +<p>"I don't know who you are," he sang out, "but I +may as well tell you my life is insured. If I catch +cold, the company will make it hot for you—and no +error."</p> + +<p>A roar of laughter from below saluted this sally, +for the Duke and Sturleson had met, and had watched +together the progress of the joke.</p> + +<p>"I will take the risk," replied Claudius, who had +retired again to the crosstrees. "I am going to put +it on the topmast-head, so that you may have a good +look at it."</p> + +<p>"You can't do it," said Barker, turning himself +round, and lying flat against the ratlines, so that he +could look up at his friend.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" bawled the Duke from below.</p> + +<p>"Says he will decorate the maintruck with my hat, +and I say he can't do it," Barker shouted back.</p> + +<p>"I'll back Claudius, level money," answered the +Duke in stentorian tones.</p> + +<p>"I'll take three to two," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"No, I won't. Level money."</p> + +<p>"Done for a hundred, then," answered the American.</p> + +<p>It was an unlikely thing to bet on, and Barker +thought he might have given the Duke odds, instead +of asking them, as he had done. But he liked to get +all he could in a fair way. Having arranged his bet, +he told Claudius he might climb to the mast-head if +he liked, but that he, Barker, was going down so as to +have a better view; and he forthwith descended. All +three stood leaning back against the weather bulwarks, +craning their necks to see the better. Claudius was a very +large man, as has been said, and Barker did not believe +it possible that he could drag his gigantic frame up the +smooth mast beyond the shrouds. If it were possible, +he was quite willing to pay his money to see him do it.</p> + +<p>Claudius put the woollen cap in his pocket, and +began the ascent. The steamer, as has been said, was +schooner-rigged, with topsail yards on the foremast, +but there were no ratlines in the main topmast shrouds, +which were set about ten feet below the mast-head. +To this point Claudius climbed easily enough, using his +arms and legs against the stiffened ropes. A shout +from the Duke hailed his arrival.</p> + +<p>"Now comes the tug of war," said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"He can never do it," said Barker confidently.</p> + +<p>But Barker had underrated the extraordinary strength +of the man against whom he was betting, and he did +not know how often, when a boy, Claudius had climbed +higher masts than those of the <i>Streak</i>. The Doctor +was one of those natural athletes whose strength does +not diminish for lack of exercise, and large as he was, +and tall, he was not so heavy as Barker thought. +Now he pulled the cap out of his pocket and held it +between his teeth, as he gripped the smooth wood +between his arms and hands and legs, and with firm +and even motion he began to swarm up the bare pole.</p> + +<p>"There—I told you so," said Barker. Claudius +had slipped nearly a foot back.</p> + +<p>"He will do it yet," said the Duke, as the climber +clasped his mighty hands to the mast. He would not +slip again, for his blood was up, and he could almost +fancy his iron grip pressed deep into the wood. +Slowly, slowly those last three feet were conquered, +inch by inch, and the broad hand stole stealthily over +the small wooden truck at the topmast-head till it had +a firm hold—then the other, and with the two he raised +and pushed his body up till the truck was opposite his +breast.</p> + +<p>"Skal to the Viking!" yelled old Sturleson, the +Swedish captain, his sunburnt face glowing red with +triumph as Claudius clapped the woollen cap over the +mast-head.</p> + +<p>"Well done, indeed, man!" bawled the Duke.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker, "it was worth the money, +anyhow."</p> + +<p>There was a faint exclamation from the door of +the after-cabin; but none of the three men heard it, nor +did they see a horror-struck face, stony and wide-eyed, +staring up at the mast-head, where the Doctor's athletic +figure swayed far out over the water with the motion +of the yacht. Time had flown, and the bright sunlight +streaming down into the ladies' cabin had made +Margaret long for a breath of fresh air; so that when +Lady Victoria appeared, in all sorts of jersies and blue +garments, fresh and ready for anything, the two had +made common cause and ventured up the companion +without any manly assistance. It chanced that they +came out on the deck at the very moment when +Claudius was accomplishing his feat, and seeing the +three men looking intently at something aloft, Margaret +looked too, and was horrified at what she saw. Lady +Victoria caught her and held her tightly, or she would +have lost her footing with the lurch of the vessel. +Lady Victoria raised her eyes also, and took in the +situation at a glance.</p> + +<p>"Don't be afraid," she said, "he can take care of +himself, no doubt. My brother used to be able to do +it before he grew so big."</p> + +<p>Claudius descended rapidly, but almost lost his hold +when he saw Margaret leaning against the taffrail. +He would not have had her see him for worlds, and +there she was, and she had evidently witnessed the +whole affair. Before he had reached the deck, the Duke +had seen her too, and hastened to her side. She was +evidently much agitated.</p> + +<p>"How can you allow such things?" she said indignantly, +her dark eyes flashing at him.</p> + +<p>"I had nothing to say about it, Countess. But he +did it magnificently."</p> + +<p>Claudius had reached the deck, and eluding the +compliments of Barker and Sturleson, hastened to the +cuddy door, bowing to the ladies as he passed. He +meant to beat a retreat to his cabin. But Margaret +was determined to call him to account for having given +her such a fright.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius," said the voice that he loved +and feared.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Countess," said he, steadying himself by the +door as the vessel lurched.</p> + +<p>"Will you please come here? I want to speak to +you." He moved to her side, waiting his chance between +two seas. "Do you think you have a right to risk +your life in such follies?" she asked, when he was close +to her. The Duke and Lady Victoria were near by.</p> + +<p>"I do not think I have risked my life, Countess. +I have often done it before."</p> + +<p>"Do you think, then, that you have a right to do +such things in the sight of nervous women?"</p> + +<p>"No, Countess, I pretend to no such brutality, and +I am very sincerely sorry that you should have unexpectedly +seen me. I apologise most humbly to you +and to Lady Victoria for having startled you;" he +bowed to the Duke's sister as he spoke, and moved +to go away. He had already turned when Margaret's +face softened.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius," she called again. He was at her +side in a moment. "Please do not do it again—even +if I am not there." She looked at him; he thought it +strange. But he was annoyed at the whole business, +and really angry with himself. She had spoken in a +low tone so that the others had not heard her.</p> + +<p>"Countess," said he in a voice decidedly sarcastic, +"I pledge myself never in future to ascend to the +mast-head of any vessel or vessels without your express +permission."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said she coldly; "I shall keep you to +your word." But Claudius had seen his mistake, and +there was no trace of irony in his voice as he looked +her steadfastly in the eyes and answered.</p> + +<p>"Believe me, I will keep any promise I make to +you," he said earnestly, and went away. Lady +Victoria, who was not without tact, and had guessed +that Margaret had something to say to the Doctor, +managed meanwhile to keep her brother occupied by +asking him questions about the exploit, and he, falling +into the trap, had begun to tell the story from the beginning, +speaking loud, by way of showing Claudius +his appreciation. But Claudius, recking little of his +laurels, went and sat in his cabin, pondering deeply. +Barker, from a distance, had witnessed the conversation +between Margaret and the Doctor. He came up +murmuring to himself that the plot was thickening. +"If Claudius makes a corner in mast-heads, there will +be a bull market," he reflected, and he also remembered +that just now he was a bear. "In that case," he +continued his train of thought, "no more mast-heads."</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Countess; Lady Victoria, good morning," +he said, bowing. "I would take off my hat if I +could, but the Doctor has set the cap of liberty on high." +Lady Victoria and the Duke laughed, but Margaret said +"Good morning" without a smile. Barker immediately +abandoned the subject and talked about the weather, +which is a grand topic when there is enough of it. It +was clear by this time that they had passed through +a violent storm, which had gone away to southward. +The sea was heavy of course, but the wind had moderated, +and by twelve o'clock the yacht was running +between nine and ten knots, with a stiff breeze on her +quarter and all sails set.</p> + +<p>The Duke was extremely attentive to Margaret all +that day, rarely leaving her side, whether she was below +or on deck; bringing her books and rugs, and adjusting +her chair, and altogether performing the offices of a +faithful slave and attendant. Whenever Claudius came +within hail the Duke would make desperate efforts to +be animated, lengthening his sentences with all the +vigorous superlatives and sledge-hammer adverbs he +could think of, not to mention any number of "you +knows." His efforts to be agreeable, especially when +there appeared to be any likelihood of Claudius coming +into the conversation, were so palpable that Margaret +could not but see there was a reason for the expenditure +of so much energy. She could not help being +amused, but at the same time she was annoyed at what +she considered a bit of unnecessary officiousness on the +part of her host. However, he was such an old friend +that she forgave him. But woman's nature is impatient +of control. Left to herself she would have avoided +Claudius; forcibly separated from him she discovered +that she wanted to speak to him. As the day wore +on and the Duke's attentions never relaxed, she grew +nervous, and tried to think how she could send him +away. It was no easy matter. If she asked for anything, +he flew to get it and returned breathless, and of +course at that very moment Claudius was just out of range. +Then she called Miss Skeat, but the Duke's eloquence +redoubled, and he talked to them both at once; and at +last she gave it up in despair, and said she would lie +down for a while. Once safe in her stateroom, the Duke +drew a long breath, and went in search of Mr. Barker. +Now Mr. Barker, in consequence of the idea that had +unfolded itself to his fertile brain in the darkness of night, +had been making efforts to amuse Claudius all day long, +with as much determination as the Duke had shown in +devoting himself to the Countess, but with greater success; +for Barker could be very amusing when he chose, +whereas the Duke was generally most amusing when +he did not wish to be so. He found them in the +smoking cabin, Claudius stretched at full length with +a cigarette in his teeth, and Barker seated apparently +on the table, the chair, and the transom, by a clever +distribution of the various parts of his body, spinning +yarns of a high Western flavour about death's-head +editors and mosquitoes with brass ribs.</p> + +<p>The Duke was exhausted with his efforts, and refreshed +himself with beer before he challenged Barker +to a game.</p> + +<p>"To tell the truth, Duke," he answered, "I don't +seem to think I feel like winning your money to-day. +I will go and talk to the ladies, and Claudius will play +with you."</p> + +<p>"You won't make much headway there," said the +Duke. "The Countess is gone to bed, and Miss Skeat +and my sister are reading English history."</p> + +<p>"Besides," put in Claudius, "you know I never +play."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker, with a sigh, "then I will play +with you, and Claudius can go to sleep where he is." +They cut and dealt. But Claudius did not feel at all sleepy. +When the game was well started he rose and went +out, making to himself the same reflection that Margaret +had made, "Why is my friend so anxious to amuse me +to-day?" He seldom paid any attention to such things, +but his strong, clear mind was not long in unravelling +the situation, now that he was roused to thinking about +it. Barker had guessed the truth, or very near it, and +the Duke and he had agreed to keep Claudius and +Margaret apart as long as they could.</p> + +<p>He went aft, and descended to the cabin. There sat +Miss Skeat and Lady Victoria reading aloud, just as +the Duke had said. He went through the passage and +met the steward, or butler, whom he despatched to see +if the Countess were in the ladies' cabin. The rosy-cheeked, +gray-haired priest of Silenus said her ladyship +was there, "alone," he added with a little emphasis. +Claudius walked in, and was not disappointed. There +she sat at the side of the table in her accustomed place, +dark and beautiful, and his heart beat fast. She did +not look up.</p> + +<p>"Countess," he began timidly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Doctor Claudius, is that you? Sit down." +He sat down on the transom, so that he could see the +evening light fall through the port-hole above him on +her side face, and as the vessel rose and fell the rays of +the setting sun played strangely on her heavy hair.</p> + +<p>"I have not seen you all day," she said.</p> + +<p>"No, Countess." He did not know what to say to her.</p> + +<p>"I trust you are none the worse for your foolish +performance this morning?" Her voice was even and +unmodulated, not too friendly and not too cold.</p> + +<p>"I am, and I am not. I am unspeakably the worse +in that I displeased you. Will you forgive me?"</p> + +<p>"I will forgive you," in the same tone.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean it? Do you mean you will forgive +me what I said to you that—the other night?"</p> + +<p>"I did not say that," she answered, a little weariness +sounding with the words. Claudius's face fell.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry," he said very simply.</p> + +<p>"So am I. I am disappointed in you more than I +can say. You are just like all the others, and I thought +you were different. Do you not understand me?"</p> + +<p>"Not entirely, though I will try to. Will you not +tell me just what you mean to say?"</p> + +<p>"I think I will," she answered, looking up, but not +towards Claudius. She hesitated a moment and then +continued, "We are not children, Dr. Claudius; let us +speak plainly, and not misunderstand each other." She +glanced round the cabin as if to see if they were alone. +Apparently she was not satisfied. "Move my chair +nearer to the sofa, please," she added; and he rose and +did her bidding.</p> + +<p>"I have not much to say," she went on, "but I do +not want to say it before the whole ship's company. +It is this: I thought I had found in you a friend, a +man who would be to me what no one has ever been—a +friend; and I am disappointed, for you want to be +something else. That is all, except that it must not +be thought of, and you must go."</p> + +<p>An Englishman would have reproached her with +having given him encouragement; an Italian would +have broken out into a passionate expression of his +love, seeking to kindle her with his own fire. But the +great, calm Northman clasped his hands together firmly +on his knee and sat silent.</p> + +<p>"You must go—" she repeated.</p> + +<p>"I cannot go," he said honestly.</p> + +<p>"That is all the more reason why you should go +at once," was the feminine argument with which she +replied.</p> + +<p>"Let us go back to two days ago, and be as we +were before. Will you not forget it?"</p> + +<p>"We cannot—you cannot, and I cannot. You are +not able to take back your words or to deny them."</p> + +<p>"May God forbid!" said he very earnestly. "But +if you will let me be your friend, I will promise to +obey you, and I will not say anything that will displease +you."</p> + +<p>"You cannot," she repeated; and she smiled bitterly.</p> + +<p>"But I can, and I will, if you will let me. I am +very strong, and I will keep my word;" and indeed he +looked the incarnation of strength as he sat with folded +hands and earnest face, awaiting her reply. His words +were not eloquent, but they were plain and true, and +he meant them. Something in the suppressed power +of his tone drove away the smile from Margaret's face, +and she looked toward him.</p> + +<p>"Could you?" she asked. But the door opened, +and Lady Victoria entered with her book.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Lady Victoria.</p> + +<p>"I must go and dress," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"We will go on with the book to-morrow," said the +Countess. And he bore away a light heart.</p> + +<p>On the following day the Duke began to take care +of the Countess, as he had done yesterday, and Barker +turned on the fireworks of his conversation for the +amusement of Claudius. Claudius sat quite still for +an hour or more, perhaps enjoying the surprise he was +going to give the Duke and Barker. As the latter +finished a brilliant tale, for the veracity of which he +vouched in every particular, Claudius calmly rose and +threw away his cigarette.</p> + +<p>"That is a very good story," he said. "Good-bye for +the present. I am going to read with the Countess." +Barker was nearly "taken off his feet."</p> + +<p>"Why—" he began, but stopped short. "Oh, +very well. She is on deck. I saw the Duke bring +up her rugs and things." His heavy moustache seemed +to uncurl itself nervously, and his jaw dropped slowly, +as he watched Claudius leave the deck-cabin.</p> + +<p>"I wonder when they got a chance," he said to +himself.</p> + +<p>But Barker was not nearly so much astonished as +the Duke. The latter was sitting by Margaret's side, +near the wheel, making conversation. He was telling +her such a good story about a mutual friend—the son +of a great chancellor of the great empire of Kakotopia—who +had gambled away his wife at cards with another +mutual friend.</p> + +<p>"And the point of the story," said the Duke, "is +that the lady did not object in the least. Just fancy, +you know, we all knew her, and now she is married +again to—" At this point Claudius strode up, and +Margaret, who did not care to hear any more, interrupted +the Duke.</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius, I have our book here. Shall we +read?" The Doctor's face flushed with pleasure. +The Duke stared.</p> + +<p>"I will get a chair," he said; and his long legs made +short work of it.</p> + +<p>"Well, if you will believe it," said the Duke, who +meant to finish his story, "it was not even the man +who won her at cards that she married when she was +divorced. It was a man you never met; and they are +living in some place in Italy." The Duke could +hardly believe his eyes when Claudius boldly marched +up with his chair and planted himself on Margaret's +other side. She leaned back, looking straight before +her, and turning the leaves of the book absently backwards +and forwards. The Duke was evidently expected +to go, but he sat fully a minute stupidly looking at +Margaret. At last she spoke.</p> + +<p>"That was not a very nice story. How odd! I +knew them both very well. Do you remember where +we left off, Dr. Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"Page one hundred and nineteen," answered the +Doctor, who never forgot anything. This looked like +business, and the Duke rose. He got away rather +awkwardly. As usual, he departed to wreak vengeance +on Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"Barker," he began with emphasis, "you are an ass."</p> + +<p>"I know it," said Barker, with humility. "I have +been saying it over to myself for a quarter of an hour, +and it is quite true. Say it again; it does me good."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that is all. If you are quite sure you appreciate +the fact I am satisfied."</p> + +<p>"It dawned upon me quite suddenly a few minutes +ago. Claudius has been here," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"He has been there too," said the Duke. "He is +there now."</p> + +<p>"I suppose there is no doubt that we are talking +about the same thing?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know about you," said the other. "I am +talking about Claudius and Countess Margaret. They +never had a chance to speak all day yesterday, and +now she asks him to come and read with her. Just +as I was telling no end of a jolly story too." Mr. +Barker's wrinkle wound slowly round his mouth. He +had been able to shave to-day, and the deep furrow +was clearly defined.</p> + +<p>"Oh! she asked him to read, did she?" Then +he swore, very slowly and conscientiously, as if he +meant it.</p> + +<p>"Why the deuce do you swear like that?" asked +the Duke. "If it is not true that she has refused +him, you ought to be very glad." And he stuffed a +disreputable short black pipe full of tobacco.</p> + +<p>"Why, of course I am. I was swearing at my +own stupidity. Of course I am very glad if she has +not refused him." He smiled a very unhealthy-looking +smile. "See here—" he began again.</p> + +<p>"Well? I am seeing, as you call it."</p> + +<p>"This. They must have had a talk yesterday. +He was here with me, and suddenly he got up and +said he was going to read with her. And you say +that she asked him to read with her when he went to +where you were."</p> + +<p>"Called out to him half across the deck—in the +middle of my story, too, and a firstrate one at that."</p> + +<p>"She does not care much for stories," said Barker; +"but that is not the question. It was evidently a put-up +job."</p> + +<p>"Meaning a preconcerted arrangement," said the +Duke. "Yes. It was arranged between them some +time yesterday. But I never left her alone until she +said she was going to lie down."</p> + +<p>"And I never left him until you told me she had +gone to bed."</p> + +<p>"She did not lie down, then," said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"Then she lied up and down," said Barker, savagely +playful.</p> + +<p>"Ladies do not lie," said the Duke, who did not +like the word, and refused to laugh.</p> + +<p>"Of course. And you and I are a couple of idiots, +and we have been protecting her when she did not +want to be protected. And she will hate us for ever +after. I am disgusted. I will drown my cares in +drink. Will you please ring the bell?"</p> + +<p>"You had better drink apollinaris. Grog will go +to your head. I never saw you so angry." The +Duke pressed the electric button.</p> + +<p>"I loathe to drink of the water," said Barker, +tearing off the end of a cigar with his teeth. The +Duke had seen a man in Egypt who bit off the heads +of black snakes, and he thought of him at that moment. +The steward appeared, and when the arrangements +were made, the ocean in which Barker proposed to +drown his cares was found to consist of a small glass +of a very diluted concoction of champagne, bitters, +limes, and soda water. The Duke had some, and +thought it very good.</p> + +<p>"It is not a question of language," said Barker, +returning to the conversation. "They eluded us and +met. That is all."</p> + +<p>"By her wish, apparently," said the other.</p> + +<p>"We must arrange a plan of action," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"Why? If she has not refused him, it is all right. +We have nothing more to do with it. Let them go +their own way."</p> + +<p>"You are an old friend of the Countess's, are you +not?" asked the American. "Yes—very well, would +you like to see her married to Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"Upon my word," said the Duke, "I cannot see +that I have anything to say about it. But since you +ask me, I see no possible objection. He is a gentleman—has +money, heaps of it—if she likes him, let +her marry him if she pleases. It is very proper that +she should marry again; she has no children, and the +Russian estates are gone to the next heir. I only +wanted to save her from any inconvenience. I did +not want Claudius to be hanging after her, if she did +not want him. She does. There is an end of it." O +glorious English Common Sense! What a fine thing +you are when anybody gets you by the right end.</p> + +<p>"You may be right," said Barker, with a superior +air that meant "you are certainly wrong." "But would +Claudius be able to give her the position in foreign +society—"</p> + +<p>"Society be damned," said the Duke. "Do you +think the widow of Alexis cannot command society? +Besides, Claudius is a gentleman, and that is quite +enough."</p> + +<p>"I suppose he is," said Mr. Barker, with an air of regret.</p> + +<p>"Suppose? There is no supposing about it. He +is." And the Duke looked at his friend as if he would +have said, "If I, a real, palpable, tangible, hereditary +duke, do not know a gentleman when I see one, what +can <i>you</i> possibly know about it, I would like to +inquire?" And that settled the matter.</p> + +<p>But Mr. Barker was uneasy in his mind. An idea +was at work there which was diametrically opposed to +the union of Claudius and Margaret, and day by day, +as he watched the intimacy growing back into its old +proportions, he ground his gold-filled teeth with increasing +annoyance. He sought opportunities for saying +and doing things that might curtail the length of +those hours when Claudius sat at her side, ostensibly +reading. Ostensibly? Yes—the first day or two after +she had allowed him to come back to her side were +days of unexampled industry and severe routine, only +the most pertinent criticisms interrupting from time to +time the even progress from line to line, from page to +page, from paragraph to paragraph, from chapter to +chapter. But soon the criticism became less close, +the illustration more copious, the tongue more eloquent, +and the glance less shy. The elective strength of their +two hearts rose up and wrought mightily, saying, "We +are made for each other, we understand each other, and +these foolish mortals who carry us about in their +bosoms shall not keep us apart." And to tell the +truth, the foolish mortals made very little effort. +Margaret did not believe that Claudius could possibly +break his plighted word, and he knew that he would +die rather than forfeit his faith. And so they sat side +by side with the book, ostensibly reading, actually +talking, most of the day. And sometimes one or the +other would go a little too near the forbidden point, +and then there was a moment's silence, and the least +touch of embarrassment; and once Margaret laughed +a queer little laugh at one of these stumbles, and once +Claudius sighed. But they were very happy, and the +faint colour that was natural to the Doctor's clear +white skin came back as his heart was eased of its +burden, and Margaret's dark cheek grew darker with +the sun and the wind that she took no pains to keep +from her face, though the olive flushed sometimes to a +warmer hue, with pleasure—or what? She thought +it was the salt breeze.</p> + +<p>"How well those two look!" exclaimed Lady +Victoria once to Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"I have seen Claudius look ghastly," said Barker, +for he thought they looked too "well" altogether.</p> + +<p>"Yes; do you remember one morning—I think it +was the day before, or the day after, the accident? I +thought he was going to faint."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he was sea-sick," suggested Barker.</p> + +<p>"Oh no, we were a week out then, and he was +never ill at all from the first."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he was love-sick," said the other, willing +to be spiteful.</p> + +<p>"How ridiculous! To think of such a thing!" +cried the stalwart English girl; for she was only a girl +in years despite her marriage. "But really," she +continued, "if I were going to write a novel I would +put those two people in it, they are so awfully good-looking. +I would make all my heroes and heroines +beautiful if I wrote books."</p> + +<p>"Then I fear I shall never be handed down to +posterity by your pen, Lady Victoria," said Barker, +with a smile.</p> + +<p>"No," said she, eyeing him critically, "I don't think +I would put you in my book. But then, you know, I +would not put myself in it either."</p> + +<p>"Ah," grinned Mr. Barker, "the book would lose +by that, but I should gain."</p> + +<p>"How?" asked her ladyship.</p> + +<p>"Because we should both be well out of it," said +he, having reached his joke triumphantly. But Lady +Victoria did not like Mr. Barker, or his jokes, very +much. She once said so to her brother. She thought +him spiteful.</p> + +<p>"Well, Vick," said her brother good-naturedly, "I +daresay you are right. But he amuses me, and he is +very square on settling days."</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Meanwhile Lady Victoria was not mistaken—Mr. +Barker was spiteful; but she did not know that she +was the only member of the party to whom he ventured +to show it, because he thought she was stupid, and +because it was such a relief to say a vicious thing now +and then. He devoted himself most assiduously to +Miss Skeat, since Margaret would not accept his devotion +to her, and indeed had given him little chance +to show that he would offer it. The days sped fast +for some of the party, slowly for others, and pretty +much as they did anywhere else for the Duke, who +was in no especial hurry to arrive in New York. His +affairs were large enough to keep, and he had given +himself plenty of time. But nevertheless his affairs +were the object in view; and though he did not like +to talk about those things, even with Barker, the fate +of Claudius and Margaret as compared with the larger +destinies of the Green Swash Mining Company were +as the humble and unadorned mole-hill to the glories +of the Himalaya. People had criticised the Duke's +financial career in England. Why had he sold that +snuffbox that Marie Therèse gave to his ancestor +when—well, you know when? Why had he converted +those worm-eaten manuscripts, whereon were +traced many valuable things in a variety of ancient +tongues, into coin of the realm? And why had he +turned his Irish estates into pounds, into shillings, yea, +and into pence. Pence—just think of it! He had +sold his ancestral lands for <i>pence</i>; that was what it +came to. These and many other things the scoffers +scoffed, with a right good-will. But none save the +Duke could tell how many broad fields of ripening +grain, and vine-clad hills, and clean glistening miles of +bright rail, and fat ore lands sodden with wealth of +gold and silver and luscious sulphurets—none save +the Duke could tell how much of these good things +the Duke possessed in that great land beyond the sea, +upon which if England were bodily set down it would +be as hard to find as a threepenny bit in a ten-acre +field. But the Duke never told. He went about his +business quietly, for he said in his heart, "Tush! I +have children to be provided for; and if anything +happens to the old country, I will save some bacon for +them in the new, and they may call themselves dukes +or farmers as far as I am concerned; but they shall +not lack a few hundred thousand acres of homestead +in the hour of need, neither a cow or two or a pig."</p> + +<p>The breeze held well, on the whole, and old Sturleson +said they were having a wonderful run, which was +doubtless an effort on the part of nature to atone for +the injury she had done. But the days flew by, and +yet they were not at their voyage's end. At last, as +they sat sunning themselves in the fair September +weather, Sturleson came to them, his bright quadrant, +with its coloured glasses sticking out in all directions, +in his hand, and told the Duke he thought that by +to-morrow afternoon they would sight the Hook. +The party were all together, as it happened, and there +was a general shout, in which, however, Claudius +joined but faintly. He longed for contrary winds, +and he wished that Sandy Hook and all its appurtenances, +including New York and the United States, +would sink gently down to the bottom of the sea. +He knew, and Sturleson had told him, that with unfavourable +weather they might be at sea a month, and +he was one of the two who voted to go to Bermuda +when the accident occurred.</p> + +<p>That evening, as the sun was going down to his +tossing bed of golden waves, all canopied with softest +purple, Margaret stood leaning over the taffrail. +Every stitch of canvas was out—topsails, gaff-topsails, +staysails, and jibs—and the good yacht bounded with a +will to the bright west. But the dark woman looked +astern to where the billows rolled together, forgetting +what precious burden they had borne. Claudius stole +to her side and stood a moment looking at her face.</p> + +<p>"So it is over," he said at last.</p> + +<p>"Nearly over. It has been very pleasant," said +she.</p> + +<p>"It has been more than pleasant. It has been +divine—for me."</p> + +<p>"Hush!" said Margaret softly; "remember." +There was silence, save for the rushing of the rudder +through the dark-blue foam. Again Claudius spoke, +softly, and it seemed to her that the voice was not +his, but rather that it came up mystically from the +water below.</p> + +<p>"Are you sorry it is over?" he asked—or the +voice of the mighty deep welling up with its burden +of truth.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am very sorry," she answered, whether she +would or no. The sun sank down, and the magic +after-glow shone in the opposite sky, tinging ship and +sails and waves.</p> + +<p>"I am very sorry too," he said; and he sighed and +looked astern eastwards, and thought of the golden +hours he had spent on that broad track stretching +away behind. Margaret leaned down, resting her chin +on her hands, and presently she unfolded them, and +her fingers stole upwards and covered her face, and +she bent her head. There was a mighty beating in +Claudius's breast, and a thousand voices in the air +cried to him to speak and to say what was in his +heart to say. But he would not, for he had given the +woman at his side the promise of his faith. At last +she looked up and turned toward him. They were +alone on the deck in the faintness of the gathering +twilight.</p> + +<p>"Claudius, you have kept your promise truly and +well. Keep it—keep it always." She held out her +ungloved hand.</p> + +<p>"Always, my queen and my lady," and he kissed +the white fingers once.</p> + +<p>"Hullo!" shouted the Duke, emerging from the +cuddy. "Upon my word! Why, it's dinner time."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" />CHAPTER X.</h2> + + +<p>How they left the good yacht <i>Streak</i>, and how they +bade a hearty farewell to that old sea lion Captain +Sturleson, and how they went through the hundred +and one formalities of the custom-house, and the +thousand and one informalities of its officials, are +matters of interest indeed, but not of history. There +are moments in a man's existence when the act of +conveying half a dozen sovereigns to the pocket of +that stern monitor of good faith, the brass-buttoned +custom-house officer with the tender conscience, is of +more importance to salvation than women's love or +the Thirty-nine Articles. All this they did. Nor +were they spared by the great tormentor of the West, +who bristleth with the fretful quill, whose ears surround +us in the night-time, and whose voice is as the voice +of the charmer, the reporter of the just and the unjust, +but principally of the latter. And Mr. Barker made +an appointment with the Duke, and took a tender +farewell of the three ladies, and promised to call on +Claudius in the afternoon, and departed. But the +rest of the party went to a famous old hotel much +affected by Englishmen, and whose chief recommendation +in their eyes is that there is no elevator, so that +they can run upstairs and get out of breath, and fancy +themselves at home. Of course their apartments had +been secured, and had been waiting for them a week, +and the Countess was glad to withdraw for the day +into the sunny suite over the corner that was hers. +As for Miss Skeat, she went to the window and stayed +there, for America was quite different from what she +had fancied. Claudius descended to the lower regions, +and had his hair cut; and the cook and the bar-keeper +and the head "boots," or porter, as he called himself, +all came and looked in at the door of the barber's +shop, and stared at the huge Swede. And the barber +walked reverently round him with scissors and comb, +and they all agreed that Claudius must be Mr. +Barnum's new attraction, except the head porter—no +relation of an English head porter—who thought it +was "Fingal's babby, or maybe the blessed Sint +Pathrick himself." And the little boy who brushed +the frequenters of the barber's shop could not reach to +Claudius's coat collar, so that the barber had to set a +chair for him, and so he climbed up.</p> + +<p>The Duke retired also to the depths of his apartments, +and his servant arrayed him in the purple and +stove-pipe of the higher civilisation. And before long +each of the ladies received a large cardboard box full +of fresh-cut flowers, sent by Mr. Barker of course; and +the Duke, hearing of this from his man, sent "his compliments +to Lady Victoria, and would she send him a +rose for his coat?" So the Duke sallied forth on foot, +and the little creases in his clothes showed that he had +just arrived. But he did not attract any attention, for +the majority of the population of New York have "just +arrived." Besides, he had not far to go. He had a +friend in town who lived but a few steps from the +hotel, and his first move on arriving was generally to +call there.</p> + +<p>Claudius waited a short time to see whether Mr. +Barker would come; but as Claudius rarely waited for +anybody, he soon grew impatient, and squeezing himself +into a cab, told the driver to take him to Messrs. +Screw and Scratch in Pine Street. He was received +with deference, and treated as his position demanded. +Would he like to see Mr. Silas B. Barker senior? +Very natural that he should want to make the acquaintance +of his relative's old friend and partner. +Mr. Screw was out, yes—but Mr. Scratch would accompany +him. No trouble at all. Better "go around +right off," as Mr. Barker would probably go to Newport +by the boat that evening. So they went "around +right away," and indeed it was a circular journey. +Down one elevator, through a maze of corridors, round +crowded corners, through narrow streets, Claudius +ploughing his way through billows of curbstone brokers, +sad and gay, messenger-boys, young clerks, fruit vendors, +disreputable-looking millionaires and gentlemanly-looking +scamps, newspaper-boys, drunken Irishmen, complacent +holders of preferred, and scatterbrained speculators +in wild-cat, an atmosphere of tobacco smoke, dust, +melons, and unintelligible jargon—little Mr. Scratch +clinging to his client's side, nodding furiously at every +other face he saw, and occasionally shouting a word of +outlandish etymology, but of magic import. Claudius +almost thought it would be civil to offer to carry the +little man, but when he saw how deftly Mr. Scratch +got in a foot here and an elbow there, and how he +scampered over any little bit of clear pavement, the +Doctor concluded his new acquaintance was probably +used to it. More elevators, more passages, a glass door, +still bearing the names "Barker and Lindstrand," and +they had reached their destination.</p> + +<p>The office was on the second floor, with large +windows looking over the street; there were several +people in the room they first entered, and the first person +Claudius saw was Mr. Barker junior, his friend.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker, "so you have found us out. +That's right. I was coming round to see you afterwards, +for I did not suppose you would like to face +'the street' alone. Father," he said, turning to a +thickset man with white hair and bushy eyebrows, +"this is Dr. Claudius, Mr. Lindstrand's nephew."</p> + +<p>The old gentleman looked up keenly into Claudius's +face, and smiled pleasantly as he put out his hand. +He said a few words of cordial welcome, and seemed +altogether a sturdy, hearty, hardworking man of business—rather +a contrast to his son. He hoped that Claudius +would come on to Newport with Silas, as he wanted to +have a long talk with him. The old gentleman was evidently +very busy, and his son took Claudius in charge.</p> + +<p>"What is that?" asked the Doctor, looking curiously +at a couple of wheels that unwound unceasingly +long strips of white paper. The paper passed through +a small instrument, and came out covered with unintelligible +signs, coiling itself in confusion into a waste-basket +below.</p> + +<p>"That has driven more men to desperation, ruin, +and drink, than all the other evils of humanity put +together," said Barker. "That is the ticker."</p> + +<p>"I perceive that it ticks," said Claudius. And +Barker explained how every variation in the market +was instantly transmitted to every place of business, to +every club, and to many private houses in New York, +by means of a simple arrangement of symbols—how +"Gr. S." meant Green Swash, and "N.P. pr." "North +Pacific, preferred," and many other things. Claudius +thought it an ingenious contrivance, but said it must +be very wearing on the nerves.</p> + +<p>"It is the pulse of New York," said Barker. "It +is the croupier calling out from morning till night +'trente-sept, rouge, impair,' and then 'Messieurs faites +votre jeu—le jeu est fait.' When stock goes down you +buy, when it goes up you sell. That is the whole +secret."</p> + +<p>"I think it is very like gambling," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"So it is. But we never gamble here, though we +have a ticker to see what other people are doing. +Besides, it tells you everything. Horse-racing, baseball, +steamers, births, deaths, and marriages; corn, +wheat, tobacco, and cotton. Nobody can live here +without a ticker."</p> + +<p>And after this they went out into the street again, and +Mr. Scratch took off his hat to Claudius, which is the +highest token of unusual esteem and respect of which +"the street" is capable, and in a moment the heels of +his boots were seen disappearing into the dense crowd. +Claudius and Barker walked on, and crossed Broadway; +a few steps farther, and the Doctor was brought face +to face with the triumph of business over privacy—the +elevated railway. He had caught a glimpse of +portions of it in the morning, but had supposed the +beams and trestles to be scaffoldings for buildings. +He stood a few moments in profound thought, contemplating +and comprehending this triumph of wheels.</p> + +<p>"It is a great invention," he said quietly. And +when they were seated in the long airy car, he looked +out of the window, and asked whether the people in +the first stories of the houses did not find it very disagreeable +to have trains running by their windows +all day.</p> + +<p>"The social and municipal economy of New York," +explained Mr. Barker, "consists in one-third of the +population everlastingly protesting against the outrageous +things done by the other two-thirds. One-third +fights another third, and the neutral third takes the +fees of both parties. All that remains is handed over +to the deserving poor."</p> + +<p>"That is the reason, I suppose, why there are so +few poor in New York," observed the Doctor with a +smile.</p> + +<p>"Exactly," said Barker; "they go West."</p> + +<p>"I would like to discuss the political economy of +this country with you, when I have been here six +months."</p> + +<p>"I hope you will not. And when you have been +here six months you will be willing to pay a large sum +rather than discuss it with any one."</p> + +<p>And so they went up town, and Claudius watched +everything with interest, and occasionally made a +remark. Barker was obliged to go on, and he put +Claudius out on the platform at the station nearest his +hotel, and which was in fact at the same cross-street. +As Claudius ascended the steps he was overtaken by +the Duke, who was breathless with running.</p> + +<p>"I—am afraid—it is too late," he panted; "come +along," and he seized Claudius by the arm and dragged +him to the corner of Fifth Avenue, before he could ask +any questions.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter?" asked the Doctor, looking +about.</p> + +<p>"He is gone," said the Duke, who had recovered +his speech, "I knew he would, but I thought there +was time. I was with a friend of mine, and I had +just left him when I saw you, and as I have asked +him to dinner I wanted to introduce you first. But +he is always in such a hurry. Nowhere to be seen. +Probably down town by this time." They turned +back and went in. The Duke asked for the ladies. +The Countess and her companion had gone to drive in +the park, but Lady Victoria was upstairs.</p> + +<p>"Vick, I am going to have a man to dinner—of +course we will all dine together the first night ashore—a +man you have heard me speak of; you will like him +amazingly."</p> + +<p>"Who is he?"</p> + +<p>"He is the uncle of the whole human race."</p> + +<p>"Including the peerage?" laughed Lady Victoria.</p> + +<p>"Peerage? I should think so. The whole of +Debrett and the <i>Almanach de Gotha</i>. Nobility and +gentry, the Emperor of China and the North American +Indians."</p> + +<p>"That will suit Miss Skeat. She is always talking +about the North American Indians. I think I know +who it is."</p> + +<p>"Of course you do, and now he is coming." There +was a pause. "Vick, may I smoke?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, if you like." His Grace lit a cigarette.</p> + +<p>"Vick, I am afraid you have had a dreadfully +stupid time of it on this trip. I am so sorry. Those +people turned out rather differently from what I had +expected." The Duke was fond of his sister, though +she was much younger than he, and he began to +reflect that she had been poorly provided for, as he +had engaged Barker most of their time.</p> + +<p>"Not at all. You know I am so fond of the sea +and the open air, and I have enjoyed it all so much. +Besides—"</p> + +<p>"It is awfully good of you to say so, my dear, but +I don't believe a word of it. 'Besides'—you were +going to say something."</p> + +<p>"Was I? Oh yes. Besides, you could not have +had another man, you know, because it would have +spoiled the table."</p> + +<p>"No, but I was so selfish about Barker, because +he can play cards, and Claudius would not, or could +not."</p> + +<p>"I am not sorry for that, exactly," said Lady +Victoria. "You remember, we talked about him once. +I do not like Mr. Barker very much."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he is no end of a good fellow in his way," +said her brother. "Have you—a—any reason for +not liking him, Vick?"</p> + +<p>"I think he is spiteful. He says such horrid things."</p> + +<p>"Does he? What about?" said the Duke indifferently, +as he tore a bit of charred paper from the +end of his cigarette, which had burned badly. She did +not answer at first. He inspected the cigarette, puffed +it into active life again, and looked up.</p> + +<p>"What about, Vick?"</p> + +<p>"About his friend—about Doctor Claudius. I +like Doctor Claudius." Lady Victoria smoothed her +rebellious brown hair at the huge over-gilt pier-glass +of the little drawing-room which she and Margaret had +in common.</p> + +<p>"I like him too," said the Duke. "He is a gentleman. +Why don't you do your hair like the American +women—all fuzzy, over your eyes? I should think +it would be much less trouble."</p> + +<p>"It's not neat," said her ladyship, still looking into +the glass. Then suddenly, "Do you know what I +think?"</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"I believe Mr. Barker would like to marry +Margaret himself."</p> + +<p>"Pshaw! Victoria, don't talk nonsense. Who +ever heard of such a thing! The Duke rose and +walked once up and down the room; then he sat down +again in the same place. He was not pleased at the +suggestion.</p> + +<p>"Why is it such nonsense?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Any number of reasons. Besides, she would not +have him."</p> + +<p>"That would not prevent him from wishing to +marry her."</p> + +<p>"No, of course not, but—well, it's great stuff." +He looked a little puzzled, as if he found it hard to +say exactly why he objected to the idea.</p> + +<p>"You would be very glad if Claudius married her, +would you not?" asked his sister.</p> + +<p>"Glad—I don't know—yes, I suppose so."</p> + +<p>"But you pretend to like Mr. Barker a great deal +more than you like Doctor Claudius," said she argumentatively.</p> + +<p>"I know him better," said the Duke; "I have known +Barker several years."</p> + +<p>"And he is rich—and that, and why should he +not think of proposing to Margaret?"</p> + +<p>"Because—well I don't know, but it would be so +deuced inappropriate," in which expression the honest-hearted +Englishman struck the truth, going for it with +his head down, after the manner of his people.</p> + +<p>"At first he was very nice," said Lady Victoria, +who had gained a point, though for what purpose she +hardly knew; "but after a while he began to say disagreeable +things. He hinted in all sorts of ways that +Claudius was not exactly a gentleman, and that no one +knew where he came from, and that he ought not to +make love to Margaret, and so on, till I wanted to box +his ears;" and she waxed warm in her wrath, which +was really due in great part to the fact that Mr. +Barker was personally not exactly to her taste. If +she had liked him she would have thought differently +of the things he said. But her brother was angry too +by this time, for he remembered a conversation he had +had with Barker on the same topic.</p> + +<p>"I told Barker once that Claudius was a gentleman, +every inch of him, and I should think that was +enough. As if I did not know—it's too bad, upon my +word!" And the ducal forehead reddened angrily. +The fact was that both he and his sister had taken an +unaccountable fancy to this strange Northman, with +his quiet ways and his unaffected courtesy, and at the +present moment they would have quarrelled with their +best friends rather than hear a word against him. +"My guest, too, and on my yacht," he went on; and it +did his sister good to see him angry—"it's true he +brought him, and introduced him to me." Then a +bright idea struck him. "And if Claudius were not a +gentleman, what the deuce right had Barker to bring +him to me at all, eh? Wasn't it his business to find +out? My word! I would like to ask him that, and if +I find him I will." Lady Victoria had no intention +of making mischief between her brother and Mr. +Barker. But she did not like the American, and she +thought Barker was turning the Duke into a miner, or +a farmer, or a greengrocer, or something—it was not +quite clear. But she wished him out of the way, and +fate had given her a powerful weapon. It was just +that sort of double-handedness that the Duke most +hated of all things in the earth. Moreover, he knew +his sister never exaggerated, and that what she had +told him was of necessity perfectly true.</p> + +<p>Woe to Mr. Silas B. Barker junior if he came in +the Duke's way that evening!</p> + +<p>"I suppose he is coming to dinner?" said the +Duke after a pause, during which his anger had settled +into a comfortable ferocity.</p> + +<p>"No," said Lady Victoria; "he sent some flowers +and a note of regret."</p> + +<p>"Well—I am glad of that. Would you like to go +for a drive, Vick?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, of all things. I have not been here since +I was married"—which was about eighteen months, +but she had already caught that matronly phrase—"and +I want to see what they have been doing to the +Park."</p> + +<p>"All right. We'll take Claudius, if he is anywhere +about the place."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Lady Victoria. And so the +brother and sister prepared to soothe their ruffled feelings +by making much of the man who was "a gentleman." +But they were right, for Claudius was all they +thought him, and a great deal more too, as they +discovered in the sequel.</p> + +<p>Having driven in the Park, the Duke insisting that +Claudius should sit in the place of honour with Lady +Victoria, and having criticised to their satisfaction the +few equipages they met—for it was too early for New +York—they went back to their hotel, and dispersed to +dress for dinner. The Duke, as he had told his sister, +had invited his friend to dine. They all sat together +waiting his arrival. Punctual to the moment, the door +opened, and Mr. Horace Bellingham beamed upon the +assembled party. Ay, but he was a sight to do good +to the souls of the hungry and thirsty, and of the poor, +and in misery!</p> + +<p>He requires description, not that any pen can +describe him, but no one ever saw him who did not +immediately wish to try. He was short, decidedly; +but a broad deep chest and long powerful arms had +given him many an advantage over taller adversaries +in strange barbarous lands. He was perfectly bald, +but that must have been because Nature had not the +heart to cover such a wonderful cranium from the +admiring gaze of phrenologists. A sweeping moustache +and a long imperial of snowy white sat well on the +ruddy tan of his complexion, and gave him an air at +once martial and diplomatic. He was dressed in the +most perfect of London clothes, and there were superb +diamonds in his shirt, while a priceless sapphire +sparkled, in a plain gold setting, on his broad, brown +hand. He is the only man of his time who can wear +precious stones without vulgarity. He moves like +a king and has the air of the old school in every +gesture. His dark eyes are brighter than his diamonds, +and his look, for all his white beard and seventy +years, is as young and fresh as the rose he wears in +his coat.</p> + +<p>There are some people who turn gray, but who do +not grow hoary, whose faces are furrowed but not +wrinkled, whose hearts are sore wounded in many +places, but are not dead. There is a youth that bids +defiance to age, and there is a kindness which laughs +at the world's rough usage. These are they who have +returned good for evil, not having learned it as a lesson +of righteousness, but because they have no evil in them +to return upon others. Whom the gods love die +young, and they die young because they never grow +old. The poet, who at the verge of death said this, +said it of, and to, this very man.</p> + +<p>The Duke went through the introductions, first to +the Countess, then to Miss Skeat, then to his sister, +and last of all to Claudius, who had been intently +watching the newcomer. Mr. Bellingham paused before +Claudius, and looked up in a way peculiarly his own, +without raising his head. He had of course heard in +New York of the strange fortune that had befallen +Claudius on the death of the well-known Mr. Lindstrand, +and now he stood a minute trying to take the +measure of the individual before him, not in the least +overcome by the physical proportions of the outer man, +but struck by the intellectual face and forehead that +surmounted such a tower of strength.</p> + +<p>"I was in Heidelberg myself—a student," said he, +his face lighting up with coming reminiscences, "but +that was long before you were born, fifty years ago."</p> + +<p>"I fancy it is little changed," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"I would like to go back to the Badischer Hof. I +remember once—" but he broke off short and turned +to the Countess, and sat down beside her. He knew +all her people in America and her husband's people +abroad. He immediately began telling her a story of +her grandmother, with a <i>verve</i> and graphic spirit that +enchanted Margaret, for she liked clever old men. +Besides he is not old. It is not so long since—well, +it is a long story. However, in less than one minute +the assembled guests were listening to the old-time tale +of Margaret's ancestress, and the waiter paused breathless +on the threshold to hear the end, before he announced +dinner.</p> + +<p>There are two very different ways of dining—dining +with Mr. Bellingham, and dining without him. But +for those who have dined with him, all other prandial +arrangements are an empty sham. At least so Claudius +said to Margaret in an aside, when they got to the +fruit. And Margaret, who looked wonderfully beautiful +with a single band of gold through her black hair, +laughed her assent, and said it was hopeless for the +men of this day to enter the lists against the veterans +of the <i>ancien régime</i>. And Claudius was not in the +least hurt by the comparison, odious though it would +have been to Mr. Barker, had he been there. Claudius +had plenty of vanity, but it did not assume the personal +type. Some people call a certain form of vanity pride. +It is the same thing on a larger scale. Vanity is to +pride what nervousness is to nerve, what morbid conscience +is to manly goodness, what the letter of the +law is to the spirit.</p> + +<p>Before they rose from the table, Mr. Bellingham +proposed that they should adjourn to Newport on the +following day. He said it was too early to be in +New York and that Newport was still gay; at all +events, the weather promised well, and they need not +stay more than twenty-four hours unless they pleased. +The proposition was carried unanimously, the Duke +making a condition that he should be left in peace and +not "entertained in a handsome manner by the <i>élite</i> of +our Newport millionaires"—as the local papers generally +have it. Lady Victoria would not have objected +to the operation of "being entertained" by Newport, +for it amused her to see people, but of course she +would enjoy herself very well without it. She always +enjoyed herself, even when she went for a walk in the +rain on a slippery Yorkshire road, all bundled up in +waterproofs and hoods and things for her poor people—she +enjoyed it all.</p> + +<p>As for Claudius, he knew that if he went to Newport +he must of necessity stay with the Barkers, but as +he had not yet learned to look at Mr. Barker in the light +of a rival, he thought this would be rather convenient +than otherwise. The fact that he would be within easy +reach of Margaret was uppermost in his mind.</p> + +<p>During the last two days his relations with her had +been of the happiest. There was an understanding +between them, which took the place of a great deal of +conversation. Claudius felt that his error in speaking +too boldly had been retrieved, if not atoned for, and +that henceforward his position was assured. He was +only to be a friend, it was true, but he still felt that +from friendship to love was but a step, and that the +time would come. He thought of the mighty wooings +of the heroes of his Northern home, and he felt in him +their strength and their constancy. What were other +men that he should think of them? He was her +accepted friend of all others. She had said she hoped +to find in him what she had never found before; and +were not her words "always, always!" still ringing +in his ears? She had found it then in him, this rare +quality of friendship; she had found more,—a man who +was a friend and yet a lover, but who could curb the +strong passion to the semblance and docility of the +gentler feeling. And when at last she should give the +long-desired sign, the single glance that bids love speak, +she would find such a lover as was not even dreamt of +among the gods of the Greeks, nor yet among berserk +heroes of ice and storm and battle. He felt to-day +that he could endure to the end, for the end was +worthy all endurance.</p> + +<p>And now he sat by her side and looked down into +her face when she spoke, and they laughed together. +Verily was Claudius the proudest man in all earth's +quarters, and his blue eyes flashed a deep fire, and his +nostrils expanded with the breath of a victory won. +Mr. Bellingham, on the other side of the table, sparkled +with a wit and grace that were to modern table-talk +what a rare flagon of old madeira, crusted with years, +but brimming with the imperishable strength and perfume +of eternal youth, might be to a gaudily-ticketed +bottle of California champagne, effervescent, machine-made, +cheap, and nasty. And his glance comprehended +the pair, and loved them. He thought they were like +a picture of the North and of the South; and the +thought called up memories in his brave old breast of +a struggle that shook the earth to her foundations, and +made him think of problems yet unsolved. He sat in +his place silent for some minutes, and the broad brown +hand stroked the snowy beard in deep thought, so that +the conversation flagged, and the Duke began to talk +about the voyage. But Mr. Bellingham took his brimming +glass, filled with the wine that ripened in the +sun when he himself was but a little boy, and he +held it a moment to the light; the juice was clearer +now than it had been that day sixty years, and the +hand that held the goblet was as a hand of iron for +strength and steadiness, though the dark fingers might +have plucked the grapes on the day they were pressed. +And with an old-time motion he carried it to his lips, +then paused one instant, then drank it slowly, slowly +to the last drop. It was a toast, but the speech was +unspoken, and none knew to whom or to what he +drained the measure. In a little time he began to +speak again; the conversation turned upon mutual +friends in England, and the dinner was at an end.</p> + +<p>But all through the evening Claudius never left +Margaret's side. He felt that he was bridging over +the difference between life at sea and life on land—that +he was asserting his right to maintain in a drawing-room +the privileges he had gained on the deck of +the <i>Streak</i>. And Margaret, moreover, was especially +friendly to-night, for she too felt the difference, and +recognised that, after all, life on shore is the freer. +There are certain conventionalities of a drawing-room +that a man is less likely to break through, more certain +to remember, than the unwritten rules of cruising etiquette. +Most men who have led a free life are a little +less likely to make love under the restraint of a white +tie than they are when untrammelled by restraints of +dress, which always imply some restraint of freedom.</p> + +<p>At least Margaret thought so. And Claudius felt +it, even though he would not acknowledge it. They +talked about the voyage; about what they had said +and done, about the accident, and a hundred other +things. There is a moment in acquaintance, in friendship, +and in love, when two people become suddenly +aware that they have a common past. Days, weeks, or +months have been spent in conversation, in reading, +perhaps in toil and danger, and they have not thought +much about it. But one day they wake up to the fact +that these little or great things bind them, as forming +the portion of their lives that have touched; and as +they talk over the incidents they remember they feel +unaccountably drawn to each other by the past. +Margaret and Claudius knew this on the first evening +they spent together on shore. The confusion of landing, +the custom-house, the strange quarters in the great +hotel—all composed a drop-curtain shutting off the +ocean scene, and ending thus an episode of their life-drama. +A new act was beginning for them, and they +both knew how much might depend on the way in +which it was begun, and neither dared plan how it +should end. At all events, they were not to be separated +yet, and neither anticipated such a thing.</p> + +<p>Little by little their voices dropped as they talked, +and they recked little of the others, as the dark cheek +of the woman flushed with interest, and the blue light +shone in the man's eyes. Their companions on the +voyage were well used to seeing them thus together, +and hardly noticed them, but Mr. Bellingham's bright +eyes stole a glance from time to time at the beautiful +pair in their corner, and the stories of youth and daring +and love, that he seemed so full of this evening, flashed +with an unwonted brilliancy. He made up his mind +that the two were desperately, hopelessly, in love, and +he had taken a fancy to Claudius from the first. There +was no reason why they should not be, and he loved +to build up romances, always ending happily, in his +fertile imagination.</p> + +<p>But at last it was "good-night." Mr. Bellingham +was not the man to spend the entire evening in one +house, and he moved towards Margaret, hating to disturb +the couple, but yet determined to do it. He rose, +therefore, still talking, and, as the Duke rose also, +cleverly led him round the chairs until within speaking +distance of Margaret, who was still absorbed in her +conversation. Then, having finished the one thread, +he turned round.</p> + +<p>"By the by, Countess," he said, "I remember once—" and +he told a graceful anecdote of Margaret's +grandmother, which delighted every one, after which +he bowed, like a young lover of twenty, to each of the +three ladies, and departed.</p> + +<p>The party dispersed, the Duke and Claudius for +half an hour's chat and a cigar, and the ladies to their +rooms. But Claudius and Margaret lingered one +moment in their corner, standing.</p> + +<p>"Has it been a happy day for you?" he asked, as +she gave her hand.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it has been happy. May there be many +like it!" she answered.</p> + +<p>"There shall be," said Claudius; "good-night, +Countess."</p> + +<p>"Good-night—good-night, Claudius."</p> + +<p>The Duke waited fully ten minutes for the Doctor. +It was the second time she had spoken his name without +the formality of a prefix, and Claudius stood where +she left him, thinking. There was nothing so very +extraordinary in it, after all, he thought. Foreign +women, especially Russians, are accustomed to omit any +title or prefix, and to call their intimate friends by their +simple names, and it means nothing. But her voice was +so wonderful. He never knew his name sounded so +sweet before—the consonants and vowels, like the swing +and fall of a deep silver bell in perfect cadence. "A +little longer," thought Claudius, "and it shall be hers +as well as mine." He took a book from the table +absently, and had opened it when he suddenly recollected +the Duke, put it down and left the room.</p> + +<p>Soon a noiseless individual in a white waistcoat +and a dress-coat put his head in at the door, advanced, +straightened the chairs, closed the book the Doctor had +opened, put the gas out and went away, shutting the +door for the night, and leaving the room to its recollections. +What sleepless nights the chairs and heavy-gilt +glasses and gorgeous carpets of a hotel must pass, +puzzling over the fragments of history that are enacted +in their presence!</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI" />CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + +<p>Mr. Barker's urgent engagement up town that evening +must have been to meet some one; but considering that +the individual he might be supposed to be awaiting +did not come, he showed a remarkable degree of +patience. He went to a certain quiet club and ordered, +with the utmost care, a meal after his own heart—for +one; and though several members hailed him and +greeted him on his return, he did not seem particularly +interested in what they had to say, but sat solitary at +his small square table with its exquisite service; and +when he had eaten, and had finished his modest pint +of Pommery Sec, he drank his coffee and smoked his +own cigars in undisturbed contemplation of the soft-tinted +wall-paper, and in calm, though apparently +melancholy, enjoyment of the gentle light that pervaded +the room, and of the sweet evening breeze that +blew in from the trees of Madison Square, so restful +after the dust and discomfort of the hot September +day.</p> + +<p>Whoever it was that he awaited did not come, and +yet Mr. Barker exhibited no sign of annoyance. He +went to another room, and sat in a deep arm-chair +with a newspaper which he did not read, and once he +took a scrap of paper from his pocket and made a +short note upon it with a patent gold pencil. It was +a very quiet club, and Mr. Barker seemed to be its +quietest member. And well he might be, for he had +made up his mind on a grave point. He had determined +to marry.</p> + +<p>He had long known it must come, and had said +to himself more than once that "to every man upon +this earth death cometh, soon or late;" but being +human, he had put off the evil day, having always +thought that it must, of necessity, be evil. But now +it was different. What he had said to the Duke, and +what the Duke had said to him, that evening on the +yacht when they were talking about marriage, was +exactly what he had always expected to occur. The +day, he said, must come when the enterprising mamma +will get the better of Silas B. Barker junior. The girl +of the season, with her cartload of bouquets slung all +over her, her neat figure, her pink-and-white complexion +and her matchless staying powers in a ballroom, +will descend upon the devoted victim Barker, +beak and talons, like the fish-hawk on the poor, simple +minnow innocently disporting itself in the crystal +waters of happiness. There will be wedding presents, +and a breakfast, and a journey, and a prospect of everlasting +misery. All these things, thought he, must +come to every man in time, unless he is a saint, or an +author, or has no money, and therefore they must +come to me; but now it was different. If there is to +be any fishing, he thought, I will be the hawk, and the +minnow may take its chance of happiness. Why +should the minnow not be happy? I am a hawk; +well—but I am a very good hawk.</p> + +<p>But these reflections were not what occupied his +mind as he sat with his second cigar in the reading-room +of his quiet club. These things he had elaborated +in his brain at least three days ago, and they had +now taken the form of a decision, against which there +could be no appeal, because it was pleasant to the <i>ego</i> +of Mr Barker. Judgments of that sort he never +reversed. He had fully determined to be the hawk, +he had picked out his minnow, and he was meditating +the capture of his prey. A great many people do as +much as that, and discover too late that what they +have taken for a minnow is an alligator, or a tartar, or +a salamander, or some evil beast that is too much for +their powers. This was what Mr. Barker was afraid +of, and this was what he wished to guard against. +Unfortunately he was a little late in the selection of +his victim, and he knew it. He had determined to +marry the Countess Margaret.</p> + +<p>He knew perfectly well that Claudius had determined +upon the very same thing, and he knew that +Claudius was intimate, to say the least of it, with the +woman he loved. But Barker had made up his mind +that Claudius had been refused, and had accepted the +Platonic position offered him by the Countess, merely +because he had not the strength to leave her. "Just +like the vanity of a fellow like that," he argued, "not +to be willing to believe himself beaten." He had +drawn the whole situation in his mind entirely to his +own satisfaction. If Claudius could only be removed, +any other man would have as good a chance. The +other man is Barker—therefore, remove Claudius at +once. Remove him! Away with him! Let his place +know him no more!</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker sat unmoved in his chair; but he contemplated +the nail on the middle finger of his left +hand with absorbed interest, even bringing it nearer +the light in order to obtain a better view.</p> + +<p>He was one of those men who are seldom altogether +unprepared. His mind was of the Napoleonic order, +on a very small scale; with him to think of the end +was to plan the means, and in the days that had followed +the memorable night wherein the idea had struck +him that he might marry the Countess in the teeth of +Dr. Claudius, a project had grown up in his mind +whereby he hoped now to effect his purpose. Perhaps +the scheme had developed unconsciously, as often +happens with persons whose lives are spent in planning. +Perhaps he fondly hoped—for he was not without +vanity—that he might yet win the Countess fairly, +and had only contemplated his plot as a possibility. +Be that as it may, from the moment he realised that +a plan of action was necessary he also realised that the +plan was ready, and he determined to put it into +execution. It was an unfair plan he meditated, bad +from the root up, and he knew it; but he did not +hesitate on that account. Silas B. Barker junior had not +enough conscience to make it an object for him to +deceive himself as to the morality of his actions. A +year or two since he would perhaps have defended +himself in a general way by saying it was arrogance +for a man to set himself up as any better than his +surroundings. But between a year or two ago and +this September evening there was set a gulf, represented +by a couple of transactions in the "street," over +which there was small joy in heaven and very little on +earth.</p> + +<p>Fair or unfair, it would be so much easier if +Claudius were out of the way. It would simplify Mr. +Barker's campaign so much; and, besides, it was so +easy a matter to remove him, for a time at least. +How? Why, simply by asserting that Claudius was +not Claudius, that he was not the late Mr. Lindstrand's +nephew, that he had no right to the fortune, and that +if he wished to save himself trouble he had better +return immediately to Heidelberg and resume his +duties as a private lecturer in the University. It was +easy enough! Who was there to show that Claudius +was Claudius? There was nothing but the attestation +of a wretched Heidelberg notary, who might easily +have been persuaded to swear a little in consideration +of a large bribe.</p> + +<p>Besides, reflected Mr. Barker, the real Dr. Claudius +was dead. He died about eight months ago; no doubt +it was in the newspapers at the time, and a newspaper +could certainly be found which should contain a notice +of his death. Therefore, if the real Dr. Claudius were +dead this Dr. Claudius was a sham, an impostor, a man +obtaining money by personating the dead—in short, a +criminal. However, it might not be necessary to proceed +with all the rigour of the law, and he might be +quietly sent back to Germany.</p> + +<p>Of course Mr. Barker was responsible in some +measure for having introduced this villain to the +Countess and to the Duke. But how could Mr. +Barker, a creature of sunny, lamb-like innocence, be +expected to know an impostor at first sight? Claudius +had acted his part so very well, you know, and Barker +had been deceived by his apparent frankness; he had +not even made any inquiries in Heidelberg, but had +simply gone to the address his father had given him. +Of course, also, the pretender had adopted the obvious +expedient of taking the dead man's lodgings; had installed +himself there, and called himself "Dr. Claudius." +Nobody in America had ever seen the real Dr. Claudius; +none of the yachting party had any means of knowing +whether he were what he pretended to be or not; the only +person who vouched for him was Silas B. Barker junior. +And if Silas B. Barker junior would not vouch for +him any longer, who would, pray? Obviously, no one.</p> + +<p>"Dukes are very pretty things," said Mr. Barker; +"and to know them intimately is a special grace. +But they cannot swear to what they do not know anything +about, any more than other people." And he +lit another cigar, and looked at the clock, an old-fashioned +black-marble timepiece with gilded hands. +It wanted half an hour of midnight, and Mr. Barker's +solitude had lasted since seven or thereabouts. Some +one entered the room, bidding good-night to some one +else at the door. Mr. Barker turned his eyes, and, +recognising a friend, he smiled a wrinkled smile.</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Screw, how goes it?" he said. "It is +some time since we met."</p> + +<p>"Happy to meet you, sir; glad to see you," replied +the lawyer, putting out a long hand towards the part of +the room where Mr. Barker was standing.</p> + +<p>Mr. Screw was Mr. Scratch's partner. Mr. Screw +was very tall, very thin, and exceedingly yellow. He +had thick yellow hair, streaked with gray. His face +seemed bound in old parchment, and his eyes were like +brass nails driven very deep, but bright and fixed when +he spoke. He had a great abundance of teeth of all +sizes and shapes; his face was clean shaven; and he +wore a stand-up collar, with a narrow black tie neatly +adjusted in a bow. His feet and hands were of +immense size. He was in evening-dress. He doubled +up a few of his joints and deposited himself in a deep +arm-chair—the twin of Barker's—on the other side +of the fireplace.</p> + +<p>"I thought very likely you would be here before +the evening was out," said Mr. Barker. "Yes," he +continued after a pause, "that is the reason I came +here. I wanted to see you on business, and I missed +you to-day down town."</p> + +<p>"Oh! business, did you say?" inquired the other, +rubbing his bony nose and looking at the empty grate.</p> + +<p>"Yes, rather important to you—more than to +myself, though it concerns me too. You have a new +client, I believe; the nephew of our old partner Mr. +Lindstrand."</p> + +<p>"Dr. Claudius?" asked the lawyer, looking up.</p> + +<p>"He calls himself so, at any rate," said Barker.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Screw quickly, +shifting his position.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you have taken all the necessary +steps towards ascertaining that he is the heir—the +right man—the real Dr. Claudius?"</p> + +<p>"Great heavens!" exclaimed the lawyer, surprised +and terribly frightened by Barker's insinuation, "you +don't mean to say there is any doubt about it, do +you?"</p> + +<p>"I am inclined to think there is doubt—yes, +decidedly. It is a very serious matter, and I thought +it best to speak to you about it before talking to my +father. You see, though the loss might fall on us, +indirectly, the moral responsibility is yours, since you +are the lawyers in the case."</p> + +<p>"But your father is one of the executors, Mr. +Barker," said Mr. Screw, who felt obliged to say something, +and wanted to gain time.</p> + +<p>"My father—yes," and Barker smiled disagreeably. +"Yes, he is one of the executors. But you yourself +are the other, Mr. Screw. And as far as any intelligence +in the matter is concerned, you might be alone." +Barker was willing to flatter the lawyer at the expense +of his fond parent. Screw would be of more use to +him than many fathers in this matter. Mr. Screw +relapsed into silence, and sat for some minutes, hooking +one leg behind the other, and thrusting as much of +his hands into his pockets as those receptacles would +contain. After a time he changed his position, heaved +a species of sigh that sounded like the sudden collapse +of a set of organ-bellows, and ran his fingers through +his thick hair.</p> + +<p>Barker thought he was going to speak. But he +was mistaken; Mr. Screw was too much taken aback +to speak yet. Then Barker spoke for him.</p> + +<p>"Well," said he, caressing his foot and looking at +the ceiling, "what are you going to do about it?"</p> + +<p>"I shall do what is proper in such cases. I will +stop his drawing any more money, and investigate the +matter. If this is not the real Claudius, the real +Claudius must be somewhere, and can be found."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he is dead," suggested Barker.</p> + +<p>"It is about as easy to find a dead man as a live +man," said Screw. "It is a surer thing, on the whole. +A dead man can't change his clothes, and get his beard +shaved off, and cavoort around the corner."</p> + +<p>"Not generally speaking," said the other, "no well-regulated +corpse would do it, anyhow. Besides, if he +is dead, there must have been some notice of it in the +Heidelberg papers. He belonged to the University, +and they always put those things in the local sheet in +Germany."</p> + +<p>"That's so," said the lawyer. "Do you know anybody +in Heidelberg who would look the matter up, +Mr. Barker?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker did know some one in Heidelberg—the +very man, in fact. He would write immediately, and +set the inquiry on foot. Meanwhile there were other +things to be settled. After the first shock the lawyer +was not inclined to let Barker off so easily for having +indorsed a man he suspected of being a humbug. +Barker retorted that he had found Claudius in possession +of the documents transmitted by Messrs. Screw +and Scratch, and that it was not his fault if he supposed +that those astute gentlemen had taken proper precautions +to ascertain the identity of their client. He +went into many details, explaining how his suspicions +had been aroused by degrees in the course of many +conversations. He was expecting a question from Mr. +Screw. At last it came.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker," said Screw, fixing his brass-headed +eyes intently on his companion—for Mr. Screw was +no fool—"Mr. Barker, you brought this man over +here, and you know him better than any one else. +Now, what I want to know is this. He may be the +right man, after all. What we are going to do is entirely +precautionary. Do you want to appear or not?" +Barker had not expected the question to be put so +directly, but he was perfectly prepared for it.</p> + +<p>"I am sure I do not care," he said, with a fine +indifference. "I have no objection. It is a mere +question of expediency; do not consider me in the +matter. Do what you think is right," he added, +emphasising the last word, and meeting Screw's glance +boldly enough. Screw looked at him for a moment +or two in silence, and then turned his eyes away. +There was the faintest reflection of a smile on his +yellow face, and the expression became him well. +Screw was astute, sharp as a ferret, relentless as a +steel-corkscrew, crushing its cruel way through the +creaking cork; but Screw was an honest man, as +the times go. That was the difference between him +and Barker. Screw's smile was his best expression, +Barker's smile was of the devil, and very wily. Screw +smiled because he was amused. Barker smiled when +he was successful.</p> + +<p>"I think for the present," said Mr. Screw, "that +unless you positively wish to appear, it would be as +well that you should not. If we are mistaken, and the +Doctor is really what he pretends to be, it will be very +unpleasant for you afterwards to have been concerned +in an inquiry into the validity of his rights."</p> + +<p>"Do you think so?" asked Barker, looking languidly +across at Mr. Screw. "Very well, in that case +you may conduct the inquiry, and I will not appear. +I shall meet him just as if nothing had happened, and +let him tell me what you have done. Of course he +will tell me, the first thing. Besides, as you say, he +may be the right man, after all."</p> + +<p>"Exactly," said Mr. Screw. He knew perfectly +well that Barker would not want Claudius to know +the part he had played, in case all turned out to be +right, though he did not know that Barker was deceiving +him. He supposed that Barker really had serious +doubts about Claudius, and as there was no one else +to vouch for the latter, he was very honestly frightened. +He reviewed the situation in his own mind, and he +came to the conclusion that he had really been remiss +in the performance of his duties as executor. It had +not seemed in the least probable that any deception +could be practised, and yet, when all was said, there +was only the Heidelberg notary's attestation of the +signature to support the claimant of Mr. Lindstrand's +fortune. This reflection comforted Mr. Screw a little. +At all events, he would be perfectly justified in calling +on Claudius and stating his difficulty, requesting him +to give what assistance was in his power towards a +speedy identification of himself. In the meantime he +set himself to cross-examine Mr. Barker, endeavouring +to extract all the information he could. But extracting +information from Mr. Barker was no easy task, as he +very soon found, and as the hands of the clock pointed +to one, he rose slowly, as by stages, from the depths +of his arm-chair, and made up his mind that Barker +did not know very much about the matter, though he +knew more than any one else, and that the only thing +to be done was to go straight to Claudius and state +the case. No honest man ever had much difficulty in +proving who he was, thought Mr. Screw, and if he is +an impostor, he will very likely not show fight at all, +but make off to parts unknown, where he can very +easily be caught.</p> + +<p>Barker rose from his seat too, and took leave of the +lawyer, well pleased with the result of his evening's +work. It was very satisfactory. He had produced +exactly the impression on Mr. Screw's mind which he +had intended to produce; and having set that engine +of the law in motion, he knew that he could fold his +hands and proceed to enjoy himself after his manner. +He knew that everything would be done which could +contribute to annoy and mortify Claudius, and that it +would be done in such a way, with such paraphernalia +of legal courtesy and mercantile formality, that the +unhappy Doctor could not complain. Barker had +shrewdly calculated the difficulties Claudius would +have to surmount in identifying himself in a strange +country, without friends, and against the prejudices of +Mr. Screw, his uncle's executor. Moreover, if, after +countless efforts and endless trouble, Claudius succeeded, +as he probably would, in obtaining his fortune, Barker +would be no worse off than before. He would have +done nothing assailable, and he would have gained all +the advantages of the time Claudius lost, not to mention +the cloud of suspicion which must inevitably rest +on the Doctor, until he should succeed in clearing himself +before the world. With skill, courage, and money, +there was no telling what progress Barker might make +in his suit for the Countess, before Claudius was himself +again. With such an advantage, if he could not +outdo the Swede, he did not deserve to.</p> + +<p>So saying, Mr. Barker, left once more alone in the +sitting-room, paced slowly twice round the table, looked +at himself in the glass, twisted his heavy moustache +into shape, and smoothed his hair. Then he took his +hat and went out. There was a cab at the door of the +club, and in a minute more he was spinning along +Fifth Avenue, in the direction of his father's house.</p> + +<p>The machinery was wound up, and he had nothing +more to do. To-morrow morning Claudius would pass +a bad quarter of an hour with Mr. Screw, and in the +afternoon Barker would call upon him and offer such +consolation as was in his power; and when he had +called on Claudius, he would call on the Countess +Margaret and tell her what sad sceptics these legal +people were, everlastingly pestering peaceable citizens +in the hope of extracting from them a few miserable +dollars. And he would tell her how sorry he was that +Claudius should be annoyed, and how he, Barker, would +see him through—that is, he hoped so; for, he would +add, of course, such men as Mr. Screw and his own +father would not make so much trouble if they did not +at least think they had some cause for anxiety; and so +forth, and so on. And he would leave the Countess +with a most decided impression that there was something +wrong about Claudius. Oh yes! something not +<i>quite</i> clear about his antecedents, you know. Of +course it would come right in the end—no doubt of +that; oh dear, no.</p> + +<p>It was a happy night for Mr. Barker; but Claudius +slept ill. He had an evil dream.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII" />CHAPTER XII</h2> + + +<p>When Mr. Screw called at Claudius's hotel the next +day, the Doctor had gone out. Mr. Screw said he +would wait, and sat down with a book to pass the +time, for he was fond of reading in his leisure moments, +few as they were. Claudius had left the house early +in the morning, and had gone to find the spot where +his uncle had been buried—no easy matter, in the +vast cemetery where the dead men lie in hundreds of +thousands, in stately avenues and imposing squares, in +houses grand and humble, high and low, but all closed +and silent with the grandeur of a great waiting. +Claudius was not sentimental in this pilgrimage; it +was with him a matter of course, a duty which he performed +naturally for the satisfaction of his conscience. +He could not have told any other reason, though, if he +had been called upon to analyse the feeling which impels +most men to do the same thing, under the same +circumstances, he would have replied that a scientific +explanation of the fact could only be found in the +ancient practices of "ancestor worship," of which some +trace remains unto this day. But he would have added +that it was a proper mark of reverence and respect for +the dead, and that man naturally inclines to fulfil such +obligations, unless deterred by indolence or the fear of +ridicule. At any rate, he went alone; and it was late +in the afternoon before he came back.</p> + +<p>When at last he returned, he was not surprised to +find Mr. Screw awaiting him. He had not found that +gentleman on his first visit to Pine Street; and it +seemed very natural that his uncle's executor should +call upon him. He was cordial and courteous to his +visitor, who took the Doctor's measure, and looked into +his honest eyes, and realised that this claimant to +Lindstrand's money was undoubtedly a very fine fellow +indeed. Mr. Screw felt that it would be hard to +tell such a man to his face that he was not altogether +satisfied of his identity. But then, as the lawyer reflected, +swindlers are generally fine fellows; indeed, +their imposing appearance is often their whole capital +and stock-in-trade. Mr. Screw had a profound knowledge +of mankind, and he immediately determined upon +his course of action, which should be cautious, but at +the same time honest and straightforward. After a +preliminary exchange of civilities, he opened fire.</p> + +<p>"I have come on very delicate business, Dr. +Claudius," said he; and he hooked one leg behind the +other as he sat and ran his hands through his hair. +Claudius settled himself in his chair and waited, not +having any idea what the business might be.</p> + +<p>"You will readily understand," continued Mr. Screw, +"that in my position I feel obliged to take every conceivable +precaution in administering the estate of the +late Mr. Lindstrand. You will, therefore, not be +offended at what I am going to say. My personality +has nothing to do with it, nor can any personal impression +you produce upon me, no matter how favourable, +be considered in the light of evidence. I have +never seen you before, and I am bound to say that the +little I know of you, although perfectly satisfactory as +far as it goes, is not sufficient to prove in a court that +you are really the person indicated in Mr. Lindstrand's +will." Here Mr. Screw paused to see how Claudius +would take the hint that more evidence was required.</p> + +<p>But Claudius, the embodiment of calm strength, +intellectual and physical, was not to be moved by such +trifles. He showed not the slightest emotion, nor did +he betray any especial interest in what the lawyer was +saying. His attitude was that of attention to a matter +which it was his duty to understand and to elucidate. +But that was all. He wished Mr. Screw would talk a +little faster, and say what he required and go; but he +was too courteous to hurry him.</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," he answered, "I fully understand +your position, and any apology from you would be out +of place. Pray proceed."</p> + +<p>"I have nothing more to say," said Mr. Screw, +astonished at so much indifference where a great fortune +was concerned. "I like to be brief in such matters. +I have nothing more to say, sir, excepting that I would +be greatly obliged if you would put into my hands such +documents as you may think proper for the full establishing +of your rights."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Claudius. "If you will tell me +what evidence you require I will procure it immediately." +With that he rose, and lighted a cigarette.</p> + +<p>"A properly-attested certificate of your birth would +be all-sufficient," said Mr. Screw, who began to feel +relieved by the conduct of the Doctor. The latter, +however, suddenly stood still with the match in his +fingers, and looked at the lawyer with a curious +scrutiny.</p> + +<p>"I would prefer," he said, "to give some other +evidence of my identity than that, if it is the same +to you."</p> + +<p>"If you prefer it, of course," said the lawyer coldly. +His suspicions were immediately roused, for he had +named the simplest description of document he could +think of, and it seemed odd that the Doctor should be +so evidently disinclined to produce it.</p> + +<p>"I suppose," said the Doctor, "that the formal +attestation of my identity by the authorities of the +University of Heidelberg would be sufficient?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I should think so," said Screw cautiously. +"But will it not take some time to procure that?"</p> + +<p>"Well? If it does, what then?"</p> + +<p>"Only that—you will understand that until this +matter is settled I should not feel justified in authorising +you to draw upon the estate."</p> + +<p>Claudius's sense of logic was offended.</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," he replied, "have I drawn upon the +estate for a single dollar yet?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I am bound to say you have not, although +you might have considered it natural to do so, and we +should have put no obstacle—" Mr. Screw stopped +short. He had betrayed himself, and felt extremely +embarrassed. But he said enough to give Claudius an +idea of the situation. Something had occurred, some +one had spoken, to cast a doubt on his identity; and Mr. +Screw was the chosen emissary of that "some one."</p> + +<p>"Then, Mr. Screw," said the Doctor in measured +tones, "I would admonish you to be more careful how +you insinuate that I might do anything of the kind. +You have inconvenienced me quite enough already. +You had better not inconvenience me any more. I +consider your conduct a piece of unparalleled clumsiness, +and your language little short of impertinent. +What you have said now you should have said in the +letter which announced my uncle's death. Or you +should have instructed Mr. Barker, who was abroad at +the time and found me in Heidelberg, to make the +necessary investigations. The evidence shall be forthcoming +in proper season, and until then I do not desire +the advantage of your company."</p> + +<p>Mr. Screw was so much astonished with this mode +of address from a man whom he had foolishly imagined +to be good-natured that he stood a moment by the +table hesitating what he should say. Claudius took +up a book and began to read.</p> + +<p>"Well," said he, perceiving that Mr. Screw was +still in the room, "why don't you go?"</p> + +<p>"Really, Dr. Claudius, I am not accustomed—" +he began.</p> + +<p>"Go," said Claudius, interrupting him; "it is not +of the smallest interest to me to know what you are +accustomed to. There is the door."</p> + +<p>"Sir—"</p> + +<p>"Do you prefer the window?" asked the Doctor, +rising in great wrath and striding towards the unhappy +lawyer. Mr. Screw instantly made up his mind that +the door was preferable, and disappeared. When he +was gone Claudius sat down again. He was very +angry; but, in his own view, his anger was just. It +was very clear to him, from the words Mr. Screw had +inadvertently let fall, that some one had, for reasons +unknown, undertaken to cause him a great deal of unpleasantness. +What he had said to Screw was not to +be denied. If there was any question as to his identity, +full proof should have been required from the first. +But his autograph letter from Heidelberg, attested by +a notary, had been accepted as sufficient; and "Screw +and Scratch" had answered the letter, and Claudius +had received their answer in Baden. It had never +entered his head that anything more would be required. +So long as Screw had confined himself to stating his +position, merely asking for further evidence, the Doctor +had nothing to say. But at the suggestion that +Claudius might want to draw money from the estate +before his claims were fully established, he lost his +temper. It was an imputation on his honour; and, +however slight it might seem to Mr. Screw, Claudius +was not the man to bear it.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes later Mr. Barker walked in unannounced. +It was natural enough that he should call, +but Claudius did not want him. The Doctor had not +had time to think over the situation, but he had, a vague +impression that Barker had something to do with this +sudden cloud of annoyance that had risen to darken +his path. Barker, on his side, was prepared for storms, +but he intended to play the part of confidential friend +and consoler. Claudius, however, wanted neither friends +nor consolation, and he was in the worst of tempers. +Nevertheless, he rose and offered his guest a chair, and +asked him how he did. Barker took the chair and +said he was fairly well, on the way to recovery from +the voyage.</p> + +<p>"What have you been doing all day, Claudius?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"I have been to a place called Greenwood, to see +where they had buried my uncle," answered Claudius, +and relapsed into silence.</p> + +<p>"No wonder you look so gloomy. Whatever induced +you to do such a thing?"</p> + +<p>"I was not induced," said Claudius. "He was my +last relation in the world, and I did the only thing I +could to honour his memory, which was to go and see +his grave."</p> + +<p>"Yes, very proper, I am sure," replied Barker. "If +my relations would begin and die, right away, I would +trot around and see their graves fast enough!"</p> + +<p>Claudius was silent.</p> + +<p>"What on earth is the matter with you, Claudius? +Have you got a headache, or are you going to be married?"</p> + +<p>Claudius roused himself, and offered Barker a cigar.</p> + +<p>"There is nothing the matter," he said; "I suppose +my excursion has made me a little gloomy; but I shall +soon get over that. There are matches on the mantelpiece."</p> + +<p>"Thanks. Why did you not come down town to-day? +Oh! of course you were away. It was very +good fun. We had a regular bear garden."</p> + +<p>"It looked like something of that sort yesterday +when I was there."</p> + +<p>"Yesterday? Oh! you had never been there before. +Yes, it is always like that. I say, come and +take a drive in the park before dinner."</p> + +<p>"No, thanks. I am very sorry, but I have an appointment +in a few minutes. I would like to go very +much; you are very kind."</p> + +<p>"Business?" asked the inquisitive Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"Well—yes, if you like, business."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Barker. "By the by, have you seen +any of your lawyer people to-day?" Barker had expected +that Claudius would confide to him the trouble +Screw was raising. But as Claudius did not begin, +Barker asked the question.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Doctor, "Screw has been here. +In fact he is just gone."</p> + +<p>"Anything wrong?" inquired the tormentor.</p> + +<p>"No, nothing wrong that I know of," said Claudius. +Then he suddenly turned sharply on Barker, and looked +straight at him. "Did you expect to hear that there +was anything wrong?" he asked quickly. Claudius +had a very unpleasant way of turning upon his antagonist +just a minute before the enemy was ready for +him. Barker had found this out before, and, being +now directly interrogated, he winced perceptibly.</p> + +<p>"Oh dear, no," he hastened to say. "But lawyers +are great bores sometimes, especially where wills are +concerned. And I thought perhaps Screw might be +wearying you with his formalities."</p> + +<p>"No," said Claudius indifferently, "nothing to—" he +was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was +the Duke's servant, a quiet man in gray clothes and +gray whiskers. He had a bald head and bright eyes.</p> + +<p>"His Grace's compliments, sir, and can you see him +now, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I will come in a moment," said Claudius.</p> + +<p>"I think, sir," said the man, "that his Grace is +coming to your rooms."</p> + +<p>"Very good. My compliments, and I shall be glad +to see him." The gray servant vanished.</p> + +<p>Barker rose to go; but Claudius was begging him +not to hurry, when there was another knock, and the +Duke entered. He shook hands with Claudius, and +spoke rather coldly to Barker. The latter was uneasy, +and felt that he was in the way. He was. Barker had +fallen into a singular error of judgment in regard to +the relations existing between the Duke and Claudius. +He had imagined it in his power to influence the Duke's +opinion, whereas in trying to effect that object he +had roused the Englishman's animosity. Besides, Mr. +Barker was to the Duke a caprice. He found the +quick-thinking man of business amusing and even useful, +but for steady companionship he did not want him. +A passage across the Atlantic was more than enough +to satisfy his desire for Mr. Barker's society, even if +Barker had not managed to excite his indignation. +But Claudius was different. The honest nobleman +could not tell why it was, but it was true, nevertheless. +He looked upon the Doctor more as an equal than +Barker. The Duke was a very great man in his own +country, and it was singular indeed that he should find +a man to his liking, a man who seemed of his own +caste and calibre, in the simple <i>privat-docent</i> of a +German university. Perhaps Barker felt it too. At +all events, when the Duke sat himself down in +Claudius's room, after begging permission to ring for +lights, and made himself most evidently at home, Mr. +Barker felt that he was in the way; and so, promising +to call on Claudius again in the morning, he departed. +Claudius stood by the mantelpiece while the servant +lit the gas.</p> + +<p>"I am very glad to see you," he said, when the man +had gone.</p> + +<p>"I am glad of that, for I want your society. The +Countess Margaret has a headache, and Lady Victoria +has gone to dine in her rooms, and to spend the evening +with her."</p> + +<p>"I am very sorry to hear that the Countess is not +well," said Claudius, "but I am very glad of anything +that brings you here to-night. I am in trouble—that +is, I have been very much annoyed."</p> + +<p>"Ah, very sorry," said the Duke.</p> + +<p>"It so happens that you are the only person in +America, as far as I know, who can help me."</p> + +<p>"I?" The Duke opened his eyes wide. Then he +reflected that it might be something concerning the +Countess, and waited.</p> + +<p>"You are a gentleman," said Claudius reflectively, +and hardly addressing his visitor as he said it.</p> + +<p>"Quite so," said the Duke. "It's a very fine word +that."</p> + +<p>"And a man of honour," continued Claudius in a +meditative tone.</p> + +<p>"The deuce and all, it's the same thing," said the +Duke, rather puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Yes; in some countries it is. Now, what I want +to ask you is this. Could you, as a gentleman and a +man of honour, swear in a court of law that you know +me, and that I am the person I represent myself to +be? That is the question."</p> + +<p>The Duke was too much surprised to answer +directly. He made a great fuss over his cigar, and +got up and shut the window. Then he sat down in +another chair.</p> + +<p>"I don't know what you mean," he said at last, to +gain time.</p> + +<p>"I mean what I say," said Claudius. "Could you +swear, before the Supreme Court of the United States, +for instance, that I am Claudius, sometime student, +now Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Heidelberg +in Germany? Could you swear that?"</p> + +<p>"My dear boy," said the other, "what in the world +are you driving at?" The Duke realised that he could +not conscientiously swear to any such statement as +that proposed by Claudius; and, liking him as he did, +he was much distressed at being put into such a +corner.</p> + +<p>"I will tell you afterwards what it is about, Duke," +said Claudius. "I am serious, and I would like you +to answer the question, though I foresee that you will +say you could not swear to anything of the kind."</p> + +<p>"Honestly, Claudius, though there is not the +slightest doubt in my mind that you are what you +appear to be, I could not conscientiously swear it in +evidence. I do not know anything about you. But +Barker could."</p> + +<p>"No, he could not. He knows no more about me +than you do, saving that he met me two or three days +sooner. He met me in Heidelberg, it is true, but he +made no inquiries whatever concerning me. It never +entered his head that I could be anything but what I +professed to be."</p> + +<p>"I should think not, indeed," said the Duke warmly.</p> + +<p>"But now that I am here in the flesh, these lawyers +are making trouble. One of them was here a little +while since, and he wanted documentary evidence of +my identity."</p> + +<p>"Who was the lawyer?"</p> + +<p>"A Mr. Screw, one of the executors of the will."</p> + +<p>"Who is the other executor?" asked the Duke +quickly.</p> + +<p>"Barker's father."</p> + +<p>The Englishman's face darkened, and he puffed +savagely at his cigar. He had been angry with Barker +the day before. Now he began to suspect him of +making trouble.</p> + +<p>"What sort of evidence did the man want?" he +asked at length.</p> + +<p>"Any sort of documentary evidence would do. He +asked me for my certificate of birth, and I told him he +could not have it. And then he went so far as to +remark in a very disagreeable way that he could not +authorise me to draw upon the estate until I produced +evidence."</p> + +<p>"Well, that is natural enough."</p> + +<p>"It would have been so at first. But they had +accepted the mere signature to my letter from Heidelberg +as proof of my existence, and I got word in Baden +in July that I might draw as much as I pleased. And +now they turn upon me and say I am not myself. +Something has happened. Fortunately I have not +touched the money, in spite of their kind permission."</p> + +<p>"There is something very odd about this, Claudius. +Have you got such a thing as a birth certificate to +show?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Claudius, after a pause. "I have +everything in perfect order, my mother's marriage and +all."</p> + +<p>"Then why, in Heaven's name, can you not show it, +and put all these rascally lawyers to flight?"</p> + +<p>"Because—" Claudius began, but he hesitated +and stopped. "It is a curious story," he said, "and +it is precisely what I want to talk to you about."</p> + +<p>"Is it very long?" asked the Duke; "I have not +dined yet."</p> + +<p>"No, it will not take long, and if you have nothing +better to do we will dine together afterwards. But +first there are two things I want to say. If I prove +to you that I am the son of my uncle's sister, will +you tell Mr. Screw that you know it for a fact, that +is, that if it had to be sworn to, you would be willing +to swear to it?"</p> + +<p>"If you prove it to me so that I am legally sure of +it, of course I will."</p> + +<p>"The other thing I will ask you is, not to divulge +what I shall tell you, or show you. You may imagine +from my being unwilling to show these papers, even +to a lawyer, when my own fortune is concerned, that I +attach some importance to secrecy."</p> + +<p>"You may trust me," said the Duke; "you have +my word," he added, as if reluctantly. People whose +word is to be trusted are generally slow to give it. +Claudius bowed his head courteously, in acknowledgment +of the plighted promise. Then he opened a +trunk that stood in a corner of the room, and took +from it the iron box in which he had deposited the +lawyer's letter on that evening three months before, +when his destiny had roused itself from its thirty years' +slumber. He set the box on the table, and having +locked the door of the room sat down opposite his guest. +He took a key from his pocket.</p> + +<p>"You will think it strange," he said with a smile, +"that I should have taken the liberty of confiding to +you my secret. But when you have seen what is +there, you will perceive that you are the most fitting +confidant in this country—for general reasons, of +course; for I need not say there is nothing in those +papers which concerns you personally." Claudius +unlocked the box and took out a few letters that were +lying on the top, then he pushed the casket across the +table to the Duke.</p> + +<p>"Will you please examine the contents for yourself?" +he said. "There are only three or four papers +to read—the rest are letters from my father to my +mother—you may look at them if you like; they are +very old."</p> + +<p>All this time the Duke looked very grave. He +was not accustomed to have his word of honour asked +for small matters, and if this were some trivial question +of an assumed name, or the like, he was prepared to +be angry with Claudius. So he silently took the little +strong box, and examined the contents. There were +two packages of papers, two or three morocco cases that +might contain jewels, and there was a string of pearls +lying loose in the bottom of the casket. The Duke +took the pearls curiously in his hand and held them to +the light. He had seen enough of such things to +know something of their value, and he knew this +string might be worth anywhere from eight to ten +thousand pounds. He looked graver than ever.</p> + +<p>"Those are beautiful pearls, Dr. Claudius," he said; +"too beautiful for a Heidelberg student to have lying +about among his traps." He turned them over and +added, "The Duchess has nothing like them."</p> + +<p>"They belonged to my mother," said Claudius +simply. "I know nothing of their value."</p> + +<p>The Duke took the papers and untied the smaller +package, which appeared to contain legal documents, +while the larger seemed to be a series of letters filed +in their envelopes, as they had been received.</p> + +<p>"My mother's name was Maria Lindstrand," said +Claudius. He leaned back, smoking the eternal cigarette, +and watched the Duke's face.</p> + +<p>Before the Englishman had proceeded far he looked +up at Claudius, uttering an exclamation of blank +amazement. Claudius merely bent his head as if to +indorse the contents of the paper, and was silent. +The Duke read the papers carefully through, and +examined one of them very minutely by the light. +Then he laid them down with a certain reverence, as +things he respected.</p> + +<p>"My dear Claudius—" he rose and extended his +hand to the young man with a gesture that had in it +much of dignity and something of pride. "My dear +Claudius, I shall all my life remember that you honoured +me with your confidence. I accepted it as a +token of friendship, but I am now able to look upon +it as a very great distinction."</p> + +<p>"And I, Duke, shall never forget that you believed +in me on my own merits, before you were really able +to swear that I was myself." Claudius had also risen, +and their hands remained clasped a moment. Then +Claudius applied himself to rearranging the contents of +his box; and the Duke walked up and down the room, +glancing from time to time at the Doctor. He stopped +suddenly in his walk.</p> + +<p>"But—goodness gracious! why have you kept this +a secret?" he asked, as if suddenly recollecting himself.</p> + +<p>"My mother," said Claudius, "was too proud to +come forward and claim what my father, but for his +untimely death, would have given her in a few months. +As for me, I have been contented in my life, and +would have been unwilling to cause pain to any one +by claiming my rights. My mother died when I was +a mere child, and left these papers sealed, directing me +not to open them until I should be twenty-one years +old. And so when I opened them, I made up my +mind to do nothing about it."</p> + +<p>"It is not easy to understand you, Claudius; but I +will swear to anything you like."</p> + +<p>"Thank you; I am very grateful."</p> + +<p>"Do not speak of that. I am proud to be of +service. By the by, the present—the present incumbent +is childless, I believe. He must be your father's +brother?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Claudius. "Should he die, I would +not hesitate any longer."</p> + +<p>"No indeed, I hope not. It is a shame as it is."</p> + +<p>"By the by," said Claudius, who had put away his +box; "why did you not go to Newport to-day? I +meant to go on to-morrow and meet you there. This +business had put it out of my head."</p> + +<p>"Lady Victoria and the Countess both wanted to +stay another day."</p> + +<p>"Is the Countess ill?" asked Claudius. "Or do +you think she would see me this evening?"</p> + +<p>"I do not think there is anything especial the +matter. She will very likely see you after dinner. +As for me, I am hungry; I have walked all over New +York this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"Very well, let us dine. You know New York, +and must select the place."</p> + +<p>Arm-in-arm they went away together, and the +Duke introduced Claudius to the glories of Delmonico's.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII" />CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + + +<p>Troubles never come singly; moreover, they come on +horseback, and go away on foot. If Claudius had +passed an unpleasant afternoon, the Countess's day +had been darkened with the shadow of a very serious +difficulty. Early in the morning her maid had +brought her coffee, and with it a note in a foreign +hand. The maid, who was French, and possessed the +usual characteristics of French maids, had exhausted +her brain in trying to discover who the sender might +be. But the missive was sealed with wax, and a +plain "N" was all the impression. So she adopted +the usual expedient of busying herself in the room, +while her mistress opened the note, hoping that some +chance exclamation, or even perhaps an answer, might +give her curiosity the food it longed for. But Margaret +read and reread the note, and tore it up into +very small pieces, thoughtfully; and, as an afterthought, +she burned them one by one over a wax +taper till nothing was left. Then she sent her maid +away and fell to thinking. But that did not help her +much; and the warm sun stole through the windows, +and the noise in the street prevented her from sleeping, +for she was unused to the sound of wheels after +the long weeks at sea. And so she rang for her maid +again. The maid came, bringing another note, which, +she said, had been given her by "Monsieur Clodiuse;" +and would there be an answer?</p> + +<p>It was simply a few lines to say he was going to +be away all day, and that he hoped to have the pleasure +of seeing the Countess in Newport to-morrow. +But for some reason or other Margaret was not pleased +with the note, and merely said there would be no +answer.</p> + +<p>"Madame would she dress herself to go out, or to +keep the lodging?"</p> + +<p>Madame would not go out. Was it warm? Oh +yes, it was very warm. In fact it was <i>hébétant</i>. +Would Madame see Monsieur le Duc if he called at +eleven? Monseigneur's Monsieur Veelees had charged +her to inquire of Madame. No, Madame would not +see Monsieur le Duc this morning. But if any one +called, Madame desired to be informed. Madame +would be served. And so the toilet proceeded.</p> + +<p>It was not very long before some one called. There +was a knock at the door of the bedroom. Clémentine +left the Countess's hair, which she was busy combing +and tressing, and went to the door. It was old Vladimir, +Margaret's faithful Russian servant.</p> + +<p>"At this hour!" exclaimed the Countess, who was +not in the best of tempers. "What does he want?"</p> + +<p>Vladimir ventured to make a remark in Russian, +from the door, which produced an immediate effect. +Margaret rose swiftly, overturning her chair and sweeping +various small articles from the table in her rapid +movement. She went very quickly to the door, her +magnificent black hair all hanging down. She knew +enough Russian to talk to the servant.</p> + +<p>"What did you say, Vladimir?"</p> + +<p>"Margareta Ivanowna"—Margaret's father's name +had been John—"Nicolaï Alexandrewitch is here," said +Vladimir, who seemed greatly surprised. His geographical +studies having been purely experimental, the +sudden appearance of a Russian gentleman led him to +suppose his mistress had landed in some outlying part +of Russia, or at least of Europe. So she bade the old +servant conduct the gentleman to her sitting-room and +ask him to wait. She was not long in finishing her +toilet. Before she left the room a servant of the hotel +brought another box of flowers from Mr. Barker. +Clémentine cut the string and opened the pasteboard +shell. Margaret glanced indifferently at the profusion +of roses and pink pond-lilies—a rare variety only +found in two places in America, on Long Island and +near Boston—and having looked, she turned to go.</p> + +<p>Clémentine held up two or three flowers, as if to +try the effect of them on Margaret's dress.</p> + +<p>"Madame would she not put some flowers in her +dress?"</p> + +<p>No. Madame would not. Madame detested flowers. +Whereat the intelligent Clémentine carefully examined +the name of the sender, inscribed on a card which lay +in the top of the box. Mr. Barker knew better than +to send flowers anonymously. He wanted all the +credit he could get. The Countess swept out of the +room.</p> + +<p>At the door of the sitting-room she was met by a +young man, who bent low to kiss her extended hand, +and greeted her with a manner which was respectful +indeed, but which showed that he felt himself perfectly +at ease in her society.</p> + +<p>Nicolaï Alexandrewitch, whom we will call simply +Count Nicholas, was the only brother of Margaret's +dead husband. Like Alexis, he had been a soldier in +a guard regiment; Alexis had been killed at Plevna, +and Nicholas had succeeded to the title and the estates, +from which, however, a considerable allowance was paid +to the Countess as a jointure.</p> + +<p>Nicholas was a handsome man of five or six and +twenty, of middle height, swarthy complexion, and compact +figure. His beard was very black, and he wore it +in a pointed shape. His eyes were small and deep-set, +but full of intelligence. He had all the manner and +appearance of a man of gentle birth, but there was +something more; an indescribable, undefinable air that +hung about him. Many Russians have it, and the +French have embodied the idea it conveys in their proverb +that if you scratch a Russian you will find the +Tartar. It is rather a trait of Orientalism in the blood, +and it is to be noticed as much in Servians, Bulgarians, +Roumanians, and even Hungarians, as in Russians. It is +the peculiarity of most of these races that under certain +circumstances, if thoroughly roused, they will go to any +length, with a scorn of consequence which seems to the +Western mind both barbarous and incomprehensible. +Margaret had always liked him. He was wild; but +he was a courteous gentleman, and could always be +depended upon.</p> + +<p>"Mon cher," said Margaret, "I need not tell you I +am enchanted to see you, but what is the meaning of +the things you wrote me this morning? Are you +really in trouble?"</p> + +<p>"Hélas, yes. I am in the worst kind of trouble +that exists for a Russian. I am in political trouble—and +that entails everything else."</p> + +<p>"Tell me all about it," said she. "Perhaps I may +help you."</p> + +<p>"Ah no! you cannot help. It is not for that I +am come. I have a confession to make that concerns +you."</p> + +<p>"Well?" said she, with a smile. She did not suppose +it could be anything very bad.</p> + +<p>"You will be angry, of course," he said, "but that +is nothing. I have done you an injury that I cannot +repair."</p> + +<p>"Enfin, my dear Nicholas, tell me. I do not +believe anything bad of you."</p> + +<p>"You are kindness itself, and I thank you in advance. +Wait till you have heard. I am 'suspect,'—they think +I am a Nihilist I am exiled to the mines, and everything +is confiscated. Voilà! Could it be worse?"</p> + +<p>Margaret was taken off her guard. She had herself +been in more than easy circumstances at the time +of her marriage, but the financial crisis in America, +which occurred soon after that event, had greatly +crippled her resources. She had of late looked chiefly +to her jointure for all the luxuries which were so +necessary to her life. To find this suddenly gone, +in a moment, without the slightest preparation, was +extremely embarrassing. She covered her eyes with +one hand for a moment to collect her thoughts and to +try and realise the extent of the disaster. Nicholas +mistook the gesture.</p> + +<p>"You will never forgive me, I know. I do not +deserve that you should. But I will do all in my +power to repair the evil. I will go to Siberia if they +will consider your rights to the estate."</p> + +<p>Margaret withdrew her hand, and looked earnestly +at the young man.</p> + +<p>"Forgive you?" said she. "My dear Nicholas, +you do not suppose I seriously think there is anything +to forgive?"</p> + +<p>"But it is true," he said piteously; "in ruining me +they have ruined you. Mon Dieu, mon Dieu! If I +only had a friend—"</p> + +<p>"Taisez vous donc, mon ami. It is everything most +bête what you say. You have many friends, and as for +me, I do not care a straw for the money. Only if I +had known I would not have left Europe. Voilà tout."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that is it," said Nicholas. "I escaped the +police and hurried to Baden. But you were gone. So +I took the first steamer and came here. But I have +waited ten days, and it was only last night I saw in +the papers that you had arrived yesterday morning. +And here I am."</p> + +<p>Margaret rose, from a feeling that she must move +about—the restless fiend that seizes energetic people +in their trouble. Nicholas thought it was a sign for +him to go. He took his hat.</p> + +<p>"Believe me—" he began, about to take his leave.</p> + +<p>"You are not going?" said Margaret. "Oh no. +Wait, and we will think of some expedient. Besides +you have not told me half what I want to know. The +money is of no consequence; but what had you done to +lead to such a sentence? Are you really a Nihilist?"</p> + +<p>"Dieu m'en garde!" said the Count devoutly. "I +am a Republican, that is all. Seulement, our Holy +Russia does not distinguish."</p> + +<p>"Is not the distinction very subtle?"</p> + +<p>"The difference between salvation by education and +salvation by dynamite; the difference between building +up and tearing down, between Robespierre and Monsieur +Washington."</p> + +<p>"You must have been indiscreet. How could they +have found it out?"</p> + +<p>"I was bête enough to write an article in the +<i>Russki Mir</i>—the mildest of articles. And then some +of the Nihilist agents thought I was in their interests +and wanted to see me, and the police observed them, +and I was at once classed as a Nihilist myself, and +there was a perquisition in my house. They found +some notes and a few manuscripts of mine, quite +enough to suit their purpose, and so the game was up."</p> + +<p>"But they did not arrest you?"</p> + +<p>"No. As luck would have it, I was in Berlin at +the time, on leave from my regiment, for I was never +suspected before in the least. And the Nihilists, who, +to tell the truth, are well organised and take good care +of their brethren, succeeded in passing word to me not +to come back. A few days afterwards the Russian +Embassy were hunting for me in Berlin. But I had +got away. Sentence was passed in contempt, and I +read the news in the papers on my way to Paris. +There is the whole history."</p> + +<p>"Have you any money?" inquired Margaret after +a pause.</p> + +<p>"Mon Dieu! I have still a hundred napoleons. +After that the deluge."</p> + +<p>"By that time we shall be ready for the deluge," +said Margaret cheerfully. "I have many friends, and +something may yet be done. Meanwhile do not distress +yourself about me; you know I have something +of my own."</p> + +<p>"How can I thank you for your kindness? You +ought to hate me, and instead you console!"</p> + +<p>"My dear friend, if I did not like you for your own +sake, I would help you because you are poor Alexis's +brother." There was no emotion in her voice at the +mention of her dead husband, only a certain reverence. +She had honoured him more than she had loved +him.</p> + +<p>"Princesse, quand même," said Nicholas in a low +voice, as he raised her fingers to his lips.</p> + +<p>"Leave me your address before you go. I will +write as soon as I have decided what to do." Nicholas +scratched the name of a hotel on his card.</p> + +<p>When he was gone Margaret sank into a chair. +She would have sent for Claudius—Claudius was a +friend—but she recollected his note, and thought with +some impatience that just when she needed him most +he was away. Then she thought of Lady Victoria, and +she rang the bell. But Lady Victoria had gone out +with her brother, and they had taken Miss Skeat. +Margaret was left alone in the great hotel. Far off +she could hear a door shut or the clatter of the silver +covers of some belated breakfast service finding its +way up or down stairs. And in the street the eternal +clatter and hum and crunch, and crunch and hum and +clatter of men and wheels; the ceaseless ring of the +tram-cars stopping every few steps to pick up a passenger, +and the jingle of the horses' bells as they +moved on. It was hot—it was very hot. Clémentine +was right, it was <i>hébétant</i>, as it can be in New York +in September. She bethought herself that she might +go out and buy things, that last resource of a rich +woman who is tired and bored.</p> + +<p>Buy things! She had forgotten that she was +ruined. Well, not quite that, but it seemed like it. +It would be long before she would feel justified in +buying anything more for the mere amusement of the +thing. She tried to realise what it would be like to +be poor. But she failed entirely, as women of her +sort always do. She was brave enough if need be; if +it must come, she had the courage to be poor. But +she had not the skill to paint to herself what it would +be like. She could not help thinking of Claudius. +It would be so pleasant just now to have him sitting +there by her side, reading some one of those wise +books he was so fond of.</p> + +<p>It was so hot. She wished something would happen. +Poor Nicholas! He need not have been so terribly cut +up about the money. Who is there? It was Vladimir. +Vladimir brought a card. Yes, she would see the +gentleman. Vladimir disappeared, and a moment after +ushered in Mr. Horace Bellingham, commonly known +as "Uncle Horace."</p> + +<p>"I am so glad to see you, Mr. Bellingham," said +Margaret, who had conceived a great liking for the old +gentleman on the previous evening, and who would +have welcomed anybody this morning.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bellingham made a bow of the courtliest, most +<i>ancien-régime</i> kind. He had ventured to bring her +a few flowers. Would she accept them? They were +only three white roses, but there was more beauty in +them than in all Mr. Barker's profusion. Margaret +took them, and smelled them, and fastened them at +her waist, and smiled a divine smile on the bearer.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, so much," said she.</p> + +<p>"No thanks," said he; "I am more than repaid by +your appreciation;" and he rubbed his hands together +and bowed again, his head a little on one side, as if +deprecating any further acknowledgment. Then he +at once began to talk a little, to give her time to select +her subject if she would; for he belonged to a class of +men who believe it their duty to talk to women, and +who do not expect to sit with folded hands and be +amused. To such men America is a revelation of +social rest. In America the women amuse the men, +and the men excuse themselves by saying that they +work hard all day, and cannot be expected to work +hard all the evening. It is evidently a state of +advanced civilisation, incomprehensible to the grosser +European mind—a state where talking to a woman is +considered to be hard work. Or—in fear and trembling +it is suggested—is it because they are not able to amuse +their womankind? Is their refusal a <i>testimonium +paupertatis ingenii</i>? No—perish the thought! It +may have been so a long time ago, in the Golden Age. +This is not the Golden Age; it is the Age of Gold. +Messieurs! faites votre jeu!</p> + +<p>By degrees it became evident that Margaret wanted +to talk about Russia, and Mr. Bellingham humoured +her, and gave her a good view of the situation, and +told anecdotes of the Princess Dolgorouki, and drew +the same distinction between Nihilists and Republicans +that Count Nicholas had made an hour earlier in the +same room. Seeing she was so much interested, Mr. +Bellingham took courage to ask a question that had +puzzled him for some time. He stroked his snowy +beard, and hesitated slightly.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, if I am indiscreet, Madam," he said +at last, "but I read in the papers the other day that +a nobleman of your name—a Count Nicholas, I think—had +landed in New York, having escaped the clutches +of the Petersburg police, who wanted to arrest him as +a Nihilist. Was he—was he any relation of yours?"</p> + +<p>"He is my brother-in-law," said Margaret, rather +startled at seeing the point to which she had led the +conversation. But she felt a strong sympathy for Mr. +Bellingham, and she was glad to be able to speak on +the subject to any one. She stood so much in need of +advice; and, after all, if the story was in the papers +it was public property by this time. Mr. Bellingham +was a perfect diplomatist, and, being deeply interested, +he had soon learned all the details of the case by +heart.</p> + +<p>"It is very distressing," he said gravely. But that +was all. Margaret had had some faint idea that he +might offer to help her—it was absurd, of course—or +at least that he might give her some good advice. +But that was not Mr. Bellingham's way of doing +things. If he intended to do anything, the last thing +he would think of would be to tell her of his intention. +He led the conversation away, and having rounded it +neatly with a couple of anecdotes of her grandmother, +he rose to go, pleading an engagement. He really had +so many appointments in a day that he seldom kept +more than half of them, and his excuse was no polite +invention. He bowed himself out, and when he was +gone Margaret felt as though she had lost a friend.</p> + +<p>She wearied of the day—so long, so hot, and so +unfortunate. She tried a book, and then she tried to +write a letter, and then she tried to think again. It +seemed to her that there was so little to think about, +for she had a hopeless helpless consciousness that there +was nothing to be done that she could do. She might +have written to her friends in Petersburg—of course +she would do that, and make every possible representation. +But all that seemed infinitely far off, and could +be done as well to-morrow as to-day. At last Lady +Victoria came back, and at sight of her Margaret +resolved to confide in her likewise. She had so much +common sense, and always seemed able to get at the +truth. Therefore, in the afternoon Margaret monopolised +Lady Victoria and carried her off, and they sat +together with their work by the open window, and the +Countess was "not at home."</p> + +<p>In truth, a woman of the world in trouble of any +kind could not do better than confide in Lady Victoria. +She is so frank and honest that when you talk to her +your trouble seems to grow small and your heart big. +She has not a great deal of intellect; but, then, she +has a great deal of common sense. Common sense is, +generally speaking, merely a dislike of complications, +and a consequent refusal on the part of the individual +to discover them. People of vivid imagination delight +in magnifying the difficulties of life by supposing +themselves the centre of much scheming, plotting, and +cheap fiction. They cheerfully give their time and +their powers to the study of social diplomacy. It is +reserved for people intellectually very high or very low +in the scale to lead a really simple life. The average +mind of the world is terribly muddled on most points, +and altogether beside itself as regards its individual +existence; for a union of much imagination, unbounded +vanity, and unfathomable ignorance can never take +the place of an intellect, while such a combination +cannot fail to destroy the blessed <i>vis inertiæ</i> of the +primitive fool, who only sees what is visible, instead of +evolving the phantoms of an airy unreality from the +bottomless abyss of his own so-called consciousness. +Fortunately for humanity, the low-class unimaginative +mind predominates in the world, as far as numbers are +concerned; and there are enough true intellects among +men to leaven the whole. The middle class of mind +is a small class, congregated together chiefly within +the boundaries of a very amusing institution calling +itself "society." These people have scraped and +varnished the aforesaid composition of imagination, +ignorance, and vanity, into a certain conventional thing +which they mendaciously term their "intelligence," +from a Latin verb <i>intelligo</i>, said to mean "I understand." +It is a poor thing, after all the varnishing. +It is neither hammer nor anvil; it cannot strike, and, +if you strike it, dissolution instantly takes place, after +which the poor driveller is erroneously said to have +"lost his mind," and is removed to an asylum. It +is curious that the great majority of lunatics should +be found in "society." Society says that all men of +genius are more or less mad; but it is a notable fact +that very few men of genius have ever been put in +madhouses, whereas the society that calls those men +crazy is always finding its way there. It takes but +little to make a lunatic of poor Lady Smith-Tompkins. +Poor thing! you know she is so very "high-strung," +such delicate sensibilities! She has an <i>idée fixe</i>—so +very sad. Ah yes! that is it. She never had an idea +before, and now that she has one she cannot get rid +of it, and it will kill her in time.</p> + +<p>Now people whose intellect is of a low class are +not disturbed with visions of all that there is to be +known, nor with a foolish desire to appear to know it. +On the other hand, they are perfectly capable of understanding +what is honourable or dishonourable, mean or +generous, and they are very tenacious of these principles, +believing that in the letter of the law is salvation. +They are not vain of qualities and powers not +theirs; and, consequently, when they promise, they +promise what they are able to perform. Occasionally +such characters appear in "society,"—rare creatures, +in whom a pernicious education has not spoiled the +simplicity and honesty which is their only virtue. +They fall naturally into the position of confessors to +the community, for the community requires confessors +of some sort. In them confides the hardened sinner +bursting with evil deeds and the accumulation of petty +naughtiness. To them comes the beardless ass, simpering +from his first adventure, and generally "afraid he +has compromised" the mature woman of the world, +whom he has elected to serve, desiring to know what +he ought to do about it. To them, too, comes sometimes +the real sufferer with his or her little tale of woe, +hesitatingly told, half hinted, hoping to be wholly +understood. They are good people, these social confessors, +though they seldom give much advice. Nevertheless, +it is such a help to tell one's story and hear +how it sounds!</p> + +<p>Lady Victoria was not a woman of surpassing intellect; +perhaps she had no intellect at all. She belonged +to the confessors above referred to. She was the soul +of honour, of faith, and of secrecy. People were always +making confidences to her, and they always felt the +better for it—though she herself could not imagine +why. And so even Margaret came and told her +troubles. Only, as Margaret was really intelligent, +she did not hesitate or make any fuss about telling, +when once she had made up her mind. The story +was, indeed, public property by this time, and Lady +Victoria was sure to know it all before long from +other people. When Margaret had finished, she laid +down her work and looked out of the window, waiting.</p> + +<p>"I need not tell you I am sorry," said Lady Victoria. +"You know that, my dear. But what will you +do? It will be so very awkward for you, you know."</p> + +<p>"I hardly can tell yet—what would you do in my +place?"</p> + +<p>"Let me see," said the English girl. "What would +I do? You must have a Russian minister here somewhere. +I think I would send for him, if I were you."</p> + +<p>"But it takes so long—so dreadfully long, to get +anything done in that way," said Margaret. And they +discussed the point in a desultory fashion. Of course +Lady Victoria's suggestion was the simplest and most +direct one. She was quite certain that Margaret would +get her rights very soon.</p> + +<p>"Of course," said she, "they must do it. It would +be so unjust not to." She looked at Margaret with a +bright smile, as if there was no such thing as injustice in +the world. But the Countess looked grave; and as she +leaned back in her deep arm-chair by the window, with +half-closed eyes, it was easy to see she was in trouble. +She needed help and sympathy and comfort. She had +never needed help before, and it was not a pleasant +sensation to her; perhaps she was dissatisfied when +she realised whose help of all others she would most +gladly accept. At least it would be most pleasant that +he should offer it. "He"—has it come to that? +Poor Margaret! If "he" represented a sorrow instead +of a happiness, would you confide that too to Lady +Victoria? Or would you feel the least shadow of annoyance +because you miss him to-day? Perhaps it is +only habit. You have schooled yourself to believe you +ought to do without him, and you fancy you ought to +be angry with yourself for transgressing your rule. +But what avails your schooling against the little god? +He will teach you a lesson you will not forget. The +day is sinking. The warm earth is drinking out its +cup of sunlight to the purple dregs thereof. There is +great colour in the air, and the clouds are as a trodden +wine-press in the west. The old sun, the golden bowl +of life, is touching earth's lips, and soon there will be +none of the wine of light left in him. She will drink +it all. Yet your lover tarries, Margaret, and comes not.</p> + +<p>Margaret and Lady Victoria agreed they would dine +together. Indeed, Margaret had a little headache, for +she was weary. They would dine together, and then +read something in the evening—quite alone; and so +they did. It was nearly nine o'clock when the servant +announced Claudius and the Duke. The latter, of +course, knew nothing about Margaret's troubles, and +was in high spirits. As for Claudius, his momentary +excitement, caused by Mr. Screw's insinuations, had +long since passed away, and he was as calm as ever, +meditating a graphic description of his day's excursion +to Greenwood Cemetery for Margaret's benefit. It was +a lugubrious subject, but he well knew how to make +his talk interesting. It is the individual, not the topic, +that makes the conversation; if a man can talk well, +graveyards are as good a subject as the last novel, and +he will make tombstones more attractive than scandal.</p> + +<p>No one could have told from Claudius's appearance +or conversation that night that there was anything in +the world to cloud his happiness. He talked to the +woman he loved with a serene contempt for everything +else in the world—a contempt, too, which was not +assumed. He was perfectly happy for the nonce, and +doubly so in that such a happy termination to a very +long day was wholly unexpected. He had thought +that he should find the party gone from New York on +his return from Greenwood, and this bit of good luck +seemed to have fallen to him out of a clear sky. +Margaret was glad to see him too; she was just now +in that intermediate frame of mind during which a +woman only reasons about a man in his absence. The +moment he appears, the electric circuit is closed and +the quiescent state ceases. She was at the point when +his coming made a difference that she could feel; when +she heard his step her blood beat faster, and she could +feel herself turning a shade paler. Then the heavy +lids would droop a little to hide what was in her dark +eyes, and there were many voices in her ear, as though +the very air cried <i>gloria</i>, while her heart answered <i>in +excelsis</i>. But when he was come the gentle tale seemed +carried on, as from the hour of his last going; and +while he stayed life seemed one long day.</p> + +<p>She had struggled hard, but in her deepest thoughts +she had foreseen the termination. It is the instinct +of good women to fight against love—he comes in such +a questionable shape. A good woman sees a difference +between being in love and loving—well knowing that +there is passion without love, but no love without passion. +She feels bound in faith to set up a tribunal in +her heart, whereby to judge between the two; but very +often judge and jury and prisoner at the bar join hands, +and swear eternal friendship on the spot. Margaret had +feared lest this Northern wooer, with his mighty strength +and his bold eyes, should lead her feelings whither her +heart would not. Sooner than suffer that, she would +die. And yet there is a whole unspoken prophecy of +love in every human soul, and his witness is true.</p> + +<p>All this evening they sat side by side, welding their +bonds. Each had a secret care, but each forgot it +utterly. Claudius would not have deigned to think +of his own troubles when he was with her; and she +never once remembered how, during that morning, she +had longed to tell him all about her brother-in-law. +They talked of all sorts of things, and they made up +their minds to go to Newport the next day.</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat asked whether Newport was as romantic +as Scarborough.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV" />CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + + +<p>There were odours of Russian cigarettes in Mr. Horace +Bellingham's room, and two smokers were industriously +adding to the fragrant cloud. One was the owner of +the dwelling himself, and the other was Claudius. He +sat upon the sofa that stood between the two windows +of the room, which was on the ground floor, and +looked out on the street. The walls were covered +with pictures wherever they were not covered with +books, and there was not an available nook or corner +unfilled with scraps of bric-à-brac, photographs, odds +and ends of reminiscence, and all manner of things +characteristic to the denizen of the apartment. The +furniture was evidently calculated more for comfort +than display, and if there was an air of luxury pervading +the bachelor's quiet <i>rez-de-chaussée</i>, it was due +to the rare volumes on the shelves and the good +pictures on the walls, rather than to the silk or satin +of the high-art upholsterer, or the gilding and tile +work of the modern decorator, who ravages upon +beauty as a fungus upon a fruit tree. Whatever there +was in Mr. Bellingham's rooms was good; much of it +was unique, and the whole was harmonious. Rare +editions were bound by famous binders, and if the +twopenny-halfpenny productions of some little would-be +modern poet, resplendent with vellum and æsthetic +greenliness of paper, occasionally found their way to +the table, they never travelled as far as the shelves. +Mr. Bellingham had fools enough about him to absorb +his spare trash.</p> + +<p>On this particular occasion the old gentleman was +seated in an arm-chair at his table, and Claudius, as +aforesaid, had established himself upon the sofa. He +looked very grave and smoked thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew what to do," he said. "Mr. +Bellingham, do you think I could be of any use?"</p> + +<p>"If I had not thought so, I would not have told +you—I could have let you find it out for yourself +from the papers. You can be of a great deal of use."</p> + +<p>"Do you advise me to go to St. Petersburg and see +about it then?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I do. Start at once. You can get the +necessary steps taken in no time, if you go now."</p> + +<p>"I am ready. But how in the world can I get the +thing done?"</p> + +<p>"Letters. Your English friend over there will give +you letters to the English Ambassador; he is Lord +Fitzdoggin—cousin of the Duke's. And I will give +you some papers that will be of use. I know lots of +people in Petersburg. Why, it's as plain as a pikestaff. +Besides, you know the proverb, <i>mitte sapientem et nihil +dicas.</i> That means then when you send a wise man +you must not dictate to him."</p> + +<p>"You flatter me. But I would rather have your +advice, if that is what you call 'dictating.' I am not +exactly a fool, but then, I am not very wise either."</p> + +<p>"No one is very wise, and we are all fools compared +to some people," said Mr. Bellingham. "If anybody +wanted a figurehead for a new Ship of Fools, I sometimes +think a portrait of myself would be singularly +appropriate. There are times when I should fix upon +a friend for the purpose. Mermaid—half fish—figurehead, +half man, half fool. That's a very good idea."</p> + +<p>"Very good—for the friend. Meanwhile, you know, +it is I who am going on the errand. If you do not +make it clear to me it will be a fool's errand."</p> + +<p>"It is perfectly clear, my dear sir," insisted Mr. +Bellingham. "You go to St. Petersburg; you get an +audience—you can do that by means of the letters; +you lay the matter before the Czar, and request justice. +Either you get it or you do not. That is the beauty +of an autocratic country."</p> + +<p>"How about a free country?" asked Claudius.</p> + +<p>"You don't get it," replied his host grimly. +Claudius laughed a cloud of smoke into the air.</p> + +<p>"Why is that?" he asked idly, hoping to launch +Mr. Bellingham into further aphorisms and paradoxes.</p> + +<p>"Men are everywhere born free, but they—"</p> + +<p>"Oh," said Claudius, "I want to know your own +opinion about it."</p> + +<p>"I have no opinion; I only have experience," +answered the other. "At any rate in an autocratic +country there is a visible, tangible repository of power +to whom you can apply. If the repository is in the +humour you will get whatever you want done, in the +way of justice or injustice. Now in a free country +justice is absorbed into the great cosmic forces, and it +is apt to be an expensive incantation that wakes the +lost elementary spirit. In Russia justice shines by +contrast with the surrounding corruption, but there is +no mistake about it when you get it. In America it +is taken for granted everywhere, and the consequence +is that, like most things that are taken for granted, +it is a myth. Rousseau thought that in a republic +like ours there would be no more of the 'chains' he +was so fond of talking about. He did not anticipate +a stagnation of the national moral sense. An Englishman +who has made a study of these things said lately +that the Americans had retained the forms of freedom, +but that the substance had suffered considerably."</p> + +<p>"Who said that?" asked Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Herbert Spencer. He said it to a newspaper +reporter in New York, and so it was put into the +papers. It is the truest thing he ever said, but no +one took any more notice of it than if he had told the +reporter it was a very fine day. They don't care. +Tell the first man you meet down town that he is a +liar; he will tell you he knows it. He will probably +tell you you are another. We are all alike here. I'm +a liar myself in a small way—there's a club of us, two +Americans and one Englishman."</p> + +<p>"You are the frankest person I ever met, Mr. +Bellingham," said Claudius, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Some day I will write a book," said Mr. Bellingham, +rising and beginning to tramp round the room. +"I will call it—by the way, we were talking about +Petersburg. You had better be off."</p> + +<p>"I am going, but tell me the name of the book +before I go."</p> + +<p>"No, I won't; you would go and write it yourself, +and steal my thunder." Uncle Horace's eyes twinkled, +and a corruscation of laugh-wrinkles shot like sheet-lightning +over his face. He disappeared into a neighbouring +room, leaving a trail of white smoke in his +wake, like a locomotive. Presently he returned with +a <i>Bullinger Guide</i> in his hand.</p> + +<p>"You can sail on Wednesday at two o'clock by the +Cunarder," he said. "You can go to Newport to-day, +and come back by the boat on Tuesday night, and be +ready to start in the morning." Mr. Bellingham prided +himself greatly on his faculty for making combinations +of times and places.</p> + +<p>"How about those letters, Mr. Bellingham?" +inquired Claudius, who had no idea of going upon his +expedition without proper preparations.</p> + +<p>"I will write them," said Uncle Horace, "I will +write them at once," and he dived into an address-book +and set to work. His pen was that of the traditional +ready-writer, for he wrote endless letters, and his +correspondence was typical of himself—the scholar, the +wanderer, and the Priest of Buddha by turns, and +sometimes all at once. For Mr. Bellingham was a +professed Buddhist and a profound student of Eastern +moralities, and he was a thorough scholar in certain +branches of the classics. The combination of these +qualities, with the tact and versatile fluency of a man +of the world, was a rare one, and was a source of +unceasing surprise to his intimates. At the present +moment he was a diplomatist, since he could not be a +diplomat, and to his energetic suggestion and furtherance +of the plan he had devised the results which this +tale will set forth are mainly due.</p> + +<p>Claudius sat upon the sofa watching the old gentleman, +and wondering how it was that a stranger should +so soon have assumed the position of an adviser, and +with an energy and good sense, too, which not only +disarmed resistance, but assubjugated the consent of +the advised. Life is full of such things. Man lives +quietly like a fattening carp in some old pond for +years, until some idle disturber comes and pokes up +the mud with a stick, and the poor fish is in the dark. +Presently comes another destroyer of peace, less idle +and more enterprising, and drains away the water, +carp and all, and makes a potato-garden of his old +haunts. So the carp makes a new study of life under +altered circumstances in other waters; and to pass +the time he wonders about it all. It happens even +to men of masterful character, accustomed to directing +events. An illness takes such a man out of his sphere +for a few months. He comes back and finds his pond +turned into a vegetable-garden and his ploughed field +into a swamp; and then for a time he is fain to ask +advice and take it, like any other mortal. So Claudius, +who felt himself in an atmosphere new to him, and +had tumbled into a very burning bush of complications, +had fallen in with Mr. Horace Bellingham, a kind of +professional bone-setter, whose province was the reduction +of society fractures, speaking medically. And +Mr. Bellingham, scenting a patient, and moreover +being strongly attracted to him on his own merits, +had immediately broached the subject of the Nihilist +Nicholas, drawing the conclusion that the man of the +emergency was Claudius, and Claudius only. And +the bold Doctor weighed the old gentleman's words, +and by the light of what he felt he knew that Uncle +Horace was right. That if he loved Margaret his first +duty was to her, and that first duty was her welfare. +No messenger could or would be so active in +her interests as himself; and in his anxiety to serve +her he had not thought it strange that Mr. Bellingham +should take it for granted he was ready to embark on +the expedition. He thought of that later, and wondered +at the boldness of the stranger's assumption, no less +than at the keenness of his wit. Poor Claudius! anybody +might see he was in love.</p> + +<p>"There; I think that will draw sparks," said Mr. +Bellingham, as he folded the last of his letters and +put them all in a great square envelope. "Put those +in your pocket and keep your powder dry."</p> + +<p>"I am really very grateful to you," said Claudius. +Uncle Horace began to tramp round the room again, +emitting smoky ejaculations of satisfaction. Presently +he stopped in front of his guest and turned his eyes up +to Claudius's face without raising his head. It gave +him a peculiar expression.</p> + +<p>"It is a very strange thing," he said, "but I knew +at once that you had a destiny, the first time I saw +you. I am very superstitious; I believe in destiny."</p> + +<p>"So would I if I thought one could know anything +about it. I mean in a general way," answered Claudius, +smiling.</p> + +<p>"Is generalisation everything?" asked Mr. Bellingham +sharply, still looking at the young man. "Is +experience to be dismissed as empiricism, with a sneer, +because the wider rule is lacking?"</p> + +<p>"No. But so long as only a few occupy themselves +in reducing empiric knowledge to a scientific shape +they will not succeed, at least in this department. To +begin with, they have not enough experience among +them to make rules from."</p> + +<p>"But they contribute. One man will come who will +find the rule. Was Tycho Brahé a nonentity because +he was not Kepler? Was Van Helmont nothing +because he was not Lavoisier? Yet Tycho Brahé was +an empiric—he was the last of the observers of the +concrete, if you will allow me the phrase. He was +scientifically the father of Kepler."</p> + +<p>"That is very well put," said Claudius. "But we +were talking of destiny. You are an observer."</p> + +<p>"I have very fine senses," replied Mr. Bellingham. +"I always know when anybody I meet is going to do +something out of the common run. You are."</p> + +<p>"I hope so," said Claudius, laughing. "Indeed I +think I am beginning already."</p> + +<p>"Well, good luck to you," said Mr. Bellingham, +remembering that he had missed one engagement, and +was on the point of missing another. He suddenly +felt that he must send Claudius away, and he held out +his hand. There was nothing rough in his abruptness. +He would have liked to talk with Claudius for an +hour longer had his time permitted. Claudius understood +perfectly. He put the letters in his pocket, and +with a parting shake of the hand he bade Mr. Horace +Bellingham good-morning, and good-bye; he would not +trouble him again, he said, before sailing. But Mr. +Bellingham went to the door with him.</p> + +<p>"Come and see me before you go—Wednesday +morning; I am up at six, you know. I shall be very +glad to see you. I am like the Mexican donkey that +died of <i>congojas ajenas</i>—died of other people's troubles. +People always come to me when they are in difficulties." +The old gentleman stood looking after Claudius as he +strode away. Then he screwed up his eyes at the +sun, sneezed with evident satisfaction, and disappeared +within, closing the street door behind him.</p> + +<p>"Some day I will write my memoirs," he said to +himself, as he sat down.</p> + +<p>Claudius was in a frame of mind which he would +have found it hard to describe. The long conversation +with Mr. Bellingham had been the first intimation +he had received of Margaret's disaster, and the same +interview had decided him to act at once in her behalf—in +other words, to return to Europe immediately, +after a week's stay in New York, leaving behind all +that was most dear to him. This resolution had +formed itself instantaneously in his mind, and it never +occurred to him, either then or later, that he could +have done anything else in the world. It certainly +did not occur to him that he was doing anything +especially praiseworthy in sacrificing his love to its +object, in leaving Margaret for a couple of months, and +enduring all that such a separation meant, in order to +serve her interests more effectually. He knew well +enough what he was undertaking—the sleepless nights, +the endless days, the soul-compelling heaviness of +solitude, and the deadly sinking at the heart, all which +he should endure daily for sixty days—he could not +be back before that. He knew it all, for he had +suffered it all, during those four and twenty hours on +the yacht that followed his first wild speech of love. +But Claudius's was a knightly soul, and when he +served he served wholly, without reservation. Had +the dark-browed Countess guessed half the nobleness +of purpose her tall lover carried in his breast, who +knows but she might have been sooner moved herself. +But how could she know? She suspected, indeed, +that he was above his fellows, and she never attributed +bad motives to his actions, as she would unhesitatingly +have done with most men; for she had learned lessons +of caution in her life. Who steals hearts steals souls, +wherefore it behoves woman to look that the lock be +strong and the key hung high. Claudius thought so +too, and he showed it in every action, though unconsciously +enough, for it was a knowledge natural and +not acquired, an instinctive determination to honour +where honour was due. Call it Quixotism if need be. +There is nothing ridiculous in the word, for there +breathes no truer knight or gentler soul than Cervantes's +hero in all the pages of history or romance. +Why cannot all men see it? Why must an infamous +world be ever sneering at the sight, and smacking its +filthy lips over some fresh gorge of martyrs? Society +has non-suited hell to-day, lest peradventure it should +not sleep o' nights.</p> + +<p>Thomas Carlyle, late of Chelsea, knew that. How +he hit and hammered and churned in his wrath, with +his great cast-iron words. How the world shrieked +when he wound his tenacious fingers in the glory of +her golden hair and twisted and wrenched and twisted +till she yelled for mercy, promising to be good, like a +whipped child. There is a story told of him which +might be true.</p> + +<p>It was at a dinner-party, and Carlyle sat silent, +listening to the talk of lesser men, the snow on his +hair and the fire in his amber eyes. A young Liberal +was talking theory to a beefy old Conservative, who +despised youth and reason in an equal degree.</p> + +<p>"The British people, sir," said he of the beef, "can +afford to laugh at theories."</p> + +<p>"Sir," said Carlyle, speaking for the first time +during dinner, "the French nobility of a hundred years +ago said they could afford to laugh at theories. Then +came a man and wrote a book called the <i>Social Contract</i>. +The man was called Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and his +book was a theory, and nothing but a theory. The +nobles could laugh at his theory; <i>but their skins went +to bind the second edition of his book</i><a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1" /><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>."</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1" /><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> There was a tannery of human skins at Meudon during the +Revolution.</p></div> + +<p>Look to your skin, world, lest it be dressed to +morocco and cunningly tooled with gold. There is +much binding yet to be done.</p> + +<p>Claudius thought neither of the world nor of Mr. +Carlyle as he walked back to the hotel; for he was +thinking of the Countess Margaret, to the exclusion +of every other earthly or unearthly consideration. +But his thoughts were sad, for he knew that he was +to leave her, and he knew also that he must tell her +so. It was no easy matter, and his walk slackened, +till, at the corner of the great thoroughfare, he stood +still, looking at a poor woman who ground a tuneless +hand-organ. The instrument of tympanum torture +was on wheels, and to the back of it was attached a +cradle. In the cradle was a dirty little baby, licking +its fist and listening with conscientious attention to +the perpetual trangle-tringle-jangle of the maternal +music. In truth the little thing could not well listen +to anything else, considering the position in which it +was placed. Claudius stood staring at the little caravan, +halted at the corner of the most aristocratic street +in New York, and his attention was gradually roused +to comprehend what he saw. He reflected that next +to being bound on the back of a wild horse, like +Mazeppa, the most horrible fate conceivable must be +that of this dirty baby, put to bed in perpetuity on the +back of a crazy grind-organ. He smiled at the idea, +and the woman held out a battered tin dish with one +hand, while the other in its revolution ground out the +final palpitating squeaks of "<i>Ah, che la morte ognora</i>." +Claudius put his hand into his pocket and gave the +poor creature a coin.</p> + +<p>"You are encouraging a public nuisance," said a +thin gentlemanly voice at his elbow. Claudius looked +down and saw Mr. Barker.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Doctor, "I remember a remark you +once made to me about the deserving poor in New +York—it was the day before yesterday, I think. You +said they went to the West."</p> + +<p>"Talking of the West, I suppose you will be going +there yourself one of these days to take a look at our +'park'—eh?"</p> + +<p>"No, I am going East."</p> + +<p>"To Boston, I suppose?" inquired the inquisitive +Barker. "You will be very much amused with Boston. +It is the largest village in the United States."</p> + +<p>"I am not going to Boston," said Claudius calmly.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I thought when you said you were going +East you meant—"</p> + +<p>"I am going to sail for Europe on Wednesday," said +the Doctor, who had had time to reflect that he might +as well inform Barker of his intention. Mr. Barker +smiled grimly under his moustache.</p> + +<p>"You don't mean that?" he said, trying to feign +astonishment and disguise his satisfaction. It seemed +too good to be true. "Going so soon? Why, I +thought you meant to spend some time."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am going immediately," and Claudius +looked Barker straight in the face. "I find it is +necessary that I should procure certain papers connected +with my inheritance."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Barker turning his eyes another way, +for he did not like the Doctor's look, "I am very sorry, +any way. I suppose you mean to come back soon?"</p> + +<p>"Very soon," answered Claudius. "Good-morning, +Barker."</p> + +<p>"Good morning. I will call and see you before +you sail. You have quite taken my breath away with +this news." Mr. Barker walked quickly away in the +direction of Elevated Road. He was evidently going +down town.</p> + +<p>"Strange," thought Claudius, "that Barker should +take the news so quietly. I think it ought to have +astonished him more." Leaving the organ-grinder, the +dirty baby, and the horse-cars to their fate, Claudius +entered the hotel. He found the Duke over a late +breakfast, eating cantelopes voraciously. Cantelopes +are American melons, small and of sickly appearance, +but of good vitality and unearthly freshness within, a +joy to the hot-stomached foreigner. Behold also, his +Grace eateth the cantelope and hath a cheerful countenance. +Claudius sat down at the table, looking rather +gloomy.</p> + +<p>"I want you to give me an introduction to the +English Ambassador in Petersburg. Lord Fitzdoggin, +I believe he is."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" exclaimed the peer; "what for?"</p> + +<p>"I am going there," answered Claudius with his +habitual calm, "and I want to know somebody in +power."</p> + +<p>"Oh! are <i>you</i> going?" asked the Duke, suddenly +grasping the situation. He afterwards took some credit +to himself for having been so quick to catch Claudius's +meaning.</p> + +<p>"Yes. I sail on Wednesday."</p> + +<p>"Tell me all about it," said the Duke, who recovered +his equanimity, and plunged a knife into a fresh cantelope +at the same moment.</p> + +<p>"Very well. I saw your friend, Mr. Horace Bellingham, +this morning, and he told me all about the +Countess's troubles. In fact, they are in the newspapers +by this time, but I had not read about them. +He suggested that some personal friend of the Countess +had better proceed to headquarters at once, and see +about it; so I said I would go; and he gave me some +introductions. They are probably good ones; but he +advised me to come to you and get one for your ambassador."</p> + +<p>"Anything Uncle Horace advises is right, you +know," said his Grace, speaking with his mouth full. +"He knows no end of people everywhere," he added +pensively, when he had swallowed.</p> + +<p>"Very well, I will go; but I am glad you approve."</p> + +<p>"But what the deuce are you going to do about +that fortune of yours?" asked the other suddenly. +"Don't you think we had better go down and swear to +you at once? I may not be here when you get back, +you know."</p> + +<p>"No; that would not suit my arrangements," +answered Claudius. "I would rather not let it be +known for what purpose I had gone. Do you understand? +I am going ostensibly to Heidelberg to get +my papers from the University, and so, with all thanks, +I need not trouble you." The Duke looked at him for +a moment.</p> + +<p>"What a queer fellow you are, Claudius," he said +at last. "I should think you would like her to +know."</p> + +<p>"Why? Suppose that I failed, what a figure I +should cut, to be sure." Claudius preferred to attribute +to his vanity an action which was the natural outcome +of his love.</p> + +<p>"Well, that is true," said the Duke; "but I think +you are pretty safe for all that. Have some breakfast—I +forgot all about it."</p> + +<p>"No, thanks. Are you going to Newport to-day? +I would like to see something outside of New York +before I go back."</p> + +<p>"By all means. Better go at once—all of us in a +body. I know the Countess is ready, and I am sure +I am."</p> + +<p>"Very good. I will get my things together. One +word—please do not tell them I am going; I will do it +myself.</p> + +<p>"All right," answered the Duke; and Claudius +vanished. "He says 'them,'" soliloquised the Englishman, +"but he means 'her.'"</p> + +<p>Claudius found on his table a note from Mr. Screw. +This missive was couched in formal terms, and emitted +a kind of phosphorescent wrath. Mr. Screw's dignity +was seriously offended by the summary ejectment he +had suffered at the Doctor's hands on the previous day. +He gave the Doctor formal notice that his drafts would +not be honoured until the executors were satisfied +concerning his identity; and he solemnly and legally +"regretted the position Dr. Claudius had assumed +towards those whose sacred duty it was to protect the +interests of Dr. Claudius." The cunning repetition of +name conveyed the idea of two personages, the claimant +and the real heir, in a manner that did not escape the +Doctor. Since yesterday he had half regretted having +lost his temper; and had he known that Screw +had been completely duped by Mr. Barker, Claudius +would probably have apologised to the lawyer. Indeed, +he had a vague suspicion, as the shadow of a distant +event, that Barker was not altogether clear of the +business; and the fact that the latter had shown so +little surprise on hearing of his friend's sudden return +to Europe had aroused the Doctor's imagination, so that +he found himself piecing together everything he could +remember to show that Barker had an interest of some +kind in removing him from the scene. Nevertheless, +the burden of responsibility for the annoyance he was +now suffering seemed to rest with Screw, and Screw +should be taught a great lesson; and to that end +Claudius would write a letter. It was clear he was +still angry.</p> + +<p>The Doctor sat down to write; and his strong, white +fingers held the pen with unrelenting determination to +be disagreeable. His face was set like a mask, and +ever and anon his blue eyes gleamed scornfully. And +this is what he said—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"SIR—Having enjoyed the advantage of your society, +somewhat longer than I could have wished, during +yesterday afternoon, I had certainly not hoped for so early +a mark of your favour and interest as a letter from you +of to-day's date. As for your formal notice to me that +my drafts will not be honoured in future, I regard it as +a deliberate repetition of the insulting insinuation conveyed +to me by your remarks during your visit. You +are well aware that I have not drawn upon the estate in +spite of your written authorisation to do so. I consider +your conduct in this matter unworthy of a person professing +the law, and your impertinence is in my opinion +only second to the phenomenal clumsiness you have displayed +throughout. As I fear that your ignorance of +your profession may lead you into some act of folly disastrous +to yourself, I will go so far as to inform you that +on my return from Europe, two months hence, your proceedings +as executor for the estate of the late Gustavus +Lindstrand will be subjected to the severest scrutiny. In +the meantime, I desire no further communications from +you.</p> + +<p>CLAUDIUS."</p></div> + +<p>This remarkable epistle was immediately despatched +by messenger to Pine Street; and if Mr. Screw had felt +himself injured before, he was on the verge of desperation +when he read Claudius's polemic. He repeated to +himself the several sentences, which seemed to breathe +war and carnage in their trenchant brevity; and he +thought that even if he had been guilty of any breach +of trust, he could hardly have felt worse. He ran his +fingers through his thick yellow-gray hair, and hooked +his legs in and out of each other as he sat, and bullied +his clerks within an inch of their lives. Then, to get +consolation, he said to himself that Claudius was certainly +an impostor, or he would not be so angry, or go to +Europe, or refuse any more communications. In the +midst of his rage, Mr. Barker the younger opportunely +appeared in the office of Messrs. Screw and Scratch, +prepared to throw any amount of oil upon the flames.</p> + +<p>"Well?" said Mr. Barker interrogatively, as he +settled the flower in his gray coat, and let the paper +ribband of the "ticker" run through his other hand, +with its tale of the tide of stocks. Yellow Mr. Screw +shot a lurid glance from his brassy little eyes.</p> + +<p>"You're right, sir—the man's a humbug."</p> + +<p>"Who?" asked Barker, in well-feigned innocence.</p> + +<p>"Claudius. It's my belief he's a liar and a thief +and a damned impostor, sir. That's my belief, sir." +He waxed warm as he vented his anger.</p> + +<p>"Well, I only suggested taking precautions. I +never said any of these things," answered Barker, who +had no idea of playing a prominent part in his own +plot. "Don't give me any credit, Mr. Screw."</p> + +<p>"Now, see here, Mr. Barker; I'm talking to you. +You're as clever a young man as there is in New York. +Now, listen to me; I'm talking to you," said Mr. Screw +excitedly. "That man turned me out of his house—turned +me out of doors, sir, yesterday afternoon; and +now he writes me this letter; look here, look at it; +read it for yourself, can't you? And so he makes +tracks for Europe, and leaves no address behind. An +honest man isn't going to act like that, sir—is he, +now?"</p> + +<p>"Not much," said Barker, as he took the letter. +He read it through twice, and gave it back. "Not +much," he repeated. "Is it true that he has drawn +no money?"</p> + +<p>"Well, yes, I suppose it is," answered Screw reluctantly, +for this was the weak point in his argument. +"However, it would be just like such a leg to make +everything sure in playing a big game. You see he +has left himself the rear platform, so he can jump off +when his car is boarded."</p> + +<p>"However," said Barker sententiously, "I must say +it is in his favour. What we want are facts, you +know, Mr. Screw. Besides, if he had taken anything, +I should have been responsible, because I accepted +him abroad as the right man."</p> + +<p>"Well, as you say, there is nothing gone—not a red. +So if he likes to get away, he can; I'm well rid of him."</p> + +<p>"Now that's the way to look at it. Don't be so +down in the mouth, sir; it will all come straight +enough." Barker smiled benignly, knowing it was all +crooked enough at present.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm damned anyhow," said Mr. Screw, +which was not fair to himself, for he was an honest +man, acting very properly according to his lights. It +was not his fault if Barker deceived him, and if that +hot-livered Swede was angry.</p> + +<p>"Never mind," answered Barker, rather irrelevantly; +"I will see him before he sails, and tell you +what I think about it. He is dead sure to give himself +away, somehow, before he gets off."</p> + +<p>"Well, sail in, young man," said Screw, biting off +the end of a cigar. "<i>I</i> don't want to see him again, +you can take your oath."</p> + +<p>"All right; that settles it. I came about something +else, though. I know you can tell me all about +this suit against the Western Union, can't you?"</p> + +<p>So the two men sat in their arm-chairs and talked +steadily, as only Americans can talk, without showing +any more signs of fatigue than if they were snoring; +and it cost them nothing. If the Greeks of the time +of Pericles could be brought to life in America, they +would be very like modern Americans in respect of +their love of talking and of their politics. Terrible +chatterers in the market-place, and great wranglers in +the council—the greatest talkers living, but also on +occasion the greatest orators, with a redundant vivacity +of public life in their political veins, that magnifies +and inflames the diseases of the parts, even while it +gives an unparalleled harmony to the whole. The +Greeks had more, for their activity, hampered by the +narrow limits of their political sphere, broke out in +every variety of intellectual effort, carried into every +branch of science and art. In spite of the whole +modern school of impressionists, æsthetes, and aphrodisiac +poets, the most prominent features of Greek art +are its intellectuality, its well-reasoned science, and its +accurate conception of the ideal. The resemblance +between Americans of to-day and Greeks of the age of +Pericles does not extend to matters of art as yet, +though America bids fair to surpass all earlier and +contemporary nations in the progressive departments +of science. But as talkers they are pre-eminent, these +rapid business men with their quick tongues and their +sharp eyes and their millions.</p> + +<p>When Barker left Screw he had learned a great +deal about the suit of which he inquired, but Screw +had learned nothing whatever about Claudius.</p> + +<p>As for the Doctor, as soon as he had despatched +his letter he sent to secure a passage in Wednesday's +steamer, and set himself to prepare his effects for the +voyage, as he only intended returning from Newport +in time to go on board. He was provided with money +enough, for before leaving Germany he had realised +the whole of his own little fortune, not wishing to +draw upon his larger inheritance until he should feel +some necessity for doing so. He now felt no small +satisfaction in the thought that he was independent of +Mr. Screw and of every one else. It would have been +an easy matter, he knew, to clear up the whole difficulty +in twenty-four hours, by simply asking the +Duke to vouch for him; and before hearing of Margaret's +trouble he had had every intention of pursuing +that course. But now that he was determined to go to +Russia in her behalf, his own difficulty, if he did not +take steps for removing it, furnished him with an +excellent excuse for the journey, without telling the +Countess that he was going for the sole purpose of +recovering her fortune, as he otherwise must have told +her. Had he known the full extent of Barker's intentions +he might have acted differently, but as yet his +instinct against that ingenious young gentleman was +undefined and vague.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV" />CHAPTER XV.</h2> + + +<p>The cliff at Newport—the long winding path that +follows it from the great beach to the point of the +island, always just above the sea, hardly once descending +to it, as the evenly-gravelled path, too narrow for +three, though far too broad for two, winds by easy +curves through the grounds, and skirts the lawns of +the million-getters who have their tents and their +houses therein—it is a pretty place. There the rich +men come and seethe in their gold all summer; and +Lazarus comes to see whether he cannot marry Dives's +daughter. And the choleric architect, dissatisfied with +the face of Nature, strikes her many a dread blow, +and produces an unhealthy eruption wherever he +strikes, and calls the things he makes houses. Here +also, on Sunday afternoon, young gentlemen and younger +ladies patrol in pairs, and discourse of the most saccharine +inanities, not knowing what they shall say, and +taking no thought, for obvious reasons. And gardeners +sally forth in the morning and trim the paths with +strange-looking instruments—the earth-barbers, who +lather and shave and clip Nature into patterns, and +the world into a quincunx.</p> + +<p>It is a pretty place. There is nothing grand, not +even anything natural in Newport, but it is very +pretty for all that. For an artificial place, destined to +house the most artificial people in the world during +three months of the year, it is as pleasing as it can be +in a light-comedy-scenery style. Besides, the scenery +in Newport is very expensive, and it is impossible to +spend so much money without producing some result. +It cost a hundred thousand to level that lawn there, +and Dives paid the money cheerfully. Then there is +Croesus, his neighbour, who can draw a cheque for a +hundred millions if he likes. His house cost him a +pot of money. And so they build themselves a landscape, +and pare off the rough edges of the island, and +construct elegant landing-stages, and keep yachts, and +make to themselves a fashionable watering-place; until +by dint of putting money into it, they have made +it remarkable among the watering-places of the world, +perhaps the most remarkable of all.</p> + +<p>But there are times when the cliff at Newport is +not an altogether flippant bit of expensive scene-painting, +laid out for the sole purpose of "effect." Sometimes +in the warm summer nights the venerable moon +rises stately and white out of the water; the old moon, +that is the hoariest sinner of us all, with her spells +and enchantments and her breathing love-beams, that +look so gently on such evil works. And the artist-spirits +of the night sky take of her silver as much as +they will, and coat with it many things of most humble +composition, so that they are fair to look upon. And +they play strange pranks with faces of living and dead. +So when the ruler of the darkness shines over poor, +commonplace Newport, the aspect of it is changed, +and the gingerbread abominations wherein the people +dwell are magnified into lofty palaces of silver, and +the close-trimmed lawns are great carpets of soft dark +velvet; and the smug-faced philistine sea, that the +ocean would be ashamed to own for a relation by day, +breaks out into broken flashes of silver and long paths +of light. All this the moonlight does, rejoicing in its +deception.</p> + +<p>There is another time, too, when Newport is no +longer commonplace, when that same sea, which never +seems to have any life of its own, disgorges its foggy +soul over the land. There is an ugly odour as of +musty salt-water in men's nostrils, and the mist is +heavy and thick to the touch. It creeps up to the +edge of the cliff, and greedily clings to the wet grass, +and climbs higher and over the lawns, and in at the +windows of Dives's dining-room, and of Croesus's library, +with its burden of insiduous mould. The pair of trim-built +flirtlings, walking so daintily down the gravel +path, becomes indistinct, and their forms are seen but +as the shadows of things dead—treading on air, between +three worlds. The few feet of bank above the sea, +dignified by the name of cliff, fall back to a gaping +chasm, a sheer horror of depths, misty and unfathomable. +Onward slides the thick cloud, and soon the +deep-mouthed monotone of the fog-horns in the distance +tells it is in the bay. There is nothing commonplace +about the Newport cliff in a fog; it is wild enough and +dreary enough then, for the scene of a bad deed. You +might meet the souls of the lost in such a fog, hiding +before the wrath to come.</p> + +<p>Late on Tuesday afternoon Claudius and Margaret +had taken their way towards the cliff, a solitary couple +at that hour on a week-day. Even at a distance there +was something about their appearance that distinguished +them from ordinary couples. Claudius's great height +seemed still more imposing now that he affected the +garb of civilisation, and Margaret had the air of a +woman of the great world in every movement of her +graceful body, and in every fold of her perfect dress. +American women, when they dress well, dress better +than any other women in the world; but an American +woman who has lived at the foreign courts is +unapproachable. If there had been any one to see these +two together on Tuesday afternoon, there would have +been words of envy, malice, and hatred. As it was, +they were quite alone on the cliff walk.</p> + +<p>Margaret was happy; there was light in her eyes, +and a faint warm flush on her dark cheek. A closed +parasol hung from her hand, having an ivory handle +carved with an "M" and a crown—the very one that +three months ago had struck the first spark of their +acquaintance from the stones of the old Schloss at +Heidelberg—perhaps she had brought it on purpose. +She was happy still, for she did not know that +Claudius was going away, though he had brought her +out here, away from every one, that he might tell her. +But they had reached the cliff and had walked some +distance in the direction of the point, and yet he spoke +not. Something tied his tongue, and he would have +spoken if he could, but his words seemed too big to +come out. At last they came to a place where a quick +descent leads from the path down to the sea. A little +sheltered nook of sand and stones is there, all irregular +and rough, like the lumps in brown sugar, and the +lazy sea splashed a little against some old pebbles it +had known for a long time, never having found the +energy to wash them away. The rocks above overhung +the spot, so that it was entirely shielded from +the path, and the rocks below spread themselves into +a kind of seat. Here they sat them down, facing the +water—towards evening—not too near to each other, +not too far,—Margaret on the right, Claudius on the +left. And Claudius punched the little pebbles with +his stick after he had sat down, wondering how he +should begin. Indeed it did not seem easy. It would +have been easier if he had been less advanced, or further +advanced, in his suit. Most people never jump +without feeling, at the moment of jumping, that they +could leap a little better if they could "take off" an +inch nearer or further away.</p> + +<p>"Countess," said the Doctor at last, turning towards +her with a very grave look in his face, "I have something +to tell you, and I do not know how to say it." +He paused, and Margaret looked at the sea, without +noticing him, for she half fancied he was on the point +of repeating his former indiscretion and saying he +loved her. Would it be an indiscretion now? She +wondered what she should say, what she would say, if +he did—venture. Would she say "it was not right" +of him now? In a moment Claudius had resolved to +plunge boldly at the truth.</p> + +<p>"I am obliged to go away very suddenly," he said; +and his voice trembled violently.</p> + +<p>Margaret's face lost colour in answer, and she +resisted an impulse to turn and meet his eyes. She +would have liked to, but she felt his look on her, and +she feared lest, looking once, she should look too long.</p> + +<p>"Must you go away?" she asked with a good deal +of self-possession.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I fear I must. I know I must, if I mean to +remain here afterwards. I would rather go at once +and be done with it." He still spoke uncertainly, as +if struggling with some violent hoarseness in his throat.</p> + +<p>"Tell me why you must go," she said imperiously. +Claudius hesitated a moment.</p> + +<p>"I will tell you one of the principal reasons of my +going," he said. "You know I came here to take +possession of my fortune, and I very naturally relied +upon doing so. Obviously, if I do not obtain it I cannot +continue to live in the way I am now doing, on the +slender resources which have been enough for me +until now."</p> + +<p>"Et puis?" said the Countess, raising her eyebrows +a little.</p> + +<p>"Et puis," continued the Doctor, "these legal gentlemen +find difficulty in persuading themselves that I am +myself—that I am really the nephew of Gustavus +Lindstrand, deceased."</p> + +<p>"What nonsense!" exclaimed Margaret. "And +so to please them you are going away. And who will +get your money, pray?"</p> + +<p>"I will get it," answered Claudius, "for I will come +back as soon as I have obtained the necessary proofs +of my identity from Heidelberg."</p> + +<p>"I never heard of anything so ridiculous," said +Margaret hotly. "To go all that distance for a few +papers. As if we did not all know you! If you are +not Dr. Claudius, who are you? Why, Mr. Barker +went to Heidelberg on purpose to find you."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, Messrs. Screw and Scratch doubt +me. Here is their letter—the last one. Will you +look at it?" and Claudius took an envelope from his +pocket-book. He was glad to have come over to the +argumentative tack, for his heart was very sore, and +he knew what the end must be.</p> + +<p>"No." The Countess turned to him for the first +time, with an indescribable look in her face, between +anger and pain. "No, I will not read it."</p> + +<p>"I wish you would," said Claudius, "you would +understand better." Something in his voice touched +a sympathetic chord.</p> + +<p>"I think I understand," said the Countess, looking +back at the sea, which was growing dim and indistinct +before her. "I think you ought to go."</p> + +<p>The indistinctness of her vision was not due to +any defect in her sight. The wet fog was rising like +a shapeless evil genius out of the sluggish sea, rolling +heavily across the little bay to the lovers' beach, with +its swollen arms full of blight and mildew. Margaret +shivered at the sight of it, and drew the lace thing she +wore closer to her throat. But she did not rise, or +make any sign that she would go.</p> + +<p>"What is the other reason for your going?" she +asked at length.</p> + +<p>"What other reason?"</p> + +<p>"You said your inheritance, or the evidence you +require in order to obtain it, was one of the principal +reasons for your going. I suppose there is another?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Countess, there is another reason, but I +cannot tell you now what it is."</p> + +<p>"I have no right to ask, of course," said Margaret,—"unless +I can help you," she added, in her soft, deep +voice.</p> + +<p>"You have more right than you think, far more +right," answered Claudius. "And I thank you for +the kind thought of help. It is very good of you." +He turned towards her, and leaned upon his hand +as he sat. Still the fog rolled up, and the lifeless sea +seemed overshed with an unctuous calm. They were +almost in the dark on their strip of beach, and the +moisture was already clinging in great, thick drops to +their clothes, and to the rocks where they sat. Still +Claudius looked at Margaret, and Margaret looked at +the narrow band of oily water still uncovered by the +mist.</p> + +<p>"When are you going?" she asked slowly, as if +hating to meet the answer.</p> + +<p>"To-night," said Claudius, still looking earnestly +at her. The light was gone from her eyes, and the +flush had long sunk away to the heart whence it had +come.</p> + +<p>"To-night?" she repeated, a little vaguely.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, and waited; then after a moment, +"Shall you mind when I am gone?" He leaned +towards her, earnestly looking into her face.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Margaret, "I shall be sorry." Her +voice was kind, and very gentle. Still she did not +look at him. Claudius held out his right hand, palm +upward, to meet hers.</p> + +<p>"Shall you mind much?" he asked earnestly, with +intent eyes. She met his hand and took it.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I shall be very sorry." Claudius slipped +from the rock where he was sitting, and fell upon one +knee before her, kissing the hand she gave as though +it had been the holy cross. He looked up, his face +near hers, and at last he met her eyes, burning with +a startled light under the black brows, contrasting with +the white of her forehead, and face, and throat. He +looked one moment.</p> + +<p>"Shall you really mind very much?" he asked a +third time, in a strange, lost voice. There was no +answer, only the wet fog all around, and those two +beautiful faces ashy pale in the mist, and very near +together. One instant so—and then—ah, God! they +have cast the die at last, for he has wound his mighty +arms about her, and is passionately kissing the marble +of her cheek.</p> + +<p>"My beloved, my beloved, I love you—with all +my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my +strength"—but she speaks no word, only her arms +pass his and hang about his neck, and her dark head +lies on his breast; and could you but see her eyes, you +would see also the fair pearls that the little god has +formed deep down in the ocean of love—the lashes +thereof are wet with sudden weeping. And all around +them the deep, deaf fog, thick and muffled as darkness, +and yet not dark.</p> + +<p>"Ugh!" muttered the evil genius of the sea, "I +hate lovers; an' they drown not, they shall have a wet +wooing." And he came and touched them all over +with the clamminess of his deathly hand, and breathed +upon them the thick, cold breath of his damp old soul. +But he could do nothing against such love as that, and +the lovers burned him and laughed him to scorn.</p> + +<p>She was very silent as she kissed him and laid her +head on his breast. And he could only repeat what +was nearest, the credo of his love, and while his arms +were about her they were strong, but when he tried +to take them away, they were as tremulous as the +veriest aspen.</p> + +<p>The great tidal wave comes rolling in, once in +every lifetime that deserves to be called a lifetime, and +sweeps away every one of our landmarks, and changes +all our coast-line. But though the waters do not +subside, yet the crest of them falls rippling away into +smoothness after the first mad rush, else should we +all be but shipwrecked mariners in the sea of love. +And so, after a time, Margaret drew away from Claudius +gently, finding his hands with hers as she moved, and +holding them.</p> + +<p>"Come," said she, "let us go." They were her first +words, and Claudius thought the deep voice had never +sounded so musical before. But the words, the word +"go," sounded like a knell on his heart. He had forgotten +that he must sail on the morrow. He had +forgotten that it was so soon over.</p> + +<p>They went away, out of the drizzling fog and the +mist, and the evil sea-breath, up to the cliff walk and +so by the wet lanes homewards, two loving, sorrowing +hearts, not realising what had come to them, nor +knowing what should come hereafter, but only big with +love fresh spoken, and hot with tears half shed.</p> + +<p>"Beloved," said Claudius as they stood together for +the last time in the desolation of the great, dreary, +hotel drawing-room—for Claudius was going—"beloved, +will you promise me something?"</p> + +<p>Margaret looked down as she stood with her clasped +hands on his arm.</p> + +<p>"What is it I should promise you—Claudius?" +she asked, half hesitating.</p> + +<p>Claudius laid his hand tenderly—tenderly, as giants +only can be tender, on the thick black hair, as hardly +daring, yet loving, to let it linger there.</p> + +<p>"Will you promise that if you doubt me when I +am gone, you will ask of the Duke the 'other reason' +of my going?"</p> + +<p>"I shall not doubt you," answered Margaret, looking +proudly up.</p> + +<p>"God bless you, my beloved!"—and so he went to +sea again.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI" />CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + + +<p>When Mr. Barker, who had followed the party to +Newport, called on the Countess the following morning, +she was not visible, so he was fain to content himself +with scribbling a very pressing invitation to drive in +the afternoon, which he sent up with some flowers, not +waiting for an answer. The fact was that Margaret +had sent for the Duke at an early hour—for her—and +was talking with him on matters of importance at the +time Barker called. Otherwise she would very likely +not have refused to see the latter.</p> + +<p>"I want you to explain to me what they are trying +to do to make Dr. Claudius give up his property," said +Margaret, who looked pale and beautiful in a morning +garment of nondescript shape and of white silken +material. The Duke was sitting by the window, watching +a couple of men preparing to get into a trim dogcart. +To tell the truth, the dogcart and the horse +were the objects of interest. His Grace was not aware +that the young men were no less personages than +young Mr. Hannibal Q. Sniggins and young Mr. +Orlando Van Sueindell, both of New York, sons of +the "great roads." Either of these young gentlemen +could have bought out his Grace; either of them would +have joyfully licked his boots; and either of them +would have protested, within the sacred precincts of +their gorgeous club in New York, that he was a conceited +ass of an Englishman. But his Grace did not +know this, or he would certainly have regarded them +with more interest. He was profoundly indifferent to +the character of the people with whom he had to do, +whether they were catalogued in the "book of snobs" +or not. It is generally people who are themselves +snobs who call their intimates by that offensive epithet, +attributing to them the sin they fall into themselves. +The Duke distinguished between gentlemen and cads, +when it was a question of dining at the same table, +but in matters of business he believed the distinction +of no importance. He came to America for business +purposes, and he took Americans as he found them. +He thought they were very good men of business, and +when it came to associating with them on any other +footing, he thought some of them were gentlemen and +some were not—pretty much as it is everywhere else. +So he watched the young men getting into their dogcart, +and he thought the whole turn-out looked "very +fit."</p> + +<p>"Really," he began, in answer to the Countess's +question, "—upon my word, I don't know much about +it. At least, I suppose not."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I thought you did," said Margaret, taking up +a book and a paper-cutter. "I thought it must be +something rather serious, or he would not have been +obliged to go abroad to get papers about it."</p> + +<p>"Well, you know, after all, he—aw—" the Duke +reddened—"he—well yes, exactly so."</p> + +<p>"Yes?" said Margaret interrogatively, expecting +something more.</p> + +<p>"Exactly," said the Duke, still red, but determined +not to say anything. He had not promised Claudius +not to say he could have vouched for him, had the +Doctor stayed; but he feared that in telling Margaret +this, he might be risking the betrayal of Claudius's +actual destination. It would not do, however.</p> + +<p>"I really do not understand just what you said," +said Margaret, looking at him.</p> + +<p>"Ah! well, no. I daresay I did not express myself +very clearly. What was your question, Countess?"</p> + +<p>"I asked who it was who was making so much +trouble for the Doctor;" said Margaret calmly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I was sure I could not have understood you. +It's the executors and lawyer people, who are not +satisfied about his identity. It's all right, though."</p> + +<p>"Of course. But could no one here save him the +trouble of going all the way back to Germany?"</p> + +<p>The Duke grew desperate. He was in a corner +where he must either tell a lie of some sort or let the +cat out of the bag. The Duke was a cynical and +worldly man enough, perhaps, as the times go, but he +did not tell lies. He plunged.</p> + +<p>"My dear Countess," he said, facing towards her +and stroking his whiskers, "I really know something +about Dr. Claudius, and I will tell you all I am at +liberty to tell; please do not ask me anything else. +Claudius is really gone to obtain papers from Heidelberg +as well as for another purpose which I cannot +divulge. The papers might have been dispensed with, +for I could have sworn to him."</p> + +<p>"Then the other object is the important one," said +the Countess pensively. The Duke was silent. "I +am greatly obliged to you," Margaret continued, "for +what you have told me."</p> + +<p>"I will tell you what I can do," said the Englishman +after a pause, during which an unusual expression +in his face seemed to betoken thought. "I am going +to the West for a couple of months to look after things, +and of course accidents may happen. Claudius may +have difficulty in getting what he wants, and I am the +only man here who knows all about him. He satisfied +me of his identity. I will, if you like, sign a statement +vouching for him, and leave it in your hands in case +of need. It is all I can do."</p> + +<p>"In my hands?" exclaimed Margaret, drawing +herself up a little. "And why in <i>my</i> hands, Duke?" +The Duke got very red indeed this time, and hesitated. +He had put his foot into it through sheer goodness of +heart and a desire to help everybody.</p> + +<p>"Aw—a—the—the fact is, Countess," he got out +at last, "the fact is, you know, Claudius has not many +friends here, and I thought you were one of them. My +only desire is—a—to serve him."</p> + +<p>Margaret had quickly grasped the advantage to +Claudius, if such a voucher as the Duke offered were +kept in pickle as a rod for his enemies.</p> + +<p>"You are right," said she, "I am a good friend of +Dr. Claudius, and I will keep the paper in case of need."</p> + +<p>The Duke recovered his equanimity.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said he. "I am a very good friend +of his, and I thank you on his behalf, as I am sure he +will himself. There's one of our Foreign Office clerks +here for his holiday; I will get him to draw up the +paper as he is an old friend of mine—in fact, some +relation, I believe. By Jove! there goes Barker." +The latter exclamation was caused by the sudden +appearance of the man he named on the opposite side +of the avenue, in conversation with the two young +gentlemen whom the Duke had already noticed as +preparing to mount their dogcart.</p> + +<p>"Oh," said Margaret indifferently, in response to +the exclamation.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Duke, "it is he. I thought he was +in New York."</p> + +<p>"No," said the Countess, "he has just called. It +was his card they brought me just as you came. He +wants me to drive with him this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"Indeed. Shall you go?"</p> + +<p>"I think so—yes," said she.</p> + +<p>"Very well. I will take my sister with me," said +the Duke. "I have got something very decent to +drive in." Margaret laughed at the implied invitation.</p> + +<p>"How you take things for granted," said she. +"Did you really think I would have gone with you?"</p> + +<p>"Such things have happened," said the Duke good-humouredly, +and went away. Not being in the least +a ladies' man, he was very apt to make such speeches +occasionally. He had a habit of taking it for granted +that no one refused his invitations.</p> + +<p>At four o'clock that afternoon Silas B. Barker junior +drew up to the steps of the hotel in a very gorgeous +conveyance, called in America a T-cart, and resembling +a mail phaeton in build. From the high double box +Mr. Barker commanded and guided a pair of showy +brown horses, harnessed in the most approved philanthropic, +or rather philozooic style; no check-rein, no +breeching, no nothing apparently, except a pole and +Mr. Barker's crest. For Mr. Barker had a crest, since +he came from Salem, Massachusetts, and the bearings +were a witch pendant, gules, on a gallows sinister, +sable. Behind him sat the regulation clock-work +groom, brought over at considerable expense from the +establishment of Viscount Plungham, and who sprang +to the ground and took his place at the horses' heads +as soon as Barker had brought them to a stand. Then +Barker, arrayed in a new hat, patent-leather boots, a +very long frock-coat, and a very expensive rose, descended +lightly from his chariot and swiftly ascended +the steps, seeming to tread half on air and half on +egg-shells. And a few minutes later he again appeared, +accompanied by the Countess Margaret, looking dark +and pale and queenly. A proud man was dandy Silas +as he helped her to her place, and going to the other +side, got in and took the ribbands. Many were the +glances that shot from the two edges of the road at +the unknown beauty whom Silas drove by his side, +and obsequious were the bows of Silas's friends as they +passed. Even the groggy old man who drives the +water-cart on Bellevue Avenue could scarce forbear to +cheer as she went by.</p> + +<p>And so they drove away, side by side. Barker +knew very well that Claudius had taken his leave the +day before, and to tell the truth, he was a good deal +surprised that Margaret should be willing to accept this +invitation. He had called to ask her, because he was +not the man to let the grass grow under his feet at any +time, much less when he was laying siege to a woman. +For with women time is sometimes everything. And +being of a reasonable mind, when Mr. Barker observed +that he was surprised, he concluded that there must be +some good reason for his astonishment, and still more +that there must be some very good reason why Margaret +should accept his first invitation to a <i>tête-à-tête</i> +afternoon. From one reflection to another, he came at +last to the conclusion that she must be anxious to +learn some details concerning the Doctor's departure, +from which again he argued that Claudius had not +taken her into his confidence. The hypothesis that +she might be willing to make an effort with him for +Claudius's justification Mr. Barker dismissed as improbable. +And he was right. He waited, therefore, for +her to broach the subject, and confined himself, as they +drove along, to remarks about the people they passed, +the doings of the Newport summer, concerning which +he had heard all the gossip during the last few hours, +the prospect of Madame Patti in opera during the +coming season, horses, dogs, and mutual friends—all +the motley array of subjects permissible, desultory, and +amusing. Suddenly, as they bowled out on an open +road by the sea, Margaret began.</p> + +<p>"Why has Dr. Claudius gone abroad," she asked, +glancing at Barker's face, which remained impenetrable +as ever. Barker changed his hold on the reins, and stuck +the whip into the bucket by his side before he answered.</p> + +<p>"They say he has gone to get himself sworn to," +he said rather slowly, and with a good show of indifference.</p> + +<p>"I cannot see why that was necessary," answered +Margaret calmly "It seems to me we all knew him +very well."</p> + +<p>"Oh, nobody can understand lawyers," said Barker, +and was silent, knowing how strong a position silence +was, for she could know nothing more about Claudius +without committing herself to a direct question. Barker +was in a difficult position. He fully intended later to +hint that Claudius might never return at all. But he +knew too much to do anything of the kind at present, +when the memory of the Doctor was fresh in the +Countess's mind, and when, as he guessed, he himself +was not too high in her favour. He therefore told a +bit of the plain truth which could not be cast in his +teeth afterwards, and was silent.</p> + +<p>It was a good move, and Margaret was fain to take +to some other subject of conversation, lest the pause +should seem long. They had not gone far before the +society kaleidoscope was once more in motion, and +Barker was talking his best. They rolled along, passing +most things on the road, and when they came to a +bit of hill, he walked his horses, on pretence of keeping +them cool, but in reality to lengthen the drive and +increase his advantage, if only by a minute and a hairbreadth. +He could see he was amusing her, as he +drew her away from the thing that made her heavy, +and sketched, and crayoned, and photographed from +memory all manner of harmless gossip—he took care +that it should be harmless—and such book-talk as he +could command, with such a general sprinkling of +sentimentalism, ready made and easy to handle, as +American young men affect in talking to women.</p> + +<p>Making allowance for the customs of the country, +they were passing a very innocently diverting afternoon; +and Margaret, though secretly annoyed at finding +that Barker would not talk about Claudius, or add +in any way to her information, was nevertheless congratulating +herself upon the smooth termination of the +interview. She had indeed only accepted the invitation +in the hope of learning something more about +Claudius and his "other reason." But she also recognised +that, though Barker were unwilling to speak of +the Doctor, he might have made himself very disagreeable +by taking advantage of the confession of interest +she had volunteered in asking so direct a question. +But Barker had taken no such lead, and never referred +to Claudius in all the ramblings of his polite conversation.</p> + +<p>He was in the midst of a description of Mrs. +Orlando Van Sueindell's last dinner-party, which he +had unfortunately missed, when his browns, less peaceably +disposed than most of the lazy bean-fed cattle one +sees on the Newport avenue, took it into their heads +that it would be a joyous thing to canter down a steep +place into the sea. The road turned, with a sudden +dip, across a little neck of land separating the bay +from the harbour, and the descent was, for a few yards, +very abrupt. At this point, then, the intelligent animals +conceived the ingenious scheme of bolting, with that +eccentricity of device which seems to characterise overfed +carriage-horses. In an instant they were off, and +it was clear there would be no stopping them—from a +trot to a break, from a canter to a gallop, from a gallop +to a tearing, breakneck, leave-your-bones-behind-you +race, all in a moment, down to the sea.</p> + +<p>Barker was not afraid, and he did what he could. +He was not a strong man, and he knew himself no +match for the two horses, but he hoped by a sudden +effort, repeated once or twice, to scare the runaways +into a standstill, as is sometimes possible. Acting +immediately on his determination, as he always did, +he wound one hand in each rein, and half rising from +his high seat, jerked with all his might. Margaret +held her breath.</p> + +<p>But alas for the rarity of strength in saddlers' work! +The off-rein snapped away like a thread just where the +buckle leads half of it over to the near horse, and the +strain on the right hand being thus suddenly removed, +the horses' heads were jerked violently to the left, and +they became wholly unmanageable. Barker was silent, +and instantly dropped the unbroken rein. As for +Margaret, she sat quite still, holding to the low rail-back +of her seat, and preparing for a jump. They +were by this time nearly at the bottom of the descent, +and rapidly approaching a corner where a great heap +of rocks made the prospect hideous. To haul the +horses over to the left would have been destruction, as +the ground fell away on that side to a considerable +depth down to the rocks below. Then Barker did a +brave thing.</p> + +<p>"If I miss him, jump off to the right," he cried; +and in a moment, before Margaret could answer or +prevent him, he had got over the dashboard, and was +in mid-air, a strange figure, in his long frock-coat and +shiny hat. With a bold leap—and the Countess shivered +as she saw him flying in front of her—he alighted on +the back of the off horse, almost on his face, but well +across the beast for all that. Light and wiry, a mere +bundle of nerves dressed up, Mr. Barker was not to be +shaken off, and, while the animal was still plunging, he +had caught the flying bits of bridle, and was sawing +away, right and left, with the energy of despair. +Between its terror at being suddenly mounted by some +one out of a clear sky, so to say, and the violent +wrenching it was getting from Barker's bony little +hands, the beast decided to stop at last, and its companion, +who was coming in for some of the pulling too, +stopped by sympathy, with a series of snorts and +plunges. Barker still clung to the broken rein, leaning +far over the horse's neck so as to wind it round his +wrist; and he shouted to Margaret to get out, which +she immediately did; but, instead of fainting away, +she came to the horses' heads and stood before them, +a commanding figure that even a dumb animal would +not dare to slight—too much excited to speak yet, but +ready to face anything.</p> + +<p>A few moments later the groom, whose existence +they had both forgotten, came running down to them, +with a red face, and dusting his battered hat on his +arm as he came. He had quietly slipped off behind, +and had been rolled head over heels for his pains, but +had suffered no injury. Then Barker got off. He was +covered with dust, but his hat was still on his head, +and he did not look as though he had been jumping +for his life. Margaret turned to him with genuine +gratitude and admiration, for he had borne himself as +few men could or would have done.</p> + +<p>"You have saved my life," she said, "and I am very +grateful. It was very brave of you." And she held +out her hand to meet his, now trembling violently +from the fierce strain.</p> + +<p>"Oh, not at all; it was really nothing," he said, +bowing low. But the deep wrinkle that scored Barker's +successes in life showed plainly round his mouth. He +knew what his advantage was, and he had no thought +of the danger when he reflected on what he had gained. +Not he! His heart, or the organ which served him in +place of one, was full of triumph. Had he planned +the whole thing with the utmost skill and foresight he +could not have succeeded better. Such a victory! and +the very first day after Claudius's departure—Ye +gods! what luck!</p> + +<p>And so it came to pass that by the time the harness +had been tied together and the conveyance got without +accident as far as the first stable on the outskirts of +the town, where it was left with the groom, Barker had +received a goodly meed of thanks and praise. And +when Margaret proposed that they should walk as far +as the hotel, Barker tried a few steps and found he +was too lame for such exercise, his left leg having been +badly bruised by the pole of the carriage in his late +exploit; which injury elicited a further show of +sympathy from Margaret. And when at last he left +her with a cab at the door of her hotel, he protested +that he had enjoyed a very delightful drive, and went +away in high spirits. Margaret, in her gratitude for +such an escape, and in unfeigned admiration of Barker's +daring and coolness, was certainly inclined to think +better of him than she had done for a long time. Or +perhaps it would be truer to say that he was more in +her thoughts than he had been; for, in the reign of +Claudius, Barker had dwindled to a nearly insignificant +speck in the landscape, dwarfed away to nothing by the +larger mould and stronger character of the Swede.</p> + +<p>Margaret saw the Duke in the evening. He gave +her a document, unsealed, in a huge envelope, bidding +her keep it in a safe place, for the use of their mutual +friend, in case he should need it. She said she would +give it to Claudius when he came back; and then she +told the Duke about her drive with Barker and the +accident. The Duke looked grave.</p> + +<p>"Of course," he said, "I introduced Barker to you, +and it would seem very odd if I were to warn you +against him now. All the same, Countess, I have had +the honour of being your friend for some time, and I +must say I have sometimes regretted that I brought +him to your house." He reddened a little after he had +spoken, fearing she might have misunderstood him. +"I wish," he added, to make things clearer, "that I +could have brought you Claudius without Barker." +Then he reddened still more, and wished he had said +nothing. Margaret raised her eyebrows. Perhaps she +could have wished as much herself, but she dropped +the subject.</p> + +<p>"When are you coming back from the West, Duke," +she asked, busying herself in arranging some books on +her table. The hotel sitting-room was so deadly dreary +to the eye that she was trying to make it look as if it +had not been lately used as a place of burial.</p> + +<p>"It may be two months before I am here again. +A—about the time Claudius comes over, I should +think."</p> + +<p>"And when do you go?"</p> + +<p>"Next week, I think."</p> + +<p>"I wish you were going to stay," said Margaret +simply, "or Lady Victoria. I shall be so lonely."</p> + +<p>"You will have Miss Skeat," suggested his Grace.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's not that," said she. "I shall not be alone +altogether, for there is poor Nicholas, you know. I +must take care of him; and then I suppose some of +these people will want to amuse me, or entertain me—not +that they are very entertaining; but they mean +well. Besides, my being mixed up in a Nihilist persecution +adds to my social value." The Duke, however, +was not listening, his mind being full of other things—what +there was of it, and his heart had long determined +to sympathise with Margaret in her troubles; so there +was nothing more to be said.</p> + +<p>"Dear me," thought Miss Skeat, "what a pity! +They say she might have had the Duke when she was +a mere child—and to think that she should have +refused him! So admirably suited to each other!" +But Miss Skeat, as she sat at the other end of the +room trying to find "what it was that people saw so +funny" in the <i>Tramp Abroad</i>, was mistaken about her +patroness and the very high and mighty personage +from the aristocracy. The Duke was much older than +Margaret, and had been married before he had ever +seen her. It was only because they were such good +friends that the busybodies said they had just missed +being man and wife.</p> + +<p>But when the Duke was gone, Margaret and Miss +Skeat were left alone, and they drew near each other +and sat by the table, the elder lady reading aloud from +a very modern novel. The Countess paid little attention +to what she heard, for she was weary, and it seemed as +though the evening would never end. Miss Skeat's +even and somewhat monotonous voice produced no +sensation of drowsiness to-night, as it often did, though +Margaret's eyes were half-closed and her fingers idle. +She needed rest, but it would not come, and still her +brain went whirling through the scenes of the past +twenty-four hours, again and again recurring to the +question "Why is he gone?" unanswered and yet ever +repeated, as the dreadful wake-song of the wild Irish, +the "Why did he die?" that haunts the ear that has +once heard it for weeks afterwards.</p> + +<p>She tried to reason, but there was no reason. Why, +why, why? He was gone with her kiss on his lips +and her breath in his. She should have waited till he +came back from over the sea before giving him what +was so very precious. More than once, as she repeated +the words he had spoken at parting, she asked herself +whether she doubted him after all, and whether it +would not be wiser to speak to the Duke. But then, +the latter so evidently believed in Claudius that it comforted +her to think of his honest faith, and she would +dismiss every doubt again as vain and wearying. But +still the eternal question rang loudly in her soul's ears, +and the din of the inquisitive devil that would not be +satisfied deafened her so that she could not hear Miss +Skeat. Once or twice she moved her head nervously +from side to side, as it rested on the back of the chair, +and her face was drawn and pale, so that Miss Skeat +anxiously asked whether she were in any pain, but +Margaret merely motioned to her companion to continue +reading, and was silent. But Miss Skeat grew +uneasy, feeling sure that something was the matter.</p> + +<p>"Dear Countess," she said, "will you not retire to +rest? I fear that this horrid accident has shaken +you. Do go to bed, and I will come and read you +to sleep." Her voice sounded kindly, and Margaret's +fingers stole out till they covered Miss Skeat's bony +white ones, with the green veins and the yellowish +lights between the knuckles.</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat, at this unusual manifestation of feeling, +laid down the book she held in her other hand, and +settled her gold-rimmed glasses over her long nose. +Then her eyes beamed across at Margaret, and a kindly, +old-fashioned smile came into her face that was good +to see, and as she pressed the hot young hand in hers +there was a suspicion of motherliness in her expression +that would have surprised a stranger. For Miss Skeat +did not look motherly at ordinary times.</p> + +<p>"Poor child!" said she softly. Margaret's other +hand went to her eyes and hid them from sight, and +her head sank forward until it touched her fingers, +where they joined Miss Skeat's.</p> + +<p>"I am so unhappy to-night," murmured Margaret, +finding at last, in the evening hours, the sympathy she +had longed for all day. Miss Skeat changed her own +position a little so as to be nearer to her.</p> + +<p>"Poor child!" repeated Miss Skeat almost in a +whisper, as she bent down to the regal head that +lay against her hand, smoothing the thick hair with +her worn fingers. "Poor child, do you love him so +very dearly?" She spoke almost inaudibly, and her +wrinkled eyelids were wet. But low as was her voice, +Margaret heard, and moved her head in assent, without +lifting it from the table.</p> + +<p>Ah yes—she loved him very, very much. But she +could not bear to confess it, for all that, and a moment +afterwards she was sitting upright again in her chair, +feeling that she had weathered the first storm. Her +companion, who was not ignorant of her ways, contented +herself then with patting Margaret's hand caressingly +during the instant it remained in her own, before it +was drawn away. There was a world of kindness and +of gentle humanity in the gaunt gentlewoman's manner, +showing that the heart within was not withered yet. +Then Miss Skeat flattened the book before her with the +paper-cutter, and began to read. Reading aloud had +become to her a second nature, and whether she had +liked it or not at first, she had learned to do it with +perfect ease and indifference, neither letting her voice +drag languidly and hesitatingly when she was tired, +nor falling into that nerve-rending fault of readers who +vainly endeavour to personate the characters in dialogue, +and to give impressiveness in the descriptive portions. +She never made a remark, or asked her hearer's opinion. +If the Countess was in the humour to sleep, the reading +was soporific; if she desired to listen, she felt that +her companion was not trying to bias her judgment +by the introduction of dramatic intonation and effect. +With an even, untiring correctness of utterance, Miss +Skeat read one book just as she read another—M. +Thiers or Mr. Henry James, Mark Twain or a Parliamentary +Report—it was all one to her. Poor Miss +Skeat!</p> + +<p>But to Margaret the evening seemed long and the +night longer, and many days and evenings and nights +afterwards. Not that she doubted, but that she thought—well—perhaps +she thought she ought to doubt. +Some cunning reader of face and character, laughing +and making love by turns, had once told her she had +more heart than head. Every woman knows she ought +to seem flattered at being considered a "person of +heart," and yet every woman cordially hates to be told +so. And, at last, Margaret began to wonder whether +it were true. Should she have admitted she loved +a man who left her a moment afterwards in order to +make a voyage of two months for the mere furthering +of his worldly interest? But then—he told her he +was going before he kissed her. What could be the +"other reason"?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII" />CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + + +<p>It is not to be supposed that a man of Barker's +character would neglect the signal advantage he had +gained in being injured, or at least badly bruised, +while attempting to save Margaret from destruction. +That he had really saved her was a less point in his +favour than that he had barked his shins in so doing. +The proverbial relationship between pity and love is +so exceedingly well known that many professional +love-makers systematically begin their campaigns by +endeavouring to move the compassion of the woman +they are attacking. Occasionally they find a woman +with whom pity is akin to scorn instead of to love—and +then their policy is a failure.</p> + +<p>The dark Countess was no soft-hearted Saxon +maiden, any more than she was a cold-blooded, cut-throat +American girl, calculating her romance by the +yard, booking her flirtations by double-entry and +marrying at compound interest, with the head of a +railway president and the heart of an Esquimaux. +She was rather one of those women who are ever ready +to sympathise from a naturally generous and noble +nature, but who rarely give their friendship and still +more seldom their love. They marry, sometimes, +where there is neither. They marry—ye gods! +why do people marry, and what reasons will they not +find for marrying? But such women, if they are +wedded where their heart is not, are generally very +young; far too young to know what they are doing; +and though there be little inclination to the step, it +always turns out that they had at least a respect for +the man. Margaret had been married to Count Alexis +because it was in every way such a plausible match, +and she was only eighteen then, poor thing. But Alexis +was such an uncommonly good fellow that she had +honestly tried to love him, and had not altogether +failed. At least she had never had any domestic +troubles, and when he was shot at Plevna, in 1876, +she shed some very genuine tears and shut herself +away from the world for a long time. But though her +sorrow was sincere, it was not profound, and she knew +it from the first, never deceiving herself with the idea +that she could not marry again. She had sustained +many a siege, however, both before her husband's +untimely death and since; and though a stranger to +love, she was no novice in love-making. Indeed few +women are; certainly no beautiful women.</p> + +<p>Margaret, then, though a pure-hearted and brave +lady, was of the world, understanding the wiles thereof; +and so, when Mr. Barker began to come regularly to +see her, and when she noticed how very long the slight +lameness he had incurred from the runaway accident +seemed to last, and when she observed how cunningly +he endeavoured to excite her sympathy towards him, +she began to suspect that he meant something more +than a mere diversion for himself. He spoke so +feelingly of his lonely position in the world; to accentuate +which, he spoke of his father without any feeling +whatever. He represented himself as so drearily lonely +and friendless in this hard-hearted, thorny world. +Quite a little lamb was Silas, leaving shreds of his +pure white wool rent off and clinging to the briars of +his solitary life-journey. He was very patient in his +sufferings, he said, for he so keenly felt that coarser +natures could not suffer as he did; that troubles glided +from their backs like water from the feathers of the +draggled but happy goose, whereas on his tender heart +they struck deep like a fiery rain. Was it not Danty +who told of those poor people who were exposed to the +molten drizzle? Ah yes! Danty knew, of course, for +he had been a great sufferer. What a beautiful, yet +sad, word is that, "to suffer"! How gentle and lovely +to suffer without complaint! Had the Countess ever +thought of it? To suffer silently—and long—(here +Silas cast a love-sick glance out of his small dark eyes)—with +the hope of gaining an object infinitely far +removed, but—(another glance)—infinitely beautiful +and worth obtaining. Oh! Silas would suffer for ever +in such a hope! There was nothing Silas would not +do that was saintly that he might gain heaven.</p> + +<p>After a time, Margaret, who disliked this kind of +talk intensely, began to look grave, an omen which +Barker did not fail to interpret to his advantage, for it +is a step gained when a woman begins to be serious. +Only a man ignorant of Margaret's real character, and +incapable of appreciating it, could have been so deceived +in this case. She had felt strongly that Barker had +saved her life, and that he had acted with a boldness +and determination on that occasion which would have +merited her admiration even had it not commanded +her gratitude. But she was really grateful, and, wishing +to show it, could devise no better plan than to +receive his visits and to listen politely to his conversation.</p> + +<p>One day, late in the afternoon, they were sitting +together over a cup of tea, and Barker was pouring out +his experiences, or what he was pleased to call by that +name, for they were not genuine. Not that his own +existence would have been a dull or uninteresting +chapter for a rainy afternoon, for Barker had led a +stirring life of its kind. But as it was necessary to +strike the pathetic key, seeing that Claudius had the +heroic symphony to himself, Barker embroidered skilfully +a little picture in which he appeared more sinned +against than sinning, inasmuch as he had been called +upon to play the avenging angel. He had succeeded, +he admitted, in accomplishing his object, which in his +opinion had been a justifiable one, but it had left a sore +place in his heart, and he had never quite recovered +from the pain it had given him to give so much pain—wholesome +pain indeed, but what of that?—to +another.</p> + +<p>"It was in New York, some years ago," he said. +"A friend of mine, such a dear good fellow, was very +much in love with a reigning beauty, a Miss—; +well, you will guess the name. She threw him over, +after a three months' engagement, in the most heartless +manner, and he was so broken-hearted that he drank +himself to death in six months at the club. He died +there one winter's evening under very painful circumstances."</p> + +<p>"A noble end," said Margaret, scornfully. "What a +proud race we Americans are!" Barker sighed skilfully +and looked reproachfully at Margaret.</p> + +<p>"Poor chap!" he ejaculated, "I saw him die. And +that night," continued Mr. Barker, with a mournful +impressiveness, "I determined that the woman who +had caused so much unhappiness should be made to +know what unhappiness is. I made up my mind that +she should suffer what my friend had suffered. I knew +her very well,—in fact she was a distant connection; +so I went to her at a ball at the Van Sueindells'. I +had engaged her to dance the German<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2" /><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>, and had sent +her some very handsome roses. I had laid my plan +already, and after a little chaff and a few turns I challenged +her to a set flirtation. 'Let us swear,' I said, +'to be honest, and let us make a bet of a dozen pairs +of gloves. If one of us really falls in love, he or she +must acknowledge it and pay the gloves.' It was +agreed, for she was in great spirits that night, and +laughed at the idea that she could ever fall in love with +<i>me</i>—poor me! who have so little that is attractive. +At first she thought it was only a joke, but as I began +to visit her regularly and to go through all the formalities +of love-making, she became interested. We were +soon the talk of the town, and everybody said we were +going to be married. Still the engagement did not +come out, and people waited, open-mouthed, wondering +what next. At last I thought I was safe, and so, +the first chance I had at a party in Newport, I made a +dead set at a new beauty just arrived from the South—I +forget where. The other—the one with whom I was +betting—was there, and I watched her. She lost her +temper completely, and turned all sorts of colours. +Then I knew I had won, and so I went back to her +and talked to her for the rest of the evening, explaining +that the other young lady was a sister of a very dear +friend of mine.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2" /><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> American for the <i>cotillon</i>.</p></div> + +<p>"The next day I called on my beauty, and throwing +myself at her feet, I declared myself vanquished. The +result was just as I expected. She burst into tears +and put her arms round my neck, and said it was she +who lost, for she really loved me though she had been +too proud to acknowledge it. Then I calmly rose and +laughed. 'I do not care for you in the least,' I said; +'I only said so to make you speak. I have won the +gloves.' She broke down completely, and went abroad +a few days afterwards. And so I avenged my friend."</p> + +<p>There was a pause when Barker had finished his +tale. He sipped his tea, and Margaret rose slowly and +went to the window.</p> + +<p>"Don't you think that is a very good story, Countess?" +he asked. "Don't you think I was quite right?" +Still no answer. Margaret rang the bell, and old +Vladimir appeared.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker's carriage," said she; then, recollecting +herself, she repeated the order in Russian, and +swept out of the room without deigning to look at +the astonished young man, standing on the hearthrug +with his tea-cup in his hand. How it is that Vladimir +succeeds in interpreting his mistress's orders to the +domestics of the various countries in which she travels +is a mystery not fathomed, for in her presence he understands +only the Slav tongue. But however that may +be, a minute had not elapsed before Mr. Barker was +informed by another servant that his carriage was at +the door. He turned pale as he descended the steps.</p> + +<p>You have carried it too far, Mr. Barker. That is +not the kind of story that a lady of Countess Margaret's +temper will listen to; for when you did the thing you +have told her—if indeed you ever did it, which is +doubtful—you did a very base and unmanly thing. +It may not be very nice to act as that young lady did +to your friend; but then, just think how very much +worse it would have been if she had married him from +a sense of duty, and made him feel it afterwards. +Worse? Ay, worse than a hundred deaths. You +are an ass, Barker, with your complicated calculations, +as the Duke has often told you; and now it is a thousand +to one that you have ruined yourself with the +Countess. She will never take your view that it was +a justifiable piece of revenge; she will only see in it +a cruel and dastardly deception, practised on a woman +whose only fault was that, not loving, she discovered +her mistake in time. A man should rejoice when a +woman draws back from an engagement, reflecting what +his life might have been had she not done so.</p> + +<p>But Barker's face was sickly with disappointment +as he drove away, and he could hardly collect himself +enough to determine what was best to be done. However, +after a time he came to the conclusion that a +letter must be written of humble apology, accompanied +by a few very expensive flowers, and followed after a +week's interval by a visit. She could not mean to +break off all acquaintance with him for so slight a +cause. She would relent and see him again, and then +he would put over on the other tack. He had made a +mistake—very naturally, too—because she was always +so reluctant to give her own individual views about +anything. A mistake could be repaired, he thought, +without any serious difficulty.</p> + +<p>And so the next morning Margaret received some +flowers and a note, a very gentlemanly note, expressive +of profound regret that anything he could have said, +and so forth, and so forth. And Margaret, whose strong +temper sometimes made her act hastily, even when +acting rightly, said to herself that she had maltreated +the poor little beast, and would see him if he called +again. That was how she expressed it, showing that +to some extent Barker had succeeded in producing a +feeling of pity in her mind—though it was a very +different sort of pity from what he would have wished. +Meanwhile Margaret returned to New York, where she +saw her brother-in-law occasionally, and comforted him +with the assurance that when his hundred napoleons +were at an end, she would take care of him. And +Nicholas, who was a gentleman, like his dead brother, +proud and fierce, lived economically in a small hotel, +and wrote magazine articles describing the state of his +unhappy country.</p> + +<p>Then Barker called and was admitted, Miss Skeat +being present, and his face expressed a whole volume +of apology, while he talked briskly of current topics; +and so he gradually regained the footing he had lost. +At all events he thought so, not knowing that though +Margaret might forgive she could never forget; and +that she was now forewarned and forearmed in perpetuity +against any advance Barker might ever make.</p> + +<p>One day the mail brought a large envelope with an +English postage stamp, addressed in a strong, masculine +hand, even and regular, and utterly without adornment, +but yet of a strikingly peculiar expression, if a handwriting +may be said to have an expression.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"CUNARD S.S. <i>Servia, Sept. 15th</i>. +</p> +<p>"My Beloved Lady—Were it not for the possibility +of writing to you, this voyage would be an impossible +task to me; and even as it is, the feeling that what I +write must travel away from you for many days before +it travels towards you again makes me half suspect it +is a mockery after all. After these wonderful months +of converse it seems incredible that I should be thus +taken out of your hearing and out of the power of seeing +you. That I long for a sight of your dear face, +that I hunger for your touch and for your sweet voice, +I need not tell you or further asseverate. I am constantly +looking curiously at the passengers, vainly +thinking that you must appear among them. The sea +without you is not the sea, any more than heaven +would be heaven were you not there.</p> + +<p>"I cannot describe to you, my dear lady, how detestable +the life on board is to me. I loathe the +people with their inane chatter, and the idiotic children, +and the highly-correct and gentlemanly captain, all +equally. The philistine father, the sea-sick mother, +the highly-cultured daughter, and the pipe-smoking +son, are equally objects of disgust. When I go on +deck the little children make a circle round me, because +I am so big, and the sailors will not let me go on to +forecastle under three shillings—which I paid cheerfully, +however, because I can be alone there and think +of you, without being contemplated as an object of +wonder by about two hundred idiots. I have managed +to rig a sort of table in my cabin at last, and here I +sit, under the dubious light of the port-hole, wishing it +would blow, or that we might meet an iceberg, or anything, +to scare the people into their dens and leave me +a little open-air solitude.</p> + +<p>"It seems so strange to be writing to you. I never +wrote anything but little notes in the old days at Baden, +and now I am writing what promises to be a long letter, +for we cannot be in under six days, and in all that +time there is nothing else I can do—nothing else I +would do, if I could. And yet it is so different. Perhaps +I am incoherent, and you will say, different from +what? It is different from what it used to be, before +that thrice-blessed afternoon in the Newport fog.</p> + +<p>"The gray mist came down like a curtain, shutting +off the past and marking where the present begins. +It seems to me that I never lived before that moment, +and yet those months were happy while they lasted, so +that it sometimes seemed as though no greater happiness +could be possible. How did it all happen, most +blessed lady?</p> + +<p>"The lazy, good-natured sea, that loves us well, +washes up and glances through my port-hole as I write, +as if in answer to my question. The sea knows how +it happened, for he saw us, and bore us, and heard all +the tale; and even in Newport he was there, hidden +under the fog and listening, and he is rejoicing that +those who loved are now lovers. It is not hard to see +how it happened. They all worship you, every human +being that comes near you falls down and acknowledges +you to be the queen. For they must. There is no +salvation from that, and it is meet and right that it +should be so. And I came, like the others, to do +homage to the great queen, and you deigned to raise +me up and bid me stand beside you.</p> + +<p>"You are my first allegiance and my first love. I +thank Heaven that I can say it honestly and truly, +without fear of my conscience pricking. You know +too, for I have told you, how my boyhood and manhood +have been passed, and if there is anything you do not +know I will tell you hereafter, for I would always hate +to feel that there was anything about me you did not +know—I could not feel it. But then, say you, he +should have told me what he was going to do abroad. +And so I have, dear lady; for though I have not +explained it all to you, I have placed all needful knowledge +in safe hands, where you can obtain it for the +asking, if ever the least shadow of doubt should cross +your mind. Only I pray you, as suing a great boon, +not to doubt—that is all, for I would rather you did +not know yet.</p> + +<p>"This letter is being written by degrees. I have +not written all this at once, for I find it as hard to +express my thoughts to you on paper as I find it easy +by word of mouth. It seems a formal thing to write, +and yet there should be nothing less marred by formality +than such a letter as mine. It is only that the +choice is too great. I have too much to say, and so +say nothing. I would ask, if I were so honoured by +Heaven, the tongues of men and of angels, and all the +mighty word-music of sage and prophet, that I might +tell you how I love you, my heart's own. I would ask +that for one hour I might hold in my hand the bâton +of heaven's choir. Then would I lead those celestial +musicians through such a grand plain chant as time +has never dreamt of, nor has eternity yet heard it; so +that rank on rank of angels and saints should take up +the song, until the arches of the outer firmament rang +again, and the stars chimed together; and all the +untold hierarchy of archangelic voice and heavenly +instrument should cry, as with one soul, the confession +of this heart of mine—'I love.'</p> + +<p>"Another day has passed, and I think I have heard +in my dreams the bursts of music that I would fain +have wafted to your waking ears. Verily the lawyers +in New York say well, that I am not Claudius. +Claudius was a thing of angles and books, mathematical +and earthy, believing indeed in the greatness of things +supernal, but not having tasted thereof. My beloved, +God has given me a new soul to love you with, so +great that it seems as though it would break through +the walls of my heart and cry aloud to you. This new +Claudius is a man of infinite power to rise above earthly +things, above everything that is below you—and what +things that are in earth are not below you, lady mine?</p> + +<p>"Again the time has passed, in a dull reluctant +fashion, as if he delighted to torment, like the common +bore of society. He lingers and dawdles through his +round of hours as though it joyed him to be sluggish. +It has blown a little, and most of the people are sea-sick. +Thank goodness! I suppose that is a very inhuman +sentiment, but the masses of cheerful humanity, +gluttonously fattening on the ship's fare and the smooth +sea, were becoming intolerable. There is not one person +on board who looks as though he or she had left a +human being behind who had any claim to be regretted. +Did any one of these people ever love? I suppose so. +I suppose at one time or another most of them have +thought they loved some one. I will not be uncharitable, +for they are receiving their just punishment. +Lovers are never sea-sick, but now a hoarse chorus, +indescribable and hideous, rises from hidden recesses +of the ship. They are not in love, they are sea-sick. +May it do them all possible good!</p> + +<p>"Here we are at last. I hasten to finish this +rambling letter that it may catch the steamer, which, +I am told, leaves to-day. Nine days we have been at +sea, and the general impression seems to be that the +last part of the passage has been rough. And now I +shall be some weeks in Europe—I cannot tell how +long, but I think the least possible will be three weeks, +and the longest six. I shall know, however, in a +fortnight. My beloved, it hurts me to stop writing—unreasonable +animal that I am, for a letter must be +finished in order to be posted. I pray you, sweetheart, +write me a word of comfort and strength in my +journeying. Anything sent to Baring's will reach me; +you cannot know what a line from you would be to +me, how I would treasure it as the most sacred of +things and the most precious, until we meet. And so, +à bientôt, for we must never say 'goodbye,' even in +jest. I feel as though I were launching this letter at +a venture, as sailors throw a bottle overboard when +they fear they are lost. I have not yet tested the +post-office, and I feel a kind of uncertainty as to +whether this will reach you.</p> + +<p>"But they are clamouring at my door, and I must +go. Once more, my own queen, I love you, ever and +only and always. May all peace and rest be with +you, and may Heaven keep you from all harm!"</p></div> + +<p>This letter was not signed, for what signature could +it possibly need? Margaret read it, and read it again, +wondering—for she had never had such a letter in her +life. The men who had made love to her had never +been privileged to speak plainly, for she would have +none of them, and so they had been obliged to confine +themselves to such cunning use of permissible words +and phrases as they could command, together with +copious quotations from more or less erotic poets. +Moreover, Claudius had never been in a position to +speak his heart's fill to her until that last day, when +words had played so small a part.</p> + +<p>It was a love-letter, at least in part, such as a man +might have written a hundred years ago—not such as +men write nowadays, thought Margaret; certainly not +such as Mr. Barker would write—or could. But she +was glad he had written; and written so, for it was +like him, who was utterly unlike any one else. The +letter had come in the morning while Clémentine was +dressing her, and she laid it on her writing-desk. But +when the maid was gone, she read it once again, sitting +by her window, and when she had done she unconsciously +held it in her hand and rested her cheek +against it. A man kisses a letter received from the +woman he loves, but a woman rarely does. She thinks +when he is away that she would hardly kiss <i>him</i>, were +he present, much less will she so honour his handwriting. +But when he himself comes the colour of +things is changed. Nevertheless, Margaret put the +folded letter in her bosom and wore it there unseen all +through that day; and when Mr. Barker came to offer +to take her to drive she said she would not go, making +some libellous remark about the weather, which was +exceeding glad and sunshiny in spite of her refusal to +face it. And Mr. Barker, seeing that he was less welcome +than usual, went away, for he was mortally afraid +of annoying her.</p> + +<p>Margaret was debating within herself whether she +should answer, and if so, what she should say. In +truth, it was not easy. She felt herself unable to write +in the way he did, had she wished to. Besides, there +was that feminine feeling still lurking in her heart, +which said, "Do not trust him till he comes back." It +seemed to her it must be so easy to write like that—and +yet, she had not thought so at the first reading. +But she loved him, not yet as she would some day, but +still she loved, and it was her first love, as it was his.</p> + +<p>She had settled herself in the hotel for the present, +and to make it more like home—like her pretty home +at Baden—she had ordered a few plants and growing +flowers, very simple and inexpensive, for she felt herself +terribly pinched, although she had not yet begun +actually to feel the restrictions laid on her by her +financial troubles. When Barker was gone, she amused +herself with picking off the dried leaves and brushing +away the little cobwebs and spiders that always accumulate +about growing things. In the midst of this +occupation she made up her mind, and rang the bell.</p> + +<p>"Vladimir, I am not at home," she said solemnly, +and the gray-haired, gray-whiskered functionary bowed +in acknowledgment of the fact, which was far from +evident. When he was gone she sat down to her desk +and wrote to Dr. Claudius. She wrote rapidly in her +large hand, and before long she had covered four pages +of notepaper. Then she read it over, and tore it up. +The word "dear" occurred once too often for her taste. +Again the white fingers flew rapidly along the page, +but soon she stopped.</p> + +<p>"That is too utterly frigid," she said half aloud, +with a smile. Then she tried again.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"DEAR DR. CLAUDIUS—So many thanks for your +charming letter, which I received this morning. Tell +me a great deal more, please, and write <i>at once</i>. Tell me +everything you do and say and see, for I want to feel +just as though you were here to talk everything over.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker has been here a good deal lately, and +the other day he told me a story I did not like. But +I forgave him, for he seemed so penitent. Please burn +my letters.</p> + +<p>"It is very cold and disagreeable, and I really half +wish I were in Europe. Europe is much pleasanter. +I have not read a word of Spencer since you left, but +I have thought a great deal about what you said the +last time we did any work together.</p> + +<p>"Let me know <i>positively</i> when you are coming back, +and let it be as soon as possible, for I must see you. +I am going to see Salvini, in <i>Othello</i>, to-night, with +Miss Skeat. He sent me a box, in memory of a little +dinner years ago, and I expect him to call. He <i>did</i> +call, but I could not see him.</p> + +<p>"I cannot write any more, for it is dinner-time. +Thanks, dear, for your loving letter. It was sweet of +you to post it the same day, for it caught the steamer.</p> + +<p>—In tearing haste, yours, M.</p> + +<p>"<i>P.S.</i>—Answer all my questions, please."</p></div> + +<p>There was an indistinctness about the last word; it +might have been "your," or "yours." The "tearing +haste" resolved itself into ringing the bell to know +what time it was, for Margaret had banished the hideous +hotel clock from the room. On finding it was yet +early, she sat down in a deep chair, and warmed her +toes at the small wood fire, which was just enough to +be enjoyable and not enough to be hot. It was now +the beginning of October, for Claudius's letter, begun on +the 15th of September, had not been posted until the +21st, and had been a long time on the way. She +wondered when he would get the letter she had just +written. It was not much of a letter, but she remembered +the last paragraph, and thought it was quite +affectionate enough. As for Claudius, when he received +it he was as much delighted as though it had been six +times as long and a hundred times more expansive. +"Thanks, dear, for your loving letter,"—that phrase +alone acknowledged everything, accepted everything, +and sanctioned everything.</p> + +<p>In the evening, as she had said in writing to the +Doctor, she went with Miss Skeat and sat in the front +box of the theatre, which the great actor had placed at +her disposal. The play was <i>Othello</i>. Mr. Barker had +ascertained that she was going, and had accordingly +procured himself a seat in the front of the orchestra. +He endeavoured to catch a look from Margaret all +through the first part of the performance, but she was +too entirely absorbed in the tragedy to notice him. At +length, in the interval before the last act, Mr. Barker +took courage, and, leaving his chair, threaded his way +out of the lines of seats to the entrance. Then he +presented himself at the door of the Countess's box.</p> + +<p>"May I come in for a little while?" he inquired +with an affectation of doubt and delicacy that was +unnatural to him.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," said Margaret indifferently, but smiling +a little withal.</p> + +<p>"I have ventured to bring you some <i>marrons glacés</i>," +said Barker, when he was seated, producing at the same +time a neat <i>bonbonnière</i> in the shape of a turban. "I +thought they would remind you of Baden. You used +to be very fond of them."</p> + +<p>"Thanks," said she, "I am still." And she took +one. The curtain rose, and Barker was obliged to be +silent, much against his will. Margaret immediately +became absorbed in the doings on the stage. She had +witnessed that terrible last act twenty times before, +but she never wearied of it. Neither would she have +consented to see it acted by any other than the great +Italian. Whatever be the merits of the play, there +can be no question as to its supremacy of horror in +the hands of Salvini. To us of the latter half of this +century it appears to stand alone; it seems as if there +could never have been such a scene or such an actor +in the history of the drama. Horrible—yes! beyond +all description, but, being horrible, of a depth of horror +unrealised before. Perhaps no one who has not lived +in the East can understand that such a character as +Salvini's <i>Othello</i> is a possible, living reality. It is +certain that American audiences, even while giving their +admiration, withhold their belief. They go to see +<i>Othello</i>, that they may shudder luxuriously at the sight +of so much suffering; for it is the moral suffering of +the Moor that most impresses an intelligent beholder, +but it is doubtful whether Americans or English, who +have not lived in Southern or Eastern lands, are capable +of appreciating that the character is drawn from +the life.</p> + +<p>The great criticism to which all modern tragedy, +and a great deal of modern drama, are open is the +undue and illegitimate use of horror. Horror is not +terror. They are two entirely distinct affections. A +man hurled from a desperate precipice, in the living +act to fall, is properly an object of terror, sudden and +quaking. But the same man, reduced to a mangled +mass of lifeless humanity, broken to pieces, and ghastly +with the gaping of dead wounds—the same man, when +his last leap is over and hope is fled, is an object of +horror, and as such would not in early times have been +regarded as a legitimate subject for artistic representation, +either on the stage or in the plastic or pictorial +arts.</p> + +<p>It may be that in earlier ages, when men were +personally familiar with the horrors of a barbarous +ethical system, while at the same time they had the +culture and refinement belonging to a high development +of æsthetic civilisation, the presentation of a great +terror immediately suggested the concomitant horror; +and suggested it so vividly that the visible definition +of the result—the bloodshed, the agony, and the death-rattle—would +have produced an impression too dreadful +to be associated with any pleasure to the beholder. +There was no curiosity to behold violent death among +a people accustomed to see it often enough in the +course of their lives, and not yet brutalised into a love +of blood for its own sake. The Romans presented an +example of the latter state; they loved horror so well +that they demanded real horror and real victims. And +that is the state of the populations of England and +America at the present day. Were it not for the +tremendous power of modern law, there is not the +slightest doubt that the mass of Londoners or New +Yorkers would flock to-day to see a gladiatorial show, +or to watch a pack of lions tearing, limb from limb, a +dozen unarmed convicts. Not the "cultured" classes—some +of them would be ashamed, and some would +really feel a moral incapacity for witnessing so much +pain—but the masses would go, and would pay handsomely +for the sport; and, moreover, if they once +tasted blood they would be strong enough to legislate +in favour of tasting more. It is not to the discredit +of the Anglo-Saxon race that it loves savage sports. +The blood is naturally fierce, and has not been cowed +by the tyranny endured by European races. There +have been more free men under England's worst +tyrants than under France's most liberal kings.</p> + +<p>But, failing gladiators and wild beasts, the people +must have horrors on the stage, in literature, in art, +and, above all, in the daily press. Shakspere knew +that, and Michelangelo, who is the Shakspere of brush +and chisel, knew it also, as those two unrivalled men +seem to have known everything else. And so when +Michelangelo painted the <i>Last Judgment</i>, and Shakspere +wrote <i>Othello</i> (for instance), they both made use +of horror in a way the Greeks would not have +tolerated. Since we no longer see daily enacted before +us scenes of murder, torture, and public execution, our +curiosity makes us desire to see those scenes represented +as accurately as possible. The Greeks, in their +tragedies, did their slaughter behind the scenes, and +occasionally the cries of the supposed victims were +heard. But theatre-goers of to-day would feel cheated +if the last act of Othello were left to their imagination. +When Salvini thrusts the crooked knife into his throat, +with that ghastly sound of death that one never forgets, +the modern spectator would not understand what +the death-rattle meant, did he not see the action that +accompanies it.</p> + +<p>"It is too realistic," said Mr. Barker in his high +thin voice when it was over, and he was helping +Margaret with her silken wrappings.</p> + +<p>"It is not realistic," said she, "it is real. It may +be an unhealthy excitement, but if we are to have it, +it is the most perfect of its kind."</p> + +<p>"It is very horrible," said Miss Skeat; and they +drove away.</p> + +<p>Margaret would not stay to see the great man +after the curtain fell. The disillusion of such a meeting +is too great to be pleasurable. Othello is dead, +and the idea of meeting Othello in the flesh ten +minutes later, smiling and triumphant, is a death-blow +to that very reality which Margaret so much enjoyed. +Besides, she wanted to be alone with her own thoughts, +which were not entirely confined to the stage, that +night. Writing to Claudius had brought him vividly +into her life again, and she had caught herself more +than once during the evening wondering how her fair +Northern lover would have acted in Othello's place. +Whether, when the furious general takes Iago by the +throat in his wrath, the Swede's grip would have relaxed +so easily on one who should dare to whisper a +breath against the Countess Margaret. She so lived +in the thought for a moment that her whole face +glowed in the shade of the box, and her dark eyes shot +out fire. Ah me! Margaret, will he come back to +stand by your side and face the world for you? Who +knows. Men are deceivers ever, says the old song.</p> + +<p>Home through the long streets, lighted with the +pale electric flame that gives so deathly a tinge to +everything that comes within the circling of its discolour; +home to her rooms with the pleasant little +fire smouldering on the hearth, and flowers—Barker's +flowers—scenting the room; home to the cares of +Clémentine, to lean back with half-closed eyes, thinking, +while the deft French fingers uncoil and smooth +and coil again the jet-black tresses; home to the luxury +of sleep unbroken by ill ease of body, though visited by +the dreams of a far-away lover—dreams not always +hopeful, but ever sweet; home to a hotel! Can a +hostelry be dignified with that great name? Yes. +Wherever we are at rest and at peace, wherever the +thought of love or dream of lover visits us, wherever we +look forward to meeting that lover again—that is home. +For since the cold steel-tipped fingers of science have +crushed space into a nut-shell, and since the deep-mouthed +capacious present has swallowed time out of +sight, there is no landmark left but love, no hour but +the hour of loving, no home but where our lover is.</p> + +<p>The little god who has survived ages of sword-play +and centuries of peace-time, survives also science the +leveller, and death the destroyer.</p> + +<p>And in the night, when all are asleep, and the +chimes are muffled with the thick darkness, and the +wings of the dream-spirits caress the air, then the little +Red Mouse comes out and meditates on all these things, +and wonders how it is that men can think there is any +originality in their lives or persons or doings. The +body may have changed a little, men may have grown +stronger and fairer, as some say, or weaker and more +puny, as others would have it, but the soul of man is +even as it was from the beginning.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII" />CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + + +<p>A month has passed since Margaret went to see <i>Othello</i>, +and New York is beginning to wake to its winter round +of amusements. There are dinners and dances and +much leaving of little pasteboard chips with names and +addresses.</p> + +<p>Mr. Barker had made progress, in his own opinion, +since the day when he so unfortunately roused Margaret's +anger by his story. He bethought him one day +that Claudius's influence had begun with the reading +of books, and he determined to try something of the +kind himself. He was no scholar as Claudius was, +but he knew men who were. He cultivated the +acquaintance of Mr. Horace Bellingham, and spent +studious hours in ascertaining the names of quaint and +curious volumes, which he spared no expense in procuring. +He read books he had never heard of before, +and then talked about them to Margaret; and when he +hit upon anything she did not know he was swift to +bring it to her, and sometimes she would even listen +while he read a few pages aloud.</p> + +<p>Margaret encouraged Barker in this new fancy unconsciously +enough, for she thought it an admirable +thing that a man whose whole life was devoted to +business pursuits should develop a taste for letters; +and when he had broken the ice on the sea of literature +she talked more freely with him than she had ever +done before. It was not Barker who interested her, +but the books he brought, which were indeed rare and +beautiful. He, on the other hand, quick to assimilate +any knowledge that might be of use to him, and cautious +of exposing the weaker points of his ignorance, succeeded +in producing an impression of considerable +learning, so that by and by he began to think he was +taking Claudius's place in her daily pursuits, as he +hoped to take it in her heart.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile no one had heard from the Doctor, for +his correspondence with Margaret was unknown to +Barker, and the latter began to cherish a hope that, +after all, there might be overwhelming difficulties in +the way of proving Claudius's right to the estate. He +had more than once talked over the matter with Mr. +Screw, and they came to the conclusion that this +silence was prognostic of the Doctor's defeat. Screw +thought it probable that, had Claudius immediately +obtained from Heidelberg the necessary papers, he +would have sent a triumphant telegram over the cable, +announcing his return at the shortest possible interval. +But the time was long. It was now the first week in +November and nearly two months had passed since he +had sailed. Mr. Barker had avoided speaking of him +to the Countess, at first because he did not wish to +recall him to her memory, and later because he observed +that she never mentioned the Doctor's name. +Barker had inquired of Mr. Bellingham whether he +knew anything of his friend's movements, to which +Uncle Horace had replied, with a grim laugh, that he +had quite enough to do with taking care of distinguished +foreigners when they were in New York, without looking +after them when they had gone elsewhere.</p> + +<p>One evening before dinner Vladimir brought Margaret +a telegram. She was seated by the fire as usual +and Miss Skeat, who had been reading aloud until it +grew too dark, was by her side warming her thin +hands, which always looked cold, and bending forward +towards the fire as she listened to Margaret's somewhat +random remarks about the book in hand. Margaret +had long since talked with Miss Skeat about her disturbed +affairs, and concerning the prospect that was before +her of being comparatively poor. And Miss Skeat, +in her high-bred old-fashioned way, had laid her hand +gently on the Countess's arm in token of sympathy.</p> + +<p>"Dear Countess," she had said, "please remember +that it will not make any difference to me, and that I +will never leave you. Poverty is not a new thing to +me, my dear." The tears came into Margaret's eyes +as she pressed the elder lady's hand in silence. These +passages of feeling were rare between them, but they +understood each other, for all that. And now Margaret +was speaking despondently of the future. A +few days before she had made up her mind at last to +write the necessary letters to Russia, and she had now +despatched them on their errand. Not that she had +any real hope of bettering things, but a visit from +Nicholas had roused her to the fact that it was a duty +she owed to him as well as to herself to endeavour to +recover what was possible of her jointure.</p> + +<p>At last she opened the telegram and uttered an +exclamation of surprise.</p> + +<p>"What in the world does it mean?" she cried, +and gave it to Miss Skeat, who held it close to the +firelight.</p> + +<p>The message was from Lord Fitzdoggin, Her British +Majesty's Ambassador at St. Petersburg, and was an +informal statement to the effect that his Excellency +was happy to communicate to the Countess Margaret +the intelligence that, by the untiring efforts and great +skill of a personal friend, the full payment of her jointure +was now secured to her in perpetuity. It stated, +moreover, that she would shortly receive official +information of the fact through the usual channels.</p> + +<p>Miss Skeat beamed with pleasure; for though she +had been willing to make any sacrifice for Margaret, +it would not have been an agreeable thing to be so +very poor again.</p> + +<p>"I never met Lord Fitzdoggin," said Margaret, +"and I do not understand in the least. Why should +he, of all people, inform me of this, if it is really +true?"</p> + +<p>"The Duke must have written to him," said Miss +Skeat, still beaming, and reading the message over +again.</p> + +<p>Margaret paused a moment in thought, then lighting +the gas herself, she wrote a note and despatched +Vladimir in hot haste.</p> + +<p>"I have asked Mr. Bellingham to dine," she said, +in answer to Miss Skeat's inquiring look. "He will +go to the party with me afterwards, if he is free."</p> + +<p>It chanced that Mr. Bellingham was in his rooms +when Margaret's note came, and he immediately threw +over an engagement he had previously made, and sent +word he would be at the Countess's disposal. Punctual +to the minute he appeared. Margaret showed him the +telegram.</p> + +<p>"What does this mean, Mr. Bellingham?" she +asked, smiling, but scrutinising his face closely.</p> + +<p>"My dear Countess," cried the old gentleman, delighted +beyond measure at the result of his policy, +and corruscating with smiles and twinkles, "my dear +Countess, allow me to congratulate you."</p> + +<p>"But who is the 'personal friend' mentioned? Is +it the Duke? He is in the far West at this moment."</p> + +<p>"No," answered Mr. Bellingham, "it is not the +Duke. I am inclined to think it is a manifestation of +some great cosmic force, working silently for your +welfare. The lovely spirits," continued the old gentleman, +looking up from under his brows, and gesticulating +as though he would call down the mystic presence he +invoked—"the lovely spirits that guard you would be +loth to allow anything so fair to suffer annoyance from +the rude world. You are well taken care of, Countess, +believe me."</p> + +<p>Margaret smiled at Uncle Horace's way of getting +out of the difficulty, for she suspected him of knowing +more than he would acknowledge. But all she could +extract from him was that he knew Lord Fitzdoggin +slightly, and that he believed the telegram to be perfectly +genuine. He had played his part in the matter, +and rubbed his hands as though washing them of any +further responsibility. Indeed he had nothing to tell, +save that he had advised Claudius to get an introduction +from the Duke. He well knew that the letters +he had given Claudius had been the real means of his +success; but as Margaret only asked about the telegram, +he was perfectly safe in denying any knowledge +of it. Not that such a consideration would have prevented +his meeting her question with a little fib, just +to keep the secret.</p> + +<p>"Will you not go to this dance with me this evening?" +asked Margaret after dinner, as they sat round +the fireplace.</p> + +<p>"What ball is that?" inquired Mr. Bellingham.</p> + +<p>"I hardly know what it is. It is a party at the +Van Sueindell's and there is 'dancing' on the card. +Please go with me; I should have to go alone."</p> + +<p>"I detest the pomp and circumstance of pleasure," +said Uncle Horace, "the Persian appurtenances, as my +favourite poet calls them; but I cannot resist so +charming an invitation. It will give me the greatest +pleasure. I will send word to put off another engagement."</p> + +<p>"Do you really not mind at all?"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it. Only three or four old fogies at +the club. <i>Est mihi nonum superantis annum plenus +Albani cadus</i>," continued Mr. Bellingham, who never +quoted Horace once without quoting him again in the +next five minutes. "I had sent a couple of bottles of +my grandfather's madeira to the club, 1796, but those +old boys will enjoy it without me. They would talk +me to death if I went."</p> + +<p>"It is too bad," said Margaret, "you must go to the +club. I would not let you break an engagement on +my account."</p> + +<p>"No, no. Permit me to do a good deed without +having to bear the infernal consequences in this life, at +all events. The chatter of those people is like the +diabolical screaming of the peacock on the terrace of +the Emir's chief wife, made memorable by Thackeray +the prophet." He paused a moment, and stroked his +snowy pointed beard. "Forgive my strong language," +he added; "really, they are grand adjectives those, +'diabolical' and 'infernal.' They call up the whole +of Dante to my mind." Margaret laughed.</p> + +<p>"Are you fond of Dante?" asked she.</p> + +<p>"Very. I sometimes buy a cheap copy and substitute +the names of my pet enemies all through the <i>Inferno</i> +wherever they will suit the foot. In that way I get all +the satisfaction the author got by putting his friends in +hell, without the labour of writing, or the ability to +compose, the poem." The Countess laughed again.</p> + +<p>"Do you ever do the same thing with the <i>Paradiso</i>?"</p> + +<p>"No," answered Uncle Horace, with a smile. "Purgatory +belonged to an age when people were capable +of being made better by suffering, and as for paradise, +my heaven admits none but the fair sex. They are +all beautiful, and many of them are young."</p> + +<p>"Will you admit me, Mr. Bellingham?"</p> + +<p>"St. Margaret has forestalled me," said he gallantly, +"for she has a paradise of her own, it seems, to which +she has admitted me."</p> + +<p>And so they passed the evening pleasantly until the +hour warned them that it was time to go to the great +Van Sueindell house. That mansion, like all private +houses in America, and the majority of modern dwellings +in other parts of the world, is built in that +depraved style of architecture which makes this age +pre-eminent in the ugliness of brick and stone. There +is no possibility of criticism for such monstrosity, as +there also seems to be no immediate prospect of reform. +Time, the iron-fisted Nihilist, will knock them all +down some day and bid mankind begin anew. Meanwhile +let us ignore what we cannot improve. Night, +the all-merciful, sometimes hides these excrescences from +our sight, and sometimes the moon, Nature's bravest +liar, paints and moulds them into a fugitive harmony. +But in the broad day let us fix our eyes modestly on +the pavement beneath us, or turn them boldly to the +sky, for if we look to the right or the left we must see +that which sickens the sense of sight.</p> + +<p>On the present occasion, however, nothing was to +be seen of the house, for the long striped canvas tent, +stretching from the door to the carriage, and lined with +plants and servants, hid everything else from view. +There is probably no city in the world where the <i>business</i> +of "entertaining" is so thoroughly done as in New +York. There are many places where it is more agreeable +to be "entertained;" many where it is done on a +larger scale, for there is nothing in America so imposing +as the receptions at Embassies and other great +houses in England and abroad. To bring the matter +into business form, since it is a matter of business, let +us say that nowhere do guests cost so much by the +cubic foot as in New York. Abroad, owing to the +peculiar conditions of court-life, many people are +obliged to open their houses at stated intervals. In +America no one is under this necessity. If people +begin to "entertain" they do it because they have +money, or because they have something to gain by it, +and they do it with an absolute regardlessness of cost +which is enough to startle the sober foreigner.</p> + +<p>It may be in bad taste, but if we are to define what +is good taste in these days, and abide by it, we shall +be terribly restricted. As an exhibition of power, this +enormous expenditure is imposing in the extreme; though +the imposing element, being strictly confined to the +display of wealth, can never produce the impressions +of durability, grandeur, and military pomp so dear to +every European. Hence the Englishman turns up his +nose at the gilded shows of American society, and the +American sniffs when he finds that the door-scraper of +some great London house is only silverplated instead of +being solid, and that the carpets are at least two years +old. They regard things from opposite points of view, +and need never expect to agree.</p> + +<p>Margaret, however, was not so new to American +life, seeing she was American born, as to bestow a +thought or a glance on the appointments of Mr. and +Mrs. Van Sueindell's establishment; and as for Mr. +Bellingham, he had never cared much for what he +called the pomp and circumstance of pleasure, for he +carried pleasure with him in his brilliant conversation +and his ready tact. All places were more or less alike +to Mr. Bellingham. At the present moment, however, +he was thinking principally of his fair charge, and was +wondering inwardly what time he would get home, for +he rose early and was fond of a nap in the late evening. +He therefore gave Margaret his arm, and kept a lookout +for some amusing man to introduce to her. He +had really enjoyed his dinner and the pleasant chat +afterwards, but the prospect of piloting this magnificent +beauty about till morning, or till she should take it into +her head to go home, was exhausting. Besides, he +went little into society of this kind, and was not +over-familiar with the faces he saw.</p> + +<p>He need not have been disturbed, however, for +they had not been many minutes in the rooms before +a score of men had applied for the "pleasure of a +turn." But still she held Mr. Bellingham's arm, +obdurately refusing to dance. As Barker came up a +moment later, willing, perhaps, to show his triumph to +the rejected suitors, Margaret thanked Mr. Bellingham, +and offered to take him home if he would stay until +one o'clock; then she glided away, not to dance but to +sit in a quieter room, near the door of which couples +would hover for a quarter of an hour at a time waiting +to seize the next pair of vacant seats. Mr. Bellingham +moved away, amused by the music and the crowd and +the fair young faces, until he found a seat in a corner, +shaded from the flare of light by an open door close +by, and there, in five minutes, he was fast asleep in +the midst of the gaiety and noise and heat—unnoticed, +a gray old man amid so much youth.</p> + +<p>But Barker knew the house better than the most +of the guests, and passing through the little room for +which every one seemed fighting, he drew aside a heavy +curtain and showed a small boudoir beyond, lighted +with a solitary branch of candles, and occupied by +a solitary couple. Barker had hoped to find this +sanctum empty, and as he pushed two chairs together +he eyed the other pair savagely.</p> + +<p>"What a charming little room," said Margaret, +sinking into the soft chair and glancing at the walls +and ceiling, which were elaborately adorned in the +Japanese fashion. The chairs also were framed of +bamboo, and the table was of an unusual shape. It +was the "Japanese parlour<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3" /><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>," as Mrs. Van Sueindell +would have called it. Every great house in New York +has a Japanese or a Chinese room. The entire contents +of the apartment having been brought direct from +Yokohama, the effect was harmonious, and Margaret's +artistic sense was pleased.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3" /><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Parlour or parlor, American for "sitting-room."</p></div> + +<p>"Is it not?" said Barker, glad to have brought +her to a place she liked. "I thought you would like +it, and I hoped," lowering his voice, "that we should +find it empty. Only people who come here a great +deal know about it."</p> + +<p>"Then you come here often?" asked Margaret, to +say something. She was glad to be out of the din, +for though she had anticipated some pleasure from the +party, she discovered too late that she had made a +mistake, and would rather be at home. She had so +much to think of, since receiving that telegram; and +so, forgetting Barker and everything else, she followed +her own train of thought. Barker talked on, and +Margaret seemed to be listening—but it was not the +music, muffled through the heavy curtains, nor the +small voice of Mr. Barker that she heard. It was the +washing of the sea and the creaking of cordage that +were in her ears—the rush of the ship that was to +bring him back—that was perhaps bringing him back +already. When would he come? How soon? If it +could only be to-morrow, she would so like to—what +in the world is Mr. Barker saying so earnestly? +Really, she ought to listen. It was very rude. +"Conscious of my many defects of character—" +Oh yes, he was always talking about his defects; +what next? "—conscious of my many defects of +character," Mr. Barker was saying, in an even, determined +voice, "and feeling deeply how far behind you +I am in those cultivated pursuits you most enjoy, I +would nevertheless scorn to enlarge upon my advantages, +the more so as I believe you are acquainted with +my circumstances."</p> + +<p>Good gracious! thought Margaret, suddenly recovering +the acutest use of her hearing, what is the man +going to say? And she looked fixedly at him with an +expression of some astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Considering, as I was saying," he continued +steadily, "those advantages upon which I will not +enlarge, may I ask you to listen to what I am going +to say?"</p> + +<p>Margaret, having lost the first part of Barker's +speech completely, in her fit of abstraction, had some +vague idea that he was asking her advice about marrying +some other woman.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," she said indifferently; "pray go on." +At the moment of attack, however, Barker's heart +failed him for an instant. He thought he would +make one more attempt to ascertain what position +Claudius held towards Margaret.</p> + +<p>"Of course," he said, smiling and looking down, +"we all knew about Dr. Claudius on board the +<i>Streak</i>."</p> + +<p>"What did you know about him?" asked Margaret +calmly, but her face flushed for an instant. That +might have happened even if she had not cared for +Claudius; she was so proud that the idea of being +thought to care might well bring the colour to her +cheek. Barker hardly noticed the blush, for he was +getting into very deep water, and was on the point of +losing his head.</p> + +<p>"That he proposed to you, and you refused him," +he said, still smiling.</p> + +<p>"Take care, sir," she said quickly, "when Dr. +Claudius comes back he—" Barker interrupted +her with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"Claudius coming back?" he answered, "ha! ha! +good indeed!"</p> + +<p>He looked at Margaret. She was very quiet, and +she was naturally so dark that, in the shadow of the +fan she held carelessly against the light, he could not +see how pale she turned. She was intensely angry, +and her anger took the form of a preternatural calm +of manner, by no means indicative of indifferent reflection. +She was simply unable to speak for the moment. +Barker, however, whose reason was in abeyance for the +moment, merely saw that she did not answer; and, +taking her silence for consent to his slighting mention +of Claudius, he at once proceeded with his main +proposition. At this juncture the other couple slowly +left the room, having arranged their own affairs to +their satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"That being the case," he said, "and now that I +am assured that I have no rivals to dread, will you +permit me to offer you my heart and my hand? +Countess Margaret, will you marry me, and make me +the happiest of men? Oh, do not be silent, do not +look as if you did not hear! I have loved you since +I first saw you—will you, will you marry me?" +Here Mr. Barker, who was really as much in love +as his nature allowed him to be, moved to the very +edge of his chair and tried to take her hand.</p> + +<p>"Margaret!" he said, as he touched her fingers.</p> + +<p>At the touch she recovered her self-possession, too +long lost for such a case. She had tried to control +her anger, had tried to remember whether by any word +she could have encouraged him to so much boldness. +Now she rose to all her haughty height, and though +she tried hard to control herself, there was scorn in +her voice.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Barker," she said, dropping her hands before +her and standing straight as a statue, "you have made +a mistake, and if through any carelessness I have led +you into this error I am sorry for it. I cannot listen +to you, I cannot marry you. As for Dr. Claudius, I +will not permit you to use any slighting words about +him. I hold in my possession documents that could +prove his identity as well as any he can obtain in +Germany. But I need not produce them, for I am +sure it will be enough for you to know that I am +engaged to be married to him—I am engaged to be +married to Dr. Claudius," she repeated very distinctly +in her deep musical tones; and before Barker could +recover himself, she had passed from the room into the +lights and the sound of music beyond.</p> + +<p>What do you think, reader? Was it not a brave +and noble action of hers to vindicate Claudius by +taking upon herself the whole responsibility of his +love rather than by going home and sending Mr. +Barker documentary evidence of the Doctor's personality? +Claudius had never asked her to marry +him, the very word had never been mentioned. But +he had told her he loved her and she had trusted him.</p> + +<p>Start not at the infinity of social crime that such +a doubt defines. It is there. It is one thing for a +woman to love a man at arm's length conditionally; it +is another for her to take him to her heart and trust +him. Does every millionaire who makes love to a +penniless widow mean to marry her? for Margaret +was poor on that Tuesday in Newport. Or reverse +the case; if Claudius were an adventurer, as Barker +hinted, what were the consequences she assumed in +declaring herself engaged to marry him?</p> + +<p>In spite of her excitement, Margaret was far too +much a woman of the world to create a sensation by +walking through the rooms alone. In a moment or +two she saw a man she knew, and calling him to her +by a look, took his arm. She chatted pleasantly to +this young fellow, as proud as need be of being selected +to conduct the beauty whither she would, and after +some searching she discovered Mr. Bellingham, still +asleep behind the swinging door.</p> + +<p>"Thanks," she said to her escort. "I have promised +to take Mr. Bellingham home." And she dropped the +young man's arm with a nod and a smile.</p> + +<p>"But he is asleep," objected the gallant.</p> + +<p>"I will wake him," she answered. And laying her +hand on Mr. Bellingham's, she leaned down and spoke +his name. Instantly he awoke, as fresh as from a +night's rest, for he had the Napoleonic faculty for +catching naps.</p> + +<p>"Winter awaking to greet the spring," he said +without the slightest hesitation, as though he had prepared +the little speech in his sleep. "Forgive me," +he said, "it is a habit of mine learned long ago." He +presented his arm and asked her what was her pleasure.</p> + +<p>"I am going home," she said, "and if you like I +will drop you at your door."</p> + +<p>Mr. Bellingham glanced at a great enamelled clock, +half-hidden among flowers and fans, as they passed, +and he noticed that they had not been in the house +much more than three quarters of an hour. But he +wisely said nothing, and waited patiently while Margaret +was wrapped in her cloaks, and till the butler +had told the footman, and the footman had told the +other footman, and the other footman had told the +page, and the page had told the policeman to call the +Countess Margaret's carriage. After which the carriage +appeared, and they drove away.</p> + +<p>Uncle Horace chatted pleasantly about the party, +admitting that he had dreamed more than he had +seen of it. But Margaret said little, for the reaction +was coming after the excitement she had passed +through. Only when they reached Mr. Bellingham's +rooms, and he was about to leave her, she held his +hand a moment and looked earnestly in his face.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bellingham," she said suddenly, "I trust you +will always be my friend—will you not?" The old +gentleman paused in his descent from the carriage, +and took the hand she offered.</p> + +<p>"Indeed I will, my dear child," he said very seriously. +Then he bent his knee to the sill of the door +and kissed her fingers, and was gone. No one ever +resented Mr. Bellingham's familiarity, for it was rare +and honest of its kind. Besides, he was old enough +to be her grandfather, in spite of his pretty speeches +and his graceful actions.</p> + +<p>Margaret passed a sleepless night. Her anger +with Mr. Barker had not been so much the mere +result of the words he had spoken, though she would +have resented his sneer about Claudius sharply enough +under any circumstances. It was rather that to her +keen intelligence, rendered still more acute by her +love for the Doctor, the whole scene constituted a +revelation. By that wonderful instinct which guides +women in the most critical moments of their lives, she +saw at last the meaning of Barker's doings, of his +silence concerning Claudius, and of his coolness with +the latter before he had got rid of him. She saw +Barker at the bottom of the plot to send Claudius to +Europe; she saw him in all the efforts made by the +Duke and Barker to keep Claudius and herself apart +on board the yacht; she saw his hand in it all, and +she understood for the first time that this man, whom +she had of late permitted to be so much with her, was +her worst enemy, while aspiring to be her lover. The +whole extent of his faithlessness to Claudius came +before her, as she remembered that it had doubtless +been to serve the Doctor that Barker had obtained an +introduction to her at Baden; that he had done everything +to throw them together, devoting himself to +Miss Skeat, in a manner that drove that ancient +virgin to the pinnacle of bliss and despair, while +leaving Claudius free field to make love to herself. +And then he had suddenly turned and made up his +mind that he should have her for his own wife. And +her anger rose higher and hotter as she thought of it.</p> + +<p>Then she went over the scene of the evening +at Mrs. Van Sueindell's house—how she had not +listened and not understood, until she was so suddenly +roused to the consciousness of what he was saying—how +she had faced him, and, in the inspiration of the +moment, had boldly told him that she loved his rival. +In that thought she found satisfaction, as well she +might, for her love had been put to the test, and had +not failed her.</p> + +<p>"I am glad I said it," she murmured to herself, +and fell asleep. Poor Claudius, far away over the sea, +what a leap his heart would have given could he have +known what she had done, and that she was glad of it.</p> + +<p>And Mr. Barker? He felt a little crushed when +she left him there alone in the Japanese boudoir, for +he knew at once that he might as well throw up the +game. There was not the least chance for him any +longer. He might indeed suspect that the documents +Margaret spoke of were a myth, and that her declaration +of the engagement was in reality the only weapon +she could use in Claudius's defence. But that did not +change matters. No woman would "give herself +away," as he expressed it, so recklessly, unless she were +perfectly certain. Therefore Mr. Barker went into +the supper-room, and took a little champagne to steady +his nerves; after which he did his best to amuse +himself, talking with unusual vivacity to any young +lady of his acquaintance whom he could allure from +her partner for a few minutes. For he had kept himself +free of engagements that evening on Margaret's +account, and now regretted it bitterly. But Mr. +Barker was a great match, as has been said before, +and he seldom had any difficulty in amusing himself +when he felt so inclined. He had not witnessed Margaret's +departure, for, not wishing to be seen coming +out of the boudoir alone, a sure sign of defeat, and +being perfectly familiar with the house, he had found +his way by another door, and through circuitous passages +to the pantry, and thence to the supper-room; so +that by the time he had refreshed himself Margaret +and Mr. Bellingham had gone.</p> + +<p>Do people of Mr. Barker's stamp feel? Probably +not. It requires a strong organisation, either animal +or intellectual, to suffer much from any shock to +the affections. Englishmen, on those occasions when +their passion gets the better of their caution, somewhat +a rare occurrence nowadays, are capable of loving very +strongly, and of suffering severely if thwarted, for they +are among the most powerful races in the animal +kingdom. Their whole history shows this, moulded as +it has generally been by exceptional men, for the most +part Irish and Scotch, in whom the highest animal +and intellectual characteristics were united. Germans, +in whom the intellectual faculties, and especially the +imagination, predominate, are for the most part very +love-sick for at least half their lives. But Americans +seem to be differently organised; meaning, of course, +the small class, who would like to be designated as +the "aristocracy" of the country. The faculties are +all awake, acute, and ready for use; but there is a +lack of depth, which will rouse the perpetual wonder +of future generations. While the mass of the people +exhibits the strong characteristics of the Saxon, the +Celtic, and the South German races, physical endurance +and occasionally intellectual pre-eminence,—for, +saving some peculiarities of speech, made defects +merely by comparison, there are no such natural +orators and statesmen in the world as are to be found +in Congress; at the same time, the would-be aristocracy +of the country is remarkable for nothing so +much as for the very unaristocratic faculty of getting +money—rarely mingling in public questions, still more +rarely producing anything of merit, literary or artistic. +Therefore, being so constituted that the almighty dollar +crowns the edifice of their ambitions as with a coronet +of milled silver, they are singularly inapt to suffer +from such ills as prick the soul, which taketh no +thought for the morrow, what it shall eat or what it +shall drink.</p> + +<p>Truly, a happy people, these American aristocrats.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX" />CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + + +<p>When Margaret awoke the next morning her first +impulse was to go away for a time. She was disgusted +with New York, and desired nothing so much as the +sensation of being free from Mr. Barker. A moment, +however, sufficed to banish any such thoughts. In the +first place, if she were away from the metropolis it +would take just so many hours longer for the Doctor's +letters to reach her. There had been a lacuna in the +correspondence of late, and it seemed to her that the +letters she had received were always dated some days +before the time stamped on the Heidelberg postmark. +He spoke always of leaving very soon; but though he +said many loving and tender things, he was silent as +to his own doings. She supposed he was occupied +with the important matter he described as the "other +reason," and so in the two or three short notes she +wrote him she abstained from questioning any more.</p> + +<p>Furthermore, she reflected that however much she +might wish to be away, it was most emphatically not +the thing to do. On the whole, she would stay where +she was.</p> + +<p>She was roused from her reverie by Clémentine, who +entered in a halo of smiles, as though she were the +bearer of good news. In the first place she had a +telegram, which proved to be from Claudius, dated +Berlin, and simply announcing the fact that he would +sail at once. Margaret could hardly conceal her great +satisfaction, and the colour came so quickly to her face +as she read the flimsy bit of paper from the cable office +that Clémentine made the most desperate efforts to get +possession of it, or at least to see the signature. But +Margaret kept it under her pillow for half an hour, +and then burned it carefully by the taper, to Clémentine's +inexpressible chagrin.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, however, there were other news in the +wind, and when the artful Frenchwoman had succeeded +in opening the window just so that a ray of light should +fall on madam's face, she fired her second shot.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur le Duc is of return, Madame," she said, +suddenly turning towards her mistress.</p> + +<p>"The Duke?" repeated Margaret innocently. +"When did he come?"</p> + +<p>"Ah, Madame," said the maid, disappointed at having +produced so little effect, "it is precisely what I do +not know. I come from meeting Monsieur Veelees +upon the carrefour. He has prayed me to present the +compliments of Monsieur le Duc and to ask at what +hour Madame la Comtesse would be in disposition to +see him."</p> + +<p>"Ah, very well," said the Countess. "I will get +up, Clémentine."</p> + +<p>"Si tôt, Madame? it is yet very morning," argued +the girl with a little show of polite surprise.</p> + +<p>"That is indifferent. Go, Clémentine, and tell +Monsieur le Duc I will see him at once."</p> + +<p>"At once, Madame? I run," said Clémentine, going +slowly to the door.</p> + +<p>"Enfin—when I am dressed. Don't you understand?" +said Margaret impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Parfaitement, Madame. I will speak with Monsieur +Veelees." And she vanished.</p> + +<p>It was a bright November morning, and though +there had been a slight frost daring the night, it was +fast vanishing before the sun. Margaret went to the +window and breathed the cool air. An indescribable +longing seized her to be out, among trees and plants +and fresh growing things—to blow away the dark +dreams of the night, the visions of Barker and Screw, +and of the ballroom, and of that detestable Japanese +boudoir. She hurried her toilet in a manner that +completely aroused Clémentine's vigilant suspicion.</p> + +<p>"Hélas," Clémentine used to say to Willis the +Duke's servant, "Je ne lui ai jamais connu d'amant. +I had pourtant much hoped of Monsieur Clodiuse." +But she never ventured such remarks when old Vladimir +was at hand.</p> + +<p>When the Countess was dressed she went out into +her little drawing-room, and found the Duke looking +more sunburnt and healthy than ever, though a trifle +thinner. The rough active Western life always agreed +with him. He came forward with a bright smile to +meet her.</p> + +<p>"Upon my word, how well you look!" he exclaimed +as he shook hands; and indeed she was beautiful to +see, for if the sleepless night had made her pale, the +good news of Claudius's coming had brought the fire +to her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Do I?" said she. "I am glad; and you look +well too. Your run on the prairies has done you +good. Come," said she, leading him to the window, +"it is a beautiful day. Let us go out."</p> + +<p>"By all means: but first I have some good news +for you. Fitzdoggin has telegraphed me that Claudius—I +mean," he said, interrupting himself and blushing +awkwardly, "I mean that it is all right, you know. +They have arranged all your affairs beautifully." +Margaret looked at him curiously a moment while he +spoke. Then she recognised that the Duke must have +had a hand in the matter, and spoke very gratefully to +him, not mentioning that she had received news direct, +for she did not wish to spoil his pleasure in being the +first to tell her. To tell the truth, the impulsive +Englishman was rather in doubt whether he had not +betrayed the Doctor's secret, and seemed very little +inclined to say anything more about it.</p> + +<p>"I wish," she said at last, "that we could ride this +morning. I have not been on a horse for ever so long, +and I want the air."</p> + +<p>"By Jove," cried the Duke, overjoyed at the prospect +of breaking an interview which seemed likely to +lead him too far, "I should think so. I will send and +get some horses directly. The very thing, by Jove!" +And he went to the door.</p> + +<p>"How are you going to get anything fit to ride in +New York, at such short notice?" asked Margaret, +laughing at his impetuosity.</p> + +<p>"There's a fellow here lends me anything in his +stable when I am in New York," he answered, half out +of the room. "I'll go myself," he called back from +the landing, and shut the door behind him. "Upon +my word," he said to himself as he lighted a cigarette +in the cab, and drove away to his friend's stable, "she +is the most beautiful thing I ever saw. I almost let +the cat out of the bag, just to please her. I don't +wonder Claudius is crazy about her. I will talk about +the West when we are riding, and avoid the subject." +With which sage resolution his Grace seemed well +satisfied. When he returned, he found Margaret clad +in a marvellous habit, that reminded him of home.</p> + +<p>"The horses will be at the Park by the time we +have driven there," he said. "We will drive up." +He made no toilet himself, for being English and to +the saddle born, he cared not a jot how he looked on +horseback. In half an hour they were mounted, and +walking their horses down the broad bend of the road +where it enters the Central Park. Margaret asked +about Lady Victoria, and the Duke, to make sure of +not getting off the track, immediately began talking +about the journey they had just made. But Margaret +was not listening.</p> + +<p>"Do you know?" she said, "it is very pleasant to +feel I am not poor any longer. I suppose it is a very +low sentiment."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said the Duke. "Beastly thing to +have no money."</p> + +<p>"Do you know—" she began again, but stopped.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Duke, following her first train of +thought, "it always seems to me that I have no money +myself. I don't suppose I am exactly poor, though."</p> + +<p>"No," laughed Margaret, "I was not thinking of +that."</p> + +<p>"What is it?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I think I will confide in you a little, for you have +always been such a good friend to me. What do you +know of Mr. Barker?"</p> + +<p>"I am sure I don't know," said the Englishman, +taken off his guard by the question. "I have known +him some time—in this sort of way," he added vaguely.</p> + +<p>"I believe," said the Countess bluntly, "that it +was Mr. Barker who made all this trouble for Dr. +Claudius."</p> + +<p>"I believe you are right," answered the Duke +suddenly turning in his saddle and facing her. "I +wonder how he could be such a brute?"</p> + +<p>Margaret was silent. She was astonished at the +readiness with which her companion assented to her +proposition. He must have known it all along, she +thought.</p> + +<p>"What makes you think so?" he asked presently.</p> + +<p>"What are your reasons for believing it?" she +asked, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Really," he began; then shortly, "I believe I don't +like his eyes."</p> + +<p>"Last night," said Margaret, "I was talking with +him at a party. I chanced to speak of the Doctor's +coming back, and Mr. Barker laughed and sneered, and +said it was ridiculous."</p> + +<p>The Duke moved angrily in his saddle, making the +horse he rode shake his head and plunge a little.</p> + +<p>"He is a brute," he said at last.</p> + +<p>"Your horse?" inquired Margaret sweetly.</p> + +<p>"No—Barker. And pray what did you answer +him? I hope you gave him a lesson for his impertinence."</p> + +<p>"I told him," said she, "that I had documents in +my possession that would establish his right as well +as any he could get in Germany."</p> + +<p>"Barker must have been rather taken aback," said +the other in high glee. "I am glad you said that."</p> + +<p>"So am I. I do not imagine I shall see much of +Mr. Barker in future," she added demurely.</p> + +<p>"Um! As bad as that?" The Duke was beginning +to catch the drift of what Margaret was saying. She +had no intention of telling him any more, however. +Bitterly as she felt towards Barker, she would not +allow herself the triumph of telling her friend she had +refused to marry him.</p> + +<p>"I know it is a very womanly fancy," she said, +"but I want to ride fast, please. I want exercise."</p> + +<p>"All right," said the Duke, and they put their +horses into a canter. The Countess felt safe now that +her friends had returned and that Claudius had telegraphed +he was about to sail. She felt as though her +troubles were over, and as if the world were again at +her feet. And as they galloped along the roads, soft +in the warm sun to the horses' feet, breathing in great +draughts of good clean air, the past two months seemed +to dwindle away to a mere speck in the far distance of +her life, instead of being entangled with all the yesterdays +of the dark season just over.</p> + +<p>And Claudius—the man who made all this change +in her life, who had opened a new future for her—how +had he passed these months, she wondered? To tell +the truth, Claudius had been so desperately busy that +the time had not seemed so long. If he had been +labouring in any other cause than hers it would have +been insupportable. But the constant feeling that all +he did was for her, and to her advantage, and that at +the same time she was ignorant of it all, gave him +strength and courage. He had been obliged to think +much, to travel far, and to act promptly; and for his +own satisfaction he had kept up the illusion that he +was in Heidelberg by a cunning device. He wrote +constantly, and enclosed the letters to the old notary +at the University, who, with Teutonic regularity, stamped +and posted them. And so it was that the date of the +letter, written in St. Petersburg, was always two or +three days older than that of the postmark. For +Claudius would not put a false date at the head of +what he wrote, any more than, if Margaret had written +to ask him whether he were really in Heidelberg or +not, he would have deceived her in his answer. Probably +he would not have answered the question at all. +The letters were merely posted in Heidelberg; and +Margaret had trusted him enough not to notice or be +willing to comment upon the discrepancy.</p> + +<p>And, by dint of activity and the assistance of the +persons to whom he had letters, he had succeeded in +bringing the Countess's business to a satisfactory conclusion. +He found it just as Mr. Bellingham had told +him. In an autocratic country, if you are to have +justice at all, you will have it quickly. Moreover, it +was evident to the authorities that a man coming all +the way from America, and presenting such credentials +as Claudius brought, deserved to be attended to at +once—the more so when his whole appearance and +manner were such as to create a small <i>furore</i>, in the +Embassy circles. Claudius went everywhere, saw every +one, and used every particle of influence he could +obtain to further the object of his visit. And so it +was that, at the end of a month or so, a special <i>ukase</i> +provided for the payment in perpetuity to herself and +her heirs for ever of the jointure-money first decreed +to the Countess Margaret for life only from the estates +of her late husband, Count Alexis of the Guards. This +was even more than Claudius had hoped for—certainly +more than Margaret had dreamt of. As for Nicholas, +Claudius cared nothing what became of him, for he +probably thought him a foolish Nihilist, and he knew +enough of the Countess's character to be sure she +would never let her brother suffer want, whatever his +faults.</p> + +<p>So when he had concluded the affair he hastened to +Berlin, telegraphing from thence the news of his immediate +return. In less than a fortnight, at all events, +he ought to be in New York. The thought gave him +infinite relief; for, since he had finished his business in +Petersburg, the reaction which in strong natures is very +sure to follow a great effort, for the very reason that +strong natures tax their powers to the utmost, recklessly, +began to make itself felt. It seemed to him, as +he looked back, that he had heard so little from her. +Not that he complained; for he was fully sensible +of her goodness in writing at all, and he treasured +her letters as things sacred, even to the envelopes, +and whatsoever had touched her hand. But he felt +keenly that he was in total ignorance of her doings; +and one or two references to Barker troubled him. +He too had his suspicions that the scheming American +had been concerned in the sudden fit of caution developed +by Messrs. Screw and Scratch. He too had +suspected that his quondam friend had been insincere, +and that everything was not as it should be. But he +was neither so wise as Margaret, who would have told +him not to soil his hands with pitch, nor so supremely +indifferent as the Duke, who would have said that since +he had got the money it didn't matter in the least if +Barker were a brute or not. On the contrary, Claudius +promised himself to sift the evidence; and if he discovered +that Barker was guilty of any double-dealing, +he would simply break his neck. And as Claudius +thought of it, his teeth set, and he looked capable of +breaking any number of necks, then and there.</p> + +<p>But for all his wrath and his suspicions, the real +cause of Barker's strange behaviour never presented +itself to his mind. It never struck him that Barker +could aspire to Margaret's hand; and he merely concluded +that the young man had laid a plot for getting +his money. If any one had related to Claudius the +scene which took place at Mrs. Van Sueindell's the very +night when he sent his telegram, he would have laughed +the story to scorn in perfect good faith, for he could +not have believed it possible. Nor, believing it, would +he have cared. And so he rushed across Europe, and +never paused till he had locked himself into his stateroom +on board the steamer, and had begun a long letter +to Margaret. He knew that he would see her as soon +as a letter could reach her, but that made no difference. +He felt impelled to write, and he wrote—a letter so +tender and loving and rejoicing that were it to appear +in these pages no lover would ever dare write to his +lady again, lest she chide him for being less eloquent +than Claudius, Phil.D. of Heidelberg. And he wrote +on and on for many days, spending most of his time in +that way.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the Duke and Margaret cantered in the +Park, and talked of all kinds of things; or rather, the +Duke talked, and Margaret thought of Claudius. Before +they returned, however, she had managed to let +the Duke know that the Doctor was on his way back; +whereat the Englishman rejoiced loudly. Perhaps he +would have given a great deal to know whether they +were engaged, to be married; but still Margaret gave +no sign. It was far from her thoughts; and the fact +had only presented itself in that form to her on the +spur of the moment, the preceding evening, as likely +to prove a crushing blow at once to Mr. Barker's plotting +and Mr. Barker's matrimonial views. But while +the Duke talked, she was thinking. And as the situation +slowly unfolded its well-known pictures to her +mind, she suddenly saw it all in a different light.</p> + +<p>"I must be mad," she thought. "Barker will tell +every one; and the Duke ought not to know it except +from me!"</p> + +<p>"Speaking of Dr. Claudius—" she began; the +Duke was at that moment talking earnestly about the +Pueblo Indians, but that was of no importance. "Speaking +of the Doctor, you ought to know—I would rather +that no one else told you—we are going to be married."</p> + +<p>The Duke was so much surprised—not so much at +the information as at her manner of imparting it—that +he pulled up short. Seeing him stop, she stopped also.</p> + +<p>"Are you very much astonished?" she asked, pushing +the gray veil up to her hat, and looking at him +smilingly out of her deep, dark eyes. The Duke spoke +no word, but leapt from his horse, which he left standing +in the middle of the path, surprised into docility +by the sudden desertion. There were a few wild-flowers +growing by the road, which here led through a +wooded glade of the Park; they were the flowers called +Michaelmas daisies, which bloom until November in +America. He picked a great handful of them, and came +running back.</p> + +<p>"Let me be the first to congratulate you, my dear +friend," he said, standing bareheaded at her stirrup, +and offering the flowers with a half-bashful smile that sat +strangely on a man of his years. It was a quick, impulsive +action, such as no one could have expected from +him who did not know him intimately well—and few +could boast that they did. Margaret was touched by +his look and manner.</p> + +<p>"Thanks," she said, bending over her saddle-bow, +and taking the daisies as he held them up to her. +"Yes, you are the first—to congratulate me," which +was true. He still stood looking at her, and his hand +would hardly let go the flowers where his fingers +touched hers. His face grew pale, then ashy-white +and he steadied himself against her horse's neck.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter? are you ill? have you hurt +yourself?" asked Margaret in real alarm, for he looked +as though he were going to faint, and it was a full +minute since he had come back to her from the roadside. +Then he made a great effort and collected himself, and +the next instant he had dashed after his horse, which +was wandering away towards the trees.</p> + +<p>"I did feel queer for a minute," he said when he +was once more in the saddle and by her side. "I +dare say it is the heat. It's a very hot day, now I +think of it. Would you allow me a cigarette? I +hate to smoke in public, you know, but it will make +me all right again." Margaret assented, of course, to +the request; it was morning, in the recesses of the +Park, and nobody would see. But she looked strangely +at him for a minute, wondering what could have produced +his sudden dizziness.</p> + +<p>They rode more slowly towards the entrance of the +Park, and the Countess's thoughts did not wander +again. She talked to her companion on every subject +he broached, showing interest in all he said, and asking +questions that she knew would please him. But the +latter part of the ride seemed long, and the drive home +interminable, for Margaret was in haste to be alone. +She was not sure that the Duke's manner had changed +since he had turned so strangely pale, but she fancied +he spoke as if making an effort. However, they reached +the hotel at last, and separated.</p> + +<p>"Thanks, so much," she said; "it has been such a +delightful morning."</p> + +<p>"It has indeed," said he, "and—let me congratulate +you once more. Claudius is a gentleman in every way, +and—I suppose he is as worthy of you as any one +could be," he added quickly, in a discontented voice, +and turned away, hat in hand. She stood looking +after him a moment.</p> + +<p>"I wonder," she said to herself as she entered her +room and closed the door. "Poor man! it is not possible, +though. I must be dreaming. Ah me! I am +always dreaming now, it seems to me;" and she sank +down in a chair to wait for Clémentine.</p> + +<p>And so it is that some women go through life +making far more victims than they know of. There +are some honest men who will not speak, unless they +have a right to, and who are noble enough to help +those who have a right. The Duke had known Margaret +ever since she had married Alexis, as has been +said. Whether he had loved her or not is a question +not so easily answered. Certain it is that when she +told him she was going to be married to Claudius he +turned very pale, and did not recover the entire use of +his mind for a whole day.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, during the succeeding fortnight he +devoted himself sedulously to Margaret's amusement, +and many were the things that he and she and Lady +Victoria, and the incomparable Miss Skeat, who always +enjoyed everything, planned and carried out together. +Margaret did not shun society or shut herself up, and +more than once she saw Barker in the street and in +the crowds at parties. The houses in America are so +small that parties are always crowded. But he had +the good sense to avoid her, and she was not troubled +by any communication from him. Clémentine, indeed, +wondered that so few flowers came, for a day or two, +and old Vladimir pondered on the probable fate of Mr. +Barker, who, he supposed, had been sent to Canada in +chains for some political offence, seeing that he called +no longer. But these faithful servitors could not ask +questions, and sources of information they had none. +Barker, however, as Margaret had anticipated, had been +active in spreading the news of her engagement; for, +before very long, callers were plenty, and flowers too, +and many were the congratulations that poured in. +Then she saw the wisdom of having informed the +Duke of her position before any officious acquaintance +could do it for her. The Duke, indeed, saw very few +people in New York, for he hated to be "entertained," +but he knew a great many men slightly, and some one +of them would probably have obliged him with the +information.</p> + +<p>One morning as he and the Countess were about to +drive up to the Park for their daily ride, which had +become an institution, the servant presented a card, saying +the gentleman was anxious to see her ladyship at +once, if possible. The card was that of Mr. Screw, of +Screw and Scratch.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said the Countess, who was pulling on +her gloves, and holding her riding-stick under one arm +as she did so. "Ask him to come up." The Duke +moved to withdraw.</p> + +<p>"Don't go, please," said Margaret; and so he remained. +A moment later Mr. Screw's yellow head and +small eyes appeared at the door.</p> + +<p>"The Countess Margaret?" he inquired deferentially.</p> + +<p>"Yes. Mr. Screw, I believe?"</p> + +<p>"The same, Madam. A—pardon me, but—I desired +to speak with you alone," stammered the lawyer, seeing +that the Duke did not move.</p> + +<p>"I have asked the—this gentleman, who is my +friend, to remain," said Margaret calmly. "You may +speak freely. What is your business with me, sir?" +She motioned him to a chair, and he sat down opposite +her, hat in hand. He would have liked to hook his +legs into each other and put his hands into his pockets, +but he was too well bred for that. At last he took +courage.</p> + +<p>"Frankly, Madam, I have come to discharge a moral +duty, and I will speak plainly. I am informed on +credible authority that you are engaged to marry a +gentleman, calling himself Dr. Claudius—a—a tall +man—fair beard?"</p> + +<p>"Your information is correct, Mr. Screw," said +Margaret haughtily, "I am engaged to be married to +Dr. Claudius."</p> + +<p>"As one of the executors of the late Mr. Gustavus +Lindstrand, deceased," proceeded Mr. Screw slowly, "I +feel it my duty, as an honest man, to inform you that +there are serious doubts as to whether the gentleman +who calls himself Dr. Claudius is Dr. Claudius at all. +The person in question disappeared two months ago, and +has not been heard of since, as far as I can make out. +I have no interest in the matter as far as it concerns +yourself, as you may well imagine, but I have thought +it right to warn you that the gentleman whom you +have honoured with a promise of marriage has not +established his claim to be the person he represents +himself."</p> + +<p>Margaret, who, after the first words, had foreseen +what Mr. Screw had come to say, and who believed +that very respectable and honest man to be concerned +in the plot against Claudius, was naturally angry, but +she had the good sense to do the right thing.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Screw," she said in her commanding voice, +icily, "I am deeply indebted to you for your interference. +Nevertheless, I am persuaded that the gentleman +to whom I am engaged is very really and truly +the person he represents himself to be. A fact of +which my friend here will probably be able to persuade +you without difficulty." And she forthwith left the +room. The Duke turned upon the lawyer.</p> + +<p>"Look here, Mr. Screw," he said sharply, "I am +the—well, never mind my name, you can find out from +the people downstairs. I am an English gentleman, +and I know who Dr. Claudius is. I knew his father; +I brought him to this country in my yacht. I am +prepared to go into court this minute and swear to the +identity of the gentleman you are slandering. Slandering, +sir! Do you hear me?" The ducal anger was +hot. "And except for the fact that Dr. Claudius will +be here to speak for himself the day after to-morrow +morning, I would take you into court now by main +force and make you hear me swear to him. Do you +hear me, sir?"</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," began Mr. Screw, who was somewhat +taken aback by this burst of wrath.</p> + +<p>"Don't call me 'your dear sir,'" said the nobleman, +moving towards Screw.</p> + +<p>"Sir, then," continued the other, who had not an +idea to whom he was speaking, and perhaps would not +have cared had he known, being such an honest man, +"I cannot conceive why, if you are so certain, you have +not come forward before, instead of allowing your friend +to go to Europe in order to procure evidence he might +have obtained here."</p> + +<p>"I am not going to argue with you," said the Duke. +"Dr. Claudius would have gone to Europe in any case, +if that is any satisfaction to you. What did you come +here for?"</p> + +<p>"Because I thought it right to warn an unsuspecting +lady of her danger," answered Mr. Screw boldly.</p> + +<p>"Is that true? Do you really believe Claudius is +not Claudius?" asked the Duke, coming close to the +lawyer and looking him in the eyes.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, I believe him to be an impostor," said +the other returning his gaze fearlessly.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you do," said the Duke, tolerably satisfied. +"Now then, who sent you here?"</p> + +<p>"No one sent me," answered Screw with some pride. +"I am not in the habit of being sent, as you call it. +It was in the course of a conversation I had with Mr. +Barker, the other day—"</p> + +<p>"I thought so," interrupted the Englishman. "I +thought Mr. Barker was at the bottom of it. Will you +please to deliver a message to Mr. Barker, with my +compliments?" Screw nodded solemnly, as under +protest.</p> + +<p>"Then be kind enough to tell him from me that +he is a most infernal blackguard. That if he attempts +to carry this abominable plot any further I will post +him at every one of his clubs as a liar and a cheat, +and—and that he had better keep out of my way. +As for you, sir, I would advise you to look into his +character, for I perceive that you are an honest man."</p> + +<p>"I am obliged to you, sir," said Mr. Screw, with +something of a sneer. "But who are you, pray, that +ventures to call my clients by such ugly names?"</p> + +<p>"There is my card—you can see for yourself," said +the Duke. Screw read it. His anger was well roused +by this time.</p> + +<p>"We have small respect for titles in this country, +my Lord Duke," said he stiffly. "The best thing I +can say is what you said to me, that you impress me +as being an honest man. Nevertheless you may be +mistaken."</p> + +<p>"That is a matter which will be decided the day +after to-morrow," said the other. "Meanwhile, in pursuance +of what I said, I thank you very sincerely +indeed"—Mr. Screw smiled grimly—"no, I am in +earnest, I really thank you, on behalf of the Countess +Margaret, for the honourable part you have endeavoured +to perform towards her; and I beg your +pardon for having mistaken you, and supposed you +were in the plot. But give my message to Mr. +Barker—it is actionable, of course, and he may take +action upon it, if he likes. Good-morning, sir."</p> + +<p>"Good-morning," said Screw shortly, somewhat +pacified by the Duke's frank apology.</p> + +<p>"I think I settled him," said the peer to Margaret, +as they got into the cab that was to drive them to the +Park. And they cantered away in royal spirits.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX" />CHAPTER XX.</h2> + + +<p>Whatever reason may say, whatever certainty we may +feel, the last hours of waiting for an ocean steamer are +anxious ones. The people at the office may assure us +twenty times that they feel "no anxiety whatever"—that +is their stock phrase; our friends who have +crossed the ocean twice a year for a score of years +may tell us that any vessel may be a few hours, nay, +a few days, behind her reckoning; it may seem madness +to entertain the least shadow of a doubt—and yet, +until the feet we love are on the wharf and the dear +glad hands in ours, the shadow of an awful possibility +is over us, the dreadful consciousness of the capacity +of the sea.</p> + +<p>The Duke, who, but for his anxiety to see the end, +would have long since been on his way to England, +had taken every precaution to ascertain the date of +the ship's arrival. He took it for granted that Claudius +would sail in the Cunard steamer, and he found out +the vessel which sailed next after the Doctor had telegraphed. +Then he made arrangements to be informed +so soon as she was sighted, determined to go down in +the Custom-House tug and board her at the Quarantine, +that he might have the satisfaction of being first +to tell Claudius all there was to be told.</p> + +<p>"The day after to-morrow," he had said to Margaret, +"we may safely expect him," and he watched, with a +sort of dull pleasure, the light that came into her eyes +when she heard the time was so near.</p> + +<p>The first disappointment—alas, it was only the +first—came on the evening before the appointed day. +The Duke received a note from the office to the effect +that late arrivals having reported very heavy weather, +it was feared that the steamer might be delayed some +hours. He at once inquired for the Countess, but +found to his annoyance that both she and his sister +had gone to the theatre. He had been out when they +went, and so they had taken Miss Skeat as a sort of +escort, and were doubtless enjoying themselves mightily. +It was necessary, however, that Margaret should know +the news of the delay before she went to bed, for it +would have been cruel to allow her to wake in the +morning with the assurance that Claudius might arrive +at any moment.</p> + +<p>"If I wait for them, and make a fuss, she will +think it is something serious," reflected the Duke with +more than usual tact. So he wrote a note, simply +stating that he had news of a delay in the arrival of +some hours,—perhaps a whole day, he added, wishing to +be on the safe side. He gave the note to Vladimir, +and went away to his rooms.</p> + +<p>Margaret and Lady Victoria came home together +in great spirits, laughing and rustling in their silk +cloaks as they entered the little drawing-room, and sat +down by the fire for a chat. Then Vladimir brought +the Duke's note. Margaret read it by the firelight, and +her face fell suddenly.</p> + +<p>"What is it, dear?" asked Lady Victoria affectionately, +as she noticed her companion's distressed look.</p> + +<p>"Nothing—I suppose I ought not to be anxious. +The steamer is delayed, that is all," and she gave the +English girl her brother's note.</p> + +<p>"Oh, if it had been anything serious he would +have sat up for us. It will probably be in in the +afternoon instead of in the morning." But Margaret's +eyes were heavy and her gladness was gone from her.</p> + +<p>"Do you ever have presentiments?" she asked, as +they separated half an hour later.</p> + +<p>"Never," answered Lady Victoria cheerily, "and if +I ever do they never come true."</p> + +<p>"I do," said Margaret, "I have a feeling that I +shall never see him again." Poor Countess! She +looked very miserable, with her white face and weary +eyes.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning Lady Victoria told her +brother what had been the effect of his note. He was +very angry with himself for not having put it into +better shape, and he determined to repair his error by +devoting himself entirely to watching for the steamer. +With this object, he went down to the Cunard office +and established himself with a novel and a box of +cigarettes, to pass the day. He refused to move, and +sent out in the afternoon for something to eat. The +people in the office did not know him, and he felt free +to be as Bohemian as he pleased. Once in the course +of the day he was told that a French steamer had come +in and had met with very heavy weather, losing a boat +or two. It was possible, they said, that the Cunarder, +which had sailed on the day following this vessel's +departure, though from a nearer point, might be +delayed another twenty-four hours. For his part, he +felt no fear of the safe arrival of the ship, in due time. +The odds are a thousand to one that a company which +has never lost a vessel at sea will not lose any particular +one you name. Nevertheless, he arranged to be +called up in the night, if her lights were sighted, and +he returned somewhat disconsolately to the hotel. +Again he bethought him that if he told the Countess +he had passed the day in the steamer office she would +overrate his anxiety and so increase her own.</p> + +<p>Margaret was really very unreasonable. There was +not the slightest doubt that the steamer was safe, but +she had become possessed, as Lady Victoria expressed +it, by this unaccountable presentiment, that her fair-haired +lover was gone from her for ever. Hideous +things came up before her, poor drowned faces in the +green swirl of the waves, men dead, and dying men +grasping frantically at the white water-crests breaking +over them, as though the rushing foam were a firm +thing and could save them. She heard the wild thin +wind screeching across the ocean furrows, breathless +in his race with death. And then all seemed quiet, and +she could see a grand form of a man, stiff-limbed and +stark, the yellow hair all hanging down and the broad +white throat turned up in death, floating solemnly +through the deep green water, and seaweed, and ooze, +far down below the angry waves.</p> + +<p>She struggled hard against these dark thoughts; but +it was no use. They would come back, and all through +the evening she sat by her fire, with eyes wide, and +parted lips, staring at the embers and straining her +hearing to catch the sound of some one coming to the +door—some one bearing the welcome news that the +good ship was sighted at last. But no sound came, all +through that weary evening, nor any message of comfort. +Lady Victoria sat with her, and Miss Skeat, +pretending not to notice her distressed mood; and once +or twice the Duke came in and spoke cheerfully of +what they would do "when Claudius came back." +But Margaret went to her room at last with a heavy +heart, and would not be comforted.</p> + +<p>To tell the truth, the Duke firmly expected to +receive the news of the ship's arrival during the night, +and so great was his anxiety to relieve Margaret that +he insisted upon Willis and Vladimir sitting up all +night, so as to be sure of having the message delivered +the moment it arrived. The Russian and the English +servants hated each other, and he was certain they +would not give each other any rest. But the Duke +slept soundly, and waking at daybreak yelled viciously +for Willis.</p> + +<p>"Well?" he said, "I suppose you went to sleep. +Where is the telegram?"</p> + +<p>"There's no telegraph been yet, your Grace;" said +the gray man-servant, who looked as though he had +been up several nights instead of one.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said the Duke with a change of voice. He +was not given to bullying his servants, and always +regretted being hasty with them, but his conviction had +been strong that the message ought to have come in +the night.</p> + +<p>Having spent the day previous in the office, he felt +in duty bound not to relinquish his post until the +Countess's doubts were set at rest. So he got into a +cab; for, like many foreigners, he hated the Elevated +Road, and was driven down town to the Bowling-Green.</p> + +<p>It rained heavily all the morning, and the Duke, +who, as may be imagined, was not generally given to +spending his days in steamboat offices, was wonderfully +and horribly bored. He smoked and kicked the chairs +and read his novel, and was generally extremely uneasy, +so that the clerks began to find him a nuisance, not +having any idea that he was a real living swell. And +still it rained, and the newspaper vendors looked in, +all drizzly and wet, and the gay feathers of New York +business seemed draggled.</p> + +<p>Suddenly—it might have been at two o'clock—there +was a stir in the office, a rattling of feet on the board +floor, and a sort of general revival.</p> + +<p>"She's in sight," a clerk called out to the Duke. +His Grace stretched himself and departed. He had +ascertained that the Custom-House tug did not start for +two hours after the ship was sighted. So he sent a +telegram to Margaret to announce that her waiting +was over, and then, to pass the time, he went, and got +something to eat. In due season he was seated in +the single cabin of the little high-pressure boat, as it +ploughed its way bravely through the waves and the +rain to meet the great ocean monster. The Custom-House +officials, cheery well-fed men, who know the +green side of a XX<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4" /><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>, and are seldom troubled with +gloomy forebodings, chatted and chaffed merrily together. +One of them was very bald, and appeared to +be a perpetual laughing-stock for the rest.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4" /><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Twenty dollars.</p></div> + +<p>"Well, Ike," shouted one of his companions between +two pulls of a small black bottle, "you <i>hev</i> got a +skatin' rink on to the top of <i>your</i> head, and no <i>mistake</i>". +The other grinned, and retorted to the effect +that it was better to have the outside smooth than the +inside soft.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess you got both, like a water-melon," +returned the first speaker.</p> + +<p>There are seldom more than one or two passengers +on the Custom-House tug, and on this occasion the +Duke was alone. He could not stand the atmosphere +of tobacco and whisky in the cabin, and made his way +along the side to the engine-room, leaving the Custom-House +men to their smoke and their repartee.</p> + +<p>It was almost five o'clock, and already nearly dark, +when they came up with the great steamer. In five +minutes the Duke was over the side, hurrying down +to find his friend. Not seeing him anywhere, he found +the bursar and inquired for Dr. Claudius. The officer +replied that he had not made his acquaintance on the +voyage, but offered the Duke a list of the passengers, +remarking that the ship was unusually crowded for +the time of year.</p> + +<p>The Duke ran his finger down the list, then thinking +he had missed the name he sought, he held the paper +close to the lamp. But there was no "Dr. Claudius" +there. His face fell and his heart beat fast, for he had +been so positively certain. Poor Margaret! What +would she do? How foolish of Claudius not to telegraph +the day he sailed!</p> + +<p>"You are quite sure there are no omissions here?" +asked the Duke of the bursar.</p> + +<p>"Quite sure, sir," answered he. "Wait a minute, +though," he said, as the Duke dropped the list, "there +was a passenger taken ashore at Queenstown very ill. +A tall man, I should say, though they carried him. +He had not registered on board, and he was so ill he +gave up the passage. I could not tell you his name."</p> + +<p>"Had he a light beard?" asked the Duke in great +alarm.</p> + +<p>"Um! yes; a large beard at all events. I remember +how he looked as they carried him past. He was +awfully pale, and his eyes were closed."</p> + +<p>"My God!" exclaimed the Duke; "it must have +been he! Does no one know his name?"</p> + +<p>"The captain may. He would not see you now, +just going into port, but I will go and ask him," added +the officer kindly, seeing how much distressed the other +seemed to be.</p> + +<p>"Do—thanks—please ask him—yes!" he ejaculated, +and sank into a chair. The bursar returned in a quarter +of an hour.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry to say, sir," he said, "that no one seems +to have known his name. It sometimes happens. I +am very sorry."</p> + +<p>The Duke saw there was nothing to be done. It +was clear that Claudius was not on board; but it was +by no means clear that Claudius was not lying ill, +perhaps dead, in Queenstown. The poor Englishman +bit his lips in despair, and was silent. He could not +decide how much he ought to tell Margaret, and how +much he ought to keep to himself. The sick passenger +seemed to answer the description, and yet he might +not have been the Doctor for all that. Tall man—pale—he +would be pale anyhow if he were ill—fair +beard—yes, it sounded like him.</p> + +<p>"I wish Vick were here," said the Duke to himself; +"she has so much sense." Immediately the idea of +consulting with his sister developed itself in his mind. +"How can I get ashore?" he asked suddenly.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid you will have to wait till we are in," +said the friendly officer. "It will not be more than +an hour now."</p> + +<p>Impelled by some faint hope that the Doctor's +name might have been omitted by some accident, the +Duke rose and threaded his way among the crowding +passengers, as they got their traps together and moved +about the great saloons. He pursued every tall man +he saw, till he could catch a glimpse of his face. At +last he met a towering figure in a darkened passage +way.</p> + +<p>"My dear Claudius!" he cried, holding out his +hand. But the stranger only paused, muttered something +about a "mistake" and passed on. The excitement +grew on the Duke, as it became certain that +Claudius was not on board, and never in the whole of +his very high and mighty life had he been in such +a state of mind. Some of the passengers noted his +uneasy movements and exchanged remarks in an undertone, +as he passed and repassed.</p> + +<p>"He is probably crazy," said an Englishman.</p> + +<p>"He is probably drunk," said an American.</p> + +<p>"He is probably a defaulting bank cashier," said a +Scotchman.</p> + +<p>"He looks very wild," said a New York mamma.</p> + +<p>"He looks very unhappy," said her daughter.</p> + +<p>"He is very well dressed," said her son, who got +his clothes half yearly from Smallpage.</p> + +<p>But the time passed at last, and the great thing +came up to her pier, and opened her jaws and disgorged +her living freight down a steep plank on to dry earth +again; and the Duke, with a final look at the stream of +descending passengers, forced his way ashore, and jumped +into the first cab he saw.</p> + +<p>"Drive to the nearest Elevated station," he shouted.</p> + +<p>"Which avenue?" inquired the driver with that +placidity which cabmen assume whenever one is in a +hurry.</p> + +<p>"Oh, any avenue—damn the avenue—Sixth Avenue +of course!" cried the Duke in a stew.</p> + +<p>"Very good, sir—Sixth Avenue Elevated, did you +say?" and he deliberately closed the door and mounted +to his box.</p> + +<p>"What shall I tell her—what shall I say?" were +the questions that repeated themselves with stunning +force in his ear as he rattled through the streets, and +slid over the smooth Elevated Road, swiftly towards his +hotel. He had still some few hundred yards to walk +from the station when he got out. His courage failed +him, and he walked slowly, with bent head and heavy +heart, the bearer of bad news.</p> + +<p>Leisurely he climbed the steps, and the few stairs +to his room. There stood Lady Victoria under the +gaslight, by the fire, looking at the clock.</p> + +<p>"At last," she cried, "how <i>did</i> you miss him?"</p> + +<p>"Whom?" asked her brother dejectedly.</p> + +<p>"Why, Claudius, of course!"</p> + +<p>"Claudius is not come," he said in a low voice.</p> + +<p>"Not come?" cried Lady Victoria, "not come? +Why he has been here these two hours, with Margaret!"</p> + +<p>The Duke was fairly overpowered and worn-out +with excitement, and he fell back into a chair.</p> + +<p>"How the—" he began, but checked the expletive, +which found vent elsewhere, as expletives will. "Where +the devil did he come from?"</p> + +<p>"From Europe, I believe," said she. "Don't swear +about it."</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Vick, I am bowled out; I was never +so taken aback in my life. Tell me all about it, Vick." +And he slowly recovered his senses enough to appreciate +that Claudius had really arrived, and that he, the +friend who had taken so much trouble, had somehow +missed him after all. But he was honestly glad.</p> + +<p>"I only saw him a moment, and I came in to your +room to wait. Of course I let him go in there alone."</p> + +<p>"Of course," assented her brother gravely.</p> + +<p>"Margaret was waiting for him, for she got your +telegram that the ship was in sight at three o'clock, +and he got here at five; I thought it was very quick."</p> + +<p>"Devilish quick, indeed," said her profane brother +under his breath. "Tell me all about it," he added aloud.</p> + +<p>It was easily enough explained, and before they +went to bed that night every one understood it all. +It was simply this—Claudius had come by another +steamer, one of the German line, and had chanced to +arrive a couple of hours before the Cunarder. Margaret +had received the Duke's message, as Lady Victoria +had said, and, as Claudius appeared soon afterwards, +she saw no discrepancy.</p> + +<p>The tall Doctor left his slender luggage to the +mercy of the Custom House, and, hailing a cab, paid +the man double fare in advance to hurry to the hotel. +He could hardly wait while the servant went through +the formality of taking up his name to the Countess, +and when the message came back that he would +"please to step up upstairs," as the stereotyped American +hotel phrase has it, he seemed indeed to make of +the stairway but a single step.</p> + +<p>One moment more, and he was kneeling at her feet, +trembling in every limb and speechless, but kissing the +fair white hands again and again, while she bent down +her flushed dark cheek till it touched his yellow hair. +Then he stood up to his height and kissed her forehead +and clasped his fingers about her waist and held her +up to the length of his mighty arms before him, unconscious, +in his overmastering happiness, of the strength +he was exerting. But she laughed happily, and her +eyes flashed in pride of such a man.</p> + +<p>"Forgive me, my beloved," he said at last. "I am +beside myself with joy." She hid her face on his +breast as they stood together.</p> + +<p>"Are you very glad to come back?" she asked +at last, looking up to him with a smile that told the +answer.</p> + +<p>"Glad is too poor a word, my dear, dear lady," he +said simply.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Two hours later they were still seated side by side +on the deep sofa. Claudius had told her everything, +for, now that he had accomplished his mission, there +were to be no more secrets; and there were tears in +Margaret's dark eyes as she heard, for she knew what +it had cost him to leave her, knowing how he loved. +And then they talked on.</p> + +<p>"If it is to be so soon, dear," she said, "let it be +on Christmas Day."</p> + +<p>"So be it. And, beloved, where shall we go?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, away—away from New York, and—and Mr. +Barker and Mr. Screw and all these horrid people," +she cried; for she too had confessed and told him all.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said; and was silent for a moment. +"Dear one," he began again, "there is one thing more +that you ought to know—" he stopped.</p> + +<p>"Yes?" she said interrogatively.</p> + +<p>"My blessed lady, I have told you the story of my +birth for the first time to-day. I thought you ought +to know it."</p> + +<p>"That would never have made any difference, +Claudius," she answered half reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"My uncle—my father's brother—died a week +before I sailed."</p> + +<p>"I am sorry, dear," said she in ready sympathy; +"were you fond of him?" She did not realise what he +meant.</p> + +<p>"I never remember to have seen him," he replied; +"but—he died childless. And I—I am no longer a +<i>privat-docent</i>." Margaret turned quickly to him, comprehending +suddenly.</p> + +<p>"Then you are the heir?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, darling," he said softly. "It is a great name, +and you must help me to be worthy of it. I am no +longer Dr. Claudius." He added the last sentence with +a shade of regret.</p> + +<p>"And you need never have taken any trouble about +this stupid money, after all? You are independent of +all these people?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered, with a smile, "entirely so."</p> + +<p>"I am so glad,—so glad, you do not know," said she, +clasping her hands on his shoulder. "You know I +hated to feel you were wrangling with those lawyers +for money;" and she laughed a little scornfully.</p> + +<p>"We will have it, all the same," said Claudius, +smiling, "and you shall do as you like with it, beloved. +It was honestly got, and will bring no ill luck with it. +And now I have told you, I say, let us go to my father's +house and make it ours." He spoke proudly and fondly. +"Let me welcome my dear lady where her match was +never welcomed before."</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, we will go there."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the Duke will lend us the yacht?" said +Claudius.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Margaret, and there was a tinge of +sadness in her voice, "yes, perhaps the Duke will lend +us the yacht."</p> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Doctor Claudius, A True Story +by F. 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