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diff --git a/old/18247-0.txt b/old/18247-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ffd0d50 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/18247-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16098 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Man, by Mary Shelley + +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: The Last Man + +Author: Mary Shelley + +Release Date: April 24, 2006 [EBook #18247] +[Last updated: July 12, 2020] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST MAN *** + + + + + + + + + + +The Last Man + +Mary W. Shelley + +First edition. +Henry Colburn +London +1826 + + + + +VOL. I. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +I VISITED Naples in the year 1818. On the 8th of December of that year, my +companion and I crossed the Bay, to visit the antiquities which are +scattered on the shores of Baiae. The translucent and shining waters of the +calm sea covered fragments of old Roman villas, which were interlaced by +sea-weed, and received diamond tints from the chequering of the sun-beams; +the blue and pellucid element was such as Galatea might have skimmed in her +car of mother of pearl; or Cleopatra, more fitly than the Nile, have chosen +as the path of her magic ship. Though it was winter, the atmosphere seemed +more appropriate to early spring; and its genial warmth contributed to +inspire those sensations of placid delight, which are the portion of every +traveller, as he lingers, loath to quit the tranquil bays and radiant +promontories of Baiae. + +We visited the so called Elysian Fields and Avernus: and wandered through +various ruined temples, baths, and classic spots; at length we entered the +gloomy cavern of the Cumaean Sibyl. Our Lazzeroni bore flaring torches, +which shone red, and almost dusky, in the murky subterranean passages, +whose darkness thirstily surrounding them, seemed eager to imbibe more and +more of the element of light. We passed by a natural archway, leading to a +second gallery, and enquired, if we could not enter there also. The guides +pointed to the reflection of their torches on the water that paved it, +leaving us to form our own conclusion; but adding it was a pity, for it led +to the Sibyl's Cave. Our curiosity and enthusiasm were excited by this +circumstance, and we insisted upon attempting the passage. As is usually +the case in the prosecution of such enterprizes, the difficulties decreased +on examination. We found, on each side of the humid pathway, "dry land for +the sole of the foot." + +At length we arrived at a large, desert, dark cavern, which the Lazzeroni +assured us was the Sibyl's Cave. We were sufficiently disappointed--Yet +we examined it with care, as if its blank, rocky walls could still bear +trace of celestial visitant. On one side was a small opening. Whither does +this lead? we asked: can we enter here?--"_Questo poi, no,_"--said the +wild looking savage, who held the torch; "you can advance but a short +distance, and nobody visits it." + +"Nevertheless, I will try it," said my companion; "it may lead to the real +cavern. Shall I go alone, or will you accompany me?" + +I signified my readiness to proceed, but our guides protested against such +a measure. With great volubility, in their native Neapolitan dialect, with +which we were not very familiar, they told us that there were spectres, +that the roof would fall in, that it was too narrow to admit us, that there +was a deep hole within, filled with water, and we might be drowned. My +friend shortened the harangue, by taking the man's torch from him; and we +proceeded alone. + +The passage, which at first scarcely admitted us, quickly grew narrower and +lower; we were almost bent double; yet still we persisted in making our way +through it. At length we entered a wider space, and the low roof +heightened; but, as we congratulated ourselves on this change, our torch +was extinguished by a current of air, and we were left in utter darkness. +The guides bring with them materials for renewing the light, but we had +none--our only resource was to return as we came. We groped round the +widened space to find the entrance, and after a time fancied that we had +succeeded. This proved however to be a second passage, which evidently +ascended. It terminated like the former; though something approaching to a +ray, we could not tell whence, shed a very doubtful twilight in the space. +By degrees, our eyes grew somewhat accustomed to this dimness, and we +perceived that there was no direct passage leading us further; but that it +was possible to climb one side of the cavern to a low arch at top, which +promised a more easy path, from whence we now discovered that this light +proceeded. With considerable difficulty we scrambled up, and came to +another passage with still more of illumination, and this led to another +ascent like the former. + +After a succession of these, which our resolution alone permitted us to +surmount, we arrived at a wide cavern with an arched dome-like roof. An +aperture in the midst let in the light of heaven; but this was overgrown +with brambles and underwood, which acted as a veil, obscuring the day, and +giving a solemn religious hue to the apartment. It was spacious, and nearly +circular, with a raised seat of stone, about the size of a Grecian couch, +at one end. The only sign that life had been here, was the perfect +snow-white skeleton of a goat, which had probably not perceived the opening +as it grazed on the hill above, and had fallen headlong. Ages perhaps had +elapsed since this catastrophe; and the ruin it had made above, had been +repaired by the growth of vegetation during many hundred summers. + +The rest of the furniture of the cavern consisted of piles of leaves, +fragments of bark, and a white filmy substance, resembling the inner part +of the green hood which shelters the grain of the unripe Indian corn. We +were fatigued by our struggles to attain this point, and seated ourselves +on the rocky couch, while the sounds of tinkling sheep-bells, and shout of +shepherd-boy, reached us from above. + +At length my friend, who had taken up some of the leaves strewed about, +exclaimed, "This is the Sibyl's cave; these are Sibylline leaves." On +examination, we found that all the leaves, bark, and other substances, were +traced with written characters. What appeared to us more astonishing, was +that these writings were expressed in various languages: some unknown to my +companion, ancient Chaldee, and Egyptian hieroglyphics, old as the +Pyramids. Stranger still, some were in modern dialects, English and +Italian. We could make out little by the dim light, but they seemed to +contain prophecies, detailed relations of events but lately passed; names, +now well known, but of modern date; and often exclamations of exultation or +woe, of victory or defeat, were traced on their thin scant pages. This was +certainly the Sibyl's Cave; not indeed exactly as Virgil describes it, but +the whole of this land had been so convulsed by earthquake and volcano, +that the change was not wonderful, though the traces of ruin were effaced +by time; and we probably owed the preservation of these leaves, to the +accident which had closed the mouth of the cavern, and the swift-growing +vegetation which had rendered its sole opening impervious to the storm. We +made a hasty selection of such of the leaves, whose writing one at least of +us could understand; and then, laden with our treasure, we bade adieu to +the dim hypaethric cavern, and after much difficulty succeeded in rejoining +our guides. + +During our stay at Naples, we often returned to this cave, sometimes alone, +skimming the sun-lit sea, and each time added to our store. Since that +period, whenever the world's circumstance has not imperiously called me +away, or the temper of my mind impeded such study, I have been employed in +deciphering these sacred remains. Their meaning, wondrous and eloquent, has +often repaid my toil, soothing me in sorrow, and exciting my imagination to +daring flights, through the immensity of nature and the mind of man. For +awhile my labours were not solitary; but that time is gone; and, with the +selected and matchless companion of my toils, their dearest reward is also +lost to me-- + + Di mie tenere frondi altro lavoro + Credea mostrarte; e qual fero pianeta + Ne' nvidio insieme, o mio nobil tesoro? + +I present the public with my latest discoveries in the slight Sibylline +pages. Scattered and unconnected as they were, I have been obliged to add +links, and model the work into a consistent form. But the main substance +rests on the truths contained in these poetic rhapsodies, and the divine +intuition which the Cumaean damsel obtained from heaven. + +I have often wondered at the subject of her verses, and at the English +dress of the Latin poet. Sometimes I have thought, that, obscure and +chaotic as they are, they owe their present form to me, their decipherer. +As if we should give to another artist, the painted fragments which form +the mosaic copy of Raphael's Transfiguration in St. Peter's; he would put +them together in a form, whose mode would be fashioned by his own peculiar +mind and talent. Doubtless the leaves of the Cumaean Sibyl have suffered +distortion and diminution of interest and excellence in my hands. My only +excuse for thus transforming them, is that they were unintelligible in +their pristine condition. + +My labours have cheered long hours of solitude, and taken me out of a +world, which has averted its once benignant face from me, to one glowing +with imagination and power. Will my readers ask how I could find solace +from the narration of misery and woeful change? This is one of the +mysteries of our nature, which holds full sway over me, and from whose +influence I cannot escape. I confess, that I have not been unmoved by the +development of the tale; and that I have been depressed, nay, agonized, at +some parts of the recital, which I have faithfully transcribed from my +materials. Yet such is human nature, that the excitement of mind was dear +to me, and that the imagination, painter of tempest and earthquake, or, +worse, the stormy and ruin-fraught passions of man, softened my real +sorrows and endless regrets, by clothing these fictitious ones in that +ideality, which takes the mortal sting from pain. + +I hardly know whether this apology is necessary. For the merits of my +adaptation and translation must decide how far I have well bestowed my time +and imperfect powers, in giving form and substance to the frail and +attenuated Leaves of the Sibyl. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +I AM the native of a sea-surrounded nook, a cloud-enshadowed land, which, +when the surface of the globe, with its shoreless ocean and trackless +continents, presents itself to my mind, appears only as an inconsiderable +speck in the immense whole; and yet, when balanced in the scale of mental +power, far outweighed countries of larger extent and more numerous +population. So true it is, that man's mind alone was the creator of all +that was good or great to man, and that Nature herself was only his first +minister. England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams +in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship, which mastered the winds +and rode proudly over the waves. In my boyish days she was the universe to +me. When I stood on my native hills, and saw plain and mountain stretch out +to the utmost limits of my vision, speckled by the dwellings of my +countrymen, and subdued to fertility by their labours, the earth's very +centre was fixed for me in that spot, and the rest of her orb was as a +fable, to have forgotten which would have cost neither my imagination nor +understanding an effort. + +My fortunes have been, from the beginning, an exemplification of the power +that mutability may possess over the varied tenor of man's life. With +regard to myself, this came almost by inheritance. My father was one of +those men on whom nature had bestowed to prodigality the envied gifts of +wit and imagination, and then left his bark of life to be impelled by these +winds, without adding reason as the rudder, or judgment as the pilot for +the voyage. His extraction was obscure; but circumstances brought him early +into public notice, and his small paternal property was soon dissipated in +the splendid scene of fashion and luxury in which he was an actor. During +the short years of thoughtless youth, he was adored by the high-bred +triflers of the day, nor least by the youthful sovereign, who escaped from +the intrigues of party, and the arduous duties of kingly business, to find +never-failing amusement and exhilaration of spirit in his society. My +father's impulses, never under his own controul, perpetually led him into +difficulties from which his ingenuity alone could extricate him; and the +accumulating pile of debts of honour and of trade, which would have bent to +earth any other, was supported by him with a light spirit and tameless +hilarity; while his company was so necessary at the tables and assemblies +of the rich, that his derelictions were considered venial, and he himself +received with intoxicating flattery. + +This kind of popularity, like every other, is evanescent: and the +difficulties of every kind with which he had to contend, increased in a +frightful ratio compared with his small means of extricating himself. At +such times the king, in his enthusiasm for him, would come to his relief, +and then kindly take his friend to task; my father gave the best promises +for amendment, but his social disposition, his craving for the usual diet +of admiration, and more than all, the fiend of gambling, which fully +possessed him, made his good resolutions transient, his promises vain. With +the quick sensibility peculiar to his temperament, he perceived his power +in the brilliant circle to be on the wane. The king married; and the +haughty princess of Austria, who became, as queen of England, the head of +fashion, looked with harsh eyes on his defects, and with contempt on the +affection her royal husband entertained for him. My father felt that his +fall was near; but so far from profiting by this last calm before the storm +to save himself, he sought to forget anticipated evil by making still +greater sacrifices to the deity of pleasure, deceitful and cruel arbiter of +his destiny. + +The king, who was a man of excellent dispositions, but easily led, had now +become a willing disciple of his imperious consort. He was induced to look +with extreme disapprobation, and at last with distaste, on my father's +imprudence and follies. It is true that his presence dissipated these +clouds; his warm-hearted frankness, brilliant sallies, and confiding +demeanour were irresistible: it was only when at a distance, while still +renewed tales of his errors were poured into his royal friend's ear, that +he lost his influence. The queen's dextrous management was employed to +prolong these absences, and gather together accusations. At length the king +was brought to see in him a source of perpetual disquiet, knowing that he +should pay for the short-lived pleasure of his society by tedious homilies, +and more painful narrations of excesses, the truth of which he could not +disprove. The result was, that he would make one more attempt to reclaim +him, and in case of ill success, cast him off for ever. + +Such a scene must have been one of deepest interest and high-wrought +passion. A powerful king, conspicuous for a goodness which had heretofore +made him meek, and now lofty in his admonitions, with alternate entreaty +and reproof, besought his friend to attend to his real interests, +resolutely to avoid those fascinations which in fact were fast deserting +him, and to spend his great powers on a worthy field, in which he, his +sovereign, would be his prop, his stay, and his pioneer. My father felt +this kindness; for a moment ambitious dreams floated before him; and he +thought that it would be well to exchange his present pursuits for nobler +duties. With sincerity and fervour he gave the required promise: as a +pledge of continued favour, he received from his royal master a sum of +money to defray pressing debts, and enable him to enter under good auspices +his new career. That very night, while yet full of gratitude and good +resolves, this whole sum, and its amount doubled, was lost at the +gaming-table. In his desire to repair his first losses, my father risked +double stakes, and thus incurred a debt of honour he was wholly unable to +pay. Ashamed to apply again to the king, he turned his back upon London, +its false delights and clinging miseries; and, with poverty for his sole +companion, buried himself in solitude among the hills and lakes of +Cumberland. His wit, his bon mots, the record of his personal attractions, +fascinating manners, and social talents, were long remembered and repeated +from mouth to mouth. Ask where now was this favourite of fashion, this +companion of the noble, this excelling beam, which gilt with alien +splendour the assemblies of the courtly and the gay--you heard that he +was under a cloud, a lost man; not one thought it belonged to him to repay +pleasure by real services, or that his long reign of brilliant wit deserved +a pension on retiring. The king lamented his absence; he loved to repeat +his sayings, relate the adventures they had had together, and exalt his +talents--but here ended his reminiscence. + +Meanwhile my father, forgotten, could not forget. He repined for the loss +of what was more necessary to him than air or food--the excitements of +pleasure, the admiration of the noble, the luxurious and polished living of +the great. A nervous fever was the consequence; during which he was nursed +by the daughter of a poor cottager, under whose roof he lodged. She was +lovely, gentle, and, above all, kind to him; nor can it afford +astonishment, that the late idol of high-bred beauty should, even in a +fallen state, appear a being of an elevated and wondrous nature to the +lowly cottage-girl. The attachment between them led to the ill-fated +marriage, of which I was the offspring. Notwithstanding the tenderness and +sweetness of my mother, her husband still deplored his degraded state. +Unaccustomed to industry, he knew not in what way to contribute to the +support of his increasing family. Sometimes he thought of applying to the +king; pride and shame for a while withheld him; and, before his necessities +became so imperious as to compel him to some kind of exertion, he died. For +one brief interval before this catastrophe, he looked forward to the +future, and contemplated with anguish the desolate situation in which his +wife and children would be left. His last effort was a letter to the king, +full of touching eloquence, and of occasional flashes of that brilliant +spirit which was an integral part of him. He bequeathed his widow and +orphans to the friendship of his royal master, and felt satisfied that, by +this means, their prosperity was better assured in his death than in his +life. This letter was enclosed to the care of a nobleman, who, he did not +doubt, would perform the last and inexpensive office of placing it in the +king's own hand. + +He died in debt, and his little property was seized immediately by his +creditors. My mother, pennyless and burthened with two children, waited +week after week, and month after month, in sickening expectation of a +reply, which never came. She had no experience beyond her father's cottage; +and the mansion of the lord of the manor was the chiefest type of grandeur +she could conceive. During my father's life, she had been made familiar +with the name of royalty and the courtly circle; but such things, ill +according with her personal experience, appeared, after the loss of him who +gave substance and reality to them, vague and fantastical. If, under any +circumstances, she could have acquired sufficient courage to address the +noble persons mentioned by her husband, the ill success of his own +application caused her to banish the idea. She saw therefore no escape from +dire penury: perpetual care, joined to sorrow for the loss of the wondrous +being, whom she continued to contemplate with ardent admiration, hard +labour, and naturally delicate health, at length released her from the sad +continuity of want and misery. + +The condition of her orphan children was peculiarly desolate. Her own +father had been an emigrant from another part of the country, and had died +long since: they had no one relation to take them by the hand; they were +outcasts, paupers, unfriended beings, to whom the most scanty pittance was +a matter of favour, and who were treated merely as children of peasants, +yet poorer than the poorest, who, dying, had left them, a thankless +bequest, to the close-handed charity of the land. + +I, the elder of the two, was five years old when my mother died. A +remembrance of the discourses of my parents, and the communications which +my mother endeavoured to impress upon me concerning my father's friends, in +slight hope that I might one day derive benefit from the knowledge, floated +like an indistinct dream through my brain. I conceived that I was different +and superior to my protectors and companions, but I knew not how or +wherefore. The sense of injury, associated with the name of king and noble, +clung to me; but I could draw no conclusions from such feelings, to serve +as a guide to action. My first real knowledge of myself was as an +unprotected orphan among the valleys and fells of Cumberland. I was in the +service of a farmer; and with crook in hand, my dog at my side, I +shepherded a numerous flock on the near uplands. I cannot say much in +praise of such a life; and its pains far exceeded its pleasures. There was +freedom in it, a companionship with nature, and a reckless loneliness; but +these, romantic as they were, did not accord with the love of action and +desire of human sympathy, characteristic of youth. Neither the care of my +flock, nor the change of seasons, were sufficient to tame my eager spirit; +my out-door life and unemployed time were the temptations that led me early +into lawless habits. I associated with others friendless like myself; I +formed them into a band, I was their chief and captain. All shepherd-boys +alike, while our flocks were spread over the pastures, we schemed and +executed many a mischievous prank, which drew on us the anger and revenge +of the rustics. I was the leader and protector of my comrades, and as I +became distinguished among them, their misdeeds were usually visited upon +me. But while I endured punishment and pain in their defence with the +spirit of an hero, I claimed as my reward their praise and obedience. + +In such a school my disposition became rugged, but firm. The appetite for +admiration and small capacity for self-controul which I inherited from my +father, nursed by adversity, made me daring and reckless. I was rough as +the elements, and unlearned as the animals I tended. I often compared +myself to them, and finding that my chief superiority consisted in power, I +soon persuaded myself that it was in power only that I was inferior to the +chiefest potentates of the earth. Thus untaught in refined philosophy, and +pursued by a restless feeling of degradation from my true station in +society, I wandered among the hills of civilized England as uncouth a +savage as the wolf-bred founder of old Rome. I owned but one law, it was +that of the strongest, and my greatest deed of virtue was never to submit. + +Yet let me a little retract from this sentence I have passed on myself. My +mother, when dying, had, in addition to her other half-forgotten and +misapplied lessons, committed, with solemn exhortation, her other child to +my fraternal guardianship; and this one duty I performed to the best of my +ability, with all the zeal and affection of which my nature was capable. My +sister was three years younger than myself; I had nursed her as an infant, +and when the difference of our sexes, by giving us various occupations, in +a great measure divided us, yet she continued to be the object of my +careful love. Orphans, in the fullest sense of the term, we were poorest +among the poor, and despised among the unhonoured. If my daring and courage +obtained for me a kind of respectful aversion, her youth and sex, since +they did not excite tenderness, by proving her to be weak, were the causes +of numberless mortifications to her; and her own disposition was not so +constituted as to diminish the evil effects of her lowly station. + +She was a singular being, and, like me, inherited much of the peculiar +disposition of our father. Her countenance was all expression; her eyes +were not dark, but impenetrably deep; you seemed to discover space after +space in their intellectual glance, and to feel that the soul which was +their soul, comprehended an universe of thought in its ken. She was pale +and fair, and her golden hair clustered on her temples, contrasting its +rich hue with the living marble beneath. Her coarse peasant-dress, little +consonant apparently with the refinement of feeling which her face +expressed, yet in a strange manner accorded with it. She was like one of +Guido's saints, with heaven in her heart and in her look, so that when you +saw her you only thought of that within, and costume and even feature were +secondary to the mind that beamed in her countenance. + +Yet though lovely and full of noble feeling, my poor Perdita (for this was +the fanciful name my sister had received from her dying parent), was not +altogether saintly in her disposition. Her manners were cold and repulsive. +If she had been nurtured by those who had regarded her with affection, she +might have been different; but unloved and neglected, she repaid want of +kindness with distrust and silence. She was submissive to those who held +authority over her, but a perpetual cloud dwelt on her brow; she looked as +if she expected enmity from every one who approached her, and her actions +were instigated by the same feeling. All the time she could command she +spent in solitude. She would ramble to the most unfrequented places, and +scale dangerous heights, that in those unvisited spots she might wrap +herself in loneliness. Often she passed whole hours walking up and down the +paths of the woods; she wove garlands of flowers and ivy, or watched the +flickering of the shadows and glancing of the leaves; sometimes she sat +beside a stream, and as her thoughts paused, threw flowers or pebbles into +the waters, watching how those swam and these sank; or she would set afloat +boats formed of bark of trees or leaves, with a feather for a sail, and +intensely watch the navigation of her craft among the rapids and shallows +of the brook. Meanwhile her active fancy wove a thousand combinations; she +dreamt "of moving accidents by flood and field"--she lost herself +delightedly in these self-created wanderings, and returned with unwilling +spirit to the dull detail of common life. Poverty was the cloud that veiled +her excellencies, and all that was good in her seemed about to perish from +want of the genial dew of affection. She had not even the same advantage as +I in the recollection of her parents; she clung to me, her brother, as her +only friend, but her alliance with me completed the distaste that her +protectors felt for her; and every error was magnified by them into crimes. +If she had been bred in that sphere of life to which by inheritance the +delicate framework of her mind and person was adapted, she would have been +the object almost of adoration, for her virtues were as eminent as her +defects. All the genius that ennobled the blood of her father illustrated +hers; a generous tide flowed in her veins; artifice, envy, or meanness, +were at the antipodes of her nature; her countenance, when enlightened by +amiable feeling, might have belonged to a queen of nations; her eyes were +bright; her look fearless. + +Although by our situation and dispositions we were almost equally cut off +from the usual forms of social intercourse, we formed a strong contrast to +each other. I always required the stimulants of companionship and applause. +Perdita was all-sufficient to herself. Notwithstanding my lawless habits, +my disposition was sociable, hers recluse. My life was spent among tangible +realities, hers was a dream. I might be said even to love my enemies, since +by exciting me they in a sort bestowed happiness upon me; Perdita almost +disliked her friends, for they interfered with her visionary moods. All my +feelings, even of exultation and triumph, were changed to bitterness, if +unparticipated; Perdita, even in joy, fled to loneliness, and could go on +from day to day, neither expressing her emotions, nor seeking a +fellow-feeling in another mind. Nay, she could love and dwell with +tenderness on the look and voice of her friend, while her demeanour +expressed the coldest reserve. A sensation with her became a sentiment, and +she never spoke until she had mingled her perceptions of outward objects +with others which were the native growth of her own mind. She was like a +fruitful soil that imbibed the airs and dews of heaven, and gave them forth +again to light in loveliest forms of fruits and flowers; but then she was +often dark and rugged as that soil, raked up, and new sown with unseen +seed. + +She dwelt in a cottage whose trim grass-plat sloped down to the waters of +the lake of Ulswater; a beech wood stretched up the hill behind, and a +purling brook gently falling from the acclivity ran through poplar-shaded +banks into the lake. I lived with a farmer whose house was built higher up +among the hills: a dark crag rose behind it, and, exposed to the north, the +snow lay in its crevices the summer through. Before dawn I led my flock to +the sheep-walks, and guarded them through the day. It was a life of toil; +for rain and cold were more frequent than sunshine; but it was my pride to +contemn the elements. My trusty dog watched the sheep as I slipped away to +the rendezvous of my comrades, and thence to the accomplishment of our +schemes. At noon we met again, and we threw away in contempt our peasant +fare, as we built our fire-place and kindled the cheering blaze destined to +cook the game stolen from the neighbouring preserves. Then came the tale of +hair-breadth escapes, combats with dogs, ambush and flight, as gipsey-like +we encompassed our pot. The search after a stray lamb, or the devices by +which we elude or endeavoured to elude punishment, filled up the hours of +afternoon; in the evening my flock went to its fold, and I to my sister. + +It was seldom indeed that we escaped, to use an old-fashioned phrase, scot +free. Our dainty fare was often exchanged for blows and imprisonment. Once, +when thirteen years of age, I was sent for a month to the county jail. I +came out, my morals unimproved, my hatred to my oppressors encreased +tenfold. Bread and water did not tame my blood, nor solitary confinement +inspire me with gentle thoughts. I was angry, impatient, miserable; my only +happy hours were those during which I devised schemes of revenge; these +were perfected in my forced solitude, so that during the whole of the +following season, and I was freed early in September, I never failed to +provide excellent and plenteous fare for myself and my comrades. This was a +glorious winter. The sharp frost and heavy snows tamed the animals, and +kept the country gentlemen by their firesides; we got more game than we +could eat, and my faithful dog grew sleek upon our refuse. + +Thus years passed on; and years only added fresh love of freedom, and +contempt for all that was not as wild and rude as myself. At the age of +sixteen I had shot up in appearance to man's estate; I was tall and +athletic; I was practised to feats of strength, and inured to the +inclemency of the elements. My skin was embrowned by the sun; my step was +firm with conscious power. I feared no man, and loved none. In after life I +looked back with wonder to what I then was; how utterly worthless I should +have become if I had pursued my lawless career. My life was like that of an +animal, and my mind was in danger of degenerating into that which informs +brute nature. Until now, my savage habits had done me no radical mischief; +my physical powers had grown up and flourished under their influence, and +my mind, undergoing the same discipline, was imbued with all the hardy +virtues. But now my boasted independence was daily instigating me to acts +of tyranny, and freedom was becoming licentiousness. I stood on the brink +of manhood; passions, strong as the trees of a forest, had already taken +root within me, and were about to shadow with their noxious overgrowth, my +path of life. + +I panted for enterprises beyond my childish exploits, and formed +distempered dreams of future action. I avoided my ancient comrades, and I +soon lost them. They arrived at the age when they were sent to fulfil their +destined situations in life; while I, an outcast, with none to lead or +drive me forward, paused. The old began to point at me as an example, the +young to wonder at me as a being distinct from themselves; I hated them, +and began, last and worst degradation, to hate myself. I clung to my +ferocious habits, yet half despised them; I continued my war against +civilization, and yet entertained a wish to belong to it. + +I revolved again and again all that I remembered my mother to have told me +of my father's former life; I contemplated the few relics I possessed +belonging to him, which spoke of greater refinement than could be found +among the mountain cottages; but nothing in all this served as a guide to +lead me to another and pleasanter way of life. My father had been connected +with nobles, but all I knew of such connection was subsequent neglect. The +name of the king,--he to whom my dying father had addressed his latest +prayers, and who had barbarously slighted them, was associated only with +the ideas of unkindness, injustice, and consequent resentment. I was born +for something greater than I was--and greater I would become; but +greatness, at least to my distorted perceptions, was no necessary associate +of goodness, and my wild thoughts were unchecked by moral considerations +when they rioted in dreams of distinction. Thus I stood upon a pinnacle, a +sea of evil rolled at my feet; I was about to precipitate myself into it, +and rush like a torrent over all obstructions to the object of my wishes-- +when a stranger influence came over the current of my fortunes, and changed +their boisterous course to what was in comparison like the gentle +meanderings of a meadow-encircling streamlet. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +I LIVED far from the busy haunts of men, and the rumour of wars or +political changes came worn to a mere sound, to our mountain abodes. +England had been the scene of momentous struggles, during my early boyhood. +In the year 2073, the last of its kings, the ancient friend of my father, +had abdicated in compliance with the gentle force of the remonstrances of +his subjects, and a republic was instituted. Large estates were secured to +the dethroned monarch and his family; he received the title of Earl of +Windsor, and Windsor Castle, an ancient royalty, with its wide demesnes +were a part of his allotted wealth. He died soon after, leaving two +children, a son and a daughter. + +The ex-queen, a princess of the house of Austria, had long impelled her +husband to withstand the necessity of the times. She was haughty and +fearless; she cherished a love of power, and a bitter contempt for him who +had despoiled himself of a kingdom. For her children's sake alone she +consented to remain, shorn of regality, a member of the English republic. +When she became a widow, she turned all her thoughts to the educating her +son Adrian, second Earl of Windsor, so as to accomplish her ambitious ends; +and with his mother's milk he imbibed, and was intended to grow up in the +steady purpose of re-acquiring his lost crown. Adrian was now fifteen years +of age. He was addicted to study, and imbued beyond his years with learning +and talent: report said that he had already begun to thwart his mother's +views, and to entertain republican principles. However this might be, the +haughty Countess entrusted none with the secrets of her family-tuition. +Adrian was bred up in solitude, and kept apart from the natural companions +of his age and rank. Some unknown circumstance now induced his mother to +send him from under her immediate tutelage; and we heard that he was about +to visit Cumberland. A thousand tales were rife, explanatory of the +Countess of Windsor's conduct; none true probably; but each day it became +more certain that we should have the noble scion of the late regal house of +England among us. + +There was a large estate with a mansion attached to it, belonging to this +family, at Ulswater. A large park was one of its appendages, laid out with +great taste, and plentifully stocked with game. I had often made +depredations on these preserves; and the neglected state of the property +facilitated my incursions. When it was decided that the young Earl of +Windsor should visit Cumberland, workmen arrived to put the house and +grounds in order for his reception. The apartments were restored to their +pristine splendour, and the park, all disrepairs restored, was guarded with +unusual care. + +I was beyond measure disturbed by this intelligence. It roused all my +dormant recollections, my suspended sentiments of injury, and gave rise to +the new one of revenge. I could no longer attend to my occupations; all my +plans and devices were forgotten; I seemed about to begin life anew, and +that under no good auspices. The tug of war, I thought, was now to begin. +He would come triumphantly to the district to which my parent had fled +broken-hearted; he would find the ill-fated offspring, bequeathed with such +vain confidence to his royal father, miserable paupers. That he should know +of our existence, and treat us, near at hand, with the same contumely which +his father had practised in distance and absence, appeared to me the +certain consequence of all that had gone before. Thus then I should meet +this titled stripling--the son of my father's friend. He would be hedged +in by servants; nobles, and the sons of nobles, were his companions; all +England rang with his name; and his coming, like a thunderstorm, was heard +from far: while I, unlettered and unfashioned, should, if I came in contact +with him, in the judgment of his courtly followers, bear evidence in my +very person to the propriety of that ingratitude which had made me the +degraded being I appeared. + +With my mind fully occupied by these ideas, I might be said as if +fascinated, to haunt the destined abode of the young Earl. I watched the +progress of the improvements, and stood by the unlading waggons, as various +articles of luxury, brought from London, were taken forth and conveyed into +the mansion. It was part of the Ex-Queen's plan, to surround her son with +princely magnificence. I beheld rich carpets and silken hangings, ornaments +of gold, richly embossed metals, emblazoned furniture, and all the +appendages of high rank arranged, so that nothing but what was regal in +splendour should reach the eye of one of royal descent. I looked on these; +I turned my gaze to my own mean dress.--Whence sprung this difference? +Whence but from ingratitude, from falsehood, from a dereliction on the part +of the prince's father, of all noble sympathy and generous feeling. +Doubtless, he also, whose blood received a mingling tide from his proud +mother--he, the acknowledged focus of the kingdom's wealth and nobility, +had been taught to repeat my father's name with disdain, and to scoff at my +just claims to protection. I strove to think that all this grandeur was but +more glaring infamy, and that, by planting his gold-enwoven flag beside my +tarnished and tattered banner, he proclaimed not his superiority, but his +debasement. Yet I envied him. His stud of beautiful horses, his arms of +costly workmanship, the praise that attended him, the adoration, ready +servitor, high place and high esteem,--I considered them as forcibly +wrenched from me, and envied them all with novel and tormenting +bitterness. + +To crown my vexation of spirit, Perdita, the visionary Perdita, seemed to +awake to real life with transport, when she told me that the Earl of +Windsor was about to arrive. + +"And this pleases you?" I observed, moodily. + +"Indeed it does, Lionel," she replied; "I quite long to see him; he is the +descendant of our kings, the first noble of the land: every one admires and +loves him, and they say that his rank is his least merit; he is generous, +brave, and affable." + +"You have learnt a pretty lesson, Perdita," said I, "and repeat it so +literally, that you forget the while the proofs we have of the Earl's +virtues; his generosity to us is manifest in our plenty, his bravery in the +protection he affords us, his affability in the notice he takes of us. His +rank his least merit, do you say? Why, all his virtues are derived from his +station only; because he is rich, he is called generous; because he is +powerful, brave; because he is well served, he is affable. Let them call +him so, let all England believe him to be thus--we know him--he is our +enemy--our penurious, dastardly, arrogant enemy; if he were gifted with +one particle of the virtues you call his, he would do justly by us, if it +were only to shew, that if he must strike, it should not be a fallen foe. +His father injured my father--his father, unassailable on his throne, +dared despise him who only stooped beneath himself, when he deigned to +associate with the royal ingrate. We, descendants from the one and the +other, must be enemies also. He shall find that I can feel my injuries; he +shall learn to dread my revenge!" + +A few days after he arrived. Every inhabitant of the most miserable +cottage, went to swell the stream of population that poured forth to meet +him: even Perdita, in spite of my late philippic, crept near the highway, +to behold this idol of all hearts. I, driven half mad, as I met party after +party of the country people, in their holiday best, descending the hills, +escaped to their cloud-veiled summits, and looking on the sterile rocks +about me, exclaimed--"_They_ do not cry, long live the Earl!" Nor, when +night came, accompanied by drizzling rain and cold, would I return home; +for I knew that each cottage rang with the praises of Adrian; as I felt my +limbs grow numb and chill, my pain served as food for my insane aversion; +nay, I almost triumphed in it, since it seemed to afford me reason and +excuse for my hatred of my unheeding adversary. All was attributed to him, +for I confounded so entirely the idea of father and son, that I forgot that +the latter might be wholly unconscious of his parent's neglect of us; and +as I struck my aching head with my hand, I cried: "He shall hear of this! I +will be revenged! I will not suffer like a spaniel! He shall know, beggar +and friendless as I am, that I will not tamely submit to injury!" Each day, +each hour added to these exaggerated wrongs. His praises were so many +adder's stings infixed in my vulnerable breast. If I saw him at a distance, +riding a beautiful horse, my blood boiled with rage; the air seemed +poisoned by his presence, and my very native English was changed to a vile +jargon, since every phrase I heard was coupled with his name and honour. I +panted to relieve this painful heart-burning by some misdeed that should +rouse him to a sense of my antipathy. It was the height of his offending, +that he should occasion in me such intolerable sensations, and not deign +himself to afford any demonstration that he was aware that I even lived to +feel them. + +It soon became known that Adrian took great delight in his park and +preserves. He never sported, but spent hours in watching the tribes of +lovely and almost tame animals with which it was stocked, and ordered that +greater care should be taken of them than ever. Here was an opening for my +plans of offence, and I made use of it with all the brute impetuosity I +derived from my active mode of life. I proposed the enterprize of poaching +on his demesne to my few remaining comrades, who were the most determined +and lawless of the crew; but they all shrunk from the peril; so I was left +to achieve my revenge myself. At first my exploits were unperceived; I +increased in daring; footsteps on the dewy grass, torn boughs, and marks of +slaughter, at length betrayed me to the game-keepers. They kept better +watch; I was taken, and sent to prison. I entered its gloomy walls in a fit +of triumphant extasy: "He feels me now," I cried, "and shall, again and +again!"--I passed but one day in confinement; in the evening I was +liberated, as I was told, by the order of the Earl himself. This news +precipitated me from my self-raised pinnacle of honour. He despises me, I +thought; but he shall learn that I despise him, and hold in equal contempt +his punishments and his clemency. On the second night after my release, I +was again taken by the gamekeepers--again imprisoned, and again released; +and again, such was my pertinacity, did the fourth night find me in the +forbidden park. The gamekeepers were more enraged than their lord by my +obstinacy. They had received orders that if I were again taken, I should be +brought to the Earl; and his lenity made them expect a conclusion which +they considered ill befitting my crime. One of them, who had been from the +first the leader among those who had seized me, resolved to satisfy his own +resentment, before he made me over to the higher powers. + +The late setting of the moon, and the extreme caution I was obliged to use +in this my third expedition, consumed so much time, that something like a +qualm of fear came over me when I perceived dark night yield to twilight. I +crept along by the fern, on my hands and knees, seeking the shadowy coverts +of the underwood, while the birds awoke with unwelcome song above, and the +fresh morning wind, playing among the boughs, made me suspect a footfall at +each turn. My heart beat quick as I approached the palings; my hand was on +one of them, a leap would take me to the other side, when two keepers +sprang from an ambush upon me: one knocked me down, and proceeded to +inflict a severe horse-whipping. I started up--a knife was in my grasp; I +made a plunge at his raised right arm, and inflicted a deep, wide wound in +his hand. The rage and yells of the wounded man, the howling execrations of +his comrade, which I answered with equal bitterness and fury, echoed +through the dell; morning broke more and more, ill accordant in its +celestial beauty with our brute and noisy contest. I and my enemy were +still struggling, when the wounded man exclaimed, "The Earl!" I sprang out +of the herculean hold of the keeper, panting from my exertions; I cast +furious glances on my persecutors, and placing myself with my back to a +tree, resolved to defend myself to the last. My garments were torn, and +they, as well as my hands, were stained with the blood of the man I had +wounded; one hand grasped the dead birds--my hard-earned prey, the other +held the knife; my hair was matted; my face besmeared with the same guilty +signs that bore witness against me on the dripping instrument I clenched; +my whole appearance was haggard and squalid. Tall and muscular as I was in +form, I must have looked like, what indeed I was, the merest ruffian that +ever trod the earth. + +The name of the Earl startled me, and caused all the indignant blood that +warmed my heart to rush into my cheeks; I had never seen him before; I +figured to myself a haughty, assuming youth, who would take me to task, if +he deigned to speak to me, with all the arrogance of superiority. My reply +was ready; a reproach I deemed calculated to sting his very heart. He came +up the while; and his appearance blew aside, with gentle western breath, my +cloudy wrath: a tall, slim, fair boy, with a physiognomy expressive of the +excess of sensibility and refinement stood before me; the morning sunbeams +tinged with gold his silken hair, and spread light and glory over his +beaming countenance. "How is this?" he cried. The men eagerly began their +defence; he put them aside, saying, "Two of you at once on a mere lad-- +for shame!" He came up to me: "Verney," he cried, "Lionel Verney, do we +meet thus for the first time? We were born to be friends to each other; and +though ill fortune has divided us, will you not acknowledge the hereditary +bond of friendship which I trust will hereafter unite us?" + +As he spoke, his earnest eyes, fixed on me, seemed to read my very soul: my +heart, my savage revengeful heart, felt the influence of sweet benignity +sink upon it; while his thrilling voice, like sweetest melody, awoke a mute +echo within me, stirring to its depths the life-blood in my frame. I +desired to reply, to acknowledge his goodness, accept his proffered +friendship; but words, fitting words, were not afforded to the rough +mountaineer; I would have held out my hand, but its guilty stain restrained +me. Adrian took pity on my faltering mien: "Come with me," he said, "I have +much to say to you; come home with me--you know who I am?" + +"Yes," I exclaimed, "I do believe that I now know you, and that you will +pardon my mistakes--my crime." + +Adrian smiled gently; and after giving his orders to the gamekeepers, he +came up to me; putting his arm in mine, we walked together to the mansion. + +It was not his rank--after all that I have said, surely it will not be +suspected that it was Adrian's rank, that, from the first, subdued my heart +of hearts, and laid my entire spirit prostrate before him. Nor was it I +alone who felt thus intimately his perfections. His sensibility and +courtesy fascinated every one. His vivacity, intelligence, and active +spirit of benevolence, completed the conquest. Even at this early age, he +was deep read and imbued with the spirit of high philosophy. This spirit +gave a tone of irresistible persuasion to his intercourse with others, so +that he seemed like an inspired musician, who struck, with unerring skill, +the "lyre of mind," and produced thence divine harmony. In person, he +hardly appeared of this world; his slight frame was overinformed by the +soul that dwelt within; he was all mind; "Man but a rush against" his +breast, and it would have conquered his strength; but the might of his +smile would have tamed an hungry lion, or caused a legion of armed men to +lay their weapons at his feet. + +I spent the day with him. At first he did not recur to the past, or indeed +to any personal occurrences. He wished probably to inspire me with +confidence, and give me time to gather together my scattered thoughts. He +talked of general subjects, and gave me ideas I had never before conceived. +We sat in his library, and he spoke of the old Greek sages, and of the +power which they had acquired over the minds of men, through the force of +love and wisdom only. The room was decorated with the busts of many of +them, and he described their characters to me. As he spoke, I felt subject +to him; and all my boasted pride and strength were subdued by the honeyed +accents of this blue-eyed boy. The trim and paled demesne of civilization, +which I had before regarded from my wild jungle as inaccessible, had its +wicket opened by him; I stepped within, and felt, as I entered, that I trod +my native soil. + +As evening came on, he reverted to the past. "I have a tale to relate," he +said, "and much explanation to give concerning the past; perhaps you can +assist me to curtail it. Do you remember your father? I had never the +happiness of seeing him, but his name is one of my earliest recollections: +he stands written in my mind's tablets as the type of all that was gallant, +amiable, and fascinating in man. His wit was not more conspicuous than the +overflowing goodness of his heart, which he poured in such full measure on +his friends, as to leave, alas! small remnant for himself." + +Encouraged by this encomium, I proceeded, in answer to his inquiries, to +relate what I remembered of my parent; and he gave an account of those +circumstances which had brought about a neglect of my father's testamentary +letter. When, in after times, Adrian's father, then king of England, felt +his situation become more perilous, his line of conduct more embarrassed, +again and again he wished for his early friend, who might stand a mound +against the impetuous anger of his queen, a mediator between him and the +parliament. From the time that he had quitted London, on the fatal night of +his defeat at the gaming-table, the king had received no tidings concerning +him; and when, after the lapse of years, he exerted himself to discover +him, every trace was lost. With fonder regret than ever, he clung to his +memory; and gave it in charge to his son, if ever he should meet this +valued friend, in his name to bestow every succour, and to assure him that, +to the last, his attachment survived separation and silence. + +A short time before Adrian's visit to Cumberland, the heir of the nobleman +to whom my father had confided his last appeal to his royal master, put +this letter, its seal unbroken, into the young Earl's hands. It had been +found cast aside with a mass of papers of old date, and accident alone +brought it to light. Adrian read it with deep interest; and found there +that living spirit of genius and wit he had so often heard commemorated. He +discovered the name of the spot whither my father had retreated, and where +he died; he learnt the existence of his orphan children; and during the +short interval between his arrival at Ulswater and our meeting in the park, +he had been occupied in making inquiries concerning us, and arranging a +variety of plans for our benefit, preliminary to his introducing himself to +our notice. + +The mode in which he spoke of my father was gratifying to my vanity; the +veil which he delicately cast over his benevolence, in alledging a duteous +fulfilment of the king's latest will, was soothing to my pride. Other +feelings, less ambiguous, were called into play by his conciliating manner +and the generous warmth of his expressions, respect rarely before +experienced, admiration, and love--he had touched my rocky heart with his +magic power, and the stream of affection gushed forth, imperishable and +pure. In the evening we parted; he pressed my hand: "We shall meet again; +come to me to-morrow." I clasped that kind hand; I tried to answer; a +fervent "God bless you!" was all my ignorance could frame of speech, and I +darted away, oppressed by my new emotions. + +I could not rest. I sought the hills; a west wind swept them, and the stars +glittered above. I ran on, careless of outward objects, but trying to +master the struggling spirit within me by means of bodily fatigue. "This," +I thought, "is power! Not to be strong of limb, hard of heart, ferocious, +and daring; but kind compassionate and soft."--Stopping short, I clasped +my hands, and with the fervour of a new proselyte, cried, "Doubt me not, +Adrian, I also will become wise and good!" and then quite overcome, I wept +aloud. + +As this gust of passion passed from me, I felt more composed. I lay on the +ground, and giving the reins to my thoughts, repassed in my mind my former +life; and began, fold by fold, to unwind the many errors of my heart, and +to discover how brutish, savage, and worthless I had hitherto been. I could +not however at that time feel remorse, for methought I was born anew; my +soul threw off the burthen of past sin, to commence a new career in +innocence and love. Nothing harsh or rough remained to jar with the soft +feelings which the transactions of the day had inspired; I was as a child +lisping its devotions after its mother, and my plastic soul was remoulded +by a master hand, which I neither desired nor was able to resist. + +This was the first commencement of my friendship with Adrian, and I must +commemorate this day as the most fortunate of my life. I now began to be +human. I was admitted within that sacred boundary which divides the +intellectual and moral nature of man from that which characterizes animals. +My best feelings were called into play to give fitting responses to the +generosity, wisdom, and amenity of my new friend. He, with a noble goodness +all his own, took infinite delight in bestowing to prodigality the +treasures of his mind and fortune on the long-neglected son of his father's +friend, the offspring of that gifted being whose excellencies and talents +he had heard commemorated from infancy. + +After his abdication the late king had retreated from the sphere of +politics, yet his domestic circle afforded him small content. The ex-queen +had none of the virtues of domestic life, and those of courage and daring +which she possessed were rendered null by the secession of her husband: she +despised him, and did not care to conceal her sentiments. The king had, in +compliance with her exactions, cast off his old friends, but he had +acquired no new ones under her guidance. In this dearth of sympathy, he had +recourse to his almost infant son; and the early development of talent and +sensibility rendered Adrian no unfitting depository of his father's +confidence. He was never weary of listening to the latter's often repeated +accounts of old times, in which my father had played a distinguished part; +his keen remarks were repeated to the boy, and remembered by him; his wit, +his fascinations, his very faults were hallowed by the regret of affection; +his loss was sincerely deplored. Even the queen's dislike of the favourite +was ineffectual to deprive him of his son's admiration: it was bitter, +sarcastic, contemptuous--but as she bestowed her heavy censure alike on +his virtues as his errors, on his devoted friendship and his ill-bestowed +loves, on his disinterestedness and his prodigality, on his pre-possessing +grace of manner, and the facility with which he yielded to temptation, her +double shot proved too heavy, and fell short of the mark. Nor did her angry +dislike prevent Adrian from imaging my father, as he had said, the type of +all that was gallant, amiable, and fascinating in man. It was not strange +therefore, that when he heard of the existence of the offspring of this +celebrated person, he should have formed the plan of bestowing on them all +the advantages his rank made him rich to afford. When he found me a +vagabond shepherd of the hills, a poacher, an unlettered savage, still his +kindness did not fail. In addition to the opinion he entertained that his +father was to a degree culpable of neglect towards us, and that he was +bound to every possible reparation, he was pleased to say that under all my +ruggedness there glimmered forth an elevation of spirit, which could be +distinguished from mere animal courage, and that I inherited a similarity +of countenance to my father, which gave proof that all his virtues and +talents had not died with him. Whatever those might be which descended to +me, my noble young friend resolved should not be lost for want of culture. + +Acting upon this plan in our subsequent intercourse, he led me to wish to +participate in that cultivation which graced his own intellect. My active +mind, when once it seized upon this new idea, fastened on it with extreme +avidity. At first it was the great object of my ambition to rival the +merits of my father, and render myself worthy of the friendship of Adrian. +But curiosity soon awoke, and an earnest love of knowledge, which caused me +to pass days and nights in reading and study. I was already well acquainted +with what I may term the panorama of nature, the change of seasons, and the +various appearances of heaven and earth. But I was at once startled and +enchanted by my sudden extension of vision, when the curtain, which had +been drawn before the intellectual world, was withdrawn, and I saw the +universe, not only as it presented itself to my outward senses, but as it +had appeared to the wisest among men. Poetry and its creations, philosophy +and its researches and classifications, alike awoke the sleeping ideas in +my mind, and gave me new ones. + +I felt as the sailor, who from the topmast first discovered the shore of +America; and like him I hastened to tell my companions of my discoveries in +unknown regions. But I was unable to excite in any breast the same craving +appetite for knowledge that existed in mine. Even Perdita was unable to +understand me. I had lived in what is generally called the world of +reality, and it was awakening to a new country to find that there was a +deeper meaning in all I saw, besides that which my eyes conveyed to me. The +visionary Perdita beheld in all this only a new gloss upon an old reading, +and her own was sufficiently inexhaustible to content her. She listened to +me as she had done to the narration of my adventures, and sometimes took an +interest in this species of information; but she did not, as I did, look on +it as an integral part of her being, which having obtained, I could no more +put off than the universal sense of touch. + +We both agreed in loving Adrian: although she not having yet escaped from +childhood could not appreciate as I did the extent of his merits, or feel +the same sympathy in his pursuits and opinions. I was for ever with him. +There was a sensibility and sweetness in his disposition, that gave a +tender and unearthly tone to our converse. Then he was gay as a lark +carolling from its skiey tower, soaring in thought as an eagle, innocent as +the mild-eyed dove. He could dispel the seriousness of Perdita, and take +the sting from the torturing activity of my nature. I looked back to my +restless desires and painful struggles with my fellow beings as to a +troubled dream, and felt myself as much changed as if I had transmigrated +into another form, whose fresh sensorium and mechanism of nerves had +altered the reflection of the apparent universe in the mirror of mind. But +it was not so; I was the same in strength, in earnest craving for sympathy, +in my yearning for active exertion. My manly virtues did not desert me, for +the witch Urania spared the locks of Sampson, while he reposed at her feet; +but all was softened and humanized. Nor did Adrian instruct me only in the +cold truths of history and philosophy. At the same time that he taught me +by their means to subdue my own reckless and uncultured spirit, he opened +to my view the living page of his own heart, and gave me to feel and +understand its wondrous character. + +The ex-queen of England had, even during infancy, endeavoured to implant +daring and ambitious designs in the mind of her son. She saw that he was +endowed with genius and surpassing talent; these she cultivated for the +sake of afterwards using them for the furtherance of her own views. She +encouraged his craving for knowledge and his impetuous courage; she even +tolerated his tameless love of freedom, under the hope that this would, as +is too often the case, lead to a passion for command. She endeavoured to +bring him up in a sense of resentment towards, and a desire to revenge +himself upon, those who had been instrumental in bringing about his +father's abdication. In this she did not succeed. The accounts furnished +him, however distorted, of a great and wise nation asserting its right to +govern itself, excited his admiration: in early days he became a republican +from principle. Still his mother did not despair. To the love of rule and +haughty pride of birth she added determined ambition, patience, and +self-control. She devoted herself to the study of her son's disposition. By +the application of praise, censure, and exhortation, she tried to seek and +strike the fitting chords; and though the melody that followed her touch +seemed discord to her, she built her hopes on his talents, and felt sure +that she would at last win him. The kind of banishment he now experienced +arose from other causes. + +The ex-queen had also a daughter, now twelve years of age; his fairy +sister, Adrian was wont to call her; a lovely, animated, little thing, all +sensibility and truth. With these, her children, the noble widow constantly +resided at Windsor; and admitted no visitors, except her own partizans, +travellers from her native Germany, and a few of the foreign ministers. +Among these, and highly distinguished by her, was Prince Zaimi, ambassador +to England from the free States of Greece; and his daughter, the young +Princess Evadne, passed much of her time at Windsor Castle. In company with +this sprightly and clever Greek girl, the Countess would relax from her +usual state. Her views with regard to her own children, placed all her +words and actions relative to them under restraint: but Evadne was a +plaything she could in no way fear; nor were her talents and vivacity +slight alleviations to the monotony of the Countess's life. + +Evadne was eighteen years of age. Although they spent much time together at +Windsor, the extreme youth of Adrian prevented any suspicion as to the +nature of their intercourse. But he was ardent and tender of heart beyond +the common nature of man, and had already learnt to love, while the +beauteous Greek smiled benignantly on the boy. It was strange to me, who, +though older than Adrian, had never loved, to witness the whole heart's +sacrifice of my friend. There was neither jealousy, inquietude, or mistrust +in his sentiment; it was devotion and faith. His life was swallowed up in +the existence of his beloved; and his heart beat only in unison with the +pulsations that vivified hers. This was the secret law of his life--he +loved and was beloved. The universe was to him a dwelling, to inhabit with +his chosen one; and not either a scheme of society or an enchainment of +events, that could impart to him either happiness or misery. What, though +life and the system of social intercourse were a wilderness, a +tiger-haunted jungle! Through the midst of its errors, in the depths of its +savage recesses, there was a disentangled and flowery pathway, through +which they might journey in safety and delight. Their track would be like +the passage of the Red Sea, which they might traverse with unwet feet, +though a wall of destruction were impending on either side. + +Alas! why must I record the hapless delusion of this matchless specimen of +humanity? What is there in our nature that is for ever urging us on towards +pain and misery? We are not formed for enjoyment; and, however we may be +attuned to the reception of pleasureable emotion, disappointment is the +never-failing pilot of our life's bark, and ruthlessly carries us on to the +shoals. Who was better framed than this highly-gifted youth to love and be +beloved, and to reap unalienable joy from an unblamed passion? If his heart +had slept but a few years longer, he might have been saved; but it awoke in +its infancy; it had power, but no knowledge; and it was ruined, even as a +too early-blowing bud is nipt by the killing frost. + +I did not accuse Evadne of hypocrisy or a wish to deceive her lover; but +the first letter that I saw of hers convinced me that she did not love him; +it was written with elegance, and, foreigner as she was, with great command +of language. The hand-writing itself was exquisitely beautiful; there was +something in her very paper and its folds, which even I, who did not love, +and was withal unskilled in such matters, could discern as being tasteful. +There was much kindness, gratitude, and sweetness in her expression, but no +love. Evadne was two years older than Adrian; and who, at eighteen, ever +loved one so much their junior? I compared her placid epistles with the +burning ones of Adrian. His soul seemed to distil itself into the words he +wrote; and they breathed on the paper, bearing with them a portion of the +life of love, which was his life. The very writing used to exhaust him; and +he would weep over them, merely from the excess of emotion they awakened in +his heart. + +Adrian's soul was painted in his countenance, and concealment or deceit +were at the antipodes to the dreadless frankness of his nature. Evadne made +it her earnest request that the tale of their loves should not be revealed +to his mother; and after for a while contesting the point, he yielded it to +her. A vain concession; his demeanour quickly betrayed his secret to the +quick eyes of the ex-queen. With the same wary prudence that characterized +her whole conduct, she concealed her discovery, but hastened to remove her +son from the sphere of the attractive Greek. He was sent to Cumberland; but +the plan of correspondence between the lovers, arranged by Evadne, was +effectually hidden from her. Thus the absence of Adrian, concerted for the +purpose of separating, united them in firmer bonds than ever. To me he +discoursed ceaselessly of his beloved Ionian. Her country, its ancient +annals, its late memorable struggles, were all made to partake in her glory +and excellence. He submitted to be away from her, because she commanded +this submission; but for her influence, he would have declared his +attachment before all England, and resisted, with unshaken constancy, his +mother's opposition. Evadne's feminine prudence perceived how useless any +assertion of his resolves would be, till added years gave weight to his +power. Perhaps there was besides a lurking dislike to bind herself in the +face of the world to one whom she did not love--not love, at least, with +that passionate enthusiasm which her heart told her she might one day feel +towards another. He obeyed her injunctions, and passed a year in exile in +Cumberland. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +HAPPY, thrice happy, were the months, and weeks, and hours of that year. +Friendship, hand in hand with admiration, tenderness and respect, built a +bower of delight in my heart, late rough as an untrod wild in America, as +the homeless wind or herbless sea. Insatiate thirst for knowledge, and +boundless affection for Adrian, combined to keep both my heart and +understanding occupied, and I was consequently happy. What happiness is so +true and unclouded, as the overflowing and talkative delight of young +people. In our boat, upon my native lake, beside the streams and the pale +bordering poplars--in valley and over hill, my crook thrown aside, a +nobler flock to tend than silly sheep, even a flock of new-born ideas, I +read or listened to Adrian; and his discourse, whether it concerned his +love or his theories for the improvement of man, alike entranced me. +Sometimes my lawless mood would return, my love of peril, my resistance to +authority; but this was in his absence; under the mild sway of his dear +eyes, I was obedient and good as a boy of five years old, who does his +mother's bidding. + +After a residence of about a year at Ulswater, Adrian visited London, and +came back full of plans for our benefit. You must begin life, he said: you +are seventeen, and longer delay would render the necessary apprenticeship +more and more irksome. He foresaw that his own life would be one of +struggle, and I must partake his labours with him. The better to fit me for +this task, we must now separate. He found my name a good passport to +preferment, and he had procured for me the situation of private secretary +to the Ambassador at Vienna, where I should enter on my career under the +best auspices. In two years, I should return to my country, with a name +well known and a reputation already founded. + +And Perdita?--Perdita was to become the pupil, friend and younger sister +of Evadne. With his usual thoughtfulness, he had provided for her +independence in this situation. How refuse the offers of this generous +friend?--I did not wish to refuse them; but in my heart of hearts, I made +a vow to devote life, knowledge, and power, all of which, in as much as +they were of any value, he had bestowed on me--all, all my capacities and +hopes, to him alone I would devote. + +Thus I promised myself, as I journied towards my destination with roused +and ardent expectation: expectation of the fulfilment of all that in +boyhood we promise ourselves of power and enjoyment in maturity. Methought +the time was now arrived, when, childish occupations laid aside, I should +enter into life. Even in the Elysian fields, Virgil describes the souls of +the happy as eager to drink of the wave which was to restore them to this +mortal coil. The young are seldom in Elysium, for their desires, +outstripping possibility, leave them as poor as a moneyless debtor. We are +told by the wisest philosophers of the dangers of the world, the deceits of +men, and the treason of our own hearts: but not the less fearlessly does +each put off his frail bark from the port, spread the sail, and strain his +oar, to attain the multitudinous streams of the sea of life. How few in +youth's prime, moor their vessels on the "golden sands," and collect the +painted shells that strew them. But all at close of day, with riven planks +and rent canvas make for shore, and are either wrecked ere they reach it, +or find some wave-beaten haven, some desart strand, whereon to cast +themselves and die unmourned. + +A truce to philosophy!--Life is before me, and I rush into possession. +Hope, glory, love, and blameless ambition are my guides, and my soul knows +no dread. What has been, though sweet, is gone; the present is good only +because it is about to change, and the to come is all my own. Do I fear, +that my heart palpitates? high aspirations cause the flow of my blood; my +eyes seem to penetrate the cloudy midnight of time, and to discern within +the depths of its darkness, the fruition of all my soul desires. + +Now pause!--During my journey I might dream, and with buoyant wings reach +the summit of life's high edifice. Now that I am arrived at its base, my +pinions are furled, the mighty stairs are before me, and step by step I +must ascend the wondrous fane-- + + Speak!--What door is opened? + +Behold me in a new capacity. A diplomatist: one among the pleasure-seeking +society of a gay city; a youth of promise; favourite of the Ambassador. All +was strange and admirable to the shepherd of Cumberland. With breathless +amaze I entered on the gay scene, whose actors were + + --the lilies glorious as Solomon, + Who toil not, neither do they spin. + +Soon, too soon, I entered the giddy whirl; forgetting my studious hours, +and the companionship of Adrian. Passionate desire of sympathy, and ardent +pursuit for a wished-for object still characterized me. The sight of beauty +entranced me, and attractive manners in man or woman won my entire +confidence. I called it rapture, when a smile made my heart beat; and I +felt the life's blood tingle in my frame, when I approached the idol which +for awhile I worshipped. The mere flow of animal spirits was Paradise, and +at night's close I only desired a renewal of the intoxicating delusion. The +dazzling light of ornamented rooms; lovely forms arrayed in splendid +dresses; the motions of a dance, the voluptuous tones of exquisite music, +cradled my senses in one delightful dream. + +And is not this in its kind happiness? I appeal to moralists and sages. I +ask if in the calm of their measured reveries, if in the deep meditations +which fill their hours, they feel the extasy of a youthful tyro in the +school of pleasure? Can the calm beams of their heaven-seeking eyes equal +the flashes of mingling passion which blind his, or does the influence of +cold philosophy steep their soul in a joy equal to his, engaged + + In this dear work of youthful revelry. + +But in truth, neither the lonely meditations of the hermit, nor the +tumultuous raptures of the reveller, are capable of satisfying man's heart. +From the one we gather unquiet speculation, from the other satiety. The +mind flags beneath the weight of thought, and droops in the heartless +intercourse of those whose sole aim is amusement. There is no fruition in +their vacant kindness, and sharp rocks lurk beneath the smiling ripples of +these shallow waters. + +Thus I felt, when disappointment, weariness, and solitude drove me back +upon my heart, to gather thence the joy of which it had become barren. My +flagging spirits asked for something to speak to the affections; and not +finding it, I drooped. Thus, notwithstanding the thoughtless delight that +waited on its commencement, the impression I have of my life at Vienna is +melancholy. Goethe has said, that in youth we cannot be happy unless we +love. I did not love; but I was devoured by a restless wish to be something +to others. I became the victim of ingratitude and cold coquetry--then I +desponded, and imagined that my discontent gave me a right to hate the +world. I receded to solitude; I had recourse to my books, and my desire +again to enjoy the society of Adrian became a burning thirst. + +Emulation, that in its excess almost assumed the venomous properties of +envy, gave a sting to these feelings. At this period the name and exploits +of one of my countrymen filled the world with admiration. Relations of what +he had done, conjectures concerning his future actions, were the +never-failing topics of the hour. I was not angry on my own account, but I +felt as if the praises which this idol received were leaves torn from +laurels destined for Adrian. But I must enter into some account of this +darling of fame--this favourite of the wonder-loving world. + +Lord Raymond was the sole remnant of a noble but impoverished family. From +early youth he had considered his pedigree with complacency, and bitterly +lamented his want of wealth. His first wish was aggrandisement; and the +means that led towards this end were secondary considerations. Haughty, yet +trembling to every demonstration of respect; ambitious, but too proud to +shew his ambition; willing to achieve honour, yet a votary of pleasure,-- +he entered upon life. He was met on the threshold by some insult, real or +imaginary; some repulse, where he least expected it; some disappointment, +hard for his pride to bear. He writhed beneath an injury he was unable to +revenge; and he quitted England with a vow not to return, till the good +time should arrive, when she might feel the power of him she now despised. + +He became an adventurer in the Greek wars. His reckless courage and +comprehensive genius brought him into notice. He became the darling hero of +this rising people. His foreign birth, and he refused to throw off his +allegiance to his native country, alone prevented him from filling the +first offices in the state. But, though others might rank higher in title +and ceremony, Lord Raymond held a station above and beyond all this. He led +the Greek armies to victory; their triumphs were all his own. When he +appeared, whole towns poured forth their population to meet him; new songs +were adapted to their national airs, whose themes were his glory, valour, +and munificence. A truce was concluded between the Greeks and Turks. At the +same time, Lord Raymond, by some unlooked-for chance, became the possessor +of an immense fortune in England, whither he returned, crowned with glory, +to receive the meed of honour and distinction before denied to his +pretensions. His proud heart rebelled against this change. In what was the +despised Raymond not the same? If the acquisition of power in the shape of +wealth caused this alteration, that power should they feel as an iron yoke. +Power therefore was the aim of all his endeavours; aggrandizement the mark +at which he for ever shot. In open ambition or close intrigue, his end was +the same--to attain the first station in his own country. + +This account filled me with curiosity. The events that in succession +followed his return to England, gave me keener feelings. Among his other +advantages, Lord Raymond was supremely handsome; every one admired him; of +women he was the idol. He was courteous, honey-tongued--an adept in +fascinating arts. What could not this man achieve in the busy English +world? Change succeeded to change; the entire history did not reach me; for +Adrian had ceased to write, and Perdita was a laconic correspondent. The +rumour went that Adrian had become--how write the fatal word--mad: that +Lord Raymond was the favourite of the ex-queen, her daughter's destined +husband. Nay, more, that this aspiring noble revived the claim of the house +of Windsor to the crown, and that, on the event of Adrian's incurable +disorder and his marriage with the sister, the brow of the ambitious +Raymond might be encircled with the magic ring of regality. + +Such a tale filled the trumpet of many voiced fame; such a tale rendered my +longer stay at Vienna, away from the friend of my youth, intolerable. Now I +must fulfil my vow; now range myself at his side, and be his ally and +support till death. Farewell to courtly pleasure; to politic intrigue; to +the maze of passion and folly! All hail, England! Native England, receive +thy child! thou art the scene of all my hopes, the mighty theatre on which +is acted the only drama that can, heart and soul, bear me along with it in +its development. A voice most irresistible, a power omnipotent, drew me +thither. After an absence of two years I landed on its shores, not daring +to make any inquiries, fearful of every remark. My first visit would be to +my sister, who inhabited a little cottage, a part of Adrian's gift, on the +borders of Windsor Forest. From her I should learn the truth concerning our +protector; I should hear why she had withdrawn from the protection of the +Princess Evadne, and be instructed as to the influence which this +overtopping and towering Raymond exercised over the fortunes of my friend. + +I had never before been in the neighbourhood of Windsor; the fertility and +beauty of the country around now struck me with admiration, which encreased +as I approached the antique wood. The ruins of majestic oaks which had +grown, flourished, and decayed during the progress of centuries, marked +where the limits of the forest once reached, while the shattered palings +and neglected underwood shewed that this part was deserted for the younger +plantations, which owed their birth to the beginning of the nineteenth +century, and now stood in the pride of maturity. Perdita's humble dwelling +was situated on the skirts of the most ancient portion; before it was +stretched Bishopgate Heath, which towards the east appeared interminable, +and was bounded to the west by Chapel Wood and the grove of Virginia Water. +Behind, the cottage was shadowed by the venerable fathers of the forest, +under which the deer came to graze, and which for the most part hollow and +decayed, formed fantastic groups that contrasted with the regular beauty of +the younger trees. These, the offspring of a later period, stood erect and +seemed ready to advance fearlessly into coming time; while those out worn +stragglers, blasted and broke, clung to each other, their weak boughs +sighing as the wind buffetted them--a weather-beaten crew. + +A light railing surrounded the garden of the cottage, which, low-roofed, +seemed to submit to the majesty of nature, and cower amidst the venerable +remains of forgotten time. Flowers, the children of the spring, adorned her +garden and casements; in the midst of lowliness there was an air of +elegance which spoke the graceful taste of the inmate. With a beating heart +I entered the enclosure; as I stood at the entrance, I heard her +voice, melodious as it had ever been, which before I saw her assured me of +her welfare. + +A moment more and Perdita appeared; she stood before me in the fresh bloom +of youthful womanhood, different from and yet the same as the mountain girl +I had left. Her eyes could not be deeper than they were in childhood, nor +her countenance more expressive; but the expression was changed and +improved; intelligence sat on her brow; when she smiled her face was +embellished by the softest sensibility, and her low, modulated voice seemed +tuned by love. Her person was formed in the most feminine proportions; she +was not tall, but her mountain life had given freedom to her motions, so +that her light step scarce made her foot-fall heard as she tript across the +hall to meet me. When we had parted, I had clasped her to my bosom with +unrestrained warmth; we met again, and new feelings were awakened; when +each beheld the other, childhood passed, as full grown actors on this +changeful scene. The pause was but for a moment; the flood of association +and natural feeling which had been checked, again rushed in full tide upon +our hearts, and with tenderest emotion we were swiftly locked in each +other's embrace. + +This burst of passionate feeling over, with calmed thoughts we sat +together, talking of the past and present. I alluded to the coldness of her +letters; but the few minutes we had spent together sufficiently explained +the origin of this. New feelings had arisen within her, which she was +unable to express in writing to one whom she had only known in childhood; +but we saw each other again, and our intimacy was renewed as if nothing had +intervened to check it. I detailed the incidents of my sojourn abroad, and +then questioned her as to the changes that had taken place at home, the +causes of Adrian's absence, and her secluded life. + +The tears that suffused my sister's eyes when I mentioned our friend, and +her heightened colour seemed to vouch for the truth of the reports that had +reached me. But their import was too terrible for me to give instant credit +to my suspicion. Was there indeed anarchy in the sublime universe of +Adrian's thoughts, did madness scatter the well-appointed legions, and was +he no longer the lord of his own soul? Beloved friend, this ill world was +no clime for your gentle spirit; you delivered up its governance to false +humanity, which stript it of its leaves ere winter-time, and laid bare its +quivering life to the evil ministration of roughest winds. Have those +gentle eyes, those "channels of the soul" lost their meaning, or do they +only in their glare disclose the horrible tale of its aberrations? Does +that voice no longer "discourse excellent music?" Horrible, most horrible! +I veil my eyes in terror of the change, and gushing tears bear witness to +my sympathy for this unimaginable ruin. + +In obedience to my request Perdita detailed the melancholy circumstances +that led to this event. + +The frank and unsuspicious mind of Adrian, gifted as it was by every +natural grace, endowed with transcendant powers of intellect, unblemished +by the shadow of defect (unless his dreadless independence of thought was +to be construed into one), was devoted, even as a victim to sacrifice, to +his love for Evadne. He entrusted to her keeping the treasures of his soul, +his aspirations after excellence, and his plans for the improvement of +mankind. As manhood dawned upon him, his schemes and theories, far from +being changed by personal and prudential motives, acquired new strength +from the powers he felt arise within him; and his love for Evadne became +deep-rooted, as he each day became more certain that the path he pursued +was full of difficulty, and that he must seek his reward, not in the +applause or gratitude of his fellow creatures, hardly in the success of his +plans, but in the approbation of his own heart, and in her love and +sympathy, which was to lighten every toil and recompence every sacrifice. + +In solitude, and through many wanderings afar from the haunts of men, he +matured his views for the reform of the English government, and the +improvement of the people. It would have been well if he had concealed his +sentiments, until he had come into possession of the power which would +secure their practical development. But he was impatient of the years that +must intervene, he was frank of heart and fearless. He gave not only a +brief denial to his mother's schemes, but published his intention of using +his influence to diminish the power of the aristocracy, to effect a greater +equalization of wealth and privilege, and to introduce a perfect system of +republican government into England. At first his mother treated his +theories as the wild ravings of inexperience. But they were so +systematically arranged, and his arguments so well supported, that though +still in appearance incredulous, she began to fear him. She tried to reason +with him, and finding him inflexible, learned to hate him. + +Strange to say, this feeling was infectious. His enthusiasm for good which +did not exist; his contempt for the sacredness of authority; his ardour and +imprudence were all at the antipodes of the usual routine of life; the +worldly feared him; the young and inexperienced did not understand the +lofty severity of his moral views, and disliked him as a being different +from themselves. Evadne entered but coldly into his systems. She thought he +did well to assert his own will, but she wished that will to have been more +intelligible to the multitude. She had none of the spirit of a martyr, and +did not incline to share the shame and defeat of a fallen patriot. She was +aware of the purity of his motives, the generosity of his disposition, his +true and ardent attachment to her; and she entertained a great affection +for him. He repaid this spirit of kindness with the fondest gratitude, and +made her the treasure-house of all his hopes. + +At this time Lord Raymond returned from Greece. No two persons could be +more opposite than Adrian and he. With all the incongruities of his +character, Raymond was emphatically a man of the world. His passions were +violent; as these often obtained the mastery over him, he could not always +square his conduct to the obvious line of self-interest, but +self-gratification at least was the paramount object with him. He looked on +the structure of society as but a part of the machinery which supported the +web on which his life was traced. The earth was spread out as an highway +for him; the heavens built up as a canopy for him. + +Adrian felt that he made a part of a great whole. He owned affinity not +only with mankind, but all nature was akin to him; the mountains and sky +were his friends; the winds of heaven and the offspring of earth his +playmates; while he the focus only of this mighty mirror, felt his life +mingle with the universe of existence. His soul was sympathy, and dedicated +to the worship of beauty and excellence. Adrian and Raymond now came into +contact, and a spirit of aversion rose between them. Adrian despised the +narrow views of the politician, and Raymond held in supreme contempt the +benevolent visions of the philanthropist. + +With the coming of Raymond was formed the storm that laid waste at one fell +blow the gardens of delight and sheltered paths which Adrian fancied that +he had secured to himself, as a refuge from defeat and contumely. Raymond, +the deliverer of Greece, the graceful soldier, who bore in his mien a tinge +of all that, peculiar to her native clime, Evadne cherished as most dear-- +Raymond was loved by Evadne. Overpowered by her new sensations, she did not +pause to examine them, or to regulate her conduct by any sentiments except +the tyrannical one which suddenly usurped the empire of her heart. She +yielded to its influence, and the too natural consequence in a mind +unattuned to soft emotions was, that the attentions of Adrian became +distasteful to her. She grew capricious; her gentle conduct towards him was +exchanged for asperity and repulsive coldness. When she perceived the wild +or pathetic appeal of his expressive countenance, she would relent, and for +a while resume her ancient kindness. But these fluctuations shook to its +depths the soul of the sensitive youth; he no longer deemed the world +subject to him, because he possessed Evadne's love; he felt in every nerve +that the dire storms of the mental universe were about to attack his +fragile being, which quivered at the expectation of its advent. + +Perdita, who then resided with Evadne, saw the torture that Adrian endured. +She loved him as a kind elder brother; a relation to guide, protect, and +instruct her, without the too frequent tyranny of parental authority. She +adored his virtues, and with mixed contempt and indignation she saw Evadne +pile drear sorrow on his head, for the sake of one who hardly marked her. +In his solitary despair Adrian would often seek my sister, and in covered +terms express his misery, while fortitude and agony divided the throne of +his mind. Soon, alas! was one to conquer. Anger made no part of his +emotion. With whom should he be angry? Not with Raymond, who was +unconscious of the misery he occasioned; not with Evadne, for her his soul +wept tears of blood--poor, mistaken girl, slave not tyrant was she, and +amidst his own anguish he grieved for her future destiny. Once a writing of +his fell into Perdita's hands; it was blotted with tears--well might any +blot it with the like-- + +"Life"--it began thus--"is not the thing romance writers describe it; +going through the measures of a dance, and after various evolutions +arriving at a conclusion, when the dancers may sit down and repose. While +there is life there is action and change. We go on, each thought linked to +the one which was its parent, each act to a previous act. No joy or sorrow +dies barren of progeny, which for ever generated and generating, weaves the +chain that make our life: + + Un dia llama à otro dia + y asi llama, y encadena + llanto à llanto, y pena à pena. + +Truly disappointment is the guardian deity of human life; she sits +at the threshold of unborn time, and marshals the events as they +come forth. Once my heart sat lightly in my bosom; all the beauty of the +world was doubly beautiful, irradiated by the sun-light shed from my own +soul. O wherefore are love and ruin for ever joined in this our mortal +dream? So that when we make our hearts a lair for that gently seeming +beast, its companion enters with it, and pitilessly lays waste what might +have been an home and a shelter." + +By degrees his health was shaken by his misery, and then his intellect +yielded to the same tyranny. His manners grew wild; he was sometimes +ferocious, sometimes absorbed in speechless melancholy. Suddenly Evadne +quitted London for Paris; he followed, and overtook her when the vessel was +about to sail; none knew what passed between them, but Perdita had never +seen him since; he lived in seclusion, no one knew where, attended by such +persons as his mother selected for that purpose. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +THE next day Lord Raymond called at Perdita's cottage, on his way to +Windsor Castle. My sister's heightened colour and sparkling eyes half +revealed her secret to me. He was perfectly self-possessed; he accosted us +both with courtesy, seemed immediately to enter into our feelings, and to +make one with us. I scanned his physiognomy, which varied as he spoke, yet +was beautiful in every change. The usual expression of his eyes was soft, +though at times he could make them even glare with ferocity; his complexion +was colourless; and every trait spoke predominate self-will; his smile was +pleasing, though disdain too often curled his lips--lips which to female +eyes were the very throne of beauty and love. His voice, usually gentle, +often startled you by a sharp discordant note, which shewed that his usual +low tone was rather the work of study than nature. Thus full of +contradictions, unbending yet haughty, gentle yet fierce, tender and again +neglectful, he by some strange art found easy entrance to the admiration +and affection of women; now caressing and now tyrannizing over them +according to his mood, but in every change a despot. + +At the present time Raymond evidently wished to appear amiable. Wit, +hilarity, and deep observation were mingled in his talk, rendering every +sentence that he uttered as a flash of light. He soon conquered my latent +distaste; I endeavoured to watch him and Perdita, and to keep in mind every +thing I had heard to his disadvantage. But all appeared so ingenuous, and +all was so fascinating, that I forgot everything except the pleasure his +society afforded me. Under the idea of initiating me in the scene of +English politics and society, of which I was soon to become a part, he +narrated a number of anecdotes, and sketched many characters; his +discourse, rich and varied, flowed on, pervading all my senses with +pleasure. But for one thing he would have been completely triumphant. He +alluded to Adrian, and spoke of him with that disparagement that the +worldly wise always attach to enthusiasm. He perceived the cloud gathering, +and tried to dissipate it; but the strength of my feelings would not permit +me to pass thus lightly over this sacred subject; so I said emphatically, +"Permit me to remark, that I am devotedly attached to the Earl of Windsor; +he is my best friend and benefactor. I reverence his goodness, I accord +with his opinions, and bitterly lament his present, and I trust temporary, +illness. That illness, from its peculiarity, makes it painful to me beyond +words to hear him mentioned, unless in terms of respect and affection." + +Raymond replied; but there was nothing conciliatory in his reply. I saw +that in his heart he despised those dedicated to any but worldly idols. +"Every man," he said, "dreams about something, love, honour, and pleasure; +you dream of friendship, and devote yourself to a maniac; well, if that be +your vocation, doubtless you are in the right to follow it."-- + +Some reflection seemed to sting him, and the spasm of pain that for a +moment convulsed his countenance, checked my indignation. "Happy are +dreamers," he continued, "so that they be not awakened! Would I could +dream! but 'broad and garish day' is the element in which I live; the +dazzling glare of reality inverts the scene for me. Even the ghost of +friendship has departed, and love"----He broke off; nor could I guess +whether the disdain that curled his lip was directed against the passion, +or against himself for being its slave. + +This account may be taken as a sample of my intercourse with Lord Raymond. +I became intimate with him, and each day afforded me occasion to admire +more and more his powerful and versatile talents, that together with his +eloquence, which was graceful and witty, and his wealth now immense, caused +him to be feared, loved, and hated beyond any other man in England. + +My descent, which claimed interest, if not respect, my former connection +with Adrian, the favour of the ambassador, whose secretary I had been, and +now my intimacy with Lord Raymond, gave me easy access to the fashionable +and political circles of England. To my inexperience we at first appeared +on the eve of a civil war; each party was violent, acrimonious, and +unyielding. Parliament was divided by three factions, aristocrats, +democrats, and royalists. After Adrian's declared predeliction to the +republican form of government, the latter party had nearly died away, +chiefless, guideless; but, when Lord Raymond came forward as its leader, it +revived with redoubled force. Some were royalists from prejudice and +ancient affection, and there were many moderately inclined who feared alike +the capricious tyranny of the popular party, and the unbending despotism of +the aristocrats. More than a third of the members ranged themselves under +Raymond, and their number was perpetually encreasing. The aristocrats built +their hopes on their preponderant wealth and influence; the reformers on +the force of the nation itself; the debates were violent, more violent the +discourses held by each knot of politicians as they assembled to arrange +their measures. Opprobrious epithets were bandied about, resistance even to +the death threatened; meetings of the populace disturbed the quiet order of +the country; except in war, how could all this end? Even as the destructive +flames were ready to break forth, I saw them shrink back; allayed by the +absence of the military, by the aversion entertained by every one to any +violence, save that of speech, and by the cordial politeness and even +friendship of the hostile leaders when they met in private society. I was +from a thousand motives induced to attend minutely to the course of events, +and watch each turn with intense anxiety. + +I could not but perceive that Perdita loved Raymond; methought also that he +regarded the fair daughter of Verney with admiration and tenderness. Yet I +knew that he was urging forward his marriage with the presumptive heiress +of the Earldom of Windsor, with keen expectation of the advantages that +would thence accrue to him. All the ex-queen's friends were his friends; no +week passed that he did not hold consultations with her at Windsor. + +I had never seen the sister of Adrian. I had heard that she was lovely, +amiable, and fascinating. Wherefore should I see her? There are times when +we have an indefinable sentiment of impending change for better or for +worse, to arise from an event; and, be it for better or for worse, we fear +the change, and shun the event. For this reason I avoided this high-born +damsel. To me she was everything and nothing; her very name mentioned by +another made me start and tremble; the endless discussion concerning her +union with Lord Raymond was real agony to me. Methought that, Adrian +withdrawn from active life, and this beauteous Idris, a victim probably to +her mother's ambitious schemes, I ought to come forward to protect her from +undue influence, guard her from unhappiness, and secure to her freedom of +choice, the right of every human being. Yet how was I to do this? She +herself would disdain my interference. Since then I must be an object of +indifference or contempt to her, better, far better avoid her, nor expose +myself before her and the scornful world to the chance of playing the mad +game of a fond, foolish Icarus. One day, several months after my return to +England, I quitted London to visit my sister. Her society was my chief +solace and delight; and my spirits always rose at the expectation of seeing +her. Her conversation was full of pointed remark and discernment; in her +pleasant alcove, redolent with sweetest flowers, adorned by magnificent +casts, antique vases, and copies of the finest pictures of Raphael, +Correggio, and Claude, painted by herself, I fancied myself in a fairy +retreat untainted by and inaccessible to the noisy contentions of +politicians and the frivolous pursuits of fashion. On this occasion, my +sister was not alone; nor could I fail to recognise her companion: it was +Idris, the till now unseen object of my mad idolatry. + +In what fitting terms of wonder and delight, in what choice expression and +soft flow of language, can I usher in the loveliest, wisest, best? How in +poor assemblage of words convey the halo of glory that surrounded her, the +thousand graces that waited unwearied on her. The first thing that struck +you on beholding that charming countenance was its perfect goodness and +frankness; candour sat upon her brow, simplicity in her eyes, heavenly +benignity in her smile. Her tall slim figure bent gracefully as a poplar to +the breezy west, and her gait, goddess-like, was as that of a winged angel +new alit from heaven's high floor; the pearly fairness of her complexion +was stained by a pure suffusion; her voice resembled the low, subdued tenor +of a flute. It is easiest perhaps to describe by contrast. I have detailed +the perfections of my sister; and yet she was utterly unlike Idris. +Perdita, even where she loved, was reserved and timid; Idris was frank and +confiding. The one recoiled to solitude, that she might there entrench +herself from disappointment and injury; the other walked forth in open day, +believing that none would harm her. Wordsworth has compared a beloved +female to two fair objects in nature; but his lines always appeared to me +rather a contrast than a similitude: + + A violet by a mossy stone + Half hidden from the eye, + Fair as a star when only one + Is shining in the sky. + +Such a violet was sweet Perdita, trembling to entrust herself to the very +air, cowering from observation, yet betrayed by her excellences; and +repaying with a thousand graces the labour of those who sought her in her +lonely bye-path. Idris was as the star, set in single splendour in the +dim anadem of balmy evening; ready to enlighten and delight the subject +world, shielded herself from every taint by her unimagined distance from +all that was not like herself akin to heaven. + +I found this vision of beauty in Perdita's alcove, in earnest conversation +with its inmate. When my sister saw me, she rose, and taking my hand, said, +"He is here, even at our wish; this is Lionel, my brother." Idris arose +also, and bent on me her eyes of celestial blue, and with grace peculiar +said--"You hardly need an introduction; we have a picture, highly valued +by my father, which declares at once your name. Verney, you will +acknowledge this tie, and as my brother's friend, I feel that I may trust +you." + +Then, with lids humid with a tear and trembling voice, she continued-- +"Dear friends, do not think it strange that now, visiting you for the first +time, I ask your assistance, and confide my wishes and fears to you. To you +alone do I dare speak; I have heard you commended by impartial spectators; +you are my brother's friends, therefore you must be mine. What can I say? +if you refuse to aid me, I am lost indeed!" She cast up her eyes, while +wonder held her auditors mute; then, as if carried away by her feelings, +she cried--"My brother! beloved, ill-fated Adrian! how speak of your +misfortunes? Doubtless you have both heard the current tale; perhaps +believe the slander; but he is not mad! Were an angel from the foot of +God's throne to assert it, never, never would I believe it. He is wronged, +betrayed, imprisoned--save him! Verney, you must do this; seek him out in +whatever part of the island he is immured; find him, rescue him from his +persecutors, restore him to himself, to me--on the wide earth I have none +to love but only him!" + +Her earnest appeal, so sweetly and passionately expressed, filled me with +wonder and sympathy; and, when she added, with thrilling voice and look, +"Do you consent to undertake this enterprize?" I vowed, with energy and +truth, to devote myself in life and death to the restoration and welfare of +Adrian. We then conversed on the plan I should pursue, and discussed the +probable means of discovering his residence. While we were in earnest +discourse, Lord Raymond entered unannounced: I saw Perdita tremble and grow +deadly pale, and the cheeks of Idris glow with purest blushes. He must have +been astonished at our conclave, disturbed by it I should have thought; but +nothing of this appeared; he saluted my companions, and addressed me with a +cordial greeting. Idris appeared suspended for a moment, and then with +extreme sweetness, she said, "Lord Raymond, I confide in your goodness and +honour." + +Smiling haughtily, he bent his head, and replied, with emphasis, "Do you +indeed confide, Lady Idris?" + +She endeavoured to read his thought, and then answered with dignity, "As +you please. It is certainly best not to compromise oneself by any +concealment." + +"Pardon me," he replied, "if I have offended. Whether you trust me or not, +rely on my doing my utmost to further your wishes, whatever they may be." + +Idris smiled her thanks, and rose to take leave. Lord Raymond requested +permission to accompany her to Windsor Castle, to which she consented, and +they quitted the cottage together. My sister and I were left--truly like +two fools, who fancied that they had obtained a golden treasure, till +daylight shewed it to be lead--two silly, luckless flies, who had played +in sunbeams and were caught in a spider's web. I leaned against the +casement, and watched those two glorious creatures, till they disappeared +in the forest-glades; and then I turned. Perdita had not moved; her eyes +fixed on the ground, her cheeks pale, her very lips white, motionless and +rigid, every feature stamped by woe, she sat. Half frightened, I would +have taken her hand; but she shudderingly withdrew it, and strove to +collect herself. I entreated her to speak to me: "Not now," she replied, +"nor do you speak to me, my dear Lionel; you _can_ say nothing, for you know +nothing. I will see you to-morrow; in the meantime, adieu!" She rose, and +walked from the room; but pausing at the door, and leaning against it, as +if her over-busy thoughts had taken from her the power of supporting +herself, she said, "Lord Raymond will probably return. Will you tell him +that he must excuse me to-day, for I am not well. I will see him to-morrow +if he wishes it, and you also. You had better return to London with him; +you can there make the enquiries agreed upon, concerning the Earl of +Windsor and visit me again to-morrow, before you proceed on your +journey--till then, farewell!" + +She spoke falteringly, and concluded with a heavy sigh. I gave my assent to +her request; and she left me. I felt as if, from the order of the +systematic world, I had plunged into chaos, obscure, contrary, +unintelligible. That Raymond should marry Idris was more than ever +intolerable; yet my passion, though a giant from its birth, was too +strange, wild, and impracticable, for me to feel at once the misery I +perceived in Perdita. How should I act? She had not confided in me; I could +not demand an explanation from Raymond without the hazard of betraying what +was perhaps her most treasured secret. I would obtain the truth from her +the following day--in the mean time--But, while I was occupied by +multiplying reflections, Lord Raymond returned. He asked for my sister; and +I delivered her message. After musing on it for a moment, he asked me if I +were about to return to London, and if I would accompany him: I consented. +He was full of thought, and remained silent during a considerable part of +our ride; at length he said, "I must apologize to you for my abstraction; +the truth is, Ryland's motion comes on to-night, and I am considering my +reply." + +Ryland was the leader of the popular party, a hard-headed man, and in his +way eloquent; he had obtained leave to bring in a bill making it treason to +endeavour to change the present state of the English government and the +standing laws of the republic. This attack was directed against Raymond and +his machinations for the restoration of the monarchy. + +Raymond asked me if I would accompany him to the House that evening. I +remembered my pursuit for intelligence concerning Adrian; and, knowing that +my time would be fully occupied, I excused myself. "Nay," said my +companion, "I can free you from your present impediment. You are going to +make enquiries concerning the Earl of Windsor. I can answer them at once, +he is at the Duke of Athol's seat at Dunkeld. On the first approach of his +disorder, he travelled about from one place to another; until, arriving at +that romantic seclusion he refused to quit it, and we made arrangements +with the Duke for his continuing there." + +I was hurt by the careless tone with which he conveyed this information, +and replied coldly: "I am obliged to you for your intelligence, and will +avail myself of it." + +"You shall, Verney," said he, "and if you continue of the same mind, I will +facilitate your views. But first witness, I beseech you, the result of this +night's contest, and the triumph I am about to achieve, if I may so call +it, while I fear that victory is to me defeat. What can I do? My dearest +hopes appear to be near their fulfilment. The ex-queen gives me Idris; +Adrian is totally unfitted to succeed to the earldom, and that earldom in +my hands becomes a kingdom. By the reigning God it is true; the paltry +earldom of Windsor shall no longer content him, who will inherit the rights +which must for ever appertain to the person who possesses it. The Countess +can never forget that she has been a queen, and she disdains to leave a +diminished inheritance to her children; her power and my wit will rebuild +the throne, and this brow will be clasped by a kingly diadem.--I can do +this--I can marry Idris."--- + +He stopped abruptly, his countenance darkened, and its expression changed +again and again under the influence of internal passion. I asked, "Does +Lady Idris love you?" + +"What a question," replied he laughing. "She will of course, as I shall +her, when we are married." + +"You begin late," said I, ironically, "marriage is usually considered the +grave, and not the cradle of love. So you are about to love her, but do not +already?" + +"Do not catechise me, Lionel; I will do my duty by her, be assured. Love! I +must steel my heart against _that_; expel it from its tower of strength, +barricade it out: the fountain of love must cease to play, its waters be +dried up, and all passionate thoughts attendant on it die--that is to +say, the love which would rule me, not that which I rule. Idris is a +gentle, pretty, sweet little girl; it is impossible not to have an +affection for her, and I have a very sincere one; only do not speak of love +--love, the tyrant and the tyrant-queller; love, until now my conqueror, +now my slave; the hungry fire, the untameable beast, the fanged +snake--no--no--I will have nothing to do with that love. Tell me, +Lionel, do you consent that I should marry this young lady?" + +He bent his keen eyes upon me, and my uncontrollable heart swelled in my +bosom. I replied in a calm voice--but how far from calm was the thought +imaged by my still words--"Never! I can never consent that Lady Idris +should be united to one who does not love her." + +"Because you love her yourself." + +"Your Lordship might have spared that taunt; I do not, dare not love her." + +"At least," he continued haughtily, "she does not love you. I would not +marry a reigning sovereign, were I not sure that her heart was free. But, +O, Lionel! a kingdom is a word of might, and gently sounding are the terms +that compose the style of royalty. Were not the mightiest men of the olden +times kings? Alexander was a king; Solomon, the wisest of men, was a king; +Napoleon was a king; Caesar died in his attempt to become one, and +Cromwell, the puritan and king-killer, aspired to regality. The father of +Adrian yielded up the already broken sceptre of England; but I will rear +the fallen plant, join its dismembered frame, and exalt it above all the +flowers of the field. + +"You need not wonder that I freely discover Adrian's abode. Do not +suppose that I am wicked or foolish enough to found my purposed +sovereignty on a fraud, and one so easily discovered as the truth +or falsehood of the Earl's insanity. I am just come from him. Before I +decided on my marriage with Idris, I resolved to see him myself again, and +to judge of the probability of his recovery.--He is irrecoverably mad." + +I gasped for breath-- + +"I will not detail to you," continued Raymond, "the melancholy particulars. +You shall see him, and judge for yourself; although I fear this visit, +useless to him, will be insufferably painful to you. It has weighed on my +spirits ever since. Excellent and gentle as he is even in the downfall of +his reason, I do not worship him as you do, but I would give all my hopes +of a crown and my right hand to boot, to see him restored to himself." + +His voice expressed the deepest compassion: "Thou most unaccountable +being," I cried, "whither will thy actions tend, in all this maze of +purpose in which thou seemest lost?" + +"Whither indeed? To a crown, a golden be-gemmed crown, I hope; and yet I +dare not trust and though I dream of a crown and wake for one, ever and +anon a busy devil whispers to me, that it is but a fool's cap that I seek, +and that were I wise, I should trample on it, and take in its stead, that +which is worth all the crowns of the east and presidentships of the west." + +"And what is that?" + +"If I do make it my choice, then you shall know; at present I dare not +speak, even think of it." + +Again he was silent, and after a pause turned to me laughingly. When scorn +did not inspire his mirth, when it was genuine gaiety that painted his +features with a joyous expression, his beauty became super-eminent, divine. +"Verney," said he, "my first act when I become King of England, will be to +unite with the Greeks, take Constantinople, and subdue all Asia. I intend +to be a warrior, a conqueror; Napoleon's name shall vail to mine; and +enthusiasts, instead of visiting his rocky grave, and exalting the merits +of the fallen, shall adore my majesty, and magnify my illustrious +achievements." + +I listened to Raymond with intense interest. Could I be other than all ear, +to one who seemed to govern the whole earth in his grasping imagination, +and who only quailed when he attempted to rule himself. Then on his word +and will depended my own happiness--the fate of all dear to me. I +endeavoured to divine the concealed meaning of his words. Perdita's name +was not mentioned; yet I could not doubt that love for her caused the +vacillation of purpose that he exhibited. And who was so worthy of love as +my noble-minded sister? Who deserved the hand of this self-exalted king +more than she whose glance belonged to a queen of nations? who loved him, +as he did her; notwithstanding that disappointment quelled her passion, and +ambition held strong combat with his. + +We went together to the House in the evening. Raymond, while he knew that +his plans and prospects were to be discussed and decided during the +expected debate, was gay and careless. An hum, like that of ten thousand +hives of swarming bees, stunned us as we entered the coffee-room. Knots of +politicians were assembled with anxious brows and loud or deep voices. The +aristocratical party, the richest and most influential men in England, +appeared less agitated than the others, for the question was to be +discussed without their interference. Near the fire was Ryland and his +supporters. Ryland was a man of obscure birth and of immense wealth, +inherited from his father, who had been a manufacturer. He had witnessed, +when a young man, the abdication of the king, and the amalgamation of the +two houses of Lords and Commons; he had sympathized with these popular +encroachments, and it had been the business of his life to consolidate and +encrease them. Since then, the influence of the landed proprietors had +augmented; and at first Ryland was not sorry to observe the machinations of +Lord Raymond, which drew off many of his opponent's partizans. But the +thing was now going too far. The poorer nobility hailed the return of +sovereignty, as an event which would restore them to their power and +rights, now lost. The half extinct spirit of royalty roused itself in the +minds of men; and they, willing slaves, self-constituted subjects, were +ready to bend their necks to the yoke. Some erect and manly spirits still +remained, pillars of state; but the word republic had grown stale to the +vulgar ear; and many--the event would prove whether it was a majority-- +pined for the tinsel and show of royalty. Ryland was roused to resistance; +he asserted that his sufferance alone had permitted the encrease of this +party; but the time for indulgence was passed, and with one motion of his +arm he would sweep away the cobwebs that blinded his countrymen. + +When Raymond entered the coffee-room, his presence was hailed by his +friends almost with a shout. They gathered round him, counted their +numbers, and detailed the reasons why they were now to receive an addition +of such and such members, who had not yet declared themselves. Some +trifling business of the House having been gone through, the leaders took +their seats in the chamber; the clamour of voices continued, till Ryland +arose to speak, and then the slightest whispered observation was audible. +All eyes were fixed upon him as he stood--ponderous of frame, sonorous of +voice, and with a manner which, though not graceful, was impressive. I +turned from his marked, iron countenance to Raymond, whose face, veiled by +a smile, would not betray his care; yet his lips quivered somewhat, and his +hand clasped the bench on which he sat, with a convulsive strength that +made the muscles start again. + +Ryland began by praising the present state of the British empire. He +recalled past years to their memory; the miserable contentions which in the +time of our fathers arose almost to civil war, the abdication of the late +king, and the foundation of the republic. He described this republic; +shewed how it gave privilege to each individual in the state, to rise to +consequence, and even to temporary sovereignty. He compared the royal and +republican spirit; shewed how the one tended to enslave the minds of men; +while all the institutions of the other served to raise even the meanest +among us to something great and good. He shewed how England had become +powerful, and its inhabitants valiant and wise, by means of the freedom +they enjoyed. As he spoke, every heart swelled with pride, and every cheek +glowed with delight to remember, that each one there was English, and that +each supported and contributed to the happy state of things now +commemorated. Ryland's fervour increased--his eyes lighted up--his +voice assumed the tone of passion. There was one man, he continued, who +wished to alter all this, and bring us back to our days of impotence and +contention:--one man, who would dare arrogate the honour which was due to +all who claimed England as their birthplace, and set his name and style +above the name and style of his country. I saw at this juncture that +Raymond changed colour; his eyes were withdrawn from the orator, and cast +on the ground; the listeners turned from one to the other; but in the +meantime the speaker's voice filled their ears--the thunder of his +denunciations influenced their senses. The very boldness of his language +gave him weight; each knew that he spoke truth--a truth known, but not +acknowledged. He tore from reality the mask with which she had been +clothed; and the purposes of Raymond, which before had crept around, +ensnaring by stealth, now stood a hunted stag--even at bay--as all +perceived who watched the irrepressible changes of his countenance. Ryland +ended by moving, that any attempt to re-erect the kingly power should be +declared treason, and he a traitor who should endeavour to change the +present form of government. Cheers and loud acclamations followed the close +of his speech. + +After his motion had been seconded, Lord Raymond rose,--his countenance +bland, his voice softly melodious, his manner soothing, his grace and +sweetness came like the mild breathing of a flute, after the loud, +organ-like voice of his adversary. He rose, he said, to speak in favour of +the honourable member's motion, with one slight amendment subjoined. He was +ready to go back to old times, and commemorate the contests of our fathers, +and the monarch's abdication. Nobly and greatly, he said, had the +illustrious and last sovereign of England sacrificed himself to the +apparent good of his country, and divested himself of a power which could +only be maintained by the blood of his subjects--these subjects named so +no more, these, his friends and equals, had in gratitude conferred certain +favours and distinctions on him and his family for ever. An ample estate +was allotted to them, and they took the first rank among the peers of Great +Britain. Yet it might be conjectured that they had not forgotten their +ancient heritage; and it was hard that his heir should suffer alike with +any other pretender, if he attempted to regain what by ancient right and +inheritance belonged to him. He did not say that he should favour such an +attempt; but he did say that such an attempt would be venial; and, if the +aspirant did not go so far as to declare war, and erect a standard in the +kingdom, his fault ought to be regarded with an indulgent eye. In his +amendment he proposed, that an exception should be made in the bill in +favour of any person who claimed the sovereign power in right of the earls +of Windsor. Nor did Raymond make an end without drawing in vivid and glowing +colours, the splendour of a kingdom, in opposition to the commercial spirit +of republicanism. He asserted, that each individual under the English +monarchy, was then as now, capable of attaining high rank and power--with +one only exception, that of the function of chief magistrate; higher and +nobler rank, than a bartering, timorous commonwealth could afford. And for +this one exception, to what did it amount? The nature of riches and +influence forcibly confined the list of candidates to a few of the +wealthiest; and it was much to be feared, that the ill-humour and +contention generated by this triennial struggle, would counterbalance its +advantages in impartial eyes. I can ill record the flow of language and +graceful turns of expression, the wit and easy raillery that gave vigour +and influence to his speech. His manner, timid at first, became firm--his +changeful face was lit up to superhuman brilliancy; his voice, various as +music, was like that enchanting. + +It were useless to record the debate that followed this harangue. Party +speeches were delivered, which clothed the question in cant, and veiled its +simple meaning in a woven wind of words. The motion was lost; Ryland +withdrew in rage and despair; and Raymond, gay and exulting, retired to +dream of his future kingdom. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +IS there such a feeling as love at first sight? And if there be, in what +does its nature differ from love founded in long observation and slow +growth? Perhaps its effects are not so permanent; but they are, while they +last, as violent and intense. We walk the pathless mazes of society, vacant +of joy, till we hold this clue, leading us through that labyrinth to +paradise. Our nature dim, like to an unlighted torch, sleeps in formless +blank till the fire attain it; this life of life, this light to moon, and +glory to the sun. What does it matter, whether the fire be struck from +flint and steel, nourished with care into a flame, slowly communicated to +the dark wick, or whether swiftly the radiant power of light and warmth +passes from a kindred power, and shines at once the beacon and the hope. In +the deepest fountain of my heart the pulses were stirred; around, above, +beneath, the clinging Memory as a cloak enwrapt me. In no one moment of +coming time did I feel as I had done in time gone by. The spirit of Idris +hovered in the air I breathed; her eyes were ever and for ever bent on +mine; her remembered smile blinded my faint gaze, and caused me to walk as +one, not in eclipse, not in darkness and vacancy--but in a new and +brilliant light, too novel, too dazzling for my human senses. On every +leaf, on every small division of the universe, (as on the hyacinth ας is +engraved) was imprinted the talisman of my existence--SHE LIVES! SHE IS! +--I had not time yet to analyze my feeling, to take myself to task, and +leash in the tameless passion; all was one idea, one feeling, one knowledge +--it was my life! + +But the die was cast--Raymond would marry Idris. The merry marriage bells +rung in my ears; I heard the nation's gratulation which followed the union; +the ambitious noble uprose with swift eagle-flight, from the lowly ground +to regal supremacy--and to the love of Idris. Yet, not so! She did not +love him; she had called me her friend; she had smiled on me; to me she had +entrusted her heart's dearest hope, the welfare of Adrian. This reflection +thawed my congealing blood, and again the tide of life and love flowed +impetuously onward, again to ebb as my busy thoughts changed. + +The debate had ended at three in the morning. My soul was in tumults; I +traversed the streets with eager rapidity. Truly, I was mad that night-- +love--which I have named a giant from its birth, wrestled with despair! +My heart, the field of combat, was wounded by the iron heel of the one, +watered by the gushing tears of the other. Day, hateful to me, dawned; I +retreated to my lodgings--I threw myself on a couch--I slept--was it +sleep?--for thought was still alive--love and despair struggled still, +and I writhed with unendurable pain. + +I awoke half stupefied; I felt a heavy oppression on me, but knew not +wherefore; I entered, as it were, the council-chamber of my brain, and +questioned the various ministers of thought therein assembled; too soon I +remembered all; too soon my limbs quivered beneath the tormenting power; +soon, too soon, I knew myself a slave! + +Suddenly, unannounced, Lord Raymond entered my apartment. He came in gaily, +singing the Tyrolese song of liberty; noticed me with a gracious nod, and +threw himself on a sopha opposite the copy of a bust of the Apollo +Belvidere. After one or two trivial remarks, to which I sullenly replied, +he suddenly cried, looking at the bust, "I am called like that victor! Not +a bad idea; the head will serve for my new coinage, and be an omen to all +dutiful subjects of my future success." + +He said this in his most gay, yet benevolent manner, and smiled, not +disdainfully, but in playful mockery of himself. Then his countenance +suddenly darkened, and in that shrill tone peculiar to himself, he cried, +"I fought a good battle last night; higher conquest the plains of Greece +never saw me achieve. Now I am the first man in the state, burthen of every +ballad, and object of old women's mumbled devotions. What are your +meditations? You, who fancy that you can read the human soul, as your +native lake reads each crevice and folding of its surrounding hills--say +what you think of me; king-expectant, angel or devil, which?" + +This ironical tone was discord to my bursting, over-boiling-heart; I was +nettled by his insolence, and replied with bitterness; "There is a spirit, +neither angel or devil, damned to limbo merely." I saw his cheeks become +pale, and his lips whiten and quiver; his anger served but to enkindle +mine, and I answered with a determined look his eyes which glared on me; +suddenly they were withdrawn, cast down, a tear, I thought, wetted the dark +lashes; I was softened, and with involuntary emotion added, "Not that you +are such, my dear lord." + +I paused, even awed by the agitation he evinced; "Yes," he said at length, +rising and biting his lip, as he strove to curb his passion; "Such am I! +You do not know me, Verney; neither you, nor our audience of last night, +nor does universal England know aught of me. I stand here, it would seem, +an elected king; this hand is about to grasp a sceptre; these brows feel in +each nerve the coming diadem. I appear to have strength, power, victory; +standing as a dome-supporting column stands; and I am--a reed! I have +ambition, and that attains its aim; my nightly dreams are realized, my +waking hopes fulfilled; a kingdom awaits my acceptance, my enemies are +overthrown. But here," and he struck his heart with violence, "here is the +rebel, here the stumbling-block; this over-ruling heart, which I may drain +of its living blood; but, while one fluttering pulsation remains, I am its +slave." + +He spoke with a broken voice, then bowed his head, and, hiding his face in +his hands, wept. I was still smarting from my own disappointment; yet this +scene oppressed me even to terror, nor could I interrupt his access of +passion. It subsided at length; and, throwing himself on the couch, he +remained silent and motionless, except that his changeful features shewed a +strong internal conflict. At last he rose, and said in his usual tone of +voice, "The time grows on us, Verney, I must away. Let me not forget my +chiefest errand here. Will you accompany me to Windsor to-morrow? You will +not be dishonoured by my society, and as this is probably the last service, +or disservice you can do me, will you grant my request?" + +He held out his hand with almost a bashful air. Swiftly I thought--Yes, I +will witness the last scene of the drama. Beside which, his mien conquered +me, and an affectionate sentiment towards him, again filled my heart--I +bade him command me. "Aye, that I will," said he gaily, "that's my cue now; +be with me to-morrow morning by seven; be secret and faithful; and you +shall be groom of the stole ere long." + +So saying, he hastened away, vaulted on his horse, and with a gesture as if +he gave me his hand to kiss, bade me another laughing adieu. Left to +myself, I strove with painful intensity to divine the motive of his request +and foresee the events of the coming day. The hours passed on unperceived; +my head ached with thought, the nerves seemed teeming with the over full +fraught--I clasped my burning brow, as if my fevered hand could medicine +its pain. I was punctual to the appointed hour on the following day, and +found Lord Raymond waiting for me. We got into his carriage, and proceeded +towards Windsor. I had tutored myself, and was resolved by no outward sign +to disclose my internal agitation. + +"What a mistake Ryland made," said Raymond, "when he thought to overpower +me the other night. He spoke well, very well; such an harangue would have +succeeded better addressed to me singly, than to the fools and knaves +assembled yonder. Had I been alone, I should have listened to him with a +wish to hear reason, but when he endeavoured to vanquish me in my own +territory, with my own weapons, he put me on my mettle, and the event was +such as all might have expected." + +I smiled incredulously, and replied: "I am of Ryland's way of thinking, and +will, if you please, repeat all his arguments; we shall see how far you +will be induced by them, to change the royal for the patriotic style." + +"The repetition would be useless," said Raymond, "since I well remember +them, and have many others, self-suggested, which speak with unanswerable +persuasion." + +He did not explain himself, nor did I make any remark on his reply. Our +silence endured for some miles, till the country with open fields, or shady +woods and parks, presented pleasant objects to our view. After some +observations on the scenery and seats, Raymond said: "Philosophers have +called man a microcosm of nature, and find a reflection in the internal +mind for all this machinery visibly at work around us. This theory has +often been a source of amusement to me; and many an idle hour have I spent, +exercising my ingenuity in finding resemblances. Does not Lord Bacon say +that, 'the falling from a discord to a concord, which maketh great +sweetness in music, hath an agreement with the affections, which are +re-integrated to the better after some dislikes?' What a sea is the tide of +passion, whose fountains are in our own nature! Our virtues are the +quick-sands, which shew themselves at calm and low water; but let the waves +arise and the winds buffet them, and the poor devil whose hope was in their +durability, finds them sink from under him. The fashions of the world, its +exigencies, educations and pursuits, are winds to drive our wills, like +clouds all one way; but let a thunderstorm arise in the shape of love, +hate, or ambition, and the rack goes backward, stemming the opposing air in +triumph." + +"Yet," replied I, "nature always presents to our eyes the appearance of a +patient: while there is an active principle in man which is capable of +ruling fortune, and at least of tacking against the gale, till it in some +mode conquers it." + +"There is more of what is specious than true in your distinction," said my +companion. "Did we form ourselves, choosing our dispositions, and our +powers? I find myself, for one, as a stringed instrument with chords and +stops--but I have no power to turn the pegs, or pitch my thoughts to a +higher or lower key." + +"Other men," I observed, "may be better musicians." + +"I talk not of others, but myself," replied Raymond, "and I am as fair an +example to go by as another. I cannot set my heart to a particular tune, or +run voluntary changes on my will. We are born; we choose neither our +parents, nor our station; we are educated by others, or by the world's +circumstance, and this cultivation, mingling with our innate disposition, +is the soil in which our desires, passions, and motives grow." + +"There is much truth in what you say," said I, "and yet no man ever acts +upon this theory. Who, when he makes a choice, says, Thus I choose, because +I am necessitated? Does he not on the contrary feel a freedom of will +within him, which, though you may call it fallacious, still actuates him as +he decides?" + +"Exactly so," replied Raymond, "another link of the breakless chain. +Were I now to commit an act which would annihilate my hopes, and +pluck the regal garment from my mortal limbs, to clothe them in ordinary +weeds, would this, think you, be an act of free-will on my part?" + +As we talked thus, I perceived that we were not going the ordinary road to +Windsor, but through Englefield Green, towards Bishopgate Heath. I began to +divine that Idris was not the object of our journey, but that I was brought +to witness the scene that was to decide the fate of Raymond--and of +Perdita. Raymond had evidently vacillated during his journey, and +irresolution was marked in every gesture as we entered Perdita's cottage. I +watched him curiously, determined that, if this hesitation should continue, +I would assist Perdita to overcome herself, and teach her to disdain the +wavering love of him, who balanced between the possession of a crown, and +of her, whose excellence and affection transcended the worth of a +kingdom. + +We found her in her flower-adorned alcove; she was reading the newspaper +report of the debate in parliament, that apparently doomed her to +hopelessness. That heart-sinking feeling was painted in her sunk eyes and +spiritless attitude; a cloud was on her beauty, and frequent sighs were +tokens of her distress. This sight had an instantaneous effect on Raymond; +his eyes beamed with tenderness, and remorse clothed his manners with +earnestness and truth. He sat beside her; and, taking the paper from her +hand, said, "Not a word more shall my sweet Perdita read of this contention +of madmen and fools. I must not permit you to be acquainted with the extent +of my delusion, lest you despise me; although, believe me, a wish to appear +before you, not vanquished, but as a conqueror, inspired me during my wordy +war." + +Perdita looked at him like one amazed; her expressive countenance shone for +a moment with tenderness; to see him only was happiness. But a bitter +thought swiftly shadowed her joy; she bent her eyes on the ground, +endeavouring to master the passion of tears that threatened to overwhelm +her. Raymond continued, "I will not act a part with you, dear girl, or +appear other than what I am, weak and unworthy, more fit to excite your +disdain than your love. Yet you do love me; I feel and know that you do, +and thence I draw my most cherished hopes. If pride guided you, or even +reason, you might well reject me. Do so; if your high heart, incapable of +my infirmity of purpose, refuses to bend to the lowness of mine. Turn from +me, if you will,--if you can. If your whole soul does not urge you to +forgive me--if your entire heart does not open wide its door to admit me +to its very centre, forsake me, never speak to me again. I, though sinning +against you almost beyond remission, I also am proud; there must be no +reserve in your pardon--no drawback to the gift of your affection." + +Perdita looked down, confused, yet pleased. My presence embarrassed her; so +that she dared not turn to meet her lover's eye, or trust her voice to +assure him of her affection; while a blush mantled her cheek, and her +disconsolate air was exchanged for one expressive of deep-felt joy. Raymond +encircled her waist with his arm, and continued, "I do not deny that I have +balanced between you and the highest hope that mortal men can entertain; +but I do so no longer. Take me--mould me to your will, possess my heart +and soul to all eternity. If you refuse to contribute to my happiness, I +quit England to-night, and will never set foot in it again. + +"Lionel, you hear: witness for me: persuade your sister to forgive the +injury I have done her; persuade her to be mine." + +"There needs no persuasion," said the blushing Perdita, "except your own +dear promises, and my ready heart, which whispers to me that they are +true." + +That same evening we all three walked together in the forest, and, with the +garrulity which happiness inspires, they detailed to me the history of +their loves. It was pleasant to see the haughty Raymond and reserved +Perdita changed through happy love into prattling, playful children, both +losing their characteristic dignity in the fulness of mutual contentment. A +night or two ago Lord Raymond, with a brow of care, and a heart oppressed +with thought, bent all his energies to silence or persuade the legislators +of England that a sceptre was not too weighty for his hand, while visions +of dominion, war, and triumph floated before him; now, frolicsome as a +lively boy sporting under his mother's approving eye, the hopes of his +ambition were complete, when he pressed the small fair hand of Perdita to +his lips; while she, radiant with delight, looked on the still pool, not +truly admiring herself, but drinking in with rapture the reflection there +made of the form of herself and her lover, shewn for the first time in dear +conjunction. + +I rambled away from them. If the rapture of assured sympathy was theirs, I +enjoyed that of restored hope. I looked on the regal towers of Windsor. +High is the wall and strong the barrier that separate me from my Star of +Beauty. But not impassible. She will not be his. A few more years dwell in +thy native garden, sweet flower, till I by toil and time acquire a right to +gather thee. Despair not, nor bid me despair! What must I do now? First I +must seek Adrian, and restore him to her. Patience, gentleness, and untired +affection, shall recall him, if it be true, as Raymond says, that he is +mad; energy and courage shall rescue him, if he be unjustly imprisoned. + +After the lovers again joined me, we supped together in the alcove. Truly +it was a fairy's supper; for though the air was perfumed by the scent of +fruits and wine, we none of us either ate or drank--even the beauty of +the night was unobserved; their extasy could not be increased by outward +objects, and I was wrapt in reverie. At about midnight Raymond and I took +leave of my sister, to return to town. He was all gaiety; scraps of songs +fell from his lips; every thought of his mind--every object about us, +gleamed under the sunshine of his mirth. He accused me of melancholy, of +ill-humour and envy. + +"Not so," said I, "though I confess that my thoughts are not occupied as +pleasantly as yours are. You promised to facilitate my visit to Adrian; I +conjure you to perform your promise. I cannot linger here; I long to soothe +--perhaps to cure the malady of my first and best friend. I shall +immediately depart for Dunkeld." + +"Thou bird of night," replied Raymond, "what an eclipse do you throw across +my bright thoughts, forcing me to call to mind that melancholy ruin, which +stands in mental desolation, more irreparable than a fragment of a carved +column in a weed-grown field. You dream that you can restore him? Daedalus +never wound so inextricable an error round Minotaur, as madness has woven +about his imprisoned reason. Nor you, nor any other Theseus, can thread the +labyrinth, to which perhaps some unkind Ariadne has the clue." + +"You allude to Evadne Zaimi: but she is not in England." + +"And were she," said Raymond, "I would not advise her seeing him. Better to +decay in absolute delirium, than to be the victim of the methodical +unreason of ill-bestowed love. The long duration of his malady has probably +erased from his mind all vestige of her; and it were well that it should +never again be imprinted. You will find him at Dunkeld; gentle and +tractable he wanders up the hills, and through the wood, or sits listening +beside the waterfall. You may see him--his hair stuck with wild flowers +--his eyes full of untraceable meaning--his voice broken--his person +wasted to a shadow. He plucks flowers and weeds, and weaves chaplets of +them, or sails yellow leaves and bits of bark on the stream, rejoicing in +their safety, or weeping at their wreck. The very memory half unmans me. By +Heaven! the first tears I have shed since boyhood rushed scalding into my +eyes when I saw him." + +It needed not this last account to spur me on to visit him. I only doubted +whether or not I should endeavour to see Idris again, before I departed. +This doubt was decided on the following day. Early in the morning Raymond +came to me; intelligence had arrived that Adrian was dangerously ill, and +it appeared impossible that his failing strength should surmount the +disorder. "To-morrow," said Raymond, "his mother and sister set out for +Scotland to see him once again." + +"And I go to-day," I cried; "this very hour I will engage a sailing +balloon; I shall be there in forty-eight hours at furthest, perhaps in +less, if the wind is fair. Farewell, Raymond; be happy in having chosen the +better part in life. This turn of fortune revives me. I feared madness, not +sickness--I have a presentiment that Adrian will not die; perhaps this +illness is a crisis, and he may recover." + +Everything favoured my journey. The balloon rose about half a mile from the +earth, and with a favourable wind it hurried through the air, its feathered +vans cleaving the unopposing atmosphere. Notwithstanding the melancholy +object of my journey, my spirits were exhilarated by reviving hope, by the +swift motion of the airy pinnace, and the balmy visitation of the sunny +air. The pilot hardly moved the plumed steerage, and the slender mechanism +of the wings, wide unfurled, gave forth a murmuring noise, soothing to the +sense. Plain and hill, stream and corn-field, were discernible below, while +we unimpeded sped on swift and secure, as a wild swan in his spring-tide +flight. The machine obeyed the slightest motion of the helm; and, the wind +blowing steadily, there was no let or obstacle to our course. Such was the +power of man over the elements; a power long sought, and lately won; yet +foretold in by-gone time by the prince of poets, whose verses I quoted much +to the astonishment of my pilot, when I told him how many hundred years ago +they had been written:-- + + Oh! human wit, thou can'st invent much ill, + Thou searchest strange arts: who would think by skill, + An heavy man like a light bird should stray, + And through the empty heavens find a way? + +I alighted at Perth; and, though much fatigued by a constant exposure to +the air for many hours, I would not rest, but merely altering my mode of +conveyance, I went by land instead of air, to Dunkeld. The sun was rising +as I entered the opening of the hills. After the revolution of ages Birnam +hill was again covered with a young forest, while more aged pines, planted +at the very commencement of the nineteenth century by the then Duke of +Athol, gave solemnity and beauty to the scene. The rising sun first tinged +the pine tops; and my mind, rendered through my mountain education deeply +susceptible of the graces of nature, and now on the eve of again beholding +my beloved and perhaps dying friend, was strangely influenced by the sight +of those distant beams: surely they were ominous, and as such I regarded +them, good omens for Adrian, on whose life my happiness depended. + +Poor fellow! he lay stretched on a bed of sickness, his cheeks glowing with +the hues of fever, his eyes half closed, his breath irregular and +difficult. Yet it was less painful to see him thus, than to find him +fulfilling the animal functions uninterruptedly, his mind sick the while. I +established myself at his bedside; I never quitted it day or night. Bitter +task was it, to behold his spirit waver between death and life: to see his +warm cheek, and know that the very fire which burned too fiercely there, +was consuming the vital fuel; to hear his moaning voice, which might never +again articulate words of love and wisdom; to witness the ineffectual +motions of his limbs, soon to be wrapt in their mortal shroud. Such for +three days and nights appeared the consummation which fate had decreed for +my labours, and I became haggard and spectre-like, through anxiety and +watching. At length his eyes unclosed faintly, yet with a look of returning +life; he became pale and weak; but the rigidity of his features was +softened by approaching convalescence. He knew me. What a brimful cup of +joyful agony it was, when his face first gleamed with the glance of +recognition--when he pressed my hand, now more fevered than his own, and +when he pronounced my name! No trace of his past insanity remained, to dash +my joy with sorrow. + +This same evening his mother and sister arrived. The Countess of Windsor +was by nature full of energetic feeling; but she had very seldom in her +life permitted the concentrated emotions of her heart to shew themselves on +her features. The studied immovability of her countenance; her slow, +equable manner, and soft but unmelodious voice, were a mask, hiding her +fiery passions, and the impatience of her disposition. She did not in the +least resemble either of her children; her black and sparkling eye, lit up +by pride, was totally unlike the blue lustre, and frank, benignant +expression of either Adrian or Idris. There was something grand and +majestic in her motions, but nothing persuasive, nothing amiable. Tall, +thin, and strait, her face still handsome, her raven hair hardly tinged +with grey, her forehead arched and beautiful, had not the eye-brows been +somewhat scattered--it was impossible not to be struck by her, almost to +fear her. Idris appeared to be the only being who could resist her mother, +notwithstanding the extreme mildness of her character. But there was a +fearlessness and frankness about her, which said that she would not +encroach on another's liberty, but held her own sacred and unassailable. + +The Countess cast no look of kindness on my worn-out frame, though +afterwards she thanked me coldly for my attentions. Not so Idris; her first +glance was for her brother; she took his hand, she kissed his eye-lids, and +hung over him with looks of compassion and love. Her eyes glistened with +tears when she thanked me, and the grace of her expressions was enhanced, +not diminished, by the fervour, which caused her almost to falter as she +spoke. Her mother, all eyes and ears, soon interrupted us; and I saw, that +she wished to dismiss me quietly, as one whose services, now that his +relatives had arrived, were of no use to her son. I was harassed and ill, +resolved not to give up my post, yet doubting in what way I should assert +it; when Adrian called me, and clasping my hand, bade me not leave him. His +mother, apparently inattentive, at once understood what was meant, and +seeing the hold we had upon her, yielded the point to us. + +The days that followed were full of pain to me; so that I sometimes +regretted that I had not yielded at once to the haughty lady, who watched +all my motions, and turned my beloved task of nursing my friend to a work +of pain and irritation. Never did any woman appear so entirely made of +mind, as the Countess of Windsor. Her passions had subdued her appetites, +even her natural wants; she slept little, and hardly ate at all; her body +was evidently considered by her as a mere machine, whose health was +necessary for the accomplishment of her schemes, but whose senses formed no +part of her enjoyment. There is something fearful in one who can thus +conquer the animal part of our nature, if the victory be not the effect of +consummate virtue; nor was it without a mixture of this feeling, that I +beheld the figure of the Countess awake when others slept, fasting when I, +abstemious naturally, and rendered so by the fever that preyed on me, was +forced to recruit myself with food. She resolved to prevent or diminish my +opportunities of acquiring influence over her children, and circumvented my +plans by a hard, quiet, stubborn resolution, that seemed not to belong to +flesh and blood. War was at last tacitly acknowledged between us. We had +many pitched battles, during which no word was spoken, hardly a look was +interchanged, but in which each resolved not to submit to the other. The +Countess had the advantage of position; so I was vanquished, though I would +not yield. + +I became sick at heart. My countenance was painted with the hues of ill +health and vexation. Adrian and Idris saw this; they attributed it to my +long watching and anxiety; they urged me to rest, and take care of myself, +while I most truly assured them, that my best medicine was their good +wishes; those, and the assured convalescence of my friend, now daily more +apparent. The faint rose again blushed on his cheek; his brow and lips lost +the ashy paleness of threatened dissolution; such was the dear reward of my +unremitting attention--and bounteous heaven added overflowing recompence, +when it gave me also the thanks and smiles of Idris. + +After the lapse of a few weeks, we left Dunkeld. Idris and her mother +returned immediately to Windsor, while Adrian and I followed by slow +journies and frequent stoppages, occasioned by his continued weakness. As +we traversed the various counties of fertile England, all wore an +exhilarating appearance to my companion, who had been so long secluded by +disease from the enjoyments of weather and scenery. We passed through busy +towns and cultivated plains. The husbandmen were getting in their plenteous +harvests, and the women and children, occupied by light rustic toils, +formed groupes of happy, healthful persons, the very sight of whom carried +cheerfulness to the heart. One evening, quitting our inn, we strolled down +a shady lane, then up a grassy slope, till we came to an eminence, that +commanded an extensive view of hill and dale, meandering rivers, dark +woods, and shining villages. The sun was setting; and the clouds, straying, +like new-shorn sheep, through the vast fields of sky, received the golden +colour of his parting beams; the distant uplands shone out, and the busy +hum of evening came, harmonized by distance, on our ear. Adrian, who felt +all the fresh spirit infused by returning health, clasped his hands in +delight, and exclaimed with transport: + +"O happy earth, and happy inhabitants of earth! A stately palace has God +built for you, O man! and worthy are you of your dwelling! Behold the +verdant carpet spread at our feet, and the azure canopy above; the fields +of earth which generate and nurture all things, and the track of heaven, +which contains and clasps all things. Now, at this evening hour, at the +period of repose and refection, methinks all hearts breathe one hymn of +love and thanksgiving, and we, like priests of old on the mountain-tops, +give a voice to their sentiment. + +"Assuredly a most benignant power built up the majestic fabric we inhabit, +and framed the laws by which it endures. If mere existence, and not +happiness, had been the final end of our being, what need of the profuse +luxuries which we enjoy? Why should our dwelling place be so lovely, and +why should the instincts of nature minister pleasurable sensations? The +very sustaining of our animal machine is made delightful; and our +sustenance, the fruits of the field, is painted with transcendant hues, +endued with grateful odours, and palatable to our taste. Why should this +be, if HE were not good? We need houses to protect us from the seasons, and +behold the materials with which we are provided; the growth of trees with +their adornment of leaves; while rocks of stone piled above the plains +variegate the prospect with their pleasant irregularity. + +"Nor are outward objects alone the receptacles of the Spirit of Good. Look +into the mind of man, where wisdom reigns enthroned; where imagination, the +painter, sits, with his pencil dipt in hues lovelier than those of sunset, +adorning familiar life with glowing tints. What a noble boon, worthy the +giver, is the imagination! it takes from reality its leaden hue: it +envelopes all thought and sensation in a radiant veil, and with an hand of +beauty beckons us from the sterile seas of life, to her gardens, and +bowers, and glades of bliss. And is not love a gift of the divinity? Love, +and her child, Hope, which can bestow wealth on poverty, strength on the +weak, and happiness on the sorrowing. + +"My lot has not been fortunate. I have consorted long with grief, entered +the gloomy labyrinth of madness, and emerged, but half alive. Yet I thank +God that I have lived! I thank God, that I have beheld his throne, the +heavens, and earth, his footstool. I am glad that I have seen the changes +of his day; to behold the sun, fountain of light, and the gentle pilgrim +moon; to have seen the fire bearing flowers of the sky, and the flowery +stars of earth; to have witnessed the sowing and the harvest. I am glad +that I have loved, and have experienced sympathetic joy and sorrow with my +fellow-creatures. I am glad now to feel the current of thought flow through +my mind, as the blood through the articulations of my frame; mere existence +is pleasure; and I thank God that I live! + +"And all ye happy nurslings of mother-earth, do ye not echo my words? Ye +who are linked by the affectionate ties of nature, companions, friends, +lovers! fathers, who toil with joy for their offspring; women, who while +gazing on the living forms of their children, forget the pains of +maternity; children, who neither toil nor spin, but love and are loved! + +"Oh, that death and sickness were banished from our earthly home! that +hatred, tyranny, and fear could no longer make their lair in the human +heart! that each man might find a brother in his fellow, and a nest of +repose amid the wide plains of his inheritance! that the source of tears +were dry, and that lips might no longer form expressions of sorrow. +Sleeping thus under the beneficent eye of heaven, can evil visit thee, O +Earth, or grief cradle to their graves thy luckless children? Whisper it +not, let the demons hear and rejoice! The choice is with us; let us will +it, and our habitation becomes a paradise. For the will of man is +omnipotent, blunting the arrows of death, soothing the bed of disease, and +wiping away the tears of agony. And what is each human being worth, if he +do not put forth his strength to aid his fellow-creatures? My soul is a +fading spark, my nature frail as a spent wave; but I dedicate all of +intellect and strength that remains to me, to that one work, and take upon +me the task, as far as I am able, of bestowing blessings on my +fellow-men!" + +His voice trembled, his eyes were cast up, his hands clasped, and his +fragile person was bent, as it were, with excess of emotion. The spirit of +life seemed to linger in his form, as a dying flame on an altar flickers on +the embers of an accepted sacrifice. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +WHEN we arrived at Windsor, I found that Raymond and Perdita had departed +for the continent. I took possession of my sister's cottage, and blessed +myself that I lived within view of Windsor Castle. It was a curious fact, +that at this period, when by the marriage of Perdita I was allied to one of +the richest individuals in England, and was bound by the most intimate +friendship to its chiefest noble, I experienced the greatest excess of +poverty that I had ever known. My knowledge of the worldly principles of +Lord Raymond, would have ever prevented me from applying to him, however +deep my distress might have been. It was in vain that I repeated to myself +with regard to Adrian, that his purse was open to me; that one in soul, as +we were, our fortunes ought also to be common. I could never, while with +him, think of his bounty as a remedy to my poverty; and I even put aside +hastily his offers of supplies, assuring him of a falsehood, that I needed +them not. How could I say to this generous being, "Maintain me in idleness. +You who have dedicated your powers of mind and fortune to the benefit of +your species, shall you so misdirect your exertions, as to support in +uselessness the strong, healthy, and capable?" + +And yet I dared not request him to use his influence that I might obtain an +honourable provision for myself--for then I should have been obliged to +leave Windsor. I hovered for ever around the walls of its Castle, beneath +its enshadowing thickets; my sole companions were my books and my loving +thoughts. I studied the wisdom of the ancients, and gazed on the happy +walls that sheltered the beloved of my soul. My mind was nevertheless idle. +I pored over the poetry of old times; I studied the metaphysics of Plato +and Berkeley. I read the histories of Greece and Rome, and of England's +former periods, and I watched the movements of the lady of my heart. At +night I could see her shadow on the walls of her apartment; by day I viewed +her in her flower-garden, or riding in the park with her usual companions. +Methought the charm would be broken if I were seen, but I heard the music +of her voice and was happy. I gave to each heroine of whom I read, her +beauty and matchless excellences--such was Antigone, when she guided the +blind Oedipus to the grove of the Eumenides, and discharged the funeral +rites of Polynices; such was Miranda in the unvisited cave of Prospero; +such Haidee, on the sands of the Ionian island. I was mad with excess of +passionate devotion; but pride, tameless as fire, invested my nature, and +prevented me from betraying myself by word or look. + +In the mean time, while I thus pampered myself with rich mental repasts, a +peasant would have disdained my scanty fare, which I sometimes robbed from +the squirrels of the forest. I was, I own, often tempted to recur to the +lawless feats of my boy-hood, and knock down the almost tame pheasants that +perched upon the trees, and bent their bright eyes on me. But they were the +property of Adrian, the nurslings of Idris; and so, although my imagination +rendered sensual by privation, made me think that they would better become +the spit in my kitchen, than the green leaves of the forest, + + Nathelesse, + I checked my haughty will, and did not eat; + +but supped upon sentiment, and dreamt vainly of "such morsels sweet," as +I might not waking attain. + +But, at this period, the whole scheme of my existence was about to change. +The orphan and neglected son of Verney, was on the eve of being linked to +the mechanism of society by a golden chain, and to enter into all the +duties and affections of life. Miracles were to be wrought in my favour, +the machine of social life pushed with vast effort backward. Attend, O +reader! while I narrate this tale of wonders! + +One day as Adrian and Idris were riding through the forest, with their +mother and accustomed companions, Idris, drawing her brother aside from the +rest of the cavalcade, suddenly asked him, "What had become of his friend, +Lionel Verney?" + +"Even from this spot," replied Adrian, pointing to my sister's cottage, +"you can see his dwelling." + +"Indeed!" said Idris, "and why, if he be so near, does he not come to see +us, and make one of our society?" + +"I often visit him," replied Adrian; "but you may easily guess the motives, +which prevent him from coming where his presence may annoy any one among +us." + +"I do guess them," said Idris, "and such as they are, I would not +venture to combat them. Tell me, however, in what way he passes his time; +what he is doing and thinking in his cottage retreat?" + +"Nay, my sweet sister," replied Adrian, "you ask me more than I can well +answer; but if you feel interest in him, why not visit him? He will feel +highly honoured, and thus you may repay a part of the obligation I owe him, +and compensate for the injuries fortune has done him." + +"I will most readily accompany you to his abode," said the lady, "not that +I wish that either of us should unburthen ourselves of our debt, which, +being no less than your life, must remain unpayable ever. But let us go; +to-morrow we will arrange to ride out together, and proceeding towards that +part of the forest, call upon him." + +The next evening therefore, though the autumnal change had brought on cold +and rain, Adrian and Idris entered my cottage. They found me Curius-like, +feasting on sorry fruits for supper; but they brought gifts richer than the +golden bribes of the Sabines, nor could I refuse the invaluable store of +friendship and delight which they bestowed. Surely the glorious twins of +Latona were not more welcome, when, in the infancy of the world, they were +brought forth to beautify and enlighten this "sterile promontory," than +were this angelic pair to my lowly dwelling and grateful heart. We sat like +one family round my hearth. Our talk was on subjects, unconnected with the +emotions that evidently occupied each; but we each divined the other's +thought, and as our voices spoke of indifferent matters, our eyes, in mute +language, told a thousand things no tongue could have uttered. + +They left me in an hour's time. They left me happy--how unspeakably +happy. It did not require the measured sounds of human language to syllable +the story of my extasy. Idris had visited me; Idris I should again and +again see--my imagination did not wander beyond the completeness of this +knowledge. I trod air; no doubt, no fear, no hope even, disturbed me; I +clasped with my soul the fulness of contentment, satisfied, undesiring, +beatified. + +For many days Adrian and Idris continued to visit me thus. In this dear +intercourse, love, in the guise of enthusiastic friendship, infused more +and more of his omnipotent spirit. Idris felt it. Yes, divinity of the +world, I read your characters in her looks and gesture; I heard your +melodious voice echoed by her--you prepared for us a soft and flowery +path, all gentle thoughts adorned it--your name, O Love, was not spoken, +but you stood the Genius of the Hour, veiled, and time, but no mortal hand, +might raise the curtain. Organs of articulate sound did not proclaim the +union of our hearts; for untoward circumstance allowed no opportunity for +the expression that hovered on our lips. Oh my pen! haste thou to write what +was, before the thought of what is, arrests the hand that guides thee. If I +lift up my eyes and see the desart earth, and feel that those dear eyes +have spent their mortal lustre, and that those beauteous lips are silent, +their "crimson leaves" faded, for ever I am mute! + +But you live, my Idris, even now you move before me! There was a glade, O +reader! a grassy opening in the wood; the retiring trees left its velvet +expanse as a temple for love; the silver Thames bounded it on one side, and +a willow bending down dipt in the water its Naiad hair, dishevelled by the +wind's viewless hand. The oaks around were the home of a tribe of +nightingales--there am I now; Idris, in youth's dear prime, is by my side +--remember, I am just twenty-two, and seventeen summers have scarcely +passed over the beloved of my heart. The river swollen by autumnal rains, +deluged the low lands, and Adrian in his favourite boat is employed in the +dangerous pastime of plucking the topmost bough from a submerged oak. Are +you weary of life, O Adrian, that you thus play with danger?-- + +He has obtained his prize, and he pilots his boat through the flood; our +eyes were fixed on him fearfully, but the stream carried him away from us; +he was forced to land far lower down, and to make a considerable circuit +before he could join us. "He is safe!" said Idris, as he leapt on shore, +and waved the bough over his head in token of success; "we will wait for +him here." + +We were alone together; the sun had set; the song of the nightingales +began; the evening star shone distinct in the flood of light, which was yet +unfaded in the west. The blue eyes of my angelic girl were fixed on this +sweet emblem of herself: "How the light palpitates," she said, "which is +that star's life. Its vacillating effulgence seems to say that its state, +even like ours upon earth, is wavering and inconstant; it fears, methinks, +and it loves." + +"Gaze not on the star, dear, generous friend," I cried, "read not love in +its trembling rays; look not upon distant worlds; speak not of the mere +imagination of a sentiment. I have long been silent; long even to sickness +have I desired to speak to you, and submit my soul, my life, my entire +being to you. Look not on the star, dear love, or do, and let that eternal +spark plead for me; let it be my witness and my advocate, silent as it +shines--love is to me as light to the star; even so long as that is +uneclipsed by annihilation, so long shall I love you." + +Veiled for ever to the world's callous eye must be the transport of that +moment. Still do I feel her graceful form press against my full-fraught +heart--still does sight, and pulse, and breath sicken and fail, at the +remembrance of that first kiss. Slowly and silently we went to meet Adrian, +whom we heard approaching. + +I entreated Adrian to return to me after he had conducted his sister home. +And that same evening, walking among the moon-lit forest paths, I poured +forth my whole heart, its transport and its hope, to my friend. For a +moment he looked disturbed--"I might have foreseen this," he said, "what +strife will now ensue! Pardon me, Lionel, nor wonder that the expectation +of contest with my mother should jar me, when else I should delightedly +confess that my best hopes are fulfilled, in confiding my sister to your +protection. If you do not already know it, you will soon learn the deep +hate my mother bears to the name Verney. I will converse with Idris; then +all that a friend can do, I will do; to her it must belong to play the +lover's part, if she be capable of it." + +While the brother and sister were still hesitating in what manner they +could best attempt to bring their mother over to their party, she, +suspecting our meetings, taxed her children with them; taxed her fair +daughter with deceit, and an unbecoming attachment for one whose only merit +was being the son of the profligate favourite of her imprudent father; and +who was doubtless as worthless as he from whom he boasted his descent. The +eyes of Idris flashed at this accusation; she replied, "I do not deny that +I love Verney; prove to me that he is worthless; and I will never see him +more." + +"Dear Madam," said Adrian, "let me entreat you to see him, to cultivate his +friendship. You will wonder then, as I do, at the extent of his +accomplishments, and the brilliancy of his talents." (Pardon me, gentle +reader, this is not futile vanity;--not futile, since to know that Adrian +felt thus, brings joy even now to my lone heart). + +"Mad and foolish boy!" exclaimed the angry lady, "you have chosen with +dreams and theories to overthrow my schemes for your own aggrandizement; +but you shall not do the same by those I have formed for your sister. I but +too well understand the fascination you both labour under; since I had the +same struggle with your father, to make him cast off the parent of this +youth, who hid his evil propensities with the smoothness and subtlety of a +viper. In those days how often did I hear of his attractions, his wide +spread conquests, his wit, his refined manners. It is well when flies only +are caught by such spiders' webs; but is it for the high-born and powerful +to bow their necks to the flimsy yoke of these unmeaning pretensions? Were +your sister indeed the insignificant person she deserves to be, I would +willingly leave her to the fate, the wretched fate, of the wife of a man, +whose very person, resembling as it does his wretched father, ought to +remind you of the folly and vice it typifies--but remember, Lady Idris, +it is not alone the once royal blood of England that colours your veins, +you are a Princess of Austria, and every life-drop is akin to emperors and +kings. Are you then a fit mate for an uneducated shepherd-boy, whose only +inheritance is his father's tarnished name?" + +"I can make but one defence," replied Idris, "the same offered by my +brother; see Lionel, converse with my shepherd-boy"---The Countess +interrupted her indignantly--"Yours!"--she cried: and then, smoothing +her impassioned features to a disdainful smile, she continued--"We will +talk of this another time. All I now ask, all your mother, Idris, requests +is, that you will not see this upstart during the interval of one month." + +"I dare not comply," said Idris, "it would pain him too much. I have no +right to play with his feelings, to accept his proffered love, and then +sting him with neglect." + +"This is going too far," her mother answered, with quivering lips, and eyes +again instinct by anger. + +"Nay, Madam," said Adrian, "unless my sister consent never to see him +again, it is surely an useless torment to separate them for a month." + +"Certainly," replied the ex-queen, with bitter scorn, "his love, and her +love, and both their childish flutterings, are to be put in fit comparison +with my years of hope and anxiety, with the duties of the offspring of +kings, with the high and dignified conduct which one of her descent ought +to pursue. But it is unworthy of me to argue and complain. Perhaps you will +have the goodness to promise me not to marry during that interval?" + +This was asked only half ironically; and Idris wondered why her mother +should extort from her a solemn vow not to do, what she had never dreamed +of doing--but the promise was required and given. + +All went on cheerfully now; we met as usual, and talked without dread of +our future plans. The Countess was so gentle, and even beyond her wont, +amiable with her children, that they began to entertain hopes of her +ultimate consent. She was too unlike them, too utterly alien to their +tastes, for them to find delight in her society, or in the prospect of its +continuance, but it gave them pleasure to see her conciliating and kind. +Once even, Adrian ventured to propose her receiving me. She refused with a +smile, reminding him that for the present his sister had promised to be +patient. + +One day, after the lapse of nearly a month, Adrian received a letter from a +friend in London, requesting his immediate presence for the furtherance of +some important object. Guileless himself, Adrian feared no deceit. I rode +with him as far as Staines: he was in high spirits; and, since I could not +see Idris during his absence, he promised a speedy return. His gaiety, +which was extreme, had the strange effect of awakening in me contrary +feelings; a presentiment of evil hung over me; I loitered on my return; I +counted the hours that must elapse before I saw Idris again. Wherefore +should this be? What evil might not happen in the mean time? Might not her +mother take advantage of Adrian's absence to urge her beyond her +sufferance, perhaps to entrap her? I resolved, let what would befall, to +see and converse with her the following day. This determination soothed me. +To-morrow, loveliest and best, hope and joy of my life, to-morrow I will +see thee--Fool, to dream of a moment's delay! + +I went to rest. At past midnight I was awaked by a violent knocking. It was +now deep winter; it had snowed, and was still snowing; the wind whistled in +the leafless trees, despoiling them of the white flakes as they fell; its +drear moaning, and the continued knocking, mingled wildly with my dreams-- +at length I was wide awake; hastily dressing myself, I hurried to discover +the cause of this disturbance, and to open my door to the unexpected +visitor. Pale as the snow that showered about her, with clasped hands, +Idris stood before me. "Save me!" she exclaimed, and would have sunk to the +ground had I not supported her. In a moment however she revived, and, with +energy, almost with violence, entreated me to saddle horses, to take her +away, away to London--to her brother--at least to save her. I had no +horses--she wrung her hands. "What can I do?" she cried, "I am lost--we +are both for ever lost! But come--come with me, Lionel; here I must not +stay,--we can get a chaise at the nearest post-house; yet perhaps we have +time! come, O come with me to save and protect me!" + +When I heard her piteous demands, while with disordered dress, dishevelled +hair, and aghast looks, she wrung her hands--the idea shot across me is +she also mad?--"Sweet one," and I folded her to my heart, "better repose +than wander further;--rest--my beloved, I will make a fire--you are +chill." + +"Rest!" she cried, "repose! you rave, Lionel! If you delay we are lost; +come, I pray you, unless you would cast me off for ever." + +That Idris, the princely born, nursling of wealth and luxury, should have +come through the tempestuous winter-night from her regal abode, and +standing at my lowly door, conjure me to fly with her through darkness and +storm--was surely a dream--again her plaintive tones, the sight of her +loveliness assured me that it was no vision. Looking timidly around, as if +she feared to be overheard, she whispered: "I have discovered--to-morrow +--that is, to-day--already the to-morrow is come--before dawn, +foreigners, Austrians, my mother's hirelings, are to carry me off to +Germany, to prison, to marriage--to anything, except you and my brother +--take me away, or soon they will be here!" + +I was frightened by her vehemence, and imagined some mistake in her +incoherent tale; but I no longer hesitated to obey her. She had come by +herself from the Castle, three long miles, at midnight, through the heavy +snow; we must reach Englefield Green, a mile and a half further, before we +could obtain a chaise. She told me, that she had kept up her strength and +courage till her arrival at my cottage, and then both failed. Now she could +hardly walk. Supporting her as I did, still she lagged: and at the distance +of half a mile, after many stoppages, shivering fits, and half faintings, +she slipt from my supporting arm on the snow, and with a torrent of tears +averred that she must be taken, for that she could not proceed. I lifted +her up in my arms; her light form rested on my breast.--I felt no +burthen, except the internal one of contrary and contending emotions. +Brimming delight now invested me. Again her chill limbs touched me as a +torpedo; and I shuddered in sympathy with her pain and fright. Her head lay +on my shoulder, her breath waved my hair, her heart beat near mine, +transport made me tremble, blinded me, annihilated me--till a suppressed +groan, bursting from her lips, the chattering of her teeth, which she +strove vainly to subdue, and all the signs of suffering she evinced, +recalled me to the necessity of speed and succour. At last I said to her, +"There is Englefield Green; there the inn. But, if you are seen thus +strangely circumstanced, dear Idris, even now your enemies may learn your +flight too soon: were it not better that I hired the chaise alone? I will +put you in safety meanwhile, and return to you immediately." + +She answered that I was right, and might do with her as I pleased. I +observed the door of a small out-house a-jar. I pushed it open; and, with +some hay strewed about, I formed a couch for her, placing her exhausted +frame on it, and covering her with my cloak. I feared to leave her, she +looked so wan and faint--but in a moment she re-acquired animation, and, +with that, fear; and again she implored me not to delay. To call up the +people of the inn, and obtain a conveyance and horses, even though I +harnessed them myself, was the work of many minutes; minutes, each +freighted with the weight of ages. I caused the chaise to advance a little, +waited till the people of the inn had retired, and then made the post-boy +draw up the carriage to the spot where Idris, impatient, and now somewhat +recovered, stood waiting for me. I lifted her into the chaise; I assured +her that with our four horses we should arrive in London before five +o'clock, the hour when she would be sought and missed. I besought her to +calm herself; a kindly shower of tears relieved her, and by degrees she +related her tale of fear and peril. + +That same night after Adrian's departure, her mother had warmly +expostulated with her on the subject of her attachment to me. Every motive, +every threat, every angry taunt was urged in vain. She seemed to consider +that through me she had lost Raymond; I was the evil influence of her life; +I was even accused of encreasing and confirming the mad and base apostacy +of Adrian from all views of advancement and grandeur; and now this +miserable mountaineer was to steal her daughter. Never, Idris related, did +the angry lady deign to recur to gentleness and persuasion; if she had, the +task of resistance would have been exquisitely painful. As it was, the +sweet girl's generous nature was roused to defend, and ally herself with, +my despised cause. Her mother ended with a look of contempt and covert +triumph, which for a moment awakened the suspicions of Idris. When they +parted for the night, the Countess said, "To-morrow I trust your tone will +be changed: be composed; I have agitated you; go to rest; and I will send +you a medicine I always take when unduly restless--it will give you a +quiet night." + +By the time that she had with uneasy thoughts laid her fair cheek upon her +pillow, her mother's servant brought a draught; a suspicion again crossed +her at this novel proceeding, sufficiently alarming to determine her not to +take the potion; but dislike of contention, and a wish to discover whether +there was any just foundation for her conjectures, made her, she said, +almost instinctively, and in contradiction to her usual frankness, pretend +to swallow the medicine. Then, agitated as she had been by her mother's +violence, and now by unaccustomed fears, she lay unable to sleep, starting +at every sound. Soon her door opened softly, and on her springing up, she +heard a whisper, "Not asleep yet," and the door again closed. With a +beating heart she expected another visit, and when after an interval her +chamber was again invaded, having first assured herself that the intruders +were her mother and an attendant, she composed herself to feigned sleep. A +step approached her bed, she dared not move, she strove to calm her +palpitations, which became more violent, when she heard her mother say +mutteringly, "Pretty simpleton, little do you think that your game is +already at an end for ever." + +For a moment the poor girl fancied that her mother believed that she had +drank poison: she was on the point of springing up; when the Countess, +already at a distance from the bed, spoke in a low voice to her companion, +and again Idris listened: "Hasten," said she, "there is no time to lose-- +it is long past eleven; they will be here at five; take merely the clothes +necessary for her journey, and her jewel-casket." The servant obeyed; few +words were spoken on either side; but those were caught at with avidity by +the intended victim. She heard the name of her own maid mentioned;--"No, +no," replied her mother, "she does not go with us; Lady Idris must forget +England, and all belonging to it." And again she heard, "She will not wake +till late to-morrow, and we shall then be at sea."----"All is ready," at +length the woman announced. The Countess again came to her daughter's +bedside: "In Austria at least," she said, "you will obey. In Austria, where +obedience can be enforced, and no choice left but between an honourable +prison and a fitting marriage." + +Both then withdrew; though, as she went, the Countess said, "Softly; all +sleep; though all have not been prepared for sleep, like her. I would not +have any one suspect, or she might be roused to resistance, and perhaps +escape. Come with me to my room; we will remain there till the hour agreed +upon." They went. Idris, panic-struck, but animated and strengthened even +by her excessive fear, dressed herself hurriedly, and going down a flight +of back-stairs, avoiding the vicinity of her mother's apartment, she +contrived to escape from the castle by a low window, and came through snow, +wind, and obscurity to my cottage; nor lost her courage, until she arrived, +and, depositing her fate in my hands, gave herself up to the desperation +and weariness that overwhelmed her. + +I comforted her as well as I might. Joy and exultation, were mine, to +possess, and to save her. Yet not to excite fresh agitation in her, "per +non turbar quel bel viso sereno," I curbed my delight. I strove to quiet +the eager dancing of my heart; I turned from her my eyes, beaming with too +much tenderness, and proudly, to dark night, and the inclement atmosphere, +murmured the expressions of my transport. We reached London, methought, all +too soon; and yet I could not regret our speedy arrival, when I witnessed +the extasy with which my beloved girl found herself in her brother's arms, +safe from every evil, under his unblamed protection. + +Adrian wrote a brief note to his mother, informing her that Idris was under +his care and guardianship. Several days elapsed, and at last an answer +came, dated from Cologne. "It was useless," the haughty and disappointed +lady wrote, "for the Earl of Windsor and his sister to address again the +injured parent, whose only expectation of tranquillity must be derived from +oblivion of their existence. Her desires had been blasted, her schemes +overthrown. She did not complain; in her brother's court she would find, +not compensation for their disobedience (filial unkindness admitted of +none), but such a state of things and mode of life, as might best reconcile +her to her fate. Under such circumstances, she positively declined any +communication with them." + +Such were the strange and incredible events, that finally brought about my +union with the sister of my best friend, with my adored Idris. With +simplicity and courage she set aside the prejudices and opposition which +were obstacles to my happiness, nor scrupled to give her hand, where she +had given her heart. To be worthy of her, to raise myself to her height +through the exertion of talents and virtue, to repay her love with devoted, +unwearied tenderness, were the only thanks I could offer for the matchless +gift. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +AND now let the reader, passing over some short period of time, be +introduced to our happy circle. Adrian, Idris and I, were established in +Windsor Castle; Lord Raymond and my sister, inhabited a house which the +former had built on the borders of the Great Park, near Perdita's cottage, +as was still named the low-roofed abode, where we two, poor even in hope, +had each received the assurance of our felicity. We had our separate +occupations and our common amusements. Sometimes we passed whole days under +the leafy covert of the forest with our books and music. This occurred +during those rare days in this country, when the sun mounts his etherial +throne in unclouded majesty, and the windless atmosphere is as a bath of +pellucid and grateful water, wrapping the senses in tranquillity. When the +clouds veiled the sky, and the wind scattered them there and here, rending +their woof, and strewing its fragments through the aerial plains--then we +rode out, and sought new spots of beauty and repose. When the frequent +rains shut us within doors, evening recreation followed morning study, +ushered in by music and song. Idris had a natural musical talent; and her +voice, which had been carefully cultivated, was full and sweet. Raymond and +I made a part of the concert, and Adrian and Perdita were devout listeners. +Then we were as gay as summer insects, playful as children; we ever met one +another with smiles, and read content and joy in each other's countenances. +Our prime festivals were held in Perdita's cottage; nor were we ever weary +of talking of the past or dreaming of the future. Jealousy and disquiet +were unknown among us; nor did a fear or hope of change ever disturb our +tranquillity. Others said, We might be happy--we said--We are. + +When any separation took place between us, it generally so happened, that +Idris and Perdita would ramble away together, and we remained to discuss +the affairs of nations, and the philosophy of life. The very difference of +our dispositions gave zest to these conversations. Adrian had the +superiority in learning and eloquence; but Raymond possessed a quick +penetration, and a practical knowledge of life, which usually displayed +itself in opposition to Adrian, and thus kept up the ball of discussion. At +other times we made excursions of many days' duration, and crossed the +country to visit any spot noted for beauty or historical association. +Sometimes we went up to London, and entered into the amusements of the busy +throng; sometimes our retreat was invaded by visitors from among them. This +change made us only the more sensible to the delights of the intimate +intercourse of our own circle, the tranquillity of our divine forest, and +our happy evenings in the halls of our beloved Castle. + +The disposition of Idris was peculiarly frank, soft, and affectionate. Her +temper was unalterably sweet; and although firm and resolute on any point +that touched her heart, she was yielding to those she loved. The nature of +Perdita was less perfect; but tenderness and happiness improved her temper, +and softened her natural reserve. Her understanding was clear and +comprehensive, her imagination vivid; she was sincere, generous, and +reasonable. Adrian, the matchless brother of my soul, the sensitive and +excellent Adrian, loving all, and beloved by all, yet seemed destined not +to find the half of himself, which was to complete his happiness. He often +left us, and wandered by himself in the woods, or sailed in his little +skiff, his books his only companions. He was often the gayest of our party, +at the same time that he was the only one visited by fits of despondency; +his slender frame seemed overcharged with the weight of life, and his soul +appeared rather to inhabit his body than unite with it. I was hardly more +devoted to my Idris than to her brother, and she loved him as her teacher, +her friend, the benefactor who had secured to her the fulfilment of her +dearest wishes. Raymond, the ambitious, restless Raymond, reposed midway on +the great high-road of life, and was content to give up all his schemes of +sovereignty and fame, to make one of us, the flowers of the field. His +kingdom was the heart of Perdita, his subjects her thoughts; by her he was +loved, respected as a superior being, obeyed, waited on. No office, no +devotion, no watching was irksome to her, as it regarded him. She would sit +apart from us and watch him; she would weep for joy to think that he was +hers. She erected a temple for him in the depth of her being, and each +faculty was a priestess vowed to his service. Sometimes she might be +wayward and capricious; but her repentance was bitter, her return entire, +and even this inequality of temper suited him who was not formed by nature +to float idly down the stream of life. + +During the first year of their marriage, Perdita presented Raymond with a +lovely girl. It was curious to trace in this miniature model the very +traits of its father. The same half-disdainful lips and smile of triumph, +the same intelligent eyes, the same brow and chestnut hair; her very hands +and taper fingers resembled his. How very dear she was to Perdita! In +progress of time, I also became a father, and our little darlings, our +playthings and delights, called forth a thousand new and delicious +feelings. + +Years passed thus,--even years. Each month brought forth its successor, +each year one like to that gone by; truly, our lives were a living comment +on that beautiful sentiment of Plutarch, that "our souls have a natural +inclination to love, being born as much to love, as to feel, to reason, to +understand and remember." We talked of change and active pursuits, but +still remained at Windsor, incapable of violating the charm that attached +us to our secluded life. + + Pareamo aver qui tutto il ben raccolto + Che fra mortali in più parte si rimembra. + +Now also that our children gave us occupation, we found excuses for +our idleness, in the idea of bringing them up to a more splendid +career. At length our tranquillity was disturbed, and the course of events, +which for five years had flowed on in hushing tranquillity, was broken by +breakers and obstacles, that woke us from our pleasant dream. + +A new Lord Protector of England was to be chosen; and, at Raymond's +request, we removed to London, to witness, and even take a part in the +election. If Raymond had been united to Idris, this post had been his +stepping-stone to higher dignity; and his desire for power and fame had +been crowned with fullest measure. He had exchanged a sceptre for a lute, a +kingdom for Perdita. + +Did he think of this as we journeyed up to town? I watched him, but could +make but little of him. He was particularly gay, playing with his child, +and turning to sport every word that was uttered. Perhaps he did this +because he saw a cloud upon Perdita's brow. She tried to rouse herself, but +her eyes every now and then filled with tears, and she looked wistfully on +Raymond and her girl, as if fearful that some evil would betide them. And +so she felt. A presentiment of ill hung over her. She leaned from the +window looking on the forest, and the turrets of the Castle, and as these +became hid by intervening objects, she passionately exclaimed--"Scenes of +happiness! scenes sacred to devoted love, when shall I see you again! and +when I see ye, shall I be still the beloved and joyous Perdita, or shall I, +heart-broken and lost, wander among your groves, the ghost of what I +am!" + +"Why, silly one," cried Raymond, "what is your little head pondering +upon, that of a sudden you have become so sublimely dismal? Cheer up, or I +shall make you over to Idris, and call Adrian into the carriage, who, I see +by his gesture, sympathizes with my good spirits." + +Adrian was on horseback; he rode up to the carriage, and his gaiety, in +addition to that of Raymond, dispelled my sister's melancholy. We entered +London in the evening, and went to our several abodes near Hyde Park. + +The following morning Lord Raymond visited me early. "I come to you," he +said, "only half assured that you will assist me in my project, but +resolved to go through with it, whether you concur with me or not. Promise +me secrecy however; for if you will not contribute to my success, at least +you must not baffle me." + +"Well, I promise. And now---" + +"And now, my dear fellow, for what are we come to London? To be present at +the election of a Protector, and to give our yea or nay for his shuffling +Grace of----? or for that noisy Ryland? Do you believe, Verney, that I +brought you to town for that? No, we will have a Protector of our own. We +will set up a candidate, and ensure his success. We will nominate Adrian, +and do our best to bestow on him the power to which he is entitled by his +birth, and which he merits through his virtues. + +"Do not answer; I know all your objections, and will reply to them in +order. First, Whether he will or will not consent to become a great man? +Leave the task of persuasion on that point to me; I do not ask you to +assist me there. Secondly, Whether he ought to exchange his employment of +plucking blackberries, and nursing wounded partridges in the forest, for +the command of a nation? My dear Lionel, we are married men, and find +employment sufficient in amusing our wives, and dancing our children. But +Adrian is alone, wifeless, childless, unoccupied. I have long observed him. +He pines for want of some interest in life. His heart, exhausted by his +early sufferings, reposes like a new-healed limb, and shrinks from all +excitement. But his understanding, his charity, his virtues, want a field +for exercise and display; and we will procure it for him. Besides, is it +not a shame, that the genius of Adrian should fade from the earth like a +flower in an untrod mountain-path, fruitless? Do you think Nature composed +his surpassing machine for no purpose? Believe me, he was destined to be +the author of infinite good to his native England. Has she not bestowed on +him every gift in prodigality?--birth, wealth, talent, goodness? Does not +every one love and admire him? and does he not delight singly in such +efforts as manifest his love to all? Come, I see that you are already +persuaded, and will second me when I propose him to-night in parliament." + +"You have got up all your arguments in excellent order," I replied; "and, +if Adrian consent, they are unanswerable. One only condition I would make, +--that you do nothing without his concurrence." + +"I believe you are in the right," said Raymond; "although I had thought at +first to arrange the affair differently. Be it so. I will go instantly to +Adrian; and, if he inclines to consent, you will not destroy my labour by +persuading him to return, and turn squirrel again in Windsor Forest. Idris, +you will not act the traitor towards me?" + +"Trust me," replied she, "I will preserve a strict neutrality." + +"For my part," said I, "I am too well convinced of the worth of our friend, +and the rich harvest of benefits that all England would reap from his +Protectorship, to deprive my countrymen of such a blessing, if he consent +to bestow it on them." + +In the evening Adrian visited us.--"Do you cabal also against me," said +he, laughing; "and will you make common cause with Raymond, in dragging a +poor visionary from the clouds to surround him with the fire-works and +blasts of earthly grandeur, instead of heavenly rays and airs? I thought +you knew me better." + +"I do know you better," I replied "than to think that you would be happy in +such a situation; but the good you would do to others may be an inducement, +since the time is probably arrived when you can put your theories into +practice, and you may bring about such reformation and change, as will +conduce to that perfect system of government which you delight to +portray." + +"You speak of an almost-forgotten dream," said Adrian, his countenance +slightly clouding as he spoke; "the visions of my boyhood have long since +faded in the light of reality; I know now that I am not a man fitted to +govern nations; sufficient for me, if I keep in wholesome rule the little +kingdom of my own mortality. + +"But do not you see, Lionel, the drift of our noble friend; a drift, +perhaps, unknown to himself, but apparent to me. Lord Raymond was never +born to be a drone in the hive, and to find content in our pastoral life. +He thinks, that he ought to be satisfied; he imagines, that his present +situation precludes the possibility of aggrandisement; he does not +therefore, even in his own heart, plan change for himself. But do you not +see, that, under the idea of exalting me, he is chalking out a new path for +himself; a path of action from which he has long wandered? + +"Let us assist him. He, the noble, the warlike, the great in every quality +that can adorn the mind and person of man; he is fitted to be the Protector +of England. If I--that is, if we propose him, he will assuredly be +elected, and will find, in the functions of that high office, scope for the +towering powers of his mind. Even Perdita will rejoice. Perdita, in whom +ambition was a covered fire until she married Raymond, which event was for +a time the fulfilment of her hopes; Perdita will rejoice in the glory and +advancement of her lord--and, coyly and prettily, not be discontented +with her share. In the mean time, we, the wise of the land, will return to +our Castle, and, Cincinnatus-like, take to our usual labours, until our +friend shall require our presence and assistance here." + +The more Adrian reasoned upon this scheme, the more feasible it appeared. +His own determination never to enter into public life was insurmountable, +and the delicacy of his health was a sufficient argument against it. The +next step was to induce Raymond to confess his secret wishes for dignity +and fame. He entered while we were speaking. The way in which Adrian had +received his project for setting him up as a candidate for the +Protectorship, and his replies, had already awakened in his mind, the view +of the subject which we were now discussing. His countenance and manner +betrayed irresolution and anxiety; but the anxiety arose from a fear that +we should not prosecute, or not succeed in our idea; and his irresolution, +from a doubt whether we should risk a defeat. A few words from us decided +him, and hope and joy sparkled in his eyes; the idea of embarking in a +career, so congenial to his early habits and cherished wishes, made him as +before energetic and bold. We discussed his chances, the merits of the +other candidates, and the dispositions of the voters. + +After all we miscalculated. Raymond had lost much of his popularity, and +was deserted by his peculiar partizans. Absence from the busy stage had +caused him to be forgotten by the people; his former parliamentary +supporters were principally composed of royalists, who had been willing to +make an idol of him when he appeared as the heir of the Earldom of Windsor; +but who were indifferent to him, when he came forward with no other +attributes and distinctions than they conceived to be common to many among +themselves. Still he had many friends, admirers of his transcendent +talents; his presence in the house, his eloquence, address and imposing +beauty, were calculated to produce an electric effect. Adrian also, +notwithstanding his recluse habits and theories, so adverse to the spirit +of party, had many friends, and they were easily induced to vote for a +candidate of his selection. + +The Duke of----, and Mr. Ryland, Lord Raymond's old antagonist, were the +other candidates. The Duke was supported by all the aristocrats of the +republic, who considered him their proper representative. Ryland was the +popular candidate; when Lord Raymond was first added to the list, his +chance of success appeared small. We retired from the debate which had +followed on his nomination: we, his nominators, mortified; he dispirited to +excess. Perdita reproached us bitterly. Her expectations had been strongly +excited; she had urged nothing against our project, on the contrary, she +was evidently pleased by it; but its evident ill success changed the +current of her ideas. She felt, that, once awakened, Raymond would never +return unrepining to Windsor. His habits were unhinged; his restless mind +roused from its sleep, ambition must now be his companion through life; and +if he did not succeed in his present attempt, she foresaw that unhappiness +and cureless discontent would follow. Perhaps her own disappointment added +a sting to her thoughts and words; she did not spare us, and our own +reflections added to our disquietude. + +It was necessary to follow up our nomination, and to persuade Raymond to +present himself to the electors on the following evening. For a long time +he was obstinate. He would embark in a balloon; he would sail for a distant +quarter of the world, where his name and humiliation were unknown. But this +was useless; his attempt was registered; his purpose published to the +world; his shame could never be erased from the memories of men. It was as +well to fail at last after a struggle, as to fly now at the beginning of +his enterprise. + +From the moment that he adopted this idea, he was changed. His depression +and anxiety fled; he became all life and activity. The smile of triumph +shone on his countenance; determined to pursue his object to the uttermost, +his manner and expression seem ominous of the accomplishment of his wishes. +Not so Perdita. She was frightened by his gaiety, for she dreaded a greater +revulsion at the end. If his appearance even inspired us with hope, it only +rendered the state of her mind more painful. She feared to lose sight of +him; yet she dreaded to remark any change in the temper of his mind. She +listened eagerly to him, yet tantalized herself by giving to his words a +meaning foreign to their true interpretation, and adverse to her hopes. She +dared not be present at the contest; yet she remained at home a prey to +double solicitude. She wept over her little girl; she looked, she spoke, as +if she dreaded the occurrence of some frightful calamity. She was half mad +from the effects of uncontrollable agitation. + +Lord Raymond presented himself to the house with fearless confidence and +insinuating address. After the Duke of----and Mr. Ryland had finished +their speeches, he commenced. Assuredly he had not conned his lesson; and +at first he hesitated, pausing in his ideas, and in the choice of his +expressions. By degrees he warmed; his words flowed with ease, his language +was full of vigour, and his voice of persuasion. He reverted to his past +life, his successes in Greece, his favour at home. Why should he lose this, +now that added years, prudence, and the pledge which his marriage gave to +his country, ought to encrease, rather than diminish his claims to +confidence? He spoke of the state of England; the necessary measures to be +taken to ensure its security, and confirm its prosperity. He drew a glowing +picture of its present situation. As he spoke, every sound was hushed, +every thought suspended by intense attention. His graceful elocution +enchained the senses of his hearers. In some degree also he was fitted to +reconcile all parties. His birth pleased the aristocracy; his being the +candidate recommended by Adrian, a man intimately allied to the popular +party, caused a number, who had no great reliance either on the Duke or Mr. +Ryland, to range on his side. + +The contest was keen and doubtful. Neither Adrian nor myself would have +been so anxious, if our own success had depended on our exertions; but we +had egged our friend on to the enterprise, and it became us to ensure his +triumph. Idris, who entertained the highest opinion of his abilities, was +warmly interested in the event: and my poor sister, who dared not hope, and +to whom fear was misery, was plunged into a fever of disquietude. + +Day after day passed while we discussed our projects for the evening, and +each night was occupied by debates which offered no conclusion. At last the +crisis came: the night when parliament, which had so long delayed its +choice, must decide: as the hour of twelve passed, and the new day began, +it was by virtue of the constitution dissolved, its power extinct. + +We assembled at Raymond's house, we and our partizans. At half past five +o'clock we proceeded to the House. Idris endeavoured to calm Perdita; but +the poor girl's agitation deprived her of all power of self-command. She +walked up and down the room,--gazed wildly when any one entered, fancying +that they might be the announcers of her doom. I must do justice to my +sweet sister: it was not for herself that she was thus agonized. She alone +knew the weight which Raymond attached to his success. Even to us he +assumed gaiety and hope, and assumed them so well, that we did not divine +the secret workings of his mind. Sometimes a nervous trembling, a sharp +dissonance of voice, and momentary fits of absence revealed to Perdita the +violence he did himself; but we, intent on our plans, observed only his +ready laugh, his joke intruded on all occasions, the flow of his spirits +which seemed incapable of ebb. Besides, Perdita was with him in his +retirement; she saw the moodiness that succeeded to this forced hilarity; +she marked his disturbed sleep, his painful irritability--once she had +seen his tears--hers had scarce ceased to flow, since she had beheld the +big drops which disappointed pride had caused to gather in his eye, but +which pride was unable to dispel. What wonder then, that her feelings were +wrought to this pitch! I thus accounted to myself for her agitation; but +this was not all, and the sequel revealed another excuse. + +One moment we seized before our departure, to take leave of our beloved +girls. I had small hope of success, and entreated Idris to watch over my +sister. As I approached the latter, she seized my hand, and drew me into +another apartment; she threw herself into my arms, and wept and sobbed +bitterly and long. I tried to soothe her; I bade her hope; I asked what +tremendous consequences would ensue even on our failure. "My brother," she +cried, "protector of my childhood, dear, most dear Lionel, my fate hangs by +a thread. I have you all about me now--you, the companion of my infancy; +Adrian, as dear to me as if bound by the ties of blood; Idris, the sister +of my heart, and her lovely offspring. This, O this may be the last time +that you will surround me thus!" + +Abruptly she stopped, and then cried: "What have I said?--foolish false +girl that I am!" She looked wildly on me, and then suddenly calming +herself, apologized for what she called her unmeaning words, saying that +she must indeed be insane, for, while Raymond lived, she must be happy; and +then, though she still wept, she suffered me tranquilly to depart. Raymond +only took her hand when he went, and looked on her expressively; she +answered by a look of intelligence and assent. + +Poor girl! what she then suffered! I could never entirely forgive Raymond +for the trials he imposed on her, occasioned as they were by a selfish +feeling on his part. He had schemed, if he failed in his present attempt, +without taking leave of any of us, to embark for Greece, and never again to +revisit England. Perdita acceded to his wishes; for his contentment was the +chief object of her life, the crown of her enjoyment; but to leave us all, +her companions, the beloved partners of her happiest years, and in the +interim to conceal this frightful determination, was a task that almost +conquered her strength of mind. She had been employed in arranging for +their departure; she had promised Raymond during this decisive evening, to +take advantage of our absence, to go one stage of the journey, and he, +after his defeat was ascertained, would slip away from us, and join her. + +Although, when I was informed of this scheme, I was bitterly offended by +the small attention which Raymond paid to my sister's feelings, I was led +by reflection to consider, that he acted under the force of such strong +excitement, as to take from him the consciousness, and, consequently, the +guilt of a fault. If he had permitted us to witness his agitation, he would +have been more under the guidance of reason; but his struggles for the shew +of composure, acted with such violence on his nerves, as to destroy his +power of self-command. I am convinced that, at the worst, he would have +returned from the seashore to take leave of us, and to make us the partners +of his council. But the task imposed on Perdita was not the less painful. +He had extorted from her a vow of secrecy; and her part of the drama, since +it was to be performed alone, was the most agonizing that could be devised. +But to return to my narrative. + +The debates had hitherto been long and loud; they had often been protracted +merely for the sake of delay. But now each seemed fearful lest the fatal +moment should pass, while the choice was yet undecided. Unwonted silence +reigned in the house, the members spoke in whispers, and the ordinary +business was transacted with celerity and quietness. During the first stage +of the election, the Duke of----had been thrown out; the question +therefore lay between Lord Raymond and Mr. Ryland. The latter had felt +secure of victory, until the appearance of Raymond; and, since his name had +been inserted as a candidate, he had canvassed with eagerness. He had +appeared each evening, impatience and anger marked in his looks, scowling +on us from the opposite side of St. Stephen's, as if his mere frown would +cast eclipse on our hopes. + +Every thing in the English constitution had been regulated for the better +preservation of peace. On the last day, two candidates only were allowed to +remain; and to obviate, if possible, the last struggle between these, a +bribe was offered to him who should voluntarily resign his pretensions; a +place of great emolument and honour was given him, and his success +facilitated at a future election. Strange to say however, no instance had +yet occurred, where either candidate had had recourse to this expedient; in +consequence the law had become obsolete, nor had been referred to by any of +us in our discussions. To our extreme surprise, when it was moved that we +should resolve ourselves into a committee for the election of the Lord +Protector, the member who had nominated Ryland, rose and informed us that +this candidate had resigned his pretensions. His information was at first +received with silence; a confused murmur succeeded; and, when the chairman +declared Lord Raymond duly chosen, it amounted to a shout of applause and +victory. It seemed as if, far from any dread of defeat even if Mr. Ryland +had not resigned, every voice would have been united in favour of our +candidate. In fact, now that the idea of contest was dismissed, all hearts +returned to their former respect and admiration of our accomplished friend. +Each felt, that England had never seen a Protector so capable of fulfilling +the arduous duties of that high office. One voice made of many voices, +resounded through the chamber; it syllabled the name of Raymond. + +He entered. I was on one of the highest seats, and saw him walk up the +passage to the table of the speaker. The native modesty of his disposition +conquered the joy of his triumph. He looked round timidly; a mist seemed +before his eyes. Adrian, who was beside me, hastened to him, and jumping +down the benches, was at his side in a moment. His appearance re-animated +our friend; and, when he came to speak and act, his hesitation vanished, +and he shone out supreme in majesty and victory. The former Protector +tendered him the oaths, and presented him with the insignia of office, +performing the ceremonies of installation. The house then dissolved. The +chief members of the state crowded round the new magistrate, and conducted +him to the palace of government. Adrian suddenly vanished; and, by the time +that Raymond's supporters were reduced to our intimate friends merely, +returned leading Idris to congratulate her friend on his success. + +But where was Perdita? In securing solicitously an unobserved retreat in +case of failure, Raymond had forgotten to arrange the mode by which she was +to hear of his success; and she had been too much agitated to revert to +this circumstance. When Idris entered, so far had Raymond forgotten +himself, that he asked for my sister; one word, which told of her +mysterious disappearance, recalled him. Adrian it is true had already gone +to seek the fugitive, imagining that her tameless anxiety had led her to +the purlieus of the House, and that some sinister event detained her. But +Raymond, without explaining himself, suddenly quitted us, and in another +moment we heard him gallop down the street, in spite of the wind and rain +that scattered tempest over the earth. We did not know how far he had to +go, and soon separated, supposing that in a short time he would return to +the palace with Perdita, and that they would not be sorry to find +themselves alone. + +Perdita had arrived with her child at Dartford, weeping and inconsolable. +She directed everything to be prepared for the continuance of their +journey, and placing her lovely sleeping charge on a bed, passed several +hours in acute suffering. Sometimes she observed the war of elements, +thinking that they also declared against her, and listened to the pattering +of the rain in gloomy despair. Sometimes she hung over her child, tracing +her resemblance to the father, and fearful lest in after life she should +display the same passions and uncontrollable impulses, that rendered him +unhappy. Again, with a gush of pride and delight, she marked in the +features of her little girl, the same smile of beauty that often irradiated +Raymond's countenance. The sight of it soothed her. She thought of the +treasure she possessed in the affections of her lord; of his +accomplishments, surpassing those of his contemporaries, his genius, his +devotion to her.--Soon she thought, that all she possessed in the world, +except him, might well be spared, nay, given with delight, a propitiatory +offering, to secure the supreme good she retained in him. Soon she +imagined, that fate demanded this sacrifice from her, as a mark she was +devoted to Raymond, and that it must be made with cheerfulness. She figured +to herself their life in the Greek isle he had selected for their retreat; +her task of soothing him; her cares for the beauteous Clara, her rides in +his company, her dedication of herself to his consolation. The picture then +presented itself to her in such glowing colours, that she feared the +reverse, and a life of magnificence and power in London; where Raymond +would no longer be hers only, nor she the sole source of happiness to him. +So far as she merely was concerned, she began to hope for defeat; and it +was only on his account that her feelings vacillated, as she heard him +gallop into the court-yard of the inn. That he should come to her alone, +wetted by the storm, careless of every thing except speed, what else could +it mean, than that, vanquished and solitary, they were to take their way +from native England, the scene of shame, and hide themselves in the myrtle +groves of the Grecian isles? + +In a moment she was in his arms. The knowledge of his success had become so +much a part of himself, that he forgot that it was necessary to impart it +to his companion. She only felt in his embrace a dear assurance that while +he possessed her, he would not despair. "This is kind," she cried; "this is +noble, my own beloved! O fear not disgrace or lowly fortune, while you have +your Perdita; fear not sorrow, while our child lives and smiles. Let us go +even where you will; the love that accompanies us will prevent our +regrets." + +Locked in his embrace, she spoke thus, and cast back her head, seeking an +assent to her words in his eyes--they were sparkling with ineffable +delight. "Why, my little Lady Protectress," said he, playfully, "what is +this you say? And what pretty scheme have you woven of exile and obscurity, +while a brighter web, a gold-enwoven tissue, is that which, in truth, you +ought to contemplate?" + +He kissed her brow--but the wayward girl, half sorry at his triumph, +agitated by swift change of thought, hid her face in his bosom and wept. He +comforted her; he instilled into her his own hopes and desires; and soon +her countenance beamed with sympathy. How very happy were they that night! +How full even to bursting was their sense of joy! + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +HAVING seen our friend properly installed in his new office, we turned our +eyes towards Windsor. The nearness of this place to London was such, as to +take away the idea of painful separation, when we quitted Raymond and +Perdita. We took leave of them in the Protectoral Palace. It was pretty +enough to see my sister enter as it were into the spirit of the drama, and +endeavour to fill her station with becoming dignity. Her internal pride and +humility of manner were now more than ever at war. Her timidity was not +artificial, but arose from that fear of not being properly appreciated, +that slight estimation of the neglect of the world, which also +characterized Raymond. But then Perdita thought more constantly of others +than he; and part of her bashfulness arose from a wish to take from those +around her a sense of inferiority; a feeling which never crossed her mind. +From the circumstances of her birth and education, Idris would have been +better fitted for the formulae of ceremony; but the very ease which +accompanied such actions with her, arising from habit, rendered them +tedious; while, with every drawback, Perdita evidently enjoyed her +situation. She was too full of new ideas to feel much pain when we +departed; she took an affectionate leave of us, and promised to visit us +soon; but she did not regret the circumstances that caused our separation. +The spirits of Raymond were unbounded; he did not know what to do with his +new got power; his head was full of plans; he had as yet decided on none-- +but he promised himself, his friends, and the world, that the aera of his +Protectorship should be signalized by some act of surpassing glory. Thus, we +talked of them, and moralized, as with diminished numbers we returned to +Windsor Castle. We felt extreme delight at our escape from political +turmoil, and sought our solitude with redoubled zest. We did not want for +occupation; but my eager disposition was now turned to the field of +intellectual exertion only; and hard study I found to be an excellent +medicine to allay a fever of spirit with which in indolence, I should +doubtless have been assailed. Perdita had permitted us to take Clara back +with us to Windsor; and she and my two lovely infants were perpetual +sources of interest and amusement. + +The only circumstance that disturbed our peace, was the health of Adrian. +It evidently declined, without any symptom which could lead us to suspect +his disease, unless indeed his brightened eyes, animated look, and +flustering cheeks, made us dread consumption; but he was without pain or +fear. He betook himself to books with ardour, and reposed from study in the +society he best loved, that of his sister and myself. Sometimes he went up +to London to visit Raymond, and watch the progress of events. Clara often +accompanied him in these excursions; partly that she might see her parents, +partly because Adrian delighted in the prattle, and intelligent looks of +this lovely child. + +Meanwhile all went on well in London. The new elections were finished; +parliament met, and Raymond was occupied in a thousand beneficial schemes. +Canals, aqueducts, bridges, stately buildings, and various edifices for +public utility, were entered upon; he was continually surrounded by +projectors and projects, which were to render England one scene of +fertility and magnificence; the state of poverty was to be abolished; men +were to be transported from place to place almost with the same facility as +the Princes Houssain, Ali, and Ahmed, in the Arabian Nights. The physical +state of man would soon not yield to the beatitude of angels; disease was +to be banished; labour lightened of its heaviest burden. Nor did this seem +extravagant. The arts of life, and the discoveries of science had augmented +in a ratio which left all calculation behind; food sprung up, so to say, +spontaneously--machines existed to supply with facility every want of the +population. An evil direction still survived; and men were not happy, not +because they could not, but because they would not rouse themselves to +vanquish self-raised obstacles. Raymond was to inspire them with his +beneficial will, and the mechanism of society, once systematised according +to faultless rules, would never again swerve into disorder. For these hopes +he abandoned his long-cherished ambition of being enregistered in the +annals of nations as a successful warrior; laying aside his sword, peace +and its enduring glories became his aim--the title he coveted was that of +the benefactor of his country. + +Among other works of art in which he was engaged, he had projected the +erection of a national gallery for statues and pictures. He possessed many +himself, which he designed to present to the Republic; and, as the edifice +was to be the great ornament of his Protectorship, he was very fastidious +in his choice of the plan on which it would be built. Hundreds were brought +to him and rejected. He sent even to Italy and Greece for drawings; but, as +the design was to be characterized by originality as well as by perfect +beauty, his endeavours were for a time without avail. At length a drawing +came, with an address where communications might be sent, and no artist's +name affixed. The design was new and elegant, but faulty; so faulty, that +although drawn with the hand and eye of taste, it was evidently the work of +one who was not an architect. Raymond contemplated it with delight; the +more he gazed, the more pleased he was; and yet the errors multiplied under +inspection. He wrote to the address given, desiring to see the draughtsman, +that such alterations might be made, as should be suggested in a +consultation between him and the original conceiver. + +A Greek came. A middle-aged man, with some intelligence of manner, but with +so common-place a physiognomy, that Raymond could scarcely believe that he +was the designer. He acknowledged that he was not an architect; but the +idea of the building had struck him, though he had sent it without the +smallest hope of its being accepted. He was a man of few words. Raymond +questioned him; but his reserved answers soon made him turn from the man to +the drawing. He pointed out the errors, and the alterations that he wished +to be made; he offered the Greek a pencil that he might correct the sketch +on the spot; this was refused by his visitor, who said that he perfectly +understood, and would work at it at home. At length Raymond suffered him to +depart. + +The next day he returned. The design had been re-drawn; but many defects +still remained, and several of the instructions given had been +misunderstood. "Come," said Raymond, "I yielded to you yesterday, now +comply with my request--take the pencil." + +The Greek took it, but he handled it in no artist-like way; at length he +said: "I must confess to you, my Lord, that I did not make this drawing. It +is impossible for you to see the real designer; your instructions must pass +through me. Condescend therefore to have patience with my ignorance, and to +explain your wishes to me; in time I am certain that you will be +satisfied." + +Raymond questioned vainly; the mysterious Greek would say no more. Would an +architect be permitted to see the artist? This also was refused. Raymond +repeated his instructions, and the visitor retired. Our friend resolved +however not to be foiled in his wish. He suspected, that unaccustomed +poverty was the cause of the mystery, and that the artist was unwilling to +be seen in the garb and abode of want. Raymond was only the more excited by +this consideration to discover him; impelled by the interest he took in +obscure talent, he therefore ordered a person skilled in such matters, to +follow the Greek the next time he came, and observe the house in which he +should enter. His emissary obeyed, and brought the desired intelligence. He +had traced the man to one of the most penurious streets in the metropolis. +Raymond did not wonder, that, thus situated, the artist had shrunk from +notice, but he did not for this alter his resolve. + +On the same evening, he went alone to the house named to him. Poverty, +dirt, and squalid misery characterized its appearance. Alas! thought +Raymond, I have much to do before England becomes a Paradise. He knocked; +the door was opened by a string from above--the broken, wretched +staircase was immediately before him, but no person appeared; he knocked +again, vainly--and then, impatient of further delay, he ascended the +dark, creaking stairs. His main wish, more particularly now that he +witnessed the abject dwelling of the artist, was to relieve one, possessed +of talent, but depressed by want. He pictured to himself a youth, whose +eyes sparkled with genius, whose person was attenuated by famine. He half +feared to displease him; but he trusted that his generous kindness would be +administered so delicately, as not to excite repulse. What human heart is +shut to kindness? and though poverty, in its excess, might render the +sufferer unapt to submit to the supposed degradation of a benefit, the zeal +of the benefactor must at last relax him into thankfulness. These thoughts +encouraged Raymond, as he stood at the door of the highest room of the +house. After trying vainly to enter the other apartments, he perceived just +within the threshold of this one, a pair of small Turkish slippers; the +door was ajar, but all was silent within. It was probable that the inmate +was absent, but secure that he had found the right person, our adventurous +Protector was tempted to enter, to leave a purse on the table, and silently +depart. In pursuance of this idea, he pushed open the door gently--but +the room was inhabited. + +Raymond had never visited the dwellings of want, and the scene that now +presented itself struck him to the heart. The floor was sunk in many +places; the walls ragged and bare--the ceiling weather-stained--a +tattered bed stood in the corner; there were but two chairs in the room, +and a rough broken table, on which was a light in a tin candlestick;--yet +in the midst of such drear and heart sickening poverty, there was an air of +order and cleanliness that surprised him. The thought was fleeting; for his +attention was instantly drawn towards the inhabitant of this wretched +abode. It was a female. She sat at the table; one small hand shaded her +eyes from the candle; the other held a pencil; her looks were fixed on a +drawing before her, which Raymond recognized as the design presented to +him. Her whole appearance awakened his deepest interest. Her dark hair was +braided and twined in thick knots like the head-dress of a Grecian statue; +her garb was mean, but her attitude might have been selected as a model of +grace. Raymond had a confused remembrance that he had seen such a form +before; he walked across the room; she did not raise her eyes, merely +asking in Romaic, who is there? "A friend," replied Raymond in the same +dialect. She looked up wondering, and he saw that it was Evadne Zaimi. +Evadne, once the idol of Adrian's affections; and who, for the sake of her +present visitor, had disdained the noble youth, and then, neglected by him +she loved, with crushed hopes and a stinging sense of misery, had returned +to her native Greece. What revolution of fortune could have brought her to +England, and housed her thus? + +Raymond recognized her; and his manner changed from polite beneficence to +the warmest protestations of kindness and sympathy. The sight of her, in +her present situation, passed like an arrow into his soul. He sat by her, +he took her hand, and said a thousand things which breathed the deepest +spirit of compassion and affection. Evadne did not answer; her large dark +eyes were cast down, at length a tear glimmered on the lashes. "Thus," she +cried, "kindness can do, what no want, no misery ever effected; I weep." +She shed indeed many tears; her head sunk unconsciously on the shoulder of +Raymond; he held her hand: he kissed her sunken tear-stained cheek. He told +her, that her sufferings were now over: no one possessed the art of +consoling like Raymond; he did not reason or declaim, but his look shone +with sympathy; he brought pleasant images before the sufferer; his caresses +excited no distrust, for they arose purely from the feeling which leads a +mother to kiss her wounded child; a desire to demonstrate in every possible +way the truth of his feelings, and the keenness of his wish to pour balm +into the lacerated mind of the unfortunate. As Evadne regained her +composure, his manner became even gay; he sported with the idea of her +poverty. Something told him that it was not its real evils that lay heavily +at her heart, but the debasement and disgrace attendant on it; as he +talked, he divested it of these; sometimes speaking of her fortitude with +energetic praise; then, alluding to her past state, he called her his +Princess in disguise. He made her warm offers of service; she was too much +occupied by more engrossing thoughts, either to accept or reject them; at +length he left her, making a promise to repeat his visit the next day. He +returned home, full of mingled feelings, of pain excited by Evadne's +wretchedness, and pleasure at the prospect of relieving it. Some motive for +which he did not account, even to himself, prevented him from relating his +adventure to Perdita. + +The next day he threw such disguise over his person as a cloak afforded, +and revisited Evadne. As he went, he bought a basket of costly fruits, such +as were natives of her own country, and throwing over these various +beautiful flowers, bore it himself to the miserable garret of his friend. +"Behold," cried he, as he entered, "what bird's food I have brought for my +sparrow on the house-top." + +Evadne now related the tale of her misfortunes. Her father, though of high +rank, had in the end dissipated his fortune, and even destroyed his +reputation and influence through a course of dissolute indulgence. His +health was impaired beyond hope of cure; and it became his earnest wish, +before he died, to preserve his daughter from the poverty which would be +the portion of her orphan state. He therefore accepted for her, and +persuaded her to accede to, a proposal of marriage, from a wealthy Greek +merchant settled at Constantinople. She quitted her native Greece; her +father died; by degrees she was cut off from all the companions and ties of +her youth. + +The war, which about a year before the present time had broken out between +Greece and Turkey, brought about many reverses of fortune. Her husband +became bankrupt, and then in a tumult and threatened massacre on the part +of the Turks, they were obliged to fly at midnight, and reached in an open +boat an English vessel under sail, which brought them immediately to this +island. The few jewels they had saved, supported them awhile. The whole +strength of Evadne's mind was exerted to support the failing spirits of her +husband. Loss of property, hopelessness as to his future prospects, the +inoccupation to which poverty condemned him, combined to reduce him to a +state bordering on insanity. Five months after their arrival in England, he +committed suicide. + +"You will ask me," continued Evadne, "what I have done since; why I have +not applied for succour to the rich Greeks resident here; why I have not +returned to my native country? My answer to these questions must needs +appear to you unsatisfactory, yet they have sufficed to lead me on, day +after day, enduring every wretchedness, rather than by such means to seek +relief. Shall the daughter of the noble, though prodigal Zaimi, appear a +beggar before her compeers or inferiors--superiors she had none. Shall I +bow my head before them, and with servile gesture sell my nobility for +life? Had I a child, or any tie to bind me to existence, I might descend to +this--but, as it is--the world has been to me a harsh step-mother; fain +would I leave the abode she seems to grudge, and in the grave forget my +pride, my struggles, my despair. The time will soon come; grief and famine +have already sapped the foundations of my being; a very short time, and I +shall have passed away; unstained by the crime of self-destruction, unstung +by the memory of degradation, my spirit will throw aside the miserable +coil, and find such recompense as fortitude and resignation may deserve. +This may seem madness to you, yet you also have pride and resolution; do +not then wonder that my pride is tameless, my resolution unalterable." + +Having thus finished her tale, and given such an account as she deemed fit, +of the motives of her abstaining from all endeavour to obtain aid from her +countrymen, Evadne paused; yet she seemed to have more to say, to which she +was unable to give words. In the mean time Raymond was eloquent. His desire +of restoring his lovely friend to her rank in society, and to her lost +prosperity, animated him, and he poured forth with energy, all his wishes +and intentions on that subject. But he was checked; Evadne exacted a +promise, that he should conceal from all her friends her existence in +England. "The relatives of the Earl of Windsor," said she haughtily, +"doubtless think that I injured him; perhaps the Earl himself would be the +first to acquit me, but probably I do not deserve acquittal. I acted then, +as I ever must, from impulse. This abode of penury may at least prove the +disinterestedness of my conduct. No matter: I do not wish to plead my cause +before any of them, not even before your Lordship, had you not first +discovered me. The tenor of my actions will prove that I had rather die, +than be a mark for scorn--behold the proud Evadne in her tatters! look on +the beggar-princess! There is aspic venom in the thought--promise me that +my secret shall not be violated by you." + +Raymond promised; but then a new discussion ensued. Evadne required another +engagement on his part, that he would not without her concurrence enter +into any project for her benefit, nor himself offer relief. "Do not degrade +me in my own eyes," she said; "poverty has long been my nurse; hard-visaged +she is, but honest. If dishonour, or what I conceive to be dishonour, come +near me, I am lost." Raymond adduced many arguments and fervent persuasions +to overcome her feeling, but she remained unconvinced; and, agitated by the +discussion, she wildly and passionately made a solemn vow, to fly and hide +herself where he never could discover her, where famine would soon bring +death to conclude her woes, if he persisted in his to her disgracing +offers. She could support herself, she said. And then she shewed him how, +by executing various designs and paintings, she earned a pittance for her +support. Raymond yielded for the present. He felt assured, after he had for +awhile humoured her self-will, that in the end friendship and reason would +gain the day. + +But the feelings that actuated Evadne were rooted in the depths of her +being, and were such in their growth as he had no means of understanding. +Evadne loved Raymond. He was the hero of her imagination, the image carved +by love in the unchanged texture of her heart. Seven years ago, in her +youthful prime, she had become attached to him; he had served her country +against the Turks; he had in her own land acquired that military glory +peculiarly dear to the Greeks, since they were still obliged inch by inch +to fight for their security. Yet when he returned thence, and first +appeared in public life in England, her love did not purchase his, which +then vacillated between Perdita and a crown. While he was yet undecided, +she had quitted England; the news of his marriage reached her, and her +hopes, poorly nurtured blossoms, withered and fell. The glory of life was +gone for her; the roseate halo of love, which had imbued every object with +its own colour, faded;--she was content to take life as it was, and to +make the best of leaden-coloured reality. She married; and, carrying her +restless energy of character with her into new scenes, she turned her +thoughts to ambition, and aimed at the title and power of Princess of +Wallachia; while her patriotic feelings were soothed by the idea of the +good she might do her country, when her husband should be chief of this +principality. She lived to find ambition, as unreal a delusion as love. Her +intrigues with Russia for the furtherance of her object, excited the +jealousy of the Porte, and the animosity of the Greek government. She was +considered a traitor by both, the ruin of her husband followed; they +avoided death by a timely flight, and she fell from the height of her +desires to penury in England. Much of this tale she concealed from Raymond; +nor did she confess, that repulse and denial, as to a criminal convicted of +the worst of crimes, that of bringing the scythe of foreign despotism to +cut away the new springing liberties of her country, would have followed +her application to any among the Greeks. + +She knew that she was the cause of her husband's utter ruin; and she strung +herself to bear the consequences. The reproaches which agony extorted; or +worse, cureless, uncomplaining depression, when his mind was sunk in a +torpor, not the less painful because it was silent and moveless. She +reproached herself with the crime of his death; guilt and its punishments +appeared to surround her; in vain she endeavoured to allay remorse by the +memory of her real integrity; the rest of the world, and she among them, +judged of her actions, by their consequences. She prayed for her husband's +soul; she conjured the Supreme to place on her head the crime of his +self-destruction--she vowed to live to expiate his fault. + +In the midst of such wretchedness as must soon have destroyed her, one +thought only was matter of consolation. She lived in the same country, +breathed the same air as Raymond. His name as Protector was the burthen of +every tongue; his achievements, projects, and magnificence, the argument of +every story. Nothing is so precious to a woman's heart as the glory and +excellence of him she loves; thus in every horror Evadne revelled in his +fame and prosperity. While her husband lived, this feeling was regarded by +her as a crime, repressed, repented of. When he died, the tide of love +resumed its ancient flow, it deluged her soul with its tumultuous waves, +and she gave herself up a prey to its uncontrollable power. + +But never, O, never, should he see her in her degraded state. Never should +he behold her fallen, as she deemed, from her pride of beauty, the +poverty-stricken inhabitant of a garret, with a name which had become a +reproach, and a weight of guilt on her soul. But though impenetrably veiled +from him, his public office permitted her to become acquainted with all his +actions, his daily course of life, even his conversation. She allowed +herself one luxury, she saw the newspapers every day, and feasted on the +praise and actions of the Protector. Not that this indulgence was devoid of +accompanying grief. Perdita's name was for ever joined with his; their +conjugal felicity was celebrated even by the authentic testimony of facts. +They were continually together, nor could the unfortunate Evadne read the +monosyllable that designated his name, without, at the same time, being +presented with the image of her who was the faithful companion of all his +labours and pleasures. They, their Excellencies, met her eyes in each line, +mingling an evil potion that poisoned her very blood. + +It was in the newspaper that she saw the advertisement for the design for a +national gallery. Combining with taste her remembrance of the edifices +which she had seen in the east, and by an effort of genius enduing them +with unity of design, she executed the plan which had been sent to the +Protector. She triumphed in the idea of bestowing, unknown and forgotten as +she was, a benefit upon him she loved; and with enthusiastic pride looked +forward to the accomplishment of a work of hers, which, immortalized in +stone, would go down to posterity stamped with the name of Raymond. She +awaited with eagerness the return of her messenger from the palace; she +listened insatiate to his account of each word, each look of the Protector; +she felt bliss in this communication with her beloved, although he knew not +to whom he addressed his instructions. The drawing itself became ineffably +dear to her. He had seen it, and praised it; it was again retouched by her, +each stroke of her pencil was as a chord of thrilling music, and bore to +her the idea of a temple raised to celebrate the deepest and most +unutterable emotions of her soul. These contemplations engaged her, when +the voice of Raymond first struck her ear, a voice, once heard, never to be +forgotten; she mastered her gush of feelings, and welcomed him with quiet +gentleness. + +Pride and tenderness now struggled, and at length made a compromise +together. She would see Raymond, since destiny had led him to her, and her +constancy and devotion must merit his friendship. But her rights with +regard to him, and her cherished independence, should not be injured by the +idea of interest, or the intervention of the complicated feelings attendant +on pecuniary obligation, and the relative situations of the benefactor, and +benefited. Her mind was of uncommon strength; she could subdue her sensible +wants to her mental wishes, and suffer cold, hunger and misery, rather than +concede to fortune a contested point. Alas! that in human nature such a +pitch of mental discipline, and disdainful negligence of nature itself, +should not have been allied to the extreme of moral excellence! But the +resolution that permitted her to resist the pains of privation, sprung from +the too great energy of her passions; and the concentrated self-will of +which this was a sign, was destined to destroy even the very idol, to +preserve whose respect she submitted to this detail of wretchedness. + +Their intercourse continued. By degrees Evadne related to her friend the +whole of her story, the stain her name had received in Greece, the weight +of sin which had accrued to her from the death of her husband. When Raymond +offered to clear her reputation, and demonstrate to the world her real +patriotism, she declared that it was only through her present sufferings +that she hoped for any relief to the stings of conscience; that, in her +state of mind, diseased as he might think it, the necessity of occupation +was salutary medicine; she ended by extorting a promise that for the space +of one month he would refrain from the discussion of her interests, +engaging after that time to yield in part to his wishes. She could not +disguise to herself that any change would separate her from him; now she +saw him each day. His connection with Adrian and Perdita was never +mentioned; he was to her a meteor, a companionless star, which at its +appointed hour rose in her hemisphere, whose appearance brought felicity, +and which, although it set, was never eclipsed. He came each day to her +abode of penury, and his presence transformed it to a temple redolent with +sweets, radiant with heaven's own light; he partook of her delirium. "They +built a wall between them and the world"--Without, a thousand harpies +raved, remorse and misery, expecting the destined moment for their +invasion. Within, was the peace as of innocence, reckless blindless, +deluding joy, hope, whose still anchor rested on placid but unconstant +water. + +Thus, while Raymond had been wrapt in visions of power and fame, while he +looked forward to entire dominion over the elements and the mind of man, +the territory of his own heart escaped his notice; and from that unthought +of source arose the mighty torrent that overwhelmed his will, and carried +to the oblivious sea, fame, hope, and happiness. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +IN the mean time what did Perdita? + +During the first months of his Protectorate, Raymond and she had been +inseparable; each project was discussed with her, each plan approved by +her. I never beheld any one so perfectly happy as my sweet sister. Her +expressive eyes were two stars whose beams were love; hope and +light-heartedness sat on her cloudless brow. She fed even to tears of joy +on the praise and glory of her Lord; her whole existence was one sacrifice +to him, and if in the humility of her heart she felt self-complacency, it +arose from the reflection that she had won the distinguished hero of the +age, and had for years preserved him, even after time had taken from love +its usual nourishment. Her own feeling was as entire as at its birth. Five +years had failed to destroy the dazzling unreality of passion. Most men +ruthlessly destroy the sacred veil, with which the female heart is wont to +adorn the idol of its affections. Not so Raymond; he was an enchanter, +whose reign was for ever undiminished; a king whose power never was +suspended: follow him through the details of common life, still the same +charm of grace and majesty adorned him; nor could he be despoiled of the +innate deification with which nature had invested him. Perdita grew in +beauty and excellence under his eye; I no longer recognised my reserved +abstracted sister in the fascinating and open-hearted wife of Raymond. The +genius that enlightened her countenance, was now united to an expression of +benevolence, which gave divine perfection to her beauty. + +Happiness is in its highest degree the sister of goodness. Suffering and +amiability may exist together, and writers have loved to depict their +conjunction; there is a human and touching harmony in the picture. But +perfect happiness is an attribute of angels; and those who possess it, +appear angelic. Fear has been said to be the parent of religion: even of +that religion is it the generator, which leads its votaries to sacrifice +human victims at its altars; but the religion which springs from happiness +is a lovelier growth; the religion which makes the heart breathe forth +fervent thanksgiving, and causes us to pour out the overflowings of the +soul before the author of our being; that which is the parent of the +imagination and the nurse of poetry; that which bestows benevolent +intelligence on the visible mechanism of the world, and makes earth a +temple with heaven for its cope. Such happiness, goodness, and religion +inhabited the mind of Perdita. + +During the five years we had spent together, a knot of happy human beings +at Windsor Castle, her blissful lot had been the frequent theme of my +sister's conversation. From early habit, and natural affection, she +selected me in preference to Adrian or Idris, to be the partner in her +overflowings of delight; perhaps, though apparently much unlike, some +secret point of resemblance, the offspring of consanguinity, induced this +preference. Often at sunset, I have walked with her, in the sober, +enshadowed forest paths, and listened with joyful sympathy. Security gave +dignity to her passion; the certainty of a full return, left her with no +wish unfulfilled. The birth of her daughter, embryo copy of her Raymond, +filled up the measure of her content, and produced a sacred and +indissoluble tie between them. Sometimes she felt proud that he had +preferred her to the hopes of a crown. Sometimes she remembered that she +had suffered keen anguish, when he hesitated in his choice. But this memory +of past discontent only served to enhance her present joy. What had been +hardly won, was now, entirely possessed, doubly dear. She would look at him +at a distance with the same rapture, (O, far more exuberant rapture!) that +one might feel, who after the perils of a tempest, should find himself in +the desired port; she would hasten towards him, to feel more certain in his +arms, the reality of her bliss. This warmth of affection, added to the +depth of her understanding, and the brilliancy of her imagination, made her +beyond words dear to Raymond. + +If a feeling of dissatisfaction ever crossed her, it arose from the idea +that he was not perfectly happy. Desire of renown, and presumptuous +ambition, had characterized his youth. The one he had acquired in Greece; +the other he had sacrificed to love. His intellect found sufficient field +for exercise in his domestic circle, whose members, all adorned by +refinement and literature, were many of them, like himself, distinguished +by genius. Yet active life was the genuine soil for his virtues; and he +sometimes suffered tedium from the monotonous succession of events in our +retirement. Pride made him recoil from complaint; and gratitude and +affection to Perdita, generally acted as an opiate to all desire, save that +of meriting her love. We all observed the visitation of these feelings, and +none regretted them so much as Perdita. Her life consecrated to him, was a +slight sacrifice to reward his choice, but was not that sufficient--Did +he need any gratification that she was unable to bestow? This was the only +cloud in the azure of her happiness. + +His passage to power had been full of pain to both. He however attained his +wish; he filled the situation for which nature seemed to have moulded him. +His activity was fed in wholesome measure, without either exhaustion or +satiety; his taste and genius found worthy expression in each of the modes +human beings have invented to encage and manifest the spirit of beauty; the +goodness of his heart made him never weary of conducing to the well-being +of his fellow-creatures; his magnificent spirit, and aspirations for the +respect and love of mankind, now received fruition; true, his exaltation +was temporary; perhaps it were better that it should be so. Habit would not +dull his sense of the enjoyment of power; nor struggles, disappointment and +defeat await the end of that which would expire at its maturity. He +determined to extract and condense all of glory, power, and achievement, +which might have resulted from a long reign, into the three years of his +Protectorate. + +Raymond was eminently social. All that he now enjoyed would have been +devoid of pleasure to him, had it been unparticipated. But in Perdita he +possessed all that his heart could desire. Her love gave birth to sympathy; +her intelligence made her understand him at a word; her powers of intellect +enabled her to assist and guide him. He felt her worth. During the early +years of their union, the inequality of her temper, and yet unsubdued +self-will which tarnished her character, had been a slight drawback to the +fulness of his sentiment. Now that unchanged serenity, and gentle +compliance were added to her other qualifications, his respect equalled his +love. Years added to the strictness of their union. They did not now guess +at, and totter on the pathway, divining the mode to please, hoping, yet +fearing the continuance of bliss. Five years gave a sober certainty to +their emotions, though it did not rob them of their etherial nature. It had +given them a child; but it had not detracted from the personal attractions +of my sister. Timidity, which in her had almost amounted to awkwardness, +was exchanged for a graceful decision of manner; frankness, instead of +reserve, characterized her physiognomy; and her voice was attuned to +thrilling softness. She was now three and twenty, in the pride of +womanhood, fulfilling the precious duties of wife and mother, possessed of +all her heart had ever coveted. Raymond was ten years older; to his +previous beauty, noble mien, and commanding aspect, he now added gentlest +benevolence, winning tenderness, graceful and unwearied attention to the +wishes of another. + +The first secret that had existed between them was the visits of Raymond to +Evadne. He had been struck by the fortitude and beauty of the ill-fated +Greek; and, when her constant tenderness towards him unfolded itself, he +asked with astonishment, by what act of his he had merited this passionate +and unrequited love. She was for a while the sole object of his reveries; +and Perdita became aware that his thoughts and time were bestowed on a +subject unparticipated by her. My sister was by nature destitute of the +common feelings of anxious, petulant jealousy. The treasure which she +possessed in the affections of Raymond, was more necessary to her being, +than the life-blood that animated her veins--more truly than Othello she +might say, + + To be once in doubt, + Is--once to be resolved. + +On the present occasion she did not suspect any alienation of affection; but +she conjectured that some circumstance connected with his high place, had +occasioned this mystery. She was startled and pained. She began to count +the long days, and months, and years which must elapse, before he would be +restored to a private station, and unreservedly to her. She was not content +that, even for a time, he should practice concealment with her. She often +repined; but her trust in the singleness of his affection was undisturbed; +and, when they were together, unchecked by fear, she opened her heart to +the fullest delight. + +Time went on. Raymond, stopping mid-way in his wild career, paused suddenly +to think of consequences. Two results presented themselves in the view he +took of the future. That his intercourse with Evadne should continue a +secret to, or that finally it should be discovered by Perdita. The +destitute condition, and highly wrought feelings of his friend prevented +him from adverting to the possibility of exiling himself from her. In the +first event he had bidden an eternal farewell to open-hearted converse, and +entire sympathy with the companion of his life. The veil must be thicker +than that invented by Turkish jealousy; the wall higher than the +unscaleable tower of Vathek, which should conceal from her the workings of +his heart, and hide from her view the secret of his actions. This idea was +intolerably painful to him. Frankness and social feelings were the essence +of Raymond's nature; without them his qualities became common-place; +without these to spread glory over his intercourse with Perdita, his +vaunted exchange of a throne for her love, was as weak and empty as the +rainbow hues which vanish when the sun is down. But there was no remedy. +Genius, devotion, and courage; the adornments of his mind, and the energies +of his soul, all exerted to their uttermost stretch, could not roll back +one hair's breadth the wheel of time's chariot; that which had been was +written with the adamantine pen of reality, on the everlasting volume of +the past; nor could agony and tears suffice to wash out one iota from the +act fulfilled. + +But this was the best side of the question. What, if circumstance should +lead Perdita to suspect, and suspecting to be resolved? The fibres of his +frame became relaxed, and cold dew stood on his forehead, at this idea. +Many men may scoff at his dread; but he read the future; and the peace of +Perdita was too dear to him, her speechless agony too certain, and too +fearful, not to unman him. His course was speedily decided upon. If the +worst befell; if she learnt the truth, he would neither stand her +reproaches, or the anguish of her altered looks. He would forsake her, +England, his friends, the scenes of his youth, the hopes of coming time, he +would seek another country, and in other scenes begin life again. Having +resolved on this, he became calmer. He endeavoured to guide with prudence +the steeds of destiny through the devious road which he had chosen, and +bent all his efforts the better to conceal what he could not alter. + +The perfect confidence that subsisted between Perdita and him, rendered +every communication common between them. They opened each other's letters, +even as, until now, the inmost fold of the heart of each was disclosed to +the other. A letter came unawares, Perdita read it. Had it contained +confirmation, she must have been annihilated. As it was, trembling, cold, +and pale, she sought Raymond. He was alone, examining some petitions lately +presented. She entered silently, sat on a sofa opposite to him, and gazed +on him with a look of such despair, that wildest shrieks and dire moans +would have been tame exhibitions of misery, compared to the living +incarnation of the thing itself exhibited by her. + +At first he did not take his eyes from the papers; when he raised them, he +was struck by the wretchedness manifest on her altered cheek; for a moment +he forgot his own acts and fears, and asked with consternation--"Dearest +girl, what is the matter; what has happened?" + +"Nothing," she replied at first; "and yet not so," she continued, hurrying +on in her speech; "you have secrets, Raymond; where have you been lately, +whom have you seen, what do you conceal from me?--why am I banished from +your confidence? Yet this is not it--I do not intend to entrap you with +questions--one will suffice--am I completely a wretch?" + +With trembling hand she gave him the paper, and sat white and motionless +looking at him while he read it. He recognised the hand-writing of Evadne, +and the colour mounted in his cheeks. With lightning-speed he conceived the +contents of the letter; all was now cast on one die; falsehood and artifice +were trifles in comparison with the impending ruin. He would either +entirely dispel Perdita's suspicions, or quit her for ever. "My dear girl," +he said, "I have been to blame; but you must pardon me. I was in the wrong +to commence a system of concealment; but I did it for the sake of sparing +you pain; and each day has rendered it more difficult for me to alter my +plan. Besides, I was instigated by delicacy towards the unhappy writer of +these few lines." + +Perdita gasped: "Well," she cried, "well, go on!" + +"That is all--this paper tells all. I am placed in the most difficult +circumstances. I have done my best, though perhaps I have done wrong. My +love for you is inviolate." + +Perdita shook her head doubtingly: "It cannot be," she cried, "I know that +it is not. You would deceive me, but I will not be deceived. I have lost +you, myself, my life!" + +"Do you not believe me?" said Raymond haughtily. + +"To believe you," she exclaimed, "I would give up all, and expire with joy, +so that in death I could feel that you were true--but that cannot be!" + +"Perdita," continued Raymond, "you do not see the precipice on which you +stand. You may believe that I did not enter on my present line of conduct +without reluctance and pain. I knew that it was possible that your +suspicions might be excited; but I trusted that my simple word would cause +them to disappear. I built my hope on your confidence. Do you think that I +will be questioned, and my replies disdainfully set aside? Do you think +that I will be suspected, perhaps watched, cross-questioned, and +disbelieved? I am not yet fallen so low; my honour is not yet so tarnished. +You have loved me; I adored you. But all human sentiments come to an end. +Let our affection expire--but let it not be exchanged for distrust and +recrimination. Heretofore we have been friends--lovers--let us not +become enemies, mutual spies. I cannot live the object of suspicion--you +cannot believe me--let us part!" + +"Exactly so," cried Perdita, "I knew that it would come to this! Are we not +already parted? Does not a stream, boundless as ocean, deep as vacuum, yawn +between us?" + +Raymond rose, his voice was broken, his features convulsed, his manner calm +as the earthquake-cradling atmosphere, he replied: "I am rejoiced that you +take my decision so philosophically. Doubtless you will play the part of +the injured wife to admiration. Sometimes you may be stung with the feeling +that you have wronged me, but the condolence of your relatives, the pity of +the world, the complacency which the consciousness of your own immaculate +innocence will bestow, will be excellent balm;--me you will never see +more!" + +Raymond moved towards the door. He forgot that each word he spoke was +false. He personated his assumption of innocence even to self-deception. +Have not actors wept, as they pourtrayed imagined passion? A more intense +feeling of the reality of fiction possessed Raymond. He spoke with pride; +he felt injured. Perdita looked up; she saw his angry glance; his hand was +on the lock of the door. She started up, she threw herself on his neck, she +gasped and sobbed; he took her hand, and leading her to the sofa, sat down +near her. Her head fell on his shoulder, she trembled, alternate changes of +fire and ice ran through her limbs: observing her emotion he spoke with +softened accents: + +"The blow is given. I will not part from you in anger;--I owe you too +much. I owe you six years of unalloyed happiness. But they are passed. I +will not live the mark of suspicion, the object of jealousy. I love you too +well. In an eternal separation only can either of us hope for dignity and +propriety of action. We shall not then be degraded from our true +characters. Faith and devotion have hitherto been the essence of our +intercourse;--these lost, let us not cling to the seedless husk of life, +the unkernelled shell. You have your child, your brother, Idris, Adrian"-- + +"And you," cried Perdita, "the writer of that letter." + +Uncontrollable indignation flashed from the eyes of Raymond. He knew that +this accusation at least was false. "Entertain this belief," he cried, "hug +it to your heart--make it a pillow to your head, an opiate for your eyes +--I am content. But, by the God that made me, hell is not more false than +the word you have spoken!" + +Perdita was struck by the impassioned seriousness of his asseverations. She +replied with earnestness, "I do not refuse to believe you, Raymond; on the +contrary I promise to put implicit faith in your simple word. Only assure +me that your love and faith towards me have never been violated; and +suspicion, and doubt, and jealousy will at once be dispersed. We shall +continue as we have ever done, one heart, one hope, one life." + +"I have already assured you of my fidelity," said Raymond with disdainful +coldness, "triple assertions will avail nothing where one is despised. I +will say no more; for I can add nothing to what I have already said, to +what you before contemptuously set aside. This contention is unworthy of +both of us; and I confess that I am weary of replying to charges at once +unfounded and unkind." + +Perdita tried to read his countenance, which he angrily averted. There was +so much of truth and nature in his resentment, that her doubts were +dispelled. Her countenance, which for years had not expressed a feeling +unallied to affection, became again radiant and satisfied. She found it +however no easy task to soften and reconcile Raymond. At first he refused +to stay to hear her. But she would not be put off; secure of his unaltered +love, she was willing to undertake any labour, use any entreaty, to dispel +his anger. She obtained an hearing, he sat in haughty silence, but he +listened. She first assured him of her boundless confidence; of this he +must be conscious, since but for that she would not seek to detain him. She +enumerated their years of happiness; she brought before him past scenes of +intimacy and happiness; she pictured their future life, she mentioned their +child--tears unbidden now filled her eyes. She tried to disperse them, +but they refused to be checked--her utterance was choaked. She had not +wept before. Raymond could not resist these signs of distress: he felt +perhaps somewhat ashamed of the part he acted of the injured man, he who +was in truth the injurer. And then he devoutly loved Perdita; the bend of +her head, her glossy ringlets, the turn of her form were to him subjects of +deep tenderness and admiration; as she spoke, her melodious tones entered +his soul; he soon softened towards her, comforting and caressing her, and +endeavouring to cheat himself into the belief that he had never wronged +her. + +Raymond staggered forth from this scene, as a man might do, who had been +just put to the torture, and looked forward to when it would be again +inflicted. He had sinned against his own honour, by affirming, swearing to, +a direct falsehood; true this he had palmed on a woman, and it might +therefore be deemed less base--by others--not by him;--for whom had +he deceived?--his own trusting, devoted, affectionate Perdita, whose +generous belief galled him doubly, when he remembered the parade of +innocence with which it had been exacted. The mind of Raymond was not so +rough cast, nor had been so rudely handled, in the circumstance of life, as +to make him proof to these considerations--on the contrary, he was all +nerve; his spirit was as a pure fire, which fades and shrinks from every +contagion of foul atmosphere: but now the contagion had become incorporated +with its essence, and the change was the more painful. Truth and falsehood, +love and hate lost their eternal boundaries, heaven rushed in to mingle +with hell; while his sensitive mind, turned to a field for such battle, was +stung to madness. He heartily despised himself, he was angry with Perdita, +and the idea of Evadne was attended by all that was hideous and cruel. His +passions, always his masters, acquired fresh strength, from the long sleep +in which love had cradled them, the clinging weight of destiny bent him +down; he was goaded, tortured, fiercely impatient of that worst of +miseries, the sense of remorse. This troubled state yielded by degrees, to +sullen animosity, and depression of spirits. His dependants, even his +equals, if in his present post he had any, were startled to find anger, +derision, and bitterness in one, before distinguished for suavity and +benevolence of manner. He transacted public business with distaste, and +hastened from it to the solitude which was at once his bane and relief. He +mounted a fiery horse, that which had borne him forward to victory in +Greece; he fatigued himself with deadening exercise, losing the pangs of a +troubled mind in animal sensation. + +He slowly recovered himself; yet, at last, as one might from the effects of +poison, he lifted his head from above the vapours of fever and passion into +the still atmosphere of calm reflection. He meditated on what was best to +be done. He was first struck by the space of time that had elapsed, since +madness, rather than any reasonable impulse, had regulated his actions. A +month had gone by, and during that time he had not seen Evadne. Her power, +which was linked to few of the enduring emotions of his heart, had greatly +decayed. He was no longer her slave--no longer her lover: he would never +see her more, and by the completeness of his return, deserve the confidence +of Perdita. + +Yet, as he thus determined, fancy conjured up the miserable abode of the +Greek girl. An abode, which from noble and lofty principle, she had refused +to exchange for one of greater luxury. He thought of the splendour of her +situation and appearance when he first knew her; he thought of her life at +Constantinople, attended by every circumstance of oriental magnificence; of +her present penury, her daily task of industry, her lorn state, her faded, +famine-struck cheek. Compassion swelled his breast; he would see her once +again; he would devise some plan for restoring her to society, and the +enjoyment of her rank; their separation would then follow, as a matter of +course. + +Again he thought, how during this long month, he had avoided Perdita, +flying from her as from the stings of his own conscience. But he was awake +now; all this should be remedied; and future devotion erase the memory of +this only blot on the serenity of their life. He became cheerful, as he +thought of this, and soberly and resolutely marked out the line of conduct +he would adopt. He remembered that he had promised Perdita to be present +this very evening (the 19th of October, anniversary of his election as +Protector) at a festival given in his honour. Good augury should this +festival be of the happiness of future years. First, he would look in on +Evadne; he would not stay; but he owed her some account, some compensation +for his long and unannounced absence; and then to Perdita, to the forgotten +world, to the duties of society, the splendour of rank, the enjoyment of +power. + +After the scene sketched in the preceding pages, Perdita had contemplated +an entire change in the manners and conduct of Raymond. She expected +freedom of communication, and a return to those habits of affectionate +intercourse which had formed the delight of her life. But Raymond did not +join her in any of her avocations. He transacted the business of the day +apart from her; he went out, she knew not whither. The pain inflicted by +this disappointment was tormenting and keen. She looked on it as a +deceitful dream, and tried to throw off the consciousness of it; but like +the shirt of Nessus, it clung to her very flesh, and ate with sharp agony +into her vital principle. She possessed that (though such an assertion may +appear a paradox) which belongs to few, a capacity of happiness. Her +delicate organization and creative imagination rendered her peculiarly +susceptible of pleasurable emotion. The overflowing warmth of her heart, by +making love a plant of deep root and stately growth, had attuned her whole +soul to the reception of happiness, when she found in Raymond all that +could adorn love and satisfy her imagination. But if the sentiment on which +the fabric of her existence was founded, became common place through +participation, the endless succession of attentions and graceful action +snapt by transfer, his universe of love wrested from her, happiness must +depart, and then be exchanged for its opposite. The same peculiarities of +character rendered her sorrows agonies; her fancy magnified them, her +sensibility made her for ever open to their renewed impression; love +envenomed the heart-piercing sting. There was neither submission, patience, +nor self-abandonment in her grief; she fought with it, struggled beneath +it, and rendered every pang more sharp by resistance. Again and again the +idea recurred, that he loved another. She did him justice; she believed +that he felt a tender affection for her; but give a paltry prize to him who +in some life-pending lottery has calculated on the possession of tens of +thousands, and it will disappoint him more than a blank. The affection and +amity of a Raymond might be inestimable; but, beyond that affection, +embosomed deeper than friendship, was the indivisible treasure of love. +Take the sum in its completeness, and no arithmetic can calculate its +price; take from it the smallest portion, give it but the name of parts, +separate it into degrees and sections, and like the magician's coin, the +valueless gold of the mine, is turned to vilest substance. There is a +meaning in the eye of love; a cadence in its voice, an irradiation in its +smile, the talisman of whose enchantments one only can possess; its spirit +is elemental, its essence single, its divinity an unit. The very heart and +soul of Raymond and Perdita had mingled, even as two mountain brooks that +join in their descent, and murmuring and sparkling flow over shining +pebbles, beside starry flowers; but let one desert its primal course, or be +dammed up by choaking obstruction, and the other shrinks in its altered +banks. Perdita was sensible of the failing of the tide that fed her life. +Unable to support the slow withering of her hopes, she suddenly formed a +plan, resolving to terminate at once the period of misery, and to bring to +an happy conclusion the late disastrous events. + +The anniversary was at hand of the exaltation of Raymond to the office of +Protector; and it was customary to celebrate this day by a splendid +festival. A variety of feelings urged Perdita to shed double magnificence +over the scene; yet, as she arrayed herself for the evening gala, she +wondered herself at the pains she took, to render sumptuous the celebration +of an event which appeared to her the beginning of her sufferings. Woe +befall the day, she thought, woe, tears, and mourning betide the hour, that +gave Raymond another hope than love, another wish than my devotion; and +thrice joyful the moment when he shall be restored to me! God knows, I put +my trust in his vows, and believe his asserted faith--but for that, I +would not seek what I am now resolved to attain. Shall two years more be +thus passed, each day adding to our alienation, each act being another +stone piled on the barrier which separates us? No, my Raymond, my only +beloved, sole possession of Perdita! This night, this splendid assembly, +these sumptuous apartments, and this adornment of your tearful girl, are +all united to celebrate your abdication. Once for me, you relinquished the +prospect of a crown. That was in days of early love, when I could only hold +out the hope, not the assurance of happiness. Now you have the experience +of all that I can give, the heart's devotion, taintless love, and +unhesitating subjection to you. You must choose between these and your +protectorate. This, proud noble, is your last night! Perdita has bestowed +on it all of magnificent and dazzling that your heart best loves--but, +from these gorgeous rooms, from this princely attendance, from power and +elevation, you must return with to-morrow's sun to our rural abode; for I +would not buy an immortality of joy, by the endurance of one more week +sister to the last. + +Brooding over this plan, resolved when the hour should come, to propose, +and insist upon its accomplishment, secure of his consent, the heart of +Perdita was lightened, or rather exalted. Her cheek was flushed by the +expectation of struggle; her eyes sparkled with the hope of triumph. Having +cast her fate upon a die, and feeling secure of winning, she, whom I have +named as bearing the stamp of queen of nations on her noble brow, now rose +superior to humanity, and seemed in calm power, to arrest with her finger, +the wheel of destiny. She had never before looked so supremely lovely. + +We, the Arcadian shepherds of the tale, had intended to be present at this +festivity, but Perdita wrote to entreat us not to come, or to absent +ourselves from Windsor; for she (though she did not reveal her scheme to +us) resolved the next morning to return with Raymond to our dear circle, +there to renew a course of life in which she had found entire felicity. +Late in the evening she entered the apartments appropriated to the +festival. Raymond had quitted the palace the night before; he had promised +to grace the assembly, but he had not yet returned. Still she felt sure +that he would come at last; and the wider the breach might appear at this +crisis, the more secure she was of closing it for ever. + +It was as I said, the nineteenth of October; the autumn was far advanced +and dreary. The wind howled; the half bare trees were despoiled of the +remainder of their summer ornament; the state of the air which induced the +decay of vegetation, was hostile to cheerfulness or hope. Raymond had been +exalted by the determination he had made; but with the declining day his +spirits declined. First he was to visit Evadne, and then to hasten to the +palace of the Protectorate. As he walked through the wretched streets in +the neighbourhood of the luckless Greek's abode, his heart smote him for +the whole course of his conduct towards her. First, his having entered into +any engagement that should permit her to remain in such a state of +degradation; and then, after a short wild dream, having left her to drear +solitude, anxious conjecture, and bitter, still--disappointed +expectation. What had she done the while, how supported his absence and +neglect? Light grew dim in these close streets, and when the well known +door was opened, the staircase was shrouded in perfect night. He groped his +way up, he entered the garret, he found Evadne stretched speechless, almost +lifeless on her wretched bed. He called for the people of the house, but +could learn nothing from them, except that they knew nothing. Her story was +plain to him, plain and distinct as the remorse and horror that darted +their fangs into him. When she found herself forsaken by him, she lost the +heart to pursue her usual avocations; pride forbade every application to +him; famine was welcomed as the kind porter to the gates of death, within +whose opening folds she should now, without sin, quickly repose. No +creature came near her, as her strength failed. + +If she died, where could there be found on record a murderer, whose cruel +act might compare with his? What fiend more wanton in his mischief, what +damned soul more worthy of perdition! But he was not reserved for this +agony of self-reproach. He sent for medical assistance; the hours passed, +spun by suspense into ages; the darkness of the long autumnal night yielded +to day, before her life was secure. He had her then removed to a more +commodious dwelling, and hovered about her, again and again to assure +himself that she was safe. + +In the midst of his greatest suspense and fear as to the event, he +remembered the festival given in his honour, by Perdita; in his honour +then, when misery and death were affixing indelible disgrace to his name, +honour to him whose crimes deserved a scaffold; this was the worst mockery. +Still Perdita would expect him; he wrote a few incoherent words on a scrap +of paper, testifying that he was well, and bade the woman of the house take +it to the palace, and deliver it into the hands of the wife of the Lord +Protector. The woman, who did not know him, contemptuously asked, how he +thought she should gain admittance, particularly on a festal night, to that +lady's presence? Raymond gave her his ring to ensure the respect of the +menials. Thus, while Perdita was entertaining her guests, and anxiously +awaiting the arrival of her lord, his ring was brought her; and she was +told that a poor woman had a note to deliver to her from its wearer. + +The vanity of the old gossip was raised by her commission, which, after +all, she did not understand, since she had no suspicion, even now that +Evadne's visitor was Lord Raymond. Perdita dreaded a fall from his horse, +or some similar accident--till the woman's answers woke other fears. From +a feeling of cunning blindly exercised, the officious, if not malignant +messenger, did not speak of Evadne's illness; but she garrulously gave an +account of Raymond's frequent visits, adding to her narration such +circumstances, as, while they convinced Perdita of its truth, exaggerated +the unkindness and perfidy of Raymond. Worst of all, his absence now from +the festival, his message wholly unaccounted for, except by the disgraceful +hints of the woman, appeared the deadliest insult. Again she looked at the +ring, it was a small ruby, almost heart-shaped, which she had herself given +him. She looked at the hand-writing, which she could not mistake, and +repeated to herself the words--"Do not, I charge you, I entreat you, +permit your guests to wonder at my absence:" the while the old crone going +on with her talk, filled her ear with a strange medley of truth and +falsehood. At length Perdita dismissed her. + +The poor girl returned to the assembly, where her presence had not been +missed. She glided into a recess somewhat obscured, and leaning against an +ornamental column there placed, tried to recover herself. Her faculties +were palsied. She gazed on some flowers that stood near in a carved vase: +that morning she had arranged them, they were rare and lovely plants; even +now all aghast as she was, she observed their brilliant colours and starry +shapes.--"Divine infoliations of the spirit of beauty," she exclaimed, +"Ye droop not, neither do ye mourn; the despair that clasps my heart, has +not spread contagion over you!--Why am I not a partner of your +insensibility, a sharer in your calm!" + +She paused. "To my task," she continued mentally, "my guests must not +perceive the reality, either as it regards him or me. I obey; they shall +not, though I die the moment they are gone. They shall behold the antipodes +of what is real--for I will appear to live--while I am--dead." It +required all her self-command, to suppress the gush of tears self-pity +caused at this idea. After many struggles, she succeeded, and turned to +join the company. + +All her efforts were now directed to the dissembling her internal conflict. +She had to play the part of a courteous hostess; to attend to all; to shine +the focus of enjoyment and grace. She had to do this, while in deep woe she +sighed for loneliness, and would gladly have exchanged her crowded rooms +for dark forest depths, or a drear, night-enshadowed heath. But she became +gay. She could not keep in the medium, nor be, as was usual with her, +placidly content. Every one remarked her exhilaration of spirits; as all +actions appear graceful in the eye of rank, her guests surrounded her +applaudingly, although there was a sharpness in her laugh, and an +abruptness in her sallies, which might have betrayed her secret to an +attentive observer. She went on, feeling that, if she had paused for a +moment, the checked waters of misery would have deluged her soul, that her +wrecked hopes would raise their wailing voices, and that those who now +echoed her mirth, and provoked her repartees, would have shrunk in fear +from her convulsive despair. Her only consolation during the violence which +she did herself, was to watch the motions of an illuminated clock, and +internally count the moments which must elapse before she could be alone. + +At length the rooms began to thin. Mocking her own desires, she rallied her +guests on their early departure. One by one they left her--at length she +pressed the hand of her last visitor. "How cold and damp your hand is," +said her friend; "you are over fatigued, pray hasten to rest." Perdita +smiled faintly--her guest left her; the carriage rolling down the street +assured the final departure. Then, as if pursued by an enemy, as if wings +had been at her feet, she flew to her own apartment, she dismissed her +attendants, she locked the doors, she threw herself wildly on the floor, +she bit her lips even to blood to suppress her shrieks, and lay long a prey +to the vulture of despair, striving not to think, while multitudinous ideas +made a home of her heart; and ideas, horrid as furies, cruel as vipers, and +poured in with such swift succession, that they seemed to jostle and wound +each other, while they worked her up to madness. + +At length she rose, more composed, not less miserable. She stood before a +large mirror--she gazed on her reflected image; her light and graceful +dress, the jewels that studded her hair, and encircled her beauteous arms +and neck, her small feet shod in satin, her profuse and glossy tresses, all +were to her clouded brow and woe-begone countenance like a gorgeous frame +to a dark tempest-pourtraying picture. "Vase am I," she thought, "vase +brimful of despair's direst essence. Farewell, Perdita! farewell, poor +girl! never again will you see yourself thus; luxury and wealth are no +longer yours; in the excess of your poverty you may envy the homeless +beggar; most truly am I without a home! I live on a barren desart, which, +wide and interminable, brings forth neither fruit or flower; in the midst +is a solitary rock, to which thou, Perdita, art chained, and thou seest the +dreary level stretch far away." + +She threw open her window, which looked on the palace-garden. Light and +darkness were struggling together, and the orient was streaked by roseate +and golden rays. One star only trembled in the depth of the kindling +atmosphere. The morning air blowing freshly over the dewy plants, rushed +into the heated room. "All things go on," thought Perdita, "all things +proceed, decay, and perish! When noontide has passed, and the weary day has +driven her team to their western stalls, the fires of heaven rise from the +East, moving in their accustomed path, they ascend and descend the skiey +hill. When their course is fulfilled, the dial begins to cast westward an +uncertain shadow; the eye-lids of day are opened, and birds and flowers, +the startled vegetation, and fresh breeze awaken; the sun at length +appears, and in majestic procession climbs the capitol of heaven. All +proceeds, changes and dies, except the sense of misery in my bursting +heart. + +"Ay, all proceeds and changes: what wonder then, that love has journied on +to its setting, and that the lord of my life has changed? We call the +supernal lights fixed, yet they wander about yonder plain, and if I look +again where I looked an hour ago, the face of the eternal heavens is +altered. The silly moon and inconstant planets vary nightly their erratic +dance; the sun itself, sovereign of the sky, ever and anon deserts his +throne, and leaves his dominion to night and winter. Nature grows old, and +shakes in her decaying limbs,--creation has become bankrupt! What wonder +then, that eclipse and death have led to destruction the light of thy life, +O Perdita!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +THUS sad and disarranged were the thoughts of my poor sister, when she +became assured of the infidelity of Raymond. All her virtues and all her +defects tended to make the blow incurable. Her affection for me, her +brother, for Adrian and Idris, was subject as it were to the reigning +passion of her heart; even her maternal tenderness borrowed half its force +from the delight she had in tracing Raymond's features and expression in +the infant's countenance. She had been reserved and even stern in +childhood; but love had softened the asperities of her character, and her +union with Raymond had caused her talents and affections to unfold +themselves; the one betrayed, and the other lost, she in some degree +returned to her ancient disposition. The concentrated pride of her nature, +forgotten during her blissful dream, awoke, and with its adder's sting +pierced her heart; her humility of spirit augmented the power of the venom; +she had been exalted in her own estimation, while distinguished by his +love: of what worth was she, now that he thrust her from this preferment? +She had been proud of having won and preserved him--but another had won +him from her, and her exultation was as cold as a water quenched ember. + +We, in our retirement, remained long in ignorance of her misfortune. Soon +after the festival she had sent for her child, and then she seemed to have +forgotten us. Adrian observed a change during a visit that he afterward +paid them; but he could not tell its extent, or divine the cause. They +still appeared in public together, and lived under the same roof. Raymond +was as usual courteous, though there was, on occasions, an unbidden +haughtiness, or painful abruptness in his manners, which startled his +gentle friend; his brow was not clouded but disdain sat on his lips, and +his voice was harsh. Perdita was all kindness and attention to her lord; +but she was silent, and beyond words sad. She had grown thin and pale; and +her eyes often filled with tears. Sometimes she looked at Raymond, as if to +say--That it should be so! At others her countenance expressed--I will +still do all I can to make you happy. But Adrian read with uncertain aim +the charactery of her face, and might mistake.--Clara was always with +her, and she seemed most at ease, when, in an obscure corner, she could sit +holding her child's hand, silent and lonely. Still Adrian was unable to +guess the truth; he entreated them to visit us at Windsor, and they +promised to come during the following month. + +It was May before they arrived: the season had decked the forest trees with +leaves, and its paths with a thousand flowers. We had notice of their +intention the day before; and, early in the morning, Perdita arrived with +her daughter. Raymond would follow soon, she said; he had been detained by +business. According to Adrian's account, I had expected to find her sad; +but, on the contrary, she appeared in the highest spirits: true, she had +grown thin, her eyes were somewhat hollow, and her cheeks sunk, though +tinged by a bright glow. She was delighted to see us; caressed our +children, praised their growth and improvement; Clara also was pleased to +meet again her young friend Alfred; all kinds of childish games were +entered into, in which Perdita joined. She communicated her gaiety to us, +and as we amused ourselves on the Castle Terrace, it appeared that a +happier, less care-worn party could not have been assembled. "This is +better, Mamma," said Clara, "than being in that dismal London, where you +often cry, and never laugh as you do now."--"Silence, little foolish +thing," replied her mother, "and remember any one that mentions London is +sent to Coventry for an hour." + +Soon after, Raymond arrived. He did not join as usual in the playful spirit +of the rest; but, entering into conversation with Adrian and myself, by +degrees we seceded from our companions, and Idris and Perdita only remained +with the children. Raymond talked of his new buildings; of his plan for an +establishment for the better education of the poor; as usual Adrian and he +entered into argument, and the time slipped away unperceived. + +We assembled again towards evening, and Perdita insisted on our having +recourse to music. She wanted, she said, to give us a specimen of her new +accomplishment; for since she had been in London, she had applied herself +to music, and sang, without much power, but with a great deal of sweetness. +We were not permitted by her to select any but light-hearted melodies; and +all the Operas of Mozart were called into service, that we might choose the +most exhilarating of his airs. Among the other transcendant attributes of +Mozart's music, it possesses more than any other that of appearing to come +from the heart; you enter into the passions expressed by him, and are +transported with grief, joy, anger, or confusion, as he, our soul's master, +chooses to inspire. For some time, the spirit of hilarity was kept up; but, +at length, Perdita receded from the piano, for Raymond had joined in the +trio of "_Taci ingiusto core_," in Don Giovanni, whose arch entreaty was +softened by him into tenderness, and thrilled her heart with memories of +the changed past; it was the same voice, the same tone, the self-same +sounds and words, which often before she had received, as the homage of +love to her--no longer was it that; and this concord of sound with its +dissonance of expression penetrated her with regret and despair. Soon after +Idris, who was at the harp, turned to that passionate and sorrowful air in +Figaro, "Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro," in which the deserted Countess +laments the change of the faithless Almaviva. The soul of tender sorrow is +breathed forth in this strain; and the sweet voice of Idris, sustained by +the mournful chords of her instrument, added to the expression of the +words. During the pathetic appeal with which it concludes, a stifled sob +attracted our attention to Perdita, the cessation of the music recalled her +to herself, she hastened out of the hall--I followed her. At first, she +seemed to wish to shun me; and then, yielding to my earnest questioning, +she threw herself on my neck, and wept aloud:--"Once more," she cried, +"once more on your friendly breast, my beloved brother, can the lost +Perdita pour forth her sorrows. I had imposed a law of silence on myself; +and for months I have kept it. I do wrong in weeping now, and greater wrong +in giving words to my grief. I will not speak! Be it enough for you to know +that I am miserable--be it enough for you to know, that the painted veil +of life is rent, that I sit for ever shrouded in darkness and gloom, that +grief is my sister, everlasting lamentation my mate!" + +I endeavoured to console her; I did not question her! but I caressed her, +assured her of my deepest affection and my intense interest in the changes +of her fortune:--"Dear words," she cried, "expressions of love come upon +my ear, like the remembered sounds of forgotten music, that had been dear +to me. They are vain, I know; how very vain in their attempt to soothe or +comfort me. Dearest Lionel, you cannot guess what I have suffered during +these long months. I have read of mourners in ancient days, who clothed +themselves in sackcloth, scattered dust upon their heads, ate their bread +mingled with ashes, and took up their abode on the bleak mountain tops, +reproaching heaven and earth aloud with their misfortunes. Why this is the +very luxury of sorrow! thus one might go on from day to day contriving new +extravagances, revelling in the paraphernalia of woe, wedded to all the +appurtenances of despair. Alas! I must for ever conceal the wretchedness +that consumes me. I must weave a veil of dazzling falsehood to hide my +grief from vulgar eyes, smoothe my brow, and paint my lips in deceitful +smiles--even in solitude I dare not think how lost I am, lest I become +insane and rave." + +The tears and agitation of my poor sister had rendered her unfit to return +to the circle we had left--so I persuaded her to let me drive her through +the park; and, during the ride, I induced her to confide the tale of her +unhappiness to me, fancying that talking of it would lighten the burthen, +and certain that, if there were a remedy, it should be found and secured to +her. + +Several weeks had elapsed since the festival of the anniversary, and she +had been unable to calm her mind, or to subdue her thoughts to any regular +train. Sometimes she reproached herself for taking too bitterly to heart, +that which many would esteem an imaginary evil; but this was no subject for +reason; and, ignorant as she was of the motives and true conduct of +Raymond, things assumed for her even a worse appearance, than the reality +warranted. He was seldom at the palace; never, but when he was assured that +his public duties would prevent his remaining alone with Perdita. They +seldom addressed each other, shunning explanation, each fearing any +communication the other might make. Suddenly, however, the manners of +Raymond changed; he appeared to desire to find opportunities of bringing +about a return to kindness and intimacy with my sister. The tide of love +towards her appeared to flow again; he could never forget, how once he had +been devoted to her, making her the shrine and storehouse wherein to place +every thought and every sentiment. Shame seemed to hold him back; yet he +evidently wished to establish a renewal of confidence and affection. From +the moment Perdita had sufficiently recovered herself to form any plan of +action, she had laid one down, which now she prepared to follow. She +received these tokens of returning love with gentleness; she did not shun +his company; but she endeavoured to place a barrier in the way of familiar +intercourse or painful discussion, which mingled pride and shame prevented +Raymond from surmounting. He began at last to shew signs of angry +impatience, and Perdita became aware that the system she had adopted could +not continue; she must explain herself to him; she could not summon courage +to speak--she wrote thus:-- + +"Read this letter with patience, I entreat you. It will contain no +reproaches. Reproach is indeed an idle word: for what should I reproach +you? + +"Allow me in some degree to explain my feeling; without that, we shall both +grope in the dark, mistaking one another; erring from the path which may +conduct, one of us at least, to a more eligible mode of life than that led +by either during the last few weeks. + +"I loved you--I love you--neither anger nor pride dictates these lines; +but a feeling beyond, deeper, and more unalterable than either. My +affections are wounded; it is impossible to heal them:--cease then the +vain endeavour, if indeed that way your endeavours tend. Forgiveness! +Return! Idle words are these! I forgive the pain I endure; but the trodden +path cannot be retraced. + +"Common affection might have been satisfied with common usages. I believed +that you read my heart, and knew its devotion, its unalienable fidelity +towards you. I never loved any but you. You came the embodied image of my +fondest dreams. The praise of men, power and high aspirations attended your +career. Love for you invested the world for me in enchanted light; it was +no longer the earth I trod--the earth, common mother, yielding only trite +and stale repetition of objects and circumstances old and worn out. I lived +in a temple glorified by intensest sense of devotion and rapture; I walked, +a consecrated being, contemplating only your power, your excellence; + + For O, you stood beside me, like my youth, + Transformed for me the real to a dream, + Cloathing the palpable and familiar + With golden exhalations of the dawn. + +'The bloom has vanished from my life'--there is no morning to this all +investing night; no rising to the set-sun of love. In those days the +rest of the world was nothing to me: all other men--I never +considered nor felt what they were; nor did I look on you as one of them. +Separated from them; exalted in my heart; sole possessor of my affections; +single object of my hopes, the best half of myself. + +"Ah, Raymond, were we not happy? Did the sun shine on any, who could enjoy +its light with purer and more intense bliss? It was not--it is not a +common infidelity at which I repine. It is the disunion of an whole which +may not have parts; it is the carelessness with which you have shaken off +the mantle of election with which to me you were invested, and have become +one among the many. Dream not to alter this. Is not love a divinity, +because it is immortal? Did not I appear sanctified, even to myself, +because this love had for its temple my heart? I have gazed on you as you +slept, melted even to tears, as the idea filled my mind, that all I +possessed lay cradled in those idolized, but mortal lineaments before me. +Yet, even then, I have checked thick-coming fears with one thought; I would +not fear death, for the emotions that linked us must be immortal. + +"And now I do not fear death. I should be well pleased to close my eyes, +never more to open them again. And yet I fear it; even as I fear all +things; for in any state of being linked by the chain of memory with this, +happiness would not return--even in Paradise, I must feel that your love +was less enduring than the mortal beatings of my fragile heart, every pulse +of which knells audibly, + + The funeral note + Of love, deep buried, without resurrection. + No--no--me miserable; for love extinct there is no resurrection! + +"Yet I love you. Yet, and for ever, would I contribute all I possess to +your welfare. On account of a tattling world; for the sake of my--of our +child, I would remain by you, Raymond, share your fortunes, partake your +counsel. Shall it be thus? We are no longer lovers; nor can I call myself a +friend to any; since, lost as I am, I have no thought to spare from my own +wretched, engrossing self. But it will please me to see you each day! to +listen to the public voice praising you; to keep up your paternal love for +our girl; to hear your voice; to know that I am near you, though you are no +longer mine. + +"If you wish to break the chains that bind us, say the word, and it +shall be done--I will take all the blame on myself, of harshness +or unkindness, in the world's eye. + +"Yet, as I have said, I should be best pleased, at least for the present, +to live under the same roof with you. When the fever of my young life is +spent; when placid age shall tame the vulture that devours me, friendship +may come, love and hope being dead. May this be true? Can my soul, +inextricably linked to this perishable frame, become lethargic and cold, +even as this sensitive mechanism shall lose its youthful elasticity? Then, +with lack-lustre eyes, grey hairs, and wrinkled brow, though now the words +sound hollow and meaningless, then, tottering on the grave's extreme edge, +I may be--your affectionate and true friend, + +"PERDITA." + +Raymond's answer was brief. What indeed could he reply to her complaints, +to her griefs which she jealously paled round, keeping out all thought of +remedy. "Notwithstanding your bitter letter," he wrote, "for bitter I must +call it, you are the chief person in my estimation, and it is your +happiness that I would principally consult. Do that which seems best to +you: and if you can receive gratification from one mode of life in +preference to another, do not let me be any obstacle. I foresee that the +plan which you mark out in your letter will not endure long; but you are +mistress of yourself, and it is my sincere wish to contribute as far as you +will permit me to your happiness." + +"Raymond has prophesied well," said Perdita, "alas, that it should be so! +our present mode of life cannot continue long, yet I will not be the first +to propose alteration. He beholds in me one whom he has injured even unto +death; and I derive no hope from his kindness; no change can possibly be +brought about even by his best intentions. As well might Cleopatra have +worn as an ornament the vinegar which contained her dissolved pearl, as I +be content with the love that Raymond can now offer me." + +I own that I did not see her misfortune with the same eyes as Perdita. At +all events methought that the wound could be healed; and, if they remained +together, it would be so. I endeavoured therefore to sooth and soften her +mind; and it was not until after many endeavours that I gave up the task as +impracticable. Perdita listened to me impatiently, and answered with some +asperity:--"Do you think that any of your arguments are new to me? or +that my own burning wishes and intense anguish have not suggested them all +a thousand times, with far more eagerness and subtlety than you can put +into them? Lionel, you cannot understand what woman's love is. In days of +happiness I have often repeated to myself, with a grateful heart and +exulting spirit, all that Raymond sacrificed for me. I was a poor, +uneducated, unbefriended, mountain girl, raised from nothingness +by him. All that I possessed of the luxuries of life came +from him. He gave me an illustrious name and noble station; the world's +respect reflected from his own glory: all this joined to his own undying +love, inspired me with sensations towards him, akin to those with which we +regard the Giver of life. I gave him love only. I devoted myself to him: +imperfect creature that I was, I took myself to task, that I might become +worthy of him. I watched over my hasty temper, subdued my burning +impatience of character, schooled my self-engrossing thoughts, educating +myself to the best perfection I might attain, that the fruit of my +exertions might be his happiness. I took no merit to myself for this. He +deserved it all--all labour, all devotion, all sacrifice; I would have +toiled up a scaleless Alp, to pluck a flower that would please him. I was +ready to quit you all, my beloved and gifted companions, and to live only +with him, for him. I could not do otherwise, even if I had wished; for if +we are said to have two souls, he was my better soul, to which the other +was a perpetual slave. One only return did he owe me, even fidelity. I +earned that; I deserved it. Because I was mountain bred, unallied to the +noble and wealthy, shall he think to repay me by an empty name and station? +Let him take them back; without his love they are nothing to me. Their only +merit in my eyes was that they were his." + +Thus passionately Perdita ran on. When I adverted to the question of their +entire separation, she replied: "Be it so! One day the period will arrive; +I know it, and feel it. But in this I am a coward. This imperfect +companionship, and our masquerade of union, are strangely dear to me. It is +painful, I allow, destructive, impracticable. It keeps up a perpetual fever +in my veins; it frets my immedicable wound; it is instinct with poison. Yet +I must cling to it; perhaps it will kill me soon, and thus perform a +thankful office." + +In the mean time, Raymond had remained with Adrian and Idris. He was +naturally frank; the continued absence of Perdita and myself became +remarkable; and Raymond soon found relief from the constraint of months, by +an unreserved confidence with his two friends. He related to them the +situation in which he had found Evadne. At first, from delicacy to Adrian +he concealed her name; but it was divulged in the course of his narrative, +and her former lover heard with the most acute agitation the history of her +sufferings. Idris had shared Perdita's ill opinion of the Greek; but +Raymond's account softened and interested her. Evadne's constancy, +fortitude, even her ill-fated and ill-regulated love, were matter of +admiration and pity; especially when, from the detail of the events of the +nineteenth of October, it was apparent that she preferred suffering and +death to any in her eyes degrading application for the pity and assistance +of her lover. Her subsequent conduct did not diminish this interest. At +first, relieved from famine and the grave, watched over by Raymond with the +tenderest assiduity, with that feeling of repose peculiar to convalescence, +Evadne gave herself up to rapturous gratitude and love. But reflection +returned with health. She questioned him with regard to the motives which +had occasioned his critical absence. She framed her enquiries with Greek +subtlety; she formed her conclusions with the decision and firmness +peculiar to her disposition. She could not divine, that the breach which +she had occasioned between Raymond and Perdita was already irreparable: but +she knew, that under the present system it would be widened each day, and +that its result must be to destroy her lover's happiness, and to implant +the fangs of remorse in his heart. From the moment that she perceived the +right line of conduct, she resolved to adopt it, and to part from Raymond +for ever. Conflicting passions, long-cherished love, and self-inflicted +disappointment, made her regard death alone as sufficient refuge for her +woe. But the same feelings and opinions which had before restrained her, +acted with redoubled force; for she knew that the reflection that he had +occasioned her death, would pursue Raymond through life, poisoning every +enjoyment, clouding every prospect. Besides, though the violence of her +anguish made life hateful, it had not yet produced that monotonous, +lethargic sense of changeless misery which for the most part produces +suicide. Her energy of character induced her still to combat with the ills +of life; even those attendant on hopeless love presented themselves, rather +in the shape of an adversary to be overcome, than of a victor to whom she +must submit. Besides, she had memories of past tenderness to cherish, +smiles, words, and even tears, to con over, which, though remembered in +desertion and sorrow, were to be preferred to the forgetfulness of the +grave. It was impossible to guess at the whole of her plan. Her letter to +Raymond gave no clue for discovery; it assured him, that she was in no +danger of wanting the means of life; she promised in it to preserve +herself, and some future day perhaps to present herself to him in a station +not unworthy of her. She then bade him, with the eloquence of despair and +of unalterable love, a last farewell. + +All these circumstances were now related to Adrian and Idris. Raymond then +lamented the cureless evil of his situation with Perdita. He declared, +notwithstanding her harshness, he even called it coldness, that he loved +her. He had been ready once with the humility of a penitent, and the duty +of a vassal, to surrender himself to her; giving up his very soul to her +tutelage, to become her pupil, her slave, her bondsman. She had rejected +these advances; and the time for such exuberant submission, which must be +founded on love and nourished by it, was now passed. Still all his wishes +and endeavours were directed towards her peace, and his chief discomfort +arose from the perception that he exerted himself in vain. If she were to +continue inflexible in the line of conduct she now pursued, they must part. +The combinations and occurrences of this senseless mode of intercourse were +maddening to him. Yet he would not propose the separation. He was haunted +by the fear of causing the death of one or other of the beings implicated +in these events; and he could not persuade himself to undertake to direct +the course of events, lest, ignorant of the land he traversed, he should +lead those attached to the car into irremediable ruin. + +After a discussion on this subject, which lasted for several hours, he took +leave of his friends, and returned to town, unwilling to meet Perdita +before us, conscious, as we all must be, of the thoughts uppermost in the +minds of both. Perdita prepared to follow him with her child. Idris +endeavoured to persuade her to remain. My poor sister looked at the +counsellor with affright. She knew that Raymond had conversed with her; had +he instigated this request?--was this to be the prelude to their eternal +separation?--I have said, that the defects of her character awoke and +acquired vigour from her unnatural position. She regarded with suspicion +the invitation of Idris; she embraced me, as if she were about to be +deprived of my affection also: calling me her more than brother, her only +friend, her last hope, she pathetically conjured me not to cease to love +her; and with encreased anxiety she departed for London, the scene and +cause of all her misery. + +The scenes that followed, convinced her that she had not yet fathomed the +obscure gulph into which she had plunged. Her unhappiness assumed every day +a new shape; every day some unexpected event seemed to close, while in fact +it led onward, the train of calamities which now befell her. + +The selected passion of the soul of Raymond was ambition. Readiness of +talent, a capacity of entering into, and leading the dispositions of men; +earnest desire of distinction were the awakeners and nurses of his +ambition. But other ingredients mingled with these, and prevented him from +becoming the calculating, determined character, which alone forms a +successful hero. He was obstinate, but not firm; benevolent in his first +movements; harsh and reckless when provoked. Above all, he was remorseless +and unyielding in the pursuit of any object of desire, however lawless. +Love of pleasure, and the softer sensibilities of our nature, made a +prominent part of his character, conquering the conqueror; holding him in +at the moment of acquisition; sweeping away ambition's web; making him +forget the toil of weeks, for the sake of one moment's indulgence of the +new and actual object of his wishes. Obeying these impulses, he had become +the husband of Perdita: egged on by them, he found himself the lover of +Evadne. He had now lost both. He had neither the ennobling +self-gratulation, which constancy inspires, to console him, nor the +voluptuous sense of abandonment to a forbidden, but intoxicating passion. +His heart was exhausted by the recent events; his enjoyment of life was +destroyed by the resentment of Perdita, and the flight of Evadne; and the +inflexibility of the former, set the last seal upon the annihilation of his +hopes. As long as their disunion remained a secret, he cherished an +expectation of re-awakening past tenderness in her bosom; now that we were +all made acquainted with these occurrences, and that Perdita, by declaring +her resolves to others, in a manner pledged herself to their +accomplishment, he gave up the idea of re-union as futile, and sought only, +since he was unable to influence her to change, to reconcile himself to the +present state of things. He made a vow against love and its train of +struggles, disappointment and remorse, and sought in mere sensual +enjoyment, a remedy for the injurious inroads of passion. + +Debasement of character is the certain follower of such pursuits. Yet this +consequence would not have been immediately remarkable, if Raymond had +continued to apply himself to the execution of his plans for the public +benefit, and the fulfilling his duties as Protector. But, extreme in all +things, given up to immediate impressions, he entered with ardour into this +new pursuit of pleasure, and followed up the incongruous intimacies +occasioned by it without reflection or foresight. The council-chamber was +deserted; the crowds which attended on him as agents to his various +projects were neglected. Festivity, and even libertinism, became the order +of the day. + +Perdita beheld with affright the encreasing disorder. For a moment she +thought that she could stem the torrent, and that Raymond could be induced +to hear reason from her.--Vain hope! The moment of her influence was +passed. He listened with haughtiness, replied disdainfully; and, if in +truth, she succeeded in awakening his conscience, the sole effect was that +he sought an opiate for the pang in oblivious riot. With the energy natural +to her, Perdita then endeavoured to supply his place. Their still apparent +union permitted her to do much; but no woman could, in the end, present a +remedy to the encreasing negligence of the Protector; who, as if seized +with a paroxysm of insanity, trampled on all ceremony, all order, all duty, +and gave himself up to license. + +Reports of these strange proceedings reached us, and we were undecided what +method to adopt to restore our friend to himself and his country, when +Perdita suddenly appeared among us. She detailed the progress of the +mournful change, and entreated Adrian and myself to go up to London, and +endeavour to remedy the encreasing evil:--"Tell him," she cried, "tell +Lord Raymond, that my presence shall no longer annoy him. That he need not +plunge into this destructive dissipation for the sake of disgusting me, and +causing me to fly. This purpose is now accomplished; he will never see me +more. But let me, it is my last entreaty, let me in the praises of his +countrymen and the prosperity of England, find the choice of my youth +justified." + +During our ride up to town, Adrian and I discussed and argued upon +Raymond's conduct, and his falling off from the hopes of permanent +excellence on his part, which he had before given us cause to entertain. My +friend and I had both been educated in one school, or rather I was his +pupil in the opinion, that steady adherence to principle was the only road +to honour; a ceaseless observance of the laws of general utility, the only +conscientious aim of human ambition. But though we both entertained these +ideas, we differed in their application. Resentment added also a sting to +my censure; and I reprobated Raymond's conduct in severe terms. Adrian was +more benign, more considerate. He admitted that the principles that I laid +down were the best; but he denied that they were the only ones. Quoting the +text, _there are many mansions in my father's house_, he insisted that the +modes of becoming good or great, varied as much as the dispositions of men, +of whom it might be said, as of the leaves of the forest, there were no two +alike. + +We arrived in London at about eleven at night. We conjectured, +notwithstanding what we had heard, that we should find Raymond in St. +Stephen's: thither we sped. The chamber was full--but there was no +Protector; and there was an austere discontent manifest on the countenances +of the leaders, and a whispering and busy tattle among the underlings, not +less ominous. We hastened to the palace of the Protectorate. We found +Raymond in his dining room with six others: the bottle was being pushed +about merrily, and had made considerable inroads on the understanding of +one or two. He who sat near Raymond was telling a story, which convulsed +the rest with laughter. + +Raymond sat among them, though while he entered into the spirit of the +hour, his natural dignity never forsook him. He was gay, playful, +fascinating--but never did he overstep the modesty of nature, or the +respect due to himself, in his wildest sallies. Yet I own, that considering +the task which Raymond had taken on himself as Protector of England, and +the cares to which it became him to attend, I was exceedingly provoked to +observe the worthless fellows on whom his time was wasted, and the jovial +if not drunken spirit which seemed on the point of robbing him of his +better self. I stood watching the scene, while Adrian flitted like a shadow +in among them, and, by a word and look of sobriety, endeavoured to restore +order in the assembly. Raymond expressed himself delighted to see him, +declaring that he should make one in the festivity of the night. + +This action of Adrian provoked me. I was indignant that he should sit at +the same table with the companions of Raymond--men of abandoned +characters, or rather without any, the refuse of high-bred luxury, the +disgrace of their country. "Let me entreat Adrian," I cried, "not to +comply: rather join with me in endeavouring to withdraw Lord Raymond from +this scene, and restore him to other society." + +"My good fellow," said Raymond, "this is neither the time nor place for the +delivery of a moral lecture: take my word for it that my amusements and +society are not so bad as you imagine. We are neither hypocrites or fools +--for the rest, 'Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be +no more cakes and ale?'" + +I turned angrily away: "Verney," said Adrian, "you are very cynical: sit +down; or if you will not, perhaps, as you are not a frequent visitor, Lord +Raymond will humour you, and accompany us, as we had previously agreed +upon, to parliament." + +Raymond looked keenly at him; he could read benignity only in his gentle +lineaments; he turned to me, observing with scorn my moody and stern +demeanour. "Come," said Adrian, "I have promised for you, enable me to keep +my engagement. Come with us."--Raymond made an uneasy movement, and +laconically replied--"I won't!" + +The party in the mean time had broken up. They looked at the pictures, +strolled into the other apartments, talked of billiards, and one by one +vanished. Raymond strode angrily up and down the room. I stood ready to +receive and reply to his reproaches. Adrian leaned against the wall. "This +is infinitely ridiculous," he cried, "if you were school-boys, you could +not conduct yourselves more unreasonably." + +"You do not understand," said Raymond. "This is only part of a system:--a +scheme of tyranny to which I will never submit. Because I am Protector of +England, am I to be the only slave in its empire? My privacy invaded, my +actions censured, my friends insulted? But I will get rid of the whole +together.--Be you witnesses," and he took the star, insignia of office, +from his breast, and threw it on the table. "I renounce my office, I +abdicate my power--assume it who will!"--- + +"Let him assume it," exclaimed Adrian, "who can pronounce himself, or whom +the world will pronounce to be your superior. There does not exist the man +in England with adequate presumption. Know yourself, Raymond, and your +indignation will cease; your complacency return. A few months ago, whenever +we prayed for the prosperity of our country, or our own, we at the same +time prayed for the life and welfare of the Protector, as indissolubly +linked to it. Your hours were devoted to our benefit, your ambition was to +obtain our commendation. You decorated our towns with edifices, you +bestowed on us useful establishments, you gifted the soil with abundant +fertility. The powerful and unjust cowered at the steps of your +judgment-seat, and the poor and oppressed arose like morn-awakened flowers +under the sunshine of your protection. + +"Can you wonder that we are all aghast and mourn, when this appears +changed? But, come, this splenetic fit is already passed; resume your +functions; your partizans will hail you; your enemies be silenced; our +love, honour, and duty will again be manifested towards you. Master +yourself, Raymond, and the world is subject to you." + +"All this would be very good sense, if addressed to another," replied +Raymond, moodily, "con the lesson yourself, and you, the first peer of the +land, may become its sovereign. You the good, the wise, the just, may rule +all hearts. But I perceive, too soon for my own happiness, too late for +England's good, that I undertook a task to which I am unequal. I cannot +rule myself. My passions are my masters; my smallest impulse my tyrant. Do +you think that I renounced the Protectorate (and I have renounced it) in a +fit of spleen? By the God that lives, I swear never to take up that bauble +again; never again to burthen myself with the weight of care and misery, of +which that is the visible sign. + +"Once I desired to be a king. It was in the hey-day of youth, in the pride +of boyish folly. I knew myself when I renounced it. I renounced it to gain +--no matter what--for that also I have lost. For many months I have +submitted to this mock majesty--this solemn jest. I am its dupe no +longer. I will be free. + +"I have lost that which adorned and dignified my life; that which linked me +to other men. Again I am a solitary man; and I will become again, as in my +early years, a wanderer, a soldier of fortune. My friends, for Verney, I +feel that you are my friend, do not endeavour to shake my resolve. Perdita, +wedded to an imagination, careless of what is behind the veil, whose +charactery is in truth faulty and vile, Perdita has renounced me. With her +it was pretty enough to play a sovereign's part; and, as in the recesses of +your beloved forest we acted masques, and imagined ourselves Arcadian +shepherds, to please the fancy of the moment--so was I content, more for +Perdita's sake than my own, to take on me the character of one of the great +ones of the earth; to lead her behind the scenes of grandeur, to vary her +life with a short act of magnificence and power. This was to be the colour; +love and confidence the substance of our existence. But we must live, and +not act our lives; pursuing the shadow, I lost the reality--now I +renounce both. + +"Adrian, I am about to return to Greece, to become again a soldier, perhaps +a conqueror. Will you accompany me? You will behold new scenes; see a new +people; witness the mighty struggle there going forward between +civilization and barbarism; behold, and perhaps direct the efforts of a +young and vigorous population, for liberty and order. Come with me. I have +expected you. I waited for this moment; all is prepared;--will you +accompany me?" + +"I will," replied Adrian. "Immediately?" + +"To-morrow if you will." + +"Reflect!" I cried. + +"Wherefore?" asked Raymond--"My dear fellow, I have done nothing else +than reflect on this step the live-long summer; and be assured that Adrian +has condensed an age of reflection into this little moment. Do not talk of +reflection; from this moment I abjure it; this is my only happy moment +during a long interval of time. I must go, Lionel--the Gods will it; and +I must. Do not endeavour to deprive me of my companion, the out-cast's +friend. + +"One word more concerning unkind, unjust Perdita. For a time, I thought +that, by watching a complying moment, fostering the still warm ashes, I +might relume in her the flame of love. It is more cold within her, than a +fire left by gypsies in winter-time, the spent embers crowned by a pyramid +of snow. Then, in endeavouring to do violence to my own disposition, I made +all worse than before. Still I think, that time, and even absence, may +restore her to me. Remember, that I love her still, that my dearest hope is +that she will again be mine. I know, though she does not, how false the +veil is which she has spread over the reality--do not endeavour to rend +this deceptive covering, but by degrees withdraw it. Present her with a +mirror, in which she may know herself; and, when she is an adept in that +necessary but difficult science, she will wonder at her present mistake, +and hasten to restore to me, what is by right mine, her forgiveness, her +kind thoughts, her love." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +AFTER these events, it was long before we were able to attain any degree of +composure. A moral tempest had wrecked our richly freighted vessel, and we, +remnants of the diminished crew, were aghast at the losses and changes +which we had undergone. Idris passionately loved her brother, and could ill +brook an absence whose duration was uncertain; his society was dear and +necessary to me--I had followed up my chosen literary occupations with +delight under his tutorship and assistance; his mild philosophy, unerring +reason, and enthusiastic friendship were the best ingredient, the exalted +spirit of our circle; even the children bitterly regretted the loss of +their kind playfellow. Deeper grief oppressed Perdita. In spite of +resentment, by day and night she figured to herself the toils and dangers +of the wanderers. Raymond absent, struggling with difficulties, lost to the +power and rank of the Protectorate, exposed to the perils of war, became an +object of anxious interest; not that she felt any inclination to recall +him, if recall must imply a return to their former union. Such return she +felt to be impossible; and while she believed it to be thus, and with +anguish regretted that so it should be, she continued angry and impatient +with him, who occasioned her misery. These perplexities and regrets caused +her to bathe her pillow with nightly tears, and to reduce her in person and +in mind to the shadow of what she had been. She sought solitude, and +avoided us when in gaiety and unrestrained affection we met in a family +circle. Lonely musings, interminable wanderings, and solemn music were her +only pastimes. She neglected even her child; shutting her heart against all +tenderness, she grew reserved towards me, her first and fast friend. + +I could not see her thus lost, without exerting myself to remedy the evil +--remediless I knew, if I could not in the end bring her to reconcile +herself to Raymond. Before he went I used every argument, every persuasion +to induce her to stop his journey. She answered the one with a gush of +tears--telling me that to be persuaded--life and the goods of life were +a cheap exchange. It was not will that she wanted, but the capacity; again +and again she declared, it were as easy to enchain the sea, to put reins on +the wind's viewless courses, as for her to take truth for falsehood, deceit +for honesty, heartless communion for sincere, confiding love. She answered +my reasonings more briefly, declaring with disdain, that the reason was +hers; and, until I could persuade her that the past could be unacted, that +maturity could go back to the cradle, and that all that was could become as +though it had never been, it was useless to assure her that no real change +had taken place in her fate. And thus with stern pride she suffered him to +go, though her very heart-strings cracked at the fulfilling of the act, +which rent from her all that made life valuable. + +To change the scene for her, and even for ourselves, all unhinged by the +cloud that had come over us, I persuaded my two remaining companions that +it were better that we should absent ourselves for a time from Windsor. We +visited the north of England, my native Ulswater, and lingered in scenes +dear from a thousand associations. We lengthened our tour into Scotland, +that we might see Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond; thence we crossed to +Ireland, and passed several weeks in the neighbourhood of Killarney. The +change of scene operated to a great degree as I expected; after a year's +absence, Perdita returned in gentler and more docile mood to Windsor. The +first sight of this place for a time unhinged her. Here every spot was +distinct with associations now grown bitter. The forest glades, the ferny +dells, and lawny uplands, the cultivated and cheerful country spread around +the silver pathway of ancient Thames, all earth, air, and wave, took up one +choral voice, inspired by memory, instinct with plaintive regret. + +But my essay towards bringing her to a saner view of her own situation, did +not end here. Perdita was still to a great degree uneducated. When first +she left her peasant life, and resided with the elegant and cultivated +Evadne, the only accomplishment she brought to any perfection was that of +painting, for which she had a taste almost amounting to genius. This had +occupied her in her lonely cottage, when she quitted her Greek friend's +protection. Her pallet and easel were now thrown aside; did she try to +paint, thronging recollections made her hand tremble, her eyes fill with +tears. With this occupation she gave up almost every other; and her mind +preyed upon itself almost to madness. + +For my own part, since Adrian had first withdrawn me from my selvatic +wilderness to his own paradise of order and beauty, I had been wedded to +literature. I felt convinced that however it might have been in former +times, in the present stage of the world, no man's faculties could be +developed, no man's moral principle be enlarged and liberal, without an +extensive acquaintance with books. To me they stood in the place of an +active career, of ambition, and those palpable excitements necessary to the +multitude. The collation of philosophical opinions, the study of historical +facts, the acquirement of languages, were at once my recreation, and the +serious aim of my life. I turned author myself. My productions however were +sufficiently unpretending; they were confined to the biography of favourite +historical characters, especially those whom I believed to have been +traduced, or about whom clung obscurity and doubt. + +As my authorship increased, I acquired new sympathies and pleasures. I +found another and a valuable link to enchain me to my fellow-creatures; my +point of sight was extended, and the inclinations and capacities of all +human beings became deeply interesting to me. Kings have been called the +fathers of their people. Suddenly I became as it were the father of all +mankind. Posterity became my heirs. My thoughts were gems to enrich the +treasure house of man's intellectual possessions; each sentiment was a +precious gift I bestowed on them. Let not these aspirations be attributed +to vanity. They were not expressed in words, nor even reduced to form in my +own mind; but they filled my soul, exalting my thoughts, raising a glow of +enthusiasm, and led me out of the obscure path in which I before walked, +into the bright noon-enlightened highway of mankind, making me, citizen of +the world, a candidate for immortal honors, an eager aspirant to the praise +and sympathy of my fellow men. + +No one certainly ever enjoyed the pleasures of composition more intensely +than I. If I left the woods, the solemn music of the waving branches, and +the majestic temple of nature, I sought the vast halls of the Castle, and +looked over wide, fertile England, spread beneath our regal mount, and +listened the while to inspiring strains of music. At such times solemn +harmonies or spirit-stirring airs gave wings to my lagging thoughts, +permitting them, methought, to penetrate the last veil of nature and her +God, and to display the highest beauty in visible expression to the +understandings of men. As the music went on, my ideas seemed to quit their +mortal dwelling house; they shook their pinions and began a flight, sailing +on the placid current of thought, filling the creation with new glory, and +rousing sublime imagery that else had slept voiceless. Then I would hasten +to my desk, weave the new-found web of mind in firm texture and brilliant +colours, leaving the fashioning of the material to a calmer moment. + +But this account, which might as properly belong to a former period of my +life as to the present moment, leads me far afield. It was the pleasure I +took in literature, the discipline of mind I found arise from it, that made +me eager to lead Perdita to the same pursuits. I began with light hand and +gentle allurement; first exciting her curiosity, and then satisfying it in +such a way as might occasion her, at the same time that she half forgot her +sorrows in occupation, to find in the hours that succeeded a reaction of +benevolence and toleration. + +Intellectual activity, though not directed towards books, had always been +my sister's characteristic. It had been displayed early in life, leading +her out to solitary musing among her native mountains, causing her to form +innumerous combinations from common objects, giving strength to her +perceptions, and swiftness to their arrangement. Love had come, as the rod +of the master-prophet, to swallow up every minor propensity. Love had +doubled all her excellencies, and placed a diadem on her genius. Was she to +cease to love? Take the colours and odour from the rose, change the sweet +nutriment of mother's milk to gall and poison; as easily might you wean +Perdita from love. She grieved for the loss of Raymond with an anguish, +that exiled all smile from her lips, and trenched sad lines on her brow of +beauty. But each day seemed to change the nature of her suffering, and +every succeeding hour forced her to alter (if so I may style it) the +fashion of her soul's mourning garb. For a time music was able to satisfy +the cravings of her mental hunger, and her melancholy thoughts renewed +themselves in each change of key, and varied with every alteration in the +strain. My schooling first impelled her towards books; and, if music had +been the food of sorrow, the productions of the wise became its +medicine. The acquisition of unknown languages was too tedious an +occupation, for one who referred every expression to the universe within, +and read not, as many do, for the mere sake of filling up time; but who was +still questioning herself and her author, moulding every idea in a thousand +ways, ardently desirous for the discovery of truth in every sentence. She +sought to improve her understanding; mechanically her heart and +dispositions became soft and gentle under this benign discipline. After +awhile she discovered, that amidst all her newly acquired knowledge, her +own character, which formerly she fancied that she thoroughly understood, +became the first in rank among the terrae incognitae, the pathless wilds of +a country that had no chart. Erringly and strangely she began the task of +self-examination with self-condemnation. And then again she became aware of +her own excellencies, and began to balance with juster scales the shades of +good and evil. I, who longed beyond words, to restore her to the happiness +it was still in her power to enjoy, watched with anxiety the result of +these internal proceedings. + +But man is a strange animal. We cannot calculate on his forces like that of +an engine; and, though an impulse draw with a forty-horse power at what +appears willing to yield to one, yet in contempt of calculation the +movement is not effected. Neither grief, philosophy, nor love could make +Perdita think with mildness of the dereliction of Raymond. She now took +pleasure in my society; towards Idris she felt and displayed a full and +affectionate sense of her worth--she restored to her child in abundant +measure her tenderness and care. But I could discover, amidst all her +repinings, deep resentment towards Raymond, and an unfading sense of +injury, that plucked from me my hope, when I appeared nearest to its +fulfilment. Among other painful restrictions, she has occasioned it to +become a law among us, never to mention Raymond's name before her. She +refused to read any communications from Greece, desiring me only to mention +when any arrived, and whether the wanderers were well. It was curious that +even little Clara observed this law towards her mother. This lovely child +was nearly eight years of age. Formerly she had been a light-hearted +infant, fanciful, but gay and childish. After the departure of her father, +thought became impressed on her young brow. Children, unadepts in language, +seldom find words to express their thoughts, nor could we tell in what +manner the late events had impressed themselves on her mind. But certainly +she had made deep observations while she noted in silence the changes that +passed around her. She never mentioned her father to Perdita, she appeared +half afraid when she spoke of him to me, and though I tried to draw her out +on the subject, and to dispel the gloom that hung about her ideas +concerning him, I could not succeed. Yet each foreign post-day she watched +for the arrival of letters--knew the post mark, and watched me as I read. +I found her often poring over the article of Greek intelligence in the +newspaper. + +There is no more painful sight than that of untimely care in children, and +it was particularly observable in one whose disposition had heretofore been +mirthful. Yet there was so much sweetness and docility about Clara, that +your admiration was excited; and if the moods of mind are calculated to +paint the cheek with beauty, and endow motions with grace, surely her +contemplations must have been celestial; since every lineament was moulded +into loveliness, and her motions were more harmonious than the elegant +boundings of the fawns of her native forest. I sometimes expostulated with +Perdita on the subject of her reserve; but she rejected my counsels, while +her daughter's sensibility excited in her a tenderness still more +passionate. + +After the lapse of more than a year, Adrian returned from Greece. + +When our exiles had first arrived, a truce was in existence between the +Turks and Greeks; a truce that was as sleep to the mortal frame, signal of +renewed activity on waking. With the numerous soldiers of Asia, with all of +warlike stores, ships, and military engines, that wealth and power could +command, the Turks at once resolved to crush an enemy, which creeping on by +degrees, had from their stronghold in the Morea, acquired Thrace and +Macedonia, and had led their armies even to the gates of Constantinople, +while their extensive commercial relations gave every European nation an +interest in their success. Greece prepared for a vigorous resistance; it +rose to a man; and the women, sacrificing their costly ornaments, accoutred +their sons for the war, and bade them conquer or die with the spirit of the +Spartan mother. The talents and courage of Raymond were highly esteemed +among the Greeks. Born at Athens, that city claimed him for her own, and by +giving him the command of her peculiar division in the army, the +commander-in-chief only possessed superior power. He was numbered among her +citizens, his name was added to the list of Grecian heroes. His judgment, +activity, and consummate bravery, justified their choice. The Earl of +Windsor became a volunteer under his friend. + +"It is well," said Adrian, "to prate of war in these pleasant shades, and +with much ill-spent oil make a show of joy, because many thousand of our +fellow-creatures leave with pain this sweet air and natal earth. I shall +not be suspected of being averse to the Greek cause; I know and feel its +necessity; it is beyond every other a good cause. I have defended it with +my sword, and was willing that my spirit should be breathed out in its +defence; freedom is of more worth than life, and the Greeks do well to +defend their privilege unto death. But let us not deceive ourselves. The +Turks are men; each fibre, each limb is as feeling as our own, and every +spasm, be it mental or bodily, is as truly felt in a Turk's heart or brain, +as in a Greek's. The last action at which I was present was the taking of +----. The Turks resisted to the last, the garrison perished on the +ramparts, and we entered by assault. Every breathing creature within the +walls was massacred. Think you, amidst the shrieks of violated innocence +and helpless infancy, I did not feel in every nerve the cry of a fellow +being? They were men and women, the sufferers, before they were Mahometans, +and when they rise turbanless from the grave, in what except their good or +evil actions will they be the better or worse than we? Two soldiers +contended for a girl, whose rich dress and extreme beauty excited the +brutal appetites of these wretches, who, perhaps good men among their +families, were changed by the fury of the moment into incarnated evils. An +old man, with a silver beard, decrepid and bald, he might be her +grandfather, interposed to save her; the battle axe of one of them clove +his skull. I rushed to her defence, but rage made them blind and deaf; they +did not distinguish my Christian garb or heed my words--words were blunt +weapons then, for while war cried "havoc," and murder gave fit echo, how +could I-- + + Turn back the tide of ills, relieving wrong + With mild accost of soothing eloquence? + +One of the fellows, enraged at my interference, struck me with his bayonet +in the side, and I fell senseless. + +"This wound will probably shorten my life, having shattered a frame, weak +of itself. But I am content to die. I have learnt in Greece that one man, +more or less, is of small import, while human bodies remain to fill up the +thinned ranks of the soldiery; and that the identity of an individual may +be overlooked, so that the muster roll contain its full numbers. All this +has a different effect upon Raymond. He is able to contemplate the ideal of +war, while I am sensible only to its realities. He is a soldier, a general. +He can influence the blood-thirsty war-dogs, while I resist their +propensities vainly. The cause is simple. Burke has said that, 'in all +bodies those who would lead, must also, in a considerable degree, follow.' +--I cannot follow; for I do not sympathize in their dreams of massacre and +glory--to follow and to lead in such a career, is the natural bent of +Raymond's mind. He is always successful, and bids fair, at the same time +that he acquires high name and station for himself, to secure liberty, +probably extended empire, to the Greeks." + +Perdita's mind was not softened by this account. He, she thought, can be +great and happy without me. Would that I also had a career! Would that I +could freight some untried bark with all my hopes, energies, and desires, +and launch it forth into the ocean of life--bound for some attainable +point, with ambition or pleasure at the helm! But adverse winds detain me +on shore; like Ulysses, I sit at the water's edge and weep. But my +nerveless hands can neither fell the trees, nor smooth the planks. Under +the influence of these melancholy thoughts, she became more than ever in +love with sorrow. Yet Adrian's presence did some good; he at once broke +through the law of silence observed concerning Raymond. At first she +started from the unaccustomed sound; soon she got used to it and to love +it, and she listened with avidity to the account of his achievements. Clara +got rid also of her restraint; Adrian and she had been old playfellows; and +now, as they walked or rode together, he yielded to her earnest entreaty, +and repeated, for the hundredth time, some tale of her father's bravery, +munificence, or justice. + +Each vessel in the mean time brought exhilarating tidings from Greece. The +presence of a friend in its armies and councils made us enter into the +details with enthusiasm; and a short letter now and then from Raymond told +us how he was engrossed by the interests of his adopted country. The Greeks +were strongly attached to their commercial pursuits, and would have been +satisfied with their present acquisitions, had not the Turks roused them by +invasion. The patriots were victorious; a spirit of conquest was instilled; +and already they looked on Constantinople as their own. Raymond rose +perpetually in their estimation; but one man held a superior command to him +in their armies. He was conspicuous for his conduct and choice of position +in a battle fought in the plains of Thrace, on the banks of the Hebrus, +which was to decide the fate of Islam. The Mahometans were defeated, and +driven entirely from the country west of this river. The battle was +sanguinary, the loss of the Turks apparently irreparable; the Greeks, in +losing one man, forgot the nameless crowd strewed upon the bloody field, +and they ceased to value themselves on a victory, which cost them-- +Raymond. + +At the battle of Makri he had led the charge of cavalry, and pursued the +fugitives even to the banks of the Hebrus. His favourite horse was found +grazing by the margin of the tranquil river. It became a question whether +he had fallen among the unrecognized; but no broken ornament or stained +trapping betrayed his fate. It was suspected that the Turks, finding +themselves possessed of so illustrious a captive, resolved to satisfy their +cruelty rather than their avarice, and fearful of the interference of +England, had come to the determination of concealing for ever the +cold-blooded murder of the soldier they most hated and feared in the +squadrons of their enemy. + +Raymond was not forgotten in England. His abdication of the Protectorate +had caused an unexampled sensation; and, when his magnificent and manly +system was contrasted with the narrow views of succeeding politicians, the +period of his elevation was referred to with sorrow. The perpetual +recurrence of his name, joined to most honourable testimonials, in the +Greek gazettes, kept up the interest he had excited. He seemed the +favourite child of fortune, and his untimely loss eclipsed the world, and +shewed forth the remnant of mankind with diminished lustre. They clung with +eagerness to the hope held out that he might yet be alive. Their minister +at Constantinople was urged to make the necessary perquisitions, and should +his existence be ascertained, to demand his release. It was to be hoped +that their efforts would succeed, and that though now a prisoner, the sport +of cruelty and the mark of hate, he would be rescued from danger and +restored to the happiness, power, and honour which he deserved. + +The effect of this intelligence upon my sister was striking. She never for +a moment credited the story of his death; she resolved instantly to go to +Greece. Reasoning and persuasion were thrown away upon her; she would +endure no hindrance, no delay. It may be advanced for a truth, that, if +argument or entreaty can turn any one from a desperate purpose, whose +motive and end depends on the strength of the affections only, then it is +right so to turn them, since their docility shews, that neither the motive +nor the end were of sufficient force to bear them through the obstacles +attendant on their undertaking. If, on the contrary, they are proof against +expostulation, this very steadiness is an omen of success; and it becomes +the duty of those who love them, to assist in smoothing the obstructions in +their path. Such sentiments actuated our little circle. Finding Perdita +immoveable, we consulted as to the best means of furthering her purpose. +She could not go alone to a country where she had no friends, where she +might arrive only to hear the dreadful news, which must overwhelm her with +grief and remorse. Adrian, whose health had always been weak, now suffered +considerable aggravation of suffering from the effects of his wound. Idris +could not endure to leave him in this state; nor was it right either to +quit or take with us a young family for a journey of this description. I +resolved at length to accompany Perdita. The separation from my Idris was +painful--but necessity reconciled us to it in some degree: necessity and +the hope of saving Raymond, and restoring him again to happiness and +Perdita. No delay was to ensue. Two days after we came to our +determination, we set out for Portsmouth, and embarked. The season was May, +the weather stormless; we were promised a prosperous voyage. Cherishing the +most fervent hopes, embarked on the waste ocean, we saw with delight the +receding shore of Britain, and on the wings of desire outspeeded our well +filled sails towards the South. The light curling waves bore us onward, and +old ocean smiled at the freight of love and hope committed to his charge; +it stroked gently its tempestuous plains, and the path was smoothed for us. +Day and night the wind right aft, gave steady impulse to our keel--nor +did rough gale, or treacherous sand, or destructive rock interpose an +obstacle between my sister and the land which was to restore her to her +first beloved, + + Her dear heart's confessor--a heart within that heart. + + + + +VOL. II. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +DURING this voyage, when on calm evenings we conversed on deck, watching +the glancing of the waves and the changeful appearances of the sky, I +discovered the total revolution that the disasters of Raymond had wrought +in the mind of my sister. Were they the same waters of love, which, lately +cold and cutting as ice, repelling as that, now loosened from their frozen +chains, flowed through the regions of her soul in gushing and grateful +exuberance? She did not believe that he was dead, but she knew that he was +in danger, and the hope of assisting in his liberation, and the idea of +soothing by tenderness the ills that he might have undergone, elevated and +harmonized the late jarring element of her being. I was not so sanguine as +she as to the result of our voyage. She was not sanguine, but secure; and +the expectation of seeing the lover she had banished, the husband, friend, +heart's companion from whom she had long been alienated, wrapt her senses +in delight, her mind in placidity. It was beginning life again; it was +leaving barren sands for an abode of fertile beauty; it was a harbour after +a tempest, an opiate after sleepless nights, a happy waking from a terrible +dream. + +Little Clara accompanied us; the poor child did not well understand what +was going forward. She heard that we were bound for Greece, that she would +see her father, and now, for the first time, she prattled of him to her +mother. + +On landing at Athens we found difficulties encrease upon us: nor could the +storied earth or balmy atmosphere inspire us with enthusiasm or pleasure, +while the fate of Raymond was in jeopardy. No man had ever excited so +strong an interest in the public mind; this was apparent even among the +phlegmatic English, from whom he had long been absent. The Athenians had +expected their hero to return in triumph; the women had taught their +children to lisp his name joined to thanksgiving; his manly beauty, his +courage, his devotion to their cause, made him appear in their eyes almost +as one of the ancient deities of the soil descended from their native +Olympus to defend them. When they spoke of his probable death and certain +captivity, tears streamed from their eyes; even as the women of Syria +sorrowed for Adonis, did the wives and mothers of Greece lament our English +Raymond--Athens was a city of mourning. + +All these shews of despair struck Perdita with affright. With that sanguine +but confused expectation, which desire engendered while she was at a +distance from reality, she had formed an image in her mind of instantaneous +change, when she should set her foot on Grecian shores. She fancied that +Raymond would already be free, and that her tender attentions would come to +entirely obliterate even the memory of his mischance. But his fate was +still uncertain; she began to fear the worst, and to feel that her soul's +hope was cast on a chance that might prove a blank. The wife and lovely +child of Lord Raymond became objects of intense interest in Athens. The +gates of their abode were besieged, audible prayers were breathed for his +restoration; all these circumstances added to the dismay and fears of +Perdita. + +My exertions were unremitted: after a time I left Athens, and joined the +army stationed at Kishan in Thrace. Bribery, threats, and intrigue, soon +discovered the secret that Raymond was alive, a prisoner, suffering the +most rigorous confinement and wanton cruelties. We put in movement every +impulse of policy and money to redeem him from their hands. + +The impatience of my sister's disposition now returned on her, awakened by +repentance, sharpened by remorse. The very beauty of the Grecian climate, +during the season of spring, added torture to her sensations. The +unexampled loveliness of the flower-clad earth--the genial sunshine and +grateful shade--the melody of the birds--the majesty of the woods-- +the splendour of the marble ruins--the clear effulgence of the stars by +night--the combination of all that was exciting and voluptuous in this +transcending land, by inspiring a quicker spirit of life and an added +sensitiveness to every articulation of her frame, only gave edge to the +poignancy of her grief. Each long hour was counted, and "_He suffers_" was +the burthen of all her thoughts. She abstained from food; she lay on the +bare earth, and, by such mimickry of his enforced torments, endeavoured to +hold communion with his distant pain. I remembered in one of her harshest +moments a quotation of mine had roused her to anger and disdain. "Perdita," +I had said, "some day you will discover that you have done wrong in again +casting Raymond on the thorns of life. When disappointment has sullied his +beauty, when a soldier's hardships have bent his manly form, and loneliness +made even triumph bitter to him, then you will repent; and regret for the +irreparable change + + "will move + In hearts all rocky now, the late remorse of love."[1] + +The stinging "remorse of love" now pierced her heart. She accused herself +of his journey to Greece--his dangers--his imprisonment. She pictured +to herself the anguish of his solitude; she remembered with what eager +delight he had in former days made her the partner of his joyful hopes-- +with what grateful affection he received her sympathy in his cares. She +called to mind how often he had declared that solitude was to him the +greatest of all evils, and how death itself was to him more full of fear +and pain when he pictured to himself a lonely grave. "My best girl," he had +said, "relieves me from these phantasies. United to her, cherished in her +dear heart, never again shall I know the misery of finding myself alone. +Even if I die before you, my Perdita, treasure up my ashes till yours may +mingle with mine. It is a foolish sentiment for one who is not a +materialist, yet, methinks, even in that dark cell, I may feel that my +inanimate dust mingles with yours, and thus have a companion in decay." In +her resentful mood, these expressions had been remembered with acrimony and +disdain; they visited her in her softened hour, taking sleep from her eyes, +all hope of rest from her uneasy mind. + +Two months passed thus, when at last we obtained a promise of Raymond's +release. Confinement and hardship had undermined his health; the Turks +feared an accomplishment of the threats of the English government, if he +died under their hands; they looked upon his recovery as impossible; they +delivered him up as a dying man, willingly making over to us the rites of +burial. + +He came by sea from Constantinople to Athens. The wind, favourable to him, +blew so strongly in shore, that we were unable, as we had at first +intended, to meet him on his watery road. The watchtower of Athens was +besieged by inquirers, each sail eagerly looked out for; till on the first +of May the gallant frigate bore in sight, freighted with treasure more +invaluable than the wealth which, piloted from Mexico, the vexed Pacific +swallowed, or that was conveyed over its tranquil bosom to enrich the crown +of Spain. At early dawn the vessel was discovered bearing in shore; it was +conjectured that it would cast anchor about five miles from land. The news +spread through Athens, and the whole city poured out at the gate of the +Piraeus, down the roads, through the vineyards, the olive woods and +plantations of fig-trees, towards the harbour. The noisy joy of the +populace, the gaudy colours of their dress, the tumult of carriages and +horses, the march of soldiers intermixed, the waving of banners and sound +of martial music added to the high excitement of the scene; while round us +reposed in solemn majesty the relics of antient time. To our right the +Acropolis rose high, spectatress of a thousand changes, of ancient glory, +Turkish slavery, and the restoration of dear-bought liberty; tombs and +cenotaphs were strewed thick around, adorned by ever renewing vegetation; +the mighty dead hovered over their monuments, and beheld in our enthusiasm +and congregated numbers a renewal of the scenes in which they had been the +actors. Perdita and Clara rode in a close carriage; I attended them on +horseback. At length we arrived at the harbour; it was agitated by the +outward swell of the sea; the beach, as far could be discerned, was covered +by a moving multitude, which, urged by those behind toward the sea, again +rushed back as the heavy waves with sullen roar burst close to them. I +applied my glass, and could discern that the frigate had already cast +anchor, fearful of the danger of approaching nearer to a lee shore: a boat +was lowered; with a pang I saw that Raymond was unable to descend the +vessel's side; he was let down in a chair, and lay wrapt in cloaks at the +bottom of the boat. + +I dismounted, and called to some sailors who were rowing about the harbour +to pull up, and take me into their skiff; Perdita at the same moment +alighted from her carriage--she seized my arm--"Take me with you," she +cried; she was trembling and pale; Clara clung to her--"You must not," I +said, "the sea is rough--he will soon be here--do you not see his +boat?" The little bark to which I had beckoned had now pulled up; before I +could stop her, Perdita, assisted by the sailors was in it--Clara +followed her mother--a loud shout echoed from the crowd as we pulled out +of the inner harbour; while my sister at the prow, had caught hold of one +of the men who was using a glass, asking a thousand questions, careless of +the spray that broke over her, deaf, sightless to all, except the little +speck that, just visible on the top of the waves, evidently neared. We +approached with all the speed six rowers could give; the orderly and +picturesque dress of the soldiers on the beach, the sounds of exulting +music, the stirring breeze and waving flags, the unchecked exclamations of +the eager crowd, whose dark looks and foreign garb were purely eastern; the +sight of temple-crowned rock, the white marble of the buildings glittering +in the sun, and standing in bright relief against the dark ridge of lofty +mountains beyond; the near roar of the sea, the splash of oars, and dash of +spray, all steeped my soul in a delirium, unfelt, unimagined in the common +course of common life. Trembling, I was unable to continue to look through +the glass with which I had watched the motion of the crew, when the +frigate's boat had first been launched. We rapidly drew near, so that at +length the number and forms of those within could be discerned; its dark +sides grew big, and the splash of its oars became audible: I could +distinguish the languid form of my friend, as he half raised himself at our +approach. + +Perdita's questions had ceased; she leaned on my arm, panting with emotions +too acute for tears--our men pulled alongside the other boat. As a last +effort, my sister mustered her strength, her firmness; she stepped from one +boat to the other, and then with a shriek she sprang towards Raymond, knelt +at his side, and glueing her lips to the hand she seized, her face shrouded +by her long hair, gave herself up to tears. + +Raymond had somewhat raised himself at our approach, but it was with +difficulty that he exerted himself even thus much. With sunken cheek and +hollow eyes, pale and gaunt, how could I recognize the beloved of Perdita? +I continued awe-struck and mute--he looked smilingly on the poor girl; +the smile was his. A day of sun-shine falling on a dark valley, displays +its before hidden characteristics; and now this smile, the same with which +he first spoke love to Perdita, with which he had welcomed the +protectorate, playing on his altered countenance, made me in my heart's +core feel that this was Raymond. + +He stretched out to me his other hand; I discerned the trace of manacles on +his bared wrist. I heard my sister's sobs, and thought, happy are women who +can weep, and in a passionate caress disburthen the oppression of their +feelings; shame and habitual restraint hold back a man. I would have given +worlds to have acted as in days of boyhood, have strained him to my breast, +pressed his hand to my lips, and wept over him; my swelling heart choked +me; the natural current would not be checked; the big rebellious tears +gathered in my eyes; I turned aside, and they dropped in the sea--they +came fast and faster;--yet I could hardly be ashamed, for I saw that the +rough sailors were not unmoved, and Raymond's eyes alone were dry from +among our crew. He lay in that blessed calm which convalescence always +induces, enjoying in secure tranquillity his liberty and re-union with her +whom he adored. Perdita at length subdued her burst of passion, and rose, +--she looked round for Clara; the child frightened, not recognizing her +father, and neglected by us, had crept to the other end of the boat; she +came at her mother's call. Perdita presented her to Raymond; her first +words were: "Beloved, embrace our child!" + +"Come hither, sweet one," said her father, "do you not know me?" she +knew his voice, and cast herself in his arms with half bashful but +uncontrollable emotion. + +Perceiving the weakness of Raymond, I was afraid of ill consequences from +the pressure of the crowd on his landing. But they were awed as I had been, +at the change of his appearance. The music died away, the shouts abruptly +ended; the soldiers had cleared a space in which a carriage was drawn up. +He was placed in it; Perdita and Clara entered with him, and his escort +closed round it; a hollow murmur, akin to the roaring of the near waves, +went through the multitude; they fell back as the carriage advanced, and +fearful of injuring him they had come to welcome, by loud testimonies of +joy, they satisfied themselves with bending in a low salaam as the carriage +passed; it went slowly along the road of the Piraeus; passed by antique +temple and heroic tomb, beneath the craggy rock of the citadel. The sound +of the waves was left behind; that of the multitude continued at intervals, +supressed and hoarse; and though, in the city, the houses, churches, and +public buildings were decorated with tapestry and banners--though the +soldiery lined the streets, and the inhabitants in thousands were assembled +to give him hail, the same solemn silence prevailed, the soldiery presented +arms, the banners vailed, many a white hand waved a streamer, and vainly +sought to discern the hero in the vehicle, which, closed and encompassed by +the city guards, drew him to the palace allotted for his abode. + +Raymond was weak and exhausted, yet the interest he perceived to be excited +on his account, filled him with proud pleasure. He was nearly killed with +kindness. It is true, the populace retained themselves; but there arose a +perpetual hum and bustle from the throng round the palace, which added to +the noise of fireworks, the frequent explosion of arms, the tramp to and +fro of horsemen and carriages, to which effervescence he was the focus, +retarded his recovery. So we retired awhile to Eleusis, and here rest and +tender care added each day to the strength of our invalid. The zealous +attention of Perdita claimed the first rank in the causes which induced his +rapid recovery; but the second was surely the delight he felt in the +affection and good will of the Greeks. We are said to love much those whom +we greatly benefit. Raymond had fought and conquered for the Athenians; he +had suffered, on their account, peril, imprisonment, and hardship; their +gratitude affected him deeply, and he inly vowed to unite his fate for ever +to that of a people so enthusiastically devoted to him. + +Social feeling and sympathy constituted a marked feature in my disposition. +In early youth, the living drama acted around me, drew me heart and soul +into its vortex. I was now conscious of a change. I loved, I hoped, I +enjoyed; but there was something besides this. I was inquisitive as to the +internal principles of action of those around me: anxious to read their +thoughts justly, and for ever occupied in divining their inmost mind. All +events, at the same time that they deeply interested me, arranged +themselves in pictures before me. I gave the right place to every personage +in the groupe, the just balance to every sentiment. This undercurrent of +thought, often soothed me amidst distress, and even agony. It gave ideality +to that, from which, taken in naked truth, the soul would have revolted: it +bestowed pictorial colours on misery and disease, and not unfrequently +relieved me from despair in deplorable changes. This faculty, or instinct, +was now rouzed. I watched the re-awakened devotion of my sister; Clara's +timid, but concentrated admiration of her father, and Raymond's appetite +for renown, and sensitiveness to the demonstrations of affection of the +Athenians. Attentively perusing this animated volume, I was the less +surprised at the tale I read on the new-turned page. + +The Turkish army were at this time besieging Rodosto; and the Greeks, +hastening their preparations, and sending each day reinforcements, were on +the eve of forcing the enemy to battle. Each people looked on the coming +struggle as that which would be to a great degree decisive; as, in case of +victory, the next step would be the siege of Constantinople by the Greeks. +Raymond, being somewhat recovered, prepared to re-assume his command in the +army. + +Perdita did not oppose herself to his determination. She only stipulated to +be permitted to accompany him. She had set down no rule of conduct for +herself; but for her life she could not have opposed his slightest wish, or +do other than acquiesce cheerfully in all his projects. One word, in truth, +had alarmed her more than battles or sieges, during which she trusted +Raymond's high command would exempt him from danger. That word, as yet it +was not more to her, was PLAGUE. This enemy to the human race had begun +early in June to raise its serpent-head on the shores of the Nile; parts of +Asia, not usually subject to this evil, were infected. It was in +Constantinople; but as each year that city experienced a like visitation, +small attention was paid to those accounts which declared more people to +have died there already, than usually made up the accustomed prey of the +whole of the hotter months. However it might be, neither plague nor war +could prevent Perdita from following her lord, or induce her to utter one +objection to the plans which he proposed. To be near him, to be loved by +him, to feel him again her own, was the limit of her desires. The object of +her life was to do him pleasure: it had been so before, but with a +difference. In past times, without thought or foresight she had made him +happy, being so herself, and in any question of choice, consulted her own +wishes, as being one with his. Now she sedulously put herself out of the +question, sacrificing even her anxiety for his health and welfare to her +resolve not to oppose any of his desires. Love of the Greek people, +appetite for glory, and hatred of the barbarian government under which he +had suffered even to the approach of death, stimulated him. He wished to +repay the kindness of the Athenians, to keep alive the splendid +associations connected with his name, and to eradicate from Europe a power +which, while every other nation advanced in civilization, stood still, a +monument of antique barbarism. Having effected the reunion of Raymond and +Perdita, I was eager to return to England; but his earnest request, added +to awakening curiosity, and an indefinable anxiety to behold the +catastrophe, now apparently at hand, in the long drawn history of Grecian +and Turkish warfare, induced me to consent to prolong until the autumn, the +period of my residence in Greece. + +As soon as the health of Raymond was sufficiently re-established, he +prepared to join the Grecian camp, near Kishan, a town of some importance, +situated to the east of the Hebrus; in which Perdita and Clara were to +remain until the event of the expected battle. We quitted Athens on the 2nd +of June. Raymond had recovered from the gaunt and pallid looks of fever. If +I no longer saw the fresh glow of youth on his matured countenance, if care +had besieged his brow, "And dug deep trenches in his beauty's field," if +his hair, slightly mingled with grey, and his look, considerate even in its +eagerness, gave signs of added years and past sufferings, yet there was +something irresistibly affecting in the sight of one, lately snatched from +the grave, renewing his career, untamed by sickness or disaster. The +Athenians saw in him, not as heretofore, the heroic boy or desperate man, +who was ready to die for them; but the prudent commander, who for their +sakes was careful of his life, and could make his own warrior-propensities +second to the scheme of conduct policy might point out. + +All Athens accompanied us for several miles. When he had landed a month +ago, the noisy populace had been hushed by sorrow and fear; but this was a +festival day to all. The air resounded with their shouts; their picturesque +costume, and the gay colours of which it was composed, flaunted in the +sunshine; their eager gestures and rapid utterance accorded with their wild +appearance. Raymond was the theme of every tongue, the hope of each wife, +mother or betrothed bride, whose husband, child, or lover, making a part of +the Greek army, were to be conducted to victory by him. + +Notwithstanding the hazardous object of our journey, it was full of +romantic interest, as we passed through the vallies, and over the hills, of +this divine country. Raymond was inspirited by the intense sensations of +recovered health; he felt that in being general of the Athenians, he filled +a post worthy of his ambition; and, in his hope of the conquest of +Constantinople, he counted on an event which would be as a landmark in the +waste of ages, an exploit unequalled in the annals of man; when a city of +grand historic association, the beauty of whose site was the wonder of the +world, which for many hundred years had been the strong hold of the +Moslems, should be rescued from slavery and barbarism, and restored to a +people illustrious for genius, civilization, and a spirit of liberty. +Perdita rested on his restored society, on his love, his hopes and fame, +even as a Sybarite on a luxurious couch; every thought was transport, each +emotion bathed as it were in a congenial and balmy element. + +We arrived at Kishan on the 7th of July. The weather during our journey had +been serene. Each day, before dawn, we left our night's encampment, and +watched the shadows as they retreated from hill and valley, and the golden +splendour of the sun's approach. The accompanying soldiers received, with +national vivacity, enthusiastic pleasure from the sight of beautiful +nature. The uprising of the star of day was hailed by triumphant strains, +while the birds, heard by snatches, filled up the intervals of the music. +At noon, we pitched our tents in some shady valley, or embowering wood +among the mountains, while a stream prattling over pebbles induced grateful +sleep. Our evening march, more calm, was yet more delightful than the +morning restlessness of spirit. If the band played, involuntarily they +chose airs of moderated passion; the farewell of love, or lament at +absence, was followed and closed by some solemn hymn, which harmonized with +the tranquil loveliness of evening, and elevated the soul to grand and +religious thought. Often all sounds were suspended, that we might listen to +the nightingale, while the fire-flies danced in bright measure, and the +soft cooing of the aziolo spoke of fair weather to the travellers. Did we +pass a valley? Soft shades encompassed us, and rocks tinged with beauteous +hues. If we traversed a mountain, Greece, a living map, was spread beneath, +her renowned pinnacles cleaving the ether; her rivers threading in silver +line the fertile land. Afraid almost to breathe, we English travellers +surveyed with extasy this splendid landscape, so different from the sober +hues and melancholy graces of our native scenery. When we quitted +Macedonia, the fertile but low plains of Thrace afforded fewer beauties; +yet our journey continued to be interesting. An advanced guard gave +information of our approach, and the country people were quickly in motion +to do honour to Lord Raymond. The villages were decorated by triumphal +arches of greenery by day, and lamps by night; tapestry waved from the +windows, the ground was strewed with flowers, and the name of Raymond, +joined to that of Greece, was echoed in the Evive of the peasant crowd. + +When we arrived at Kishan, we learnt, that on hearing of the advance of +Lord Raymond and his detachment, the Turkish army had retreated from +Rodosto; but meeting with a reinforcement, they had re-trod their steps. In +the meantime, Argyropylo, the Greek commander-in-chief, had advanced, so as +to be between the Turks and Rodosto; a battle, it was said, was inevitable. +Perdita and her child were to remain at Kishan. Raymond asked me, if I +would not continue with them. "Now by the fells of Cumberland," I cried, +"by all of the vagabond and poacher that appertains to me, I will stand at +your side, draw my sword in the Greek cause, and be hailed as a victor +along with you!" + +All the plain, from Kishan to Rodosto, a distance of sixteen leagues, was +alive with troops, or with the camp-followers, all in motion at the +approach of a battle. The small garrisons were drawn from the various towns +and fortresses, and went to swell the main army. We met baggage waggons, +and many females of high and low rank returning to Fairy or Kishan, there +to wait the issue of the expected day. When we arrived at Rodosto, we found +that the field had been taken, and the scheme of the battle arranged. The +sound of firing, early on the following morning, informed us that advanced +posts of the armies were engaged. Regiment after regiment advanced, their +colours flying and bands playing. They planted the cannon on the tumuli, +sole elevations in this level country, and formed themselves into column +and hollow square; while the pioneers threw up small mounds for their +protection. + +These then were the preparations for a battle, nay, the battle itself; far +different from any thing the imagination had pictured. We read of centre +and wing in Greek and Roman history; we fancy a spot, plain as a table, and +soldiers small as chessmen; and drawn forth, so that the most ignorant of +the game can discover science and order in the disposition of the forces. +When I came to the reality, and saw regiments file off to the left far out +of sight, fields intervening between the battalions, but a few troops +sufficiently near me to observe their motions, I gave up all idea of +understanding, even of seeing a battle, but attaching myself to Raymond +attended with intense interest to his actions. He shewed himself collected, +gallant and imperial; his commands were prompt, his intuition of the events +of the day to me miraculous. In the mean time the cannon roared; the music +lifted up its enlivening voice at intervals; and we on the highest of the +mounds I mentioned, too far off to observe the fallen sheaves which death +gathered into his storehouse, beheld the regiments, now lost in smoke, now +banners and staves peering above the cloud, while shout and clamour drowned +every sound. + +Early in the day, Argyropylo was wounded dangerously, and Raymond assumed +the command of the whole army. He made few remarks, till, on observing +through his glass the sequel of an order he had given, his face, clouded +for awhile with doubt, became radiant. "The day is ours," he cried, "the +Turks fly from the bayonet." And then swiftly he dispatched his +aides-de-camp to command the horse to fall on the routed enemy. The defeat +became total; the cannon ceased to roar; the infantry rallied, and horse +pursued the flying Turks along the dreary plain; the staff of Raymond was +dispersed in various directions, to make observations, and bear commands. +Even I was dispatched to a distant part of the field. + +The ground on which the battle was fought, was a level plain--so level, +that from the tumuli you saw the waving line of mountains on the +wide-stretched horizon; yet the intervening space was unvaried by the least +irregularity, save such undulations as resembled the waves of the sea. The +whole of this part of Thrace had been so long a scene of contest, that it +had remained uncultivated, and presented a dreary, barren appearance. The +order I had received, was to make an observation of the direction which a +detachment of the enemy might have taken, from a northern tumulus; the +whole Turkish army, followed by the Greek, had poured eastward; none but +the dead remained in the direction of my side. From the top of the mound, I +looked far round--all was silent and deserted. + +The last beams of the nearly sunken sun shot up from behind the far summit +of Mount Athos; the sea of Marmora still glittered beneath its rays, while +the Asiatic coast beyond was half hid in a haze of low cloud. Many a +casque, and bayonet, and sword, fallen from unnerved arms, reflected the +departing ray; they lay scattered far and near. From the east, a band of +ravens, old inhabitants of the Turkish cemeteries, came sailing along +towards their harvest; the sun disappeared. This hour, melancholy yet +sweet, has always seemed to me the time when we are most naturally led to +commune with higher powers; our mortal sternness departs, and gentle +complacency invests the soul. But now, in the midst of the dying and the +dead, how could a thought of heaven or a sensation of tranquillity possess +one of the murderers? During the busy day, my mind had yielded itself a +willing slave to the state of things presented to it by its fellow-beings; +historical association, hatred of the foe, and military enthusiasm had held +dominion over me. Now, I looked on the evening star, as softly and calmly +it hung pendulous in the orange hues of sunset. I turned to the +corse-strewn earth; and felt ashamed of my species. So perhaps were the +placid skies; for they quickly veiled themselves in mist, and in this +change assisted the swift disappearance of twilight usual in the south; +heavy masses of cloud floated up from the south east, and red and turbid +lightning shot from their dark edges; the rushing wind disturbed the +garments of the dead, and was chilled as it passed over their icy forms. +Darkness gathered round; the objects about me became indistinct, I +descended from my station, and with difficulty guided my horse, so as to +avoid the slain. + +Suddenly I heard a piercing shriek; a form seemed to rise from the earth; +it flew swiftly towards me, sinking to the ground again as it drew near. +All this passed so suddenly, that I with difficulty reined in my horse, so +that it should not trample on the prostrate being. The dress of this person +was that of a soldier, but the bared neck and arms, and the continued +shrieks discovered a female thus disguised. I dismounted to her aid, while +she, with heavy groans, and her hand placed on her side, resisted my +attempt to lead her on. In the hurry of the moment I forgot that I was in +Greece, and in my native accents endeavoured to soothe the sufferer. With +wild and terrific exclamations did the lost, dying Evadne (for it was she) +recognize the language of her lover; pain and fever from her wound had +deranged her intellects, while her piteous cries and feeble efforts to +escape, penetrated me with compassion. In wild delirium she called upon the +name of Raymond; she exclaimed that I was keeping him from her, while the +Turks with fearful instruments of torture were about to take his life. Then +again she sadly lamented her hard fate; that a woman, with a woman's heart +and sensibility, should be driven by hopeless love and vacant hopes to take +up the trade of arms, and suffer beyond the endurance of man privation, +labour, and pain--the while her dry, hot hand pressed mine, and her brow +and lips burned with consuming fire. + +As her strength grew less, I lifted her from the ground; her emaciated form +hung over my arm, her sunken cheek rested on my breast; in a sepulchral +voice she murmured:--"This is the end of love!--Yet not the end!"-- +and frenzy lent her strength as she cast her arm up to heaven: "there is +the end! there we meet again. Many living deaths have I borne for thee, O +Raymond, and now I expire, thy victim!--By my death I purchase thee-- +lo! the instruments of war, fire, the plague are my servitors. I dared, I +conquered them all, till now! I have sold myself to death, with the sole +condition that thou shouldst follow me--Fire, and war, and plague, unite +for thy destruction--O my Raymond, there is no safety for thee!" + +With an heavy heart I listened to the changes of her delirium; I made her a +bed of cloaks; her violence decreased and a clammy dew stood on her brow as +the paleness of death succeeded to the crimson of fever, I placed her on +the cloaks. She continued to rave of her speedy meeting with her beloved in +the grave, of his death nigh at hand; sometimes she solemnly declared that +he was summoned; sometimes she bewailed his hard destiny. Her voice grew +feebler, her speech interrupted; a few convulsive movements, and her +muscles relaxed, the limbs fell, no more to be sustained, one deep sigh, +and life was gone. + +I bore her from the near neighbourhood of the dead; wrapt in cloaks, I +placed her beneath a tree. Once more I looked on her altered face; the last +time I saw her she was eighteen; beautiful as poet's vision, splendid as a +Sultana of the East--Twelve years had past; twelve years of change, +sorrow and hardship; her brilliant complexion had become worn and dark, her +limbs had lost the roundness of youth and womanhood; her eyes had sunk +deep, + + Crushed and o'erworn, + The hours had drained her blood, and filled her brow + With lines and wrinkles. + +With shuddering horror I veiled this monument of human passion and human +misery; I heaped over her all of flags and heavy accoutrements I could +find, to guard her from birds and beasts of prey, until I could bestow on +her a fitting grave. Sadly and slowly I stemmed my course from among the +heaps of slain, and, guided by the twinkling lights of the town, at length +reached Rodosto. + +[1] Lord Byron's Fourth Canto of Childe Harolde. +[2] Shakspeare's Sonnets. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +ON my arrival, I found that an order had already gone forth for the army to +proceed immediately towards Constantinople; and the troops which had +suffered least in the battle were already on their way. The town was full +of tumult. The wound, and consequent inability of Argyropylo, caused +Raymond to be the first in command. He rode through the town, visiting the +wounded, and giving such orders as were necessary for the siege he +meditated. Early in the morning the whole army was in motion. In the hurry +I could hardly find an opportunity to bestow the last offices on Evadne. +Attended only by my servant, I dug a deep grave for her at the foot of the +tree, and without disturbing her warrior shroud, I placed her in it, +heaping stones upon the grave. The dazzling sun and glare of daylight, +deprived the scene of solemnity; from Evadne's low tomb, I joined Raymond +and his staff, now on their way to the Golden City. + +Constantinople was invested, trenches dug, and advances made. The whole +Greek fleet blockaded it by sea; on land from the river Kyat Kbanah, near +the Sweet Waters, to the Tower of Marmora, on the shores of the Propontis, +along the whole line of the ancient walls, the trenches of the siege were +drawn. We already possessed Pera; the Golden Horn itself, the city, +bastioned by the sea, and the ivy-mantled walls of the Greek emperors was +all of Europe that the Mahometans could call theirs. Our army looked on her +as certain prey. They counted the garrison; it was impossible that it +should be relieved; each sally was a victory; for, even when the Turks were +triumphant, the loss of men they sustained was an irreparable injury. I rode +one morning with Raymond to the lofty mound, not far from the Top Kapou, +(Cannon-gate), on which Mahmoud planted his standard, and first saw the +city. Still the same lofty domes and minarets towered above the verdurous +walls, where Constantine had died, and the Turk had entered the city. The +plain around was interspersed with cemeteries, Turk, Greek, and Armenian, +with their growth of cypress trees; and other woods of more cheerful +aspect, diversified the scene. Among them the Greek army was encamped, and +their squadrons moved to and fro--now in regular march, now in swift +career. + +Raymond's eyes were fixed on the city. "I have counted the hours of her +life," said he; "one month, and she falls. Remain with me till then; wait +till you see the cross on St. Sophia; and then return to your peaceful +glades." + +"You then," I asked, "still remain in Greece?" + +"Assuredly," replied Raymond. "Yet Lionel, when I say this, +believe me I look back with regret to our tranquil life at Windsor. +I am but half a soldier; I love the renown, but not the trade of war. +Before the battle of Rodosto I was full of hope and spirit; to +conquer there, and afterwards to take Constantinople, was the +hope, the bourne, the fulfilment of my ambition. This enthusiasm is now +spent, I know not why; I seem to myself to be entering a darksome gulph; +the ardent spirit of the army is irksome to me, the rapture of triumph +null." + +He paused, and was lost in thought. His serious mien recalled, by some +association, the half-forgotten Evadne to my mind, and I seized this +opportunity to make enquiries from him concerning her strange lot. I asked +him, if he had ever seen among the troops any one resembling her; if since +he had returned to Greece he had heard of her? + +He started at her name,--he looked uneasily on me. "Even so," he cried, +"I knew you would speak of her. Long, long I had forgotten her. Since our +encampment here, she daily, hourly visits my thoughts. When I am addressed, +her name is the sound I expect: in every communication, I imagine that she +will form a part. At length you have broken the spell; tell me what you +know of her." + +I related my meeting with her; the story of her death was told and re-told. +With painful earnestness he questioned me concerning her prophecies with +regard to him. I treated them as the ravings of a maniac. "No, no," he +said, "do not deceive yourself,--me you cannot. She has said nothing but +what I knew before--though this is confirmation. Fire, the sword, and +plague! They may all be found in yonder city; on my head alone may they +fall!" + +From this day Raymond's melancholy increased. He secluded himself as much +as the duties of his station permitted. When in company, sadness would in +spite of every effort steal over his features, and he sat absent and mute +among the busy crowd that thronged about him. Perdita rejoined him, and +before her he forced himself to appear cheerful, for she, even as a mirror, +changed as he changed, and if he were silent and anxious, she solicitously +inquired concerning, and endeavoured to remove the cause of his +seriousness. She resided at the palace of Sweet Waters, a summer seraglio +of the Sultan; the beauty of the surrounding scenery, undefiled by war, and +the freshness of the river, made this spot doubly delightful. Raymond felt +no relief, received no pleasure from any show of heaven or earth. He often +left Perdita, to wander in the grounds alone; or in a light shallop he +floated idly on the pure waters, musing deeply. Sometimes I joined him; at +such times his countenance was invariably solemn, his air dejected. He +seemed relieved on seeing me, and would talk with some degree of interest +on the affairs of the day. There was evidently something behind all this; +yet, when he appeared about to speak of that which was nearest his heart, +he would abruptly turn away, and with a sigh endeavour to deliver the +painful idea to the winds. + +It had often occurred, that, when, as I said, Raymond quitted Perdita's +drawing-room, Clara came up to me, and gently drawing me aside, said, "Papa +is gone; shall we go to him? I dare say he will be glad to see you." And, +as accident permitted, I complied with or refused her request. One evening +a numerous assembly of Greek chieftains were gathered together in the +palace. The intriguing Palli, the accomplished Karazza, the warlike +Ypsilanti, were among the principal. They talked of the events of the day; +the skirmish at noon; the diminished numbers of the Infidels; their defeat +and flight: they contemplated, after a short interval of time, the capture +of the Golden City. They endeavoured to picture forth what would then +happen, and spoke in lofty terms of the prosperity of Greece, when +Constantinople should become its capital. The conversation then reverted to +Asiatic intelligence, and the ravages the plague made in its chief cities; +conjectures were hazarded as to the progress that disease might have made +in the besieged city. + +Raymond had joined in the former part of the discussion. In lively terms he +demonstrated the extremities to which Constantinople was reduced; the +wasted and haggard, though ferocious appearance of the troops; famine and +pestilence was at work for them, he observed, and the infidels would soon +be obliged to take refuge in their only hope--submission. Suddenly in the +midst of his harangue he broke off, as if stung by some painful thought; he +rose uneasily, and I perceived him at length quit the hall, and through the +long corridor seek the open air. He did not return; and soon Clara crept +round to me, making the accustomed invitation. I consented to her request, +and taking her little hand, followed Raymond. We found him just about to +embark in his boat, and he readily agreed to receive us as companions. +After the heats of the day, the cooling land-breeze ruffled the river, and +filled our little sail. The city looked dark to the south, while numerous +lights along the near shores, and the beautiful aspect of the banks +reposing in placid night, the waters keenly reflecting the heavenly lights, +gave to this beauteous river a dower of loveliness that might have +characterized a retreat in Paradise. Our single boatman attended to the +sail; Raymond steered; Clara sat at his feet, clasping his knees with her +arms, and laying her head on them. Raymond began the conversation somewhat +abruptly. + +"This, my friend, is probably the last time we shall have an opportunity of +conversing freely; my plans are now in full operation, and my time will +become more and more occupied. Besides, I wish at once to tell you my +wishes and expectations, and then never again to revert to so painful a +subject. First, I must thank you, Lionel, for having remained here at my +request. Vanity first prompted me to ask you: vanity, I call it; yet even +in this I see the hand of fate--your presence will soon be necessary; you +will become the last resource of Perdita, her protector and consoler. You +will take her back to Windsor."-- + +"Not without you," I said. "You do not mean to separate again?" + +"Do not deceive yourself," replied Raymond, "the separation at hand is one +over which I have no control; most near at hand is it; the days are already +counted. May I trust you? For many days I have longed to disclose the +mysterious presentiments that weigh on me, although I fear that you will +ridicule them. Yet do not, my gentle friend; for, all childish and unwise +as they are, they have become a part of me, and I dare not expect to shake +them off. + +"Yet how can I expect you to sympathize with me? You are of this world; I +am not. You hold forth your hand; it is even as a part of yourself; and you +do not yet divide the feeling of identity from the mortal form that shapes +forth Lionel. How then can you understand me? Earth is to me a tomb, the +firmament a vault, shrouding mere corruption. Time is no more, for I have +stepped within the threshold of eternity; each man I meet appears a corse, +which will soon be deserted of its animating spark, on the eve of decay and +corruption. + + Cada piedra un piramide levanta, + y cada flor costruye un monumento, + cada edificio es un sepulcro altivo, + cada soldado un esqueleto vivo."[1] + +His accent was mournful,--he sighed deeply. "A few months ago," he +continued, "I was thought to be dying; but life was strong within me. My +affections were human; hope and love were the day-stars of my life. Now-- +they dream that the brows of the conqueror of the infidel faith are about +to be encircled by triumphant laurel; they talk of honourable reward, of +title, power, and wealth--all I ask of Greece is a grave. Let them raise +a mound above my lifeless body, which may stand even when the dome of St. +Sophia has fallen. + +"Wherefore do I feel thus? At Rodosto I was full of hope; but when first I +saw Constantinople, that feeling, with every other joyful one, departed. +The last words of Evadne were the seal upon the warrant of my death. Yet I +do not pretend to account for my mood by any particular event. All I can +say is, that it is so. The plague I am told is in Constantinople, perhaps I +have imbibed its effluvia--perhaps disease is the real cause of my +prognostications. It matters little why or wherefore I am affected, no +power can avert the stroke, and the shadow of Fate's uplifted hand already +darkens me. + +"To you, Lionel, I entrust your sister and her child. Never mention to her +the fatal name of Evadne. She would doubly sorrow over the strange link +that enchains me to her, making my spirit obey her dying voice, following +her, as it is about to do, to the unknown country." + +I listened to him with wonder; but that his sad demeanour and solemn +utterance assured me of the truth and intensity of his feelings, I should +with light derision have attempted to dissipate his fears. Whatever I was +about to reply, was interrupted by the powerful emotions of Clara. Raymond +had spoken, thoughtless of her presence, and she, poor child, heard with +terror and faith the prophecy of his death. Her father was moved by her +violent grief; he took her in his arms and soothed her, but his very +soothings were solemn and fearful. "Weep not, sweet child," said he, "the +coming death of one you have hardly known. I may die, but in death I can +never forget or desert my own Clara. In after sorrow or joy, believe that +you father's spirit is near, to save or sympathize with you. Be proud of +me, and cherish your infant remembrance of me. Thus, sweetest, I shall not +appear to die. One thing you must promise,--not to speak to any one but +your uncle, of the conversation you have just overheard. When I am gone, +you will console your mother, and tell her that death was only bitter +because it divided me from her; that my last thoughts will be spent on her. +But while I live, promise not to betray me; promise, my child." + +With faltering accents Clara promised, while she still clung to her father +in a transport of sorrow. Soon we returned to shore, and I endeavoured to +obviate the impression made on the child's mind, by treating Raymond's +fears lightly. We heard no more of them; for, as he had said, the siege, +now drawing to a conclusion, became paramount in interest, engaging all his +time and attention. + +The empire of the Mahometans in Europe was at its close. The Greek fleet +blockading every port of Stamboul, prevented the arrival of succour from +Asia; all egress on the side towards land had become impracticable, except +to such desperate sallies, as reduced the numbers of the enemy without +making any impression on our lines. The garrison was now so much +diminished, that it was evident that the city could easily have been +carried by storm; but both humanity and policy dictated a slower mode of +proceeding. We could hardly doubt that, if pursued to the utmost, its +palaces, its temples and store of wealth would be destroyed in the fury of +contending triumph and defeat. Already the defenceless citizens had +suffered through the barbarity of the Janisaries; and, in time of storm, +tumult and massacre, beauty, infancy and decrepitude, would have alike been +sacrificed to the brutal ferocity of the soldiers. Famine and blockade were +certain means of conquest; and on these we founded our hopes of victory. + +Each day the soldiers of the garrison assaulted our advanced posts, and +impeded the accomplishment of our works. Fire-boats were launched from the +various ports, while our troops sometimes recoiled from the devoted courage +of men who did not seek to live, but to sell their lives dearly. These +contests were aggravated by the season: they took place during summer, when +the southern Asiatic wind came laden with intolerable heat, when the +streams were dried up in their shallow beds, and the vast basin of the sea +appeared to glow under the unmitigated rays of the solsticial sun. Nor did +night refresh the earth. Dew was denied; herbage and flowers there were +none; the very trees drooped; and summer assumed the blighted appearance of +winter, as it went forth in silence and flame to abridge the means of +sustenance to man. In vain did the eye strive to find the wreck of some +northern cloud in the stainless empyrean, which might bring hope of change +and moisture to the oppressive and windless atmosphere. All was serene, +burning, annihilating. We the besiegers were in the comparison little +affected by these evils. The woods around afforded us shade,--the river +secured to us a constant supply of water; nay, detachments were employed in +furnishing the army with ice, which had been laid up on Haemus, and Athos, +and the mountains of Macedonia, while cooling fruits and wholesome food +renovated the strength of the labourers, and made us bear with less +impatience the weight of the unrefreshing air. But in the city things wore +a different face. The sun's rays were refracted from the pavement and +buildings--the stoppage of the public fountains--the bad quality of the +food, and scarcity even of that, produced a state of suffering, which was +aggravated by the scourge of disease; while the garrison arrogated every +superfluity to themselves, adding by waste and riot to the necessary evils +of the time. Still they would not capitulate. + +Suddenly the system of warfare was changed. We experienced no more +assaults; and by night and day we continued our labours unimpeded. Stranger +still, when the troops advanced near the city, the walls were vacant, and +no cannon was pointed against the intruders. When these circumstances were +reported to Raymond, he caused minute observations to be made as to what +was doing within the walls, and when his scouts returned, reporting only +the continued silence and desolation of the city, he commanded the army to +be drawn out before the gates. No one appeared on the walls; the very +portals, though locked and barred, seemed unguarded; above, the many domes +and glittering crescents pierced heaven; while the old walls, survivors of +ages, with ivy-crowned tower and weed-tangled buttress, stood as rocks in +an uninhabited waste. From within the city neither shout nor cry, nor aught +except the casual howling of a dog, broke the noon-day stillness. Even our +soldiers were awed to silence; the music paused; the clang of arms was +hushed. Each man asked his fellow in whispers, the meaning of this sudden +peace; while Raymond from an height endeavoured, by means of glasses, to +discover and observe the stratagem of the enemy. No form could be discerned +on the terraces of the houses; in the higher parts of the town no moving +shadow bespoke the presence of any living being: the very trees waved not, +and mocked the stability of architecture with like immovability. + +The tramp of horses, distinctly heard in the silence, was at length +discerned. It was a troop sent by Karazza, the Admiral; they bore +dispatches to the Lord General. The contents of these papers were +important. The night before, the watch, on board one of the smaller vessels +anchored near the seraglio wall, was roused by a slight splashing as of +muffled oars; the alarm was given: twelve small boats, each containing +three Janizaries, were descried endeavouring to make their way through the +fleet to the opposite shore of Scutari. When they found themselves +discovered they discharged their muskets, and some came to the front to +cover the others, whose crews, exerting all their strength, endeavoured to +escape with their light barks from among the dark hulls that environed +them. They were in the end all sunk, and, with the exception of two or +three prisoners, the crews drowned. Little could be got from the survivors; +but their cautious answers caused it to be surmised that several +expeditions had preceded this last, and that several Turks of rank and +importance had been conveyed to Asia. The men disdainfully repelled the +idea of having deserted the defence of their city; and one, the youngest +among them, in answer to the taunt of a sailor, exclaimed, "Take it, +Christian dogs! take the palaces, the gardens, the mosques, the abode of +our fathers--take plague with them; pestilence is the enemy we fly; if +she be your friend, hug her to your bosoms. The curse of Allah is on +Stamboul, share ye her fate." + +Such was the account sent by Karazza to Raymond: but a tale full of +monstrous exaggerations, though founded on this, was spread by the +accompanying troop among our soldiers. A murmur arose, the city was the +prey of pestilence; already had a mighty power subjugated the inhabitants; +Death had become lord of Constantinople. + +I have heard a picture described, wherein all the inhabitants of earth were +drawn out in fear to stand the encounter of Death. The feeble and decrepid +fled; the warriors retreated, though they threatened even in flight. Wolves +and lions, and various monsters of the desert roared against him; while the +grim Unreality hovered shaking his spectral dart, a solitary but invincible +assailant. Even so was it with the army of Greece. I am convinced, that had +the myriad troops of Asia come from over the Propontis, and stood defenders +of the Golden City, each and every Greek would have marched against the +overwhelming numbers, and have devoted himself with patriotic fury for his +country. But here no hedge of bayonets opposed itself, no death-dealing +artillery, no formidable array of brave soldiers--the unguarded walls +afforded easy entrance--the vacant palaces luxurious dwellings; but above +the dome of St. Sophia the superstitious Greek saw Pestilence, and shrunk +in trepidation from her influence. + +Raymond was actuated by far other feelings. He descended the hill with a +face beaming with triumph, and pointing with his sword to the gates, +commanded his troops to--down with those barricades--the only obstacles +now to completest victory. The soldiers answered his cheerful words with +aghast and awe-struck looks; instinctively they drew back, and Raymond rode +in the front of the lines:--"By my sword I swear," he cried, "that no +ambush or stratagem endangers you. The enemy is already vanquished; the +pleasant places, the noble dwellings and spoil of the city are already +yours; force the gate; enter and possess the seats of your ancestors, your +own inheritance!" + +An universal shudder and fearful whispering passed through the lines; not a +soldier moved. "Cowards!" exclaimed their general, exasperated, "give me an +hatchet! I alone will enter! I will plant your standard; and when you see +it wave from yon highest minaret, you may gain courage, and rally round +it!" + +One of the officers now came forward: "General," he said, "we neither fear +the courage, nor arms, the open attack, nor secret ambush of the Moslems. +We are ready to expose our breasts, exposed ten thousand times before, to +the balls and scymetars of the infidels, and to fall gloriously for Greece. +But we will not die in heaps, like dogs poisoned in summer-time, by the +pestilential air of that city--we dare not go against the plague!" + +A multitude of men are feeble and inert, without a voice, a leader; give +them that, and they regain the strength belonging to their numbers. Shouts +from a thousand voices now rent the air--the cry of applause became +universal. Raymond saw the danger; he was willing to save his troops from +the crime of disobedience; for he knew, that contention once begun between +the commander and his army, each act and word added to the weakness of the +former, and bestowed power on the latter. He gave orders for the retreat to +be sounded, and the regiments repaired in good order to the camp. + +I hastened to carry the intelligence of these strange proceedings to +Perdita; and we were soon joined by Raymond. He looked gloomy and +perturbed. My sister was struck by my narrative: "How beyond the +imagination of man," she exclaimed, "are the decrees of heaven, wondrous +and inexplicable!" + +"Foolish girl," cried Raymond angrily, "are you like my valiant soldiers, +panic-struck? What is there inexplicable, pray, tell me, in so very natural +an occurrence? Does not the plague rage each year in Stamboul? What wonder, +that this year, when as we are told, its virulence is unexampled in Asia, +that it should have occasioned double havoc in that city? What wonder then, +in time of siege, want, extreme heat, and drought, that it should make +unaccustomed ravages? Less wonder far is it, that the garrison, despairing +of being able to hold out longer, should take advantage of the negligence +of our fleet to escape at once from siege and capture. It is not pestilence +--by the God that lives! it is not either plague or impending danger that +makes us, like birds in harvest-time, terrified by a scarecrow, abstain +from the ready prey--it is base superstition--And thus the aim of the +valiant is made the shuttlecock of fools; the worthy ambition of the +high-souled, the plaything of these tamed hares! But yet Stamboul shall be +ours! By my past labours, by torture and imprisonment suffered for them, by +my victories, by my sword, I swear--by my hopes of fame, by my former +deserts now awaiting their reward, I deeply vow, with these hands to plant +the cross on yonder mosque!" + +"Dearest Raymond!" interrupted Perdita, in a supplicating accent. + +He had been walking to and fro in the marble hall of the seraglio; his very +lips were pale with rage, while, quivering, they shaped his angry words-- +his eyes shot fire--his gestures seemed restrained by their very +vehemence. "Perdita," he continued, impatiently, "I know what you would +say; I know that you love me, that you are good and gentle; but this is no +woman's work--nor can a female heart guess at the hurricane which tears +me!" + +He seemed half afraid of his own violence, and suddenly quitted the hall: a +look from Perdita shewed me her distress, and I followed him. He was pacing +the garden: his passions were in a state of inconceivable turbulence. "Am I +for ever," he cried, "to be the sport of fortune! Must man, the +heaven-climber, be for ever the victim of the crawling reptiles of his +species! Were I as you, Lionel, looking forward to many years of life, to a +succession of love-enlightened days, to refined enjoyments and +fresh-springing hopes, I might yield, and breaking my General's staff, seek +repose in the glades of Windsor. But I am about to die!--nay, interrupt +me not--soon I shall die. From the many-peopled earth, from the +sympathies of man, from the loved resorts of my youth, from the kindness of +my friends, from the affection of my only beloved Perdita, I am about to be +removed. Such is the will of fate! Such the decree of the High Ruler from +whom there is no appeal: to whom I submit. But to lose all--to lose with +life and love, glory also! It shall not be! + +"I, and in a few brief years, all you,--this panic-struck army, and all +the population of fair Greece, will no longer be. But other generations +will arise, and ever and for ever will continue, to be made happier by our +present acts, to be glorified by our valour. The prayer of my youth was to +be one among those who render the pages of earth's history splendid; who +exalt the race of man, and make this little globe a dwelling of the mighty. +Alas, for Raymond! the prayer of his youth is wasted--the hopes of his +manhood are null! + +"From my dungeon in yonder city I cried, soon I will be thy lord! When +Evadne pronounced my death, I thought that the title of Victor of +Constantinople would be written on my tomb, and I subdued all mortal fear. +I stand before its vanquished walls, and dare not call myself a conqueror. +So shall it not be! Did not Alexander leap from the walls of the city of +the Oxydracae, to shew his coward troops the way to victory, encountering +alone the swords of its defenders? Even so will I brave the plague--and +though no man follow, I will plant the Grecian standard on the height of +St. Sophia." + +Reason came unavailing to such high-wrought feelings. In vain I shewed him, +that when winter came, the cold would dissipate the pestilential air, and +restore courage to the Greeks. "Talk not of other season than this!" he +cried. "I have lived my last winter, and the date of this year, 2092, will +be carved upon my tomb. Already do I see," he continued, looking up +mournfully, "the bourne and precipitate edge of my existence, over which I +plunge into the gloomy mystery of the life to come. I am prepared, so that +I leave behind a trail of light so radiant, that my worst enemies cannot +cloud it. I owe this to Greece, to you, to my surviving Perdita, and to +myself, the victim of ambition." + +We were interrupted by an attendant, who announced, that the staff of +Raymond was assembled in the council-chamber. He requested me in the +meantime to ride through the camp, and to observe and report to him the +dispositions of the soldiers; he then left me. I had been excited to the +utmost by the proceedings of the day, and now more than ever by the +passionate language of Raymond. Alas! for human reason! He accused the +Greeks of superstition: what name did he give to the faith he lent to the +predictions of Evadne? I passed from the palace of Sweet Waters to the +plain on which the encampment lay, and found its inhabitants in commotion. +The arrival of several with fresh stories of marvels, from the fleet; the +exaggerations bestowed on what was already known; tales of old prophecies, +of fearful histories of whole regions which had been laid waste during the +present year by pestilence, alarmed and occupied the troops. Discipline was +lost; the army disbanded itself. Each individual, before a part of a great +whole moving only in unison with others, now became resolved into the unit +nature had made him, and thought of himself only. They stole off at first +by ones and twos, then in larger companies, until, unimpeded by the +officers, whole battalions sought the road that led to Macedonia. + +About midnight I returned to the palace and sought Raymond; he was alone, +and apparently composed; such composure, at least, was his as is inspired +by a resolve to adhere to a certain line of conduct. He heard my account of +the self-dissolution of the army with calmness, and then said, "You know, +Verney, my fixed determination not to quit this place, until in the light +of day Stamboul is confessedly ours. If the men I have about me shrink from +following me, others, more courageous, are to be found. Go you before break +of day, bear these dispatches to Karazza, add to them your own entreaties +that he send me his marines and naval force; if I can get but one regiment +to second me, the rest would follow of course. Let him send me this +regiment. I shall expect your return by to-morrow noon." + +Methought this was but a poor expedient; but I assured him of my obedience +and zeal. I quitted him to take a few hours rest. With the breaking of +morning I was accoutred for my ride. I lingered awhile, desirous of taking +leave of Perdita, and from my window observed the approach of the sun. The +golden splendour arose, and weary nature awoke to suffer yet another day of +heat and thirsty decay. No flowers lifted up their dew-laden cups to meet +the dawn; the dry grass had withered on the plains; the burning fields of +air were vacant of birds; the cicale alone, children of the sun, began +their shrill and deafening song among the cypresses and olives. I saw +Raymond's coal-black charger brought to the palace gate; a small company of +officers arrived soon after; care and fear was painted on each cheek, and +in each eye, unrefreshed by sleep. I found Raymond and Perdita together. He +was watching the rising sun, while with one arm he encircled his beloved's +waist; she looked on him, the sun of her life, with earnest gaze of mingled +anxiety and tenderness. Raymond started angrily when he saw me. "Here +still?" he cried. "Is this your promised zeal?" + +"Pardon me," I said, "but even as you speak, I am gone." + +"Nay, pardon me," he replied; "I have no right to command or reproach; but +my life hangs on your departure and speedy return. Farewell!" + +His voice had recovered its bland tone, but a dark cloud still hung on his +features. I would have delayed; I wished to recommend watchfulness to +Perdita, but his presence restrained me. I had no pretence for my +hesitation; and on his repeating his farewell, I clasped his outstretched +hand; it was cold and clammy. "Take care of yourself, my dear Lord," I +said. + +"Nay," said Perdita, "that task shall be mine. Return speedily, +Lionel." With an air of absence he was playing with her auburn locks, while +she leaned on him; twice I turned back, only to look again on this +matchless pair. At last, with slow and heavy steps, I had paced out of the +hall, and sprung upon my horse. At that moment Clara flew towards me; +clasping my knee she cried, "Make haste back, uncle! Dear uncle, I have +such fearful dreams; I dare not tell my mother. Do not be long away!" I +assured her of my impatience to return, and then, with a small escort rode +along the plain towards the tower of Marmora. + +I fulfilled my commission; I saw Karazza. He was somewhat surprised; he +would see, he said, what could be done; but it required time; and Raymond +had ordered me to return by noon. It was impossible to effect any thing in +so short a time. I must stay till the next day; or come back, after having +reported the present state of things to the general. My choice was easily +made. A restlessness, a fear of what was about to betide, a doubt as to +Raymond's purposes, urged me to return without delay to his quarters. +Quitting the Seven Towers, I rode eastward towards the Sweet Waters. I took +a circuitous path, principally for the sake of going to the top of the +mount before mentioned, which commanded a view of the city. I had my glass +with me. The city basked under the noon-day sun, and the venerable walls +formed its picturesque boundary. Immediately before me was the Top Kapou, +the gate near which Mahomet had made the breach by which he entered the +city. Trees gigantic and aged grew near; before the gate I discerned a +crowd of moving human figures--with intense curiosity I lifted my glass +to my eye. I saw Lord Raymond on his charger; a small company of officers +had gathered about him; and behind was a promiscuous concourse of soldiers +and subalterns, their discipline lost, their arms thrown aside; no music +sounded, no banners streamed. The only flag among them was one which +Raymond carried; he pointed with it to the gate of the city. The circle +round him fell back. With angry gestures he leapt from his horse, and +seizing a hatchet that hung from his saddle-bow, went with the apparent +intention of battering down the opposing gate. A few men came to aid him; +their numbers increased; under their united blows the obstacle was +vanquished, gate, portcullis, and fence were demolished; and the wide +sun-lit way, leading to the heart of the city, now lay open before them. +The men shrank back; they seemed afraid of what they had already done, and +stood as if they expected some Mighty Phantom to stalk in offended majesty +from the opening. Raymond sprung lightly on his horse, grasped the +standard, and with words which I could not hear (but his gestures, being +their fit accompaniment, were marked by passionate energy,) he seemed to +adjure their assistance and companionship; even as he spoke, the crowd +receded from him. Indignation now transported him; his words I guessed were +fraught with disdain--then turning from his coward followers, he +addressed himself to enter the city alone. His very horse seemed to back +from the fatal entrance; his dog, his faithful dog, lay moaning and +supplicating in his path--in a moment more, he had plunged the rowels +into the sides of the stung animal, who bounded forward, and he, the +gateway passed, was galloping up the broad and desart street. + +Until this moment my soul had been in my eyes only. I had gazed with +wonder, mixed with fear and enthusiasm. The latter feeling now +predominated. I forgot the distance between us: "I will go with thee, +Raymond!" I cried; but, my eye removed from the glass, I could scarce +discern the pigmy forms of the crowd, which about a mile from me surrounded +the gate; the form of Raymond was lost. Stung with impatience, I urged my +horse with force of spur and loosened reins down the acclivity, that, +before danger could arrive, I might be at the side of my noble, godlike +friend. A number of buildings and trees intervened, when I had reached the +plain, hiding the city from my view. But at that moment a crash was heard. +Thunderlike it reverberated through the sky, while the air was darkened. A +moment more and the old walls again met my sight, while over them hovered a +murky cloud; fragments of buildings whirled above, half seen in smoke, +while flames burst out beneath, and continued explosions filled the air +with terrific thunders. Flying from the mass of falling ruin which leapt +over the high walls, and shook the ivy towers, a crowd of soldiers made for +the road by which I came; I was surrounded, hemmed in by them, unable to +get forward. My impatience rose to its utmost; I stretched out my hands to +the men; I conjured them to turn back and save their General, the conqueror +of Stamboul, the liberator of Greece; tears, aye tears, in warm flow gushed +from my eyes--I would not believe in his destruction; yet every mass that +darkened the air seemed to bear with it a portion of the martyred Raymond. +Horrible sights were shaped to me in the turbid cloud that hovered over the +city; and my only relief was derived from the struggles I made to approach +the gate. Yet when I effected my purpose, all I could discern within the +precincts of the massive walls was a city of fire: the open way through +which Raymond had ridden was enveloped in smoke and flame. After an +interval the explosions ceased, but the flames still shot up from various +quarters; the dome of St. Sophia had disappeared. Strange to say (the +result perhaps of the concussion of air occasioned by the blowing up of the +city) huge, white thunder clouds lifted themselves up from the southern +horizon, and gathered over-head; they were the first blots on the blue +expanse that I had seen for months, and amidst this havoc and despair they +inspired pleasure. The vault above became obscured, lightning flashed from +the heavy masses, followed instantaneously by crashing thunder; then the +big rain fell. The flames of the city bent beneath it; and the smoke and +dust arising from the ruins was dissipated. + +I no sooner perceived an abatement of the flames than, hurried on by an +irresistible impulse, I endeavoured to penetrate the town. I could only do +this on foot, as the mass of ruin was impracticable for a horse. I had +never entered the city before, and its ways were unknown to me. The streets +were blocked up, the ruins smoking; I climbed up one heap, only to view +others in succession; and nothing told me where the centre of the town +might be, or towards what point Raymond might have directed his course. The +rain ceased; the clouds sunk behind the horizon; it was now evening, and +the sun descended swiftly the western sky. I scrambled on, until I came to +a street, whose wooden houses, half-burnt, had been cooled by the rain, and +were fortunately uninjured by the gunpowder. Up this I hurried--until now +I had not seen a vestige of man. Yet none of the defaced human forms which +I distinguished, could be Raymond; so I turned my eyes away, while my heart +sickened within me. I came to an open space--a mountain of ruin in the +midst, announced that some large mosque had occupied the space--and here, +scattered about, I saw various articles of luxury and wealth, singed, +destroyed--but shewing what they had been in their ruin--jewels, +strings of pearls, embroidered robes, rich furs, glittering tapestries, and +oriental ornaments, seemed to have been collected here in a pile destined +for destruction; but the rain had stopped the havoc midway. + +Hours passed, while in this scene of ruin I sought for Raymond. +Insurmountable heaps sometimes opposed themselves; the still burning fires +scorched me. The sun set; the atmosphere grew dim--and the evening star +no longer shone companionless. The glare of flames attested the progress of +destruction, while, during mingled light and obscurity, the piles around me +took gigantic proportions and weird shapes. For a moment I could yield to +the creative power of the imagination, and for a moment was soothed by the +sublime fictions it presented to me. The beatings of my human heart drew me +back to blank reality. Where, in this wilderness of death, art thou, O +Raymond--ornament of England, deliverer of Greece, "hero of unwritten +story," where in this burning chaos are thy dear relics strewed? I called +aloud for him--through the darkness of night, over the scorching ruins of +fallen Constantinople, his name was heard; no voice replied--echo even +was mute. + +I was overcome by weariness; the solitude depressed my spirits. The sultry +air impregnated with dust, the heat and smoke of burning palaces, palsied +my limbs. Hunger suddenly came acutely upon me. The excitement which had +hitherto sustained me was lost; as a building, whose props are loosened, +and whose foundations rock, totters and falls, so when enthusiasm and hope +deserted me, did my strength fail. I sat on the sole remaining step of an +edifice, which even in its downfall, was huge and magnificent; a few broken +walls, not dislodged by gunpowder, stood in fantastic groupes, and a flame +glimmered at intervals on the summit of the pile. For a time hunger and +sleep contended, till the constellations reeled before my eyes and then +were lost. I strove to rise, but my heavy lids closed, my limbs +over-wearied, claimed repose--I rested my head on the stone, I yielded to +the grateful sensation of utter forgetfulness; and in that scene of +desolation, on that night of despair--I slept. + +[1] Calderon de la Barca. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +THE stars still shone brightly when I awoke, and Taurus high in the +southern heaven shewed that it was midnight. I awoke from disturbed dreams. +Methought I had been invited to Timon's last feast; I came with keen +appetite, the covers were removed, the hot water sent up its unsatisfying +steams, while I fled before the anger of the host, who assumed the form of +Raymond; while to my diseased fancy, the vessels hurled by him after me, +were surcharged with fetid vapour, and my friend's shape, altered by a +thousand distortions, expanded into a gigantic phantom, bearing on its brow +the sign of pestilence. The growing shadow rose and rose, filling, and then +seeming to endeavour to burst beyond, the adamantine vault that bent over, +sustaining and enclosing the world. The night-mare became torture; with a +strong effort I threw off sleep, and recalled reason to her wonted +functions. My first thought was Perdita; to her I must return; her I must +support, drawing such food from despair as might best sustain her wounded +heart; recalling her from the wild excesses of grief, by the austere laws +of duty, and the soft tenderness of regret. + +The position of the stars was my only guide. I turned from the awful ruin +of the Golden City, and, after great exertion, succeeded in extricating +myself from its enclosure. I met a company of soldiers outside the walls; I +borrowed a horse from one of them, and hastened to my sister. The +appearance of the plain was changed during this short interval; the +encampment was broken up; the relics of the disbanded army met in small +companies here and there; each face was clouded; every gesture spoke +astonishment and dismay. + +With an heavy heart I entered the palace, and stood fearful to advance, to +speak, to look. In the midst of the hall was Perdita; she sat on the marble +pavement, her head fallen on her bosom, her hair dishevelled, her fingers +twined busily one within the other; she was pale as marble, and every +feature was contracted by agony. She perceived me, and looked up +enquiringly; her half glance of hope was misery; the words died before I +could articulate them; I felt a ghastly smile wrinkle my lips. She +understood my gesture; again her head fell; again her fingers worked +restlessly. At last I recovered speech, but my voice terrified her; the +hapless girl had understood my look, and for worlds she would not that the +tale of her heavy misery should have been shaped out and confirmed by hard, +irrevocable words. Nay, she seemed to wish to distract my thoughts from the +subject: she rose from the floor: "Hush!" she said, whisperingly; "after +much weeping, Clara sleeps; we must not disturb her." She seated herself +then on the same ottoman where I had left her in the morning resting on the +beating heart of her Raymond; I dared not approach her, but sat at a +distant corner, watching her starting and nervous gestures. At length, in +an abrupt manner she asked, "Where is he?" + +"O, fear not," she continued, "fear not that I should entertain hope! Yet +tell me, have you found him? To have him once more in my arms, to see him, +however changed, is all I desire. Though Constantinople be heaped above him +as a tomb, yet I must find him--then cover us with the city's weight, +with a mountain piled above--I care not, so that one grave hold Raymond +and his Perdita." Then weeping, she clung to me: "Take me to him," she +cried, "unkind Lionel, why do you keep me here? Of myself I cannot find him +--but you know where he lies--lead me thither." + +At first these agonizing plaints filled me with intolerable compassion. But +soon I endeavoured to extract patience for her from the ideas she +suggested. I related my adventures of the night, my endeavours to find our +lost one, and my disappointment. Turning her thoughts this way, I gave them +an object which rescued them from insanity. With apparent calmness she +discussed with me the probable spot where he might be found, and planned +the means we should use for that purpose. Then hearing of my fatigue and +abstinence, she herself brought me food. I seized the favourable moment, +and endeavoured to awaken in her something beyond the killing torpor of +grief. As I spoke, my subject carried me away; deep admiration; grief, the +offspring of truest affection, the overflowing of a heart bursting with +sympathy for all that had been great and sublime in the career of my +friend, inspired me as I poured forth the praises of Raymond. + +"Alas, for us," I cried, "who have lost this latest honour of the world! +Beloved Raymond! He is gone to the nations of the dead; he has become one +of those, who render the dark abode of the obscure grave illustrious by +dwelling there. He has journied on the road that leads to it, and joined +the mighty of soul who went before him. When the world was in its infancy +death must have been terrible, and man left his friends and kindred to +dwell, a solitary stranger, in an unknown country. But now, he who dies +finds many companions gone before to prepare for his reception. The great +of past ages people it, the exalted hero of our own days is counted among +its inhabitants, while life becomes doubly 'the desart and the solitude.' + +"What a noble creature was Raymond, the first among the men of our time. By +the grandeur of his conceptions, the graceful daring of his actions, by his +wit and beauty, he won and ruled the minds of all. Of one only fault he +might have been accused; but his death has cancelled that. I have heard him +called inconstant of purpose--when he deserted, for the sake of love, the +hope of sovereignty, and when he abdicated the protectorship of England, +men blamed his infirmity of purpose. Now his death has crowned his life, +and to the end of time it will be remembered, that he devoted himself, a +willing victim, to the glory of Greece. Such was his choice: he expected to +die. He foresaw that he should leave this cheerful earth, the lightsome +sky, and thy love, Perdita; yet he neither hesitated or turned back, going +right onward to his mark of fame. While the earth lasts, his actions will +be recorded with praise. Grecian maidens will in devotion strew flowers on +his tomb, and make the air around it resonant with patriotic hymns, in +which his name will find high record." + +I saw the features of Perdita soften; the sternness of grief yielded to +tenderness--I continued:--"Thus to honour him, is the sacred duty of +his survivors. To make his name even as an holy spot of ground, enclosing +it from all hostile attacks by our praise, shedding on it the blossoms of +love and regret, guarding it from decay, and bequeathing it untainted to +posterity. Such is the duty of his friends. A dearer one belongs to you, +Perdita, mother of his child. Do you remember in her infancy, with what +transport you beheld Clara, recognizing in her the united being of yourself +and Raymond; joying to view in this living temple a manifestation of your +eternal loves. Even such is she still. You say that you have lost Raymond. +O, no!--yet he lives with you and in you there. From him she sprung, +flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone--and not, as heretofore, are you +content to trace in her downy cheek and delicate limbs, an affinity to +Raymond, but in her enthusiastic affections, in the sweet qualities of her +mind, you may still find him living, the good, the great, the beloved. Be +it your care to foster this similarity--be it your care to render her +worthy of him, so that, when she glory in her origin, she take not shame +for what she is." + +I could perceive that, when I recalled my sister's thoughts to her duties +in life, she did not listen with the same patience as before. She appeared +to suspect a plan of consolation on my part, from which she, cherishing her +new-born grief, revolted. "You talk of the future," she said, "while the +present is all to me. Let me find the earthly dwelling of my beloved; let +us rescue that from common dust, so that in times to come men may point to +the sacred tomb, and name it his--then to other thoughts, and a new +course of life, or what else fate, in her cruel tyranny, may have marked +out for me." + +After a short repose I prepared to leave her, that I might endeavour to +accomplish her wish. In the mean time we were joined by Clara, whose pallid +cheek and scared look shewed the deep impression grief had made on her +young mind. She seemed to be full of something to which she could not give +words; but, seizing an opportunity afforded by Perdita's absence, she +preferred to me an earnest prayer, that I would take her within view of the +gate at which her father had entered Constantinople. She promised to commit +no extravagance, to be docile, and immediately to return. I could not +refuse; for Clara was not an ordinary child; her sensibility and +intelligence seemed already to have endowed her with the rights of +womanhood. With her therefore, before me on my horse, attended only by the +servant who was to re-conduct her, we rode to the Top Kapou. We found a +party of soldiers gathered round it. They were listening. "They are human +cries," said one: "More like the howling of a dog," replied another; and +again they bent to catch the sound of regular distant moans, which issued +from the precincts of the ruined city. "That, Clara," I said, "is the gate, +that the street which yestermorn your father rode up." Whatever Clara's +intention had been in asking to be brought hither, it was balked by the +presence of the soldiers. With earnest gaze she looked on the labyrinth of +smoking piles which had been a city, and then expressed her readiness to +return home. At this moment a melancholy howl struck on our ears; it was +repeated; "Hark!" cried Clara, "he is there; that is Florio, my father's +dog." It seemed to me impossible that she could recognise the sound, but +she persisted in her assertion till she gained credit with the crowd about. +At least it would be a benevolent action to rescue the sufferer, whether +human or brute, from the desolation of the town; so, sending Clara back to +her home, I again entered Constantinople. Encouraged by the impunity +attendant on my former visit, several soldiers who had made a part of +Raymond's body guard, who had loved him, and sincerely mourned his loss, +accompanied me. + +It is impossible to conjecture the strange enchainment of events which +restored the lifeless form of my friend to our hands. In that part of the +town where the fire had most raged the night before, and which now lay +quenched, black and cold, the dying dog of Raymond crouched beside the +mutilated form of its lord. At such a time sorrow has no voice; affliction, +tamed by it is very vehemence, is mute. The poor animal recognised me, +licked my hand, crept close to its lord, and died. He had been evidently +thrown from his horse by some falling ruin, which had crushed his head, and +defaced his whole person. I bent over the body, and took in my hand the +edge of his cloak, less altered in appearance than the human frame it +clothed. I pressed it to my lips, while the rough soldiers gathered around, +mourning over this worthiest prey of death, as if regret and endless +lamentation could re-illumine the extinguished spark, or call to its +shattered prison-house of flesh the liberated spirit. Yesterday those limbs +were worth an universe; they then enshrined a transcendant power, whose +intents, words, and actions were worthy to be recorded in letters of gold; +now the superstition of affection alone could give value to the shattered +mechanism, which, incapable and clod-like, no more resembled Raymond, than +the fallen rain is like the former mansion of cloud in which it climbed the +highest skies, and gilded by the sun, attracted all eyes, and satiated the +sense by its excess of beauty. + +Such as he had now become, such as was his terrene vesture, defaced and +spoiled, we wrapt it in our cloaks, and lifting the burthen in our arms, +bore it from this city of the dead. The question arose as to where we +should deposit him. In our road to the palace, we passed through the Greek +cemetery; here on a tablet of black marble I caused him to be laid; the +cypresses waved high above, their death-like gloom accorded with his state +of nothingness. We cut branches of the funereal trees and placed them over +him, and on these again his sword. I left a guard to protect this treasure +of dust; and ordered perpetual torches to be burned around. + +When I returned to Perdita, I found that she had already been informed of +the success of my undertaking. He, her beloved, the sole and eternal object +of her passionate tenderness, was restored her. Such was the maniac +language of her enthusiasm. What though those limbs moved not, and those +lips could no more frame modulated accents of wisdom and love! What though +like a weed flung from the fruitless sea, he lay the prey of corruption-- +still that was the form she had caressed, those the lips that meeting hers, +had drank the spirit of love from the commingling breath; that was the +earthly mechanism of dissoluble clay she had called her own. True, she +looked forward to another life; true, the burning spirit of love seemed to +her unextinguishable throughout eternity. Yet at this time, with human +fondness, she clung to all that her human senses permitted her to see and +feel to be a part of Raymond. + +Pale as marble, clear and beaming as that, she heard my tale, and enquired +concerning the spot where he had been deposited. Her features had lost the +distortion of grief; her eyes were brightened, her very person seemed +dilated; while the excessive whiteness and even transparency of her skin, +and something hollow in her voice, bore witness that not tranquillity, but +excess of excitement, occasioned the treacherous calm that settled on her +countenance. I asked her where he should be buried. She replied, "At +Athens; even at the Athens which he loved. Without the town, on the +acclivity of Hymettus, there is a rocky recess which he pointed out to me +as the spot where he would wish to repose." + +My own desire certainly was that he should not be removed from the spot +where he now lay. But her wish was of course to be complied with; and I +entreated her to prepare without delay for our departure. + +Behold now the melancholy train cross the flats of Thrace, and wind through +the defiles, and over the mountains of Macedonia, coast the clear waves of +the Peneus, cross the Larissean plain, pass the straits of Thermopylae, and +ascending in succession Oeta and Parnassus, descend to the fertile plain of +Athens. Women bear with resignation these long drawn ills, but to a man's +impatient spirit, the slow motion of our cavalcade, the melancholy repose +we took at noon, the perpetual presence of the pall, gorgeous though it +was, that wrapt the rifled casket which had contained Raymond, the +monotonous recurrence of day and night, unvaried by hope or change, all the +circumstances of our march were intolerable. Perdita, shut up in herself, +spoke little. Her carriage was closed; and, when we rested, she sat leaning +her pale cheek on her white cold hand, with eyes fixed on the ground, +indulging thoughts which refused communication or sympathy. + +We descended from Parnassus, emerging from its many folds, and passed +through Livadia on our road to Attica. Perdita would not enter Athens; but +reposing at Marathon on the night of our arrival, conducted me on the +following day, to the spot selected by her as the treasure house of +Raymond's dear remains. It was in a recess near the head of the ravine to +the south of Hymettus. The chasm, deep, black, and hoary, swept from the +summit to the base; in the fissures of the rock myrtle underwood grew and +wild thyme, the food of many nations of bees; enormous crags protruded into +the cleft, some beetling over, others rising perpendicularly from it. At +the foot of this sublime chasm, a fertile laughing valley reached from sea +to sea, and beyond was spread the blue Aegean, sprinkled with islands, the +light waves glancing beneath the sun. Close to the spot on which we stood, +was a solitary rock, high and conical, which, divided on every side from +the mountain, seemed a nature-hewn pyramid; with little labour this block +was reduced to a perfect shape; the narrow cell was scooped out beneath in +which Raymond was placed, and a short inscription, carved in the living +stone, recorded the name of its tenant, the cause and aera of his death. + +Every thing was accomplished with speed under my directions. I agreed to +leave the finishing and guardianship of the tomb to the head of the +religious establishment at Athens, and by the end of October prepared for +my return to England. I mentioned this to Perdita. It was painful to appear +to drag her from the last scene that spoke of her lost one; but to linger +here was vain, and my very soul was sick with its yearning to rejoin my +Idris and her babes. In reply, my sister requested me to accompany her the +following evening to the tomb of Raymond. Some days had passed since I had +visited the spot. The path to it had been enlarged, and steps hewn in the +rock led us less circuitously than before, to the spot itself; the platform +on which the pyramid stood was enlarged, and looking towards the south, in +a recess overshadowed by the straggling branches of a wild fig-tree, I saw +foundations dug, and props and rafters fixed, evidently the commencement of +a cottage; standing on its unfinished threshold, the tomb was at our +right-hand, the whole ravine, and plain, and azure sea immediately before +us; the dark rocks received a glow from the descending sun, which glanced +along the cultivated valley, and dyed in purple and orange the placid +waves; we sat on a rocky elevation, and I gazed with rapture on the +beauteous panorama of living and changeful colours, which varied and +enhanced the graces of earth and ocean. + +"Did I not do right," said Perdita, "in having my loved one conveyed +hither? Hereafter this will be the cynosure of Greece. In such a spot death +loses half its terrors, and even the inanimate dust appears to partake of +the spirit of beauty which hallows this region. Lionel, he sleeps there; +that is the grave of Raymond, he whom in my youth I first loved; whom my +heart accompanied in days of separation and anger; to whom I am now joined +for ever. Never--mark me--never will I leave this spot. Methinks his +spirit remains here as well as that dust, which, uncommunicable though it +be, is more precious in its nothingness than aught else widowed earth +clasps to her sorrowing bosom. The myrtle bushes, the thyme, the little +cyclamen, which peep from the fissures of the rock, all the produce of the +place, bear affinity to him; the light that invests the hills participates +in his essence, and sky and mountains, sea and valley, are imbued by the +presence of his spirit. I will live and die here! + +"Go you to England, Lionel; return to sweet Idris and dearest Adrian; +return, and let my orphan girl be as a child of your own in your house. +Look on me as dead; and truly if death be a mere change of state, I am +dead. This is another world, from that which late I inhabited, from that +which is now your home. Here I hold communion only with the has been, and +to come. Go you to England, and leave me where alone I can consent to drag +out the miserable days which I must still live." + +A shower of tears terminated her sad harangue. I had expected some +extravagant proposition, and remained silent awhile, collecting my thoughts +that I might the better combat her fanciful scheme. "You cherish dreary +thoughts, my dear Perdita," I said, "nor do I wonder that for a time your +better reason should be influenced by passionate grief and a disturbed +imagination. Even I am in love with this last home of Raymond's; +nevertheless we must quit it." + +"I expected this," cried Perdita; "I supposed that you would treat me as a +mad, foolish girl. But do not deceive yourself; this cottage is built by my +order; and here I shall remain, until the hour arrives when I may share his +happier dwelling." + +"My dearest girl!" + +"And what is there so strange in my design? I might have deceived you; I +might have talked of remaining here only a few months; in your anxiety to +reach Windsor you would have left me, and without reproach or contention, I +might have pursued my plan. But I disdained the artifice; or rather in my +wretchedness it was my only consolation to pour out my heart to you, my +brother, my only friend. You will not dispute with me? You know how wilful +your poor, misery-stricken sister is. Take my girl with you; wean her from +sights and thoughts of sorrow; let infantine hilarity revisit her heart, +and animate her eyes; so could it never be, were she near me; it is far +better for all of you that you should never see me again. For myself, I +will not voluntarily seek death, that is, I will not, while I can command +myself; and I can here. But drag me from this country; and my power of self +control vanishes, nor can I answer for the violence my agony of grief may +lead me to commit." + +"You clothe your meaning, Perdita," I replied, "in powerful words, yet that +meaning is selfish and unworthy of you. You have often agreed with me that +there is but one solution to the intricate riddle of life; to improve +ourselves, and contribute to the happiness of others: and now, in the very +prime of life, you desert your principles, and shut yourself up in useless +solitude. Will you think of Raymond less at Windsor, the scene of your +early happiness? Will you commune less with his departed spirit, while you +watch over and cultivate the rare excellence of his child? You have been +sadly visited; nor do I wonder that a feeling akin to insanity should drive +you to bitter and unreasonable imaginings. But a home of love awaits you in +your native England. My tenderness and affection must soothe you; the +society of Raymond's friends will be of more solace than these dreary +speculations. We will all make it our first care, our dearest task, to +contribute to your happiness." + +Perdita shook her head; "If it could be so," she replied, "I were much in +the wrong to disdain your offers. But it is not a matter of choice; I can +live here only. I am a part of this scene; each and all its properties are +a part of me. This is no sudden fancy; I live by it. The knowledge that I +am here, rises with me in the morning, and enables me to endure the light; +it is mingled with my food, which else were poison; it walks, it sleeps +with me, for ever it accompanies me. Here I may even cease to repine, and +may add my tardy consent to the decree which has taken him from me. He +would rather have died such a death, which will be recorded in history to +endless time, than have lived to old age unknown, unhonoured. Nor can I +desire better, than, having been the chosen and beloved of his heart, here, +in youth's prime, before added years can tarnish the best feelings of my +nature, to watch his tomb, and speedily rejoin him in his blessed repose. + +"So much, my dearest Lionel, I have said, wishing to persuade you that I do +right. If you are unconvinced, I can add nothing further by way of +argument, and I can only declare my fixed resolve. I stay here; force only +can remove me. Be it so; drag me away--I return; confine me, imprison me, +still I escape, and come here. Or would my brother rather devote the +heart-broken Perdita to the straw and chains of a maniac, than suffer her +to rest in peace beneath the shadow of His society, in this my own selected +and beloved recess?"-- + +All this appeared to me, I own, methodized madness. I imagined, that it was +my imperative duty to take her from scenes that thus forcibly reminded her +of her loss. Nor did I doubt, that in the tranquillity of our family circle +at Windsor, she would recover some degree of composure, and in the end, of +happiness. My affection for Clara also led me to oppose these fond dreams +of cherished grief; her sensibility had already been too much excited; her +infant heedlessness too soon exchanged for deep and anxious thought. The +strange and romantic scheme of her mother, might confirm and perpetuate the +painful view of life, which had intruded itself thus early on her +contemplation. + +On returning home, the captain of the steam packet with whom I had agreed +to sail, came to tell me, that accidental circumstances hastened his +departure, and that, if I went with him, I must come on board at five on +the following morning. I hastily gave my consent to this arrangement, and +as hastily formed a plan through which Perdita should be forced to become +my companion. I believe that most people in my situation would have acted +in the same manner. Yet this consideration does not, or rather did not in +after time, diminish the reproaches of my conscience. At the moment, I felt +convinced that I was acting for the best, and that all I did was right and +even necessary. + +I sat with Perdita and soothed her, by my seeming assent to her wild +scheme. She received my concurrence with pleasure, and a thousand times +over thanked her deceiving, deceitful brother. As night came on, her +spirits, enlivened by my unexpected concession, regained an almost +forgotten vivacity. I pretended to be alarmed by the feverish glow in her +cheek; I entreated her to take a composing draught; I poured out the +medicine, which she took docilely from me. I watched her as she drank it. +Falsehood and artifice are in themselves so hateful, that, though I still +thought I did right, a feeling of shame and guilt came painfully upon me. I +left her, and soon heard that she slept soundly under the influence of the +opiate I had administered. She was carried thus unconscious on board; the +anchor weighed, and the wind being favourable, we stood far out to sea; +with all the canvas spread, and the power of the engine to assist, we +scudded swiftly and steadily through the chafed element. + +It was late in the day before Perdita awoke, and a longer time elapsed +before recovering from the torpor occasioned by the laudanum, she perceived +her change of situation. She started wildly from her couch, and flew to the +cabin window. The blue and troubled sea sped past the vessel, and was +spread shoreless around: the sky was covered by a rack, which in its swift +motion shewed how speedily she was borne away. The creaking of the masts, +the clang of the wheels, the tramp above, all persuaded her that she was +already far from the shores of Greece.--"Where are we?" she cried, "where +are we going?"-- + +The attendant whom I had stationed to watch her, replied, "to England."-- + + +"And my brother?"-- + +"Is on deck, Madam." + +"Unkind! unkind!" exclaimed the poor victim, as with a deep sigh she looked +on the waste of waters. Then without further remark, she threw herself on +her couch, and closing her eyes remained motionless; so that but for the +deep sighs that burst from her, it would have seemed that she slept. + +As soon as I heard that she had spoken, I sent Clara to her, that the sight +of the lovely innocent might inspire gentle and affectionate thoughts. But +neither the presence of her child, nor a subsequent visit from me, could +rouse my sister. She looked on Clara with a countenance of woful meaning, +but she did not speak. When I appeared, she turned away, and in reply to my +enquiries, only said, "You know not what you have done!"--I trusted that +this sullenness betokened merely the struggle between disappointment and +natural affection, and that in a few days she would be reconciled to her +fate. + +When night came on, she begged that Clara might sleep in a separate cabin. +Her servant, however, remained with her. About midnight she spoke to the +latter, saying that she had had a bad dream, and bade her go to her +daughter, and bring word whether she rested quietly. The woman obeyed. + +The breeze, that had flagged since sunset, now rose again. I was on deck, +enjoying our swift progress. The quiet was disturbed only by the rush of +waters as they divided before the steady keel, the murmur of the moveless +and full sails, the wind whistling in the shrouds, and the regular motion +of the engine. The sea was gently agitated, now shewing a white crest, and +now resuming an uniform hue; the clouds had disappeared; and dark ether +clipt the broad ocean, in which the constellations vainly sought their +accustomed mirror. Our rate could not have been less than eight knots. + +Suddenly I heard a splash in the sea. The sailors on watch rushed to the +side of the vessel, with the cry--some one gone overboard. "It is not +from deck," said the man at the helm, "something has been thrown from the +aft cabin." A call for the boat to be lowered was echoed from the deck. I +rushed into my sister's cabin; it was empty. + +With sails abaft, the engine stopt, the vessel remained unwillingly +stationary, until, after an hour's search, my poor Perdita was brought on +board. But no care could re-animate her, no medicine cause her dear eyes to +open, and the blood to flow again from her pulseless heart. One clenched +hand contained a slip of paper, on which was written, "To Athens." To +ensure her removal thither, and prevent the irrecoverable loss of her body +in the wide sea, she had had the precaution to fasten a long shawl round +her waist, and again to the staunchions of the cabin window. She had +drifted somewhat under the keel of the vessel, and her being out of sight +occasioned the delay in finding her. And thus the ill-starred girl died a +victim to my senseless rashness. Thus, in early day, she left us for the +company of the dead, and preferred to share the rocky grave of Raymond, +before the animated scene this cheerful earth afforded, and the society of +loving friends. Thus in her twenty-ninth year she died; having enjoyed some +few years of the happiness of paradise, and sustaining a reverse to which +her impatient spirit and affectionate disposition were unable to submit. As +I marked the placid expression that had settled on her countenance in +death, I felt, in spite of the pangs of remorse, in spite of heart-rending +regret, that it was better to die so, than to drag on long, miserable years +of repining and inconsolable grief. Stress of weather drove us up the +Adriatic Gulph; and, our vessel being hardly fitted to weather a storm, we +took refuge in the port of Ancona. Here I met Georgio Palli, the +vice-admiral of the Greek fleet, a former friend and warm partizan of +Raymond. I committed the remains of my lost Perdita to his care, for the +purpose of having them transported to Hymettus, and placed in the cell her +Raymond already occupied beneath the pyramid. This was all accomplished +even as I wished. She reposed beside her beloved, and the tomb above was +inscribed with the united names of Raymond and Perdita. + +I then came to a resolution of pursuing our journey to England overland. My +own heart was racked by regrets and remorse. The apprehension, that Raymond +had departed for ever, that his name, blended eternally with the past, must +be erased from every anticipation of the future, had come slowly upon me. I +had always admired his talents; his noble aspirations; his grand +conceptions of the glory and majesty of his ambition: his utter want of +mean passions; his fortitude and daring. In Greece I had learnt to love +him; his very waywardness, and self-abandonment to the impulses of +superstition, attached me to him doubly; it might be weakness, but it was +the antipodes of all that was grovelling and selfish. To these pangs were +added the loss of Perdita, lost through my own accursed self-will and +conceit. This dear one, my sole relation; whose progress I had marked from +tender childhood through the varied path of life, and seen her throughout +conspicuous for integrity, devotion, and true affection; for all that +constitutes the peculiar graces of the female character, and beheld her at +last the victim of too much loving, too constant an attachment to the +perishable and lost, she, in her pride of beauty and life, had thrown aside +the pleasant perception of the apparent world for the unreality of the +grave, and had left poor Clara quite an orphan. I concealed from this +beloved child that her mother's death was voluntary, and tried every means +to awaken cheerfulness in her sorrow-stricken spirit. + +One of my first acts for the recovery even of my own composure, was to bid +farewell to the sea. Its hateful splash renewed again and again to my sense +the death of my sister; its roar was a dirge; in every dark hull that was +tossed on its inconstant bosom, I imaged a bier, that would convey to death +all who trusted to its treacherous smiles. Farewell to the sea! Come, my +Clara, sit beside me in this aerial bark; quickly and gently it cleaves the +azure serene, and with soft undulation glides upon the current of the air; +or, if storm shake its fragile mechanism, the green earth is below; we can +descend, and take shelter on the stable continent. Here aloft, the +companions of the swift-winged birds, we skim through the unresisting +element, fleetly and fearlessly. The light boat heaves not, nor is opposed +by death-bearing waves; the ether opens before the prow, and the shadow of +the globe that upholds it, shelters us from the noon-day sun. Beneath are +the plains of Italy, or the vast undulations of the wave-like Apennines: +fertility reposes in their many folds, and woods crown the summits. The +free and happy peasant, unshackled by the Austrian, bears the double +harvest to the garner; and the refined citizens rear without dread the long +blighted tree of knowledge in this garden of the world. We were lifted +above the Alpine peaks, and from their deep and brawling ravines entered +the plain of fair France, and after an airy journey of six days, we landed +at Dieppe, furled the feathered wings, and closed the silken globe of our +little pinnace. A heavy rain made this mode of travelling now incommodious; +so we embarked in a steam-packet, and after a short passage landed at +Portsmouth. + +A strange story was rife here. A few days before, a tempest-struck vessel +had appeared off the town: the hull was parched-looking and cracked, the +sails rent, and bent in a careless, unseamanlike manner, the shrouds +tangled and broken. She drifted towards the harbour, and was stranded on +the sands at the entrance. In the morning the custom-house officers, +together with a crowd of idlers, visited her. One only of the crew appeared +to have arrived with her. He had got to shore, and had walked a few paces +towards the town, and then, vanquished by malady and approaching death, had +fallen on the inhospitable beach. He was found stiff, his hands clenched, +and pressed against his breast. His skin, nearly black, his matted hair and +bristly beard, were signs of a long protracted misery. It was whispered +that he had died of the plague. No one ventured on board the vessel, and +strange sights were averred to be seen at night, walking the deck, and +hanging on the masts and shrouds. She soon went to pieces; I was shewn +where she had been, and saw her disjoined timbers tossed on the waves. The +body of the man who had landed, had been buried deep in the sands; and none +could tell more, than that the vessel was American built, and that several +months before the Fortunatas had sailed from Philadelphia, of which no +tidings were afterwards received. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +I RETURNED to my family estate in the autumn of the year 2092. My heart had +long been with them; and I felt sick with the hope and delight of seeing +them again. The district which contained them appeared the abode of every +kindly spirit. Happiness, love and peace, walked the forest paths, and +tempered the atmosphere. After all the agitation and sorrow I had endured +in Greece, I sought Windsor, as the storm-driven bird does the nest in +which it may fold its wings in tranquillity. + +How unwise had the wanderers been, who had deserted its shelter, entangled +themselves in the web of society, and entered on what men of the world call +"life,"--that labyrinth of evil, that scheme of mutual torture. To live, +according to this sense of the word, we must not only observe and learn, we +must also feel; we must not be mere spectators of action, we must act; we +must not describe, but be subjects of description. Deep sorrow must have +been the inmate of our bosoms; fraud must have lain in wait for us; the +artful must have deceived us; sickening doubt and false hope must have +chequered our days; hilarity and joy, that lap the soul in ecstasy, must at +times have possessed us. Who that knows what "life" is, would pine for this +feverish species of existence? I have lived. I have spent days and nights +of festivity; I have joined in ambitious hopes, and exulted in victory: +now,--shut the door on the world, and build high the wall that is to +separate me from the troubled scene enacted within its precincts. Let us +live for each other and for happiness; let us seek peace in our dear home, +near the inland murmur of streams, and the gracious waving of trees, the +beauteous vesture of earth, and sublime pageantry of the skies. Let us +leave "life," that we may live. + +Idris was well content with this resolve of mine. Her native sprightliness +needed no undue excitement, and her placid heart reposed contented on my +love, the well-being of her children, and the beauty of surrounding nature. +Her pride and blameless ambition was to create smiles in all around her, +and to shed repose on the fragile existence of her brother. In spite of her +tender nursing, the health of Adrian perceptibly declined. Walking, riding, +the common occupations of life, overcame him: he felt no pain, but seemed +to tremble for ever on the verge of annihilation. Yet, as he had lived on +for months nearly in the same state, he did not inspire us with any +immediate fear; and, though he talked of death as an event most familiar to +his thoughts, he did not cease to exert himself to render others happy, or +to cultivate his own astonishing powers of mind. Winter passed away; and +spring, led by the months, awakened life in all nature. The forest was +dressed in green; the young calves frisked on the new-sprung grass; the +wind-winged shadows of light clouds sped over the green cornfields; the +hermit cuckoo repeated his monotonous all-hail to the season; the +nightingale, bird of love and minion of the evening star, filled the woods +with song; while Venus lingered in the warm sunset, and the young green of +the trees lay in gentle relief along the clear horizon. + +Delight awoke in every heart, delight and exultation; for there was peace +through all the world; the temple of Universal Janus was shut, and man died +not that year by the hand of man. + +"Let this last but twelve months," said Adrian; "and earth will become a +Paradise. The energies of man were before directed to the destruction of +his species: they now aim at its liberation and preservation. Man cannot +repose, and his restless aspirations will now bring forth good instead of +evil. The favoured countries of the south will throw off the iron yoke of +servitude; poverty will quit us, and with that, sickness. What may not the +forces, never before united, of liberty and peace achieve in this dwelling +of man?" + +"Dreaming, for ever dreaming, Windsor!" said Ryland, the old adversary of +Raymond, and candidate for the Protectorate at the ensuing election. "Be +assured that earth is not, nor ever can be heaven, while the seeds of hell +are natives of her soil. When the seasons have become equal, when the air +breeds no disorders, when its surface is no longer liable to blights and +droughts, then sickness will cease; when men's passions are dead, poverty +will depart. When love is no longer akin to hate, then brotherhood will +exist: we are very far from that state at present." + +"Not so far as you may suppose," observed a little old astronomer, by name +Merrival, "the poles precede slowly, but securely; in an hundred thousand +years--" + +"We shall all be underground," said Ryland. + +"The pole of the earth will coincide with the pole of the ecliptic," +continued the astronomer, "an universal spring will be produced, and earth +become a paradise." + +"And we shall of course enjoy the benefit of the change," said Ryland, +contemptuously. + +"We have strange news here," I observed. I had the newspaper in my hand, +and, as usual, had turned to the intelligence from Greece. "It seems that +the total destruction of Constantinople, and the supposition that winter +had purified the air of the fallen city, gave the Greeks courage to visit +its site, and begin to rebuild it. But they tell us that the curse of God +is on the place, for every one who has ventured within the walls has been +tainted by the plague; that this disease has spread in Thrace and +Macedonia; and now, fearing the virulence of infection during the coming +heats, a cordon has been drawn on the frontiers of Thessaly, and a strict +quarantine exacted." This intelligence brought us back from the prospect of +paradise, held out after the lapse of an hundred thousand years, to the +pain and misery at present existent upon earth. We talked of the ravages +made last year by pestilence in every quarter of the world; and of the +dreadful consequences of a second visitation. We discussed the best means +of preventing infection, and of preserving health and activity in a large +city thus afflicted--London, for instance. Merrival did not join in this +conversation; drawing near Idris, he proceeded to assure her that the +joyful prospect of an earthly paradise after an hundred thousand years, was +clouded to him by the knowledge that in a certain period of time after, an +earthly hell or purgatory, would occur, when the ecliptic and equator would +be at right angles.[1] Our party at length broke up; "We are all dreaming +this morning," said Ryland, "it is as wise to discuss the probability of a +visitation of the plague in our well-governed metropolis, as to calculate +the centuries which must escape before we can grow pine-apples here in the +open air." + +But, though it seemed absurd to calculate upon the arrival of the plague in +London, I could not reflect without extreme pain on the desolation this +evil would cause in Greece. The English for the most part talked of Thrace +and Macedonia, as they would of a lunar territory, which, unknown to them, +presented no distinct idea or interest to the minds. I had trod the soil. +The faces of many of the inhabitants were familiar to me; in the towns, +plains, hills, and defiles of these countries, I had enjoyed unspeakable +delight, as I journied through them the year before. Some romantic village, +some cottage, or elegant abode there situated, inhabited by the lovely and +the good, rose before my mental sight, and the question haunted me, is the +plague there also?--That same invincible monster, which hovered over and +devoured Constantinople--that fiend more cruel than tempest, less tame +than fire, is, alas, unchained in that beautiful country--these +reflections would not allow me to rest. + +The political state of England became agitated as the time drew near when +the new Protector was to be elected. This event excited the more interest, +since it was the current report, that if the popular candidate (Ryland) +should be chosen, the question of the abolition of hereditary rank, and +other feudal relics, would come under the consideration of parliament. Not +a word had been spoken during the present session on any of these topics. +Every thing would depend upon the choice of a Protector, and the elections +of the ensuing year. Yet this very silence was awful, shewing the deep +weight attributed to the question; the fear of either party to hazard an +ill-timed attack, and the expectation of a furious contention when it +should begin. + +But although St. Stephen's did not echo with the voice which filled each +heart, the newspapers teemed with nothing else; and in private companies +the conversation however remotely begun, soon verged towards this central +point, while voices were lowered and chairs drawn closer. The nobles did +not hesitate to express their fear; the other party endeavoured to treat +the matter lightly. "Shame on the country," said Ryland, "to lay so much +stress upon words and frippery; it is a question of nothing; of the new +painting of carriage-pannels and the embroidery of footmen's coats." + +Yet could England indeed doff her lordly trappings, and be content with the +democratic style of America? Were the pride of ancestry, the patrician +spirit, the gentle courtesies and refined pursuits, splendid attributes of +rank, to be erased among us? We were told that this would not be the case; +that we were by nature a poetical people, a nation easily duped by words, +ready to array clouds in splendour, and bestow honour on the dust. This +spirit we could never lose; and it was to diffuse this concentrated spirit +of birth, that the new law was to be brought forward. We were assured that, +when the name and title of Englishman was the sole patent of nobility, we +should all be noble; that when no man born under English sway, felt another +his superior in rank, courtesy and refinement would become the birth-right +of all our countrymen. Let not England be so far disgraced, as to have it +imagined that it can be without nobles, nature's true nobility, who bear +their patent in their mien, who are from their cradle elevated above the +rest of their species, because they are better than the rest. Among a race +of independent, and generous, and well educated men, in a country where the +imagination is empress of men's minds, there needs be no fear that we +should want a perpetual succession of the high-born and lordly. That party, +however, could hardly yet be considered a minority in the kingdom, who +extolled the ornament of the column, "the Corinthian capital of polished +society;" they appealed to prejudices without number, to old attachments +and young hopes; to the expectation of thousands who might one day become +peers; they set up as a scarecrow, the spectre of all that was sordid, +mechanic and base in the commercial republics. + +The plague had come to Athens. Hundreds of English residents returned to +their own country. Raymond's beloved Athenians, the free, the noble people +of the divinest town in Greece, fell like ripe corn before the merciless +sickle of the adversary. Its pleasant places were deserted; its temples and +palaces were converted into tombs; its energies, bent before towards the +highest objects of human ambition, were now forced to converge to one +point, the guarding against the innumerous arrows of the plague. + +At any other time this disaster would have excited extreme compassion among +us; but it was now passed over, while each mind was engaged by the coming +controversy. It was not so with me; and the question of rank and right +dwindled to insignificance in my eyes, when I pictured the scene of +suffering Athens. I heard of the death of only sons; of wives and husbands +most devoted; of the rending of ties twisted with the heart's fibres, of +friend losing friend, and young mothers mourning for their first born; and +these moving incidents were grouped and painted in my mind by the knowledge +of the persons, by my esteem and affection for the sufferers. It was the +admirers, friends, fellow soldiers of Raymond, families that had welcomed +Perdita to Greece, and lamented with her the loss of her lord, that were +swept away, and went to dwell with them in the undistinguishing tomb. + +The plague at Athens had been preceded and caused by the contagion from the +East; and the scene of havoc and death continued to be acted there, on a +scale of fearful magnitude. A hope that the visitation of the present year +would prove the last, kept up the spirits of the merchants connected with +these countries; but the inhabitants were driven to despair, or to a +resignation which, arising from fanaticism, assumed the same dark hue. +America had also received the taint; and, were it yellow fever or plague, +the epidemic was gifted with a virulence before unfelt. The devastation was +not confined to the towns, but spread throughout the country; the hunter +died in the woods, the peasant in the corn-fields, and the fisher on his +native waters. + +A strange story was brought to us from the East, to which little credit +would have been given, had not the fact been attested by a multitude of +witnesses, in various parts of the world. On the twenty-first of June, it +was said that an hour before noon, a black sun arose: an orb, the size of +that luminary, but dark, defined, whose beams were shadows, ascended from +the west; in about an hour it had reached the meridian, and eclipsed the +bright parent of day. Night fell upon every country, night, sudden, +rayless, entire. The stars came out, shedding their ineffectual glimmerings +on the light-widowed earth. But soon the dim orb passed from over the sun, +and lingered down the eastern heaven. As it descended, its dusky rays +crossed the brilliant ones of the sun, and deadened or distorted them. The +shadows of things assumed strange and ghastly shapes. The wild animals in +the woods took fright at the unknown shapes figured on the ground. They +fled they knew not whither; and the citizens were filled with greater +dread, at the convulsion which "shook lions into civil streets;"--birds, +strong-winged eagles, suddenly blinded, fell in the market-places, while +owls and bats shewed themselves welcoming the early night. Gradually the +object of fear sank beneath the horizon, and to the last shot up shadowy +beams into the otherwise radiant air. Such was the tale sent us from Asia, +from the eastern extremity of Europe, and from Africa as far west as the +Golden Coast. Whether this story were true or not, the effects were certain. +Through Asia, from the banks of the Nile to the shores of the Caspian, from +the Hellespont even to the sea of Oman, a sudden panic was driven. The men +filled the mosques; the women, veiled, hastened to the tombs, and carried +offerings to the dead, thus to preserve the living. The plague was +forgotten, in this new fear which the black sun had spread; and, though the +dead multiplied, and the streets of Ispahan, of Pekin, and of Delhi were +strewed with pestilence-struck corpses, men passed on, gazing on the +ominous sky, regardless of the death beneath their feet. The christians +sought their churches,--christian maidens, even at the feast of roses, +clad in white, with shining veils, sought, in long procession, the places +consecrated to their religion, filling the air with their hymns; while, +ever and anon, from the lips of some poor mourner in the crowd, a voice of +wailing burst, and the rest looked up, fancying they could discern the +sweeping wings of angels, who passed over the earth, lamenting the +disasters about to fall on man. + +In the sunny clime of Persia, in the crowded cities of China, amidst the +aromatic groves of Cashmere, and along the southern shores of the +Mediterranean, such scenes had place. Even in Greece the tale of the sun of +darkness encreased the fears and despair of the dying multitude. We, in our +cloudy isle, were far removed from danger, and the only circumstance that +brought these disasters at all home to us, was the daily arrival of vessels +from the east, crowded with emigrants, mostly English; for the Moslems, +though the fear of death was spread keenly among them, still clung +together; that, if they were to die (and if they were, death would as +readily meet them on the homeless sea, or in far England, as in Persia,)-- +if they were to die, their bones might rest in earth made sacred by the +relics of true believers. Mecca had never before been so crowded with +pilgrims; yet the Arabs neglected to pillage the caravans, but, humble and +weaponless, they joined the procession, praying Mahomet to avert plague +from their tents and deserts. + +I cannot describe the rapturous delight with which I turned from political +brawls at home, and the physical evils of distant countries, to my own dear +home, to the selected abode of goodness and love; to peace, and the +interchange of every sacred sympathy. Had I never quitted Windsor, these +emotions would not have been so intense; but I had in Greece been the prey +of fear and deplorable change; in Greece, after a period of anxiety and +sorrow, I had seen depart two, whose very names were the symbol of +greatness and virtue. But such miseries could never intrude upon the +domestic circle left to me, while, secluded in our beloved forest, we +passed our lives in tranquillity. Some small change indeed the progress of +years brought here; and time, as it is wont, stamped the traces of +mortality on our pleasures and expectations. Idris, the most affectionate +wife, sister and friend, was a tender and loving mother. The feeling was +not with her as with many, a pastime; it was a passion. We had had three +children; one, the second in age, died while I was in Greece. This had +dashed the triumphant and rapturous emotions of maternity with grief and +fear. Before this event, the little beings, sprung from herself, the young +heirs of her transient life, seemed to have a sure lease of existence; now +she dreaded that the pitiless destroyer might snatch her remaining +darlings, as it had snatched their brother. The least illness caused throes +of terror; she was miserable if she were at all absent from them; her +treasure of happiness she had garnered in their fragile being, and kept +forever on the watch, lest the insidious thief should as before steal these +valued gems. She had fortunately small cause for fear. Alfred, now nine +years old, was an upright, manly little fellow, with radiant brow, soft +eyes, and gentle, though independent disposition. Our youngest was yet in +infancy; but his downy cheek was sprinkled with the roses of health, and +his unwearied vivacity filled our halls with innocent laughter. + +Clara had passed the age which, from its mute ignorance, was the source of +the fears of Idris. Clara was dear to her, to all. There was so much +intelligence combined with innocence, sensibility with forbearance, and +seriousness with perfect good-humour, a beauty so transcendant, united to +such endearing simplicity, that she hung like a pearl in the shrine of our +possessions, a treasure of wonder and excellence. + +At the beginning of winter our Alfred, now nine years of age, first went to +school at Eton. This appeared to him the primary step towards manhood, and +he was proportionably pleased. Community of study and amusement developed +the best parts of his character, his steady perseverance, generosity, and +well-governed firmness. What deep and sacred emotions are excited in a +father's bosom, when he first becomes convinced that his love for his child +is not a mere instinct, but worthily bestowed, and that others, less akin, +participate his approbation! It was supreme happiness to Idris and myself, +to find that the frankness which Alfred's open brow indicated, the +intelligence of his eyes, the tempered sensibility of his tones, were not +delusions, but indications of talents and virtues, which would "grow with +his growth, and strengthen with his strength." At this period, the +termination of an animal's love for its offspring,--the true affection of +the human parent commences. We no longer look on this dearest part of +ourselves, as a tender plant which we must cherish, or a plaything for an +idle hour. We build now on his intellectual faculties, we establish our +hopes on his moral propensities. His weakness still imparts anxiety to this +feeling, his ignorance prevents entire intimacy; but we begin to respect +the future man, and to endeavour to secure his esteem, even as if he were +our equal. What can a parent have more at heart than the good opinion of +his child? In all our transactions with him our honour must be inviolate, +the integrity of our relations untainted: fate and circumstance may, when +he arrives at maturity, separate us for ever--but, as his aegis in +danger, his consolation in hardship, let the ardent youth for ever bear +with him through the rough path of life, love and honour for his parents. + +We had lived so long in the vicinity of Eton, that its population of young +folks was well known to us. Many of them had been Alfred's playmates, +before they became his school-fellows. We now watched this youthful +congregation with redoubled interest. We marked the difference of character +among the boys, and endeavoured to read the future man in the stripling. +There is nothing more lovely, to which the heart more yearns than a +free-spirited boy, gentle, brave, and generous. Several of the Etonians had +these characteristics; all were distinguished by a sense of honour, and +spirit of enterprize; in some, as they verged towards manhood, this +degenerated into presumption; but the younger ones, lads a little older +than our own, were conspicuous for their gallant and sweet dispositions. + +Here were the future governors of England; the men, who, when our ardour +was cold, and our projects completed or destroyed for ever, when, our drama +acted, we doffed the garb of the hour, and assumed the uniform of age, or +of more equalizing death; here were the beings who were to carry on the +vast machine of society; here were the lovers, husbands, fathers; here the +landlord, the politician, the soldier; some fancied that they were even now +ready to appear on the stage, eager to make one among the dramatis personae +of active life. It was not long since I was like one of these beardless +aspirants; when my boy shall have obtained the place I now hold, I shall +have tottered into a grey-headed, wrinkled old man. Strange system! riddle +of the Sphynx, most awe-striking! that thus man remains, while we the +individuals pass away. Such is, to borrow the words of an eloquent and +philosophic writer, "the mode of existence decreed to a permanent body +composed of transitory parts; wherein, by the disposition of a stupendous +wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human +race, the whole, at one time, is never old, or middle-aged, or young, but, +in a condition of unchangeable constancy, moves on through the varied +tenour of perpetual decay, fall, renovation, and progression."[2] + +Willingly do I give place to thee, dear Alfred! advance, offspring of +tender love, child of our hopes; advance a soldier on the road to which I +have been the pioneer! I will make way for thee. I have already put off the +carelessness of childhood, the unlined brow, and springy gait of early +years, that they may adorn thee. Advance; and I will despoil myself still +further for thy advantage. Time shall rob me of the graces of maturity, +shall take the fire from my eyes, and agility from my limbs, shall steal +the better part of life, eager expectation and passionate love, and shower +them in double portion on thy dear head. Advance! avail thyself of the +gift, thou and thy comrades; and in the drama you are about to act, do not +disgrace those who taught you to enter on the stage, and to pronounce +becomingly the parts assigned to you! May your progress be uninterrupted +and secure; born during the spring-tide of the hopes of man, may you lead +up the summer to which no winter may succeed! + +[1] See an ingenious Essay, entitled, "The Mythological Astronomy of the +Ancients Demonstrated," by Mackey, a shoemaker, of Norwich printed in 1822. +[2] Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +SOME disorder had surely crept into the course of the elements, destroying +their benignant influence. The wind, prince of air, raged through his +kingdom, lashing the sea into fury, and subduing the rebel earth into some +sort of obedience. + + The God sends down his angry plagues from high, + Famine and pestilence in heaps they die. + Again in vengeance of his wrath he falls + On their great hosts, and breaks their tottering walls; + Arrests their navies on the ocean's plain, + And whelms their strength with mountains of the main. + +Their deadly power shook the flourishing countries of the south, and +during winter, even, we, in our northern retreat, began to quake under +their ill effects. + +That fable is unjust, which gives the superiority to the sun over the wind. +Who has not seen the lightsome earth, the balmy atmosphere, and basking +nature become dark, cold and ungenial, when the sleeping wind has awoke in +the east? Or, when the dun clouds thickly veil the sky, while exhaustless +stores of rain are poured down, until, the dank earth refusing to imbibe +the superabundant moisture, it lies in pools on the surface; when the torch +of day seems like a meteor, to be quenched; who has not seen the +cloud-stirring north arise, the streaked blue appear, and soon an opening +made in the vapours in the eye of the wind, through which the bright azure +shines? The clouds become thin; an arch is formed for ever rising upwards, +till, the universal cope being unveiled, the sun pours forth its rays, +re-animated and fed by the breeze. + +Then mighty art thou, O wind, to be throned above all other vicegerents of +nature's power; whether thou comest destroying from the east, or pregnant +with elementary life from the west; thee the clouds obey; the sun is +subservient to thee; the shoreless ocean is thy slave! Thou sweepest over +the earth, and oaks, the growth of centuries, submit to thy viewless axe; +the snow-drift is scattered on the pinnacles of the Alps, the avalanche +thunders down their vallies. Thou holdest the keys of the frost, and canst +first chain and then set free the streams; under thy gentle governance the +buds and leaves are born, they flourish nursed by thee. + +Why dost thou howl thus, O wind? By day and by night for four long months +thy roarings have not ceased--the shores of the sea are strewn with +wrecks, its keel-welcoming surface has become impassable, the earth has +shed her beauty in obedience to thy command; the frail balloon dares no +longer sail on the agitated air; thy ministers, the clouds, deluge the land +with rain; rivers forsake their banks; the wild torrent tears up the +mountain path; plain and wood, and verdant dell are despoiled of their +loveliness; our very cities are wasted by thee. Alas, what will become of +us? It seems as if the giant waves of ocean, and vast arms of the sea, were +about to wrench the deep-rooted island from its centre; and cast it, a ruin +and a wreck, upon the fields of the Atlantic. + +What are we, the inhabitants of this globe, least among the many that +people infinite space? Our minds embrace infinity; the visible mechanism of +our being is subject to merest accident. Day by day we are forced to +believe this. He whom a scratch has disorganized, he who disappears from +apparent life under the influence of the hostile agency at work around us, +had the same powers as I--I also am subject to the same laws. In the face +of all this we call ourselves lords of the creation, wielders of the +elements, masters of life and death, and we allege in excuse of this +arrogance, that though the individual is destroyed, man continues for +ever. + +Thus, losing our identity, that of which we are chiefly conscious, we glory +in the continuity of our species, and learn to regard death without terror. +But when any whole nation becomes the victim of the destructive powers of +exterior agents, then indeed man shrinks into insignificance, he feels his +tenure of life insecure, his inheritance on earth cut off. + +I remember, after having witnessed the destructive effects of a fire, I +could not even behold a small one in a stove, without a sensation of fear. +The mounting flames had curled round the building, as it fell, and was +destroyed. They insinuated themselves into the substances about them, and +the impediments to their progress yielded at their touch. Could we take +integral parts of this power, and not be subject to its operation? Could we +domesticate a cub of this wild beast, and not fear its growth and +maturity? + +Thus we began to feel, with regard to many-visaged death let loose on the +chosen districts of our fair habitation, and above all, with regard to the +plague. We feared the coming summer. Nations, bordering on the already +infected countries, began to enter upon serious plans for the better +keeping out of the enemy. We, a commercial people, were obliged to bring +such schemes under consideration; and the question of contagion became +matter of earnest disquisition. + +That the plague was not what is commonly called contagious, like the +scarlet fever, or extinct small-pox, was proved. It was called an epidemic. +But the grand question was still unsettled of how this epidemic was +generated and increased. If infection depended upon the air, the air was +subject to infection. As for instance, a typhus fever has been brought by +ships to one sea-port town; yet the very people who brought it there, were +incapable of communicating it in a town more fortunately situated. But how +are we to judge of airs, and pronounce--in such a city plague will die +unproductive; in such another, nature has provided for it a plentiful +harvest? In the same way, individuals may escape ninety-nine times, and +receive the death-blow at the hundredth; because bodies are sometimes in a +state to reject the infection of malady, and at others, thirsty to imbibe +it. These reflections made our legislators pause, before they could decide +on the laws to be put in force. The evil was so wide-spreading, so violent +and immedicable, that no care, no prevention could be judged superfluous, +which even added a chance to our escape. + +These were questions of prudence; there was no immediate necessity for an +earnest caution. England was still secure. France, Germany, Italy and +Spain, were interposed, walls yet without a breach, between us and the +plague. Our vessels truly were the sport of winds and waves, even as +Gulliver was the toy of the Brobdignagians; but we on our stable abode +could not be hurt in life or limb by these eruptions of nature. We could +not fear--we did not. Yet a feeling of awe, a breathless sentiment of +wonder, a painful sense of the degradation of humanity, was introduced into +every heart. Nature, our mother, and our friend, had turned on us a brow of +menace. She shewed us plainly, that, though she permitted us to assign her +laws and subdue her apparent powers, yet, if she put forth but a finger, we +must quake. She could take our globe, fringed with mountains, girded by the +atmosphere, containing the condition of our being, and all that man's mind +could invent or his force achieve; she could take the ball in her hand, and +cast it into space, where life would be drunk up, and man and all his +efforts for ever annihilated. + +These speculations were rife among us; yet not the less we proceeded in our +daily occupations, and our plans, whose accomplishment demanded the lapse +of many years. No voice was heard telling us to hold! When foreign +distresses came to be felt by us through the channels of commerce, we set +ourselves to apply remedies. Subscriptions were made for the emigrants, and +merchants bankrupt by the failure of trade. The English spirit awoke to its +full activity, and, as it had ever done, set itself to resist the evil, and +to stand in the breach which diseased nature had suffered chaos and death +to make in the bounds and banks which had hitherto kept them out. + +At the commencement of summer, we began to feel, that the mischief which +had taken place in distant countries was greater than we had at first +suspected. Quito was destroyed by an earthquake. Mexico laid waste by the +united effects of storm, pestilence and famine. Crowds of emigrants +inundated the west of Europe; and our island had become the refuge of +thousands. In the mean time Ryland had been chosen Protector. He had sought +this office with eagerness, under the idea of turning his whole forces to +the suppression of the privileged orders of our community. His measures +were thwarted, and his schemes interrupted by this new state of things. +Many of the foreigners were utterly destitute; and their increasing numbers +at length forbade a recourse to the usual modes of relief. Trade was +stopped by the failure of the interchange of cargoes usual between us, and +America, India, Egypt and Greece. A sudden break was made in the routine of +our lives. In vain our Protector and his partizans sought to conceal this +truth; in vain, day after day, he appointed a period for the discussion of +the new laws concerning hereditary rank and privilege; in vain he +endeavoured to represent the evil as partial and temporary. These disasters +came home to so many bosoms, and, through the various channels of commerce, +were carried so entirely into every class and division of the community, +that of necessity they became the first question in the state, the chief +subjects to which we must turn our attention. + +Can it be true, each asked the other with wonder and dismay, that whole +countries are laid waste, whole nations annihilated, by these disorders in +nature? The vast cities of America, the fertile plains of Hindostan, the +crowded abodes of the Chinese, are menaced with utter ruin. Where late the +busy multitudes assembled for pleasure or profit, now only the sound of +wailing and misery is heard. The air is empoisoned, and each human being +inhales death, even while in youth and health, their hopes are in the +flower. We called to mind the plague of 1348, when it was calculated that a +third of mankind had been destroyed. As yet western Europe was uninfected; +would it always be so? + +O, yes, it would--Countrymen, fear not! In the still uncultivated wilds +of America, what wonder that among its other giant destroyers, plague +should be numbered! It is of old a native of the East, sister of the +tornado, the earthquake, and the simoon. Child of the sun, and nursling of +the tropics, it would expire in these climes. It drinks the dark blood of +the inhabitant of the south, but it never feasts on the pale-faced Celt. If +perchance some stricken Asiatic come among us, plague dies with him, +uncommunicated and innoxious. Let us weep for our brethren, though we can +never experience their reverse. Let us lament over and assist the children +of the garden of the earth. Late we envied their abodes, their spicy +groves, fertile plains, and abundant loveliness. But in this mortal life +extremes are always matched; the thorn grows with the rose, the poison tree +and the cinnamon mingle their boughs. Persia, with its cloth of gold, +marble halls, and infinite wealth, is now a tomb. The tent of the Arab is +fallen in the sands, and his horse spurns the ground unbridled and +unsaddled. The voice of lamentation fills the valley of Cashmere; its dells +and woods, its cool fountains, and gardens of roses, are polluted by the +dead; in Circassia and Georgia the spirit of beauty weeps over the ruin of +its favourite temple--the form of woman. + +Our own distresses, though they were occasioned by the fictitious +reciprocity of commerce, encreased in due proportion. Bankers, merchants, +and manufacturers, whose trade depended on exports and interchange of +wealth, became bankrupt. Such things, when they happen singly, affect only +the immediate parties; but the prosperity of the nation was now shaken by +frequent and extensive losses. Families, bred in opulence and luxury, were +reduced to beggary. The very state of peace in which we gloried was +injurious; there were no means of employing the idle, or of sending any +overplus of population out of the country. Even the source of colonies was +dried up, for in New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and the Cape of Good Hope, +plague raged. O, for some medicinal vial to purge unwholesome nature, and +bring back the earth to its accustomed health! + +Ryland was a man of strong intellects and quick and sound decision in the +usual course of things, but he stood aghast at the multitude of evils that +gathered round us. Must he tax the landed interest to assist our commercial +population? To do this, he must gain the favour of the chief land-holders, +the nobility of the country; and these were his vowed enemies--he must +conciliate them by abandoning his favourite scheme of equalization; he must +confirm them in their manorial rights; he must sell his cherished plans for +the permanent good of his country, for temporary relief. He must aim no +more at the dear object of his ambition; throwing his arms aside, he must +for present ends give up the ultimate object of his endeavours. He came to +Windsor to consult with us. Every day added to his difficulties; the +arrival of fresh vessels with emigrants, the total cessation of commerce, +the starving multitude that thronged around the palace of the Protectorate, +were circumstances not to be tampered with. The blow was struck; the +aristocracy obtained all they wished, and they subscribed to a +twelvemonths' bill, which levied twenty per cent on all the rent-rolls of +the country. Calm was now restored to the metropolis, and to the populous +cities, before driven to desperation; and we returned to the consideration +of distant calamities, wondering if the future would bring any alleviation +to their excess. It was August; so there could be small hope of relief +during the heats. On the contrary, the disease gained virulence, while +starvation did its accustomed work. Thousands died unlamented; for beside +the yet warm corpse the mourner was stretched, made mute by death. + +On the eighteenth of this month news arrived in London that the plague was +in France and Italy. These tidings were at first whispered about town; but +no one dared express aloud the soul-quailing intelligence. When any one met +a friend in the street, he only cried as he hurried on, "You know!"-- +while the other, with an ejaculation of fear and horror, would answer,-- +"What will become of us?" At length it was mentioned in the newspapers. The +paragraph was inserted in an obscure part: "We regret to state that there +can be no longer a doubt of the plague having been introduced at Leghorn, +Genoa, and Marseilles." No word of comment followed; each reader made his +own fearful one. We were as a man who hears that his house is burning, and +yet hurries through the streets, borne along by a lurking hope of a +mistake, till he turns the corner, and sees his sheltering roof enveloped +in a flame. Before it had been a rumour; but now in words uneraseable, in +definite and undeniable print, the knowledge went forth. Its obscurity of +situation rendered it the more conspicuous: the diminutive letters grew +gigantic to the bewildered eye of fear: they seemed graven with a pen of +iron, impressed by fire, woven in the clouds, stamped on the very front of +the universe. + +The English, whether travellers or residents, came pouring in one great +revulsive stream, back on their own country; and with them crowds of +Italians and Spaniards. Our little island was filled even to bursting. At +first an unusual quantity of specie made its appearance with the emigrants; +but these people had no means of receiving back into their hands what they +spent among us. With the advance of summer, and the increase of the +distemper, rents were unpaid, and their remittances failed them. It was +impossible to see these crowds of wretched, perishing creatures, late +nurslings of luxury, and not stretch out a hand to save them. As at the +conclusion of the eighteenth century, the English unlocked their hospitable +store, for the relief of those driven from their homes by political +revolution; so now they were not backward in affording aid to the victims +of a more wide-spreading calamity. We had many foreign friends whom we +eagerly sought out, and relieved from dreadful penury. Our Castle became an +asylum for the unhappy. A little population occupied its halls. The revenue +of its possessor, which had always found a mode of expenditure congenial to +his generous nature, was now attended to more parsimoniously, that it might +embrace a wider portion of utility. It was not however money, except +partially, but the necessaries of life, that became scarce. It was +difficult to find an immediate remedy. The usual one of imports was +entirely cut off. In this emergency, to feed the very people to whom we had +given refuge, we were obliged to yield to the plough and the mattock our +pleasure-grounds and parks. Live stock diminished sensibly in the country, +from the effects of the great demand in the market. Even the poor deer, our +antlered proteges, were obliged to fall for the sake of worthier +pensioners. The labour necessary to bring the lands to this sort of +culture, employed and fed the offcasts of the diminished manufactories. + +Adrian did not rest only with the exertions he could make with regard to +his own possessions. He addressed himself to the wealthy of the land; he +made proposals in parliament little adapted to please the rich; but his +earnest pleadings and benevolent eloquence were irresistible. To give up +their pleasure-grounds to the agriculturist, to diminish sensibly the +number of horses kept for the purposes of luxury throughout the country, +were means obvious, but unpleasing. Yet, to the honour of the English be it +recorded, that, although natural disinclination made them delay awhile, yet +when the misery of their fellow-creatures became glaring, an enthusiastic +generosity inspired their decrees. The most luxurious were often the first +to part with their indulgencies. As is common in communities, a fashion was +set. The high-born ladies of the country would have deemed themselves +disgraced if they had now enjoyed, what they before called a necessary, the +ease of a carriage. Chairs, as in olden time, and Indian palanquins were +introduced for the infirm; but else it was nothing singular to see females +of rank going on foot to places of fashionable resort. It was more common, +for all who possessed landed property to secede to their estates, attended +by whole troops of the indigent, to cut down their woods to erect temporary +dwellings, and to portion out their parks, parterres and flower-gardens, to +necessitous families. Many of these, of high rank in their own countries, +now, with hoe in hand, turned up the soil. It was found necessary at last +to check the spirit of sacrifice, and to remind those whose generosity +proceeded to lavish waste, that, until the present state of things became +permanent, of which there was no likelihood, it was wrong to carry change +so far as to make a reaction difficult. Experience demonstrated that in a +year or two pestilence would cease; it were well that in the mean time we +should not have destroyed our fine breeds of horses, or have utterly +changed the face of the ornamented portion of the country. + +It may be imagined that things were in a bad state indeed, before this +spirit of benevolence could have struck such deep roots. The infection had +now spread in the southern provinces of France. But that country had so +many resources in the way of agriculture, that the rush of population from +one part of it to another, and its increase through foreign emigration, was +less felt than with us. The panic struck appeared of more injury, than +disease and its natural concomitants. + +Winter was hailed, a general and never-failing physician. The embrowning +woods, and swollen rivers, the evening mists, and morning frosts, were +welcomed with gratitude. The effects of purifying cold were immediately +felt; and the lists of mortality abroad were curtailed each week. Many of +our visitors left us: those whose homes were far in the south, fled +delightedly from our northern winter, and sought their native land, secure +of plenty even after their fearful visitation. We breathed again. What the +coming summer would bring, we knew not; but the present months were our +own, and our hopes of a cessation of pestilence were high. + +[1] Elton's translation of Hesiod's Works. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +I HAVE lingered thus long on the extreme bank, the wasting shoal that +stretched into the stream of life, dallying with the shadow of death. Thus +long, I have cradled my heart in retrospection of past happiness, when hope +was. Why not for ever thus? I am not immortal; and the thread of my history +might be spun out to the limits of my existence. But the same sentiment +that first led me to pourtray scenes replete with tender recollections, now +bids me hurry on. The same yearning of this warm, panting heart, that has +made me in written words record my vagabond youth, my serene manhood, and +the passions of my soul, makes me now recoil from further delay. I must +complete my work. + +Here then I stand, as I said, beside the fleet waters of the flowing years, +and now away! Spread the sail, and strain with oar, hurrying by dark +impending crags, adown steep rapids, even to the sea of desolation I have +reached. Yet one moment, one brief interval before I put from shore-- +once, once again let me fancy myself as I was in 2094 in my abode at +Windsor, let me close my eyes, and imagine that the immeasurable boughs of +its oaks still shadow me, its castle walls anear. Let fancy pourtray the +joyous scene of the twentieth of June, such as even now my aching heart +recalls it. + +Circumstances had called me to London; here I heard talk that symptoms +of the plague had occurred in hospitals of that city. I returned to +Windsor; my brow was clouded, my heart heavy; I entered the Little +Park, as was my custom, at the Frogmore gate, on my way to the +Castle. A great part of these grounds had been given to cultivation, +and strips of potatoe-land and corn were scattered here and there. +The rooks cawed loudly in the trees above; mixed with their hoarse +cries I heard a lively strain of music. It was Alfred's birthday. +The young people, the Etonians, and children of the neighbouring gentry, +held a mock fair, to which all the country people were invited. The +park was speckled by tents, whose flaunting colours and gaudy flags, waving +in the sunshine, added to the gaiety of the scene. On a platform erected +beneath the terrace, a number of the younger part of the assembly were +dancing. I leaned against a tree to observe them. The band played the wild +eastern air of Weber introduced in Abon Hassan; its volatile notes gave +wings to the feet of the dancers, while the lookers-on unconsciously beat +time. At first the tripping measure lifted my spirit with it, and for a +moment my eyes gladly followed the mazes of the dance. The revulsion of +thought passed like keen steel to my heart. Ye are all going to die, I +thought; already your tomb is built up around you. Awhile, because you are +gifted with agility and strength, you fancy that you live: but frail is the +"bower of flesh" that encaskets life; dissoluble the silver cord than binds +you to it. The joyous soul, charioted from pleasure to pleasure by the +graceful mechanism of well-formed limbs, will suddenly feel the axle-tree +give way, and spring and wheel dissolve in dust. Not one of you, O! fated +crowd, can escape--not one! not my own ones! not my Idris and her babes! +Horror and misery! Already the gay dance vanished, the green sward was +strewn with corpses, the blue air above became fetid with deathly +exhalations. Shriek, ye clarions! ye loud trumpets, howl! Pile dirge on +dirge; rouse the funereal chords; let the air ring with dire wailing; let +wild discord rush on the wings of the wind! Already I hear it, while +guardian angels, attendant on humanity, their task achieved, hasten away, +and their departure is announced by melancholy strains; faces all unseemly +with weeping, forced open my lids; faster and faster many groups of these +woe-begone countenances thronged around, exhibiting every variety of +wretchedness--well known faces mingled with the distorted creations of +fancy. Ashy pale, Raymond and Perdita sat apart, looking on with sad +smiles. Adrian's countenance flitted across, tainted by death--Idris, +with eyes languidly closed and livid lips, was about to slide into the wide +grave. The confusion grew--their looks of sorrow changed to mockery; they +nodded their heads in time to the music, whose clang became maddening. + +I felt that this was insanity--I sprang forward to throw it off; I rushed +into the midst of the crowd. Idris saw me: with light step she advanced; as +I folded her in my arms, feeling, as I did, that I thus enclosed what was +to me a world, yet frail as the waterdrop which the noon-day sun will drink +from the water lily's cup; tears filled my eyes, unwont to be thus +moistened. The joyful welcome of my boys, the soft gratulation of Clara, +the pressure of Adrian's hand, contributed to unman me. I felt that they +were near, that they were safe, yet methought this was all deceit;--the +earth reeled, the firm-enrooted trees moved--dizziness came over me--I +sank to the ground. + +My beloved friends were alarmed--nay, they expressed their alarm so +anxiously, that I dared not pronounce the word plague, that hovered on my +lips, lest they should construe my perturbed looks into a symptom, and see +infection in my languor. I had scarcely recovered, and with feigned +hilarity had brought back smiles into my little circle, when we saw Ryland +approach. + +Ryland had something the appearance of a farmer; of a man whose muscles and +full grown stature had been developed under the influence of vigorous +exercise and exposure to the elements. This was to a great degree the case: +for, though a large landed proprietor, yet, being a projector, and of an +ardent and industrious disposition, he had on his own estate given himself +up to agricultural labours. When he went as ambassador to the Northern +States of America, he, for some time, planned his entire migration; and +went so far as to make several journies far westward on that immense +continent, for the purpose of choosing the site of his new abode. Ambition +turned his thoughts from these designs--ambition, which labouring through +various lets and hindrances, had now led him to the summit of his hopes, in +making him Lord Protector of England. + +His countenance was rough but intelligent--his ample brow and quick grey +eyes seemed to look out, over his own plans, and the opposition of his +enemies. His voice was stentorian: his hand stretched out in debate, seemed +by its gigantic and muscular form, to warn his hearers that words were not +his only weapons. Few people had discovered some cowardice and much +infirmity of purpose under this imposing exterior. No man could crush a +"butterfly on the wheel" with better effect; no man better cover a speedy +retreat from a powerful adversary. This had been the secret of his +secession at the time of Lord Raymond's election. In the unsteady glance of +his eye, in his extreme desire to learn the opinions of all, in the +feebleness of his hand-writing, these qualities might be obscurely traced, +but they were not generally known. He was now our Lord Protector. He had +canvassed eagerly for this post. His protectorate was to be distinguished +by every kind of innovation on the aristocracy. This his selected task was +exchanged for the far different one of encountering the ruin caused by the +convulsions of physical nature. He was incapable of meeting these evils by +any comprehensive system; he had resorted to expedient after expedient, and +could never be induced to put a remedy in force, till it came too late to +be of use. + +Certainly the Ryland that advanced towards us now, bore small resemblance +to the powerful, ironical, seemingly fearless canvasser for the first rank +among Englishmen. Our native oak, as his partisans called him, was visited +truly by a nipping winter. He scarcely appeared half his usual height; his +joints were unknit, his limbs would not support him; his face was +contracted, his eye wandering; debility of purpose and dastard fear were +expressed in every gesture. + +In answer to our eager questions, one word alone fell, as it were +involuntarily, from his convulsed lips: _The Plague_.--"Where?"--"Every +where--we must fly--all fly--but whither? No man can tell--there is +no refuge on earth, it comes on us like a thousand packs of wolves--we +must all fly--where shall you go? Where can any of us go?" + +These words were syllabled trembling by the iron man. Adrian replied, +"Whither indeed would you fly? We must all remain; and do our best to help +our suffering fellow-creatures." + +"Help!" said Ryland, "there is no help!--great God, who talks of help! +All the world has the plague!" + +"Then to avoid it, we must quit the world," observed Adrian, with a +gentle smile. + +Ryland groaned; cold drops stood on his brow. It was useless to oppose his +paroxysm of terror: but we soothed and encouraged him, so that after an +interval he was better able to explain to us the ground of his alarm. It +had come sufficiently home to him. One of his servants, while waiting on +him, had suddenly fallen down dead. The physician declared that he died of +the plague. We endeavoured to calm him--but our own hearts were not calm. +I saw the eye of Idris wander from me to her children, with an anxious +appeal to my judgment. Adrian was absorbed in meditation. For myself, I own +that Ryland's words rang in my ears; all the world was infected;--in what +uncontaminated seclusion could I save my beloved treasures, until the +shadow of death had passed from over the earth? We sunk into silence: a +silence that drank in the doleful accounts and prognostications of our +guest. We had receded from the crowd; and ascending the steps of the +terrace, sought the Castle. Our change of cheer struck those nearest to us; +and, by means of Ryland's servants, the report soon spread that he had fled +from the plague in London. The sprightly parties broke up--they assembled +in whispering groups. The spirit of gaiety was eclipsed; the music ceased; +the young people left their occupations and gathered together. The +lightness of heart which had dressed them in masquerade habits, had +decorated their tents, and assembled them in fantastic groups, appeared a +sin against, and a provocative to, the awful destiny that had laid its +palsying hand upon hope and life. The merriment of the hour was an unholy +mockery of the sorrows of man. The foreigners whom we had among us, who had +fled from the plague in their own country, now saw their last asylum +invaded; and, fear making them garrulous, they described to eager listeners +the miseries they had beheld in cities visited by the calamity, and gave +fearful accounts of the insidious and irremediable nature of the disease. + +We had entered the Castle. Idris stood at a window that over-looked the +park; her maternal eyes sought her own children among the young crowd. An +Italian lad had got an audience about him, and with animated gestures was +describing some scene of horror. Alfred stood immoveable before him, his +whole attention absorbed. Little Evelyn had endeavoured to draw Clara away +to play with him; but the Italian's tale arrested her, she crept near, her +lustrous eyes fixed on the speaker. Either watching the crowd in the park, +or occupied by painful reflection, we were all silent; Ryland stood by +himself in an embrasure of the window; Adrian paced the hall, revolving +some new and overpowering idea--suddenly he stopped and said: "I have +long expected this; could we in reason expect that this island should be +exempt from the universal visitation? The evil is come home to us, and we +must not shrink from our fate. What are your plans, my Lord Protector, for +the benefit of our country?" + +"For heaven's love! Windsor," cried Ryland, "do not mock me with that +title. Death and disease level all men. I neither pretend to protect nor +govern an hospital--such will England quickly become." + +"Do you then intend, now in time of peril, to recede from your duties?" + +"Duties! speak rationally, my Lord!--when I am a plague-spotted corpse, +where will my duties be? Every man for himself! the devil take the +protectorship, say I, if it expose me to danger!" + +"Faint-hearted man!" cried Adrian indignantly--"Your countrymen put their +trust in you, and you betray them!" + +"I betray them!" said Ryland, "the plague betrays me. Faint-hearted! It is +well, shut up in your castle, out of danger, to boast yourself out of fear. +Take the Protectorship who will; before God I renounce it!" + +"And before God," replied his opponent, fervently, "do I receive it! No one +will canvass for this honour now--none envy my danger or labours. Deposit +your powers in my hands. Long have I fought with death, and much" (he +stretched out his thin hand) "much have I suffered in the struggle. It is +not by flying, but by facing the enemy, that we can conquer. If my last +combat is now about to be fought, and I am to be worsted--so let it be!" + +"But come, Ryland, recollect yourself! Men have hitherto thought you +magnanimous and wise, will you cast aside these titles? Consider the panic +your departure will occasion. Return to London. I will go with you. +Encourage the people by your presence. I will incur all the danger. Shame! +shame! if the first magistrate of England be foremost to renounce his +duties." + +Meanwhile among our guests in the park, all thoughts of festivity had +faded. As summer-flies are scattered by rain, so did this congregation, +late noisy and happy, in sadness and melancholy murmurs break up, dwindling +away apace. With the set sun and the deepening twilight the park became +nearly empty. Adrian and Ryland were still in earnest discussion. We had +prepared a banquet for our guests in the lower hall of the castle; and +thither Idris and I repaired to receive and entertain the few that +remained. There is nothing more melancholy than a merry-meeting thus turned +to sorrow: the gala dresses--the decorations, gay as they might otherwise +be, receive a solemn and funereal appearance. If such change be painful +from lighter causes, it weighed with intolerable heaviness from the +knowledge that the earth's desolator had at last, even as an arch-fiend, +lightly over-leaped the boundaries our precautions raised, and at once +enthroned himself in the full and beating heart of our country. Idris sat +at the top of the half-empty hall. Pale and tearful, she almost forgot her +duties as hostess; her eyes were fixed on her children. Alfred's serious +air shewed that he still revolved the tragic story related by the Italian +boy. Evelyn was the only mirthful creature present: he sat on Clara's lap; +and, making matter of glee from his own fancies, laughed aloud. The vaulted +roof echoed again his infant tone. The poor mother who had brooded long +over, and suppressed the expression of her anguish, now burst into tears, +and folding her babe in her arms, hurried from the hall. Clara and Alfred +followed. While the rest of the company, in confused murmur, which grew +louder and louder, gave voice to their many fears. + +The younger part gathered round me to ask my advice; and those who had +friends in London were anxious beyond the rest, to ascertain the present +extent of disease in the metropolis. I encouraged them with such thoughts +of cheer as presented themselves. I told them exceedingly few deaths had +yet been occasioned by pestilence, and gave them hopes, as we were the last +visited, so the calamity might have lost its most venomous power before it +had reached us. The cleanliness, habits of order, and the manner in which +our cities were built, were all in our favour. As it was an epidemic, its +chief force was derived from pernicious qualities in the air, and it would +probably do little harm where this was naturally salubrious. At first, I +had spoken only to those nearest me; but the whole assembly gathered about +me, and I found that I was listened to by all. "My friends," I said, "our +risk is common; our precautions and exertions shall be common also. If +manly courage and resistance can save us, we will be saved. We will fight +the enemy to the last. Plague shall not find us a ready prey; we will +dispute every inch of ground; and, by methodical and inflexible laws, pile +invincible barriers to the progress of our foe. Perhaps in no part of the +world has she met with so systematic and determined an opposition. Perhaps +no country is naturally so well protected against our invader; nor has +nature anywhere been so well assisted by the hand of man. We will not +despair. We are neither cowards nor fatalists; but, believing that God has +placed the means for our preservation in our own hands, we will use those +means to our utmost. Remember that cleanliness, sobriety, and even +good-humour and benevolence, are our best medicines." + +There was little I could add to this general exhortation; for the plague, +though in London, was not among us. I dismissed the guests therefore; and +they went thoughtful, more than sad, to await the events in store for +them. + +I now sought Adrian, anxious to hear the result of his discussion with +Ryland. He had in part prevailed; the Lord Protector consented to return to +London for a few weeks; during which time things should be so arranged, as +to occasion less consternation at his departure. Adrian and Idris were +together. The sadness with which the former had first heard that the plague +was in London had vanished; the energy of his purpose informed his body +with strength, the solemn joy of enthusiasm and self-devotion illuminated +his countenance; and the weakness of his physical nature seemed to pass +from him, as the cloud of humanity did, in the ancient fable, from the +divine lover of Semele. He was endeavouring to encourage his sister, and to +bring her to look on his intent in a less tragic light than she was +prepared to do; and with passionate eloquence he unfolded his designs to +her. + +"Let me, at the first word," he said, "relieve your mind from all fear on +my account. I will not task myself beyond my powers, nor will I needlessly +seek danger. I feel that I know what ought to be done, and as my presence +is necessary for the accomplishment of my plans, I will take especial care +to preserve my life. + +"I am now going to undertake an office fitted for me. I cannot intrigue, or +work a tortuous path through the labyrinth of men's vices and passions; but +I can bring patience, and sympathy, and such aid as art affords, to the bed +of disease; I can raise from earth the miserable orphan, and awaken to new +hopes the shut heart of the mourner. I can enchain the plague in limits, +and set a term to the misery it would occasion; courage, forbearance, and +watchfulness, are the forces I bring towards this great work. + +"O, I shall be something now! From my birth I have aspired like the eagle +--but, unlike the eagle, my wings have failed, and my vision has been +blinded. Disappointment and sickness have hitherto held dominion over me; +twin born with me, my _would_, was for ever enchained by the _shall not_, of +these my tyrants. A shepherd-boy that tends a silly flock on the mountains, +was more in the scale of society than I. Congratulate me then that I have +found fitting scope for my powers. I have often thought of offering my +services to the pestilence-stricken towns of France and Italy; but fear of +paining you, and expectation of this catastrophe, withheld me. To England +and to Englishmen I dedicate myself. If I can save one of her mighty +spirits from the deadly shaft; if I can ward disease from one of her +smiling cottages, I shall not have lived in vain." + +Strange ambition this! Yet such was Adrian. He appeared given up to +contemplation, averse to excitement, a lowly student, a man of visions-- +but afford him worthy theme, and-- + + Like to the lark at break of day arising, + From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate.[1] + +so did he spring up from listlessness and unproductive thought, to the +highest pitch of virtuous action. + +With him went enthusiasm, the high-wrought resolve, the eye that without +blenching could look at death. With us remained sorrow, anxiety, and +unendurable expectation of evil. The man, says Lord Bacon, who hath wife +and children, has given hostages to fortune. Vain was all philosophical +reasoning--vain all fortitude--vain, vain, a reliance on probable good. +I might heap high the scale with logic, courage, and resignation--but let +one fear for Idris and our children enter the opposite one, and, +over-weighed, it kicked the beam. + +The plague was in London! Fools that we were not long ago to have foreseen +this. We wept over the ruin of the boundless continents of the east, and +the desolation of the western world; while we fancied that the little +channel between our island and the rest of the earth was to preserve us +alive among the dead. It were no mighty leap methinks from Calais to Dover. +The eye easily discerns the sister land; they were united once; and the +little path that runs between looks in a map but as a trodden footway +through high grass. Yet this small interval was to save us: the sea was to +rise a wall of adamant--without, disease and misery--within, a shelter +from evil, a nook of the garden of paradise--a particle of celestial +soil, which no evil could invade--truly we were wise in our generation, +to imagine all these things! + +But we are awake now. The plague is in London; the air of England is +tainted, and her sons and daughters strew the unwholesome earth. And now, +the sea, late our defence, seems our prison bound; hemmed in by its gulphs, +we shall die like the famished inhabitants of a besieged town. Other +nations have a fellowship in death; but we, shut out from all +neighbourhood, must bury our own dead, and little England become a wide, +wide tomb. + +This feeling of universal misery assumed concentration and shape, when I +looked on my wife and children; and the thought of danger to them possessed +my whole being with fear. How could I save them? I revolved a thousand and +a thousand plans. They should not die--first I would be gathered to +nothingness, ere infection should come anear these idols of my soul. I +would walk barefoot through the world, to find an uninfected spot; I would +build my home on some wave-tossed plank, drifted about on the barren, +shoreless ocean. I would betake me with them to some wild beast's den, +where a tyger's cubs, which I would slay, had been reared in health. I +would seek the mountain eagle's eirie, and live years suspended in some +inaccessible recess of a sea-bounding cliff--no labour too great, no +scheme too wild, if it promised life to them. O! ye heart-strings of mine, +could ye be torn asunder, and my soul not spend itself in tears of blood +for sorrow! + +Idris, after the first shock, regained a portion of fortitude. She +studiously shut out all prospect of the future, and cradled her heart in +present blessings. She never for a moment lost sight of her children. But +while they in health sported about her, she could cherish contentment and +hope. A strange and wild restlessness came over me--the more intolerable, +because I was forced to conceal it. My fears for Adrian were ceaseless; +August had come; and the symptoms of plague encreased rapidly in London. It +was deserted by all who possessed the power of removing; and he, the +brother of my soul, was exposed to the perils from which all but slaves +enchained by circumstance fled. He remained to combat the fiend--his side +unguarded, his toils unshared--infection might even reach him, and he die +unattended and alone. By day and night these thoughts pursued me. I +resolved to visit London, to see him; to quiet these agonizing throes by +the sweet medicine of hope, or the opiate of despair. + +It was not until I arrived at Brentford, that I perceived much change in +the face of the country. The better sort of houses were shut up; the busy +trade of the town palsied; there was an air of anxiety among the few +passengers I met, and they looked wonderingly at my carriage--the first +they had seen pass towards London, since pestilence sat on its high places, +and possessed its busy streets. I met several funerals; they were slenderly +attended by mourners, and were regarded by the spectators as omens of +direst import. Some gazed on these processions with wild eagerness-- +others fled timidly--some wept aloud. + +Adrian's chief endeavour, after the immediate succour of the sick, had been +to disguise the symptoms and progress of the plague from the inhabitants of +London. He knew that fear and melancholy forebodings were powerful +assistants to disease; that desponding and brooding care rendered the +physical nature of man peculiarly susceptible of infection. No unseemly +sights were therefore discernible: the shops were in general open, the +concourse of passengers in some degree kept up. But although the appearance +of an infected town was avoided, to me, who had not beheld it since the +commencement of the visitation, London appeared sufficiently changed. There +were no carriages, and grass had sprung high in the streets; the houses had +a desolate look; most of the shutters were closed; and there was a ghast +and frightened stare in the persons I met, very different from the usual +business-like demeanour of the Londoners. My solitary carriage attracted +notice, as it rattled along towards the Protectoral Palace--and the +fashionable streets leading to it wore a still more dreary and deserted +appearance. I found Adrian's anti-chamber crowded--it was his hour for +giving audience. I was unwilling to disturb his labours, and waited, +watching the ingress and egress of the petitioners. They consisted of +people of the middling and lower classes of society, whose means of +subsistence failed with the cessation of trade, and of the busy spirit of +money-making in all its branches, peculiar to our country. There was an air +of anxiety, sometimes of terror in the new-comers, strongly contrasted with +the resigned and even satisfied mien of those who had had audience. I could +read the influence of my friend in their quickened motions and cheerful +faces. Two o'clock struck, after which none were admitted; those who had +been disappointed went sullenly or sorrowfully away, while I entered the +audience-chamber. + +I was struck by the improvement that appeared in the health of Adrian. He +was no longer bent to the ground, like an over-nursed flower of spring, +that, shooting up beyond its strength, is weighed down even by its own +coronal of blossoms. His eyes were bright, his countenance composed, an air +of concentrated energy was diffused over his whole person, much unlike its +former languor. He sat at a table with several secretaries, who were +arranging petitions, or registering the notes made during that day's +audience. Two or three petitioners were still in attendance. I admired his +justice and patience. Those who possessed a power of living out of London, +he advised immediately to quit it, affording them the means of so doing. +Others, whose trade was beneficial to the city, or who possessed no other +refuge, he provided with advice for better avoiding the epidemic; relieving +overloaded families, supplying the gaps made in others by death. Order, +comfort, and even health, rose under his influence, as from the touch of a +magician's wand. + +"I am glad you are come," he said to me, when we were at last alone; "I can +only spare a few minutes, and must tell you much in that time. The plague +is now in progress--it is useless closing one's eyes to the fact--the +deaths encrease each week. What will come I cannot guess. As yet, thank +God, I am equal to the government of the town; and I look only to the +present. Ryland, whom I have so long detained, has stipulated that I shall +suffer him to depart before the end of this month. The deputy appointed by +parliament is dead; another therefore must be named; I have advanced my +claim, and I believe that I shall have no competitor. To-night the question +is to be decided, as there is a call of the house for the purpose. You must +nominate me, Lionel; Ryland, for shame, cannot shew himself; but you, my +friend, will do me this service? + +How lovely is devotion! Here was a youth, royally sprung, bred in +luxury, by nature averse to the usual struggles of a public life, +and now, in time of danger, at a period when to live was the +utmost scope of the ambitious, he, the beloved and heroic Adrian, made, in +sweet simplicity, an offer to sacrifice himself for the public good. The +very idea was generous and noble,--but, beyond this, his unpretending +manner, his entire want of the assumption of a virtue, rendered his act ten +times more touching. I would have withstood his request; but I had seen the +good he diffused; I felt that his resolves were not to be shaken, so, with +an heavy heart, I consented to do as he asked. He grasped my hand +affectionately:--"Thank you," he said, "you have relieved me from a +painful dilemma, and are, as you ever were, the best of my friends. +Farewell--I must now leave you for a few hours. Go you and converse with +Ryland. Although he deserts his post in London, he may be of the greatest +service in the north of England, by receiving and assisting travellers, and +contributing to supply the metropolis with food. Awaken him, I entreat you, +to some sense of duty." + +Adrian left me, as I afterwards learnt, upon his daily task of visiting the +hospitals, and inspecting the crowded parts of London. I found Ryland much +altered, even from what he had been when he visited Windsor. Perpetual fear +had jaundiced his complexion, and shrivelled his whole person. I told him +of the business of the evening, and a smile relaxed the contracted muscles. +He desired to go; each day he expected to be infected by pestilence, each +day he was unable to resist the gentle violence of Adrian's detention. The +moment Adrian should be legally elected his deputy, he would escape to +safety. Under this impression he listened to all I said; and, elevated +almost to joy by the near prospect of his departure, he entered into a +discussion concerning the plans he should adopt in his own county, +forgetting, for the moment, his cherished resolution of shutting himself up +from all communication in the mansion and grounds of his estate. + +In the evening, Adrian and I proceeded to Westminster. As we went he +reminded me of what I was to say and do, yet, strange to say, I entered the +chamber without having once reflected on my purpose. Adrian remained in the +coffee-room, while I, in compliance with his desire, took my seat in St. +Stephen's. There reigned unusual silence in the chamber. I had not visited +it since Raymond's protectorate; a period conspicuous for a numerous +attendance of members, for the eloquence of the speakers, and the warmth of +the debate. The benches were very empty, those by custom occupied by the +hereditary members were vacant; the city members were there--the members +for the commercial towns, few landed proprietors, and not many of those who +entered parliament for the sake of a career. The first subject that +occupied the attention of the house was an address from the Lord Protector, +praying them to appoint a deputy during a necessary absence on his part. + +A silence prevailed, till one of the members coming to me, whispered that +the Earl of Windsor had sent him word that I was to move his election, in +the absence of the person who had been first chosen for this office. Now +for the first time I saw the full extent of my task, and I was overwhelmed +by what I had brought on myself. Ryland had deserted his post through fear +of the plague: from the same fear Adrian had no competitor. And I, the +nearest kinsman of the Earl of Windsor, was to propose his election. I was +to thrust this selected and matchless friend into the post of danger-- +impossible! the die was cast--I would offer myself as candidate. + +The few members who were present, had come more for the sake of terminating +the business by securing a legal attendance, than under the idea of a +debate. I had risen mechanically--my knees trembled; irresolution hung on +my voice, as I uttered a few words on the necessity of choosing a person +adequate to the dangerous task in hand. But, when the idea of presenting +myself in the room of my friend intruded, the load of doubt and pain was +taken from off me. My words flowed spontaneously--my utterance was firm +and quick. I adverted to what Adrian had already done--I promised the +same vigilance in furthering all his views. I drew a touching picture of +his vacillating health; I boasted of my own strength. I prayed them to save +even from himself this scion of the noblest family in England. My alliance +with him was the pledge of my sincerity, my union with his sister, my +children, his presumptive heirs, were the hostages of my truth. + +This unexpected turn in the debate was quickly communicated to Adrian. He +hurried in, and witnessed the termination of my impassioned harangue. I did +not see him: my soul was in my words,--my eyes could not perceive that +which was; while a vision of Adrian's form, tainted by pestilence, and +sinking in death, floated before them. He seized my hand, as I concluded-- +"Unkind!" he cried, "you have betrayed me!" then, springing forwards, with +the air of one who had a right to command, he claimed the place of deputy +as his own. He had bought it, he said, with danger, and paid for it with +toil. His ambition rested there; and, after an interval devoted to the +interests of his country, was I to step in, and reap the profit? Let them +remember what London had been when he arrived: the panic that prevailed +brought famine, while every moral and legal tie was loosened. He had +restored order--this had been a work which required perseverance, +patience, and energy; and he had neither slept nor waked but for the good +of his country.--Would they dare wrong him thus? Would they wrest his +hard-earned reward from him, to bestow it on one, who, never having mingled +in public life, would come a tyro to the craft, in which he was an adept. +He demanded the place of deputy as his right. Ryland had shewn that he +preferred him. Never before had he, who was born even to the inheritance of +the throne of England, never had he asked favour or honour from those now +his equals, but who might have been his subjects. Would they refuse him? +Could they thrust back from the path of distinction and laudable ambition, +the heir of their ancient kings, and heap another disappointment on a +fallen house. + +No one had ever before heard Adrian allude to the rights of his ancestors. +None had ever before suspected, that power, or the suffrage of the many, +could in any manner become dear to him. He had begun his speech with +vehemence; he ended with unassuming gentleness, making his appeal with the +same humility, as if he had asked to be the first in wealth, honour, and +power among Englishmen, and not, as was the truth, to be the foremost in +the ranks of loathsome toils and inevitable death. A murmur of approbation +rose after his speech. "Oh, do not listen to him," I cried, "he speaks +false--false to himself,"--I was interrupted: and, silence being restored, +we were ordered, as was the custom, to retire during the decision of the +house. I fancied that they hesitated, and that there was some hope for +me--I was mistaken--hardly had we quitted the chamber, before Adrian was +recalled, and installed in his office of Lord Deputy to the Protector. + +We returned together to the palace. "Why, Lionel," said Adrian, "what did +you intend? you could not hope to conquer, and yet you gave me the pain of +a triumph over my dearest friend." + +"This is mockery," I replied, "you devote yourself,--you, the adored +brother of Idris, the being, of all the world contains, dearest to our +hearts--you devote yourself to an early death. I would have prevented +this; my death would be a small evil--or rather I should not die; while +you cannot hope to escape." + +"As to the likelihood of escaping," said Adrian, "ten years hence the +cold stars may shine on the graves of all of us; but as to my peculiar +liability to infection, I could easily prove, both logically and +physically, that in the midst of contagion I have a better chance +of life than you. + +"This is my post: I was born for this--to rule England in anarchy, to +save her in danger--to devote myself for her. The blood of my forefathers +cries aloud in my veins, and bids me be first among my countrymen. Or, if +this mode of speech offend you, let me say, that my mother, the proud +queen, instilled early into me a love of distinction, and all that, if the +weakness of my physical nature and my peculiar opinions had not prevented +such a design, might have made me long since struggle for the lost +inheritance of my race. But now my mother, or, if you will, my mother's +lessons, awaken within me. I cannot lead on to battle; I cannot, through +intrigue and faithlessness rear again the throne upon the wreck of English +public spirit. But I can be the first to support and guard my country, now +that terrific disasters and ruin have laid strong hands upon her. + +"That country and my beloved sister are all I have. I will protect the +first--the latter I commit to your charge. If I survive, and she be lost, +I were far better dead. Preserve her--for her own sake I know that you +will--if you require any other spur, think that, in preserving her, you +preserve me. Her faultless nature, one sum of perfections, is wrapt up in +her affections--if they were hurt, she would droop like an unwatered +floweret, and the slightest injury they receive is a nipping frost to her. +Already she fears for us. She fears for the children she adores, and for +you, the father of these, her lover, husband, protector; and you must be +near her to support and encourage her. Return to Windsor then, my brother; +for such you are by every tie--fill the double place my absence imposes +on you, and let me, in all my sufferings here, turn my eyes towards that +dear seclusion, and say--There is peace." + +[1] Shakespeare's Sonnets. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +I DID proceed to Windsor, but not with the intention of remaining there. I +went but to obtain the consent of Idris, and then to return and take my +station beside my unequalled friend; to share his labours, and save him, if +so it must be, at the expence of my life. Yet I dreaded to witness the +anguish which my resolve might excite in Idris. I had vowed to my own heart +never to shadow her countenance even with transient grief, and should I +prove recreant at the hour of greatest need? I had begun my journey with +anxious haste; now I desired to draw it out through the course of days and +months. I longed to avoid the necessity of action; I strove to escape from +thought--vainly--futurity, like a dark image in a phantasmagoria, came +nearer and more near, till it clasped the whole earth in its shadow. + +A slight circumstance induced me to alter my usual route, and to return +home by Egham and Bishopgate. I alighted at Perdita's ancient abode, her +cottage; and, sending forward the carriage, determined to walk across the +park to the castle. This spot, dedicated to sweetest recollections, the +deserted house and neglected garden were well adapted to nurse my +melancholy. In our happiest days, Perdita had adorned her cottage with +every aid art might bring, to that which nature had selected to favour. In +the same spirit of exaggeration she had, on the event of her separation +from Raymond, caused it to be entirely neglected. It was now in ruin: the +deer had climbed the broken palings, and reposed among the flowers; grass +grew on the threshold, and the swinging lattice creaking to the wind, gave +signal of utter desertion. The sky was blue above, and the air impregnated +with fragrance by the rare flowers that grew among the weeds. The trees +moved overhead, awakening nature's favourite melody--but the melancholy +appearance of the choaked paths, and weed-grown flower-beds, dimmed even +this gay summer scene. The time when in proud and happy security we +assembled at this cottage, was gone--soon the present hours would join +those past, and shadows of future ones rose dark and menacing from the womb +of time, their cradle and their bier. For the first time in my life I +envied the sleep of the dead, and thought with pleasure of one's bed under +the sod, where grief and fear have no power. I passed through the gap of +the broken paling--I felt, while I disdained, the choaking tears--I +rushed into the depths of the forest. O death and change, rulers of our +life, where are ye, that I may grapple with you! What was there in our +tranquillity, that excited your envy--in our happiness, that ye should +destroy it? We were happy, loving, and beloved; the horn of Amalthea +contained no blessing unshowered upon us, but, alas! + + la fortuna + deidad barbara importuna, + oy cadaver y ayer flor, + no permanece jamas![1] + +As I wandered on thus ruminating, a number of country people passed me. +They seemed full of careful thought, and a few words of their conversation +that reached me, induced me to approach and make further enquiries. A party +of people flying from London, as was frequent in those days, had come up +the Thames in a boat. No one at Windsor would afford them shelter; so, +going a little further up, they remained all night in a deserted hut near +Bolter's lock. They pursued their way the following morning, leaving one of +their company behind them, sick of the plague. This circumstance once +spread abroad, none dared approach within half a mile of the infected +neighbourhood, and the deserted wretch was left to fight with disease and +death in solitude, as he best might. I was urged by compassion to hasten to +the hut, for the purpose of ascertaining his situation, and administering +to his wants. + +As I advanced I met knots of country-people talking earnestly of this +event: distant as they were from the apprehended contagion, fear was +impressed on every countenance. I passed by a group of these terrorists, in +a lane in the direct road to the hut. One of them stopped me, and, +conjecturing that I was ignorant of the circumstance, told me not to go on, +for that an infected person lay but at a short distance. + +"I know it," I replied, "and I am going to see in what condition the poor +fellow is." + +A murmur of surprise and horror ran through the assembly. I continued:-- +"This poor wretch is deserted, dying, succourless; in these unhappy times, +God knows how soon any or all of us may be in like want. I am going to do, +as I would be done by." + +"But you will never be able to return to the Castle--Lady Idris--his +children--" in confused speech were the words that struck my ear. + +"Do you not know, my friends," I said, "that the Earl himself, now Lord +Protector, visits daily, not only those probably infected by this disease, +but the hospitals and pest houses, going near, and even touching the sick? +yet he was never in better health. You labour under an entire mistake as to +the nature of the plague; but do not fear, I do not ask any of you to +accompany me, nor to believe me, until I return safe and sound from my +patient." + +So I left them, and hurried on. I soon arrived at the hut: the door was +ajar. I entered, and one glance assured me that its former inhabitant was +no more--he lay on a heap of straw, cold and stiff; while a pernicious +effluvia filled the room, and various stains and marks served to shew the +virulence of the disorder. + +I had never before beheld one killed by pestilence. While every mind was +full of dismay at its effects, a craving for excitement had led us to +peruse De Foe's account, and the masterly delineations of the author of +Arthur Mervyn. The pictures drawn in these books were so vivid, that we +seemed to have experienced the results depicted by them. But cold were the +sensations excited by words, burning though they were, and describing the +death and misery of thousands, compared to what I felt in looking on the +corpse of this unhappy stranger. This indeed was the plague. I raised his +rigid limbs, I marked the distortion of his face, and the stony eyes lost +to perception. As I was thus occupied, chill horror congealed my blood, +making my flesh quiver and my hair to stand on end. Half insanely I spoke +to the dead. So the plague killed you, I muttered. How came this? Was the +coming painful? You look as if the enemy had tortured, before he murdered +you. And now I leapt up precipitately, and escaped from the hut, before +nature could revoke her laws, and inorganic words be breathed in answer +from the lips of the departed. + +On returning through the lane, I saw at a distance the same assemblage of +persons which I had left. They hurried away, as soon as they saw me; my +agitated mien added to their fear of coming near one who had entered within +the verge of contagion. + +At a distance from facts one draws conclusions which appear infallible, +which yet when put to the test of reality, vanish like unreal dreams. I had +ridiculed the fears of my countrymen, when they related to others; now that +they came home to myself, I paused. The Rubicon, I felt, was passed; and it +behoved me well to reflect what I should do on this hither side of disease +and danger. According to the vulgar superstition, my dress, my person, the +air I breathed, bore in it mortal danger to myself and others. Should I +return to the Castle, to my wife and children, with this taint upon me? Not +surely if I were infected; but I felt certain that I was not--a few hours +would determine the question--I would spend these in the forest, in +reflection on what was to come, and what my future actions were to be. In +the feeling communicated to me by the sight of one struck by the plague, I +forgot the events that had excited me so strongly in London; new and more +painful prospects, by degrees were cleared of the mist which had hitherto +veiled them. The question was no longer whether I should share Adrian's +toils and danger; but in what manner I could, in Windsor and the +neighbourhood, imitate the prudence and zeal which, under his government, +produced order and plenty in London, and how, now pestilence had spread +more widely, I could secure the health of my own family. + +I spread the whole earth out as a map before me. On no one spot of its +surface could I put my finger and say, here is safety. In the south, the +disease, virulent and immedicable, had nearly annihilated the race of man; +storm and inundation, poisonous winds and blights, filled up the measure of +suffering. In the north it was worse--the lesser population gradually +declined, and famine and plague kept watch on the survivors, who, helpless +and feeble, were ready to fall an easy prey into their hands. + +I contracted my view to England. The overgrown metropolis, the great heart +of mighty Britain, was pulseless. Commerce had ceased. All resort for +ambition or pleasure was cut off--the streets were grass-grown--the +houses empty--the few, that from necessity remained, seemed already +branded with the taint of inevitable pestilence. In the larger +manufacturing towns the same tragedy was acted on a smaller, yet more +disastrous scale. There was no Adrian to superintend and direct, while +whole flocks of the poor were struck and killed. Yet we were not all to die. +No truly, though thinned, the race of man would continue, and the great +plague would, in after years, become matter of history and wonder. +Doubtless this visitation was for extent unexampled--more need that we +should work hard to dispute its progress; ere this men have gone out in +sport, and slain their thousands and tens of thousands; but now man had +become a creature of price; the life of one of them was of more worth than +the so called treasures of kings. Look at his thought-endued countenance, +his graceful limbs, his majestic brow, his wondrous mechanism--the type +and model of this best work of God is not to be cast aside as a broken +vessel--he shall be preserved, and his children and his children's +children carry down the name and form of man to latest time. + +Above all I must guard those entrusted by nature and fate to my especial +care. And surely, if among all my fellow-creatures I were to select those +who might stand forth examples of the greatness and goodness of man, I +could choose no other than those allied to me by the most sacred ties. Some +from among the family of man must survive, and these should be among the +survivors; that should be my task--to accomplish it my own life were a +small sacrifice. There then in that castle--in Windsor Castle, +birth-place of Idris and my babes, should be the haven and retreat for the +wrecked bark of human society. Its forest should be our world--its garden +afford us food; within its walls I would establish the shaken throne of +health. I was an outcast and a vagabond, when Adrian gently threw over me +the silver net of love and civilization, and linked me inextricably to +human charities and human excellence. I was one, who, though an aspirant +after good, and an ardent lover of wisdom, was yet unenrolled in any list +of worth, when Idris, the princely born, who was herself the +personification of all that was divine in woman, she who walked the earth +like a poet's dream, as a carved goddess endued with sense, or pictured +saint stepping from the canvas--she, the most worthy, chose me, and gave +me herself--a priceless gift. + +During several hours I continued thus to meditate, till hunger and fatigue +brought me back to the passing hour, then marked by long shadows cast from +the descending sun. I had wandered towards Bracknel, far to the west of +Windsor. The feeling of perfect health which I enjoyed, assured me that I +was free from contagion. I remembered that Idris had been kept in ignorance +of my proceedings. She might have heard of my return from London, and my +visit to Bolter's Lock, which, connected with my continued absence, might +tend greatly to alarm her. I returned to Windsor by the Long Walk, and +passing through the town towards the Castle, I found it in a state of +agitation and disturbance. + +"It is too late to be ambitious," says Sir Thomas Browne. "We cannot hope +to live so long in our names as some have done in their persons; one face +of Janus holds no proportion to the other." Upon this text many fanatics +arose, who prophesied that the end of time was come. The spirit of +superstition had birth, from the wreck of our hopes, and antics wild and +dangerous were played on the great theatre, while the remaining particle of +futurity dwindled into a point in the eyes of the prognosticators. +Weak-spirited women died of fear as they listened to their denunciations; +men of robust form and seeming strength fell into idiotcy and madness, +racked by the dread of coming eternity. A man of this kind was now pouring +forth his eloquent despair among the inhabitants of Windsor. The scene of +the morning, and my visit to the dead, which had been spread abroad, had +alarmed the country-people, so they had become fit instruments to be played +upon by a maniac. + +The poor wretch had lost his young wife and lovely infant by the plague. He +was a mechanic; and, rendered unable to attend to the occupation which +supplied his necessities, famine was added to his other miseries. He left +the chamber which contained his wife and child--wife and child no more, +but "dead earth upon the earth"--wild with hunger, watching and grief, +his diseased fancy made him believe himself sent by heaven to preach the +end of time to the world. He entered the churches, and foretold to the +congregations their speedy removal to the vaults below. He appeared like +the forgotten spirit of the time in the theatres, and bade the spectators +go home and die. He had been seized and confined; he had escaped and +wandered from London among the neighbouring towns, and, with frantic +gestures and thrilling words, he unveiled to each their hidden fears, and +gave voice to the soundless thought they dared not syllable. He stood under +the arcade of the town-hall of Windsor, and from this elevation harangued a +trembling crowd. + +"Hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth," he cried, "hear thou, all seeing, +but most pitiless Heaven! hear thou too, O tempest-tossed heart, which +breathes out these words, yet faints beneath their meaning! Death is among +us! The earth is beautiful and flower-bedecked, but she is our grave! The +clouds of heaven weep for us--the pageantry of the stars is but our +funeral torchlight. Grey headed men, ye hoped for yet a few years in your +long-known abode--but the lease is up, you must remove--children, ye +will never reach maturity, even now the small grave is dug for ye-- +mothers, clasp them in your arms, one death embraces you!" + +Shuddering, he stretched out his hands, his eyes cast up, seemed bursting +from their sockets, while he appeared to follow shapes, to us invisible, in +the yielding air--"There they are," he cried, "the dead! They rise in +their shrouds, and pass in silent procession towards the far land of their +doom--their bloodless lips move not--their shadowy limbs are void of +motion, while still they glide onwards. We come," he exclaimed, springing +forwards, "for what should we wait? Haste, my friends, apparel yourselves +in the court-dress of death. Pestilence will usher you to his presence. Why +thus long? they, the good, the wise, and the beloved, are gone before. +Mothers, kiss you last--husbands, protectors no more, lead on the +partners of your death! Come, O come! while the dear ones are yet in sight, +for soon they will pass away, and we never never shall join them more." + +From such ravings as these, he would suddenly become collected, and with +unexaggerated but terrific words, paint the horrors of the time; describe +with minute detail, the effects of the plague on the human frame, and tell +heart-breaking tales of the snapping of dear affinities--the gasping +horror of despair over the death-bed of the last beloved--so that groans +and even shrieks burst from the crowd. One man in particular stood in +front, his eyes fixt on the prophet, his mouth open, his limbs rigid, while +his face changed to various colours, yellow, blue, and green, through +intense fear. The maniac caught his glance, and turned his eye on him-- +one has heard of the gaze of the rattle-snake, which allures the trembling +victim till he falls within his jaws. The maniac became composed; his +person rose higher; authority beamed from his countenance. He looked on the +peasant, who began to tremble, while he still gazed; his knees knocked +together; his teeth chattered. He at last fell down in convulsions. "That +man has the plague," said the maniac calmly. A shriek burst from the lips +of the poor wretch; and then sudden motionlessness came over him; it was +manifest to all that he was dead. + +Cries of horror filled the place--every one endeavoured to effect his +escape--in a few minutes the market place was cleared--the corpse lay +on the ground; and the maniac, subdued and exhausted, sat beside it, +leaning his gaunt cheek upon his thin hand. Soon some people, deputed by +the magistrates, came to remove the body; the unfortunate being saw a +jailor in each--he fled precipitately, while I passed onwards to the +Castle. + +Death, cruel and relentless, had entered these beloved walls. An old +servant, who had nursed Idris in infancy, and who lived with us more on the +footing of a revered relative than a domestic, had gone a few days before +to visit a daughter, married, and settled in the neighbourhood of London. +On the night of her return she sickened of the plague. From the haughty and +unbending nature of the Countess of Windsor, Idris had few tender filial +associations with her. This good woman had stood in the place of a mother, +and her very deficiencies of education and knowledge, by rendering her +humble and defenceless, endeared her to us--she was the especial +favourite of the children. I found my poor girl, there is no exaggeration +in the expression, wild with grief and dread. She hung over the patient in +agony, which was not mitigated when her thoughts wandered towards her +babes, for whom she feared infection. My arrival was like the newly +discovered lamp of a lighthouse to sailors, who are weathering some +dangerous point. She deposited her appalling doubts in my hands; she relied +on my judgment, and was comforted by my participation in her sorrow. Soon +our poor nurse expired; and the anguish of suspense was changed to deep +regret, which though at first more painful, yet yielded with greater +readiness to my consolations. Sleep, the sovereign balm, at length steeped +her tearful eyes in forgetfulness. + +She slept; and quiet prevailed in the Castle, whose inhabitants were hushed +to repose. I was awake, and during the long hours of dead night, my busy +thoughts worked in my brain, like ten thousand mill-wheels, rapid, acute, +untameable. All slept--all England slept; and from my window, commanding +a wide prospect of the star-illumined country, I saw the land stretched out +in placid rest. I was awake, alive, while the brother of death possessed my +race. What, if the more potent of these fraternal deities should obtain +dominion over it? The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though +apparently a paradox, rung in my ears. The solitude became intolerable--I +placed my hand on the beating heart of Idris, I bent my head to catch the +sound of her breath, to assure myself that she still existed--for a +moment I doubted whether I should not awake her; so effeminate an horror +ran through my frame.--Great God! would it one day be thus? One day all +extinct, save myself, should I walk the earth alone? Were these warning +voices, whose inarticulate and oracular sense forced belief upon me? + + Yet I would not call _them_ + Voices of warning, that announce to us + Only the inevitable. As the sun, + Ere it is risen, sometimes paints its image + In the atmosphere--so often do the spirits + Of great events stride on before the events, + And in to-day already walks to-morrow.[2] + +[1] Calderon de la Barca. +[2] Coleridge's Translation of Schiller's Wallenstein. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +AFTER a long interval, I am again impelled by the restless spirit within me +to continue my narration; but I must alter the mode which I have hitherto +adopted. The details contained in the foregoing pages, apparently trivial, +yet each slightest one weighing like lead in the depressed scale of human +afflictions; this tedious dwelling on the sorrows of others, while my own +were only in apprehension; this slowly laying bare of my soul's wounds: +this journal of death; this long drawn and tortuous path, leading to the +ocean of countless tears, awakens me again to keen grief. I had used this +history as an opiate; while it described my beloved friends, fresh with +life and glowing with hope, active assistants on the scene, I was soothed; +there will be a more melancholy pleasure in painting the end of all. But +the intermediate steps, the climbing the wall, raised up between what was +and is, while I still looked back nor saw the concealed desert beyond, is a +labour past my strength. Time and experience have placed me on an height +from which I can comprehend the past as a whole; and in this way I must +describe it, bringing forward the leading incidents, and disposing light +and shade so as to form a picture in whose very darkness there will be +harmony. + +It would be needless to narrate those disastrous occurrences, for which a +parallel might be found in any slighter visitation of our gigantic +calamity. Does the reader wish to hear of the pest-houses, where death is +the comforter--of the mournful passage of the death-cart--of the +insensibility of the worthless, and the anguish of the loving heart--of +harrowing shrieks and silence dire--of the variety of disease, desertion, +famine, despair, and death? There are many books which can feed the +appetite craving for these things; let them turn to the accounts of +Boccaccio, De Foe, and Browne. The vast annihilation that has swallowed all +things--the voiceless solitude of the once busy earth--the lonely state +of singleness which hems me in, has deprived even such details of their +stinging reality, and mellowing the lurid tints of past anguish with poetic +hues, I am able to escape from the mosaic of circumstance, by perceiving +and reflecting back the grouping and combined colouring of the past. + +I had returned from London possessed by the idea, with the intimate feeling +that it was my first duty to secure, as well as I was able, the well-being +of my family, and then to return and take my post beside Adrian. The events +that immediately followed on my arrival at Windsor changed this view of +things. The plague was not in London alone, it was every where--it came +on us, as Ryland had said, like a thousand packs of wolves, howling through +the winter night, gaunt and fierce. When once disease was introduced into +the rural districts, its effects appeared more horrible, more exigent, and +more difficult to cure, than in towns. There was a companionship in +suffering there, and, the neighbours keeping constant watch on each other, +and inspired by the active benevolence of Adrian, succour was afforded, and +the path of destruction smoothed. But in the country, among the scattered +farm-houses, in lone cottages, in fields, and barns, tragedies were acted +harrowing to the soul, unseen, unheard, unnoticed. Medical aid was less +easily procured, food was more difficult to obtain, and human beings, +unwithheld by shame, for they were unbeheld of their fellows, ventured on +deeds of greater wickedness, or gave way more readily to their abject +fears. + +Deeds of heroism also occurred, whose very mention swells the heart and +brings tears into the eyes. Such is human nature, that beauty and deformity +are often closely linked. In reading history we are chiefly struck by the +generosity and self-devotion that follow close on the heels of crime, +veiling with supernal flowers the stain of blood. Such acts were not +wanting to adorn the grim train that waited on the progress of the plague. + +The inhabitants of Berkshire and Bucks had been long aware that the plague +was in London, in Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, York, in short, in all +the more populous towns of England. They were not however the less +astonished and dismayed when it appeared among themselves. They were +impatient and angry in the midst of terror. They would do something to +throw off the clinging evil, and, while in action, they fancied that a +remedy was applied. The inhabitants of the smaller towns left their houses, +pitched tents in the fields, wandering separate from each other careless of +hunger or the sky's inclemency, while they imagined that they avoided the +death-dealing disease. The farmers and cottagers, on the contrary, struck +with the fear of solitude, and madly desirous of medical assistance, +flocked into the towns. + +But winter was coming, and with winter, hope. In August, the plague had +appeared in the country of England, and during September it made its +ravages. Towards the end of October it dwindled away, and was in some +degree replaced by a typhus, of hardly less virulence. The autumn was warm +and rainy: the infirm and sickly died off--happier they: many young +people flushed with health and prosperity, made pale by wasting malady, +became the inhabitants of the grave. The crop had failed, the bad corn, and +want of foreign wines, added vigour to disease. Before Christmas half +England was under water. The storms of the last winter were renewed; but +the diminished shipping of this year caused us to feel less the tempests of +the sea. The flood and storms did more harm to continental Europe than to +us--giving, as it were, the last blow to the calamities which destroyed +it. In Italy the rivers were unwatched by the diminished peasantry; and, +like wild beasts from their lair when the hunters and dogs are afar, did +Tiber, Arno, and Po, rush upon and destroy the fertility of the plains. +Whole villages were carried away. Rome, and Florence, and Pisa were +overflowed, and their marble palaces, late mirrored in tranquil streams, +had their foundations shaken by their winter-gifted power. In Germany and +Russia the injury was still more momentous. + +But frost would come at last, and with it a renewal of our lease of earth. +Frost would blunt the arrows of pestilence, and enchain the furious +elements; and the land would in spring throw off her garment of snow, +released from her menace of destruction. It was not until February that the +desired signs of winter appeared. For three days the snow fell, ice stopped +the current of the rivers, and the birds flew out from crackling branches +of the frost-whitened trees. On the fourth morning all vanished. A +south-west wind brought up rain--the sun came out, and mocking the usual +laws of nature, seemed even at this early season to burn with solsticial +force. It was no consolation, that with the first winds of March the lanes +were filled with violets, the fruit trees covered with blossoms, that the +corn sprung up, and the leaves came out, forced by the unseasonable heat. +We feared the balmy air--we feared the cloudless sky, the flower-covered +earth, and delightful woods, for we looked on the fabric of the universe no +longer as our dwelling, but our tomb, and the fragrant land smelled to the +apprehension of fear like a wide church-yard. + + Pisando la tierra dura + de continuo el hombre està + y cada passo que dà + es sobre su sepultura.[1] + +Yet notwithstanding these disadvantages winter was breathing time; and we +exerted ourselves to make the best of it. Plague might not revive with the +summer; but if it did, it should find us prepared. It is a part of man's +nature to adapt itself through habit even to pain and sorrow. Pestilence +had become a part of our future, our existence; it was to be guarded +against, like the flooding of rivers, the encroachments of ocean, or the +inclemency of the sky. After long suffering and bitter experience, some +panacea might be discovered; as it was, all that received infection died-- +all however were not infected; and it became our part to fix deep the +foundations, and raise high the barrier between contagion and the sane; to +introduce such order as would conduce to the well-being of the survivors, +and as would preserve hope and some portion of happiness to those who were +spectators of the still renewed tragedy. Adrian had introduced systematic +modes of proceeding in the metropolis, which, while they were unable to +stop the progress of death, yet prevented other evils, vice and folly, from +rendering the awful fate of the hour still more tremendous. I wished to +imitate his example, but men are used to + + --move all together, if they move at all,[2] + +and I could find no means of leading the inhabitants of scattered +towns and villages, who forgot my words as soon as they heard them +not, and veered with every baffling wind, that might arise from an +apparent change of circumstance. + +I adopted another plan. Those writers who have imagined a reign of peace +and happiness on earth, have generally described a rural country, where +each small township was directed by the elders and wise men. This was the +key of my design. Each village, however small, usually contains a leader, +one among themselves whom they venerate, whose advice they seek in +difficulty, and whose good opinion they chiefly value. I was immediately +drawn to make this observation by occurrences that presented themselves to +my personal experience. + +In the village of Little Marlow an old woman ruled the community. She had +lived for some years in an alms-house, and on fine Sundays her threshold +was constantly beset by a crowd, seeking her advice and listening to her +admonitions. She had been a soldier's wife, and had seen the world; +infirmity, induced by fevers caught in unwholesome quarters, had come on +her before its time, and she seldom moved from her little cot. The plague +entered the village; and, while fright and grief deprived the inhabitants +of the little wisdom they possessed, old Martha stepped forward and said-- +"Before now I have been in a town where there was the plague."--"And you +escaped?"--"No, but I recovered."--After this Martha was seated more +firmly than ever on the regal seat, elevated by reverence and love. She +entered the cottages of the sick; she relieved their wants with her own +hand; she betrayed no fear, and inspired all who saw her with some portion +of her own native courage. She attended the markets--she insisted upon +being supplied with food for those who were too poor to purchase it. She +shewed them how the well-being of each included the prosperity of all. She +would not permit the gardens to be neglected, nor the very flowers in the +cottage lattices to droop from want of care. Hope, she said, was better +than a doctor's prescription, and every thing that could sustain and +enliven the spirits, of more worth than drugs and mixtures. + +It was the sight of Little Marlow, and my conversations with Martha, that +led me to the plan I formed. I had before visited the manor houses and +gentlemen's seats, and often found the inhabitants actuated by the purest +benevolence, ready to lend their utmost aid for the welfare of their +tenants. But this was not enough. The intimate sympathy generated by +similar hopes and fears, similar experience and pursuits, was wanting here. +The poor perceived that the rich possessed other means of preservation than +those which could be partaken of by themselves, seclusion, and, as far as +circumstances permitted, freedom from care. They could not place reliance +on them, but turned with tenfold dependence to the succour and advice of +their equals. I resolved therefore to go from village to village, seeking +out the rustic archon of the place, and by systematizing their exertions, +and enlightening their views, encrease both their power and their use among +their fellow-cottagers. Many changes also now occurred in these spontaneous +regal elections: depositions and abdications were frequent, while, in the +place of the old and prudent, the ardent youth would step forward, eager +for action, regardless of danger. Often too, the voice to which all +listened was suddenly silenced, the helping hand cold, the sympathetic eye +closed, and the villagers feared still more the death that had selected a +choice victim, shivering in dust the heart that had beat for them, reducing +to incommunicable annihilation the mind for ever occupied with projects for +their welfare. + +Whoever labours for man must often find ingratitude, watered by vice and +folly, spring from the grain which he has sown. Death, which had in our +younger days walked the earth like "a thief that comes in the night," now, +rising from his subterranean vault, girt with power, with dark banner +floating, came a conqueror. Many saw, seated above his vice-regal throne, a +supreme Providence, who directed his shafts, and guided his progress, and +they bowed their heads in resignation, or at least in obedience. Others +perceived only a passing casualty; they endeavoured to exchange terror for +heedlessness, and plunged into licentiousness, to avoid the agonizing +throes of worst apprehension. Thus, while the wise, the good, and the +prudent were occupied by the labours of benevolence, the truce of winter +produced other effects among the young, the thoughtless, and the vicious. +During the colder months there was a general rush to London in search of +amusement--the ties of public opinion were loosened; many were rich, +heretofore poor--many had lost father and mother, the guardians of their +morals, their mentors and restraints. It would have been useless to have +opposed these impulses by barriers, which would only have driven those +actuated by them to more pernicious indulgencies. The theatres were open +and thronged; dance and midnight festival were frequented--in many of +these decorum was violated, and the evils, which hitherto adhered to an +advanced state of civilization, were doubled. The student left his books, +the artist his study: the occupations of life were gone, but the amusements +remained; enjoyment might be protracted to the verge of the grave. All +factitious colouring disappeared--death rose like night, and, protected +by its murky shadows the blush of modesty, the reserve of pride, the +decorum of prudery were frequently thrown aside as useless veils. This was +not universal. Among better natures, anguish and dread, the fear of eternal +separation, and the awful wonder produced by unprecedented calamity, drew +closer the ties of kindred and friendship. Philosophers opposed their +principles, as barriers to the inundation of profligacy or despair, and the +only ramparts to protect the invaded territory of human life; the +religious, hoping now for their reward, clung fast to their creeds, as the +rafts and planks which over the tempest-vexed sea of suffering, would bear +them in safety to the harbour of the Unknown Continent. The loving heart, +obliged to contract its view, bestowed its overflow of affection in triple +portion on the few that remained. Yet, even among these, the present, as an +unalienable possession, became all of time to which they dared commit the +precious freight of their hopes. + +The experience of immemorial time had taught us formerly to count our +enjoyments by years, and extend our prospect of life through a lengthened +period of progression and decay; the long road threaded a vast labyrinth, +and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, in which it terminated, was hid by +intervening objects. But an earthquake had changed the scene--under our +very feet the earth yawned--deep and precipitous the gulph below opened +to receive us, while the hours charioted us towards the chasm. But it was +winter now, and months must elapse before we are hurled from our security. +We became ephemera, to whom the interval between the rising and setting sun +was as a long drawn year of common time. We should never see our children +ripen into maturity, nor behold their downy cheeks roughen, their blithe +hearts subdued by passion or care; but we had them now--they lived, and +we lived--what more could we desire? With such schooling did my poor +Idris try to hush thronging fears, and in some measure succeeded. It was +not as in summer-time, when each hour might bring the dreaded fate--until +summer, we felt sure; and this certainty, short lived as it must be, yet +for awhile satisfied her maternal tenderness. I know not how to express or +communicate the sense of concentrated, intense, though evanescent +transport, that imparadized us in the present hour. Our joys were dearer +because we saw their end; they were keener because we felt, to its fullest +extent, their value; they were purer because their essence was sympathy-- +as a meteor is brighter than a star, did the felicity of this winter +contain in itself the extracted delights of a long, long life. + +How lovely is spring! As we looked from Windsor Terrace on the sixteen +fertile counties spread beneath, speckled by happy cottages and wealthier +towns, all looked as in former years, heart-cheering and fair. The land was +ploughed, the slender blades of wheat broke through the dark soil, the +fruit trees were covered with buds, the husbandman was abroad in the +fields, the milk-maid tripped home with well-filled pails, the swallows and +martins struck the sunny pools with their long, pointed wings, the new +dropped lambs reposed on the young grass, the tender growth of leaves-- + + Lifts its sweet head into the air, and feeds + A silent space with ever sprouting green.[3] + +Man himself seemed to regenerate, and feel the frost of winter yield to +an elastic and warm renewal of life--reason told us that care and sorrow +would grow with the opening year--but how to believe the ominous voice +breathed up with pestiferous vapours from fear's dim cavern, while nature, +laughing and scattering from her green lap flowers, and fruits, and +sparkling waters, invited us to join the gay masque of young life she +led upon the scene? + +Where was the plague? "Here--every where!" one voice of horror and dismay +exclaimed, when in the pleasant days of a sunny May the Destroyer of man +brooded again over the earth, forcing the spirit to leave its organic +chrysalis, and to enter upon an untried life. With one mighty sweep of its +potent weapon, all caution, all care, all prudence were levelled low: death +sat at the tables of the great, stretched itself on the cottager's pallet, +seized the dastard who fled, quelled the brave man who resisted: +despondency entered every heart, sorrow dimmed every eye. + +Sights of woe now became familiar to me, and were I to tell all of anguish +and pain that I witnessed, of the despairing moans of age, and the more +terrible smiles of infancy in the bosom of horror, my reader, his limbs +quivering and his hair on end, would wonder how I did not, seized with +sudden frenzy, dash myself from some precipice, and so close my eyes for +ever on the sad end of the world. But the powers of love, poetry, and +creative fancy will dwell even beside the sick of the plague, with the +squalid, and with the dying. A feeling of devotion, of duty, of a high and +steady purpose, elevated me; a strange joy filled my heart. In the midst of +saddest grief I seemed to tread air, while the spirit of good shed round me +an ambrosial atmosphere, which blunted the sting of sympathy, and purified +the air of sighs. If my wearied soul flagged in its career, I thought of my +loved home, of the casket that contained my treasures, of the kiss of love +and the filial caress, while my eyes were moistened by purest dew, and my +heart was at once softened and refreshed by thrilling tenderness. + +Maternal affection had not rendered Idris selfish; at the beginning of our +calamity she had, with thoughtless enthusiasm, devoted herself to the care +of the sick and helpless. I checked her; and she submitted to my rule. I +told her how the fear of her danger palsied my exertions, how the knowledge +of her safety strung my nerves to endurance. I shewed her the dangers which +her children incurred during her absence; and she at length agreed not to +go beyond the inclosure of the forest. Indeed, within the walls of the +Castle we had a colony of the unhappy, deserted by their relatives, and in +themselves helpless, sufficient to occupy her time and attention, while +ceaseless anxiety for my welfare and the health of her children, however +she strove to curb or conceal it, absorbed all her thoughts, and undermined +the vital principle. After watching over and providing for their safety, +her second care was to hide from me her anguish and tears. Each night I +returned to the Castle, and found there repose and love awaiting me. Often +I waited beside the bed of death till midnight, and through the obscurity +of rainy, cloudy nights rode many miles, sustained by one circumstance +only, the safety and sheltered repose of those I loved. If some scene of +tremendous agony shook my frame and fevered my brow, I would lay my head on +the lap of Idris, and the tumultuous pulses subsided into a temperate flow +--her smile could raise me from hopelessness, her embrace bathe my +sorrowing heart in calm peace. Summer advanced, and, crowned with the sun's +potent rays, plague shot her unerring shafts over the earth. The nations +beneath their influence bowed their heads, and died. The corn that sprung +up in plenty, lay in autumn rotting on the ground, while the melancholy +wretch who had gone out to gather bread for his children, lay stiff and +plague-struck in the furrow. The green woods waved their boughs +majestically, while the dying were spread beneath their shade, answering +the solemn melody with inharmonious cries. The painted birds flitted +through the shades; the careless deer reposed unhurt upon the fern--the +oxen and the horses strayed from their unguarded stables, and grazed among +the wheat, for death fell on man alone. + +With summer and mortality grew our fears. My poor love and I looked at each +other, and our babes.--"We will save them, Idris," I said, "I will save +them. Years hence we shall recount to them our fears, then passed away with +their occasion. Though they only should remain on the earth, still they +shall live, nor shall their cheeks become pale nor their sweet voices +languish." Our eldest in some degree understood the scenes passing around, +and at times, he with serious looks questioned me concerning the reason of +so vast a desolation. But he was only ten years old; and the hilarity of +youth soon chased unreasonable care from his brow. Evelyn, a laughing +cherub, a gamesome infant, without idea of pain or sorrow, would, shaking +back his light curls from his eyes, make the halls re-echo with his +merriment, and in a thousand artless ways attract our attention to his +play. Clara, our lovely gentle Clara, was our stay, our solace, our +delight. She made it her task to attend the sick, comfort the sorrowing, +assist the aged, and partake the sports and awaken the gaiety of the young. +She flitted through the rooms, like a good spirit, dispatched from the +celestial kingdom, to illumine our dark hour with alien splendour. +Gratitude and praise marked where her footsteps had been. Yet, when she +stood in unassuming simplicity before us, playing with our children, or +with girlish assiduity performing little kind offices for Idris, one +wondered in what fair lineament of her pure loveliness, in what soft tone +of her thrilling voice, so much of heroism, sagacity and active goodness +resided. + +The summer passed tediously, for we trusted that winter would at least +check the disease. That it would vanish altogether was an hope too dear-- +too heartfelt, to be expressed. When such a thought was heedlessly uttered, +the hearers, with a gush of tears and passionate sobs, bore witness how +deep their fears were, how small their hopes. For my own part, my exertions +for the public good permitted me to observe more closely than most others, +the virulence and extensive ravages of our sightless enemy. A short month +has destroyed a village, and where in May the first person sickened, in +June the paths were deformed by unburied corpses--the houses tenantless, +no smoke arising from the chimneys; and the housewife's clock marked only +the hour when death had been triumphant. From such scenes I have sometimes +saved a deserted infant--sometimes led a young and grieving mother from +the lifeless image of her first born, or drawn the sturdy labourer from +childish weeping over his extinct family. + +July is gone. August must pass, and by the middle of September we may hope. +Each day was eagerly counted; and the inhabitants of towns, desirous to +leap this dangerous interval, plunged into dissipation, and strove, by +riot, and what they wished to imagine to be pleasure, to banish thought and +opiate despair. None but Adrian could have tamed the motley population of +London, which, like a troop of unbitted steeds rushing to their pastures, +had thrown aside all minor fears, through the operation of the fear +paramount. Even Adrian was obliged in part to yield, that he might be able, +if not to guide, at least to set bounds to the license of the times. The +theatres were kept open; every place of public resort was frequented; +though he endeavoured so to modify them, as might best quiet the agitation +of the spectators, and at the same time prevent a reaction of misery when +the excitement was over. Tragedies deep and dire were the chief favourites. +Comedy brought with it too great a contrast to the inner despair: when such +were attempted, it was not unfrequent for a comedian, in the midst of the +laughter occasioned by his disporportioned buffoonery, to find a word or +thought in his part that jarred with his own sense of wretchedness, and +burst from mimic merriment into sobs and tears, while the spectators, +seized with irresistible sympathy, wept, and the pantomimic revelry was +changed to a real exhibition of tragic passion. + +It was not in my nature to derive consolation from such scenes; from +theatres, whose buffoon laughter and discordant mirth awakened distempered +sympathy, or where fictitious tears and wailings mocked the heart-felt +grief within; from festival or crowded meeting, where hilarity sprung from +the worst feelings of our nature, or such enthralment of the better ones, +as impressed it with garish and false varnish; from assemblies of mourners +in the guise of revellers. Once however I witnessed a scene of singular +interest at one of the theatres, where nature overpowered art, as an +overflowing cataract will tear away the puny manufacture of a mock cascade, +which had before been fed by a small portion of its waters. + +I had come to London to see Adrian. He was not at the palace; and, though +the attendants did not know whither he had gone, they did not expect him +till late at night. It was between six and seven o'clock, a fine summer +afternoon, and I spent my leisure hours in a ramble through the empty +streets of London; now turning to avoid an approaching funeral, now urged +by curiosity to observe the state of a particular spot; my wanderings were +instinct with pain, for silence and desertion characterized every place I +visited, and the few beings I met were so pale and woe-begone, so marked +with care and depressed by fear, that weary of encountering only signs of +misery, I began to retread my steps towards home. + +I was now in Holborn, and passed by a public house filled with uproarious +companions, whose songs, laughter, and shouts were more sorrowful than the +pale looks and silence of the mourner. Such an one was near, hovering round +this house. The sorry plight of her dress displayed her poverty, she was +ghastly pale, and continued approaching, first the window and then the door +of the house, as if fearful, yet longing to enter. A sudden burst of song +and merriment seemed to sting her to the heart; she murmured, "Can he have +the heart?" and then mustering her courage, she stepped within the +threshold. The landlady met her in the passage; the poor creature asked, +"Is my husband here? Can I see George?" + +"See him," cried the woman, "yes, if you go to him; last night he was taken +with the plague, and we sent him to the hospital." + +The unfortunate inquirer staggered against a wall, a faint cry escaped her +--"O! were you cruel enough," she exclaimed, "to send him there?" + +The landlady meanwhile hurried away; but a more compassionate bar-maid gave +her a detailed account, the sum of which was, that her husband had been +taken ill, after a night of riot, and sent by his boon companions with all +expedition to St. Bartholomew's Hospital. I had watched this scene, for +there was a gentleness about the poor woman that interested me; she now +tottered away from the door, walking as well as she could down Holborn +Hill; but her strength soon failed her; she leaned against a wall, and her +head sunk on her bosom, while her pallid cheek became still more white. I +went up to her and offered my services. She hardly looked up--"You can do +me no good," she replied; "I must go to the hospital; if I do not die +before I get there." + +There were still a few hackney-coaches accustomed to stand about the +streets, more truly from habit than for use. I put her in one of these, and +entered with her that I might secure her entrance into the hospital. Our +way was short, and she said little; except interrupted ejaculations of +reproach that he had left her, exclamations on the unkindness of some of +his friends, and hope that she would find him alive. There was a simple, +natural earnestness about her that interested me in her fate, especially +when she assured me that her husband was the best of men,--had been so, +till want of business during these unhappy times had thrown him into bad +company. "He could not bear to come home," she said, "only to see our +children die. A man cannot have the patience a mother has, with her own +flesh and blood." + +We were set down at St. Bartholomew's, and entered the wretched precincts +of the house of disease. The poor creature clung closer to me, as she saw +with what heartless haste they bore the dead from the wards, and took them +into a room, whose half-opened door displayed a number of corpses, horrible +to behold by one unaccustomed to such scenes. We were directed to the ward +where her husband had been first taken, and still was, the nurse said, if +alive. My companion looked eagerly from one bed to the other, till at the +end of the ward she espied, on a wretched bed, a squalid, haggard creature, +writhing under the torture of disease. She rushed towards him, she embraced +him, blessing God for his preservation. + +The enthusiasm that inspired her with this strange joy, blinded her to the +horrors about her; but they were intolerably agonizing to me. The ward was +filled with an effluvia that caused my heart to heave with painful qualms. +The dead were carried out, and the sick brought in, with like indifference; +some were screaming with pain, others laughing from the influence of more +terrible delirium; some were attended by weeping, despairing relations, +others called aloud with thrilling tenderness or reproach on the friends +who had deserted them, while the nurses went from bed to bed, incarnate +images of despair, neglect, and death. I gave gold to my luckless +companion; I recommended her to the care of the attendants; I then hastened +away; while the tormentor, the imagination, busied itself in picturing my +own loved ones, stretched on such beds, attended thus. The country afforded +no such mass of horrors; solitary wretches died in the open fields; and I +have found a survivor in a vacant village, contending at once with famine +and disease; but the assembly of pestilence, the banqueting hall of death, +was spread only in London. + +I rambled on, oppressed, distracted by painful emotions--suddenly I found +myself before Drury Lane Theatre. The play was Macbeth--the first actor +of the age was there to exert his powers to drug with irreflection the +auditors; such a medicine I yearned for, so I entered. The theatre was +tolerably well filled. Shakspeare, whose popularity was established by the +approval of four centuries, had not lost his influence even at this dread +period; but was still "Ut magus," the wizard to rule our hearts and govern +our imaginations. I came in during the interval between the third and +fourth act. I looked round on the audience; the females were mostly of the +lower classes, but the men were of all ranks, come hither to forget awhile +the protracted scenes of wretchedness, which awaited them at their +miserable homes. The curtain drew up, and the stage presented the scene of +the witches' cave. The wildness and supernatural machinery of Macbeth, was +a pledge that it could contain little directly connected with our present +circumstances. Great pains had been taken in the scenery to give the +semblance of reality to the impossible. The extreme darkness of the stage, +whose only light was received from the fire under the cauldron, joined to a +kind of mist that floated about it, rendered the unearthly shapes of the +witches obscure and shadowy. It was not three decrepid old hags that bent +over their pot throwing in the grim ingredients of the magic charm, but +forms frightful, unreal, and fanciful. The entrance of Hecate, and the wild +music that followed, took us out of this world. The cavern shape the stage +assumed, the beetling rocks, the glare of the fire, the misty shades that +crossed the scene at times, the music in harmony with all witch-like +fancies, permitted the imagination to revel, without fear of contradiction, +or reproof from reason or the heart. The entrance of Macbeth did not +destroy the illusion, for he was actuated by the same feelings that +inspired us, and while the work of magic proceeded we sympathized in his +wonder and his daring, and gave ourselves up with our whole souls to the +influence of scenic delusion. I felt the beneficial result of such +excitement, in a renewal of those pleasing flights of fancy to which I had +long been a stranger. The effect of this scene of incantation communicated +a portion of its power to that which followed. We forgot that Malcolm and +Macduff were mere human beings, acted upon by such simple passions as +warmed our own breasts. By slow degrees however we were drawn to the real +interest of the scene. A shudder like the swift passing of an electric +shock ran through the house, when Rosse exclaimed, in answer to "Stands +Scotland where it did?" + + Alas, poor country; + Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot + Be called our mother, but our grave: where nothing, + But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile; + Where sighs, and groans, and shrieks that rent the air, + Are made, not marked; where violent sorrow seems + A modern extasy: the dead man's knell + Is there scarce asked, for who; and good men's lives + Expire before the flowers in their caps, + Dying, or ere they sicken. + +Each word struck the sense, as our life's passing bell; we feared to look +at each other, but bent our gaze on the stage, as if our eyes could fall +innocuous on that alone. The person who played the part of Rosse, suddenly +became aware of the dangerous ground he trod. He was an inferior actor, but +truth now made him excellent; as he went on to announce to Macduff the +slaughter of his family, he was afraid to speak, trembling from +apprehension of a burst of grief from the audience, not from his +fellow-mime. Each word was drawn out with difficulty; real anguish painted +his features; his eyes were now lifted in sudden horror, now fixed in dread +upon the ground. This shew of terror encreased ours, we gasped with him, +each neck was stretched out, each face changed with the actor's changes-- +at length while Macduff, who, attending to his part, was unobservant of the +high wrought sympathy of the house, cried with well acted passion: + + All my pretty ones? + Did you say all?--O hell kite! All? + What! all my pretty chickens, and their dam, + At one fell swoop! + +A pang of tameless grief wrenched every heart, a burst of despair was +echoed from every lip.--I had entered into the universal feeling--I +had been absorbed by the terrors of Rosse--I re-echoed the cry of Macduff, +and then rushed out as from an hell of torture, to find calm in the free +air and silent street. + +Free the air was not, or the street silent. Oh, how I longed then for the +dear soothings of maternal Nature, as my wounded heart was still further +stung by the roar of heartless merriment from the public-house, by the +sight of the drunkard reeling home, having lost the memory of what he would +find there in oblivious debauch, and by the more appalling salutations of +those melancholy beings to whom the name of home was a mockery. I ran on at +my utmost speed until I found myself I knew not how, close to Westminster +Abbey, and was attracted by the deep and swelling tone of the organ. I +entered with soothing awe the lighted chancel, and listened to the solemn +religious chaunt, which spoke peace and hope to the unhappy. The notes, +freighted with man's dearest prayers, re-echoed through the dim aisles, and +the bleeding of the soul's wounds was staunched by heavenly balm. In spite +of the misery I deprecated, and could not understand; in spite of the cold +hearths of wide London, and the corpse-strewn fields of my native land; in +spite of all the variety of agonizing emotions I had that evening +experienced, I thought that in reply to our melodious adjurations, the +Creator looked down in compassion and promise of relief; the awful peal of +the heaven-winged music seemed fitting voice wherewith to commune with the +Supreme; calm was produced by its sound, and by the sight of many other +human creatures offering up prayers and submission with me. A sentiment +approaching happiness followed the total resignation of one's being to the +guardianship of the world's ruler. Alas! with the failing of this solemn +strain, the elevated spirit sank again to earth. Suddenly one of the +choristers died--he was lifted from his desk, the vaults below were +hastily opened--he was consigned with a few muttered prayers to the +darksome cavern, abode of thousands who had gone before--now wide yawning +to receive even all who fulfilled the funeral rites. In vain I would then +have turned from this scene, to darkened aisle or lofty dome, echoing with +melodious praise. In the open air alone I found relief; among nature's +beauteous works, her God reassumed his attribute of benevolence, and again +I could trust that he who built up the mountains, planted the forests, and +poured out the rivers, would erect another state for lost humanity, where +we might awaken again to our affections, our happiness, and our faith. + +Fortunately for me those circumstances were of rare occurrence that obliged +me to visit London, and my duties were confined to the rural district which +our lofty castle overlooked; and here labour stood in the place of pastime, +to occupy such of the country people as were sufficiently exempt from +sorrow or disease. My endeavours were directed towards urging them to their +usual attention to their crops, and to the acting as if pestilence did not +exist. The mower's scythe was at times heard; yet the joyless haymakers +after they had listlessly turned the grass, forgot to cart it; the +shepherd, when he had sheared his sheep, would let the wool lie to be +scattered by the winds, deeming it useless to provide clothing for another +winter. At times however the spirit of life was awakened by these +employments; the sun, the refreshing breeze, the sweet smell of the hay, +the rustling leaves and prattling rivulets brought repose to the agitated +bosom, and bestowed a feeling akin to happiness on the apprehensive. Nor, +strange to say, was the time without its pleasures. Young couples, who had +loved long and hopelessly, suddenly found every impediment removed, and +wealth pour in from the death of relatives. The very danger drew them +closer. The immediate peril urged them to seize the immediate opportunity; +wildly and passionately they sought to know what delights existence +afforded, before they yielded to death, and + + Snatching their pleasures with rough strife + Thorough the iron gates of life,[4] + +they defied the conquering pestilence to destroy what had been, or to +erase even from their death-bed thoughts the sentiment of happiness +which had been theirs. + +One instance of this kind came immediately under our notice, where a +high-born girl had in early youth given her heart to one of meaner +extraction. He was a schoolfellow and friend of her brother's, and usually +spent a part of the holidays at the mansion of the duke her father. They +had played together as children, been the confidants of each other's little +secrets, mutual aids and consolers in difficulty and sorrow. Love had crept +in, noiseless, terrorless at first, till each felt their life bound up in +the other, and at the same time knew that they must part. Their extreme +youth, and the purity of their attachment, made them yield with less +resistance to the tyranny of circumstances. The father of the fair Juliet +separated them; but not until the young lover had promised to remain absent +only till he had rendered himself worthy of her, and she had vowed to +preserve her virgin heart, his treasure, till he returned to claim and +possess it. + +Plague came, threatening to destroy at once the aim of the ambitious and +the hopes of love. Long the Duke of L----derided the idea that there +could be danger while he pursued his plans of cautious seclusion; and he so +far succeeded, that it was not till this second summer, that the destroyer, +at one fell stroke, overthrew his precautions, his security, and his life. +Poor Juliet saw one by one, father, mother, brothers, and sisters, sicken +and die. Most of the servants fled on the first appearance of disease, +those who remained were infected mortally; no neighbour or rustic ventured +within the verge of contagion. By a strange fatality Juliet alone escaped, +and she to the last waited on her relatives, and smoothed the pillow of +death. The moment at length came, when the last blow was given to the last +of the house: the youthful survivor of her race sat alone among the dead. +There was no living being near to soothe her, or withdraw her from this +hideous company. With the declining heat of a September night, a whirlwind +of storm, thunder, and hail, rattled round the house, and with ghastly +harmony sung the dirge of her family. She sat upon the ground absorbed in +wordless despair, when through the gusty wind and bickering rain she +thought she heard her name called. Whose could that familiar voice be? Not +one of her relations, for they lay glaring on her with stony eyes. Again +her name was syllabled, and she shuddered as she asked herself, am I +becoming mad, or am I dying, that I hear the voices of the departed? A +second thought passed, swift as an arrow, into her brain; she rushed to the +window; and a flash of lightning shewed to her the expected vision, her +lover in the shrubbery beneath; joy lent her strength to descend the +stairs, to open the door, and then she fainted in his supporting arms. + +A thousand times she reproached herself, as with a crime, that she should +revive to happiness with him. The natural clinging of the human mind to +life and joy was in its full energy in her young heart; she gave herself +impetuously up to the enchantment: they were married; and in their radiant +features I saw incarnate, for the last time, the spirit of love, of +rapturous sympathy, which once had been the life of the world. + +I envied them, but felt how impossible it was to imbibe the same feeling, +now that years had multiplied my ties in the world. Above all, the anxious +mother, my own beloved and drooping Idris, claimed my earnest care; I could +not reproach the anxiety that never for a moment slept in her heart, but I +exerted myself to distract her attention from too keen an observation of +the truth of things, of the near and nearer approaches of disease, misery, +and death, of the wild look of our attendants as intelligence of another +and yet another death reached us; for to the last something new occurred +that seemed to transcend in horror all that had gone before. Wretched +beings crawled to die under our succouring roof; the inhabitants of the +Castle decreased daily, while the survivors huddled together in fear, and, +as in a famine-struck boat, the sport of the wild, interminable waves, each +looked in the other's face, to guess on whom the death-lot would next fall. +All this I endeavoured to veil, so that it might least impress my Idris; +yet, as I have said, my courage survived even despair: I might be +vanquished, but I would not yield. + +One day, it was the ninth of September, seemed devoted to every disaster, +to every harrowing incident. Early in the day, I heard of the arrival of +the aged grandmother of one of our servants at the Castle. This old woman +had reached her hundredth year; her skin was shrivelled, her form was bent +and lost in extreme decrepitude; but as still from year to year she +continued in existence, out-living many younger and stronger, she began to +feel as if she were to live for ever. The plague came, and the inhabitants +of her village died. Clinging, with the dastard feeling of the aged, to the +remnant of her spent life, she had, on hearing that the pestilence had come +into her neighbourhood, barred her door, and closed her casement, refusing +to communicate with any. She would wander out at night to get food, and +returned home, pleased that she had met no one, that she was in no danger +from the plague. As the earth became more desolate, her difficulty in +acquiring sustenance increased; at first, her son, who lived near, had +humoured her by placing articles of food in her way: at last he died. But, +even though threatened by famine, her fear of the plague was paramount; and +her greatest care was to avoid her fellow creatures. She grew weaker each +day, and each day she had further to go. The night before, she had reached +Datchet; and, prowling about, had found a baker's shop open and deserted. +Laden with spoil, she hastened to return, and lost her way. The night was +windless, hot, and cloudy; her load became too heavy for her; and one by +one she threw away her loaves, still endeavouring to get along, though her +hobbling fell into lameness, and her weakness at last into inability to +move. + +She lay down among the tall corn, and fell asleep. Deep in midnight, she +was awaked by a rustling near her; she would have started up, but her stiff +joints refused to obey her will. A low moan close to her ear followed, and +the rustling increased; she heard a smothered voice breathe out, Water, +Water! several times; and then again a sigh heaved from the heart of the +sufferer. The old woman shuddered, she contrived at length to sit upright; +but her teeth chattered, and her knees knocked together--close, very +close, lay a half-naked figure, just discernible in the gloom, and the cry +for water and the stifled moan were again uttered. Her motions at length +attracted the attention of her unknown companion; her hand was seized with +a convulsive violence that made the grasp feel like iron, the fingers like +the keen teeth of a trap.--"At last you are come!" were the words given +forth--but this exertion was the last effort of the dying--the joints +relaxed, the figure fell prostrate, one low moan, the last, marked the +moment of death. Morning broke; and the old woman saw the corpse, marked +with the fatal disease, close to her; her wrist was livid with the hold +loosened by death. She felt struck by the plague; her aged frame was unable +to bear her away with sufficient speed; and now, believing herself +infected, she no longer dreaded the association of others; but, as swiftly +as she might, came to her grand-daughter, at Windsor Castle, there to +lament and die. The sight was horrible; still she clung to life, and +lamented her mischance with cries and hideous groans; while the swift +advance of the disease shewed, what proved to be the fact, that she could +not survive many hours. + +While I was directing that the necessary care should be taken of her, Clara +came in; she was trembling and pale; and, when I anxiously asked her the +cause of her agitation, she threw herself into my arms weeping and +exclaiming--"Uncle, dearest uncle, do not hate me for ever! I must tell +you, for you must know, that Evelyn, poor little Evelyn"--her voice was +choked by sobs. The fear of so mighty a calamity as the loss of our adored +infant made the current of my blood pause with chilly horror; but the +remembrance of the mother restored my presence of mind. I sought the little +bed of my darling; he was oppressed by fever; but I trusted, I fondly and +fearfully trusted, that there were no symptoms of the plague. He was not +three years old, and his illness appeared only one of those attacks +incident to infancy. I watched him long--his heavy half-closed lids, his +burning cheeks and restless twining of his small fingers--the fever was +violent, the torpor complete--enough, without the greater fear of +pestilence, to awaken alarm. Idris must not see him in this state. Clara, +though only twelve years old, was rendered, through extreme sensibility, so +prudent and careful, that I felt secure in entrusting the charge of him to +her, and it was my task to prevent Idris from observing their absence. I +administered the fitting remedies, and left my sweet niece to watch beside +him, and bring me notice of any change she should observe. + +I then went to Idris, contriving in my way, plausible excuses for remaining +all day in the Castle, and endeavouring to disperse the traces of care from +my brow. Fortunately she was not alone. I found Merrival, the astronomer, +with her. He was far too long sighted in his view of humanity to heed the +casualties of the day, and lived in the midst of contagion unconscious of +its existence. This poor man, learned as La Place, guileless and +unforeseeing as a child, had often been on the point of starvation, he, his +pale wife and numerous offspring, while he neither felt hunger, nor +observed distress. His astronomical theories absorbed him; calculations +were scrawled with coal on the bare walls of his garret: a hard-earned +guinea, or an article of dress, was exchanged for a book without remorse; +he neither heard his children cry, nor observed his companion's emaciated +form, and the excess of calamity was merely to him as the occurrence of a +cloudy night, when he would have given his right hand to observe a +celestial phenomenon. His wife was one of those wondrous beings, to be +found only among women, with affections not to be diminished by misfortune. +Her mind was divided between boundless admiration for her husband, and +tender anxiety for her children--she waited on him, worked for them, and +never complained, though care rendered her life one long-drawn, melancholy +dream. + +He had introduced himself to Adrian, by a request he made to observe some +planetary motions from his glass. His poverty was easily detected and +relieved. He often thanked us for the books we lent him, and for the use of +our instruments, but never spoke of his altered abode or change of +circumstances. His wife assured us, that he had not observed any +difference, except in the absence of the children from his study, and to +her infinite surprise he complained of this unaccustomed quiet. + +He came now to announce to us the completion of his Essay on the +Pericyclical Motions of the Earth's Axis, and the precession of the +equinoctial points. If an old Roman of the period of the Republic had +returned to life, and talked of the impending election of some +laurel-crowned consul, or of the last battle with Mithridates, his ideas +would not have been more alien to the times, than the conversation of +Merrival. Man, no longer with an appetite for sympathy, clothed his +thoughts in visible signs; nor were there any readers left: while each one, +having thrown away his sword with opposing shield alone, awaited the +plague, Merrival talked of the state of mankind six thousand years hence. +He might with equal interest to us, have added a commentary, to describe +the unknown and unimaginable lineaments of the creatures, who would then +occupy the vacated dwelling of mankind. We had not the heart to undeceive +the poor old man; and at the moment I came in, he was reading parts of his +book to Idris, asking what answer could be given to this or that position. + +Idris could not refrain from a smile, as she listened; she had already +gathered from him that his family was alive and in health; though not apt +to forget the precipice of time on which she stood, yet I could perceive +that she was amused for a moment, by the contrast between the contracted +view we had so long taken of human life, and the seven league strides with +which Merrival paced a coming eternity. I was glad to see her smile, +because it assured me of her total ignorance of her infant's danger: but I +shuddered to think of the revulsion that would be occasioned by a discovery +of the truth. While Merrival was talking, Clara softly opened a door behind +Idris, and beckoned me to come with a gesture and look of grief. A mirror +betrayed the sign to Idris--she started up. To suspect evil, to perceive +that, Alfred being with us, the danger must regard her youngest darling, to +fly across the long chambers into his apartment, was the work but of a +moment. There she beheld her Evelyn lying fever-stricken and motionless. I +followed her, and strove to inspire more hope than I could myself +entertain; but she shook her head mournfully. Anguish deprived her of +presence of mind; she gave up to me and Clara the physician's and nurse's +parts; she sat by the bed, holding one little burning hand, and, with +glazed eyes fixed on her babe, passed the long day in one unvaried agony. +It was not the plague that visited our little boy so roughly; but she could +not listen to my assurances; apprehension deprived her of judgment and +reflection; every slight convulsion of her child's features shook her frame +--if he moved, she dreaded the instant crisis; if he remained still, she +saw death in his torpor, and the cloud on her brow darkened. + +The poor little thing's fever encreased towards night. The sensation is +most dreary, to use no stronger term, with which one looks forward to +passing the long hours of night beside a sick bed, especially if the +patient be an infant, who cannot explain its pain, and whose flickering +life resembles the wasting flame of the watch-light, + + Whose narrow fire + Is shaken by the wind, and on whose edge + Devouring darkness hovers.[5] + +With eagerness one turns toward the east, with angry impatience +one marks the unchequered darkness; the crowing of a cock, that +sound of glee during day-time, comes wailing and untuneable--the creaking +of rafters, and slight stir of invisible insect is heard and felt as the +signal and type of desolation. Clara, overcome by weariness, had seated +herself at the foot of her cousin's bed, and in spite of her efforts +slumber weighed down her lids; twice or thrice she shook it off; but at +length she was conquered and slept. Idris sat at the bedside, holding +Evelyn's hand; we were afraid to speak to each other; I watched the stars +--I hung over my child--I felt his little pulse--I drew near the +mother--again I receded. At the turn of morning a gentle sigh from the +patient attracted me, the burning spot on his cheek faded--his pulse beat +softly and regularly--torpor yielded to sleep. For a long time I dared +not hope; but when his unobstructed breathing and the moisture that +suffused his forehead, were tokens no longer to be mistaken of the +departure of mortal malady, I ventured to whisper the news of the change to +Idris, and at length succeeded in persuading her that I spoke truth. + +But neither this assurance, nor the speedy convalescence of our child could +restore her, even to the portion of peace she before enjoyed. Her fear had +been too deep, too absorbing, too entire, to be changed to security. She +felt as if during her past calm she had dreamed, but was now awake; she +was + + As one + In some lone watch-tower on the deep, awakened + From soothing visions of the home he loves, + Trembling to hear the wrathful billows roar;[6] + +as one who has been cradled by a storm, and awakes to find the +vessel sinking. Before, she had been visited by pangs of fear--now, she +never enjoyed an interval of hope. No smile of the heart ever irradiated +her fair countenance; sometimes she forced one, and then gushing tears +would flow, and the sea of grief close above these wrecks of past +happiness. Still while I was near her, she could not be in utter despair-- +she fully confided herself to me--she did not seem to fear my death, or +revert to its possibility; to my guardianship she consigned the full +freight of her anxieties, reposing on my love, as a wind-nipped fawn by the +side of a doe, as a wounded nestling under its mother's wing, as a tiny, +shattered boat, quivering still, beneath some protecting willow-tree. While +I, not proudly as in days of joy, yet tenderly, and with glad consciousness +of the comfort I afforded, drew my trembling girl close to my heart, and +tried to ward every painful thought or rough circumstance from her +sensitive nature. + +One other incident occurred at the end of this summer. The Countess of +Windsor, Ex-Queen of England, returned from Germany. She had at the +beginning of the season quitted the vacant city of Vienna; and, unable to +tame her haughty mind to anything like submission, she had delayed at +Hamburgh, and, when at last she came to London, many weeks elapsed before +she gave Adrian notice of her arrival. In spite of her coldness and long +absence, he welcomed her with sensibility, displaying such affection as +sought to heal the wounds of pride and sorrow, and was repulsed only by her +total apparent want of sympathy. Idris heard of her mother's return with +pleasure. Her own maternal feelings were so ardent, that she imagined her +parent must now, in this waste world, have lost pride and harshness, and +would receive with delight her filial attentions. The first check to her +duteous demonstrations was a formal intimation from the fallen majesty of +England, that I was in no manner to be intruded upon her. She consented, +she said, to forgive her daughter, and acknowledge her grandchildren; +larger concessions must not be expected. + +To me this proceeding appeared (if so light a term may be permitted) +extremely whimsical. Now that the race of man had lost in fact all +distinction of rank, this pride was doubly fatuitous; now that we felt a +kindred, fraternal nature with all who bore the stamp of humanity, this +angry reminiscence of times for ever gone, was worse than foolish. Idris +was too much taken up by her own dreadful fears, to be angry, hardly +grieved; for she judged that insensibility must be the source of this +continued rancour. This was not altogether the fact: but predominant +self-will assumed the arms and masque of callous feeling; and the haughty +lady disdained to exhibit any token of the struggle she endured; while the +slave of pride, she fancied that she sacrificed her happiness to immutable +principle. + +False was all this--false all but the affections of our nature, and the +links of sympathy with pleasure or pain. There was but one good and one +evil in the world--life and death. The pomp of rank, the assumption of +power, the possessions of wealth vanished like morning mist. One living +beggar had become of more worth than a national peerage of dead lords-- +alas the day!--than of dead heroes, patriots, or men of genius. There was +much of degradation in this: for even vice and virtue had lost their +attributes--life--life--the continuation of our animal mechanism-- +was the Alpha and Omega of the desires, the prayers, the prostrate ambition +of human race. + +[1] Calderon de la Barca. +[2] Wordsworth. +[3] Keats. +[4] Andrew Marvell. +[5] The Cenci +[6] The Brides' Tragedy, by T. L. Beddoes, Esq. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +HALF England was desolate, when October came, and the equinoctial winds +swept over the earth, chilling the ardours of the unhealthy season. The +summer, which was uncommonly hot, had been protracted into the beginning of +this month, when on the eighteenth a sudden change was brought about from +summer temperature to winter frost. Pestilence then made a pause in her +death-dealing career. Gasping, not daring to name our hopes, yet full even +to the brim with intense expectation, we stood, as a ship-wrecked sailor +stands on a barren rock islanded by the ocean, watching a distant vessel, +fancying that now it nears, and then again that it is bearing from sight. +This promise of a renewed lease of life turned rugged natures to melting +tenderness, and by contrast filled the soft with harsh and unnatural +sentiments. When it seemed destined that all were to die, we were reckless +of the how and when--now that the virulence of the disease was mitigated, +and it appeared willing to spare some, each was eager to be among the +elect, and clung to life with dastard tenacity. Instances of desertion +became more frequent; and even murders, which made the hearer sick with +horror, where the fear of contagion had armed those nearest in blood +against each other. But these smaller and separate tragedies were about to +yield to a mightier interest--and, while we were promised calm from +infectious influences, a tempest arose wilder than the winds, a tempest +bred by the passions of man, nourished by his most violent impulses, +unexampled and dire. + +A number of people from North America, the relics of that populous +continent, had set sail for the East with mad desire of change, leaving +their native plains for lands not less afflicted than their own. Several +hundreds landed in Ireland, about the first of November, and took +possession of such vacant habitations as they could find; seizing upon the +superabundant food, and the stray cattle. As they exhausted the produce of +one spot, they went on to another. At length they began to interfere with +the inhabitants, and strong in their concentrated numbers, ejected the +natives from their dwellings, and robbed them of their winter store. A few +events of this kind roused the fiery nature of the Irish; and they attacked +the invaders. Some were destroyed; the major part escaped by quick and well +ordered movements; and danger made them careful. Their numbers ably +arranged; the very deaths among them concealed; moving on in good order, +and apparently given up to enjoyment, they excited the envy of the Irish. +The Americans permitted a few to join their band, and presently the +recruits outnumbered the strangers--nor did they join with them, nor +imitate the admirable order which, preserved by the Trans-Atlantic chiefs, +rendered them at once secure and formidable. The Irish followed their track +in disorganized multitudes; each day encreasing; each day becoming more +lawless. The Americans were eager to escape from the spirit they had +roused, and, reaching the eastern shores of the island, embarked for +England. Their incursion would hardly have been felt had they come alone; +but the Irish, collected in unnatural numbers, began to feel the inroads of +famine, and they followed in the wake of the Americans for England also. +The crossing of the sea could not arrest their progress. The harbours of +the desolate sea-ports of the west of Ireland were filled with vessels of +all sizes, from the man of war to the small fishers' boat, which lay +sailorless, and rotting on the lazy deep. The emigrants embarked by +hundreds, and unfurling their sails with rude hands, made strange havoc of +buoy and cordage. Those who modestly betook themselves to the smaller +craft, for the most part achieved their watery journey in safety. Some, in +the true spirit of reckless enterprise, went on board a ship of an hundred +and twenty guns; the vast hull drifted with the tide out of the bay, and +after many hours its crew of landsmen contrived to spread a great part of +her enormous canvass--the wind took it, and while a thousand mistakes of +the helmsman made her present her head now to one point, and now to +another, the vast fields of canvass that formed her sails flapped with a +sound like that of a huge cataract; or such as a sea-like forest may give +forth when buffeted by an equinoctial north-wind. The port-holes were open, +and with every sea, which as she lurched, washed her decks, they received +whole tons of water. The difficulties were increased by a fresh breeze +which began to blow, whistling among the shrowds, dashing the sails this +way and that, and rending them with horrid split, and such whir as may have +visited the dreams of Milton, when he imagined the winnowing of the +arch-fiend's van-like wings, which encreased the uproar of wild chaos. +These sounds were mingled with the roaring of the sea, the splash of the +chafed billows round the vessel's sides, and the gurgling up of the water +in the hold. The crew, many of whom had never seen the sea before, felt +indeed as if heaven and earth came ruining together, as the vessel dipped +her bows in the waves, or rose high upon them. Their yells were drowned in +the clamour of elements, and the thunder rivings of their unwieldy +habitation--they discovered at last that the water gained on them, and +they betook themselves to their pumps; they might as well have laboured to +empty the ocean by bucketfuls. As the sun went down, the gale encreased; +the ship seemed to feel her danger, she was now completely water-logged, +and presented other indications of settling before she went down. The bay +was crowded with vessels, whose crews, for the most part, were observing +the uncouth sportings of this huge unwieldy machine--they saw her +gradually sink; the waters now rising above her lower decks--they could +hardly wink before she had utterly disappeared, nor could the place where +the sea had closed over her be at all discerned. Some few of her crew were +saved, but the greater part clinging to her cordage and masts went down +with her, to rise only when death loosened their hold. + +This event caused many of those who were about to sail, to put foot again +on firm land, ready to encounter any evil rather than to rush into the +yawning jaws of the pitiless ocean. But these were few, in comparison to +the numbers who actually crossed. Many went up as high as Belfast to ensure +a shorter passage, and then journeying south through Scotland, they were +joined by the poorer natives of that country, and all poured with one +consent into England. + +Such incursions struck the English with affright, in all those towns where +there was still sufficient population to feel the change. There was room +enough indeed in our hapless country for twice the number of invaders; but +their lawless spirit instigated them to violence; they took a delight in +thrusting the possessors from their houses; in seizing on some mansion of +luxury, where the noble dwellers secluded themselves in fear of the plague; +in forcing these of either sex to become their servants and purveyors; +till, the ruin complete in one place, they removed their locust visitation +to another. When unopposed they spread their ravages wide; in cases of +danger they clustered, and by dint of numbers overthrew their weak and +despairing foes. They came from the east and the north, and directed their +course without apparent motive, but unanimously towards our unhappy +metropolis. + +Communication had been to a great degree cut off through the paralyzing +effects of pestilence, so that the van of our invaders had proceeded as far +as Manchester and Derby, before we received notice of their arrival. They +swept the country like a conquering army, burning--laying waste-- +murdering. The lower and vagabond English joined with them. Some few of the +Lords Lieutenant who remained, endeavoured to collect the militia--but +the ranks were vacant, panic seized on all, and the opposition that was +made only served to increase the audacity and cruelty of the enemy. They +talked of taking London, conquering England--calling to mind the long +detail of injuries which had for many years been forgotten. Such vaunts +displayed their weakness, rather than their strength--yet still they +might do extreme mischief, which, ending in their destruction, would render +them at last objects of compassion and remorse. + +We were now taught how, in the beginning of the world, mankind clothed +their enemies in impossible attributes--and how details proceeding from +mouth to mouth, might, like Virgil's ever-growing Rumour, reach the heavens +with her brow, and clasp Hesperus and Lucifer with her outstretched hands. +Gorgon and Centaur, dragon and iron-hoofed lion, vast sea-monster and +gigantic hydra, were but types of the strange and appalling accounts +brought to London concerning our invaders. Their landing was long unknown, +but having now advanced within an hundred miles of London, the country +people flying before them arrived in successive troops, each exaggerating +the numbers, fury, and cruelty of the assailants. Tumult filled the before +quiet streets--women and children deserted their homes, escaping they +knew not whither--fathers, husbands, and sons, stood trembling, not for +themselves, but for their loved and defenceless relations. As the country +people poured into London, the citizens fled southwards--they climbed the +higher edifices of the town, fancying that they could discern the smoke and +flames the enemy spread around them. As Windsor lay, to a great degree, in +the line of march from the west, I removed my family to London, assigning +the Tower for their sojourn, and joining Adrian, acted as his Lieutenant in +the coming struggle. + +We employed only two days in our preparations, and made good use of them. +Artillery and arms were collected; the remnants of such regiments, as could +be brought through many losses into any show of muster, were put under +arms, with that appearance of military discipline which might encourage our +own party, and seem most formidable to the disorganized multitude of our +enemies. Even music was not wanting: banners floated in the air, and the +shrill fife and loud trumpet breathed forth sounds of encouragement and +victory. A practised ear might trace an undue faltering in the step of the +soldiers; but this was not occasioned so much by fear of the adversary, as +by disease, by sorrow, and by fatal prognostications, which often weighed +most potently on the brave, and quelled the manly heart to abject +subjection. + +Adrian led the troops. He was full of care. It was small relief to him that +our discipline should gain us success in such a conflict; while plague +still hovered to equalize the conqueror and the conquered, it was not +victory that he desired, but bloodless peace. As we advanced, we were met +by bands of peasantry, whose almost naked condition, whose despair and +horror, told at once the fierce nature of the coming enemy. The senseless +spirit of conquest and thirst of spoil blinded them, while with insane fury +they deluged the country in ruin. The sight of the military restored hope +to those who fled, and revenge took place of fear. They inspired the +soldiers with the same sentiment. Languor was changed to ardour, the slow +step converted to a speedy pace, while the hollow murmur of the multitude, +inspired by one feeling, and that deadly, filled the air, drowning the +clang of arms and sound of music. Adrian perceived the change, and feared +that it would be difficult to prevent them from wreaking their utmost fury +on the Irish. He rode through the lines, charging the officers to restrain +the troops, exhorting the soldiers, restoring order, and quieting in some +degree the violent agitation that swelled every bosom. + +We first came upon a few stragglers of the Irish at St. Albans. They +retreated, and, joining others of their companions, still fell back, till +they reached the main body. Tidings of an armed and regular opposition +recalled them to a sort of order. They made Buckingham their head-quarters, +and scouts were sent out to ascertain our situation. We remained for the +night at Luton. In the morning a simultaneous movement caused us each to +advance. It was early dawn, and the air, impregnated with freshest odour, +seemed in idle mockery to play with our banners, and bore onwards towards +the enemy the music of the bands, the neighings of the horses, and regular +step of the infantry. The first sound of martial instruments that came upon +our undisciplined foe, inspired surprise, not unmingled with dread. It +spoke of other days, of days of concord and order; it was associated with +times when plague was not, and man lived beyond the shadow of imminent +fate. The pause was momentary. Soon we heard their disorderly clamour, the +barbarian shouts, the untimed step of thousands coming on in disarray. +Their troops now came pouring on us from the open country or narrow lanes; +a large extent of unenclosed fields lay between us; we advanced to the +middle of this, and then made a halt: being somewhat on superior ground, we +could discern the space they covered. When their leaders perceived us drawn +out in opposition, they also gave the word to halt, and endeavoured to form +their men into some imitation of military discipline. The first ranks had +muskets; some were mounted, but their arms were such as they had seized +during their advance, their horses those they had taken from the peasantry; +there was no uniformity, and little obedience, but their shouts and wild +gestures showed the untamed spirit that inspired them. Our soldiers +received the word, and advanced to quickest time, but in perfect order: +their uniform dresses, the gleam of their polished arms, their silence, and +looks of sullen hate, were more appalling than the savage clamour of our +innumerous foe. Thus coming nearer and nearer each other, the howls and +shouts of the Irish increased; the English proceeded in obedience to their +officers, until they came near enough to distinguish the faces of their +enemies; the sight inspired them with fury: with one cry, that rent heaven +and was re-echoed by the furthest lines, they rushed on; they disdained the +use of the bullet, but with fixed bayonet dashed among the opposing foe, +while the ranks opening at intervals, the matchmen lighted the cannon, +whose deafening roar and blinding smoke filled up the horror of the scene. I +was beside Adrian; a moment before he had again given the word to halt, and +had remained a few yards distant from us in deep meditation: he was forming +swiftly his plan of action, to prevent the effusion of blood; the noise of +cannon, the sudden rush of the troops, and yell of the foe, startled him: +with flashing eyes he exclaimed, "Not one of these must perish!" and +plunging the rowels into his horse's sides, he dashed between the +conflicting bands. We, his staff, followed him to surround and protect him; +obeying his signal, however, we fell back somewhat. The soldiery perceiving +him, paused in their onset; he did not swerve from the bullets that passed +near him, but rode immediately between the opposing lines. Silence +succeeded to clamour; about fifty men lay on the ground dying or dead. +Adrian raised his sword in act to speak: "By whose command," he cried, +addressing his own troops, "do you advance? Who ordered your attack? Fall +back; these misguided men shall not be slaughtered, while I am your +general. Sheath your weapons; these are your brothers, commit not +fratricide; soon the plague will not leave one for you to glut your revenge +upon: will you be more pitiless than pestilence? As you honour me--as you +worship God, in whose image those also are created--as your children and +friends are dear to you,--shed not a drop of precious human blood." + +He spoke with outstretched hand and winning voice, and then turning to our +invaders, with a severe brow, he commanded them to lay down their arms: "Do +you think," he said, "that because we are wasted by plague, you can +overcome us; the plague is also among you, and when ye are vanquished by +famine and disease, the ghosts of those you have murdered will arise to bid +you not hope in death. Lay down your arms, barbarous and cruel men--men +whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent, whose souls are +weighed down by the orphan's cry! We shall conquer, for the right is on our +side; already your cheeks are pale--the weapons fall from your nerveless +grasp. Lay down your arms, fellow men! brethren! Pardon, succour, and +brotherly love await your repentance. You are dear to us, because you wear +the frail shape of humanity; each one among you will find a friend and +host among these forces. Shall man be the enemy of man, while plague, the +foe to all, even now is above us, triumphing in our butchery, more cruel +than her own?" + +Each army paused. On our side the soldiers grasped their arms firmly, and +looked with stern glances on the foe. These had not thrown down their +weapons, more from fear than the spirit of contest; they looked at each +other, each wishing to follow some example given him,--but they had no +leader. Adrian threw himself from his horse, and approaching one of those +just slain: "He was a man," he cried, "and he is dead. O quickly bind up +the wounds of the fallen--let not one die; let not one more soul escape +through your merciless gashes, to relate before the throne of God the tale +of fratricide; bind up their wounds--restore them to their friends. Cast +away the hearts of tigers that burn in your breasts; throw down those tools +of cruelty and hate; in this pause of exterminating destiny, let each man +be brother, guardian, and stay to the other. Away with those blood-stained +arms, and hasten some of you to bind up these wounds." + +As he spoke, he knelt on the ground, and raised in his arms a man from +whose side the warm tide of life gushed--the poor wretch gasped--so +still had either host become, that his moans were distinctly heard, and +every heart, late fiercely bent on universal massacre, now beat anxiously +in hope and fear for the fate of this one man. Adrian tore off his military +scarf and bound it round the sufferer--it was too late--the man heaved +a deep sigh, his head fell back, his limbs lost their sustaining power.-- +"He is dead!" said Adrian, as the corpse fell from his arms on the ground, +and he bowed his head in sorrow and awe. The fate of the world seemed bound +up in the death of this single man. On either side the bands threw down +their arms, even the veterans wept, and our party held out their hands to +their foes, while a gush of love and deepest amity filled every heart. The +two forces mingling, unarmed and hand in hand, talking only how each might +assist the other, the adversaries conjoined; each repenting, the one side +their former cruelties, the other their late violence, they obeyed the +orders of the General to proceed towards London. + +Adrian was obliged to exert his utmost prudence, first to allay the +discord, and then to provide for the multitude of the invaders. They were +marched to various parts of the southern counties, quartered in deserted +villages,--a part were sent back to their own island, while the season of +winter so far revived our energy, that the passes of the country were +defended, and any increase of numbers prohibited. + +On this occasion Adrian and Idris met after a separation of nearly a year. +Adrian had been occupied in fulfilling a laborious and painful task. He had +been familiar with every species of human misery, and had for ever found +his powers inadequate, his aid of small avail. Yet the purpose of his soul, +his energy and ardent resolution, prevented any re-action of sorrow. He +seemed born anew, and virtue, more potent than Medean alchemy, endued him +with health and strength. Idris hardly recognized the fragile being, whose +form had seemed to bend even to the summer breeze, in the energetic man, +whose very excess of sensibility rendered him more capable of fulfilling +his station of pilot in storm-tossed England. + +It was not thus with Idris. She was uncomplaining; but the very soul of +fear had taken its seat in her heart. She had grown thin and pale, her eyes +filled with involuntary tears, her voice was broken and low. She tried to +throw a veil over the change which she knew her brother must observe in +her, but the effort was ineffectual; and when alone with him, with a burst +of irrepressible grief she gave vent to her apprehensions and sorrow. She +described in vivid terms the ceaseless care that with still renewing hunger +ate into her soul; she compared this gnawing of sleepless expectation of +evil, to the vulture that fed on the heart of Prometheus; under the +influence of this eternal excitement, and of the interminable struggles she +endured to combat and conceal it, she felt, she said, as if all the wheels +and springs of the animal machine worked at double rate, and were fast +consuming themselves. Sleep was not sleep, for her waking thoughts, bridled +by some remains of reason, and by the sight of her children happy and in +health, were then transformed to wild dreams, all her terrors were +realized, all her fears received their dread fulfilment. To this state +there was no hope, no alleviation, unless the grave should quickly receive +its destined prey, and she be permitted to die, before she experienced a +thousand living deaths in the loss of those she loved. Fearing to give me +pain, she hid as best she could the excess of her wretchedness, but meeting +thus her brother after a long absence, she could not restrain the +expression of her woe, but with all the vividness of imagination with which +misery is always replete, she poured out the emotions of her heart to her +beloved and sympathizing Adrian. + +Her present visit to London tended to augment her state of inquietude, by +shewing in its utmost extent the ravages occasioned by pestilence. It +hardly preserved the appearance of an inhabited city; grass sprung up thick +in the streets; the squares were weed-grown, the houses were shut up, while +silence and loneliness characterized the busiest parts of the town. Yet in +the midst of desolation Adrian had preserved order; and each one continued +to live according to law and custom--human institutions thus surviving as +it were divine ones, and while the decree of population was abrogated, +property continued sacred. It was a melancholy reflection; and in spite of +the diminution of evil produced, it struck on the heart as a wretched +mockery. All idea of resort for pleasure, of theatres and festivals had +passed away. "Next summer," said Adrian as we parted on our return to +Windsor, "will decide the fate of the human race. I shall not pause in +my exertions until that time; but, if plague revives with the coming year, +all contest with her must cease, and our only occupation be the choice of +a grave." + +I must not forget one incident that occurred during this visit to London. +The visits of Merrival to Windsor, before frequent, had suddenly ceased. At +this time where but a hair's line separated the living from the dead, I +feared that our friend had become a victim to the all-embracing evil. On +this occasion I went, dreading the worst, to his dwelling, to see if I +could be of any service to those of his family who might have survived. The +house was deserted, and had been one of those assigned to the invading +strangers quartered in London. I saw his astronomical instruments put to +strange uses, his globes defaced, his papers covered with abstruse +calculations destroyed. The neighbours could tell me little, till I lighted +on a poor woman who acted as nurse in these perilous times. She told me +that all the family were dead, except Merrival himself, who had gone mad-- +mad, she called it, yet on questioning her further, it appeared that he was +possessed only by the delirium of excessive grief. This old man, tottering +on the edge of the grave, and prolonging his prospect through millions of +calculated years,--this visionary who had not seen starvation in the +wasted forms of his wife and children, or plague in the horrible sights and +sounds that surrounded him--this astronomer, apparently dead on earth, +and living only in the motion of the spheres--loved his family with +unapparent but intense affection. Through long habit they had become a part +of himself; his want of worldly knowledge, his absence of mind and infant +guilelessness, made him utterly dependent on them. It was not till one of +them died that he perceived their danger; one by one they were carried off +by pestilence; and his wife, his helpmate and supporter, more necessary to +him than his own limbs and frame, which had hardly been taught the lesson +of self-preservation, the kind companion whose voice always spoke peace to +him, closed her eyes in death. The old man felt the system of universal +nature which he had so long studied and adored, slide from under him, and +he stood among the dead, and lifted his voice in curses.--No wonder that +the attendant should interpret as phrensy the harrowing maledictions of the +grief-struck old man. + +I had commenced my search late in the day, a November day, that closed in +early with pattering rain and melancholy wind. As I turned from the door, I +saw Merrival, or rather the shadow of Merrival, attenuated and wild, pass +me, and sit on the steps of his home. The breeze scattered the grey locks +on his temples, the rain drenched his uncovered head, he sat hiding his +face in his withered hands. I pressed his shoulder to awaken his attention, +but he did not alter his position. "Merrival," I said, "it is long since we +have seen you--you must return to Windsor with me--Lady Idris desires +to see you, you will not refuse her request--come home with me." + +He replied in a hollow voice, "Why deceive a helpless old man, why talk +hypocritically to one half crazed? Windsor is not my home; my true home I +have found; the home that the Creator has prepared for me." + +His accent of bitter scorn thrilled me--"Do not tempt me to speak," he +continued, "my words would scare you--in an universe of cowards I dare +think--among the church-yard tombs--among the victims of His merciless +tyranny I dare reproach the Supreme Evil. How can he punish me? Let him +bare his arm and transfix me with lightning--this is also one of his +attributes"--and the old man laughed. + +He rose, and I followed him through the rain to a neighbouring church-yard +--he threw himself on the wet earth. "Here they are," he cried, "beautiful +creatures--breathing, speaking, loving creatures. She who by day and +night cherished the age-worn lover of her youth--they, parts of my flesh, +my children--here they are: call them, scream their names through the +night; they will not answer!" He clung to the little heaps that marked the +graves. "I ask but one thing; I do not fear His hell, for I have it here; I +do not desire His heaven, let me but die and be laid beside them; let me +but, when I lie dead, feel my flesh as it moulders, mingle with theirs. +Promise," and he raised himself painfully, and seized my arm, "promise to +bury me with them." + +"So God help me and mine as I promise," I replied, "on one condition: +return with me to Windsor." + +"To Windsor!" he cried with a shriek, "Never!--from this place I never go +--my bones, my flesh, I myself, are already buried here, and what you see +of me is corrupted clay like them. I will lie here, and cling here, till +rain, and hail, and lightning and storm, ruining on me, make me one in +substance with them below." + +In a few words I must conclude this tragedy. I was obliged to leave London, +and Adrian undertook to watch over him; the task was soon fulfilled; age, +grief, and inclement weather, all united to hush his sorrows, and bring +repose to his heart, whose beats were agony. He died embracing the sod, +which was piled above his breast, when he was placed beside the beings whom +he regretted with such wild despair. + +I returned to Windsor at the wish of Idris, who seemed to think that there +was greater safety for her children at that spot; and because, once having +taken on me the guardianship of the district, I would not desert it while +an inhabitant survived. I went also to act in conformity with Adrian's +plans, which was to congregate in masses what remained of the population; +for he possessed the conviction that it was only through the benevolent and +social virtues that any safety was to be hoped for the remnant of mankind. + +It was a melancholy thing to return to this spot so dear to us, as the +scene of a happiness rarely before enjoyed, here to mark the extinction of +our species, and trace the deep uneraseable footsteps of disease over the +fertile and cherished soil. The aspect of the country had so far changed, +that it had been impossible to enter on the task of sowing seed, and other +autumnal labours. That season was now gone; and winter had set in with +sudden and unusual severity. Alternate frosts and thaws succeeding to +floods, rendered the country impassable. Heavy falls of snow gave an arctic +appearance to the scenery; the roofs of the houses peeped from the white +mass; the lowly cot and stately mansion, alike deserted, were blocked up, +their thresholds uncleared; the windows were broken by the hail, while the +prevalence of a north-east wind rendered out-door exertions extremely +painful. The altered state of society made these accidents of nature, +sources of real misery. The luxury of command and the attentions of +servitude were lost. It is true that the necessaries of life were assembled +in such quantities, as to supply to superfluity the wants of the diminished +population; but still much labour was required to arrange these, as it +were, raw materials; and depressed by sickness, and fearful of the future, +we had not energy to enter boldly and decidedly on any system. + +I can speak for myself--want of energy was not my failing. The intense +life that quickened my pulses, and animated my frame, had the effect, not +of drawing me into the mazes of active life, but of exalting my lowliness, +and of bestowing majestic proportions on insignificant objects--I could +have lived the life of a peasant in the same way--my trifling occupations +were swelled into important pursuits; my affections were impetuous and +engrossing passions, and nature with all her changes was invested in divine +attributes. The very spirit of the Greek mythology inhabited my heart; I +deified the uplands, glades, and streams, I + + Had sight of Proteus coming from the sea; + And heard old Triton blow his wreathed horn.[1] + +Strange, that while the earth preserved her monotonous course, I dwelt with +ever-renewing wonder on her antique laws, and now that with excentric wheel +she rushed into an untried path, I should feel this spirit fade; I +struggled with despondency and weariness, but like a fog, they choked me. +Perhaps, after the labours and stupendous excitement of the past summer, +the calm of winter and the almost menial toils it brought with it, were by +natural re-action doubly irksome. It was not the grasping passion of the +preceding year, which gave life and individuality to each moment--it was +not the aching pangs induced by the distresses of the times. The utter +inutility that had attended all my exertions took from them their usual +effects of exhilaration, and despair rendered abortive the balm of self +applause--I longed to return to my old occupations, but of what use were +they? To read were futile--to write, vanity indeed. The earth, late wide +circus for the display of dignified exploits, vast theatre for a +magnificent drama, now presented a vacant space, an empty stage--for +actor or spectator there was no longer aught to say or hear. + +Our little town of Windsor, in which the survivors from the neighbouring +counties were chiefly assembled, wore a melancholy aspect. Its streets were +blocked up with snow--the few passengers seemed palsied, and frozen by +the ungenial visitation of winter. To escape these evils was the aim and +scope of all our exertions. Families late devoted to exalting and refined +pursuits, rich, blooming, and young, with diminished numbers and +care-fraught hearts, huddled over a fire, grown selfish and grovelling +through suffering. Without the aid of servants, it was necessary to +discharge all household duties; hands unused to such labour must knead the +bread, or in the absence of flour, the statesmen or perfumed courtier must +undertake the butcher's office. Poor and rich were now equal, or rather the +poor were the superior, since they entered on such tasks with alacrity and +experience; while ignorance, inaptitude, and habits of repose, rendered +them fatiguing to the luxurious, galling to the proud, disgustful to all +whose minds, bent on intellectual improvement, held it their dearest +privilege to be exempt from attending to mere animal wants. + +But in every change goodness and affection can find field for exertion and +display. Among some these changes produced a devotion and sacrifice of self +at once graceful and heroic. It was a sight for the lovers of the human +race to enjoy; to behold, as in ancient times, the patriarchal modes in +which the variety of kindred and friendship fulfilled their duteous and +kindly offices. Youths, nobles of the land, performed for the sake of +mother or sister, the services of menials with amiable cheerfulness. They +went to the river to break the ice, and draw water: they assembled on +foraging expeditions, or axe in hand felled the trees for fuel. The females +received them on their return with the simple and affectionate welcome +known before only to the lowly cottage--a clean hearth and bright fire; +the supper ready cooked by beloved hands; gratitude for the provision for +to-morrow's meal: strange enjoyments for the high-born English, yet they +were now their sole, hard earned, and dearly prized luxuries. + +None was more conspicuous for this graceful submission to circumstances, +noble humility, and ingenious fancy to adorn such acts with romantic +colouring, than our own Clara. She saw my despondency, and the aching cares +of Idris. Her perpetual study was to relieve us from labour and to spread +ease and even elegance over our altered mode of life. We still had some +attendants spared by disease, and warmly attached to us. But Clara was +jealous of their services; she would be sole handmaid of Idris, sole +minister to the wants of her little cousins; nothing gave her so much +pleasure as our employing her in this way; she went beyond our desires, +earnest, diligent, and unwearied,-- + + Abra was ready ere we called her name, + And though we called another, Abra came.[2] + +It was my task each day to visit the various families assembled in our +town, and when the weather permitted, I was glad to prolong my ride, and to +muse in solitude over every changeful appearance of our destiny, +endeavouring to gather lessons for the future from the experience of the +past. The impatience with which, while in society, the ills that afflicted +my species inspired me, were softened by loneliness, when individual +suffering was merged in the general calamity, strange to say, less +afflicting to contemplate. Thus often, pushing my way with difficulty +through the narrow snow-blocked town, I crossed the bridge and passed +through Eton. No youthful congregation of gallant-hearted boys thronged the +portal of the college; sad silence pervaded the busy school-room and noisy +playground. I extended my ride towards Salt Hill, on every side impeded by +the snow. Were those the fertile fields I loved--was that the interchange +of gentle upland and cultivated dale, once covered with waving corn, +diversified by stately trees, watered by the meandering Thames? One sheet +of white covered it, while bitter recollection told me that cold as the +winter-clothed earth, were the hearts of the inhabitants. I met troops of +horses, herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, wandering at will; here throwing +down a hay-rick, and nestling from cold in its heart, which afforded them +shelter and food--there having taken possession of a vacant cottage. Once +on a frosty day, pushed on by restless unsatisfying reflections, I sought a +favourite haunt, a little wood not far distant from Salt Hill. A bubbling +spring prattles over stones on one side, and a plantation of a few elms and +beeches, hardly deserve, and yet continue the name of wood. This spot had +for me peculiar charms. It had been a favourite resort of Adrian; it was +secluded; and he often said that in boyhood, his happiest hours were spent +here; having escaped the stately bondage of his mother, he sat on the rough +hewn steps that led to the spring, now reading a favourite book, now +musing, with speculation beyond his years, on the still unravelled skein of +morals or metaphysics. A melancholy foreboding assured me that I should +never see this place more; so with careful thought, I noted each tree, +every winding of the streamlet and irregularity of the soil, that I might +better call up its idea in absence. A robin red-breast dropt from the +frosty branches of the trees, upon the congealed rivulet; its panting +breast and half-closed eyes shewed that it was dying: a hawk appeared in +the air; sudden fear seized the little creature; it exerted its last +strength, throwing itself on its back, raising its talons in impotent +defence against its powerful enemy. I took it up and placed it in my +breast. I fed it with a few crumbs from a biscuit; by degrees it revived; +its warm fluttering heart beat against me; I cannot tell why I detail this +trifling incident--but the scene is still before me; the snow-clad fields +seen through the silvered trunks of the beeches,--the brook, in days of +happiness alive with sparkling waters, now choked by ice--the leafless +trees fantastically dressed in hoar frost--the shapes of summer leaves +imaged by winter's frozen hand on the hard ground--the dusky sky, drear +cold, and unbroken silence--while close in my bosom, my feathered +nursling lay warm, and safe, speaking its content with a light chirp-- +painful reflections thronged, stirring my brain with wild commotion--cold +and death-like as the snowy fields was all earth--misery-stricken the +life-tide of the inhabitants--why should I oppose the cataract of +destruction that swept us away?--why string my nerves and renew my +wearied efforts--ah, why? But that my firm courage and cheerful exertions +might shelter the dear mate, whom I chose in the spring of my life; though +the throbbings of my heart be replete with pain, though my hopes for the +future are chill, still while your dear head, my gentlest love, can repose +in peace on that heart, and while you derive from its fostering care, +comfort, and hope, my struggles shall not cease,--I will not call myself +altogether vanquished. + +One fine February day, when the sun had reassumed some of its genial power, +I walked in the forest with my family. It was one of those lovely +winter-days which assert the capacity of nature to bestow beauty on +barrenness. The leafless trees spread their fibrous branches against the +pure sky; their intricate and pervious tracery resembled delicate sea-weed; +the deer were turning up the snow in search of the hidden grass; the white +was made intensely dazzling by the sun, and trunks of the trees, rendered +more conspicuous by the loss of preponderating foliage, gathered around +like the labyrinthine columns of a vast temple; it was impossible not to +receive pleasure from the sight of these things. Our children, freed from +the bondage of winter, bounded before us; pursuing the deer, or rousing the +pheasants and partridges from their coverts. Idris leant on my arm; her +sadness yielded to the present sense of pleasure. We met other families on +the Long Walk, enjoying like ourselves the return of the genial season. At +once, I seemed to awake; I cast off the clinging sloth of the past months; +earth assumed a new appearance, and my view of the future was suddenly made +clear. I exclaimed, "I have now found out the secret!" + +"What secret?" + +In answer to this question, I described our gloomy winter-life, our sordid +cares, our menial labours:--"This northern country," I said, "is no place +for our diminished race. When mankind were few, it was not here that they +battled with the powerful agents of nature, and were enabled to cover the +globe with offspring. We must seek some natural Paradise, some garden of +the earth, where our simple wants may be easily supplied, and the enjoyment +of a delicious climate compensate for the social pleasures we have lost. If +we survive this coming summer, I will not spend the ensuing winter in +England; neither I nor any of us." + +I spoke without much heed, and the very conclusion of what I said brought +with it other thoughts. Should we, any of us, survive the coming summer? I +saw the brow of Idris clouded; I again felt, that we were enchained to the +car of fate, over whose coursers we had no control. We could no longer say, +This we will do, and this we will leave undone. A mightier power than the +human was at hand to destroy our plans or to achieve the work we avoided. +It were madness to calculate upon another winter. This was our last. The +coming summer was the extreme end of our vista; and, when we arrived there, +instead of a continuation of the long road, a gulph yawned, into which we +must of force be precipitated. The last blessing of humanity was wrested +from us; we might no longer hope. Can the madman, as he clanks his chains, +hope? Can the wretch, led to the scaffold, who when he lays his head on the +block, marks the double shadow of himself and the executioner, whose +uplifted arm bears the axe, hope? Can the ship-wrecked mariner, who spent +with swimming, hears close behind the splashing waters divided by a shark +which pursues him through the Atlantic, hope? Such hope as theirs, we also +may entertain! + +Old fable tells us, that this gentle spirit sprung from the box of Pandora, +else crammed with evils; but these were unseen and null, while all admired +the inspiriting loveliness of young Hope; each man's heart became her home; +she was enthroned sovereign of our lives, here and here-after; she was +deified and worshipped, declared incorruptible and everlasting. But like +all other gifts of the Creator to Man, she is mortal; her life has attained +its last hour. We have watched over her; nursed her flickering existence; +now she has fallen at once from youth to decrepitude, from health to +immedicinable disease; even as we spend ourselves in struggles for her +recovery, she dies; to all nations the voice goes forth, Hope is dead! We +are but mourners in the funeral train, and what immortal essence or +perishable creation will refuse to make one in the sad procession that +attends to its grave the dead comforter of humanity? + + Does not the sun call in his light? and day + Like a thin exhalation melt away-- + Both wrapping up their beams in clouds to be + Themselves close mourners at this obsequie.[3] + +[1] Wordsworth. +[2] Prior's "Solomon." +[3] Cleveland's Poems. + + + + +VOL. III. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +HEAR YOU not the rushing sound of the coming tempest? Do you not behold the +clouds open, and destruction lurid and dire pour down on the blasted earth? +See you not the thunderbolt fall, and are deafened by the shout of heaven +that follows its descent? Feel you not the earth quake and open with +agonizing groans, while the air is pregnant with shrieks and wailings,-- +all announcing the last days of man? No! none of these things accompanied +our fall! The balmy air of spring, breathed from nature's ambrosial home, +invested the lovely earth, which wakened as a young mother about to lead +forth in pride her beauteous offspring to meet their sire who had been long +absent. The buds decked the trees, the flowers adorned the land: the dark +branches, swollen with seasonable juices, expanded into leaves, and the +variegated foliage of spring, bending and singing in the breeze, rejoiced +in the genial warmth of the unclouded empyrean: the brooks flowed +murmuring, the sea was waveless, and the promontories that over-hung it +were reflected in the placid waters; birds awoke in the woods, while +abundant food for man and beast sprung up from the dark ground. Where was +pain and evil? Not in the calm air or weltering ocean; not in the woods or +fertile fields, nor among the birds that made the woods resonant with song, +nor the animals that in the midst of plenty basked in the sunshine. Our +enemy, like the Calamity of Homer, trod our hearts, and no sound was echoed +from her steps-- + + With ills the land is rife, with ills the sea, + Diseases haunt our frail humanity, + Through noon, through night, on casual wing they glide, + Silent,--a voice the power all-wise denied.[1] + +Once man was a favourite of the Creator, as the royal psalmist sang, "God +had made him a little lower than the angels, and had crowned him with glory +and honour. God made him to have dominion over the works of his hands, and +put all things under his feet." Once it was so; now is man lord of the +creation? Look at him--ha! I see plague! She has invested his form, is +incarnate in his flesh, has entwined herself with his being, and blinds his +heaven-seeking eyes. Lie down, O man, on the flower-strown earth; give up +all claim to your inheritance, all you can ever possess of it is the small +cell which the dead require. Plague is the companion of spring, of sunshine, +and plenty. We no longer struggle with her. We have forgotten what we did +when she was not. Of old navies used to stem the giant ocean-waves betwixt +Indus and the Pole for slight articles of luxury. Men made perilous +journies to possess themselves of earth's splendid trifles, gems and gold. +Human labour was wasted--human life set at nought. Now life is all that +we covet; that this automaton of flesh should, with joints and springs in +order, perform its functions, that this dwelling of the soul should be +capable of containing its dweller. Our minds, late spread abroad through +countless spheres and endless combinations of thought, now retrenched +themselves behind this wall of flesh, eager to preserve its well-being +only. We were surely sufficiently degraded. + +At first the increase of sickness in spring brought increase of toil to +such of us, who, as yet spared to life, bestowed our time and thoughts on +our fellow creatures. We nerved ourselves to the task: "in the midst of +despair we performed the tasks of hope." We went out with the resolution of +disputing with our foe. We aided the sick, and comforted the sorrowing; +turning from the multitudinous dead to the rare survivors, with an energy +of desire that bore the resemblance of power, we bade them--live. Plague +sat paramount the while, and laughed us to scorn. + +Have any of you, my readers, observed the ruins of an anthill immediately +after its destruction? At first it appears entirely deserted of its former +inhabitants; in a little time you see an ant struggling through the +upturned mould; they reappear by twos and threes, running hither and +thither in search of their lost companions. Such were we upon earth, +wondering aghast at the effects of pestilence. Our empty habitations +remained, but the dwellers were gathered to the shades of the tomb. + +As the rules of order and pressure of laws were lost, some began with +hesitation and wonder to transgress the accustomed uses of society. Palaces +were deserted, and the poor man dared at length, unreproved, intrude into +the splendid apartments, whose very furniture and decorations were an +unknown world to him. It was found, that, though at first the stop put +to all circulation of property, had reduced those before supported by the +factitious wants of society to sudden and hideous poverty, yet when the +boundaries of private possession were thrown down, the products of human +labour at present existing were more, far more, than the thinned generation +could possibly consume. To some among the poor this was matter of +exultation. We were all equal now; magnificent dwellings, luxurious +carpets, and beds of down, were afforded to all. Carriages and horses, +gardens, pictures, statues, and princely libraries, there were enough of +these even to superfluity; and there was nothing to prevent each from +assuming possession of his share. We were all equal now; but near at hand +was an equality still more levelling, a state where beauty and strength, +and wisdom, would be as vain as riches and birth. The grave yawned beneath +us all, and its prospect prevented any of us from enjoying the ease and +plenty which in so awful a manner was presented to us. + +Still the bloom did not fade on the cheeks of my babes; and Clara sprung up +in years and growth, unsullied by disease. We had no reason to think the +site of Windsor Castle peculiarly healthy, for many other families had +expired beneath its roof; we lived therefore without any particular +precaution; but we lived, it seemed, in safety. If Idris became thin and +pale, it was anxiety that occasioned the change; an anxiety I could in no +way alleviate. She never complained, but sleep and appetite fled from her, +a slow fever preyed on her veins, her colour was hectic, and she often wept +in secret; gloomy prognostications, care, and agonizing dread, ate up the +principle of life within her. I could not fail to perceive this change. I +often wished that I had permitted her to take her own course, and engage +herself in such labours for the welfare of others as might have distracted +her thoughts. But it was too late now. Besides that, with the nearly +extinct race of man, all our toils grew near a conclusion, she was too +weak; consumption, if so it might be called, or rather the over active life +within her, which, as with Adrian, spent the vital oil in the early morning +hours, deprived her limbs of strength. At night, when she could leave me +unperceived, she wandered through the house, or hung over the couches of +her children; and in the day time would sink into a perturbed sleep, while +her murmurs and starts betrayed the unquiet dreams that vexed her. As this +state of wretchedness became more confirmed, and, in spite of her +endeavours at concealment more apparent, I strove, though vainly, to awaken +in her courage and hope. I could not wonder at the vehemence of her care; +her very soul was tenderness; she trusted indeed that she should not +outlive me if I became the prey of the vast calamity, and this thought +sometimes relieved her. We had for many years trod the highway of life hand +in hand, and still thus linked, we might step within the shades of death; +but her children, her lovely, playful, animated children--beings sprung +from her own dear side--portions of her own being--depositories of our +loves--even if we died, it would be comfort to know that they ran man's +accustomed course. But it would not be so; young and blooming as they were, +they would die, and from the hopes of maturity, from the proud name of +attained manhood, they were cut off for ever. Often with maternal affection +she had figured their merits and talents exerted on life's wide stage. Alas +for these latter days! The world had grown old, and all its inmates partook +of the decrepitude. Why talk of infancy, manhood, and old age? We all stood +equal sharers of the last throes of time-worn nature. Arrived at the same +point of the world's age--there was no difference in us; the name of +parent and child had lost their meaning; young boys and girls were level +now with men. This was all true; but it was not less agonizing to take the +admonition home. + +Where could we turn, and not find a desolation pregnant with the dire +lesson of example? The fields had been left uncultivated, weeds and gaudy +flowers sprung up,--or where a few wheat-fields shewed signs of the +living hopes of the husbandman, the work had been left halfway, the +ploughman had died beside the plough; the horses had deserted the furrow, +and no seedsman had approached the dead; the cattle unattended wandered +over the fields and through the lanes; the tame inhabitants of the poultry +yard, baulked of their daily food, had become wild--young lambs were +dropt in flower-gardens, and the cow stalled in the hall of pleasure. +Sickly and few, the country people neither went out to sow nor reap; but +sauntered about the meadows, or lay under the hedges, when the inclement +sky did not drive them to take shelter under the nearest roof. Many of +those who remained, secluded themselves; some had laid up stores which +should prevent the necessity of leaving their homes;--some deserted wife +and child, and imagined that they secured their safety in utter solitude. +Such had been Ryland's plan, and he was discovered dead and half-devoured +by insects, in a house many miles from any other, with piles of food laid +up in useless superfluity. Others made long journies to unite themselves to +those they loved, and arrived to find them dead. + +London did not contain above a thousand inhabitants; and this number was +continually diminishing. Most of them were country people, come up for the +sake of change; the Londoners had sought the country. The busy eastern part +of the town was silent, or at most you saw only where, half from cupidity, +half from curiosity, the warehouses had been more ransacked than pillaged: +bales of rich India goods, shawls of price, jewels, and spices, unpacked, +strewed the floors. In some places the possessor had to the last kept watch +on his store, and died before the barred gates. The massy portals of the +churches swung creaking on their hinges; and some few lay dead on the +pavement. The wretched female, loveless victim of vulgar brutality, had +wandered to the toilet of high-born beauty, and, arraying herself in the +garb of splendour, had died before the mirror which reflected to herself +alone her altered appearance. Women whose delicate feet had seldom touched +the earth in their luxury, had fled in fright and horror from their homes, +till, losing themselves in the squalid streets of the metropolis, they had +died on the threshold of poverty. The heart sickened at the variety of +misery presented; and, when I saw a specimen of this gloomy change, my soul +ached with the fear of what might befall my beloved Idris and my babes. +Were they, surviving Adrian and myself, to find themselves protectorless in +the world? As yet the mind alone had suffered--could I for ever put off +the time, when the delicate frame and shrinking nerves of my child of +prosperity, the nursling of rank and wealth, who was my companion, should +be invaded by famine, hardship, and disease? Better die at once--better +plunge a poinard in her bosom, still untouched by drear adversity, and then +again sheathe it in my own! But, no; in times of misery we must fight +against our destinies, and strive not to be overcome by them. I would not +yield, but to the last gasp resolutely defended my dear ones against sorrow +and pain; and if I were vanquished at last, it should not be ingloriously. +I stood in the gap, resisting the enemy--the impalpable, invisible foe, +who had so long besieged us--as yet he had made no breach: it must be my +care that he should not, secretly undermining, burst up within the very +threshold of the temple of love, at whose altar I daily sacrificed. The +hunger of Death was now stung more sharply by the diminution of his food: +or was it that before, the survivors being many, the dead were less eagerly +counted? Now each life was a gem, each human breathing form of far, O! far +more worth than subtlest imagery of sculptured stone; and the daily, nay, +hourly decrease visible in our numbers, visited the heart with sickening +misery. This summer extinguished our hopes, the vessel of society was +wrecked, and the shattered raft, which carried the few survivors over the +sea of misery, was riven and tempest tost. Man existed by twos and threes; +man, the individual who might sleep, and wake, and perform the animal +functions; but man, in himself weak, yet more powerful in congregated +numbers than wind or ocean; man, the queller of the elements, the lord of +created nature, the peer of demi-gods, existed no longer. + +Farewell to the patriotic scene, to the love of liberty and well earned +meed of virtuous aspiration!--farewell to crowded senate, vocal with the +councils of the wise, whose laws were keener than the sword blade tempered +at Damascus!--farewell to kingly pomp and warlike pageantry; the crowns +are in the dust, and the wearers are in their graves!--farewell to the +desire of rule, and the hope of victory; to high vaulting ambition, to the +appetite for praise, and the craving for the suffrage of their fellows! The +nations are no longer! No senate sits in council for the dead; no scion of +a time honoured dynasty pants to rule over the inhabitants of a charnel +house; the general's hand is cold, and the soldier has his untimely grave +dug in his native fields, unhonoured, though in youth. The market-place is +empty, the candidate for popular favour finds none whom he can represent. +To chambers of painted state farewell!--To midnight revelry, and the +panting emulation of beauty, to costly dress and birth-day shew, to title +and the gilded coronet, farewell! + +Farewell to the giant powers of man,--to knowledge that could pilot the +deep-drawing bark through the opposing waters of shoreless ocean,--to +science that directed the silken balloon through the pathless air,--to +the power that could put a barrier to mighty waters, and set in motion +wheels, and beams, and vast machinery, that could divide rocks of granite +or marble, and make the mountains plain! + +Farewell to the arts,--to eloquence, which is to the human mind as the +winds to the sea, stirring, and then allaying it;--farewell to poetry and +deep philosophy, for man's imagination is cold, and his enquiring mind can +no longer expatiate on the wonders of life, for "there is no work, nor +device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest!"--to +the graceful building, which in its perfect proportion transcended the rude +forms of nature, the fretted gothic and massy saracenic pile, to the +stupendous arch and glorious dome, the fluted column with its capital, +Corinthian, Ionic, or Doric, the peristyle and fair entablature, whose +harmony of form is to the eye as musical concord to the ear!--farewell to +sculpture, where the pure marble mocks human flesh, and in the plastic +expression of the culled excellencies of the human shape, shines forth the +god!--farewell to painting, the high wrought sentiment and deep knowledge +of the artists's mind in pictured canvas--to paradisaical scenes, where +trees are ever vernal, and the ambrosial air rests in perpetual glow:--to +the stamped form of tempest, and wildest uproar of universal nature encaged +in the narrow frame, O farewell! Farewell to music, and the sound of song; +to the marriage of instruments, where the concord of soft and harsh unites +in sweet harmony, and gives wings to the panting listeners, whereby to +climb heaven, and learn the hidden pleasures of the eternals!--Farewell +to the well-trod stage; a truer tragedy is enacted on the world's ample +scene, that puts to shame mimic grief: to high-bred comedy, and the low +buffoon, farewell!--Man may laugh no more. Alas! to enumerate the +adornments of humanity, shews, by what we have lost, how supremely great +man was. It is all over now. He is solitary; like our first parents +expelled from Paradise, he looks back towards the scene he has quitted. The +high walls of the tomb, and the flaming sword of plague, lie between it and +him. Like to our first parents, the whole earth is before him, a wide +desart. Unsupported and weak, let him wander through fields where the +unreaped corn stands in barren plenty, through copses planted by his +fathers, through towns built for his use. Posterity is no more; fame, and +ambition, and love, are words void of meaning; even as the cattle that +grazes in the field, do thou, O deserted one, lie down at evening-tide, +unknowing of the past, careless of the future, for from such fond ignorance +alone canst thou hope for ease! + +Joy paints with its own colours every act and thought. The happy do not +feel poverty--for delight is as a gold-tissued robe, and crowns them with +priceless gems. Enjoyment plays the cook to their homely fare, and mingles +intoxication with their simple drink. Joy strews the hard couch with roses, +and makes labour ease. + +Sorrow doubles the burthen to the bent-down back; plants thorns in the +unyielding pillow; mingles gall with water; adds saltness to their bitter +bread; cloathing them in rags, and strewing ashes on their bare heads. To +our irremediable distress every small and pelting inconvenience came with +added force; we had strung our frames to endure the Atlean weight thrown on +us; we sank beneath the added feather chance threw on us, "the grasshopper +was a burthen." Many of the survivors had been bred in luxury--their +servants were gone, their powers of command vanished like unreal shadows: +the poor even suffered various privations; and the idea of another winter +like the last, brought affright to our minds. Was it not enough that we +must die, but toil must be added?--must we prepare our funeral repast +with labour, and with unseemly drudgery heap fuel on our deserted hearths +--must we with servile hands fabricate the garments, soon to be our +shroud? + +Not so! We are presently to die, let us then enjoy to its full relish the +remnant of our lives. Sordid care, avaunt! menial labours, and pains, +slight in themselves, but too gigantic for our exhausted strength, shall +make no part of our ephemeral existences. In the beginning of time, when, +as now, man lived by families, and not by tribes or nations, they were +placed in a genial clime, where earth fed them untilled, and the balmy air +enwrapt their reposing limbs with warmth more pleasant than beds of down. +The south is the native place of the human race; the land of fruits, more +grateful to man than the hard-earned Ceres of the north,--of trees, whose +boughs are as a palace-roof, of couches of roses, and of the +thirst-appeasing grape. We need not there fear cold and hunger. + +Look at England! the grass shoots up high in the meadows; but they are dank +and cold, unfit bed for us. Corn we have none, and the crude fruits cannot +support us. We must seek firing in the bowels of the earth, or the unkind +atmosphere will fill us with rheums and aches. The labour of hundreds of +thousands alone could make this inclement nook fit habitation for one man. +To the south then, to the sun!--where nature is kind, where Jove has +showered forth the contents of Amalthea's horn, and earth is garden. + +England, late birth-place of excellence and school of the wise, thy +children are gone, thy glory faded! Thou, England, wert the triumph of man! +Small favour was shewn thee by thy Creator, thou Isle of the North; a +ragged canvas naturally, painted by man with alien colours; but the hues he +gave are faded, never more to be renewed. So we must leave thee, thou +marvel of the world; we must bid farewell to thy clouds, and cold, and +scarcity for ever! Thy manly hearts are still; thy tale of power and +liberty at its close! Bereft of man, O little isle! the ocean waves will +buffet thee, and the raven flap his wings over thee; thy soil will be +birth-place of weeds, thy sky will canopy barrenness. It was not for the +rose of Persia thou wert famous, nor the banana of the east; not for the +spicy gales of India, nor the sugar groves of America; not for thy vines +nor thy double harvests, nor for thy vernal airs, nor solstitial sun--but +for thy children, their unwearied industry and lofty aspiration. They are +gone, and thou goest with them the oft trodden path that leads to oblivion, +-- + + Farewell, sad Isle, farewell, thy fatal glory + Is summed, cast up, and cancelled in this story.[2] + +[1] Elton's translation of Hesiod. +[2] Cleveland's Poems. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +IN the autumn of this year 2096, the spirit of emigration crept in among +the few survivors, who, congregating from various parts of England, met in +London. This spirit existed as a breath, a wish, a far off thought, until +communicated to Adrian, who imbibed it with ardour, and instantly engaged +himself in plans for its execution. The fear of immediate death vanished +with the heats of September. Another winter was before us, and we might +elect our mode of passing it to the best advantage. Perhaps in rational +philosophy none could be better chosen than this scheme of migration, which +would draw us from the immediate scene of our woe, and, leading us through +pleasant and picturesque countries, amuse for a time our despair. The idea +once broached, all were impatient to put it in execution. + +We were still at Windsor; our renewed hopes medicined the anguish we had +suffered from the late tragedies. The death of many of our inmates had +weaned us from the fond idea, that Windsor Castle was a spot sacred from +the plague; but our lease of life was renewed for some months, and even +Idris lifted her head, as a lily after a storm, when a last sunbeam tinges +its silver cup. Just at this time Adrian came down to us; his eager looks +shewed us that he was full of some scheme. He hastened to take me aside, +and disclosed to me with rapidity his plan of emigration from England. + +To leave England for ever! to turn from its polluted fields and groves, +and, placing the sea between us, to quit it, as a sailor quits the rock on +which he has been wrecked, when the saving ship rides by. Such was his +plan. + +To leave the country of our fathers, made holy by their graves!--We could +not feel even as a voluntary exile of old, who might for pleasure or +convenience forsake his native soil; though thousands of miles might divide +him, England was still a part of him, as he of her. He heard of the passing +events of the day; he knew that, if he returned, and resumed his place in +society, the entrance was still open, and it required but the will, to +surround himself at once with the associations and habits of boyhood. Not +so with us, the remnant. We left none to represent us, none to repeople the +desart land, and the name of England died, when we left her, + + In vagabond pursuit of dreadful safety. + +Yet let us go! England is in her shroud,--we may not enchain ourselves to +a corpse. Let us go--the world is our country now, and we will choose for +our residence its most fertile spot. Shall we, in these desart halls, under +this wintry sky, sit with closed eyes and folded hands, expecting death? +Let us rather go out to meet it gallantly: or perhaps--for all this +pendulous orb, this fair gem in the sky's diadem, is not surely +plague-striken--perhaps, in some secluded nook, amidst eternal spring, +and waving trees, and purling streams, we may find Life. The world is vast, +and England, though her many fields and wide spread woods seem +interminable, is but a small part of her. At the close of a day's march +over high mountains and through snowy vallies, we may come upon health, and +committing our loved ones to its charge, replant the uprooted tree of +humanity, and send to late posterity the tale of the ante-pestilential +race, the heroes and sages of the lost state of things. + +Hope beckons and sorrow urges us, the heart beats high with expectation, +and this eager desire of change must be an omen of success. O come! +Farewell to the dead! farewell to the tombs of those we loved!--farewell +to giant London and the placid Thames, to river and mountain or fair +district, birth-place of the wise and good, to Windsor Forest and its +antique castle, farewell! themes for story alone are they,--we must live +elsewhere. + +Such were in part the arguments of Adrian, uttered with enthusiasm and +unanswerable rapidity. Something more was in his heart, to which he dared +not give words. He felt that the end of time was come; he knew that one by +one we should dwindle into nothingness. It was not adviseable to wait this +sad consummation in our native country; but travelling would give us our +object for each day, that would distract our thoughts from the +swift-approaching end of things. If we went to Italy, to sacred and eternal +Rome, we might with greater patience submit to the decree, which had laid +her mighty towers low. We might lose our selfish grief in the sublime +aspect of its desolation. All this was in the mind of Adrian; but he +thought of my children, and, instead of communicating to me these resources +of despair, he called up the image of health and life to be found, where we +knew not--when we knew not; but if never to be found, for ever and for +ever to be sought. He won me over to his party, heart and soul. + +It devolved on me to disclose our plan to Idris. The images of health and +hope which I presented to her, made her with a smile consent. With a smile +she agreed to leave her country, from which she had never before been +absent, and the spot she had inhabited from infancy; the forest and its +mighty trees, the woodland paths and green recesses, where she had played +in childhood, and had lived so happily through youth; she would leave them +without regret, for she hoped to purchase thus the lives of her children. +They were her life; dearer than a spot consecrated to love, dearer than all +else the earth contained. The boys heard with childish glee of our removal: +Clara asked if we were to go to Athens. "It is possible," I replied; and +her countenance became radiant with pleasure. There she would behold the +tomb of her parents, and the territory filled with recollections of her +father's glory. In silence, but without respite, she had brooded over these +scenes. It was the recollection of them that had turned her infant gaiety +to seriousness, and had impressed her with high and restless thoughts. + +There were many dear friends whom we must not leave behind, humble though +they were. There was the spirited and obedient steed which Lord Raymond had +given his daughter; there was Alfred's dog and a pet eagle, whose sight was +dimmed through age. But this catalogue of favourites to be taken with us, +could not be made without grief to think of our heavy losses, and a deep +sigh for the many things we must leave behind. The tears rushed into the +eyes of Idris, while Alfred and Evelyn brought now a favourite rose tree, +now a marble vase beautifully carved, insisting that these must go, and +exclaiming on the pity that we could not take the castle and the forest, +the deer and the birds, and all accustomed and cherished objects along with +us. "Fond and foolish ones," I said, "we have lost for ever treasures far +more precious than these; and we desert them, to preserve treasures to +which in comparison they are nothing. Let us not for a moment forget our +object and our hope; and they will form a resistless mound to stop the +overflowing of our regret for trifles." + +The children were easily distracted, and again returned to their prospect +of future amusement. Idris had disappeared. She had gone to hide her +weakness; escaping from the castle, she had descended to the little park, +and sought solitude, that she might there indulge her tears; I found her +clinging round an old oak, pressing its rough trunk with her roseate lips, +as her tears fell plenteously, and her sobs and broken exclamations could +not be suppressed; with surpassing grief I beheld this loved one of my +heart thus lost in sorrow! I drew her towards me; and, as she felt my +kisses on her eyelids, as she felt my arms press her, she revived to the +knowledge of what remained to her. "You are very kind not to reproach me," +she said: "I weep, and a bitter pang of intolerable sorrow tears my heart. +And yet I am happy; mothers lament their children, wives lose their +husbands, while you and my children are left to me. Yes, I am happy, most +happy, that I can weep thus for imaginary sorrows, and that the slight loss +of my adored country is not dwindled and annihilated in mightier misery. +Take me where you will; where you and my children are, there shall be +Windsor, and every country will be England to me. Let these tears flow not +for myself, happy and ungrateful as I am, but for the dead world--for our +lost country--for all of love, and life, and joy, now choked in the dusty +chambers of death." + +She spoke quickly, as if to convince herself; she turned her eyes from the +trees and forest-paths she loved; she hid her face in my bosom, and we-- +yes, my masculine firmness dissolved--we wept together consolatory tears, +and then calm--nay, almost cheerful, we returned to the castle. + +The first cold weather of an English October, made us hasten our +preparations. I persuaded Idris to go up to London, where she might better +attend to necessary arrangements. I did not tell her, that to spare her the +pang of parting from inanimate objects, now the only things left, I had +resolved that we should none of us return to Windsor. For the last time we +looked on the wide extent of country visible from the terrace, and saw the +last rays of the sun tinge the dark masses of wood variegated by autumnal +tints; the uncultivated fields and smokeless cottages lay in shadow below; +the Thames wound through the wide plain, and the venerable pile of Eton +college, stood in dark relief, a prominent object; the cawing of the myriad +rooks which inhabited the trees of the little park, as in column or thick +wedge they speeded to their nests, disturbed the silence of evening. Nature +was the same, as when she was the kind mother of the human race; now, +childless and forlorn, her fertility was a mockery; her loveliness a mask +for deformity. Why should the breeze gently stir the trees, man felt not +its refreshment? Why did dark night adorn herself with stars--man saw +them not? Why are there fruits, or flowers, or streams, man is not here to +enjoy them? + +Idris stood beside me, her dear hand locked in mine. Her face was radiant +with a smile.--"The sun is alone," she said, "but we are not. A strange +star, my Lionel, ruled our birth; sadly and with dismay we may look upon +the annihilation of man; but we remain for each other. Did I ever in the +wide world seek other than thee? And since in the wide world thou +remainest, why should I complain? Thou and nature are still true to me. +Beneath the shades of night, and through the day, whose garish light +displays our solitude, thou wilt still be at my side, and even Windsor will +not be regretted." + +I had chosen night time for our journey to London, that the change and +desolation of the country might be the less observable. Our only surviving +servant drove us. We past down the steep hill, and entered the dusky avenue +of the Long Walk. At times like these, minute circumstances assume giant +and majestic proportions; the very swinging open of the white gate that +admitted us into the forest, arrested my thoughts as matter of interest; it +was an every day act, never to occur again! The setting crescent of the +moon glittered through the massy trees to our right, and when we entered +the park, we scared a troop of deer, that fled bounding away in the forest +shades. Our two boys quietly slept; once, before our road turned from the +view, I looked back on the castle. Its windows glistened in the moonshine, +and its heavy outline lay in a dark mass against the sky--the trees near +us waved a solemn dirge to the midnight breeze. Idris leaned back in the +carriage; her two hands pressed mine, her countenance was placid, she +seemed to lose the sense of what she now left, in the memory of what she +still possessed. + +My thoughts were sad and solemn, yet not of unmingled pain. The very excess +of our misery carried a relief with it, giving sublimity and elevation to +sorrow. I felt that I carried with me those I best loved; I was pleased, +after a long separation to rejoin Adrian; never again to part. I felt that +I quitted what I loved, not what loved me. The castle walls, and long +familiar trees, did not hear the parting sound of our carriage-wheels with +regret. And, while I felt Idris to be near, and heard the regular breathing +of my children, I could not be unhappy. Clara was greatly moved; with +streaming eyes, suppressing her sobs, she leaned from the window, watching +the last glimpse of her native Windsor. + +Adrian welcomed us on our arrival. He was all animation; you could no +longer trace in his look of health, the suffering valetudinarian; from his +smile and sprightly tones you could not guess that he was about to lead +forth from their native country, the numbered remnant of the English +nation, into the tenantless realms of the south, there to die, one by one, +till the LAST MAN should remain in a voiceless, empty world. + +Adrian was impatient for our departure, and had advanced far in his +preparations. His wisdom guided all. His care was the soul, to move the +luckless crowd, who relied wholly on him. It was useless to provide many +things, for we should find abundant provision in every town. It was +Adrian's wish to prevent all labour; to bestow a festive appearance on this +funeral train. Our numbers amounted to not quite two thousand persons. +These were not all assembled in London, but each day witnessed the arrival +of fresh numbers, and those who resided in the neighbouring towns, had +received orders to assemble at one place, on the twentieth of November. +Carriages and horses were provided for all; captains and under officers +chosen, and the whole assemblage wisely organized. All obeyed the Lord +Protector of dying England; all looked up to him. His council was chosen, +it consisted of about fifty persons. Distinction and station were not the +qualifications of their election. We had no station among us, but that +which benevolence and prudence gave; no distinction save between the living +and the dead. Although we were anxious to leave England before the depth of +winter, yet we were detained. Small parties had been dispatched to various +parts of England, in search of stragglers; we would not go, until we had +assured ourselves that in all human probability we did not leave behind a +single human being. + +On our arrival in London, we found that the aged Countess of Windsor was +residing with her son in the palace of the Protectorate; we repaired to our +accustomed abode near Hyde Park. Idris now for the first time for many +years saw her mother, anxious to assure herself that the childishness of +old age did not mingle with unforgotten pride, to make this high-born dame +still so inveterate against me. Age and care had furrowed her cheeks, and +bent her form; but her eye was still bright, her manners authoritative and +unchanged; she received her daughter coldly, but displayed more feeling as +she folded her grand-children in her arms. It is our nature to wish to +continue our systems and thoughts to posterity through our own offspring. +The Countess had failed in this design with regard to her children; perhaps +she hoped to find the next remove in birth more tractable. Once Idris named +me casually--a frown, a convulsive gesture of anger, shook her mother, +and, with voice trembling with hate, she said--"I am of little worth in +this world; the young are impatient to push the old off the scene; but, +Idris, if you do not wish to see your mother expire at your feet, never +again name that person to me; all else I can bear; and now I am resigned to +the destruction of my cherished hopes: but it is too much to require that I +should love the instrument that providence gifted with murderous properties +for my destruction." + +This was a strange speech, now that, on the empty stage, each might play +his part without impediment from the other. But the haughty Ex-Queen +thought as Octavius Caesar and Mark Antony, + + We could not stall together + In the whole world. + +The period of our departure was fixed for the twenty-fifth of November. The +weather was temperate; soft rains fell at night, and by day the wintry sun +shone out. Our numbers were to move forward in separate parties, and to go +by different routes, all to unite at last at Paris. Adrian and his +division, consisting in all of five hundred persons, were to take the +direction of Dover and Calais. On the twentieth of November, Adrian and I +rode for the last time through the streets of London. They were grass-grown +and desert. The open doors of the empty mansions creaked upon their hinges; +rank herbage, and deforming dirt, had swiftly accumulated on the steps of +the houses; the voiceless steeples of the churches pierced the smokeless +air; the churches were open, but no prayer was offered at the altars; +mildew and damp had already defaced their ornaments; birds, and tame +animals, now homeless, had built nests, and made their lairs in consecrated +spots. We passed St. Paul's. London, which had extended so far in suburbs +in all direction, had been somewhat deserted in the midst, and much of what +had in former days obscured this vast building was removed. Its ponderous +mass, blackened stone, and high dome, made it look, not like a temple, but +a tomb. Methought above the portico was engraved the Hic jacet of England. +We passed on eastwards, engaged in such solemn talk as the times inspired. +No human step was heard, nor human form discerned. Troops of dogs, deserted +of their masters, passed us; and now and then a horse, unbridled and +unsaddled, trotted towards us, and tried to attract the attention of those +which we rode, as if to allure them to seek like liberty. An unwieldy ox, +who had fed in an abandoned granary, suddenly lowed, and shewed his +shapeless form in a narrow door-way; every thing was desert; but nothing +was in ruin. And this medley of undamaged buildings, and luxurious +accommodation, in trim and fresh youth, was contrasted with the lonely +silence of the unpeopled streets. + +Night closed in, and it began to rain. We were about to return homewards, +when a voice, a human voice, strange now to hear, attracted our attention. +It was a child singing a merry, lightsome air; there was no other sound. We +had traversed London from Hyde Park even to where we now were in the +Minories, and had met no person, heard no voice nor footstep. The singing +was interrupted by laughing and talking; never was merry ditty so sadly +timed, never laughter more akin to tears. The door of the house from which +these sounds proceeded was open, the upper rooms were illuminated as for a +feast. It was a large magnificent house, in which doubtless some rich +merchant had lived. The singing again commenced, and rang through the +high-roofed rooms, while we silently ascended the stair-case. Lights now +appeared to guide us; and a long suite of splendid rooms illuminated, made +us still more wonder. Their only inhabitant, a little girl, was dancing, +waltzing, and singing about them, followed by a large Newfoundland dog, who +boisterously jumping on her, and interrupting her, made her now scold, now +laugh, now throw herself on the carpet to play with him. She was dressed +grotesquely, in glittering robes and shawls fit for a woman; she appeared +about ten years of age. We stood at the door looking on this strange scene, +till the dog perceiving us barked loudly; the child turned and saw us: her +face, losing its gaiety, assumed a sullen expression: she slunk back, +apparently meditating an escape. I came up to her, and held her hand; she +did not resist, but with a stern brow, so strange in childhood, so +different from her former hilarity, she stood still, her eyes fixed on the +ground. "What do you do here?" I said gently; "Who are you?"--she was +silent, but trembled violently.--"My poor child," asked Adrian, "are you +alone?" There was a winning softness in his voice, that went to the heart +of the little girl; she looked at him, then snatching her hand from me, +threw herself into his arms, clinging round his neck, ejaculating--"Save +me! save me!" while her unnatural sullenness dissolved in tears. + +"I will save you," he replied, "of what are you afraid? you need not fear +my friend, he will do you no harm. Are you alone?" + +"No, Lion is with me." + +"And your father and mother?--" + +"I never had any; I am a charity girl. Every body is gone, gone for a +great, great many days; but if they come back and find me out, they will +beat me so!" + +Her unhappy story was told in these few words: an orphan, taken on +pretended charity, ill-treated and reviled, her oppressors had died: +unknowing of what had passed around her, she found herself alone; she had +not dared venture out, but by the continuance of her solitude her courage +revived, her childish vivacity caused her to play a thousand freaks, and +with her brute companion she passed a long holiday, fearing nothing but the +return of the harsh voices and cruel usage of her protectors. She readily +consented to go with Adrian. + +In the mean time, while we descanted on alien sorrows, and on a solitude +which struck our eyes and not our hearts, while we imagined all of change +and suffering that had intervened in these once thronged streets, before, +tenantless and abandoned, they became mere kennels for dogs, and stables +for cattle:--while we read the death of the world upon the dark fane, and +hugged ourselves in the remembrance that we possessed that which was all +the world to us--in the meanwhile--- + +We had arrived from Windsor early in October, and had now been in London +about six weeks. Day by day, during that time, the health of my Idris +declined: her heart was broken; neither sleep nor appetite, the chosen +servants of health, waited on her wasted form. To watch her children hour +by hour, to sit by me, drinking deep the dear persuasion that I remained to +her, was all her pastime. Her vivacity, so long assumed, her affectionate +display of cheerfulness, her light-hearted tone and springy gait were gone. +I could not disguise to myself, nor could she conceal, her life-consuming +sorrow. Still change of scene, and reviving hopes might restore her; I +feared the plague only, and she was untouched by that. + +I had left her this evening, reposing after the fatigues of her +preparations. Clara sat beside her, relating a story to the two boys. The +eyes of Idris were closed: but Clara perceived a sudden change in the +appearance of our eldest darling; his heavy lids veiled his eyes, an +unnatural colour burnt in his cheeks, his breath became short. Clara looked +at the mother; she slept, yet started at the pause the narrator made-- +Fear of awakening and alarming her, caused Clara to go on at the eager call +of Evelyn, who was unaware of what was passing. Her eyes turned alternately +from Alfred to Idris; with trembling accents she continued her tale, till +she saw the child about to fall: starting forward she caught him, and her +cry roused Idris. She looked on her son. She saw death stealing across his +features; she laid him on a bed, she held drink to his parched lips. + +Yet he might be saved. If I were there, he might be saved; perhaps it was +not the plague. Without a counsellor, what could she do? stay and behold +him die! Why at that moment was I away? "Look to him, Clara," she +exclaimed, "I will return immediately." + +She inquired among those who, selected as the companions of our journey, +had taken up their residence in our house; she heard from them merely that +I had gone out with Adrian. She entreated them to seek me: she returned to +her child, he was plunged in a frightful state of torpor; again she rushed +down stairs; all was dark, desert, and silent; she lost all +self-possession; she ran into the street; she called on my name. The +pattering rain and howling wind alone replied to her. Wild fear gave wings +to her feet; she darted forward to seek me, she knew not where; but, +putting all her thoughts, all her energy, all her being in speed only, most +misdirected speed, she neither felt, nor feared, nor paused, but ran right +on, till her strength suddenly deserted her so suddenly, that she had not +thought to save herself. Her knees failed her, and she fell heavily on the +pavement. She was stunned for a time; but at length rose, and though sorely +hurt, still walked on, shedding a fountain of tears, stumbling at times, +going she knew not whither, only now and then with feeble voice she called +my name, adding with heart-piercing exclamations, that I was cruel and +unkind. Human being there was none to reply; and the inclemency of the +night had driven the wandering animals to the habitations they had usurped. +Her thin dress was drenched with rain; her wet hair clung round her neck; +she tottered through the dark streets; till, striking her foot against an +unseen impediment, she again fell; she could not rise; she hardly strove; +but, gathering up her limbs, she resigned herself to the fury of the +elements, and the bitter grief of her own heart. She breathed an earnest +prayer to die speedily, for there was no relief but death. While hopeless +of safety for herself, she ceased to lament for her dying child, but shed +kindly, bitter tears for the grief I should experience in losing her. While +she lay, life almost suspended, she felt a warm, soft hand on her brow, and +a gentle female voice asked her, with expressions of tender compassion, if +she could not rise? That another human being, sympathetic and kind, should +exist near, roused her; half rising, with clasped hands, and fresh +springing tears, she entreated her companion to seek for me, to bid me +hasten to my dying child, to save him, for the love of heaven, to save +him! + +The woman raised her; she led her under shelter, she entreated her to +return to her home, whither perhaps I had already returned. Idris easily +yielded to her persuasions, she leaned on the arm of her friend, she +endeavoured to walk on, but irresistible faintness made her pause again and +again. + +Quickened by the encreasing storm, we had hastened our return, our little +charge was placed before Adrian on his horse. There was an assemblage of +persons under the portico of our house, in whose gestures I instinctively +read some heavy change, some new misfortune. With swift alarm, afraid to +ask a single question, I leapt from my horse; the spectators saw me, knew +me, and in awful silence divided to make way for me. I snatched a light, +and rushing up stairs, and hearing a groan, without reflection I threw open +the door of the first room that presented itself. It was quite dark; but, +as I stept within, a pernicious scent assailed my senses, producing +sickening qualms, which made their way to my very heart, while I felt my +leg clasped, and a groan repeated by the person that held me. I lowered my +lamp, and saw a negro half clad, writhing under the agony of disease, while +he held me with a convulsive grasp. With mixed horror and impatience I +strove to disengage myself, and fell on the sufferer; he wound his naked +festering arms round me, his face was close to mine, and his breath, +death-laden, entered my vitals. For a moment I was overcome, my head was +bowed by aching nausea; till, reflection returning, I sprung up, threw the +wretch from me, and darting up the staircase, entered the chamber usually +inhabited by my family. A dim light shewed me Alfred on a couch; Clara +trembling, and paler than whitest snow, had raised him on her arm, holding +a cup of water to his lips. I saw full well that no spark of life existed +in that ruined form, his features were rigid, his eyes glazed, his head had +fallen back. I took him from her, I laid him softly down, kissed his cold +little mouth, and turned to speak in a vain whisper, when loudest sound of +thunderlike cannon could not have reached him in his immaterial abode. + +And where was Idris? That she had gone out to seek me, and had not +returned, were fearful tidings, while the rain and driving wind clattered +against the window, and roared round the house. Added to this, the +sickening sensation of disease gained upon me; no time was to be lost, if +ever I would see her again. I mounted my horse and rode out to seek her, +fancying that I heard her voice in every gust, oppressed by fever and +aching pain. + +I rode in the dark and rain through the labyrinthine streets of unpeopled +London. My child lay dead at home; the seeds of mortal disease had taken +root in my bosom; I went to seek Idris, my adored, now wandering alone, +while the waters were rushing from heaven like a cataract to bathe her dear +head in chill damp, her fair limbs in numbing cold. A female stood on the +step of a door, and called to me as I gallopped past. It was not Idris; so +I rode swiftly on, until a kind of second sight, a reflection back again on +my senses of what I had seen but not marked, made me feel sure that another +figure, thin, graceful and tall, stood clinging to the foremost person who +supported her. In a minute I was beside the suppliant, in a minute I +received the sinking Idris in my arms. Lifting her up, I placed her on the +horse; she had not strength to support herself; so I mounted +behind her, and held her close to my bosom, wrapping my riding-cloak round +her, while her companion, whose well known, but changed countenance, (it +was Juliet, daughter of the Duke of L---) could at this moment of horror +obtain from me no more than a passing glance of compassion. She took the +abandoned rein, and conducted our obedient steed homewards. Dare I avouch +it? That was the last moment of my happiness; but I was happy. Idris must +die, for her heart was broken: I must die, for I had caught the plague; +earth was a scene of desolation; hope was madness; life had married death; +they were one; but, thus supporting my fainting love, thus feeling that I +must soon die, I revelled in the delight of possessing her once more; again +and again I kissed her, and pressed her to my heart. + +We arrived at our home. I assisted her to dismount, I carried her up +stairs, and gave her into Clara's care, that her wet garments might be +changed. Briefly I assured Adrian of her safety, and requested that we +might be left to repose. As the miser, who with trembling caution visits +his treasure to count it again and again, so I numbered each moment, and +grudged every one that was not spent with Idris. I returned swiftly to the +chamber where the life of my life reposed; before I entered the room I +paused for a few seconds; for a few seconds I tried to examine my state; +sickness and shuddering ever and anon came over me; my head was heavy, my +chest oppressed, my legs bent under me; but I threw off resolutely the +swift growing symptoms of my disorder, and met Idris with placid and even +joyous looks. She was lying on a couch; carefully fastening the door to +prevent all intrusion; I sat by her, we embraced, and our lips met in a +kiss long drawn and breathless--would that moment had been my last! + +Maternal feeling now awoke in my poor girl's bosom, and she asked: "And +Alfred?" + +"Idris," I replied, "we are spared to each other, we are together; +do not let any other idea intrude. I am happy; even on this fatal night, I +declare myself happy, beyond all name, all thought--what would you more, +sweet one?" + +Idris understood me: she bowed her head on my shoulder and wept. "Why," she +again asked, "do you tremble, Lionel, what shakes you thus?" + +"Well may I be shaken," I replied, "happy as I am. Our child is dead, and +the present hour is dark and ominous. Well may I tremble! but, I am happy, +mine own Idris, most happy." + +"I understand thee, my kind love," said Idris, "thus--pale as thou art +with sorrow at our loss; trembling and aghast, though wouldest assuage my +grief by thy dear assurances. I am not happy," (and the tears flashed and +fell from under her down-cast lids), "for we are inmates of a miserable +prison, and there is no joy for us; but the true love I bear you will +render this and every other loss endurable." + +"We have been happy together, at least," I said; "no future misery can +deprive us of the past. We have been true to each other for years, ever +since my sweet princess-love came through the snow to the lowly cottage +of the poverty-striken heir of the ruined Verney. Even now, that eternity +is before us, we take hope only from the presence of each other. Idris, +do you think, that when we die, we shall be divided?" + +"Die! when we die! what mean you? What secret lies hid from me in those +dreadful words?" + +"Must we not all die, dearest?" I asked with a sad smile. + +"Gracious God! are you ill, Lionel, that you speak of death? My only +friend, heart of my heart, speak!" + +"I do not think," replied I, "that we have any of us long to live; and when +the curtain drops on this mortal scene, where, think you, we shall find +ourselves?" Idris was calmed by my unembarrassed tone and look; she +answered:--"You may easily believe that during this long progress of the +plague, I have thought much on death, and asked myself, now that all +mankind is dead to this life, to what other life they may have been borne. +Hour after hour, I have dwelt on these thoughts, and strove to form a +rational conclusion concerning the mystery of a future state. What a +scare-crow, indeed, would death be, if we were merely to cast aside the +shadow in which we now walk, and, stepping forth into the unclouded +sunshine of knowledge and love, revived with the same companions, the same +affections, and reached the fulfilment of our hopes, leaving our fears with +our earthly vesture in the grave. Alas! the same strong feeling which makes +me sure that I shall not wholly die, makes me refuse to believe that I +shall live wholly as I do now. Yet, Lionel, never, never, can I love any +but you; through eternity I must desire your society; and, as I am innocent +of harm to others, and as relying and confident as my mortal nature +permits, I trust that the Ruler of the world will never tear us asunder." + +"Your remarks are like yourself, dear love," replied I, "gentle and good; +let us cherish such a belief, and dismiss anxiety from our minds. But, +sweet, we are so formed, (and there is no sin, if God made our nature, to +yield to what he ordains), we are so formed, that we must love life, and +cling to it; we must love the living smile, the sympathetic touch, and +thrilling voice, peculiar to our mortal mechanism. Let us not, through +security in hereafter, neglect the present. This present moment, short as +it is, is a part of eternity, and the dearest part, since it is our own +unalienably. Thou, the hope of my futurity, art my present joy. Let me then +look on thy dear eyes, and, reading love in them, drink intoxicating +pleasure." + +Timidly, for my vehemence somewhat terrified her, Idris looked on me. My +eyes were bloodshot, starting from my head; every artery beat, methought, +audibly, every muscle throbbed, each single nerve felt. Her look of wild +affright told me, that I could no longer keep my secret:--"So it is, mine +own beloved," I said, "the last hour of many happy ones is arrived, nor can +we shun any longer the inevitable destiny. I cannot live long--but, again +and again, I say, this moment is ours!" + +Paler than marble, with white lips and convulsed features, Idris became +aware of my situation. My arm, as I sat, encircled her waist. She felt the +palm burn with fever, even on the heart it pressed:--"One moment," she +murmured, scarce audibly, "only one moment."-- + +She kneeled, and hiding her face in her hands, uttered a brief, but earnest +prayer, that she might fulfil her duty, and watch over me to the last. +While there was hope, the agony had been unendurable;--all was now +concluded; her feelings became solemn and calm. Even as Epicharis, +unperturbed and firm, submitted to the instruments of torture, did Idris, +suppressing every sigh and sign of grief, enter upon the endurance of +torments, of which the rack and the wheel are but faint and metaphysical +symbols. + +I was changed; the tight-drawn cord that sounded so harshly was loosened, +the moment that Idris participated in my knowledge of our real situation. +The perturbed and passion-tossed waves of thought subsided, leaving only +the heavy swell that kept right on without any outward manifestation of its +disturbance, till it should break on the remote shore towards which I +rapidly advanced:--"It is true that I am sick," I said, "and your +society, my Idris is my only medicine; come, and sit beside me." + +She made me lie down on the couch, and, drawing a low ottoman near, sat +close to my pillow, pressing my burning hands in her cold palms. She +yielded to my feverish restlessness, and let me talk, and talked to me, on +subjects strange indeed to beings, who thus looked the last, and heard the +last, of what they loved alone in the world. We talked of times gone by; of +the happy period of our early love; of Raymond, Perdita, and Evadne. We +talked of what might arise on this desert earth, if, two or three being +saved, it were slowly re-peopled.--We talked of what was beyond the tomb; +and, man in his human shape being nearly extinct, we felt with certainty of +faith, that other spirits, other minds, other perceptive beings, sightless +to us, must people with thought and love this beauteous and imperishable +universe. + +We talked--I know not how long--but, in the morning I awoke from a +painful heavy slumber; the pale cheek of Idris rested on my pillow; the +large orbs of her eyes half raised the lids, and shewed the deep blue +lights beneath; her lips were unclosed, and the slight murmurs they formed +told that, even while asleep, she suffered. "If she were dead," I thought, +"what difference? now that form is the temple of a residing deity; those +eyes are the windows of her soul; all grace, love, and intelligence are +throned on that lovely bosom--were she dead, where would this mind, the +dearer half of mine, be? For quickly the fair proportion of this edifice +would be more defaced, than are the sand-choked ruins of the desert temples +of Palmyra." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +IDRIS stirred and awoke; alas! she awoke to misery. She saw the signs of +disease on my countenance, and wondered how she could permit the long night +to pass without her having sought, not cure, that was impossible, but +alleviation to my sufferings. She called Adrian; my couch was quickly +surrounded by friends and assistants, and such medicines as were judged +fitting were administered. It was the peculiar and dreadful distinction of +our visitation, that none who had been attacked by the pestilence had +recovered. The first symptom of the disease was the death-warrant, which in +no single instance had been followed by pardon or reprieve. No gleam of +hope therefore cheered my friends. + +While fever producing torpor, heavy pains, sitting like lead on my limbs, +and making my breast heave, were upon me; I continued insensible to every +thing but pain, and at last even to that. I awoke on the fourth morning as +from a dreamless sleep. An irritating sense of thirst, and, when I strove +to speak or move, an entire dereliction of power, was all I felt. + +For three days and nights Idris had not moved from my side. She +administered to all my wants, and never slept nor rested. She did not hope; +and therefore she neither endeavoured to read the physician's countenance, +nor to watch for symptoms of recovery. All her thought was to attend on me +to the last, and then to lie down and die beside me. On the third night +animation was suspended; to the eye and touch of all I was dead. With +earnest prayer, almost with force, Adrian tried to draw Idris from me. He +exhausted every adjuration, her child's welfare and his own. She shook her +head, and wiped a stealing tear from her sunk cheek, but would not yield; +she entreated to be allowed to watch me that one night only, with such +affliction and meek earnestness, that she gained her point, and sat silent +and motionless, except when, stung by intolerable remembrance, she kissed +my closed eyes and pallid lips, and pressed my stiffening hands to her +beating heart. + +At dead of night, when, though it was mid winter, the cock crowed at three +o'clock, as herald of the morning change, while hanging over me, and +mourning in silent, bitter thought for the loss of all of love towards her +that had been enshrined in my heart; her dishevelled hair hung over her +face, and the long tresses fell on the bed; she saw one ringlet in motion, +and the scattered hair slightly stirred, as by a breath. It is not so, she +thought, for he will never breathe more. Several times the same thing +occurred, and she only marked it by the same reflection; till the whole +ringlet waved back, and she thought she saw my breast heave. Her first +emotion was deadly fear, cold dew stood on her brow; my eyes half opened; +and, re-assured, she would have exclaimed, "He lives!" but the words were +choked by a spasm, and she fell with a groan on the floor. + +Adrian was in the chamber. After long watching, he had unwillingly fallen +into a sleep. He started up, and beheld his sister senseless on the earth, +weltering in a stream of blood that gushed from her mouth. Encreasing signs +of life in me in some degree explained her state; the surprise, the burst +of joy, the revulsion of every sentiment, had been too much for her frame, +worn by long months of care, late shattered by every species of woe and +toil. She was now in far greater danger than I, the wheels and springs of +my life, once again set in motion, acquired elasticity from their short +suspension. For a long time, no one believed that I should indeed continue +to live; during the reign of the plague upon earth, not one person, +attacked by the grim disease, had recovered. My restoration was looked on +as a deception; every moment it was expected that the evil symptoms would +recur with redoubled violence, until confirmed convalescence, absence of +all fever or pain, and encreasing strength, brought slow conviction that I +had recovered from the plague. + +The restoration of Idris was more problematical. When I had been attacked +by illness, her cheeks were sunk, her form emaciated; but now, the vessel, +which had broken from the effects of extreme agitation, did not entirely +heal, but was as a channel that drop by drop drew from her the ruddy stream +that vivified her heart. Her hollow eyes and worn countenance had a ghastly +appearance; her cheek-bones, her open fair brow, the projection of the +mouth, stood fearfully prominent; you might tell each bone in the thin +anatomy of her frame. Her hand hung powerless; each joint lay bare, so that +the light penetrated through and through. It was strange that life could +exist in what was wasted and worn into a very type of death. + +To take her from these heart-breaking scenes, to lead her to forget the +world's desolation in the variety of objects presented by travelling, and +to nurse her failing strength in the mild climate towards which we had +resolved to journey, was my last hope for her preservation. The +preparations for our departure, which had been suspended during my illness, +were renewed. I did not revive to doubtful convalescence; health spent her +treasures upon me; as the tree in spring may feel from its wrinkled limbs +the fresh green break forth, and the living sap rise and circulate, so did +the renewed vigour of my frame, the cheerful current of my blood, the +new-born elasticity of my limbs, influence my mind to cheerful endurance +and pleasurable thoughts. My body, late the heavy weight that bound me to +the tomb, was exuberant with health; mere common exercises were +insufficient for my reviving strength; methought I could emulate the speed +of the race-horse, discern through the air objects at a blinding distance, +hear the operations of nature in her mute abodes; my senses had become so +refined and susceptible after my recovery from mortal disease. + +Hope, among my other blessings, was not denied to me; and I did fondly +trust that my unwearied attentions would restore my adored girl. I was +therefore eager to forward our preparations. According to the plan first +laid down, we were to have quitted London on the twenty-fifth of November; +and, in pursuance of this scheme, two-thirds of our people--_the_ people-- +all that remained of England, had gone forward, and had already been some +weeks in Paris. First my illness, and subsequently that of Idris, had +detained Adrian with his division, which consisted of three hundred +persons, so that we now departed on the first of January, 2098. It was my +wish to keep Idris as distant as possible from the hurry and clamour of the +crowd, and to hide from her those appearances that would remind her most +forcibly of our real situation. We separated ourselves to a great degree +from Adrian, who was obliged to give his whole time to public business. The +Countess of Windsor travelled with her son. Clara, Evelyn, and a female who +acted as our attendant, were the only persons with whom we had contact. We +occupied a commodious carriage, our servant officiated as coachman. A party +of about twenty persons preceded us at a small distance. They had it in +charge to prepare our halting places and our nightly abode. They had been +selected for this service out of a great number that offered, on account of +the superior sagacity of the man who had been appointed their leader. + +Immediately on our departure, I was delighted to find a change in Idris, +which I fondly hoped prognosticated the happiest results. All the +cheerfulness and gentle gaiety natural to her revived. She was weak, and +this alteration was rather displayed in looks and voice than in acts; but +it was permanent and real. My recovery from the plague and confirmed health +instilled into her a firm belief that I was now secure from this dread +enemy. She told me that she was sure she should recover. That she had a +presentiment, that the tide of calamity which deluged our unhappy race had +now turned. That the remnant would be preserved, and among them the dear +objects of her tender affection; and that in some selected spot we should +wear out our lives together in pleasant society. "Do not let my state of +feebleness deceive you," she said; "I feel that I am better; there is a +quick life within me, and a spirit of anticipation that assures me, that I +shall continue long to make a part of this world. I shall throw off this +degrading weakness of body, which infects even my mind with debility, and I +shall enter again on the performance of my duties. I was sorry to leave +Windsor: but now I am weaned from this local attachment; I am content to +remove to a mild climate, which will complete my recovery. Trust me, +dearest, I shall neither leave you, nor my brother, nor these dear +children; my firm determination to remain with you to the last, and to +continue to contribute to your happiness and welfare, would keep me alive, +even if grim death were nearer at hand than he really is." + +I was only half re-assured by these expressions; I could not believe that +the over-quick flow of her blood was a sign of health, or that her burning +cheeks denoted convalescence. But I had no fears of an immediate +catastrophe; nay, I persuaded myself that she would ultimately recover. And +thus cheerfulness reigned in our little society. Idris conversed with +animation on a thousand topics. Her chief desire was to lead our thoughts +from melancholy reflections; so she drew charming pictures of a tranquil +solitude, of a beauteous retreat, of the simple manners of our little +tribe, and of the patriarchal brotherhood of love, which would survive the +ruins of the populous nations which had lately existed. We shut out from +our thoughts the present, and withdrew our eyes from the dreary landscape +we traversed. Winter reigned in all its gloom. The leafless trees lay +without motion against the dun sky; the forms of frost, mimicking the +foliage of summer, strewed the ground; the paths were overgrown; the +unploughed cornfields were patched with grass and weeds; the sheep +congregated at the threshold of the cottage, the horned ox thrust his head +from the window. The wind was bleak, and frequent sleet or snow-storms, +added to the melancholy appearance wintry nature assumed. + +We arrived at Rochester, and an accident caused us to be detained there a +day. During that time, a circumstance occurred that changed our plans, and +which, alas! in its result changed the eternal course of events, turning me +from the pleasant new sprung hope I enjoyed, to an obscure and gloomy +desert. But I must give some little explanation before I proceed with the +final cause of our temporary alteration of plan, and refer again to those +times when man walked the earth fearless, before Plague had become Queen of +the World. + +There resided a family in the neighbourhood of Windsor, of very humble +pretensions, but which had been an object of interest to us on account of +one of the persons of whom it was composed. The family of the Claytons had +known better days; but, after a series of reverses, the father died a +bankrupt, and the mother heartbroken, and a confirmed invalid, retired with +her five children to a little cottage between Eton and Salt Hill. The +eldest of these children, who was thirteen years old, seemed at once from +the influence of adversity, to acquire the sagacity and principle belonging +to a more mature age. Her mother grew worse and worse in health, but Lucy +attended on her, and was as a tender parent to her younger brothers and +sisters, and in the meantime shewed herself so good-humoured, social, and +benevolent, that she was beloved as well as honoured, in her little +neighbourhood. + +Lucy was besides extremely pretty; so when she grew to be sixteen, it was +to be supposed, notwithstanding her poverty, that she should have admirers. +One of these was the son of a country-curate; he was a generous, +frank-hearted youth, with an ardent love of knowledge, and no mean +acquirements. Though Lucy was untaught, her mother's conversation and +manners gave her a taste for refinements superior to her present situation. +She loved the youth even without knowing it, except that in any difficulty +she naturally turned to him for aid, and awoke with a lighter heart every +Sunday, because she knew that she would be met and accompanied by him in +her evening walk with her sisters. She had another admirer, one of the +head-waiters at the inn at Salt Hill. He also was not without pretensions +to urbane superiority, such as he learnt from gentlemen's servants and +waiting-maids, who initiating him in all the slang of high life below +stairs, rendered his arrogant temper ten times more intrusive. Lucy did not +disclaim him--she was incapable of that feeling; but she was sorry when +she saw him approach, and quietly resisted all his endeavours to establish +an intimacy. The fellow soon discovered that his rival was preferred to +him; and this changed what was at first a chance admiration into a passion, +whose main springs were envy, and a base desire to deprive his competitor +of the advantage he enjoyed over himself. + +Poor Lucy's sad story was but a common one. Her lover's father died; and he +was left destitute. He accepted the offer of a gentleman to go to India +with him, feeling secure that he should soon acquire an independence, and +return to claim the hand of his beloved. He became involved in the war +carried on there, was taken prisoner, and years elapsed before tidings of +his existence were received in his native land. In the meantime disastrous +poverty came on Lucy. Her little cottage, which stood looking from its +trellice, covered with woodbine and jessamine, was burnt down; and the +whole of their little property was included in the destruction. Whither +betake them? By what exertion of industry could Lucy procure them another +abode? Her mother nearly bed-rid, could not survive any extreme of +famine-struck poverty. At this time her other admirer stept forward, and +renewed his offer of marriage. He had saved money, and was going to set up +a little inn at Datchet. There was nothing alluring to Lucy in this offer, +except the home it secured to her mother; and she felt more sure of this, +since she was struck by the apparent generosity which occasioned the +present offer. She accepted it; thus sacrificing herself for the comfort +and welfare of her parent. + +It was some years after her marriage that we became acquainted with her. +The accident of a storm caused us to take refuge in the inn, where we +witnessed the brutal and quarrelsome behaviour of her husband, and her +patient endurance. Her lot was not a fortunate one. Her first lover had +returned with the hope of making her his own, and met her by accident, for +the first time, as the mistress of his country inn, and the wife of +another. He withdrew despairingly to foreign parts; nothing went well with +him; at last he enlisted, and came back again wounded and sick, and yet +Lucy was debarred from nursing him. Her husband's brutal disposition was +aggravated by his yielding to the many temptations held out by his +situation, and the consequent disarrangement of his affairs. Fortunately +she had no children; but her heart was bound up in her brothers and +sisters, and these his avarice and ill temper soon drove from the house; +they were dispersed about the country, earning their livelihood with toil +and care. He even shewed an inclination to get rid of her mother--but +Lucy was firm here--she had sacrificed herself for her; she lived for her +--she would not part with her--if the mother went, she would also go beg +bread for her, die with her, but never desert her. The presence of Lucy was +too necessary in keeping up the order of the house, and in preventing the +whole establishment from going to wreck, for him to permit her to leave +him. He yielded the point; but in all accesses of anger, or in his drunken +fits, he recurred to the old topic, and stung poor Lucy's heart by +opprobrious epithets bestowed on her parent. + +A passion however, if it be wholly pure, entire, and reciprocal, brings +with it its own solace. Lucy was truly, and from the depth of heart, +devoted to her mother; the sole end she proposed to herself in life, was +the comfort and preservation of this parent. Though she grieved for the +result, yet she did not repent of her marriage, even when her lover +returned to bestow competence on her. Three years had intervened, and how, +in their pennyless state, could her mother have existed during this time? +This excellent woman was worthy of her child's devotion. A perfect +confidence and friendship existed between them; besides, she was by no +means illiterate; and Lucy, whose mind had been in some degree cultivated +by her former lover, now found in her the only person who could understand +and appreciate her. Thus, though suffering, she was by no means desolate, +and when, during fine summer days, she led her mother into the flowery and +shady lanes near their abode, a gleam of unmixed joy enlightened her +countenance; she saw that her parent was happy, and she knew that this +happiness was of her sole creating. + +Meanwhile her husband's affairs grew more and more involved; ruin was near +at hand, and she was about to lose the fruit of all her labours, when +pestilence came to change the aspect of the world. Her husband reaped +benefit from the universal misery; but, as the disaster encreased, the +spirit of lawlessness seized him; he deserted his home to revel in the +luxuries promised him in London, and found there a grave. Her former lover +had been one of the first victims of the disease. But Lucy continued to +live for and in her mother. Her courage only failed when she dreaded peril +for her parent, or feared that death might prevent her from performing +those duties to which she was unalterably devoted. + +When we had quitted Windsor for London, as the previous step to our final +emigration, we visited Lucy, and arranged with her the plan of her own and +her mother's removal. Lucy was sorry at the necessity which forced her to +quit her native lanes and village, and to drag an infirm parent from her +comforts at home, to the homeless waste of depopulate earth; but she was +too well disciplined by adversity, and of too sweet a temper, to indulge in +repinings at what was inevitable. + +Subsequent circumstances, my illness and that of Idris, drove her from our +remembrance; and we called her to mind at last, only to conclude that she +made one of the few who came from Windsor to join the emigrants, and that +she was already in Paris. When we arrived at Rochester therefore, we were +surprised to receive, by a man just come from Slough, a letter from this +exemplary sufferer. His account was, that, journeying from his home, and +passing through Datchet, he was surprised to see smoke issue from the +chimney of the inn, and supposing that he should find comrades for his +journey assembled there, he knocked and was admitted. There was no one in +the house but Lucy, and her mother; the latter had been deprived of the use +of her limbs by an attack of rheumatism, and so, one by one, all the +remaining inhabitants of the country set forward, leaving them alone. Lucy +intreated the man to stay with her; in a week or two her mother would be +better, and they would then set out; but they must perish, if they were +left thus helpless and forlorn. The man said, that his wife and children +were already among the emigrants, and it was therefore, according to his +notion, impossible for him to remain. Lucy, as a last resource, gave him a +letter for Idris, to be delivered to her wherever he should meet us. This +commission at least he fulfilled, and Idris received with emotion the +following letter:-- + +"HONOURED LADY, + +"I am sure that you will remember and pity me, and I dare hope that you +will assist me; what other hope have I? Pardon my manner of writing, I am +so bewildered. A month ago my dear mother was deprived of the use of her +limbs. She is already better, and in another month would I am sure be able +to travel, in the way you were so kind as to say you would arrange for us. +But now everybody is gone--everybody--as they went away, each said, +that perhaps my mother would be better, before we were quite deserted. But +three days ago I went to Samuel Woods, who, on account of his new-born +child, remained to the last; and there being a large family of them, I +thought I could persuade them to wait a little longer for us; but I found +the house deserted. I have not seen a soul since, till this good man came. +--What will become of us? My mother does not know our state; she is so +ill, that I have hidden it from her. + +"Will you not send some one to us? I am sure we must perish miserably as we +are. If I were to try to move my mother now, she would die on the road; and +if, when she gets better, I were able, I cannot guess how, to find out the +roads, and get on so many many miles to the sea, you would all be in +France, and the great ocean would be between us, which is so terrible even +to sailors. What would it be to me, a woman, who never saw it? We should be +imprisoned by it in this country, all, all alone, with no help; better die +where we are. I can hardly write--I cannot stop my tears--it is not for +myself; I could put my trust in God; and let the worst come, I think I +could bear it, if I were alone. But my mother, my sick, my dear, dear +mother, who never, since I was born, spoke a harsh word to me, +who has been patient in many sufferings; pity her, dear Lady, +she must die a miserable death if you do not pity her. People speak +carelessly of her, because she is old and infirm, as if we must not all, if +we are spared, become so; and then, when the young are old themselves, they +will think that they ought to be taken care of. It is very silly of me to +write in this way to you; but, when I hear her trying not to groan, and see +her look smiling on me to comfort me, when I know she is in pain; and when +I think that she does not know the worst, but she soon must; and then she +will not complain; but I shall sit guessing at all that she is dwelling +upon, of famine and misery--I feel as if my heart must break, and I do +not know what I say or do; my mother--mother for whom I have borne much, +God preserve you from this fate! Preserve her, Lady, and He will bless you; +and I, poor miserable creature as I am, will thank you and pray for you +while I live. + +"Your unhappy and dutiful servant, + +"Dec. 30th, 2097. LUCY MARTIN." + +This letter deeply affected Idris, and she instantly proposed, that we +should return to Datchet, to assist Lucy and her mother. I said that I +would without delay set out for that place, but entreated her to join her +brother, and there await my return with the children. But Idris was in high +spirits, and full of hope. She declared that she could not consent even to +a temporary separation from me, but that there was no need of this, the +motion of the carriage did her good, and the distance was too trifling to +be considered. We could dispatch messengers to Adrian, to inform him of our +deviation from the original plan. She spoke with vivacity, and drew a +picture after her own dear heart, of the pleasure we should bestow upon +Lucy, and declared, if I went, she must accompany me, and that she should +very much dislike to entrust the charge of rescuing them to others, who +might fulfil it with coldness or inhumanity. Lucy's life had been one act +of devotion and virtue; let her now reap the small reward of finding her +excellence appreciated, and her necessity assisted, by those whom she +respected and honoured. + +These, and many other arguments, were urged with gentle pertinacity, and +the ardour of a wish to do all the good in her power, by her whose simple +expression of a desire and slightest request had ever been a law with me. +I, of course, consented, the moment that I saw that she had set her heart +upon this step. We sent half our attendant troop on to Adrian; and with the +other half our carriage took a retrograde course back to Windsor. + +I wonder now how I could be so blind and senseless, as thus to risk the +safety of Idris; for, if I had eyes, surely I could see the sure, though +deceitful, advance of death in her burning cheek and encreasing weakness. +But she said she was better; and I believed her. Extinction could not be +near a being, whose vivacity and intelligence hourly encreased, and whose +frame was endowed with an intense, and I fondly thought, a strong and +permanent spirit of life. Who, after a great disaster, has not looked back +with wonder at his inconceivable obtuseness of understanding, that could +not perceive the many minute threads with which fate weaves the +inextricable net of our destinies, until he is inmeshed completely in it? + +The cross roads which we now entered upon, were even in a worse state than +the long neglected high-ways; and the inconvenience seemed to menace the +perishing frame of Idris with destruction. Passing through Dartford, we +arrived at Hampton on the second day. Even in this short interval my +beloved companion grew sensibly worse in health, though her spirits were +still light, and she cheered my growing anxiety with gay sallies; sometimes +the thought pierced my brain--Is she dying?--as I saw her fair +fleshless hand rest on mine, or observed the feebleness with which she +performed the accustomed acts of life. I drove away the idea, as if it had +been suggested by insanity; but it occurred again and again, only to be +dispelled by the continued liveliness of her manner. + +About mid-day, after quitting Hampton, our carriage broke down: the shock +caused Idris to faint, but on her reviving no other ill consequence ensued; +our party of attendants had as usual gone on before us, and our coachman +went in search of another vehicle, our former one being rendered by this +accident unfit for service. The only place near us was a poor village, in +which he found a kind of caravan, able to hold four people, but it was +clumsy and ill hung; besides this he found a very excellent cabriolet: our +plan was soon arranged; I would drive Idris in the latter; while the +children were conveyed by the servant in the former. But these arrangements +cost time; we had agreed to proceed that night to Windsor, and thither our +purveyors had gone: we should find considerable difficulty in getting +accommodation, before we reached this place; after all, the distance was +only ten miles; my horse was a good one; I would go forward at a good pace +with Idris, leaving the children to follow at a rate more consonant to the +uses of their cumberous machine. + +Evening closed in quickly, far more quickly than I was prepared to expect. +At the going down of the sun it began to snow heavily. I attempted in vain +to defend my beloved companion from the storm; the wind drove the snow in +our faces; and it lay so high on the ground, that we made but small way; +while the night was so dark, that but for the white covering on the ground +we should not have been able to see a yard before us. We had left our +accompanying caravan far behind us; and now I perceived that the storm had +made me unconsciously deviate from my intended route. I had gone some miles +out of my way. My knowledge of the country enabled me to regain the right +road; but, instead of going, as at first agreed upon, by a cross road +through Stanwell to Datchet, I was obliged to take the way of Egham and +Bishopgate. It was certain therefore that I should not be rejoined by the +other vehicle, that I should not meet a single fellow-creature till we +arrived at Windsor. + +The back of our carriage was drawn up, and I hung a pelisse before it, thus +to curtain the beloved sufferer from the pelting sleet. She leaned on my +shoulder, growing every moment more languid and feeble; at first she +replied to my words of cheer with affectionate thanks; but by degrees she +sunk into silence; her head lay heavily upon me; I only knew that she lived +by her irregular breathing and frequent sighs. For a moment I resolved to +stop, and, opposing the back of the cabriolet to the force of the tempest, +to expect morning as well as I might. But the wind was bleak and piercing, +while the occasional shudderings of my poor Idris, and the intense cold I +felt myself, demonstrated that this would be a dangerous experiment. At +length methought she slept--fatal sleep, induced by frost: at this moment +I saw the heavy outline of a cottage traced on the dark horizon close to +us: "Dearest love," I said, "support yourself but one moment, and we shall +have shelter; let us stop here, that I may open the door of this blessed +dwelling." + +As I spoke, my heart was transported, and my senses swam with excessive +delight and thankfulness; I placed the head of Idris against the carriage, +and, leaping out, scrambled through the snow to the cottage, whose door was +open. I had apparatus about me for procuring light, and that shewed me a +comfortable room, with a pile of wood in one corner, and no appearance of +disorder, except that, the door having been left partly open, the snow, +drifting in, had blocked up the threshold. I returned to the carriage, and +the sudden change from light to darkness at first blinded me. When I +recovered my sight--eternal God of this lawless world! O supreme Death! I +will not disturb thy silent reign, or mar my tale with fruitless +exclamations of horror--I saw Idris, who had fallen from the seat to the +bottom of the carriage; her head, its long hair pendent, with one arm, hung +over the side.--Struck by a spasm of horror, I lifted her up; her heart +was pulseless, her faded lips unfanned by the slightest breath. + +I carried her into the cottage; I placed her on the bed. Lighting a fire, I +chafed her stiffening limbs; for two long hours I sought to restore +departed life; and, when hope was as dead as my beloved, I closed with +trembling hands her glazed eyes. I did not doubt what I should now do. In +the confusion attendant on my illness, the task of interring our darling +Alfred had devolved on his grandmother, the Ex-Queen, and she, true to her +ruling passion, had caused him to be carried to Windsor, and buried in the +family vault, in St. George's Chapel. I must proceed to Windsor, to calm +the anxiety of Clara, who would wait anxiously for us--yet I would fain +spare her the heart-breaking spectacle of Idris, brought in by me lifeless +from the journey. So first I would place my beloved beside her child in the +vault, and then seek the poor children who would be expecting me. + +I lighted the lamps of my carriage; I wrapt her in furs, and placed her +along the seat; then taking the reins, made the horses go forward. We +proceeded through the snow, which lay in masses impeding the way, while the +descending flakes, driving against me with redoubled fury, blinded me. The +pain occasioned by the angry elements, and the cold iron of the shafts of +frost which buffetted me, and entered my aching flesh, were a relief to me; +blunting my mental suffering. The horses staggered on, and the reins hung +loosely in my hands. I often thought I would lay my head close to the +sweet, cold face of my lost angel, and thus resign myself to conquering +torpor. Yet I must not leave her a prey to the fowls of the air; but, in +pursuance of my determination place her in the tomb of her forefathers, +where a merciful God might permit me to rest also. + +The road we passed through Egham was familiar to me; but the wind and snow +caused the horses to drag their load slowly and heavily. Suddenly the wind +veered from south-west to west, and then again to north-west. As Sampson +with tug and strain stirred from their bases the columns that supported the +Philistine temple, so did the gale shake the dense vapours propped on the +horizon, while the massy dome of clouds fell to the south, disclosing +through the scattered web the clear empyrean, and the little stars, which +were set at an immeasurable distance in the crystalline fields, showered +their small rays on the glittering snow. Even the horses were cheered, and +moved on with renovated strength. We entered the forest at Bishopgate, and +at the end of the Long Walk I saw the Castle, "the proud Keep of Windsor, +rising in the majesty of proportion, girt with the double belt of its +kindred and coeval towers." I looked with reverence on a structure, ancient +almost as the rock on which it stood, abode of kings, theme of admiration +for the wise. With greater reverence and, tearful affection I beheld it as +the asylum of the long lease of love I had enjoyed there with the +perishable, unmatchable treasure of dust, which now lay cold beside me. Now +indeed, I could have yielded to all the softness of my nature, and wept; +and, womanlike, have uttered bitter plaints; while the familiar trees, the +herds of living deer, the sward oft prest by her fairy-feet, one by one +with sad association presented themselves. The white gate at the end of the +Long Walk was wide open, and I rode up the empty town through the first +gate of the feudal tower; and now St. George's Chapel, with its blackened +fretted sides, was right before me. I halted at its door, which was open; I +entered, and placed my lighted lamp on the altar; then I returned, and with +tender caution I bore Idris up the aisle into the chancel, and laid her +softly down on the carpet which covered the step leading to the communion +table. The banners of the knights of the garter, and their half drawn +swords, were hung in vain emblazonry above the stalls. The banner of her +family hung there, still surmounted by its regal crown. Farewell to the +glory and heraldry of England!--I turned from such vanity with a slight +feeling of wonder, at how mankind could have ever been interested in such +things. I bent over the lifeless corpse of my beloved; and, while looking +on her uncovered face, the features already contracted by the rigidity of +death, I felt as if all the visible universe had grown as soulless, inane, +and comfortless as the clay-cold image beneath me. I felt for a moment the +intolerable sense of struggle with, and detestation for, the laws which +govern the world; till the calm still visible on the face of my dead love +recalled me to a more soothing tone of mind, and I proceeded to fulfil the +last office that could now be paid her. For her I could not lament, so much +I envied her enjoyment of "the sad immunities of the grave." + +The vault had been lately opened to place our Alfred therein. The ceremony +customary in these latter days had been cursorily performed, and the +pavement of the chapel, which was its entrance, having been removed, had +not been replaced. I descended the steps, and walked through the long +passage to the large vault which contained the kindred dust of my Idris. I +distinguished the small coffin of my babe. With hasty, trembling hands I +constructed a bier beside it, spreading it with the furs and Indian shawls, +which had wrapt Idris in her journey thither. I lighted the glimmering +lamp, which flickered in this damp abode of the dead; then I bore my lost +one to her last bed, decently composing her limbs, and covering them with a +mantle, veiling all except her face, which remained lovely and placid. She +appeared to rest like one over-wearied, her beauteous eyes steeped in sweet +slumber. Yet, so it was not--she was dead! How intensely I then longed to +lie down beside her, to gaze till death should gather me to the same +repose. + +But death does not come at the bidding of the miserable. I had lately +recovered from mortal illness, and my blood had never flowed with such an +even current, nor had my limbs ever been so instinct with quick life, as +now. I felt that my death must be voluntary. Yet what more natural than +famine, as I watched in this chamber of mortality, placed in a world of the +dead, beside the lost hope of my life? Meanwhile as I looked on her, the +features, which bore a sisterly resemblance to Adrian, brought my thoughts +back again to the living, to this dear friend, to Clara, and to Evelyn, who +were probably now in Windsor, waiting anxiously for our arrival. + +Methought I heard a noise, a step in the far chapel, which was re-echoed by +its vaulted roof, and borne to me through the hollow passages. Had Clara +seen my carriage pass up the town, and did she seek me here? I must save +her at least from the horrible scene the vault presented. I sprung up the +steps, and then saw a female figure, bent with age, and clad in long +mourning robes, advance through the dusky chapel, supported by a slender +cane, yet tottering even with this support. She heard me, and looked up; +the lamp I held illuminated my figure, and the moon-beams, struggling +through the painted glass, fell upon her face, wrinkled and gaunt, yet with +a piercing eye and commanding brow--I recognized the Countess of Windsor. +With a hollow voice she asked, "Where is the princess?" + +I pointed to the torn up pavement: she walked to the spot, and looked down +into the palpable darkness; for the vault was too distant for the rays of +the small lamp I had left there to be discernible. + +"Your light," she said. I gave it her; and she regarded the now visible, +but precipitous steps, as if calculating her capacity to descend. +Instinctively I made a silent offer of my assistance. She motioned me away +with a look of scorn, saying in an harsh voice, as she pointed downwards, +"There at least I may have her undisturbed." + +She walked deliberately down, while I, overcome, miserable beyond words, or +tears, or groans, threw myself on the pavement near--the stiffening form +of Idris was before me, the death-struck countenance hushed in eternal +repose beneath. That was to me the end of all! The day before, I had +figured to my self various adventures, and communion with my friends in +after time--now I had leapt the interval, and reached the utmost edge and +bourne of life. Thus wrapt in gloom, enclosed, walled up, vaulted over by +the omnipotent present, I was startled by the sound of feet on the steps of +the tomb, and I remembered her whom I had utterly forgotten, my angry +visitant; her tall form slowly rose upwards from the vault, a living +statue, instinct with hate, and human, passionate strife: she seemed to me +as having reached the pavement of the aisle; she stood motionless, seeking +with her eyes alone, some desired object--till, perceiving me close to +her, she placed her wrinkled hand on my arm, exclaiming with tremulous +accents, "Lionel Verney, my son!" This name, applied at such a moment by my +angel's mother, instilled into me more respect than I had ever before felt +for this disdainful lady. I bowed my head, and kissed her shrivelled hand, +and, remarking that she trembled violently, supported her to the end of the +chancel, where she sat on the steps that led to the regal stall. She +suffered herself to be led, and still holding my hand, she leaned her head +back against the stall, while the moon beams, tinged with various colours +by the painted glass, fell on her glistening eyes; aware of her weakness, +again calling to mind her long cherished dignity, she dashed the tears +away; yet they fell fast, as she said, for excuse, "She is so beautiful and +placid, even in death. No harsh feeling ever clouded her serene brow; how +did I treat her? wounding her gentle heart with savage coldness; I had no +compassion on her in past years, does she forgive me now? Little, little +does it boot to talk of repentance and forgiveness to the dead, had I +during her life once consulted her gentle wishes, and curbed my rugged +nature to do her pleasure, I should not feel thus." + +Idris and her mother were unlike in person. The dark hair, deep-set black +eyes, and prominent features of the Ex-Queen were in entire contrast to the +golden tresses, the full blue orbs, and the soft lines and contour of her +daughter's countenance. Yet, in latter days, illness had taken from my poor +girl the full outline of her face, and reduced it to the inflexible shape +of the bone beneath. In the form of her brow, in her oval chin, there was +to be found a resemblance to her mother; nay in some moods, their gestures +were not unlike; nor, having lived so long together, was this wonderful. + +There is a magic power in resemblance. When one we love dies, we hope to +see them in another state, and half expect that the agency of mind will +inform its new garb in imitation of its decayed earthly vesture. But these +are ideas of the mind only. We know that the instrument is shivered, the +sensible image lies in miserable fragments, dissolved to dusty nothingness; +a look, a gesture, or a fashioning of the limbs similar to the dead in a +living person, touches a thrilling chord, whose sacred harmony is felt in +the heart's dearest recess. Strangely moved, prostrate before this spectral +image, and enslaved by the force of blood manifested in likeness of look +and movement, I remained trembling in the presence of the harsh, proud, and +till now unloved mother of Idris. + +Poor, mistaken woman! in her tenderest mood before, she had cherished the +idea, that a word, a look of reconciliation from her, would be received +with joy, and repay long years of severity. Now that the time was gone for +the exercise of such power, she fell at once upon the thorny truth of +things, and felt that neither smile nor caress could penetrate to the +unconscious state, or influence the happiness of her who lay in the vault +beneath. This conviction, together with the remembrance of soft replies to +bitter speeches, of gentle looks repaying angry glances; the perception of +the falsehood, paltryness and futility of her cherished dreams of birth and +power; the overpowering knowledge, that love and life were the true +emperors of our mortal state; all, as a tide, rose, and filled her soul +with stormy and bewildering confusion. It fell to my lot, to come as the +influential power, to allay the fierce tossing of these tumultuous waves. I +spoke to her; I led her to reflect how happy Idris had really been, and how +her virtues and numerous excellencies had found scope and estimation in her +past career. I praised her, the idol of my heart's dear worship, the +admired type of feminine perfection. With ardent and overflowing eloquence, +I relieved my heart from its burthen, and awoke to the sense of a new +pleasure in life, as I poured forth the funeral eulogy. Then I referred to +Adrian, her loved brother, and to her surviving child. I declared, which I +had before almost forgotten, what my duties were with regard to these +valued portions of herself, and bade the melancholy repentant mother +reflect, how she could best expiate unkindness towards the dead, by +redoubled love of the survivors. Consoling her, my own sorrows were +assuaged; my sincerity won her entire conviction. + +She turned to me. The hard, inflexible, persecuting woman, turned with a +mild expression of face, and said, "If our beloved angel sees us now, it +will delight her to find that I do you even tardy justice. You were worthy +of her; and from my heart I am glad that you won her away from me. Pardon, +my son, the many wrongs I have done you; forget my bitter words and unkind +treatment--take me, and govern me as you will." + +I seized this docile moment to propose our departure from the church. +"First," she said, "let us replace the pavement above the vault." + +We drew near to it; "Shall we look on her again?" I asked. + +"I cannot," she replied, "and, I pray you, neither do you. We need not +torture ourselves by gazing on the soulless body, while her living spirit +is buried quick in our hearts, and her surpassing loveliness is so deeply +carved there, that sleeping or waking she must ever be present to us." + +For a few moments, we bent in solemn silence over the open vault. I +consecrated my future life, to the embalming of her dear memory; I vowed to +serve her brother and her child till death. The convulsive sob of my +companion made me break off my internal orisons. I next dragged the stones +over the entrance of the tomb, and closed the gulph that contained the life +of my life. Then, supporting my decrepid fellow-mourner, we slowly left the +chapel. I felt, as I stepped into the open air, as if I had quitted an +happy nest of repose, for a dreary wilderness, a tortuous path, a bitter, +joyless, hopeless pilgrimage. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +OUR escort had been directed to prepare our abode for the night at the inn, +opposite the ascent to the Castle. We could not again visit the halls and +familiar chambers of our home, on a mere visit. We had already left for +ever the glades of Windsor, and all of coppice, flowery hedgerow, and +murmuring stream, which gave shape and intensity to the love of our +country, and the almost superstitious attachment with which we regarded +native England. It had been our intention to have called at Lucy's dwelling +in Datchet, and to have re-assured her with promises of aid and protection +before we repaired to our quarters for the night. Now, as the Countess of +Windsor and I turned down the steep hill that led from the Castle, we saw +the children, who had just stopped in their caravan, at the inn-door. They +had passed through Datchet without halting. I dreaded to meet them, and to +be the bearer of my tragic story, so while they were still occupied in the +hurry of arrival, I suddenly left them, and through the snow and clear +moon-light air, hastened along the well known road to Datchet. + +Well known indeed it was. Each cottage stood on its accustomed site, each +tree wore its familiar appearance. Habit had graven uneraseably on my +memory, every turn and change of object on the road. At a short distance +beyond the Little Park, was an elm half blown down by a storm, some ten +years ago; and still, with leafless snow-laden branches, it stretched +across the pathway, which wound through a meadow, beside a shallow brook, +whose brawling was silenced by frost--that stile, that white gate, that +hollow oak tree, which doubtless once belonged to the forest, and which now +shewed in the moonlight its gaping rent; to whose fanciful appearance, +tricked out by the dusk into a resemblance of the human form, the children +had given the name of Falstaff;--all these objects were as well known to +me as the cold hearth of my deserted home, and every moss-grown wall and +plot of orchard ground, alike as twin lambs are to each other in a +stranger's eye, yet to my accustomed gaze bore differences, distinction, +and a name. England remained, though England was dead--it was the ghost +of merry England that I beheld, under those greenwood shade passing +generations had sported in security and ease. To this painful recognition +of familiar places, was added a feeling experienced by all, understood by +none--a feeling as if in some state, less visionary than a dream, in some +past real existence, I had seen all I saw, with precisely the same feelings +as I now beheld them--as if all my sensations were a duplex mirror of a +former revelation. To get rid of this oppressive sense I strove to imagine +change in this tranquil spot--this augmented my mood, by causing me to +bestow more attention on the objects which occasioned me pain. + +I reached Datchet and Lucy's humble abode--once noisy with Saturday night +revellers, or trim and neat on Sunday morning it had borne testimony to the +labours and orderly habits of the housewife. The snow lay high about the +door, as if it had remained unclosed for many days. + +"What scene of death hath Roscius now to act?" I muttered to myself as +I looked at the dark casements. At first I thought I saw a light in one of +them, but it proved to be merely the refraction of the moon-beams, while +the only sound was the crackling branches as the breeze whirred the snow +flakes from them--the moon sailed high and unclouded in the interminable +ether, while the shadow of the cottage lay black on the garden behind. I +entered this by the open wicket, and anxiously examined each window. At +length I detected a ray of light struggling through a closed shutter in one +of the upper rooms--it was a novel feeling, alas! to look at any house +and say there dwells its usual inmate--the door of the house was merely +on the latch: so I entered and ascended the moon-lit staircase. The door of +the inhabited room was ajar: looking in, I saw Lucy sitting as at work at +the table on which the light stood; the implements of needlework were about +her, but her hand had fallen on her lap, and her eyes, fixed on the ground, +shewed by their vacancy that her thoughts wandered. Traces of care and +watching had diminished her former attractions--but her simple dress and +cap, her desponding attitude, and the single candle that cast its light +upon her, gave for a moment a picturesque grouping to the whole. A fearful +reality recalled me from the thought--a figure lay stretched on the bed +covered by a sheet--her mother was dead, and Lucy, apart from all the +world, deserted and alone, watched beside the corpse during the weary +night. I entered the room, and my unexpected appearance at first drew a +scream from the lone survivor of a dead nation; but she recognised me, and +recovered herself, with the quick exercise of self-control habitual to her. +"Did you not expect me?" I asked, in that low voice which the presence of +the dead makes us as it were instinctively assume. + +"You are very good," replied she, "to have come yourself; I can never thank +you sufficiently; but it is too late." + +"Too late," cried I, "what do you mean? It is not too late to take you from +this deserted place, and conduct you to---" + +My own loss, which I had forgotten as I spoke, now made me turn away, while +choking grief impeded my speech. I threw open the window, and looked on the +cold, waning, ghastly, misshaped circle on high, and the chill white earth +beneath--did the spirit of sweet Idris sail along the moon-frozen crystal +air?--No, no, a more genial atmosphere, a lovelier habitation was surely +hers! + +I indulged in this meditation for a moment, and then again addressed the +mourner, who stood leaning against the bed with that expression of resigned +despair, of complete misery, and a patient sufferance of it, which is far +more touching than any of the insane ravings or wild gesticulation of +untamed sorrow. I desired to draw her from this spot; but she opposed my +wish. That class of persons whose imagination and sensibility have never +been taken out of the narrow circle immediately in view, if they possess +these qualities to any extent, are apt to pour their influence into the +very realities which appear to destroy them, and to cling to these with +double tenacity from not being able to comprehend any thing beyond. Thus +Lucy, in desert England, in a dead world, wished to fulfil the usual +ceremonies of the dead, such as were customary to the English country +people, when death was a rare visitant, and gave us time to receive his +dreaded usurpation with pomp and circumstance--going forth in procession +to deliver the keys of the tomb into his conquering hand. She had already, +alone as she was, accomplished some of these, and the work on which I found +her employed, was her mother's shroud. My heart sickened at such detail of +woe, which a female can endure, but which is more painful to the masculine +spirit than deadliest struggle, or throes of unutterable but transient +agony. + +This must not be, I told her; and then, as further inducement, I +communicated to her my recent loss, and gave her the idea that she must +come with me to take charge of the orphan children, whom the death of Idris +had deprived of a mother's care. Lucy never resisted the call of a duty, so +she yielded, and closing the casements and doors with care, she accompanied +me back to Windsor. As we went she communicated to me the occasion of her +mother's death. Either by some mischance she had got sight of Lucy's letter +to Idris, or she had overheard her conversation with the countryman who +bore it; however it might be, she obtained a knowledge of the appalling +situation of herself and her daughter, her aged frame could not sustain the +anxiety and horror this discovery instilled--she concealed her knowledge +from Lucy, but brooded over it through sleepless nights, till fever and +delirium, swift forerunners of death, disclosed the secret. Her life, which +had long been hovering on its extinction, now yielded at once to the united +effects of misery and sickness, and that same morning she had died. + +After the tumultuous emotions of the day, I was glad to find on my arrival +at the inn that my companions had retired to rest. I gave Lucy in charge to +the Countess's attendant, and then sought repose from my various struggles +and impatient regrets. For a few moments the events of the day floated in +disastrous pageant through my brain, till sleep bathed it in forgetfulness; +when morning dawned and I awoke, it seemed as if my slumber had endured for +years. + +My companions had not shared my oblivion. Clara's swollen eyes shewed that +she has passed the night in weeping. The Countess looked haggard and wan. +Her firm spirit had not found relief in tears, and she suffered the more +from all the painful retrospect and agonizing regret that now occupied her. +We departed from Windsor, as soon as the burial rites had been performed +for Lucy's mother, and, urged on by an impatient desire to change the +scene, went forward towards Dover with speed, our escort having gone before +to provide horses; finding them either in the warm stables they +instinctively sought during the cold weather, or standing shivering in the +bleak fields ready to surrender their liberty in exchange for offered +corn. + +During our ride the Countess recounted to me the extraordinary +circumstances which had brought her so strangely to my side in the chancel +of St. George's chapel. When last she had taken leave of Idris, as she +looked anxiously on her faded person and pallid countenance, she had +suddenly been visited by a conviction that she saw her for the last time. +It was hard to part with her while under the dominion of this sentiment, +and for the last time she endeavoured to persuade her daughter to commit +herself to her nursing, permitting me to join Adrian. Idris mildly refused, +and thus they separated. The idea that they should never again meet grew on +the Countess's mind, and haunted her perpetually; a thousand times she had +resolved to turn back and join us, and was again and again restrained by +the pride and anger of which she was the slave. Proud of heart as she was, +she bathed her pillow with nightly tears, and through the day was subdued +by nervous agitation and expectation of the dreaded event, which she was +wholly incapable of curbing. She confessed that at this period her hatred +of me knew no bounds, since she considered me as the sole obstacle to the +fulfilment of her dearest wish, that of attending upon her daughter in her +last moments. She desired to express her fears to her son, and to seek +consolation from his sympathy with, or courage from his rejection of, her +auguries. + +On the first day of her arrival at Dover she walked with him on the sea +beach, and with the timidity characteristic of passionate and exaggerated +feeling was by degrees bringing the conversation to the desired point, when +she could communicate her fears to him, when the messenger who bore my +letter announcing our temporary return to Windsor, came riding down to +them. He gave some oral account of how he had left us, and added, that +notwithstanding the cheerfulness and good courage of Lady Idris, he was +afraid that she would hardly reach Windsor alive. "True," said the Countess, +"your fears are just, she is about to expire!" + +As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on a tomblike hollow of the cliff, and +she saw, she averred the same to me with solemnity, Idris pacing slowly +towards this cave. She was turned from her, her head was bent down, her +white dress was such as she was accustomed to wear, except that a thin +crape-like veil covered her golden tresses, and concealed her as a dim +transparent mist. She looked dejected, as docilely yielding to a commanding +power; she submissively entered, and was lost in the dark recess. + +"Were I subject to visionary moods," said the venerable lady, as she +continued her narrative, "I might doubt my eyes, and condemn my credulity; +but reality is the world I live in, and what I saw I doubt not had +existence beyond myself. From that moment I could not rest; it was worth my +existence to see her once again before she died; I knew that I should not +accomplish this, yet I must endeavour. I immediately departed for Windsor; +and, though I was assured that we travelled speedily, it seemed to me that +our progress was snail-like, and that delays were created solely for my +annoyance. Still I accused you, and heaped on your head the fiery ashes of +my burning impatience. It was no disappointment, though an agonizing pang, +when you pointed to her last abode; and words would ill express the +abhorrence I that moment felt towards you, the triumphant impediment to my +dearest wishes. I saw her, and anger, and hate, and injustice died at her +bier, giving place at their departure to a remorse (Great God, that I +should feel it!) which must last while memory and feeling endure." + +To medicine such remorse, to prevent awakening love and new-born mildness +from producing the same bitter fruit that hate and harshness had done, I +devoted all my endeavours to soothe the venerable penitent. Our party was a +melancholy one; each was possessed by regret for what was remediless; for +the absence of his mother shadowed even the infant gaiety of Evelyn. Added +to this was the prospect of the uncertain future. Before the final +accomplishment of any great voluntary change the mind vacillates, now +soothing itself by fervent expectation, now recoiling from obstacles which +seem never to have presented themselves before with so frightful an aspect. +An involuntary tremor ran through me when I thought that in another day we +might have crossed the watery barrier, and have set forward on that +hopeless, interminable, sad wandering, which but a short time before I +regarded as the only relief to sorrow that our situation afforded. + +Our approach to Dover was announced by the loud roarings of the wintry sea. +They were borne miles inland by the sound-laden blast, and by their +unaccustomed uproar, imparted a feeling of insecurity and peril to our +stable abode. At first we hardly permitted ourselves to think that any +unusual eruption of nature caused this tremendous war of air and water, but +rather fancied that we merely listened to what we had heard a thousand +times before, when we had watched the flocks of fleece-crowned waves, +driven by the winds, come to lament and die on the barren sands and pointed +rocks. But we found upon advancing farther, that Dover was overflowed-- +many of the houses were overthrown by the surges which filled the streets, +and with hideous brawlings sometimes retreated leaving the pavement of the +town bare, till again hurried forward by the influx of ocean, they returned +with thunder-sound to their usurped station. + +Hardly less disturbed than the tempestuous world of waters was the assembly +of human beings, that from the cliff fearfully watched its ravings. On the +morning of the arrival of the emigrants under the conduct of Adrian, the +sea had been serene and glassy, the slight ripples refracted the sunbeams, +which shed their radiance through the clear blue frosty air. This placid +appearance of nature was hailed as a good augury for the voyage, and the +chief immediately repaired to the harbour to examine two steamboats which +were moored there. On the following midnight, when all were at rest, a +frightful storm of wind and clattering rain and hail first disturbed them, +and the voice of one shrieking in the streets, that the sleepers must awake +or they would be drowned; and when they rushed out, half clothed, to +discover the meaning of this alarm, they found that the tide, rising above +every mark, was rushing into the town. They ascended the cliff, but the +darkness permitted only the white crest of waves to be seen, while the +roaring wind mingled its howlings in dire accord with the wild surges. The +awful hour of night, the utter inexperience of many who had never seen the +sea before, the wailing of women and cries of children added to the horror +of the tumult. All the following day the same scene continued. When the tide +ebbed, the town was left dry; but on its flow, it rose even higher than on +the preceding night. The vast ships that lay rotting in the roads were +whirled from their anchorage, and driven and jammed against the cliff, the +vessels in the harbour were flung on land like sea-weed, and there battered +to pieces by the breakers. The waves dashed against the cliff, which if in +any place it had been before loosened, now gave way, and the affrighted +crowd saw vast fragments of the near earth fall with crash and roar into +the deep. This sight operated differently on different persons. The greater +part thought it a judgment of God, to prevent or punish our emigration from +our native land. Many were doubly eager to quit a nook of ground now become +their prison, which appeared unable to resist the inroads of ocean's giant +waves. + +When we arrived at Dover, after a fatiguing day's journey, we all required +rest and sleep; but the scene acting around us soon drove away such ideas. +We were drawn, along with the greater part of our companions, to the edge +of the cliff, there to listen to and make a thousand conjectures. A fog +narrowed our horizon to about a quarter of a mile, and the misty veil, cold +and dense, enveloped sky and sea in equal obscurity. What added to our +inquietude was the circumstance that two-thirds of our original number were +now waiting for us in Paris, and clinging, as we now did most painfully, to +any addition to our melancholy remnant, this division, with the tameless +impassable ocean between, struck us with affright. At length, after +loitering for several hours on the cliff, we retired to Dover Castle, whose +roof sheltered all who breathed the English air, and sought the sleep +necessary to restore strength and courage to our worn frames and languid +spirits. + +Early in the morning Adrian brought me the welcome intelligence that the +wind had changed: it had been south-west; it was now north-east. The sky +was stripped bare of clouds by the increasing gale, while the tide at its +ebb seceded entirely from the town. The change of wind rather increased the +fury of the sea, but it altered its late dusky hue to a bright green; and +in spite of its unmitigated clamour, its more cheerful appearance instilled +hope and pleasure. All day we watched the ranging of the mountainous waves, +and towards sunset a desire to decypher the promise for the morrow at its +setting, made us all gather with one accord on the edge of the cliff. When +the mighty luminary approached within a few degrees of the tempest-tossed +horizon, suddenly, a wonder! three other suns, alike burning and brilliant, +rushed from various quarters of the heavens towards the great orb; they +whirled round it. The glare of light was intense to our dazzled eyes; the +sun itself seemed to join in the dance, while the sea burned like a +furnace, like all Vesuvius a-light, with flowing lava beneath. The horses +broke loose from their stalls in terror--a herd of cattle, panic struck, +raced down to the brink of the cliff, and blinded by light, plunged down +with frightful yells in the waves below. The time occupied by the +apparition of these meteors was comparatively short; suddenly the three +mock suns united in one, and plunged into the sea. A few seconds +afterwards, a deafening watery sound came up with awful peal from the spot +where they had disappeared. + +Meanwhile the sun, disencumbered from his strange satellites, paced with +its accustomed majesty towards its western home. When--we dared not trust +our eyes late dazzled, but it seemed that--the sea rose to meet it--it +mounted higher and higher, till the fiery globe was obscured, and the wall +of water still ascended the horizon; it appeared as if suddenly the motion +of earth was revealed to us--as if no longer we were ruled by ancient +laws, but were turned adrift in an unknown region of space. Many cried +aloud, that these were no meteors, but globes of burning matter, which had +set fire to the earth, and caused the vast cauldron at our feet to bubble +up with its measureless waves; the day of judgment was come they averred, +and a few moments would transport us before the awful countenance of the +omnipotent judge; while those less given to visionary terrors, declared +that two conflicting gales had occasioned the last phaenomenon. In support +of this opinion they pointed out the fact that the east wind died away, +while the rushing of the coming west mingled its wild howl with the roar of +the advancing waters. Would the cliff resist this new battery? Was not the +giant wave far higher than the precipice? Would not our little island be +deluged by its approach? The crowd of spectators fled. They were dispersed +over the fields, stopping now and then, and looking back in terror. A +sublime sense of awe calmed the swift pulsations of my heart--I awaited +the approach of the destruction menaced, with that solemn resignation which +an unavoidable necessity instils. The ocean every moment assumed a more +terrific aspect, while the twilight was dimmed by the rack which the west +wind spread over the sky. By slow degrees however, as the wave advanced, it +took a more mild appearance; some under current of air, or obstruction in +the bed of the waters, checked its progress, and it sank gradually; while +the surface of the sea became uniformly higher as it dissolved into it. +This change took from us the fear of an immediate catastrophe, although we +were still anxious as to the final result. We continued during the whole +night to watch the fury of the sea and the pace of the driving clouds, +through whose openings the rare stars rushed impetuously; the thunder of +conflicting elements deprived us of all power to sleep. + +This endured ceaselessly for three days and nights. The stoutest hearts +quailed before the savage enmity of nature; provisions began to fail us, +though every day foraging parties were dispersed to the nearer towns. In +vain we schooled ourselves into the belief, that there was nothing out of +the common order of nature in the strife we witnessed; our disasterous and +overwhelming destiny turned the best of us to cowards. Death had hunted us +through the course of many months, even to the narrow strip of time on +which we now stood; narrow indeed, and buffeted by storms, was our footway +overhanging the great sea of calamity-- + + As an unsheltered northern shore + Is shaken by the wintry wave-- + And frequent storms for evermore, + (While from the west the loud winds rave, + Or from the east, or mountains hoar) + The struck and tott'ring sand-bank lave.[1] + +It required more than human energy to bear up against the menaces of +destruction that every where surrounded us. + +After the lapse of three days, the gale died away, the sea-gull sailed upon +the calm bosom of the windless atmosphere, and the last yellow leaf on the +topmost branch of the oak hung without motion. The sea no longer broke with +fury; but a swell setting in steadily for shore, with long sweep and sullen +burst replaced the roar of the breakers. Yet we derived hope from the +change, and we did not doubt that after the interval of a few days the sea +would resume its tranquillity. The sunset of the fourth day favoured this +idea; it was clear and golden. As we gazed on the purple sea, radiant +beneath, we were attracted by a novel spectacle; a dark speck--as it +neared, visibly a boat--rode on the top of the waves, every now and then +lost in the steep vallies between. We marked its course with eager +questionings; and, when we saw that it evidently made for shore, we +descended to the only practicable landing place, and hoisted a signal to +direct them. By the help of glasses we distinguished her crew; it consisted +of nine men, Englishmen, belonging in truth to the two divisions of our +people, who had preceded us, and had been for several weeks at Paris. As +countryman was wont to meet countryman in distant lands, did we greet our +visitors on their landing, with outstretched hands and gladsome welcome. +They were slow to reciprocate our gratulations. They looked angry and +resentful; not less than the chafed sea which they had traversed with +imminent peril, though apparently more displeased with each other than with +us. It was strange to see these human beings, who appeared to be given +forth by the earth like rare and inestimable plants, full of towering +passion, and the spirit of angry contest. Their first demand was to be +conducted to the Lord Protector of England, so they called Adrian, though +he had long discarded the empty title, as a bitter mockery of the shadow to +which the Protectorship was now reduced. They were speedily led to Dover +Castle, from whose keep Adrian had watched the movements of the boat. He +received them with the interest and wonder so strange a visitation created. +In the confusion occasioned by their angry demands for precedence, it was +long before we could discover the secret meaning of this strange scene. By +degrees, from the furious declamations of one, the fierce interruptions of +another, and the bitter scoffs of a third, we found that they were deputies +from our colony at Paris, from three parties there formed, who, each with +angry rivalry, tried to attain a superiority over the other two. These +deputies had been dispatched by them to Adrian, who had been selected +arbiter; and they had journied from Paris to Calais, through the vacant +towns and desolate country, indulging the while violent hatred against each +other; and now they pleaded their several causes with unmitigated +party-spirit. + +By examining the deputies apart, and after much investigation, we learnt +the true state of things at Paris. Since parliament had elected him +Ryland's deputy, all the surviving English had submitted to Adrian. He was +our captain to lead us from our native soil to unknown lands, our lawgiver +and our preserver. On the first arrangement of our scheme of emigration, no +continued separation of our members was contemplated, and the command of +the whole body in gradual ascent of power had its apex in the Earl of +Windsor. But unforeseen circumstances changed our plans for us, and +occasioned the greater part of our numbers to be divided for the space of +nearly two months, from the supreme chief. They had gone over in two +distinct bodies; and on their arrival at Paris dissension arose between +them. + +They had found Paris a desert. When first the plague had appeared, the +return of travellers and merchants, and communications by letter, informed +us regularly of the ravages made by disease on the continent. But with the +encreased mortality this intercourse declined and ceased. Even in England +itself communication from one part of the island to the other became slow +and rare. No vessel stemmed the flood that divided Calais from Dover; or if +some melancholy voyager, wishing to assure himself of the life or death of +his relatives, put from the French shore to return among us, often the +greedy ocean swallowed his little craft, or after a day or two he was +infected by the disorder, and died before he could tell the tale of the +desolation of France. We were therefore to a great degree ignorant of the +state of things on the continent, and were not without some vague hope of +finding numerous companions in its wide track. But the same causes that had +so fearfully diminished the English nation had had even greater scope for +mischief in the sister land. France was a blank; during the long line of +road from Calais to Paris not one human being was found. In Paris there +were a few, perhaps a hundred, who, resigned to their coming fate, flitted +about the streets of the capital and assembled to converse of past times, +with that vivacity and even gaiety that seldom deserts the individuals of +this nation. + +The English took uncontested possession of Paris. Its high houses and +narrow streets were lifeless. A few pale figures were to be distinguished +at the accustomed resort at the Tuileries; they wondered wherefore the +islanders should approach their ill-fated city--for in the excess of +wretchedness, the sufferers always imagine, that their part of the calamity +is the bitterest, as, when enduring intense pain, we would exchange the +particular torture we writhe under, for any other which should visit a +different part of the frame. They listened to the account the emigrants +gave of their motives for leaving their native land, with a shrug almost of +disdain--"Return," they said, "return to your island, whose sea breezes, +and division from the continent gives some promise of health; if Pestilence +among you has slain its hundreds, with us it has slain its thousands. Are +you not even now more numerous than we are?--A year ago you would have +found only the sick burying the dead; now we are happier; for the pang of +struggle has passed away, and the few you find here are patiently waiting +the final blow. But you, who are not content to die, breathe no longer the +air of France, or soon you will only be a part of her soil." + +Thus, by menaces of the sword, they would have driven back those who had +escaped from fire. But the peril left behind was deemed imminent by my +countrymen; that before them doubtful and distant; and soon other feelings +arose to obliterate fear, or to replace it by passions, that ought to have +had no place among a brotherhood of unhappy survivors of the expiring +world. + +The more numerous division of emigrants, which arrived first at Paris, +assumed a superiority of rank and power; the second party asserted their +independence. A third was formed by a sectarian, a self-erected prophet, +who, while he attributed all power and rule to God, strove to get the real +command of his comrades into his own hands. This third division consisted +of fewest individuals, but their purpose was more one, their obedience to +their leader more entire, their fortitude and courage more unyielding and +active. + +During the whole progress of the plague, the teachers of religion were in +possession of great power; a power of good, if rightly directed, or of +incalculable mischief, if fanaticism or intolerance guided their efforts. +In the present instance, a worse feeling than either of these actuated the +leader. He was an impostor in the most determined sense of the term. A man +who had in early life lost, through the indulgence of vicious propensities, +all sense of rectitude or self-esteem; and who, when ambition was awakened +in him, gave himself up to its influence unbridled by any scruple. His +father had been a methodist preacher, an enthusiastic man with simple +intentions; but whose pernicious doctrines of election and special grace +had contributed to destroy all conscientious feeling in his son. During the +progress of the pestilence he had entered upon various schemes, by which to +acquire adherents and power. Adrian had discovered and defeated these +attempts; but Adrian was absent; the wolf assumed the shepherd's garb, and +the flock admitted the deception: he had formed a party during the few +weeks he had been in Paris, who zealously propagated the creed of his +divine mission, and believed that safety and salvation were to be afforded +only to those who put their trust in him. + +When once the spirit of dissension had arisen, the most frivolous causes +gave it activity. The first party, on arriving at Paris, had taken +possession of the Tuileries; chance and friendly feeling had induced the +second to lodge near to them. A contest arose concerning the distribution +of the pillage; the chiefs of the first division demanded that the whole +should be placed at their disposal; with this assumption the opposite party +refused to comply. When next the latter went to forage, the gates of Paris +were shut on them. After overcoming this difficulty, they marched in a body +to the Tuileries. They found that their enemies had been already expelled +thence by the Elect, as the fanatical party designated themselves, who +refused to admit any into the palace who did not first abjure obedience to +all except God, and his delegate on earth, their chief. Such was the +beginning of the strife, which at length proceeded so far, that the three +divisions, armed, met in the Place Vendome, each resolved to subdue by +force the resistance of its adversaries. They assembled, their muskets were +loaded, and even pointed at the breasts of their so called enemies. One +word had been sufficient; and there the last of mankind would have +burthened their souls with the crime of murder, and dipt their hands in +each other's blood. A sense of shame, a recollection that not only their +cause, but the existence of the whole human race was at stake, entered the +breast of the leader of the more numerous party. He was aware, that if the +ranks were thinned, no other recruits could fill them up; that each man was +as a priceless gem in a kingly crown, which if destroyed, the earth's deep +entrails could yield no paragon. He was a young man, and had been hurried +on by presumption, and the notion of his high rank and superiority to all +other pretenders; now he repented his work, he felt that all the blood +about to be shed would be on his head; with sudden impulse therefore he +spurred his horse between the bands, and, having fixed a white handkerchief +on the point of his uplifted sword, thus demanded parley; the opposite +leaders obeyed the signal. He spoke with warmth; he reminded them of the +oath all the chiefs had taken to submit to the Lord Protector; he declared +their present meeting to be an act of treason and mutiny; he allowed that +he had been hurried away by passion, but that a cooler moment had arrived; +and he proposed that each party should send deputies to the Earl of +Windsor, inviting his interference and offering submission to his decision. +His offer was accepted so far, that each leader consented to command a +retreat, and moreover agreed, that after the approbation of their several +parties had been consulted, they should meet that night on some neutral +spot to ratify the truce. At the meeting of the chiefs, this plan was +finally concluded upon. The leader of the fanatics indeed refused to admit +the arbitration of Adrian; he sent ambassadors, rather than deputies, to +assert his claim, not plead his cause. + +The truce was to continue until the first of February, when the bands were +again to assemble on the Place Vendome; it was of the utmost consequence +therefore that Adrian should arrive in Paris by that day, since an hair +might turn the scale, and peace, scared away by intestine broils, might +only return to watch by the silent dead. It was now the twenty-eighth of +January; every vessel stationed near Dover had been beaten to pieces and +destroyed by the furious storms I have commemorated. Our journey however +would admit of no delay. That very night, Adrian, and I, and twelve others, +either friends or attendants, put off from the English shore, in the boat +that had brought over the deputies. We all took our turn at the oar; and +the immediate occasion of our departure affording us abundant matter for +conjecture and discourse, prevented the feeling that we left our native +country, depopulate England, for the last time, to enter deeply into the +minds of the greater part of our number. It was a serene starlight night, +and the dark line of the English coast continued for some time visible at +intervals, as we rose on the broad back of the waves. I exerted myself with +my long oar to give swift impulse to our skiff; and, while the waters +splashed with melancholy sound against its sides, I looked with sad +affection on this last glimpse of sea-girt England, and strained my eyes +not too soon to lose sight of the castellated cliff, which rose to protect +the land of heroism and beauty from the inroads of ocean, that, turbulent +as I had lately seen it, required such cyclopean walls for its repulsion. A +solitary sea-gull winged its flight over our heads, to seek its nest in a +cleft of the precipice. Yes, thou shalt revisit the land of thy birth, I +thought, as I looked invidiously on the airy voyager; but we shall, never +more! Tomb of Idris, farewell! Grave, in which my heart lies sepultured, +farewell for ever! + +We were twelve hours at sea, and the heavy swell obliged us to exert all +our strength. At length, by mere dint of rowing, we reached the French +coast. The stars faded, and the grey morning cast a dim veil over the +silver horns of the waning moon--the sun rose broad and red from the sea, +as we walked over the sands to Calais. Our first care was to procure +horses, and although wearied by our night of watching and toil, some of our +party immediately went in quest of these in the wide fields of the +unenclosed and now barren plain round Calais. We divided ourselves, like +seamen, into watches, and some reposed, while others prepared the morning's +repast. Our foragers returned at noon with only six horses--on these, +Adrian and I, and four others, proceeded on our journey towards the great +city, which its inhabitants had fondly named the capital of the civilized +world. Our horses had become, through their long holiday, almost wild, and +we crossed the plain round Calais with impetuous speed. From the height +near Boulogne, I turned again to look on England; nature had cast a misty +pall over her, her cliff was hidden--there was spread the watery barrier +that divided us, never again to be crossed; she lay on the ocean plain, + + In the great pool a swan's nest. + +Ruined the nest, alas! the swans of Albion had passed away for ever--an +uninhabited rock in the wide Pacific, which had remained since the +creation uninhabited, unnamed, unmarked, would be of as much account in +the world's future history, as desert England. + +Our journey was impeded by a thousand obstacles. As our horses grew tired, +we had to seek for others; and hours were wasted, while we exhausted our +artifices to allure some of these enfranchised slaves of man to resume the +yoke; or as we went from stable to stable through the towns, hoping to find +some who had not forgotten the shelter of their native stalls. Our ill +success in procuring them, obliged us continually to leave some one of our +companions behind; and on the first of February, Adrian and I entered +Paris, wholly unaccompanied. The serene morning had dawned when we arrived +at Saint Denis, and the sun was high, when the clamour of voices, and the +clash, as we feared, of weapons, guided us to where our countrymen had +assembled on the Place Vendome. We passed a knot of Frenchmen, who were +talking earnestly of the madness of the insular invaders, and then coming +by a sudden turn upon the Place, we saw the sun glitter on drawn swords and +fixed bayonets, while yells and clamours rent the air. It was a scene of +unaccustomed confusion in these days of depopulation. Roused by fancied +wrongs, and insulting scoffs, the opposite parties had rushed to attack +each other; while the elect, drawn up apart, seemed to wait an opportunity +to fall with better advantage on their foes, when they should have mutually +weakened each other. A merciful power interposed, and no blood was shed; +for, while the insane mob were in the very act of attack, the females, +wives, mothers and daughters, rushed between; they seized the bridles; they +embraced the knees of the horsemen, and hung on the necks, or enweaponed +arms of their enraged relatives; the shrill female scream was mingled with +the manly shout, and formed the wild clamour that welcomed us on our +arrival. + +Our voices could not be heard in the tumult; Adrian however was eminent for +the white charger he rode; spurring him, he dashed into the midst of the +throng: he was recognized, and a loud cry raised for England and the +Protector. The late adversaries, warmed to affection at the sight of him, +joined in heedless confusion, and surrounded him; the women kissed his +hands, and the edges of his garments; nay, his horse received tribute of +their embraces; some wept their welcome; he appeared an angel of peace +descended among them; and the only danger was, that his mortal nature would +be demonstrated, by his suffocation from the kindness of his friends. His +voice was at length heard, and obeyed; the crowd fell back; the chiefs +alone rallied round him. I had seen Lord Raymond ride through his lines; +his look of victory, and majestic mien obtained the respect and obedience +of all: such was not the appearance or influence of Adrian. His slight +figure, his fervent look, his gesture, more of deprecation than rule, were +proofs that love, unmingled with fear, gave him dominion over the hearts of +a multitude, who knew that he never flinched from danger, nor was actuated +by other motives than care for the general welfare. No distinction was now +visible between the two parties, late ready to shed each other's blood, +for, though neither would submit to the other, they both yielded ready +obedience to the Earl of Windsor. + +One party however remained, cut off from the rest, which did not sympathize +in the joy exhibited on Adrian's arrival, or imbibe the spirit of peace, +which fell like dew upon the softened hearts of their countrymen. At the +head of this assembly was a ponderous, dark-looking man, whose malign eye +surveyed with gloating delight the stern looks of his followers. They had +hitherto been inactive, but now, perceiving themselves to be forgotten in +the universal jubilee, they advanced with threatening gestures: our friends +had, as it were in wanton contention, attacked each other; they wanted but +to be told that their cause was one, for it to become so: their mutual +anger had been a fire of straw, compared to the slow-burning hatred they +both entertained for these seceders, who seized a portion of the world to +come, there to entrench and incastellate themselves, and to issue with +fearful sally, and appalling denunciations, on the mere common children of +the earth. The first advance of the little army of the elect reawakened +their rage; they grasped their arms, and waited but their leader's signal +to commence the attack, when the clear tones of Adrian's voice were heard, +commanding them to fall back; with confused murmur and hurried retreat, as +the wave ebbs clamorously from the sands it lately covered, our friends +obeyed. Adrian rode singly into the space between the opposing bands; he +approached the hostile leader, as requesting him to imitate his example, +but his look was not obeyed, and the chief advanced, followed by his whole +troop. There were many women among them, who seemed more eager and resolute +than their male companions. They pressed round their leader, as if to +shield him, while they loudly bestowed on him every sacred denomination and +epithet of worship. Adrian met them half way; they halted: "What," he said, +"do you seek? Do you require any thing of us that we refuse to give, and +that you are forced to acquire by arms and warfare?" + +His questions were answered by a general cry, in which the words election, +sin, and red right arm of God, could alone be heard. + +Adrian looked expressly at their leader, saying, "Can you not silence your +followers? Mine, you perceive, obey me." + +The fellow answered by a scowl; and then, perhaps fearful that his people +should become auditors of the debate he expected to ensue, he commanded +them to fall back, and advanced by himself. "What, I again ask," said +Adrian, "do you require of us?" + +"Repentance," replied the man, whose sinister brow gathered clouds as he +spoke. "Obedience to the will of the Most High, made manifest to these his +Elected People. Do we not all die through your sins, O generation of +unbelief, and have we not a right to demand of you repentance and +obedience?" + +"And if we refuse them, what then?" his opponent inquired mildly. + +"Beware," cried the man, "God hears you, and will smite your stony heart in +his wrath; his poisoned arrows fly, his dogs of death are unleashed! We +will not perish unrevenged--and mighty will our avenger be, when he +descends in visible majesty, and scatters destruction among you." + +"My good fellow," said Adrian, with quiet scorn, "I wish that you were +ignorant only, and I think it would be no difficult task to prove to you, +that you speak of what you do not understand. On the present occasion +however, it is enough for me to know that you seek nothing of us; and, +heaven is our witness, we seek nothing of you. I should be sorry to +embitter by strife the few days that we any of us may have here to live; +when there," he pointed downwards, "we shall not be able to contend, while +here we need not. Go home, or stay; pray to your God in your own mode; your +friends may do the like. My orisons consist in peace and good will, in +resignation and hope. Farewell!" + +He bowed slightly to the angry disputant who was about to reply; and, +turning his horse down Rue Saint Honore, called on his friends to follow +him. He rode slowly, to give time to all to join him at the Barrier, and +then issued his orders that those who yielded obedience to him, should +rendezvous at Versailles. In the meantime he remained within the walls of +Paris, until he had secured the safe retreat of all. In about a fortnight +the remainder of the emigrants arrived from England, and they all repaired +to Versailles; apartments were prepared for the family of the Protector in +the Grand Trianon, and there, after the excitement of these events, we +reposed amidst the luxuries of the departed Bourbons. + +[1] Chorus in Oedipus Coloneus. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +AFTER the repose of a few days, we held a council, to decide on our future +movements. Our first plan had been to quit our wintry native latitude, and +seek for our diminished numbers the luxuries and delights of a southern +climate. We had not fixed on any precise spot as the termination of our +wanderings; but a vague picture of perpetual spring, fragrant groves, and +sparkling streams, floated in our imagination to entice us on. A variety of +causes had detained us in England, and we had now arrived at the middle of +February; if we pursued our original project, we should find ourselves in a +worse situation than before, having exchanged our temperate climate for the +intolerable heats of a summer in Egypt or Persia. We were therefore obliged +to modify our plan, as the season continued to be inclement; and it was +determined that we should await the arrival of spring in our present abode, +and so order our future movements as to pass the hot months in the icy +vallies of Switzerland, deferring our southern progress until the ensuing +autumn, if such a season was ever again to be beheld by us. + +The castle and town of Versailles afforded our numbers ample accommodation, +and foraging parties took it by turns to supply our wants. There was a +strange and appalling motley in the situation of these the last of the +race. At first I likened it to a colony, which borne over the far seas, +struck root for the first time in a new country. But where was the bustle +and industry characteristic of such an assemblage; the rudely constructed +dwelling, which was to suffice till a more commodious mansion could be +built; the marking out of fields; the attempt at cultivation; the eager +curiosity to discover unknown animals and herbs; the excursions for the +sake of exploring the country? Our habitations were palaces our food was +ready stored in granaries--there was no need of labour, no +inquisitiveness, no restless desire to get on. If we had been assured that +we should secure the lives of our present numbers, there would have been +more vivacity and hope in our councils. We should have discussed as to the +period when the existing produce for man's sustenance would no longer +suffice for us, and what mode of life we should then adopt. We should have +considered more carefully our future plans, and debated concerning the spot +where we should in future dwell. But summer and the plague were near, and +we dared not look forward. Every heart sickened at the thought of +amusement; if the younger part of our community were ever impelled, by +youthful and untamed hilarity, to enter on any dance or song, to cheer the +melancholy time, they would suddenly break off, checked by a mournful look +or agonizing sigh from any one among them, who was prevented by sorrows and +losses from mingling in the festivity. If laughter echoed under our roof, +yet the heart was vacant of joy; and, when ever it chanced that I witnessed +such attempts at pastime, they encreased instead of diminishing my sense of +woe. In the midst of the pleasure-hunting throng, I would close my eyes, +and see before me the obscure cavern, where was garnered the mortality of +Idris, and the dead lay around, mouldering in hushed repose. When I again +became aware of the present hour, softest melody of Lydian flute, or +harmonious maze of graceful dance, was but as the demoniac chorus in the +Wolf's Glen, and the caperings of the reptiles that surrounded the magic +circle. + +My dearest interval of peace occurred, when, released from the obligation +of associating with the crowd, I could repose in the dear home where my +children lived. Children I say, for the tenderest emotions of paternity +bound me to Clara. She was now fourteen; sorrow, and deep insight into the +scenes around her, calmed the restless spirit of girlhood; while the +remembrance of her father whom she idolized, and respect for me and Adrian, +implanted an high sense of duty in her young heart. Though serious she was +not sad; the eager desire that makes us all, when young, plume our wings, +and stretch our necks, that we may more swiftly alight tiptoe on the height +of maturity, was subdued in her by early experience. All that she could +spare of overflowing love from her parents' memory, and attention to her +living relatives, was spent upon religion. This was the hidden law of her +heart, which she concealed with childish reserve, and cherished the more +because it was secret. What faith so entire, what charity so pure, what +hope so fervent, as that of early youth? and she, all love, all tenderness +and trust, who from infancy had been tossed on the wide sea of passion and +misfortune, saw the finger of apparent divinity in all, and her best hope +was to make herself acceptable to the power she worshipped. Evelyn was only +five years old; his joyous heart was incapable of sorrow, and he enlivened +our house with the innocent mirth incident to his years. + +The aged Countess of Windsor had fallen from her dream of power, rank and +grandeur; she had been suddenly seized with the conviction, that love was +the only good of life, virtue the only ennobling distinction and enriching +wealth. Such a lesson had been taught her by the dead lips of her neglected +daughter; and she devoted herself, with all the fiery violence of her +character, to the obtaining the affection of the remnants of her family. In +early years the heart of Adrian had been chilled towards her; and, though +he observed a due respect, her coldness, mixed with the recollection of +disappointment and madness, caused him to feel even pain in her society. +She saw this, and yet determined to win his love; the obstacle served the +rather to excite her ambition. As Henry, Emperor of Germany, lay in the +snow before Pope Leo's gate for three winter days and nights, so did she in +humility wait before the icy barriers of his closed heart, till he, the +servant of love, and prince of tender courtesy, opened it wide for her +admittance, bestowing, with fervency and gratitude, the tribute of filial +affection she merited. Her understanding, courage, and presence of mind, +became powerful auxiliaries to him in the difficult task of ruling the +tumultuous crowd, which were subjected to his control, in truth by a single +hair. + +The principal circumstances that disturbed our tranquillity during this +interval, originated in the vicinity of the impostor-prophet and his +followers. They continued to reside at Paris; but missionaries from among +them often visited Versailles--and such was the power of assertions, +however false, yet vehemently iterated, over the ready credulity of the +ignorant and fearful, that they seldom failed in drawing over to their +party some from among our numbers. An instance of this nature coming +immediately under our notice, we were led to consider the miserable state +in which we should leave our countrymen, when we should, at the approach of +summer, move on towards Switzerland, and leave a deluded crew behind us in +the hands of their miscreant leader. The sense of the smallness of our +numbers, and expectation of decrease, pressed upon us; and, while it would +be a subject of congratulation to ourselves to add one to our party, it +would be doubly gratifying to rescue from the pernicious influence of +superstition and unrelenting tyranny, the victims that now, though +voluntarily enchained, groaned beneath it. If we had considered the +preacher as sincere in a belief of his own denunciations, or only +moderately actuated by kind feeling in the exercise of his assumed powers, +we should have immediately addressed ourselves to him, and endeavoured with +our best arguments to soften and humanize his views. But he was instigated +by ambition, he desired to rule over these last stragglers from the fold of +death; his projects went so far, as to cause him to calculate that, if, +from these crushed remains, a few survived, so that a new race should +spring up, he, by holding tight the reins of belief, might be remembered by +the post-pestilential race as a patriarch, a prophet, nay a deity; such as +of old among the post-diluvians were Jupiter the conqueror, Serapis the +lawgiver, and Vishnou the preserver. These ideas made him inflexible in his +rule, and violent in his hate of any who presumed to share with him his +usurped empire. + +It is a strange fact, but incontestible, that the philanthropist, who +ardent in his desire to do good, who patient, reasonable and gentle, yet +disdains to use other argument than truth, has less influence over men's +minds, than he who, grasping and selfish, refuses not to adopt any means, +nor awaken any passion, nor diffuse any falsehood, for the advancement of +his cause. If this from time immemorial has been the case, the contrast was +infinitely greater, now that the one could bring harrowing fears and +transcendent hopes into play; while the other had few hopes to hold forth, +nor could influence the imagination to diminish the fears which he himself +was the first to entertain. The preacher had persuaded his followers, that +their escape from the plague, the salvation of their children, and the rise +of a new race of men from their seed, depended on their faith in, and their +submission to him. They greedily imbibed this belief; and their +over-weening credulity even rendered them eager to make converts to the +same faith. + +How to seduce any individuals from such an alliance of fraud, was a +frequent subject of Adrian's meditations and discourse. He formed many +plans for the purpose; but his own troop kept him in full occupation to +ensure their fidelity and safety; beside which the preacher was as cautious +and prudent, as he was cruel. His victims lived under the strictest rules +and laws, which either entirely imprisoned them within the Tuileries, or +let them out in such numbers, and under such leaders, as precluded the +possibility of controversy. There was one among them however whom I +resolved to save; she had been known to us in happier days; Idris had loved +her; and her excellent nature made it peculiarly lamentable that she should +be sacrificed by this merciless cannibal of souls. + +This man had between two and three hundred persons enlisted under his +banners. More than half of them were women; there were about fifty children +of all ages; and not more than eighty men. They were mostly drawn from that +which, when such distinctions existed, was denominated the lower rank of +society. The exceptions consisted of a few high-born females, who, +panic-struck, and tamed by sorrow, had joined him. Among these was one, +young, lovely, and enthusiastic, whose very goodness made her a more easy +victim. I have mentioned her before: Juliet, the youngest daughter, and now +sole relic of the ducal house of L---. There are some beings, whom fate +seems to select on whom to pour, in unmeasured portion, the vials of her +wrath, and whom she bathes even to the lips in misery. Such a one was the +ill-starred Juliet. She had lost her indulgent parents, her brothers and +sisters, companions of her youth; in one fell swoop they had been carried +off from her. Yet she had again dared to call herself happy; united to her +admirer, to him who possessed and filled her whole heart, she yielded to +the lethean powers of love, and knew and felt only his life and presence. +At the very time when with keen delight she welcomed the tokens of +maternity, this sole prop of her life failed, her husband died of the +plague. For a time she had been lulled in insanity; the birth of her child +restored her to the cruel reality of things, but gave her at the same time +an object for whom to preserve at once life and reason. Every friend and +relative had died off, and she was reduced to solitude and penury; deep +melancholy and angry impatience distorted her judgment, so that she could +not persuade herself to disclose her distress to us. When she heard of the +plan of universal emigration, she resolved to remain behind with her +child, and alone in wide England to live or die, as fate might decree, +beside the grave of her beloved. She had hidden herself in one of the many +empty habitations of London; it was she who rescued my Idris on the fatal +twentieth of November, though my immediate danger, and the subsequent +illness of Idris, caused us to forget our hapless friend. This circumstance +had however brought her again in contact with her fellow-creatures; a +slight illness of her infant, proved to her that she was still bound to +humanity by an indestructible tie; to preserve this little creature's life +became the object of her being, and she joined the first division of +migrants who went over to Paris. + +She became an easy prey to the methodist; her sensibility and acute fears +rendered her accessible to every impulse; her love for her child made her +eager to cling to the merest straw held out to save him. Her mind, once +unstrung, and now tuned by roughest inharmonious hands, made her credulous: +beautiful as fabled goddess, with voice of unrivalled sweetness, burning +with new lighted enthusiasm, she became a stedfast proselyte, and powerful +auxiliary to the leader of the elect. I had remarked her in the crowd, on +the day we met on the Place Vendome; and, recollecting suddenly her +providential rescue of my lost one, on the night of the twentieth of +November, I reproached myself for my neglect and ingratitude, and felt +impelled to leave no means that I could adopt untried, to recall her to her +better self, and rescue her from the fangs of the hypocrite destroyer. + +I will not, at this period of my story, record the artifices I used to +penetrate the asylum of the Tuileries, or give what would be a tedious +account of my stratagems, disappointments, and perseverance. I at last +succeeded in entering these walls, and roamed its halls and corridors in +eager hope to find my selected convert. In the evening I contrived to +mingle unobserved with the congregation, which assembled in the chapel to +listen to the crafty and eloquent harangue of their prophet. I saw Juliet +near him. Her dark eyes, fearfully impressed with the restless glare of +madness, were fixed on him; she held her infant, not yet a year old, in her +arms; and care of it alone could distract her attention from the words to +which she eagerly listened. After the sermon was over, the congregation +dispersed; all quitted the chapel except she whom I sought; her babe had +fallen asleep; so she placed it on a cushion, and sat on the floor beside, +watching its tranquil slumber. + +I presented myself to her; for a moment natural feeling produced a +sentiment of gladness, which disappeared again, when with ardent and +affectionate exhortation I besought her to accompany me in flight from this +den of superstition and misery. In a moment she relapsed into the delirium +of fanaticism, and, but that her gentle nature forbade, would have loaded +me with execrations. She conjured me, she commanded me to leave her-- +"Beware, O beware," she cried, "fly while yet your escape is practicable. +Now you are safe; but strange sounds and inspirations come on me at times, +and if the Eternal should in awful whisper reveal to me his will, that to +save my child you must be sacrificed, I would call in the satellites of him +you call the tyrant; they would tear you limb from limb; nor would I hallow +the death of him whom Idris loved, by a single tear." + +She spoke hurriedly, with tuneless voice, and wild look; her child awoke, +and, frightened, began to cry; each sob went to the ill-fated mother's +heart, and she mingled the epithets of endearment she addressed to her +infant, with angry commands that I should leave her. Had I had the means, I +would have risked all, have torn her by force from the murderer's den, and +trusted to the healing balm of reason and affection. But I had no choice, +no power even of longer struggle; steps were heard along the gallery, and +the voice of the preacher drew near. Juliet, straining her child in a close +embrace, fled by another passage. Even then I would have followed her; but +my foe and his satellites entered; I was surrounded, and taken prisoner. + +I remembered the menace of the unhappy Juliet, and expected the full +tempest of the man's vengeance, and the awakened wrath of his followers, to +fall instantly upon me. I was questioned. My answers were simple and +sincere. "His own mouth condemns him," exclaimed the impostor; "he +confesses that his intention was to seduce from the way of salvation our +well-beloved sister in God; away with him to the dungeon; to-morrow he dies +the death; we are manifestly called upon to make an example, tremendous and +appalling, to scare the children of sin from our asylum of the saved." + +My heart revolted from his hypocritical jargon: but it was unworthy of me +to combat in words with the ruffian; and my answer was cool; while, far +from being possessed with fear, methought, even at the worst, a man true to +himself, courageous and determined, could fight his way, even from the +boards of the scaffold, through the herd of these misguided maniacs. +"Remember," I said, "who I am; and be well assured that I shall not die +unavenged. Your legal magistrate, the Lord Protector, knew of my design, +and is aware that I am here; the cry of blood will reach him, and you and +your miserable victims will long lament the tragedy you are about to act." + +My antagonist did not deign to reply, even by a look;--"You know your +duty," he said to his comrades,--"obey." + +In a moment I was thrown on the earth, bound, blindfolded, and hurried away +--liberty of limb and sight was only restored to me, when, surrounded by +dungeon-walls, dark and impervious, I found myself a prisoner and alone. + +Such was the result of my attempt to gain over the proselyte of this man of +crime; I could not conceive that he would dare put me to death.--Yet I +was in his hands; the path of his ambition had ever been dark and cruel; +his power was founded upon fear; the one word which might cause me to die, +unheard, unseen, in the obscurity of my dungeon, might be easier to speak +than the deed of mercy to act. He would not risk probably a public +execution; but a private assassination would at once terrify any of my +companions from attempting a like feat, at the same time that a cautious +line of conduct might enable him to avoid the enquiries and the vengeance +of Adrian. + +Two months ago, in a vault more obscure than the one I now inhabited, I had +revolved the design of quietly laying me down to die; now I shuddered at +the approach of fate. My imagination was busied in shaping forth the kind +of death he would inflict. Would he allow me to wear out life with famine; +or was the food administered to me to be medicined with death? Would he +steal on me in my sleep; or should I contend to the last with my murderers, +knowing, even while I struggled, that I must be overcome? I lived upon an +earth whose diminished population a child's arithmetic might number; I had +lived through long months with death stalking close at my side, while at +intervals the shadow of his skeleton-shape darkened my path. I had believed +that I despised the grim phantom, and laughed his power to scorn. + +Any other fate I should have met with courage, nay, have gone out gallantly +to encounter. But to be murdered thus at the midnight hour by cold-blooded +assassins, no friendly hand to close my eyes, or receive my parting +blessing--to die in combat, hate and execration--ah, why, my angel +love, didst thou restore me to life, when already I had stepped within the +portals of the tomb, now that so soon again I was to be flung back a +mangled corpse! + +Hours passed--centuries. Could I give words to the many thoughts which +occupied me in endless succession during this interval, I should fill +volumes. The air was dank, the dungeon-floor mildewed and icy cold; hunger +came upon me too, and no sound reached me from without. To-morrow the +ruffian had declared that I should die. When would to-morrow come? Was it +not already here? + +My door was about to be opened. I heard the key turn, and the bars and +bolts slowly removed. The opening of intervening passages permitted sounds +from the interior of the palace to reach me; and I heard the clock strike +one. They come to murder me, I thought; this hour does not befit a public +execution. I drew myself up against the wall opposite the entrance; I +collected my forces, I rallied my courage, I would not fall a tame prey. +Slowly the door receded on its hinges--I was ready to spring forward to +seize and grapple with the intruder, till the sight of who it was changed +at once the temper of my mind. It was Juliet herself; pale and trembling +she stood, a lamp in her hand, on the threshold of the dungeon, looking at +me with wistful countenance. But in a moment she re-assumed her +self-possession; and her languid eyes recovered their brilliancy. She said, +"I am come to save you, Verney." + +"And yourself also," I cried: "dearest friend, can we indeed be saved?" + +"Not a word," she replied, "follow me!" + +I obeyed instantly. We threaded with light steps many corridors, ascended +several flights of stairs, and passed through long galleries; at the end of +one she unlocked a low portal; a rush of wind extinguished our lamp; but, +in lieu of it, we had the blessed moon-beams and the open face of heaven. +Then first Juliet spoke:--"You are safe," she said, "God bless you!-- +farewell!" + +I seized her reluctant hand--"Dear friend," I cried, "misguided victim, +do you not intend to escape with me? Have you not risked all in +facilitating my flight? and do you think, that I will permit you to return, +and suffer alone the effects of that miscreant's rage? Never!" + +"Do not fear for me," replied the lovely girl mournfully, "and do not +imagine that without the consent of our chief you could be without these +walls. It is he that has saved you; he assigned to me the part of leading +you hither, because I am best acquainted with your motives for coming here, +and can best appreciate his mercy in permitting you to depart." + +"And are you," I cried, "the dupe of this man? He dreads me alive as an +enemy, and dead he fears my avengers. By favouring this clandestine escape +he preserves a shew of consistency to his followers; but mercy is far from +his heart. Do you forget his artifices, his cruelty, and fraud? As I am +free, so are you. Come, Juliet, the mother of our lost Idris will welcome +you, the noble Adrian will rejoice to receive you; you will find peace and +love, and better hopes than fanaticism can afford. Come, and fear not; long +before day we shall be at Versailles; close the door on this abode of crime +--come, sweet Juliet, from hypocrisy and guilt to the society of the +affectionate and good." + +I spoke hurriedly, but with fervour: and while with gentle violence I drew +her from the portal, some thought, some recollection of past scenes of +youth and happiness, made her listen and yield to me; suddenly she broke +away with a piercing shriek:--"My child, my child! he has my child; my +darling girl is my hostage." + +She darted from me into the passage; the gate closed between us--she was +left in the fangs of this man of crime, a prisoner, still to inhale the +pestilential atmosphere which adhered to his demoniac nature; the unimpeded +breeze played on my cheek, the moon shone graciously upon me, my path was +free. Glad to have escaped, yet melancholy in my very joy, I retrod my +steps to Versailles. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +EVENTFUL winter passed; winter, the respite of our ills. By degrees the +sun, which with slant beams had before yielded the more extended reign to +night, lengthened his diurnal journey, and mounted his highest throne, at +once the fosterer of earth's new beauty, and her lover. We who, like flies +that congregate upon a dry rock at the ebbing of the tide, had played +wantonly with time, allowing our passions, our hopes, and our mad desires +to rule us, now heard the approaching roar of the ocean of destruction, and +would have fled to some sheltered crevice, before the first wave broke over +us. We resolved without delay, to commence our journey to Switzerland; we +became eager to leave France. Under the icy vaults of the glaciers, beneath +the shadow of the pines, the swinging of whose mighty branches was arrested +by a load of snow; beside the streams whose intense cold proclaimed their +origin to be from the slow-melting piles of congelated waters, amidst +frequent storms which might purify the air, we should find health, if in +truth health were not herself diseased. + +We began our preparations at first with alacrity. We did not now bid adieu +to our native country, to the graves of those we loved, to the flowers, and +streams, and trees, which had lived beside us from infancy. Small sorrow +would be ours on leaving Paris. A scene of shame, when we remembered our +late contentions, and thought that we left behind a flock of miserable, +deluded victims, bending under the tyranny of a selfish impostor. Small +pangs should we feel in leaving the gardens, woods, and halls of the +palaces of the Bourbons at Versailles, which we feared would soon be +tainted by the dead, when we looked forward to vallies lovelier than any +garden, to mighty forests and halls, built not for mortal majesty, but +palaces of nature's own, with the Alp of marmoreal whiteness for their +walls, the sky for their roof. + +Yet our spirits flagged, as the day drew near which we had fixed for our +departure. Dire visions and evil auguries, if such things were, thickened +around us, so that in vain might men say-- + + These are their reasons, they are natural,[1] + +we felt them to be ominous, and dreaded the future event enchained +to them. That the night owl should screech before the noon-day +sun, that the hard-winged bat should wheel around the bed of +beauty, that muttering thunder should in early spring startle +the cloudless air, that sudden and exterminating blight should fall +on the tree and shrub, were unaccustomed, but physical events, less +horrible than the mental creations of almighty fear. Some had sight of +funeral processions, and faces all begrimed with tears, which flitted +through the long avenues of the gardens, and drew aside the curtains of the +sleepers at dead of night. Some heard wailing and cries in the air; a +mournful chaunt would stream through the dark atmosphere, as if spirits +above sang the requiem of the human race. What was there in all this, but +that fear created other senses within our frames, making us see, hear, and +feel what was not? What was this, but the action of diseased imaginations +and childish credulity? So might it be; but what was most real, was the +existence of these very fears; the staring looks of horror, the faces pale +even to ghastliness, the voices struck dumb with harrowing dread, of those +among us who saw and heard these things. Of this number was Adrian, who +knew the delusion, yet could not cast off the clinging terror. Even +ignorant infancy appeared with timorous shrieks and convulsions to +acknowledge the presence of unseen powers. We must go: in change of scene, +in occupation, and such security as we still hoped to find, we should +discover a cure for these gathering horrors. + +On mustering our company, we found them to consist of fourteen hundred +souls, men, women, and children. Until now therefore, we were undiminished +in numbers, except by the desertion of those who had attached themselves to +the impostor-prophet, and remained behind in Paris. About fifty French +joined us. Our order of march was easily arranged; the ill success which +had attended our division, determined Adrian to keep all in one body. I, +with an hundred men, went forward first as purveyor, taking the road of the +Cote d'Or, through Auxerre, Dijon, Dole, over the Jura to Geneva. I was to +make arrangements, at every ten miles, for the accommodation of such +numbers as I found the town or village would receive, leaving behind a +messenger with a written order, signifying how many were to be quartered +there. The remainder of our tribe was then divided into bands of fifty +each, every division containing eighteen men, and the remainder, consisting +of women and children. Each of these was headed by an officer, who carried +the roll of names, by which they were each day to be mustered. If the +numbers were divided at night, in the morning those in the van waited for +those in the rear. At each of the large towns before mentioned, we were all +to assemble; and a conclave of the principal officers would hold council +for the general weal. I went first, as I said; Adrian last. His mother, +with Clara and Evelyn under her protection, remained also with him. Thus +our order being determined, I departed. My plan was to go at first no +further than Fontainebleau, where in a few days I should be joined by +Adrian, before I took flight again further eastward. + +My friend accompanied me a few miles from Versailles. He was sad; and, in a +tone of unaccustomed despondency, uttered a prayer for our speedy arrival +among the Alps, accompanied with an expression of vain regret that we were +not already there. "In that case," I observed, "we can quicken our march; +why adhere to a plan whose dilatory proceeding you already disapprove?" + +"Nay," replied he, "it is too late now. A month ago, and we were masters of +ourselves; now,--" he turned his face from me; though gathering twilight +had already veiled its expression, he turned it yet more away, as he added +--"a man died of the plague last night!" + +He spoke in a smothered voice, then suddenly clasping his hands, he +exclaimed, "Swiftly, most swiftly advances the last hour for us all; as the +stars vanish before the sun, so will his near approach destroy us. I have +done my best; with grasping hands and impotent strength, I have hung on the +wheel of the chariot of plague; but she drags me along with it, while, like +Juggernaut, she proceeds crushing out the being of all who strew the high +road of life. Would that it were over--would that her procession +achieved, we had all entered the tomb together!" + +Tears streamed from his eyes. "Again and again," he continued, "will the +tragedy be acted; again I must hear the groans of the dying, the wailing of +the survivors; again witness the pangs, which, consummating all, envelope +an eternity in their evanescent existence. Why am I reserved for this? Why +the tainted wether of the flock, am I not struck to earth among the first? +It is hard, very hard, for one of woman born to endure all that I endure!" + +Hitherto, with an undaunted spirit, and an high feeling of duty and worth, +Adrian had fulfilled his self-imposed task. I had contemplated him with +reverence, and a fruitless desire of imitation. I now offered a few words +of encouragement and sympathy. He hid his face in his hands, and while he +strove to calm himself, he ejaculated, "For a few months, yet for a few +months more, let not, O God, my heart fail, or my courage be bowed down; +let not sights of intolerable misery madden this half-crazed brain, or +cause this frail heart to beat against its prison-bound, so that it burst. +I have believed it to be my destiny to guide and rule the last of the race +of man, till death extinguish my government; and to this destiny I submit. + +"Pardon me, Verney, I pain you, but I will no longer complain. Now I am +myself again, or rather I am better than myself. You have known how from my +childhood aspiring thoughts and high desires have warred with inherent +disease and overstrained sensitiveness, till the latter became victors. You +know how I placed this wasted feeble hand on the abandoned helm of human +government. I have been visited at times by intervals of fluctuation; yet, +until now, I have felt as if a superior and indefatigable spirit had taken +up its abode within me or rather incorporated itself with my weaker being. +The holy visitant has for a time slept, perhaps to show me how powerless I +am without its inspiration. Yet, stay for a while, O Power of goodness and +strength; disdain not yet this rent shrine of fleshly mortality, O immortal +Capability! While one fellow creature remains to whom aid can be afforded, +stay by and prop your shattered, falling engine!" + +His vehemence, and voice broken by irrepressible sighs, sunk to my heart; +his eyes gleamed in the gloom of night like two earthly stars; and, his +form dilating, his countenance beaming, truly it almost seemed as if at his +eloquent appeal a more than mortal spirit entered his frame, exalting him +above humanity. He turned quickly towards me, and held out his hand. +"Farewell, Verney," he cried, "brother of my love, farewell; no other weak +expression must cross these lips, I am alive again: to our tasks, to our +combats with our unvanquishable foe, for to the last I will struggle +against her." + +He grasped my hand, and bent a look on me, more fervent and animated than +any smile; then turning his horse's head, he touched the animal with the +spur, and was out of sight in a moment. + +A man last night had died of the plague. The quiver was not emptied, nor +the bow unstrung. We stood as marks, while Parthian Pestilence aimed and +shot, insatiated by conquest, unobstructed by the heaps of slain. A +sickness of the soul, contagious even to my physical mechanism, came over +me. My knees knocked together, my teeth chattered, the current of my blood, +clotted by sudden cold, painfully forced its way from my heavy heart. I did +not fear for myself, but it was misery to think that we could not even save +this remnant. That those I loved might in a few days be as clay-cold as +Idris in her antique tomb; nor could strength of body or energy of mind +ward off the blow. A sense of degradation came over me. Did God create man, +merely in the end to become dead earth in the midst of healthful vegetating +nature? Was he of no more account to his Maker, than a field of corn +blighted in the ear? Were our proud dreams thus to fade? Our name was +written "a little lower than the angels;" and, behold, we were no better +than ephemera. We had called ourselves the "paragon of animals," and, lo! +we were a "quint-essence of dust." We repined that the pyramids had +outlasted the embalmed body of their builder. Alas! the mere shepherd's hut +of straw we passed on the road, contained in its structure the principle of +greater longevity than the whole race of man. How reconcile this sad change +to our past aspirations, to our apparent powers! + +Sudden an internal voice, articulate and clear, seemed to say:--Thus from +eternity, it was decreed: the steeds that bear Time onwards had this hour +and this fulfilment enchained to them, since the void brought forth its +burthen. Would you read backwards the unchangeable laws of Necessity? + +Mother of the world! Servant of the Omnipotent! eternal, changeless +Necessity! who with busy fingers sittest ever weaving the indissoluble +chain of events!--I will not murmur at thy acts. If my human mind cannot +acknowledge that all that is, is right; yet since what is, must be, I will +sit amidst the ruins and smile. Truly we were not born to enjoy, but to +submit, and to hope. + +Will not the reader tire, if I should minutely describe our long-drawn +journey from Paris to Geneva? If, day by day, I should record, in the form +of a journal, the thronging miseries of our lot, could my hand write, or +language afford words to express, the variety of our woe; the hustling and +crowding of one deplorable event upon another? Patience, oh reader! whoever +thou art, wherever thou dwellest, whether of race spiritual, or, sprung +from some surviving pair, thy nature will be human, thy habitation the +earth; thou wilt here read of the acts of the extinct race, and wilt ask +wonderingly, if they, who suffered what thou findest recorded, were of +frail flesh and soft organization like thyself. Most true, they were-- +weep therefore; for surely, solitary being, thou wilt be of gentle +disposition; shed compassionate tears; but the while lend thy attention to +the tale, and learn the deeds and sufferings of thy predecessors. + +Yet the last events that marked our progress through France were so full of +strange horror and gloomy misery, that I dare not pause too long in the +narration. If I were to dissect each incident, every small fragment of a +second would contain an harrowing tale, whose minutest word would curdle +the blood in thy young veins. It is right that I should erect for thy +instruction this monument of the foregone race; but not that I should drag +thee through the wards of an hospital, nor the secret chambers of the +charnel-house. This tale, therefore, shall be rapidly unfolded. Images of +destruction, pictures of despair, the procession of the last triumph of +death, shall be drawn before thee, swift as the rack driven by the north +wind along the blotted splendour of the sky. + +Weed-grown fields, desolate towns, the wild approach of riderless horses +had now become habitual to my eyes; nay, sights far worse, of the unburied +dead, and human forms which were strewed on the road side, and on the steps +of once frequented habitations, where, + + Through the flesh that wastes away + Beneath the parching sun, the whitening bones + Start forth, and moulder in the sable dust.[2] + +Sights like these had become--ah, woe the while! so familiar, that we had +ceased to shudder, or spur our stung horses to sudden speed, as we passed +them. France in its best days, at least that part of France through which +we travelled, had been a cultivated desert, and the absence of enclosures, +of cottages, and even of peasantry, was saddening to a traveller from sunny +Italy, or busy England. Yet the towns were frequent and lively, and the +cordial politeness and ready smile of the wooden-shoed peasant restored +good humour to the splenetic. Now, the old woman sat no more at the door +with her distaff--the lank beggar no longer asked charity in +courtier-like phrase; nor on holidays did the peasantry thread with slow +grace the mazes of the dance. Silence, melancholy bride of death, went in +procession with him from town to town through the spacious region. + +We arrived at Fontainebleau, and speedily prepared for the reception of our +friends. On mustering our numbers for the night, three were found missing. +When I enquired for them, the man to whom I spoke, uttered the word +"plague," and fell at my feet in convulsions; he also was infected. There +were hard faces around me; for among my troop were sailors who had crossed +the line times unnumbered, soldiers who, in Russia and far America, had +suffered famine, cold and danger, and men still sterner-featured, once +nightly depredators in our over-grown metropolis; men bred from their +cradle to see the whole machine of society at work for their destruction. I +looked round, and saw upon the faces of all horror and despair written in +glaring characters. + +We passed four days at Fontainebleau. Several sickened and died, and in the +mean time neither Adrian nor any of our friends appeared. My own troop was +in commotion; to reach Switzerland, to plunge into rivers of snow, and to +dwell in caves of ice, became the mad desire of all. Yet we had promised to +wait for the Earl; and he came not. My people demanded to be led forward-- +rebellion, if so we might call what was the mere casting away of +straw-formed shackles, appeared manifestly among them. They would away on +the word without a leader. The only chance of safety, the only hope of +preservation from every form of indescribable suffering, was our keeping +together. I told them this; while the most determined among them answered +with sullenness, that they could take care of themselves, and replied to my +entreaties with scoffs and menaces. + +At length, on the fifth day, a messenger arrived from Adrian, bearing +letters, which directed us to proceed to Auxerre, and there await his +arrival, which would only be deferred for a few days. Such was the tenor of +his public letters. Those privately delivered to me, detailed at length the +difficulties of his situation, and left the arrangement of my future plans +to my own discretion. His account of the state of affairs at Versailles was +brief, but the oral communications of his messenger filled up his +omissions, and shewed me that perils of the most frightful nature were +gathering around him. At first the re-awakening of the plague had been +concealed; but the number of deaths encreasing, the secret was divulged, +and the destruction already achieved, was exaggerated by the fears of the +survivors. Some emissaries of the enemy of mankind, the accursed Impostors, +were among them instilling their doctrine that safety and life could only +be ensured by submission to their chief; and they succeeded so well, that +soon, instead of desiring to proceed to Switzerland, the major part of the +multitude, weak-minded women, and dastardly men, desired to return to +Paris, and, by ranging themselves under the banners of the so called +prophet, and by a cowardly worship of the principle of evil, to purchase +respite, as they hoped, from impending death. The discord and tumult +induced by these conflicting fears and passions, detained Adrian. It +required all his ardour in pursuit of an object, and his patience under +difficulties, to calm and animate such a number of his followers, as might +counterbalance the panic of the rest, and lead them back to the means from +which alone safety could be derived. He had hoped immediately to follow me; +but, being defeated in this intention, he sent his messenger urging me to +secure my own troop at such a distance from Versailles, as to prevent the +contagion of rebellion from reaching them; promising, at the same time, to +join me the moment a favourable occasion should occur, by means of which he +could withdraw the main body of the emigrants from the evil influence at +present exercised over them. + +I was thrown into a most painful state of uncertainty by these +communications. My first impulse was that we should all return to +Versailles, there to assist in extricating our chief from his perils. I +accordingly assembled my troop, and proposed to them this retrograde +movement, instead of the continuation of our journey to Auxerre. With one +voice they refused to comply. The notion circulated among them was, that +the ravages of the plague alone detained the Protector; they opposed his +order to my request; they came to a resolve to proceed without me, should I +refuse to accompany them. Argument and adjuration were lost on these +dastards. The continual diminution of their own numbers, effected by +pestilence, added a sting to their dislike of delay; and my opposition only +served to bring their resolution to a crisis. That same evening they +departed towards Auxerre. Oaths, as from soldiers to their general, had +been taken by them: these they broke. I also had engaged myself not to +desert them; it appeared to me inhuman to ground any infraction of my word +on theirs. The same spirit that caused them to rebel against me, would +impel them to desert each other; and the most dreadful sufferings would be +the consequence of their journey in their present unordered and chiefless +array. These feelings for a time were paramount; and, in obedience to them, +I accompanied the rest towards Auxerre. We arrived the same night at +Villeneuve-la-Guiard, a town at the distance of four posts from +Fontainebleau. When my companions had retired to rest, and I was left alone +to revolve and ruminate upon the intelligence I received of Adrian's +situation, another view of the subject presented itself to me. What was I +doing, and what was the object of my present movements? Apparently I was to +lead this troop of selfish and lawless men towards Switzerland, leaving +behind my family and my selected friend, which, subject as they were hourly +to the death that threatened to all, I might never see again. Was it not my +first duty to assist the Protector, setting an example of attachment and +duty? At a crisis, such as the one I had reached, it is very difficult to +balance nicely opposing interests, and that towards which our inclinations +lead us, obstinately assumes the appearance of selfishness, even when we +meditate a sacrifice. We are easily led at such times to make a compromise +of the question; and this was my present resource. I resolved that very +night to ride to Versailles; if I found affairs less desperate than I now +deemed them, I would return without delay to my troop; I had a vague idea +that my arrival at that town, would occasion some sensation more or less +strong, of which we might profit, for the purpose of leading forward the +vacillating multitude--at least no time was to be lost--I visited the +stables, I saddled my favourite horse, and vaulting on his back, without +giving myself time for further reflection or hesitation, quitted +Villeneuve-la-Guiard on my return to Versailles. + +I was glad to escape from my rebellious troop, and to lose sight for a +time, of the strife of evil with good, where the former for ever remained +triumphant. I was stung almost to madness by my uncertainty concerning the +fate of Adrian, and grew reckless of any event, except what might lose or +preserve my unequalled friend. With an heavy heart, that sought relief in +the rapidity of my course, I rode through the night to Versailles. I +spurred my horse, who addressed his free limbs to speed, and tossed his +gallant head in pride. The constellations reeled swiftly by, swiftly each +tree and stone and landmark fled past my onward career. I bared my head to +the rushing wind, which bathed my brow in delightful coolness. As I lost +sight of Villeneuve-la-Guiard, I forgot the sad drama of human misery; +methought it was happiness enough to live, sensitive the while of the +beauty of the verdure-clad earth, the star-bespangled sky, and the tameless +wind that lent animation to the whole. My horse grew tired--and I, +forgetful of his fatigue, still as he lagged, cheered him with my voice, +and urged him with the spur. He was a gallant animal, and I did not wish to +exchange him for any chance beast I might light on, leaving him never to be +refound. All night we went forward; in the morning he became sensible that +we approached Versailles, to reach which as his home, he mustered his +flagging strength. The distance we had come was not less than fifty miles, +yet he shot down the long Boulevards swift as an arrow; poor fellow, as I +dismounted at the gate of the castle, he sunk on his knees, his eyes were +covered with a film, he fell on his side, a few gasps inflated his noble +chest, and he died. I saw him expire with an anguish, unaccountable even to +myself, the spasm was as the wrenching of some limb in agonizing torture, +but it was brief as it was intolerable. I forgot him, as I swiftly darted +through the open portal, and up the majestic stairs of this castle of +victories--heard Adrian's voice--O fool! O woman nurtured, effeminate +and contemptible being--I heard his voice, and answered it with +convulsive shrieks; I rushed into the Hall of Hercules, where he stood +surrounded by a crowd, whose eyes, turned in wonder on me, reminded me that +on the stage of the world, a man must repress such girlish extacies. I +would have given worlds to have embraced him; I dared not--Half in +exhaustion, half voluntarily, I threw myself at my length on the ground-- +dare I disclose the truth to the gentle offspring of solitude? I did so, +that I might kiss the dear and sacred earth he trod. + +I found everything in a state of tumult. An emissary of the leader of the +elect, had been so worked up by his chief, and by his own fanatical creed, +as to make an attempt on the life of the Protector and preserver of lost +mankind. His hand was arrested while in the act of poignarding the Earl; +this circumstance had caused the clamour I heard on my arrival at the +castle, and the confused assembly of persons that I found assembled in the +Salle d'Hercule. Although superstition and demoniac fury had crept among +the emigrants, yet several adhered with fidelity to their noble chieftain; +and many, whose faith and love had been unhinged by fear, felt all their +latent affection rekindled by this detestable attempt. A phalanx of +faithful breasts closed round him; the wretch, who, although a prisoner and +in bonds, vaunted his design, and madly claimed the crown of martyrdom, +would have been torn to pieces, had not his intended victim interposed. +Adrian, springing forward, shielded him with his own person, and commanded +with energy the submission of his infuriate friends--at this moment I had +entered. + +Discipline and peace were at length restored in the castle; and then Adrian +went from house to house, from troop to troop, to soothe the disturbed +minds of his followers, and recall them to their ancient obedience. But the +fear of immediate death was still rife amongst these survivors of a world's +destruction; the horror occasioned by the attempted assassination, past +away; each eye turned towards Paris. Men love a prop so well, that they +will lean on a pointed poisoned spear; and such was he, the impostor, who, +with fear of hell for his scourge, most ravenous wolf, played the driver to +a credulous flock. + +It was a moment of suspense, that shook even the resolution of the +unyielding friend of man. Adrian for one moment was about to give in, to +cease the struggle, and quit, with a few adherents, the deluded crowd, +leaving them a miserable prey to their passions, and to the worse tyrant +who excited them. But again, after a brief fluctuation of purpose, he +resumed his courage and resolves, sustained by the singleness of his +purpose, and the untried spirit of benevolence which animated him. At this +moment, as an omen of excellent import, his wretched enemy pulled +destruction on his head, destroying with his own hands the dominion he had +erected. + +His grand hold upon the minds of men, took its rise from the doctrine +inculcated by him, that those who believed in, and followed him, were the +remnant to be saved, while all the rest of mankind were marked out for +death. Now, at the time of the Flood, the omnipotent repented him that he +had created man, and as then with water, now with the arrows of pestilence, +was about to annihilate all, except those who obeyed his decrees, +promulgated by the ipse dixit prophet. It is impossible to say on what +foundations this man built his hopes of being able to carry on such an +imposture. It is likely that he was fully aware of the lie which murderous +nature might give to his assertions, and believed it to be the cast of a +die, whether he should in future ages be reverenced as an inspired delegate +from heaven, or be recognized as an impostor by the present dying +generation. At any rate he resolved to keep up the drama to the last act. +When, on the first approach of summer, the fatal disease again made its +ravages among the followers of Adrian, the impostor exultingly proclaimed +the exemption of his own congregation from the universal calamity. He was +believed; his followers, hitherto shut up in Paris, now came to Versailles. +Mingling with the coward band there assembled, they reviled their admirable +leader, and asserted their own superiority and exemption. At length the +plague, slow-footed, but sure in her noiseless advance, destroyed the +illusion, invading the congregation of the elect, and showering promiscuous +death among them. Their leader endeavoured to conceal this event; he had a +few followers, who, admitted into the arcana of his wickedness, could help +him in the execution of his nefarious designs. Those who sickened were +immediately and quietly withdrawn, the cord and a midnight-grave disposed +of them for ever; while some plausible excuse was given for their absence. +At last a female, whose maternal vigilance subdued even the effects of the +narcotics administered to her, became a witness of their murderous designs +on her only child. Mad with horror, she would have burst among her deluded +fellow-victims, and, wildly shrieking, have awaked the dull ear of night +with the history of the fiend-like crime; when the Impostor, in his last +act of rage and desperation, plunged a poignard in her bosom. Thus wounded +to death, her garments dripping with her own life-blood, bearing her +strangled infant in her arms, beautiful and young as she was, Juliet, (for +it was she) denounced to the host of deceived believers, the wickedness of +their leader. He saw the aghast looks of her auditors, changing from horror +to fury--the names of those already sacrificed were echoed by their +relatives, now assured of their loss. The wretch with that energy of +purpose, which had borne him thus far in his guilty career, saw his danger, +and resolved to evade the worst forms of it--he rushed on one of the +foremost, seized a pistol from his girdle, and his loud laugh of derision +mingled with the report of the weapon with which he destroyed himself. + +They left his miserable remains even where they lay; they placed the corpse +of poor Juliet and her babe upon a bier, and all, with hearts subdued to +saddest regret, in long procession walked towards Versailles. They met +troops of those who had quitted the kindly protection of Adrian, and were +journeying to join the fanatics. The tale of horror was recounted--all +turned back; and thus at last, accompanied by the undiminished numbers of +surviving humanity, and preceded by the mournful emblem of their recovered +reason, they appeared before Adrian, and again and for ever vowed obedience +to his commands, and fidelity to his cause. + +[1] Shakespeare--Julius Caesar. +[2] Elton's Translation of Hesiod's "Shield of Hercules." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +THESE events occupied so much time, that June had numbered more than half +its days, before we again commenced our long-protracted journey. The day +after my return to Versailles, six men, from among those I had left at +Villeneuve-la-Guiard, arrived, with intelligence, that the rest of the +troop had already proceeded towards Switzerland. We went forward in the +same track. + +It is strange, after an interval of time, to look back on a period, which, +though short in itself, appeared, when in actual progress, to be drawn out +interminably. By the end of July we entered Dijon; by the end of July those +hours, days, and weeks had mingled with the ocean of forgotten time, which +in their passage teemed with fatal events and agonizing sorrow. By the end +of July, little more than a month had gone by, if man's life were measured +by the rising and setting of the sun: but, alas! in that interval ardent +youth had become grey-haired; furrows deep and uneraseable were trenched in +the blooming cheek of the young mother; the elastic limbs of early manhood, +paralyzed as by the burthen of years, assumed the decrepitude of age. +Nights passed, during whose fatal darkness the sun grew old before it rose; +and burning days, to cool whose baleful heat the balmy eve, lingering far +in eastern climes, came lagging and ineffectual; days, in which the dial, +radiant in its noon-day station, moved not its shadow the space of a little +hour, until a whole life of sorrow had brought the sufferer to an untimely +grave. + +We departed from Versailles fifteen hundred souls. We set out on the +eighteenth of June. We made a long procession, in which was contained every +dear relationship, or tie of love, that existed in human society. Fathers +and husbands, with guardian care, gathered their dear relatives around +them; wives and mothers looked for support to the manly form beside them, +and then with tender anxiety bent their eyes on the infant troop around. +They were sad, but not hopeless. Each thought that someone would be saved; +each, with that pertinacious optimism, which to the last characterized our +human nature, trusted that their beloved family would be the one +preserved. + +We passed through France, and found it empty of inhabitants. Some one or +two natives survived in the larger towns, which they roamed through like +ghosts; we received therefore small encrease to our numbers, and such +decrease through death, that at last it became easier to count the scanty +list of survivors. As we never deserted any of the sick, until their death +permitted us to commit their remains to the shelter of a grave, our journey +was long, while every day a frightful gap was made in our troop--they +died by tens, by fifties, by hundreds. No mercy was shewn by death; we +ceased to expect it, and every day welcomed the sun with the feeling that +we might never see it rise again. + +The nervous terrors and fearful visions which had scared us during the +spring, continued to visit our coward troop during this sad journey. Every +evening brought its fresh creation of spectres; a ghost was depicted by +every blighted tree; and appalling shapes were manufactured from each +shaggy bush. By degrees these common marvels palled on us, and then other +wonders were called into being. Once it was confidently asserted, that the +sun rose an hour later than its seasonable time; again it was discovered +that he grew paler and paler; that shadows took an uncommon appearance. It +was impossible to have imagined, during the usual calm routine of life men +had before experienced, the terrible effects produced by these extravagant +delusions: in truth, of such little worth are our senses, when unsupported +by concurring testimony, that it was with the utmost difficulty I kept +myself free from the belief in supernatural events, to which the major part +of our people readily gave credit. Being one sane amidst a crowd of the +mad, I hardly dared assert to my own mind, that the vast luminary had +undergone no change--that the shadows of night were unthickened by +innumerable shapes of awe and terror; or that the wind, as it sung in the +trees, or whistled round an empty building, was not pregnant with sounds of +wailing and despair. Sometimes realities took ghostly shapes; and it was +impossible for one's blood not to curdle at the perception of an evident +mixture of what we knew to be true, with the visionary semblance of all +that we feared. + +Once, at the dusk of the evening, we saw a figure all in white, apparently +of more than human stature, flourishing about the road, now throwing up its +arms, now leaping to an astonishing height in the air, then turning round +several times successively, then raising itself to its full height and +gesticulating violently. Our troop, on the alert to discover and believe in +the supernatural, made a halt at some distance from this shape; and, as it +became darker, there was something appalling even to the incredulous, in +the lonely spectre, whose gambols, if they hardly accorded with spiritual +dignity, were beyond human powers. Now it leapt right up in the air, now +sheer over a high hedge, and was again the moment after in the road before +us. By the time I came up, the fright experienced by the spectators of this +ghostly exhibition, began to manifest itself in the flight of some, and the +close huddling together of the rest. Our goblin now perceived us; he +approached, and, as we drew reverentially back, made a low bow. The sight +was irresistibly ludicrous even to our hapless band, and his politeness was +hailed by a shout of laughter;--then, again springing up, as a last +effort, it sunk to the ground, and became almost invisible through the +dusky night. This circumstance again spread silence and fear through the +troop; the more courageous at length advanced, and, raising the dying +wretch, discovered the tragic explanation of this wild scene. It was an +opera-dancer, and had been one of the troop which deserted from +Villeneuve-la-Guiard: falling sick, he had been deserted by his companions; +in an access of delirium he had fancied himself on the stage, and, poor +fellow, his dying sense eagerly accepted the last human applause that could +ever be bestowed on his grace and agility. + +At another time we were haunted for several days by an apparition, to which +our people gave the appellation of the Black Spectre. We never saw it +except at evening, when his coal black steed, his mourning dress, and plume +of black feathers, had a majestic and awe-striking appearance; his face, +one said, who had seen it for a moment, was ashy pale; he had lingered far +behind the rest of his troop, and suddenly at a turn in the road, saw the +Black Spectre coming towards him; he hid himself in fear, and the horse and +his rider slowly past, while the moonbeams fell on the face of the latter, +displaying its unearthly hue. Sometimes at dead of night, as we watched the +sick, we heard one galloping through the town; it was the Black Spectre +come in token of inevitable death. He grew giant tall to vulgar eyes; an +icy atmosphere, they said, surrounded him; when he was heard, all animals +shuddered, and the dying knew that their last hour was come. It was Death +himself, they declared, come visibly to seize on subject earth, and quell +at once our decreasing numbers, sole rebels to his law. One day at noon, we +saw a dark mass on the road before us, and, coming up, beheld the Black +Spectre fallen from his horse, lying in the agonies of disease upon the +ground. He did not survive many hours; and his last words disclosed the +secret of his mysterious conduct. He was a French noble of distinction, +who, from the effects of plague, had been left alone in his district; +during many months, he had wandered from town to town, from province to +province, seeking some survivor for a companion, and abhorring the +loneliness to which he was condemned. When he discovered our troop, fear of +contagion conquered his love of society. He dared not join us, yet he could +not resolve to lose sight of us, sole human beings who besides himself +existed in wide and fertile France; so he accompanied us in the spectral +guise I have described, till pestilence gathered him to a larger +congregation, even that of Dead Mankind. + +It had been well, if such vain terrors could have distracted our thoughts +from more tangible evils. But these were too dreadful and too many not to +force themselves into every thought, every moment, of our lives. We were +obliged to halt at different periods for days together, till another and +yet another was consigned as a clod to the vast clod which had been once +our living mother. Thus we continued travelling during the hottest season; +and it was not till the first of August, that we, the emigrants,--reader, +there were just eighty of us in number,--entered the gates of Dijon. + +We had expected this moment with eagerness, for now we had accomplished the +worst part of our drear journey, and Switzerland was near at hand. Yet how +could we congratulate ourselves on any event thus imperfectly fulfilled? +Were these miserable beings, who, worn and wretched, passed in sorrowful +procession, the sole remnants of the race of man, which, like a flood, had +once spread over and possessed the whole earth? It had come down clear and +unimpeded from its primal mountain source in Ararat, and grew from a puny +streamlet to a vast perennial river, generation after generation flowing on +ceaselessly. The same, but diversified, it grew, and swept onwards towards +the absorbing ocean, whose dim shores we now reached. It had been the mere +plaything of nature, when first it crept out of uncreative void into light; +but thought brought forth power and knowledge; and, clad with these, the +race of man assumed dignity and authority. It was then no longer the mere +gardener of earth, or the shepherd of her flocks; "it carried with it an +imposing and majestic aspect; it had a pedigree and illustrious ancestors; +it had its gallery of portraits, its monumental inscriptions, its records +and titles."[1] + +This was all over, now that the ocean of death had sucked in the slackening +tide, and its source was dried up. We first had bidden adieu to the state +of things which having existed many thousand years, seemed eternal; such a +state of government, obedience, traffic, and domestic intercourse, as had +moulded our hearts and capacities, as far back as memory could reach. Then +to patriotic zeal, to the arts, to reputation, to enduring fame, to the +name of country, we had bidden farewell. We saw depart all hope of +retrieving our ancient state--all expectation, except the feeble one of +saving our individual lives from the wreck of the past. To preserve these +we had quitted England--England, no more; for without her children, what +name could that barren island claim? With tenacious grasp we clung to such +rule and order as could best save us; trusting that, if a little colony +could be preserved, that would suffice at some remoter period to restore +the lost community of mankind. + +But the game is up! We must all die; nor leave survivor nor heir to the +wide inheritance of earth. We must all die! The species of man must perish; +his frame of exquisite workmanship; the wondrous mechanism of his senses; +the noble proportion of his godlike limbs; his mind, the throned king of +these; must perish. Will the earth still keep her place among the planets; +will she still journey with unmarked regularity round the sun; will the +seasons change, the trees adorn themselves with leaves, and flowers shed +their fragrance, in solitude? Will the mountains remain unmoved, and +streams still keep a downward course towards the vast abyss; will the tides +rise and fall, and the winds fan universal nature; will beasts pasture, +birds fly, and fishes swim, when man, the lord, possessor, perceiver, and +recorder of all these things, has passed away, as though he had never been? +O, what mockery is this! Surely death is not death, and humanity is not +extinct; but merely passed into other shapes, unsubjected to our +perceptions. Death is a vast portal, an high road to life: let us hasten to +pass; let us exist no more in this living death, but die that we may live! + +We had longed with inexpressible earnestness to reach Dijon, since we had +fixed on it, as a kind of station in our progress. But now we entered it +with a torpor more painful than acute suffering. We had come slowly but +irrevocably to the opinion, that our utmost efforts would not preserve one +human being alive. We took our hands therefore away from the long grasped +rudder; and the frail vessel on which we floated, seemed, the government +over her suspended, to rush, prow foremost, into the dark abyss of the +billows. A gush of grief, a wanton profusion of tears, and vain laments, +and overflowing tenderness, and passionate but fruitless clinging to the +priceless few that remained, was followed by languor and recklessness. + +During this disastrous journey we lost all those, not of our own family, to +whom we had particularly attached ourselves among the survivors. It were +not well to fill these pages with a mere catalogue of losses; yet I cannot +refrain from this last mention of those principally dear to us. The little +girl whom Adrian had rescued from utter desertion, during our ride through +London on the twentieth of November, died at Auxerre. The poor child had +attached herself greatly to us; and the suddenness of her death added to +our sorrow. In the morning we had seen her apparently in health--in the +evening, Lucy, before we retired to rest, visited our quarters to say that +she was dead. Poor Lucy herself only survived, till we arrived at Dijon. +She had devoted herself throughout to the nursing the sick, and attending +the friendless. Her excessive exertions brought on a slow fever, which +ended in the dread disease whose approach soon released her from her +sufferings. She had throughout been endeared to us by her good qualities, +by her ready and cheerful execution of every duty, and mild acquiescence in +every turn of adversity. When we consigned her to the tomb, we seemed at +the same time to bid a final adieu to those peculiarly feminine virtues +conspicuous in her; uneducated and unpretending as she was, she was +distinguished for patience, forbearance, and sweetness. These, with all +their train of qualities peculiarly English, would never again be revived +for us. This type of all that was most worthy of admiration in her class +among my countrywomen, was placed under the sod of desert France; and it +was as a second separation from our country to have lost sight of her for +ever. + +The Countess of Windsor died during our abode at Dijon. One morning I was +informed that she wished to see me. Her message made me remember, that +several days had elapsed since I had last seen her. Such a circumstance had +often occurred during our journey, when I remained behind to watch to their +close the last moments of some one of our hapless comrades, and the rest of +the troop past on before me. But there was something in the manner of her +messenger, that made me suspect that all was not right. A caprice of the +imagination caused me to conjecture that some ill had occurred to Clara or +Evelyn, rather than to this aged lady. Our fears, for ever on the stretch, +demanded a nourishment of horror; and it seemed too natural an occurrence, +too like past times, for the old to die before the young. I found the +venerable mother of my Idris lying on a couch, her tall emaciated figure +stretched out; her face fallen away, from which the nose stood out in sharp +profile, and her large dark eyes, hollow and deep, gleamed with such light +as may edge a thunder cloud at sun-set. All was shrivelled and dried up, +except these lights; her voice too was fearfully changed, as she spoke to +me at intervals. "I am afraid," said she, "that it is selfish in me to have +asked you to visit the old woman again, before she dies: yet perhaps it +would have been a greater shock to hear suddenly that I was dead, than to +see me first thus." + +I clasped her shrivelled hand: "Are you indeed so ill?" I asked. + +"Do you not perceive death in my face," replied she, "it is strange; I +ought to have expected this, and yet I confess it has taken me unaware. I +never clung to life, or enjoyed it, till these last months, while among +those I senselessly deserted: and it is hard to be snatched immediately +away. I am glad, however, that I am not a victim of the plague; probably I +should have died at this hour, though the world had continued as it was in +my youth." + +She spoke with difficulty, and I perceived that she regretted the necessity +of death, even more than she cared to confess. Yet she had not to complain +of an undue shortening of existence; her faded person shewed that life had +naturally spent itself. We had been alone at first; now Clara entered; the +Countess turned to her with a smile, and took the hand of this lovely +child; her roseate palm and snowy fingers, contrasted with relaxed fibres +and yellow hue of those of her aged friend; she bent to kiss her, touching +her withered mouth with the warm, full lips of youth. "Verney," said the +Countess, "I need not recommend this dear girl to you, for your own sake +you will preserve her. Were the world as it was, I should have a thousand +sage precautions to impress, that one so sensitive, good, and beauteous, +might escape the dangers that used to lurk for the destruction of the fair +and excellent. This is all nothing now. + +"I commit you, my kind nurse, to your uncle's care; to yours I entrust the +dearest relic of my better self. Be to Adrian, sweet one, what you have +been to me--enliven his sadness with your sprightly sallies; sooth his +anguish by your sober and inspired converse, when he is dying; nurse him as +you have done me." + +Clara burst into tears; "Kind girl," said the Countess, "do not weep for +me. Many dear friends are left to you." + +"And yet," cried Clara, "you talk of their dying also. This is indeed cruel +--how could I live, if they were gone? If it were possible for my beloved +protector to die before me, I could not nurse him; I could only die too." + +The venerable lady survived this scene only twenty-four hours. She was the +last tie binding us to the ancient state of things. It was impossible to +look on her, and not call to mind in their wonted guise, events and +persons, as alien to our present situation as the disputes of Themistocles +and Aristides, or the wars of the two roses in our native land. The crown +of England had pressed her brow; the memory of my father and his +misfortunes, the vain struggles of the late king, the images of Raymond, +Evadne, and Perdita, who had lived in the world's prime, were brought +vividly before us. We consigned her to the oblivious tomb with reluctance; +and when I turned from her grave, Janus veiled his retrospective face; that +which gazed on future generations had long lost its faculty. + +After remaining a week at Dijon, until thirty of our number deserted the +vacant ranks of life, we continued our way towards Geneva. At noon on the +second day we arrived at the foot of Jura. We halted here during the heat +of the day. Here fifty human beings--fifty, the only human beings that +survived of the food-teeming earth, assembled to read in the looks of each +other ghastly plague, or wasting sorrow, desperation, or worse, +carelessness of future or present evil. Here we assembled at the foot of +this mighty wall of mountain, under a spreading walnut tree; a brawling +stream refreshed the green sward by its sprinkling; and the busy +grasshopper chirped among the thyme. We clustered together a group of +wretched sufferers. A mother cradled in her enfeebled arms the child, last +of many, whose glazed eye was about to close for ever. Here beauty, late +glowing in youthful lustre and consciousness, now wan and neglected, knelt +fanning with uncertain motion the beloved, who lay striving to paint his +features, distorted by illness, with a thankful smile. There an +hard-featured, weather-worn veteran, having prepared his meal, sat, his +head dropped on his breast, the useless knife falling from his grasp, his +limbs utterly relaxed, as thought of wife and child, and dearest relative, +all lost, passed across his recollection. There sat a man who for forty +years had basked in fortune's tranquil sunshine; he held the hand of his +last hope, his beloved daughter, who had just attained womanhood; and he +gazed on her with anxious eyes, while she tried to rally her fainting +spirit to comfort him. Here a servant, faithful to the last, though dying, +waited on one, who, though still erect with health, gazed with gasping fear +on the variety of woe around. + +Adrian stood leaning against a tree; he held a book in his hand, but his +eye wandered from the pages, and sought mine; they mingled a sympathetic +glance; his looks confessed that his thoughts had quitted the inanimate +print, for pages more pregnant with meaning, more absorbing, spread out +before him. By the margin of the stream, apart from all, in a tranquil +nook, where the purling brook kissed the green sward gently, Clara and +Evelyn were at play, sometimes beating the water with large boughs, +sometimes watching the summer-flies that sported upon it. Evelyn now chased +a butterfly--now gathered a flower for his cousin; and his laughing +cherub-face and clear brow told of the light heart that beat in his bosom. +Clara, though she endeavoured to give herself up to his amusement, often +forgot him, as she turned to observe Adrian and me. She was now fourteen, +and retained her childish appearance, though in height a woman; she acted +the part of the tenderest mother to my little orphan boy; to see her +playing with him, or attending silently and submissively on our wants, you +thought only of her admirable docility and patience; but, in her soft eyes, +and the veined curtains that veiled them, in the clearness of her marmoreal +brow, and the tender expression of her lips, there was an intelligence and +beauty that at once excited admiration and love. + +When the sun had sunk towards the precipitate west, and the evening shadows +grew long, we prepared to ascend the mountain. The attention that we were +obliged to pay to the sick, made our progress slow. The winding road, +though steep, presented a confined view of rocky fields and hills, each +hiding the other, till our farther ascent disclosed them in succession. We +were seldom shaded from the declining sun, whose slant beams were instinct +with exhausting heat. There are times when minor difficulties grow gigantic +--times, when as the Hebrew poet expressively terms it, "the grasshopper +is a burthen;" so was it with our ill fated party this evening. Adrian, +usually the first to rally his spirits, and dash foremost into fatigue and +hardship, with relaxed limbs and declined head, the reins hanging loosely +in his grasp, left the choice of the path to the instinct of his horse, now +and then painfully rousing himself, when the steepness of the ascent +required that he should keep his seat with better care. Fear and horror +encompassed me. Did his languid air attest that he also was struck with +contagion? How long, when I look on this matchless specimen of mortality, +may I perceive that his thought answers mine? how long will those limbs +obey the kindly spirit within? how long will light and life dwell in the +eyes of this my sole remaining friend? Thus pacing slowly, each hill +surmounted, only presented another to be ascended; each jutting corner only +discovered another, sister to the last, endlessly. Sometimes the pressure +of sickness in one among us, caused the whole cavalcade to halt; the call +for water, the eagerly expressed wish to repose; the cry of pain, and +suppressed sob of the mourner--such were the sorrowful attendants of our +passage of the Jura. + +Adrian had gone first. I saw him, while I was detained by the loosening of +a girth, struggling with the upward path, seemingly more difficult than any +we had yet passed. He reached the top, and the dark outline of his figure +stood in relief against the sky. He seemed to behold something unexpected +and wonderful; for, pausing, his head stretched out, his arms for a moment +extended, he seemed to give an All Hail! to some new vision. Urged by +curiosity, I hurried to join him. After battling for many tedious minutes +with the precipice, the same scene presented itself to me, which had wrapt +him in extatic wonder. + +Nature, or nature's favourite, this lovely earth, presented her most +unrivalled beauties in resplendent and sudden exhibition. Below, far, far +below, even as it were in the yawning abyss of the ponderous globe, lay the +placid and azure expanse of lake Leman; vine-covered hills hedged it in, +and behind dark mountains in cone-like shape, or irregular cyclopean wall, +served for further defence. But beyond, and high above all, as if the +spirits of the air had suddenly unveiled their bright abodes, placed in +scaleless altitude in the stainless sky, heaven-kissing, companions of the +unattainable ether, were the glorious Alps, clothed in dazzling robes of +light by the setting sun. And, as if the world's wonders were never to be +exhausted, their vast immensities, their jagged crags, and roseate +painting, appeared again in the lake below, dipping their proud heights +beneath the unruffled waves--palaces for the Naiads of the placid waters. +Towns and villages lay scattered at the foot of Jura, which, with dark +ravine, and black promontories, stretched its roots into the watery expanse +beneath. Carried away by wonder, I forgot the death of man, and the living +and beloved friend near me. When I turned, I saw tears streaming from his +eyes; his thin hands pressed one against the other, his animated +countenance beaming with admiration; "Why," cried he, at last, "Why, oh +heart, whisperest thou of grief to me? Drink in the beauty of that scene, +and possess delight beyond what a fabled paradise could afford." + +By degrees, our whole party surmounting the steep, joined us, not one among +them, but gave visible tokens of admiration, surpassing any before +experienced. One cried, "God reveals his heaven to us; we may die blessed." +Another and another, with broken exclamations, and extravagant phrases, +endeavoured to express the intoxicating effect of this wonder of nature. So +we remained awhile, lightened of the pressing burthen of fate, forgetful of +death, into whose night we were about to plunge; no longer reflecting that +our eyes now and for ever were and would be the only ones which might +perceive the divine magnificence of this terrestrial exhibition. An +enthusiastic transport, akin to happiness, burst, like a sudden ray from +the sun, on our darkened life. Precious attribute of woe-worn humanity! +that can snatch extatic emotion, even from under the very share and harrow, +that ruthlessly ploughs up and lays waste every hope. + +This evening was marked by another event. Passing through Ferney in our way +to Geneva, unaccustomed sounds of music arose from the rural church which +stood embosomed in trees, surrounded by smokeless, vacant cottages. The +peal of an organ with rich swell awoke the mute air, lingering along, and +mingling with the intense beauty that clothed the rocks and woods, and +waves around. Music--the language of the immortals, disclosed to us as +testimony of their existence--music, "silver key of the fountain of +tears," child of love, soother of grief, inspirer of heroism and radiant +thoughts, O music, in this our desolation, we had forgotten thee! Nor pipe +at eve cheered us, nor harmony of voice, nor linked thrill of string; thou +camest upon us now, like the revealing of other forms of being; and +transported as we had been by the loveliness of nature, fancying that we +beheld the abode of spirits, now we might well imagine that we heard their +melodious communings. We paused in such awe as would seize on a pale +votarist, visiting some holy shrine at midnight; if she beheld animated and +smiling, the image which she worshipped. We all stood mute; many knelt. In +a few minutes however, we were recalled to human wonder and sympathy by a +familiar strain. The air was Haydn's "New-Created World," and, old and +drooping as humanity had become, the world yet fresh as at creation's day, +might still be worthily celebrated by such an hymn of praise. Adrian and I +entered the church; the nave was empty, though the smoke of incense rose +from the altar, bringing with it the recollection of vast congregations, in +once thronged cathedrals; we went into the loft. A blind old man sat at the +bellows; his whole soul was ear; and as he sat in the attitude of attentive +listening, a bright glow of pleasure was diffused over his countenance; +for, though his lack-lustre eye could not reflect the beam, yet his parted +lips, and every line of his face and venerable brow spoke delight. A young +woman sat at the keys, perhaps twenty years of age. Her auburn hair hung on +her neck, and her fair brow shone in its own beauty; but her drooping eyes +let fall fast-flowing tears, while the constraint she exercised to suppress +her sobs, and still her trembling, flushed her else pale cheek; she was +thin; languor, and alas! sickness, bent her form. We stood looking at the +pair, forgetting what we heard in the absorbing sight; till, the last chord +struck, the peal died away in lessening reverberations. The mighty voice, +inorganic we might call it, for we could in no way associate it with +mechanism of pipe or key, stilled its sonorous tone, and the girl, turning +to lend her assistance to her aged companion, at length perceived us. + +It was her father; and she, since childhood, had been the guide of his +darkened steps. They were Germans from Saxony, and, emigrating thither but +a few years before, had formed new ties with the surrounding villagers. +About the time that the pestilence had broken out, a young German student +had joined them. Their simple history was easily divined. He, a noble, +loved the fair daughter of the poor musician, and followed them in their +flight from the persecutions of his friends; but soon the mighty leveller +came with unblunted scythe to mow, together with the grass, the tall +flowers of the field. The youth was an early victim. She preserved herself +for her father's sake. His blindness permitted her to continue a delusion, +at first the child of accident--and now solitary beings, sole survivors +in the land, he remained unacquainted with the change, nor was aware that +when he listened to his child's music, the mute mountains, senseless lake, +and unconscious trees, were, himself excepted, her sole auditors. + +The very day that we arrived she had been attacked by symptomatic illness. +She was paralyzed with horror at the idea of leaving her aged, sightless +father alone on the empty earth; but she had not courage to disclose the +truth, and the very excess of her desperation animated her to surpassing +exertions. At the accustomed vesper hour, she led him to the chapel; and, +though trembling and weeping on his account, she played, without fault in +time, or error in note, the hymn written to celebrate the creation of the +adorned earth, soon to be her tomb. + +We came to her like visitors from heaven itself; her high-wrought courage; +her hardly sustained firmness, fled with the appearance of relief. With a +shriek she rushed towards us, embraced the knees of Adrian, and uttering +but the words, "O save my father!" with sobs and hysterical cries, opened +the long-shut floodgates of her woe. + +Poor girl!--she and her father now lie side by side, beneath the high +walnut-tree where her lover reposes, and which in her dying moments she had +pointed out to us. Her father, at length aware of his daughter's danger, +unable to see the changes of her dear countenance, obstinately held her +hand, till it was chilled and stiffened by death. Nor did he then move or +speak, till, twelve hours after, kindly death took him to his breakless +repose. They rest beneath the sod, the tree their monument;--the hallowed +spot is distinct in my memory, paled in by craggy Jura, and the far, +immeasurable Alps; the spire of the church they frequented still points +from out the embosoming trees; and though her hand be cold, still methinks +the sounds of divine music which they loved wander about, solacing their +gentle ghosts. + +[1] Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +WE had now reached Switzerland, so long the final mark and aim of our +exertions. We had looked, I know not wherefore, with hope and pleasing +expectation on her congregation of hills and snowy crags, and opened our +bosoms with renewed spirits to the icy Biz, which even at Midsummer used to +come from the northern glacier laden with cold. Yet how could we nourish +expectation of relief? Like our native England, and the vast extent of +fertile France, this mountain-embowered land was desolate of its +inhabitants. Nor bleak mountain-top, nor snow-nourished rivulet; not the +ice-laden Biz, nor thunder, the tamer of contagion, had preserved them-- +why therefore should we claim exemption? + +Who was there indeed to save? What troop had we brought fit to stand at +bay, and combat with the conqueror? We were a failing remnant, tamed to +mere submission to the coming blow. A train half dead, through fear of +death--a hopeless, unresisting, almost reckless crew, which, in the +tossed bark of life, had given up all pilotage, and resigned themselves to +the destructive force of ungoverned winds. Like a few furrows of unreaped +corn, which, left standing on a wide field after the rest is gathered to +the garner, are swiftly borne down by the winter storm. Like a few +straggling swallows, which, remaining after their fellows had, on the first +unkind breath of passing autumn, migrated to genial climes, were struck to +earth by the first frost of November. Like a stray sheep that wanders over +the sleet-beaten hill-side, while the flock is in the pen, and dies before +morning-dawn. Like a cloud, like one of many that were spread in +impenetrable woof over the sky, which, when the shepherd north has driven +its companions "to drink Antipodean noon," fades and dissolves in the clear +ether--Such were we! + +We left the fair margin of the beauteous lake of Geneva, and entered the +Alpine ravines; tracing to its source the brawling Arve, through the +rock-bound valley of Servox, beside the mighty waterfalls, and under the +shadow of the inaccessible mountains, we travelled on; while the luxuriant +walnut-tree gave place to the dark pine, whose musical branches swung in +the wind, and whose upright forms had braved a thousand storms--till the +verdant sod, the flowery dell, and shrubbery hill were exchanged for the +sky-piercing, untrodden, seedless rock, "the bones of the world, waiting to +be clothed with every thing necessary to give life and beauty."[1] Strange +that we should seek shelter here! Surely, if, in those countries where +earth was wont, like a tender mother, to nourish her children, we had found +her a destroyer, we need not seek it here, where stricken by keen penury +she seems to shudder through her stony veins. Nor were we mistaken in our +conjecture. We vainly sought the vast and ever moving glaciers of +Chamounix, rifts of pendant ice, seas of congelated waters, the leafless +groves of tempest-battered pines, dells, mere paths for the loud avalanche, +and hill-tops, the resort of thunder-storms. Pestilence reigned paramount +even here. By the time that day and night, like twin sisters of equal +growth, shared equally their dominion over the hours, one by one, beneath +the ice-caves, beside the waters springing from the thawed snows of a +thousand winters, another and yet another of the remnant of the race of +Man, closed their eyes for ever to the light. + +Yet we were not quite wrong in seeking a scene like this, whereon to close +the drama. Nature, true to the last, consoled us in the very heart of +misery. Sublime grandeur of outward objects soothed our hapless hearts, and +were in harmony with our desolation. Many sorrows have befallen man during +his chequered course; and many a woe-stricken mourner has found himself +sole survivor among many. Our misery took its majestic shape and colouring +from the vast ruin, that accompanied and made one with it. Thus on lovely +earth, many a dark ravine contains a brawling stream, shadowed by romantic +rocks, threaded by mossy paths--but all, except this, wanted the mighty +back-ground, the towering Alps, whose snowy capes, or bared ridges, lifted +us from our dull mortal abode, to the palaces of Nature's own. + +This solemn harmony of event and situation regulated our feelings, and gave +as it were fitting costume to our last act. Majestic gloom and tragic pomp +attended the decease of wretched humanity. The funeral procession of +monarchs of old, was transcended by our splendid shews. Near the sources of +the Arveiron we performed the rites for, four only excepted, the last of +the species. Adrian and I, leaving Clara and Evelyn wrapt in peaceful +unobserving slumber, carried the body to this desolate spot, and placed it +in those caves of ice beneath the glacier, which rive and split with the +slightest sound, and bring destruction on those within the clefts--no +bird or beast of prey could here profane the frozen form. So, with hushed +steps and in silence, we placed the dead on a bier of ice, and then, +departing, stood on the rocky platform beside the river springs. All hushed +as we had been, the very striking of the air with our persons had sufficed +to disturb the repose of this thawless region; and we had hardly left the +cavern, before vast blocks of ice, detaching themselves from the roof, +fell, and covered the human image we had deposited within. We had chosen a +fair moonlight night, but our journey thither had been long, and the +crescent sank behind the western heights by the time we had accomplished +our purpose. The snowy mountains and blue glaciers shone in their own +light. The rugged and abrupt ravine, which formed one side of Mont Anvert, +was opposite to us, the glacier at our side; at our feet Arveiron, white +and foaming, dashed over the pointed rocks that jutted into it, and, with +whirring spray and ceaseless roar, disturbed the stilly night. Yellow +lightnings played around the vast dome of Mont Blanc, silent as the +snow-clad rock they illuminated; all was bare, wild, and sublime, while the +singing of the pines in melodious murmurings added a gentle interest to the +rough magnificence. Now the riving and fall of icy rocks clave the air; now +the thunder of the avalanche burst on our ears. In countries whose features +are of less magnitude, nature betrays her living powers in the foliage of +the trees, in the growth of herbage, in the soft purling of meandering +streams; here, endowed with giant attributes, the torrent, the +thunder-storm, and the flow of massive waters, display her activity. Such +the church-yard, such the requiem, such the eternal congregation, that +waited on our companion's funeral! + +Nor was it the human form alone which we had placed in this eternal +sepulchre, whose obsequies we now celebrated. With this last victim Plague +vanished from the earth. Death had never wanted weapons wherewith to +destroy life, and we, few and weak as we had become, were still exposed to +every other shaft with which his full quiver teemed. But pestilence was +absent from among them. For seven years it had had full sway upon earth; +she had trod every nook of our spacious globe; she had mingled with the +atmosphere, which as a cloak enwraps all our fellow-creatures--the +inhabitants of native Europe--the luxurious Asiatic--the swarthy +African and free American had been vanquished and destroyed by her. Her +barbarous tyranny came to its close here in the rocky vale of Chamounix. + +Still recurring scenes of misery and pain, the fruits of this distemper, +made no more a part of our lives--the word plague no longer rung in our +ears--the aspect of plague incarnate in the human countenance no longer +appeared before our eyes. From this moment I saw plague no more. She +abdicated her throne, and despoiled herself of her imperial sceptre among +the ice rocks that surrounded us. She left solitude and silence co-heirs of +her kingdom. + +My present feelings are so mingled with the past, that I cannot say whether +the knowledge of this change visited us, as we stood on this sterile spot. +It seems to me that it did; that a cloud seemed to pass from over us, that +a weight was taken from the air; that henceforth we breathed more freely, +and raised our heads with some portion of former liberty. Yet we did not +hope. We were impressed by the sentiment, that our race was run, but that +plague would not be our destroyer. The coming time was as a mighty river, +down which a charmed boat is driven, whose mortal steersman knows, that the +obvious peril is not the one he needs fear, yet that danger is nigh; and +who floats awe-struck under beetling precipices, through the dark +and turbid waters--seeing in the distance yet stranger and ruder +shapes, towards which he is irresistibly impelled. What would +become of us? O for some Delphic oracle, or Pythian maid, to utter +the secrets of futurity! O for some Oedipus to solve the riddle of +the cruel Sphynx! Such Oedipus was I to be--not divining a word's juggle, +but whose agonizing pangs, and sorrow-tainted life were to be the engines, +wherewith to lay bare the secrets of destiny, and reveal the meaning of the +enigma, whose explanation closed the history of the human race. + +Dim fancies, akin to these, haunted our minds, and instilled feelings not +unallied to pleasure, as we stood beside this silent tomb of nature, reared +by these lifeless mountains, above her living veins, choking her vital +principle. "Thus are we left," said Adrian, "two melancholy blasted trees, +where once a forest waved. We are left to mourn, and pine, and die. Yet +even now we have our duties, which we must string ourselves to fulfil: the +duty of bestowing pleasure where we can, and by force of love, irradiating +with rainbow hues the tempest of grief. Nor will I repine if in this +extremity we preserve what we now possess. Something tells me, Verney, that +we need no longer dread our cruel enemy, and I cling with delight to the +oracular voice. Though strange, it will be sweet to mark the growth of your +little boy, and the development of Clara's young heart. In the midst of a +desert world, we are everything to them; and, if we live, it must be our +task to make this new mode of life happy to them. At present this is easy, +for their childish ideas do not wander into futurity, and the stinging +craving for sympathy, and all of love of which our nature is susceptible, +is not yet awake within them: we cannot guess what will happen then, when +nature asserts her indefeasible and sacred powers; but, long before that +time, we may all be cold, as he who lies in yonder tomb of ice. We need +only provide for the present, and endeavour to fill with pleasant images +the inexperienced fancy of your lovely niece. The scenes which now surround +us, vast and sublime as they are, are not such as can best contribute to +this work. Nature is here like our fortunes, grand, but too destructive, +bare, and rude, to be able to afford delight to her young imagination. Let +us descend to the sunny plains of Italy. Winter will soon be here, to +clothe this wilderness in double desolation; but we will cross the bleak +hill-tops, and lead her to scenes of fertility and beauty, where her path +will be adorned with flowers, and the cheery atmosphere inspire pleasure +and hope." + +In pursuance of this plan we quitted Chamounix on the following day. We had +no cause to hasten our steps; no event was transacted beyond our actual +sphere to enchain our resolves, so we yielded to every idle whim, and +deemed our time well spent, when we could behold the passage of the hours +without dismay. We loitered along the lovely Vale of Servox; passed long +hours on the bridge, which, crossing the ravine of Arve, commands a +prospect of its pine-clothed depths, and the snowy mountains that wall it +in. We rambled through romantic Switzerland; till, fear of coming winter +leading us forward, the first days of October found us in the valley of La +Maurienne, which leads to Cenis. I cannot explain the reluctance we felt at +leaving this land of mountains; perhaps it was, that we regarded the Alps +as boundaries between our former and our future state of existence, and so +clung fondly to what of old we had loved. Perhaps, because we had now so +few impulses urging to a choice between two modes of action, we were +pleased to preserve the existence of one, and preferred the prospect of +what we were to do, to the recollection of what had been done. We felt that +for this year danger was past; and we believed that, for some months, we +were secured to each other. There was a thrilling, agonizing delight in the +thought--it filled the eyes with misty tears, it tore the heart with +tumultuous heavings; frailer than the "snow fall in the river," were we +each and all--but we strove to give life and individuality to the +meteoric course of our several existences, and to feel that no moment +escaped us unenjoyed. Thus tottering on the dizzy brink, we were happy. +Yes! as we sat beneath the toppling rocks, beside the waterfalls, near + + --Forests, ancient as the hills, + +And folding sunny spots of greenery, where the chamois grazed, and the +timid squirrel laid up its hoard--descanting on the charms of nature, +drinking in the while her unalienable beauties--we were, in an empty +world, happy. + +Yet, O days of joy--days, when eye spoke to eye, and voices, sweeter than +the music of the swinging branches of the pines, or rivulet's gentle +murmur, answered mine--yet, O days replete with beatitude, days of loved +society--days unutterably dear to me forlorn--pass, O pass before me, +making me in your memory forget what I am. Behold, how my streaming eyes +blot this senseless paper--behold, how my features are convulsed by +agonizing throes, at your mere recollection, now that, alone, my tears +flow, my lips quiver, my cries fill the air, unseen, unmarked, unheard! +Yet, O yet, days of delight! let me dwell on your long-drawn hours! + +As the cold increased upon us, we passed the Alps, and descended into +Italy. At the uprising of morn, we sat at our repast, and cheated our +regrets by gay sallies or learned disquisitions. The live-long day we +sauntered on, still keeping in view the end of our journey, but careless of +the hour of its completion. As the evening star shone out, and the orange +sunset, far in the west, marked the position of the dear land we had for +ever left, talk, thought enchaining, made the hours fly--O that we had +lived thus for ever and for ever! Of what consequence was it to our four +hearts, that they alone were the fountains of life in the wide world? As +far as mere individual sentiment was concerned, we had rather be left thus +united together, than if, each alone in a populous desert of unknown men, +we had wandered truly companionless till life's last term. In this manner, +we endeavoured to console each other; in this manner, true philosophy +taught us to reason. + +It was the delight of Adrian and myself to wait on Clara, naming her the +little queen of the world, ourselves her humblest servitors. When we +arrived at a town, our first care was to select for her its most choice +abode; to make sure that no harrowing relic remained of its former +inhabitants; to seek food for her, and minister to her wants with assiduous +tenderness. Clara entered into our scheme with childish gaiety. Her chief +business was to attend on Evelyn; but it was her sport to array herself in +splendid robes, adorn herself with sunny gems, and ape a princely state. +Her religion, deep and pure, did not teach her to refuse to blunt thus the +keen sting of regret; her youthful vivacity made her enter, heart and soul, +into these strange masquerades. + +We had resolved to pass the ensuing winter at Milan, which, as being a +large and luxurious city, would afford us choice of homes. We had descended +the Alps, and left far behind their vast forests and mighty crags. We +entered smiling Italy. Mingled grass and corn grew in her plains, the +unpruned vines threw their luxuriant branches around the elms. The grapes, +overripe, had fallen on the ground, or hung purple, or burnished green, +among the red and yellow leaves. The ears of standing corn winnowed to +emptiness by the spendthrift winds; the fallen foliage of the trees, the +weed-grown brooks, the dusky olive, now spotted with its blackened fruit; +the chestnuts, to which the squirrel only was harvest-man; all plenty, and +yet, alas! all poverty, painted in wondrous hues and fantastic groupings +this land of beauty. In the towns, in the voiceless towns, we visited the +churches, adorned by pictures, master-pieces of art, or galleries of +statues--while in this genial clime the animals, in new found liberty, +rambled through the gorgeous palaces, and hardly feared our forgotten +aspect. The dove-coloured oxen turned their full eyes on us, and paced +slowly by; a startling throng of silly sheep, with pattering feet, would +start up in some chamber, formerly dedicated to the repose of beauty, and +rush, huddling past us, down the marble staircase into the street, and +again in at the first open door, taking unrebuked possession of hallowed +sanctuary, or kingly council-chamber. We no longer started at these +occurrences, nor at worse exhibition of change--when the palace had +become a mere tomb, pregnant with fetid stench, strewn with the dead; and +we could perceive how pestilence and fear had played strange antics, +chasing the luxurious dame to the dank fields and bare cottage; gathering, +among carpets of Indian woof, and beds of silk, the rough peasant, or the +deformed half-human shape of the wretched beggar. + +We arrived at Milan, and stationed ourselves in the Vice-Roy's palace. Here +we made laws for ourselves, dividing our day, and fixing distinct +occupations for each hour. In the morning we rode in the adjoining country, +or wandered through the palaces, in search of pictures or antiquities. In +the evening we assembled to read or to converse. There were few books that +we dared read; few, that did not cruelly deface the painting we bestowed on +our solitude, by recalling combinations and emotions never more to be +experienced by us. Metaphysical disquisition; fiction, which wandering from +all reality, lost itself in self-created errors; poets of times so far gone +by, that to read of them was as to read of Atlantis and Utopia; or such as +referred to nature only, and the workings of one particular mind; but most +of all, talk, varied and ever new, beguiled our hours. + +While we paused thus in our onward career towards death, time held on its +accustomed course. Still and for ever did the earth roll on, enthroned in +her atmospheric car, speeded by the force of the invisible coursers of +never-erring necessity. And now, this dew-drop in the sky, this ball, +ponderous with mountains, lucent with waves, passing from the short tyranny +of watery Pisces and the frigid Ram, entered the radiant demesne of Taurus +and the Twins. There, fanned by vernal airs, the Spirit of Beauty sprung +from her cold repose; and, with winnowing wings and soft pacing feet, set a +girdle of verdure around the earth, sporting among the violets, hiding +within the springing foliage of the trees, tripping lightly down the +radiant streams into the sunny deep. "For lo! winter is past, the rain is +over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of +birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig +tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines, with the tender grape, +give a good smell."[2] Thus was it in the time of the ancient regal poet; +thus was it now. + +Yet how could we miserable hail the approach of this delightful season? We +hoped indeed that death did not now as heretofore walk in its shadow; yet, +left as we were alone to each other, we looked in each other's faces with +enquiring eyes, not daring altogether to trust to our presentiments, and +endeavouring to divine which would be the hapless survivor to the other +three. We were to pass the summer at the lake of Como, and thither we +removed as soon as spring grew to her maturity, and the snow disappeared +from the hill tops. Ten miles from Como, under the steep heights of the +eastern mountains, by the margin of the lake, was a villa called the +Pliniana, from its being built on the site of a fountain, whose periodical +ebb and flow is described by the younger Pliny in his letters. The house +had nearly fallen into ruin, till in the year 2090, an English nobleman had +bought it, and fitted it up with every luxury. Two large halls, hung with +splendid tapestry, and paved with marble, opened on each side of a court, +of whose two other sides one overlooked the deep dark lake, and the other +was bounded by a mountain, from whose stony side gushed, with roar and +splash, the celebrated fountain. Above, underwood of myrtle and tufts of +odorous plants crowned the rock, while the star-pointing giant cypresses +reared themselves in the blue air, and the recesses of the hills were +adorned with the luxuriant growth of chestnut-trees. Here we fixed our +summer residence. We had a lovely skiff, in which we sailed, now stemming +the midmost waves, now coasting the over-hanging and craggy banks, thick +sown with evergreens, which dipped their shining leaves in the waters, and +were mirrored in many a little bay and creek of waters of translucent +darkness. Here orange plants bloomed, here birds poured forth melodious +hymns; and here, during spring, the cold snake emerged from the clefts, and +basked on the sunny terraces of rock. + +Were we not happy in this paradisiacal retreat? If some kind spirit had +whispered forgetfulness to us, methinks we should have been happy here, +where the precipitous mountains, nearly pathless, shut from our view the +far fields of desolate earth, and with small exertion of the imagination, +we might fancy that the cities were still resonant with popular hum, and +the peasant still guided his plough through the furrow, and that we, the +world's free denizens, enjoyed a voluntary exile, and not a remediless +cutting off from our extinct species. + +Not one among us enjoyed the beauty of this scenery so much as Clara. +Before we quitted Milan, a change had taken place in her habits and +manners. She lost her gaiety, she laid aside her sports, and assumed an +almost vestal plainness of attire. She shunned us, retiring with Evelyn to +some distant chamber or silent nook; nor did she enter into his pastimes +with the same zest as she was wont, but would sit and watch him with sadly +tender smiles, and eyes bright with tears, yet without a word of complaint. +She approached us timidly, avoided our caresses, nor shook off her +embarrassment till some serious discussion or lofty theme called her for +awhile out of herself. Her beauty grew as a rose, which, opening to the +summer wind, discloses leaf after leaf till the sense aches with its excess +of loveliness. A slight and variable colour tinged her cheeks, and her +motions seemed attuned by some hidden harmony of surpassing sweetness. We +redoubled our tenderness and earnest attentions. She received them with +grateful smiles, that fled swift as sunny beam from a glittering wave on an +April day. + +Our only acknowledged point of sympathy with her, appeared to be Evelyn. +This dear little fellow was a comforter and delight to us beyond all words. +His buoyant spirit, and his innocent ignorance of our vast calamity, were +balm to us, whose thoughts and feelings were over-wrought and spun out in +the immensity of speculative sorrow. To cherish, to caress, to amuse him +was the common task of all. Clara, who felt towards him in some degree like +a young mother, gratefully acknowledged our kindness towards him. To me, O! +to me, who saw the clear brows and soft eyes of the beloved of my heart, my +lost and ever dear Idris, re-born in his gentle face, to me he was dear +even to pain; if I pressed him to my heart, methought I clasped a real and +living part of her, who had lain there through long years of youthful +happiness. + +It was the custom of Adrian and myself to go out each day in our skiff to +forage in the adjacent country. In these expeditions we were seldom +accompanied by Clara or her little charge, but our return was an hour of +hilarity. Evelyn ransacked our stores with childish eagerness, and we +always brought some new found gift for our fair companion. Then too we made +discoveries of lovely scenes or gay palaces, whither in the evening we all +proceeded. Our sailing expeditions were most divine, and with a fair wind +or transverse course we cut the liquid waves; and, if talk failed under the +pressure of thought, I had my clarionet with me, which awoke the echoes, +and gave the change to our careful minds. Clara at such times often +returned to her former habits of free converse and gay sally; and though +our four hearts alone beat in the world, those four hearts were happy. + +One day, on our return from the town of Como, with a laden boat, we +expected as usual to be met at the port by Clara and Evelyn, and we were +somewhat surprised to see the beach vacant. I, as my nature prompted, would +not prognosticate evil, but explained it away as a mere casual incident. +Not so Adrian. He was seized with sudden trembling and apprehension, and he +called to me with vehemence to steer quickly for land, and, when near, +leapt from the boat, half falling into the water; and, scrambling up the +steep bank, hastened along the narrow strip of garden, the only level space +between the lake and the mountain. I followed without delay; the garden and +inner court were empty, so was the house, whose every room we visited. +Adrian called loudly upon Clara's name, and was about to rush up the near +mountain-path, when the door of a summer-house at the end of the garden +slowly opened, and Clara appeared, not advancing towards us, but leaning +against a column of the building with blanched cheeks, in a posture of +utter despondency. Adrian sprang towards her with a cry of joy, and folded +her delightedly in his arms. She withdrew from his embrace, and, without a +word, again entered the summer-house. Her quivering lips, her despairing +heart refused to afford her voice to express our misfortune. Poor little +Evelyn had, while playing with her, been seized with sudden fever, and now +lay torpid and speechless on a little couch in the summer-house. + +For a whole fortnight we unceasingly watched beside the poor child, as his +life declined under the ravages of a virulent typhus. His little form and +tiny lineaments encaged the embryo of the world-spanning mind of man. Man's +nature, brimful of passions and affections, would have had an home in that +little heart, whose swift pulsations hurried towards their close. His small +hand's fine mechanism, now flaccid and unbent, would in the growth of sinew +and muscle, have achieved works of beauty or of strength. His tender rosy +feet would have trod in firm manhood the bowers and glades of earth-- +these reflections were now of little use: he lay, thought and strength +suspended, waiting unresisting the final blow. + +We watched at his bedside, and when the access of fever was on him, we +neither spoke nor looked at each other, marking only his obstructed breath +and the mortal glow that tinged his sunken cheek, the heavy death that +weighed on his eyelids. It is a trite evasion to say, that words could not +express our long drawn agony; yet how can words image sensations, whose +tormenting keenness throw us back, as it were, on the deep roots and hidden +foundations of our nature, which shake our being with earth-quake-throe, so +that we leave to confide in accustomed feelings which like mother-earth +support us, and cling to some vain imagination or deceitful hope, which +will soon be buried in the ruins occasioned by the final shock. I have +called that period a fortnight, which we passed watching the changes of the +sweet child's malady--and such it might have been--at night, we +wondered to find another day gone, while each particular hour seemed +endless. Day and night were exchanged for one another uncounted; we slept +hardly at all, nor did we even quit his room, except when a pang of grief +seized us, and we retired from each other for a short period to conceal our +sobs and tears. We endeavoured in vain to abstract Clara from this +deplorable scene. She sat, hour after hour, looking at him, now softly +arranging his pillow, and, while he had power to swallow, administered his +drink. At length the moment of his death came: the blood paused in its flow +--his eyes opened, and then closed again: without convulsion or sigh, the +frail tenement was left vacant of its spiritual inhabitant. + +I have heard that the sight of the dead has confirmed materialists in their +belief. I ever felt otherwise. Was that my child--that moveless decaying +inanimation? My child was enraptured by my caresses; his dear voice +cloathed with meaning articulations his thoughts, otherwise inaccessible; +his smile was a ray of the soul, and the same soul sat upon its throne in +his eyes. I turn from this mockery of what he was. Take, O earth, thy debt! +freely and for ever I consign to thee the garb thou didst afford. But thou, +sweet child, amiable and beloved boy, either thy spirit has sought a fitter +dwelling, or, shrined in my heart, thou livest while it lives. + +We placed his remains under a cypress, the upright mountain being scooped +out to receive them. And then Clara said, "If you wish me to live, take me +from hence. There is something in this scene of transcendent beauty, in +these trees, and hills and waves, that for ever whisper to me, leave thy +cumbrous flesh, and make a part of us. I earnestly entreat you to take me +away." + +So on the fifteenth of August we bade adieu to our villa, and the +embowering shades of this abode of beauty; to calm bay and noisy waterfall; +to Evelyn's little grave we bade farewell! and then, with heavy hearts, we +departed on our pilgrimage towards Rome. + +[1] Mary Wollstonecraft's Letters from Norway. +[2] Solomon's Song. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +NOW--soft awhile--have I arrived so near the end? Yes! it is all over +now--a step or two over those new made graves, and the wearisome way is +done. Can I accomplish my task? Can I streak my paper with words capacious +of the grand conclusion? Arise, black Melancholy! quit thy Cimmerian +solitude! Bring with thee murky fogs from hell, which may drink up the day; +bring blight and pestiferous exhalations, which, entering the hollow +caverns and breathing places of earth, may fill her stony veins with +corruption, so that not only herbage may no longer flourish, the trees may +rot, and the rivers run with gall--but the everlasting mountains be +decomposed, and the mighty deep putrify, and the genial atmosphere which +clips the globe, lose all powers of generation and sustenance. Do this, sad +visaged power, while I write, while eyes read these pages. + +And who will read them? Beware, tender offspring of the re-born world-- +beware, fair being, with human heart, yet untamed by care, and human brow, +yet unploughed by time--beware, lest the cheerful current of thy blood be +checked, thy golden locks turn grey, thy sweet dimpling smiles be changed +to fixed, harsh wrinkles! Let not day look on these lines, lest garish day +waste, turn pale, and die. Seek a cypress grove, whose moaning boughs will +be harmony befitting; seek some cave, deep embowered in earth's dark +entrails, where no light will penetrate, save that which struggles, red and +flickering, through a single fissure, staining thy page with grimmest +livery of death. + +There is a painful confusion in my brain, which refuses to delineate +distinctly succeeding events. Sometimes the irradiation of my friend's +gentle smile comes before me; and methinks its light spans and fills +eternity--then, again, I feel the gasping throes-- + +We quitted Como, and in compliance with Adrian's earnest desire, we took +Venice in our way to Rome. There was something to the English peculiarly +attractive in the idea of this wave-encircled, island-enthroned city. +Adrian had never seen it. We went down the Po and the Brenta in a boat; +and, the days proving intolerably hot, we rested in the bordering palaces +during the day, travelling through the night, when darkness made the +bordering banks indistinct, and our solitude less remarkable; when the +wandering moon lit the waves that divided before our prow, and the +night-wind filled our sails, and the murmuring stream, waving trees, and +swelling canvass, accorded in harmonious strain. Clara, long overcome by +excessive grief, had to a great degree cast aside her timid, cold reserve, +and received our attentions with grateful tenderness. While Adrian with +poetic fervour discoursed of the glorious nations of the dead, of the +beauteous earth and the fate of man, she crept near him, drinking in his +speech with silent pleasure. We banished from our talk, and as much as +possible from our thoughts, the knowledge of our desolation. And it would +be incredible to an inhabitant of cities, to one among a busy throng, to +what extent we succeeded. It was as a man confined in a dungeon, whose +small and grated rift at first renders the doubtful light more sensibly +obscure, till, the visual orb having drunk in the beam, and adapted itself +to its scantiness, he finds that clear noon inhabits his cell. So we, a +simple triad on empty earth, were multiplied to each other, till we became +all in all. We stood like trees, whose roots are loosened by the wind, +which support one another, leaning and clinging with encreased fervour +while the wintry storms howl. Thus we floated down the widening stream of +the Po, sleeping when the cicale sang, awake with the stars. We entered the +narrower banks of the Brenta, and arrived at the shore of the Laguna at +sunrise on the sixth of September. The bright orb slowly rose from behind +its cupolas and towers, and shed its penetrating light upon the glassy +waters. Wrecks of gondolas, and some few uninjured ones, were strewed on +the beach at Fusina. We embarked in one of these for the widowed daughter +of ocean, who, abandoned and fallen, sat forlorn on her propping isles, +looking towards the far mountains of Greece. We rowed lightly over the +Laguna, and entered Canale Grande. The tide ebbed sullenly from out the +broken portals and violated halls of Venice: sea weed and sea monsters were +left on the blackened marble, while the salt ooze defaced the matchless +works of art that adorned their walls, and the sea gull flew out from the +shattered window. In the midst of this appalling ruin of the monuments of +man's power, nature asserted her ascendancy, and shone more beauteous from +the contrast. The radiant waters hardly trembled, while the rippling waves +made many sided mirrors to the sun; the blue immensity, seen beyond Lido, +stretched far, unspecked by boat, so tranquil, so lovely, that it seemed to +invite us to quit the land strewn with ruins, and to seek refuge from +sorrow and fear on its placid extent. + +We saw the ruins of this hapless city from the height of the tower of San +Marco, immediately under us, and turned with sickening hearts to the sea, +which, though it be a grave, rears no monument, discloses no ruin. Evening +had come apace. The sun set in calm majesty behind the misty summits of the +Apennines, and its golden and roseate hues painted the mountains of the +opposite shore. "That land," said Adrian, "tinged with the last glories of +the day, is Greece." Greece! The sound had a responsive chord in the bosom +of Clara. She vehemently reminded us that we had promised to take her once +again to Greece, to the tomb of her parents. Why go to Rome? what should we +do at Rome? We might take one of the many vessels to be found here, embark +in it, and steer right for Albania. + +I objected the dangers of ocean, and the distance of the mountains we saw, +from Athens; a distance which, from the savage uncultivation of the +country, was almost impassable. Adrian, who was delighted with Clara's +proposal, obviated these objections. The season was favourable; the +north-west that blew would take us transversely across the gulph; and then +we might find, in some abandoned port, a light Greek caique, adapted for +such navigation, and run down the coast of the Morea, and, passing over the +Isthmus of Corinth, without much land-travelling or fatigue, find ourselves +at Athens. This appeared to me wild talk; but the sea, glowing with a +thousand purple hues, looked so brilliant and safe; my beloved companions +were so earnest, so determined, that, when Adrian said, "Well, though it is +not exactly what you wish, yet consent, to please me"--I could no longer +refuse. That evening we selected a vessel, whose size just seemed fitted +for our enterprize; we bent the sails and put the rigging in order, and +reposing that night in one of the city's thousand palaces, agreed to embark +at sunrise the following morning. + + When winds that move not its calm surface, sweep + The azure sea, I love the land no more; + The smiles of the serene and tranquil deep + Tempt my unquiet mind-- + +Thus said Adrian, quoting a translation of Moschus's poem, as in the clear +morning light, we rowed over the Laguna, past Lido, into the open sea--I +would have added in continuation, + + But when the roar + Of ocean's gray abyss resounds, and foam + Gathers upon the sea, and vast waves burst-- + +But my friends declared that such verses were evil augury; +so in cheerful mood we left the shallow waters, and, when +out at sea, unfurled our sails to catch the favourable breeze. +The laughing morning air filled them, while sun-light bathed earth, sky and +ocean--the placid waves divided to receive our keel, and playfully kissed +the dark sides of our little skiff, murmuring a welcome; as land receded, +still the blue expanse, most waveless, twin sister to the azure empyrean, +afforded smooth conduct to our bark. As the air and waters were tranquil +and balmy, so were our minds steeped in quiet. In comparison with the +unstained deep, funereal earth appeared a grave, its high rocks and stately +mountains were but monuments, its trees the plumes of a herse, the brooks +and rivers brackish with tears for departed man. Farewell to desolate towns +--to fields with their savage intermixture of corn and weeds--to ever +multiplying relics of our lost species. Ocean, we commit ourselves to thee +--even as the patriarch of old floated above the drowned world, let us be +saved, as thus we betake ourselves to thy perennial flood. + +Adrian sat at the helm; I attended to the rigging, the breeze right aft +filled our swelling canvas, and we ran before it over the untroubled deep. +The wind died away at noon; its idle breath just permitted us to hold our +course. As lazy, fair-weather sailors, careless of the coming hour, we +talked gaily of our coasting voyage, of our arrival at Athens. We would +make our home of one of the Cyclades, and there in myrtle-groves, amidst +perpetual spring, fanned by the wholesome sea-breezes--we would live long +years in beatific union--Was there such a thing as death in the world?-- + + +The sun passed its zenith, and lingered down the stainless floor of heaven. +Lying in the boat, my face turned up to the sky, I thought I saw on its +blue white, marbled streaks, so slight, so immaterial, that now I said-- +They are there--and now, It is a mere imagination. A sudden fear stung me +while I gazed; and, starting up, and running to the prow,--as I stood, my +hair was gently lifted on my brow--a dark line of ripples appeared to the +east, gaining rapidly on us--my breathless remark to Adrian, was followed +by the flapping of the canvas, as the adverse wind struck it, and our boat +lurched--swift as speech, the web of the storm thickened over head, the +sun went down red, the dark sea was strewed with foam, and our skiff rose +and fell in its encreasing furrows. + +Behold us now in our frail tenement, hemmed in by hungry, roaring waves, +buffeted by winds. In the inky east two vast clouds, sailing contrary ways, +met; the lightning leapt forth, and the hoarse thunder muttered. Again in +the south, the clouds replied, and the forked stream of fire running along +the black sky, shewed us the appalling piles of clouds, now met and +obliterated by the heaving waves. Great God! And we alone--we three-- +alone--alone--sole dwellers on the sea and on the earth, we three must +perish! The vast universe, its myriad worlds, and the plains of boundless +earth which we had left--the extent of shoreless sea around--contracted +to my view--they and all that they contained, shrunk up to one point, +even to our tossing bark, freighted with glorious humanity. + +A convulsion of despair crossed the love-beaming face of Adrian, while with +set teeth he murmured, "Yet they shall be saved!" Clara, visited by an +human pang, pale and trembling, crept near him--he looked on her with an +encouraging smile--"Do you fear, sweet girl? O, do not fear, we shall +soon be on shore!" + +The darkness prevented me from seeing the changes of her countenance; but +her voice was clear and sweet, as she replied, "Why should I fear? neither +sea nor storm can harm us, if mighty destiny or the ruler of destiny does +not permit. And then the stinging fear of surviving either of you, is not +here--one death will clasp us undivided." + +Meanwhile we took in all our sails, save a gib; and, as soon as we might +without danger, changed our course, running with the wind for the Italian +shore. Dark night mixed everything; we hardly discerned the white crests of +the murderous surges, except when lightning made brief noon, and drank the +darkness, shewing us our danger, and restoring us to double night. We were +all silent, except when Adrian, as steersman, made an encouraging +observation. Our little shell obeyed the rudder miraculously well, and ran +along on the top of the waves, as if she had been an offspring of the sea, +and the angry mother sheltered her endangered child. + +I sat at the prow, watching our course; when suddenly I heard the waters +break with redoubled fury. We were certainly near the shore--at the same +time I cried, "About there!" and a broad lightning filling the concave, +shewed us for one moment the level beach a-head, disclosing even the sands, +and stunted, ooze-sprinkled beds of reeds, that grew at high water mark. +Again it was dark, and we drew in our breath with such content as one may, +who, while fragments of volcano-hurled rock darken the air, sees a vast +mass ploughing the ground immediately at his feet. What to do we knew not +--the breakers here, there, everywhere, encompassed us--they roared, and +dashed, and flung their hated spray in our faces. With considerable +difficulty and danger we succeeded at length in altering our course, and +stretched out from shore. I urged my companions to prepare for the wreck of +our little skiff, and to bind themselves to some oar or spar which might +suffice to float them. I was myself an excellent swimmer--the very sight +of the sea was wont to raise in me such sensations, as a huntsman +experiences, when he hears a pack of hounds in full cry; I loved to feel +the waves wrap me and strive to overpower me; while I, lord of myself, +moved this way or that, in spite of their angry buffetings. Adrian also +could swim--but the weakness of his frame prevented him from feeling +pleasure in the exercise, or acquiring any great expertness. But what power +could the strongest swimmer oppose to the overpowering violence of ocean in +its fury? My efforts to prepare my companions were rendered nearly futile +--for the roaring breakers prevented our hearing one another speak, and +the waves, that broke continually over our boat, obliged me to exert all my +strength in lading the water out, as fast as it came in. The while +darkness, palpable and rayless, hemmed us round, dissipated only by the +lightning; sometimes we beheld thunderbolts, fiery red, fall into the sea, +and at intervals vast spouts stooped from the clouds, churning the wild +ocean, which rose to meet them; while the fierce gale bore the rack +onwards, and they were lost in the chaotic mingling of sky and sea. Our +gunwales had been torn away, our single sail had been rent to ribbands, and +borne down the stream of the wind. We had cut away our mast, and lightened +the boat of all she contained--Clara attempted to assist me in heaving +the water from the hold, and, as she turned her eyes to look on the +lightning, I could discern by that momentary gleam, that resignation had +conquered every fear. We have a power given us in any worst extremity, +which props the else feeble mind of man, and enables us to endure the most +savage tortures with a stillness of soul which in hours of happiness we +could not have imagined. A calm, more dreadful in truth than the tempest, +allayed the wild beatings of my heart--a calm like that of the gamester, +the suicide, and the murderer, when the last die is on the point of being +cast--while the poisoned cup is at the lips,--as the death-blow is +about to be given. + +Hours passed thus--hours which might write old age on the face of +beardless youth, and grizzle the silky hair of infancy---hours, while the +chaotic uproar continued, while each dread gust transcended in fury the one +before, and our skiff hung on the breaking wave, and then rushed into the +valley below, and trembled and spun between the watery precipices that +seemed most to meet above her. For a moment the gale paused, and ocean sank +to comparative silence--it was a breathless interval; the wind which, as +a practised leaper, had gathered itself up before it sprung, now with +terrific roar rushed over the sea, and the waves struck our stern. Adrian +exclaimed that the rudder was gone;--"We are lost," cried Clara, "Save +yourselves--O save yourselves!" The lightning shewed me the poor girl +half buried in the water at the bottom of the boat; as she was sinking in +it Adrian caught her up, and sustained her in his arms. We were without a +rudder--we rushed prow foremost into the vast billows piled up a-head-- +they broke over and filled the tiny skiff; one scream I heard--one cry +that we were gone, I uttered; I found myself in the waters; darkness was +around. When the light of the tempest flashed, I saw the keel of our upset +boat close to me--I clung to this, grasping it with clenched hand and +nails, while I endeavoured during each flash to discover any appearance of +my companions. I thought I saw Adrian at no great distance from me, +clinging to an oar; I sprung from my hold, and with energy beyond my human +strength, I dashed aside the waters as I strove to lay hold of him. As that +hope failed, instinctive love of life animated me, and feelings of +contention, as if a hostile will combated with mine. I breasted the surges, +and flung them from me, as I would the opposing front and sharpened claws +of a lion about to enfang my bosom. When I had been beaten down by one +wave, I rose on another, while I felt bitter pride curl my lip. + +Ever since the storm had carried us near the shore, we had never attained +any great distance from it. With every flash I saw the bordering coast; yet +the progress I made was small, while each wave, as it receded, carried me +back into ocean's far abysses. At one moment I felt my foot touch the sand, +and then again I was in deep water; my arms began to lose their power of +motion; my breath failed me under the influence of the strangling waters-- +a thousand wild and delirious thoughts crossed me: as well as I can now +recall them, my chief feeling was, how sweet it would be to lay my head on +the quiet earth, where the surges would no longer strike my weakened frame, +nor the sound of waters ring in my ears--to attain this repose, not to +save my life, I made a last effort--the shelving shore suddenly presented +a footing for me. I rose, and was again thrown down by the breakers--a +point of rock to which I was enabled to cling, gave me a moment's respite; +and then, taking advantage of the ebbing of the waves, I ran forwards-- +gained the dry sands, and fell senseless on the oozy reeds that sprinkled +them. + +I must have lain long deprived of life; for when first, with a sickening +feeling, I unclosed my eyes, the light of morning met them. Great change +had taken place meanwhile: grey dawn dappled the flying clouds, which sped +onwards, leaving visible at intervals vast lakes of pure ether. A fountain +of light arose in an encreasing stream from the east, behind the waves of +the Adriatic, changing the grey to a roseate hue, and then flooding sky and +sea with aerial gold. + +A kind of stupor followed my fainting; my senses were alive, but memory was +extinct. The blessed respite was short--a snake lurked near me to sting +me into life--on the first retrospective emotion I would have started up, +but my limbs refused to obey me; my knees trembled, the muscles had lost +all power. I still believed that I might find one of my beloved companions +cast like me, half alive, on the beach; and I strove in every way to +restore my frame to the use of its animal functions. I wrung the brine from +my hair; and the rays of the risen sun soon visited me with genial warmth. +With the restoration of my bodily powers, my mind became in some degree +aware of the universe of misery, henceforth to be its dwelling. I ran to +the water's edge, calling on the beloved names. Ocean drank in, and +absorbed my feeble voice, replying with pitiless roar. I climbed a near +tree: the level sands bounded by a pine forest, and the sea clipped round +by the horizon, was all that I could discern. In vain I extended my +researches along the beach; the mast we had thrown overboard, with tangled +cordage, and remnants of a sail, was the sole relic land received of our +wreck. Sometimes I stood still, and wrung my hands. I accused earth and sky +--the universal machine and the Almighty power that misdirected it. Again +I threw myself on the sands, and then the sighing wind, mimicking a human +cry, roused me to bitter, fallacious hope. Assuredly if any little bark or +smallest canoe had been near, I should have sought the savage plains of +ocean, found the dear remains of my lost ones, and clinging round them, +have shared their grave. + +The day passed thus; each moment contained eternity; although when hour +after hour had gone by, I wondered at the quick flight of time. Yet even +now I had not drunk the bitter potion to the dregs; I was not yet persuaded +of my loss; I did not yet feel in every pulsation, in every nerve, in every +thought, that I remained alone of my race,--that I was the LAST MAN. + +The day had clouded over, and a drizzling rain set in at sunset. Even the +eternal skies weep, I thought; is there any shame then, that mortal man +should spend himself in tears? I remembered the ancient fables, in which +human beings are described as dissolving away through weeping into +ever-gushing fountains. Ah! that so it were; and then my destiny would be +in some sort akin to the watery death of Adrian and Clara. Oh! grief is +fantastic; it weaves a web on which to trace the history of its woe from +every form and change around; it incorporates itself with all living +nature; it finds sustenance in every object; as light, it fills all things, +and, like light, it gives its own colours to all. + +I had wandered in my search to some distance from the spot on which I had +been cast, and came to one of those watch-towers, which at stated distances +line the Italian shore. I was glad of shelter, glad to find a work of human +hands, after I had gazed so long on nature's drear barrenness; so I +entered, and ascended the rough winding staircase into the guard-room. So +far was fate kind, that no harrowing vestige remained of its former +inhabitants; a few planks laid across two iron tressels, and strewed with +the dried leaves of Indian corn, was the bed presented to me; and an open +chest, containing some half mouldered biscuit, awakened an appetite, which +perhaps existed before, but of which, until now, I was not aware. Thirst +also, violent and parching, the result of the sea-water I had drank, and of +the exhaustion of my frame, tormented me. Kind nature had gifted the supply +of these wants with pleasurable sensations, so that I--even I!--was +refreshed and calmed, as I ate of this sorry fare, and drank a little of +the sour wine which half filled a flask left in this abandoned dwelling. +Then I stretched myself on the bed, not to be disdained by the victim of +shipwreck. The earthy smell of the dried leaves was balm to my sense after +the hateful odour of sea-weed. I forgot my state of loneliness. I neither +looked backward nor forward; my senses were hushed to repose; I fell asleep +and dreamed of all dear inland scenes, of hay-makers, of the shepherd's +whistle to his dog, when he demanded his help to drive the flock to fold; +of sights and sounds peculiar to my boyhood's mountain life, which I had +long forgotten. + +I awoke in a painful agony--for I fancied that ocean, breaking its +bounds, carried away the fixed continent and deep rooted mountains, +together with the streams I loved, the woods, and the flocks--it raged +around, with that continued and dreadful roar which had accompanied the +last wreck of surviving humanity. As my waking sense returned, the bare +walls of the guard room closed round me, and the rain pattered against the +single window. How dreadful it is, to emerge from the oblivion of slumber, +and to receive as a good morrow the mute wailing of one's own hapless heart +--to return from the land of deceptive dreams, to the heavy knowledge of +unchanged disaster!--Thus was it with me, now, and for ever! The sting of +other griefs might be blunted by time; and even mine yielded sometimes +during the day, to the pleasure inspired by the imagination or the senses; +but I never look first upon the morning-light but with my fingers pressed +tight on my bursting heart, and my soul deluged with the interminable flood +of hopeless misery. Now I awoke for the first time in the dead world--I +awoke alone--and the dull dirge of the sea, heard even amidst the rain, +recalled me to the reflection of the wretch I had become. The sound came +like a reproach, a scoff--like the sting of remorse in the soul--I +gasped--the veins and muscles of my throat swelled, suffocating me. I put +my fingers to my ears, I buried my head in the leaves of my couch, I would +have dived to the centre to lose hearing of that hideous moan. + +But another task must be mine--again I visited the detested beach-- +again I vainly looked far and wide--again I raised my unanswered cry, +lifting up the only voice that could ever again force the mute air to +syllable the human thought. + +What a pitiable, forlorn, disconsolate being I was! My very aspect and garb +told the tale of my despair. My hair was matted and wild--my limbs soiled +with salt ooze; while at sea, I had thrown off those of my garments that +encumbered me, and the rain drenched the thin summer-clothing I had +retained--my feet were bare, and the stunted reeds and broken shells made +them bleed--the while, I hurried to and fro, now looking earnestly on +some distant rock which, islanded in the sands, bore for a moment a +deceptive appearance--now with flashing eyes reproaching the murderous +ocean for its unutterable cruelty. + +For a moment I compared myself to that monarch of the waste--Robinson +Crusoe. We had been both thrown companionless--he on the shore of a +desolate island: I on that of a desolate world. I was rich in the so called +goods of life. If I turned my steps from the near barren scene, and entered +any of the earth's million cities, I should find their wealth stored up for +my accommodation--clothes, food, books, and a choice of dwelling beyond +the command of the princes of former times--every climate was subject to +my selection, while he was obliged to toil in the acquirement of every +necessary, and was the inhabitant of a tropical island, against whose heats +and storms he could obtain small shelter.--Viewing the question thus, who +would not have preferred the Sybarite enjoyments I could command, the +philosophic leisure, and ample intellectual resources, to his life of +labour and peril? Yet he was far happier than I: for he could hope, nor +hope in vain--the destined vessel at last arrived, to bear him to +countrymen and kindred, where the events of his solitude became a fire-side +tale. To none could I ever relate the story of my adversity; no hope had I. +He knew that, beyond the ocean which begirt his lonely island, thousands +lived whom the sun enlightened when it shone also on him: beneath the +meridian sun and visiting moon, I alone bore human features; I alone could +give articulation to thought; and, when I slept, both day and night were +unbeheld of any. He had fled from his fellows, and was transported with +terror at the print of a human foot. I would have knelt down and worshipped +the same. The wild and cruel Caribbee, the merciless Cannibal--or worse +than these, the uncouth, brute, and remorseless veteran in the vices of +civilization, would have been to me a beloved companion, a treasure dearly +prized--his nature would be kin to mine; his form cast in the same mould; +human blood would flow in his veins; a human sympathy must link us for +ever. It cannot be that I shall never behold a fellow being more!--never! +--never!--not in the course of years!--Shall I wake, and speak to +none, pass the interminable hours, my soul, islanded in the world, a +solitary point, surrounded by vacuum? Will day follow day endlessly thus? +--No! no! a God rules the world--providence has not exchanged its golden +sceptre for an aspic's sting. Away! let me fly from the ocean-grave, let me +depart from this barren nook, paled in, as it is, from access by its own +desolateness; let me tread once again the paved towns; step over the +threshold of man's dwellings, and most certainly I shall find this thought +a horrible vision--a maddening, but evanescent dream. + +I entered Ravenna, (the town nearest to the spot whereon I had been cast), +before the second sun had set on the empty world; I saw many living +creatures; oxen, and horses, and dogs, but there was no man among them; I +entered a cottage, it was vacant; I ascended the marble stairs of a palace, +the bats and the owls were nestled in the tapestry; I stepped softly, not +to awaken the sleeping town: I rebuked a dog, that by yelping disturbed the +sacred stillness; I would not believe that all was as it seemed--The +world was not dead, but I was mad; I was deprived of sight, hearing, and +sense of touch; I was labouring under the force of a spell, which permitted +me to behold all sights of earth, except its human inhabitants; they were +pursuing their ordinary labours. Every house had its inmate; but I could +not perceive them. If I could have deluded myself into a belief of this +kind, I should have been far more satisfied. But my brain, tenacious of its +reason, refused to lend itself to such imaginations--and though I +endeavoured to play the antic to myself, I knew that I, the offspring of +man, during long years one among many--now remained sole survivor of my +species. + +The sun sank behind the western hills; I had fasted since the preceding +evening, but, though faint and weary, I loathed food, nor ceased, while yet +a ray of light remained, to pace the lonely streets. Night came on, and +sent every living creature but me to the bosom of its mate. It was my +solace, to blunt my mental agony by personal hardship--of the thousand +beds around, I would not seek the luxury of one; I lay down on the +pavement,--a cold marble step served me for a pillow--midnight came; +and then, though not before, did my wearied lids shut out the sight of the +twinkling stars, and their reflex on the pavement near. Thus I passed the +second night of my desolation. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +I AWOKE in the morning, just as the higher windows of the lofty houses +received the first beams of the rising sun. The birds were chirping, +perched on the windows sills and deserted thresholds of the doors. I awoke, +and my first thought was, Adrian and Clara are dead. I no longer shall be +hailed by their good-morrow--or pass the long day in their society. I +shall never see them more. The ocean has robbed me of them--stolen their +hearts of love from their breasts, and given over to corruption what was +dearer to me than light, or life, or hope. + +I was an untaught shepherd-boy, when Adrian deigned to confer on me his +friendship. The best years of my life had been passed with him. All I had +possessed of this world's goods, of happiness, knowledge, or virtue--I +owed to him. He had, in his person, his intellect, and rare qualities, +given a glory to my life, which without him it had never known. Beyond all +other beings he had taught me, that goodness, pure and single, can be an +attribute of man. It was a sight for angels to congregate to behold, to +view him lead, govern, and solace, the last days of the human race. + +My lovely Clara also was lost to me--she who last of the daughters of +man, exhibited all those feminine and maiden virtues, which poets, +painters, and sculptors, have in their various languages strove to express. +Yet, as far as she was concerned, could I lament that she was removed in +early youth from the certain advent of misery? Pure she was of soul, and +all her intents were holy. But her heart was the throne of love, and the +sensibility her lovely countenance expressed, was the prophet of many +woes, not the less deep and drear, because she would have for ever +concealed them. + +These two wondrously endowed beings had been spared from the universal +wreck, to be my companions during the last year of solitude. I had felt, +while they were with me, all their worth. I was conscious that every other +sentiment, regret, or passion had by degrees merged into a yearning, +clinging affection for them. I had not forgotten the sweet partner of my +youth, mother of my children, my adored Idris; but I saw at least a part of +her spirit alive again in her brother; and after, that by Evelyn's death I +had lost what most dearly recalled her to me; I enshrined her memory in +Adrian's form, and endeavoured to confound the two dear ideas. I sound the +depths of my heart, and try in vain to draw thence the expressions that can +typify my love for these remnants of my race. If regret and sorrow came +athwart me, as well it might in our solitary and uncertain state, the clear +tones of Adrian's voice, and his fervent look, dissipated the gloom; or I +was cheered unaware by the mild content and sweet resignation Clara's +cloudless brow and deep blue eyes expressed. They were all to me--the +suns of my benighted soul--repose in my weariness--slumber in my +sleepless woe. Ill, most ill, with disjointed words, bare and weak, have I +expressed the feeling with which I clung to them. I would have wound myself +like ivy inextricably round them, so that the same blow might destroy us. I +would have entered and been a part of them--so that + + If the dull substance of my flesh were thought, + +even now I had accompanied them to their new and incommunicable abode. + +Never shall I see them more. I am bereft of their dear converse--bereft +of sight of them. I am a tree rent by lightning; never will the bark close +over the bared fibres--never will their quivering life, torn by the +winds, receive the opiate of a moment's balm. I am alone in the world-- +but that expression as yet was less pregnant with misery, than that Adrian +and Clara are dead. + +The tide of thought and feeling rolls on for ever the same, though the +banks and shapes around, which govern its course, and the reflection in the +wave, vary. Thus the sentiment of immediate loss in some sort decayed, +while that of utter, irremediable loneliness grew on me with time. Three +days I wandered through Ravenna--now thinking only of the beloved beings +who slept in the oozy caves of ocean--now looking forward on the dread +blank before me; shuddering to make an onward step--writhing at each +change that marked the progress of the hours. + +For three days I wandered to and fro in this melancholy town. I passed +whole hours in going from house to house, listening whether I could detect +some lurking sign of human existence. Sometimes I rang at a bell; it +tinkled through the vaulted rooms, and silence succeeded to the sound. I +called myself hopeless, yet still I hoped; and still disappointment ushered +in the hours, intruding the cold, sharp steel which first pierced me, into +the aching festering wound. I fed like a wild beast, which seizes its food +only when stung by intolerable hunger. I did not change my garb, or seek +the shelter of a roof, during all those days. Burning heats, nervous +irritation, a ceaseless, but confused flow of thought, sleepless nights, +and days instinct with a frenzy of agitation, possessed me during that +time. + +As the fever of my blood encreased, a desire of wandering came upon me. I +remember, that the sun had set on the fifth day after my wreck, when, +without purpose or aim, I quitted the town of Ravenna. I must have been +very ill. Had I been possessed by more or less of delirium, that night had +surely been my last; for, as I continued to walk on the banks of the +Mantone, whose upward course I followed, I looked wistfully on the stream, +acknowledging to myself that its pellucid waves could medicine my woes +for ever, and was unable to account to myself for my tardiness in seeking +their shelter from the poisoned arrows of thought, that were piercing me +through and through. I walked a considerable part of the night, and +excessive weariness at length conquered my repugnance to the availing +myself of the deserted habitations of my species. The waning moon, which +had just risen, shewed me a cottage, whose neat entrance and trim garden +reminded me of my own England. I lifted up the latch of the door and +entered. A kitchen first presented itself, where, guided by the moon beams, +I found materials for striking a light. Within this was a bed room; the +couch was furnished with sheets of snowy whiteness; the wood piled on the +hearth, and an array as for a meal, might almost have deceived me into the +dear belief that I had here found what I had so long sought--one +survivor, a companion for my loneliness, a solace to my despair. I steeled +myself against the delusion; the room itself was vacant: it was only +prudent, I repeated to myself, to examine the rest of the house. I fancied +that I was proof against the expectation; yet my heart beat audibly, as I +laid my hand on the lock of each door, and it sunk again, when I perceived +in each the same vacancy. Dark and silent they were as vaults; so I +returned to the first chamber, wondering what sightless host had spread the +materials for my repast, and my repose. I drew a chair to the table, and +examined what the viands were of which I was to partake. In truth it was a +death feast! The bread was blue and mouldy; the cheese lay a heap of dust. +I did not dare examine the other dishes; a troop of ants passed in a double +line across the table cloth; every utensil was covered with dust, with +cobwebs, and myriads of dead flies: these were objects each and all +betokening the fallaciousness of my expectations. Tears rushed into my +eyes; surely this was a wanton display of the power of the destroyer. What +had I done, that each sensitive nerve was thus to be anatomized? Yet why +complain more now than ever? This vacant cottage revealed no new sorrow-- +the world was empty; mankind was dead--I knew it well--why quarrel +therefore with an acknowledged and stale truth? Yet, as I said, I had hoped +in the very heart of despair, so that every new impression of the hard-cut +reality on my soul brought with it a fresh pang, telling me the yet +unstudied lesson, that neither change of place nor time could bring +alleviation to my misery, but that, as I now was, I must continue, day +after day, month after month, year after year, while I lived. I hardly +dared conjecture what space of time that expression implied. It is true, I +was no longer in the first blush of manhood; neither had I declined far in +the vale of years--men have accounted mine the prime of life: I had just +entered my thirty-seventh year; every limb was as well knit, every +articulation as true, as when I had acted the shepherd on the hills of +Cumberland; and with these advantages I was to commence the train of +solitary life. Such were the reflections that ushered in my slumber on that +night. + +The shelter, however, and less disturbed repose which I enjoyed, restored +me the following morning to a greater portion of health and strength, than +I had experienced since my fatal shipwreck. Among the stores I had +discovered on searching the cottage the preceding night, was a quantity of +dried grapes; these refreshed me in the morning, as I left my lodging and +proceeded towards a town which I discerned at no great distance. As far as +I could divine, it must have been Forli. I entered with pleasure its wide +and grassy streets. All, it is true, pictured the excess of desolation; yet +I loved to find myself in those spots which had been the abode of my fellow +creatures. I delighted to traverse street after street, to look up at the +tall houses, and repeat to myself, once they contained beings similar to +myself--I was not always the wretch I am now. The wide square of Forli, +the arcade around it, its light and pleasant aspect cheered me. I was +pleased with the idea, that, if the earth should be again peopled, we, the +lost race, would, in the relics left behind, present no contemptible +exhibition of our powers to the new comers. + +I entered one of the palaces, and opened the door of a magnificent saloon. +I started--I looked again with renewed wonder. What wild-looking, +unkempt, half-naked savage was that before me? The surprise was momentary. + +I perceived that it was I myself whom I beheld in a large mirror at the end +of the hall. No wonder that the lover of the princely Idris should fail to +recognize himself in the miserable object there pourtrayed. My tattered +dress was that in which I had crawled half alive from the tempestuous sea. +My long and tangled hair hung in elf locks on my brow--my dark eyes, now +hollow and wild, gleamed from under them--my cheeks were discoloured by +the jaundice, which (the effect of misery and neglect) suffused my skin, +and were half hid by a beard of many days' growth. + +Yet why should I not remain thus, I thought; the world is dead, and this +squalid attire is a fitter mourning garb than the foppery of a black suit. +And thus, methinks, I should have remained, had not hope, without which I +do not believe man could exist, whispered to me, that, in such a plight, I +should be an object of fear and aversion to the being, preserved I knew not +where, but I fondly trusted, at length, to be found by me. Will my readers +scorn the vanity, that made me attire myself with some care, for the sake +of this visionary being? Or will they forgive the freaks of a half crazed +imagination? I can easily forgive myself--for hope, however vague, was so +dear to me, and a sentiment of pleasure of so rare occurrence, that I +yielded readily to any idea, that cherished the one, or promised any +recurrence of the former to my sorrowing heart. After such occupation, I +visited every street, alley, and nook of Forli. These Italian towns +presented an appearance of still greater desolation, than those of England +or France. Plague had appeared here earlier--it had finished its course, +and achieved its work much sooner than with us. Probably the last summer +had found no human being alive, in all the track included between the +shores of Calabria and the northern Alps. My search was utterly vain, yet I +did not despond. Reason methought was on my side; and the chances were by +no means contemptible, that there should exist in some part of Italy a +survivor like myself--of a wasted, depopulate land. As therefore I +rambled through the empty town, I formed my plan for future operations. I +would continue to journey on towards Rome. After I should have satisfied +myself, by a narrow search, that I left behind no human being in the towns +through which I passed, I would write up in a conspicuous part of each, +with white paint, in three languages, that "Verney, the last of the race of +Englishmen, had taken up his abode in Rome." + +In pursuance of this scheme, I entered a painter's shop, and procured +myself the paint. It is strange that so trivial an occupation should have +consoled, and even enlivened me. But grief renders one childish, despair +fantastic. To this simple inscription, I merely added the adjuration, +"Friend, come! I wait for thee!--Deh, vieni! ti aspetto!" On the +following morning, with something like hope for my companion, I quitted +Forli on my way to Rome. Until now, agonizing retrospect, and dreary +prospects for the future, had stung me when awake, and cradled me to my +repose. Many times I had delivered myself up to the tyranny of anguish-- +many times I resolved a speedy end to my woes; and death by my own hands +was a remedy, whose practicability was even cheering to me. What could I +fear in the other world? If there were an hell, and I were doomed to it, I +should come an adept to the sufferance of its tortures--the act were +easy, the speedy and certain end of my deplorable tragedy. But now these +thoughts faded before the new born expectation. I went on my way, not as +before, feeling each hour, each minute, to be an age instinct with +incalculable pain. + +As I wandered along the plain, at the foot of the Appennines--through +their vallies, and over their bleak summits, my path led me through a +country which had been trodden by heroes, visited and admired by thousands. +They had, as a tide, receded, leaving me blank and bare in the midst. But +why complain? Did I not hope?--so I schooled myself, even after the +enlivening spirit had really deserted me, and thus I was obliged to call up +all the fortitude I could command, and that was not much, to prevent a +recurrence of that chaotic and intolerable despair, that had succeeded to +the miserable shipwreck, that had consummated every fear, and dashed to +annihilation every joy. + +I rose each day with the morning sun, and left my desolate inn. As my feet +strayed through the unpeopled country, my thoughts rambled through the +universe, and I was least miserable when I could, absorbed in reverie, +forget the passage of the hours. Each evening, in spite of weariness, I +detested to enter any dwelling, there to take up my nightly abode--I have +sat, hour after hour, at the door of the cottage I had selected, unable to +lift the latch, and meet face to face blank desertion within. Many nights, +though autumnal mists were spread around, I passed under an ilex--many +times I have supped on arbutus berries and chestnuts, making a fire, +gypsy-like, on the ground--because wild natural scenery reminded me less +acutely of my hopeless state of loneliness. I counted the days, and bore +with me a peeled willow-wand, on which, as well as I could remember, I had +notched the days that had elapsed since my wreck, and each night I added +another unit to the melancholy sum. + +I had toiled up a hill which led to Spoleto. Around was spread a plain, +encircled by the chestnut-covered Appennines. A dark ravine was on one +side, spanned by an aqueduct, whose tall arches were rooted in the dell +below, and attested that man had once deigned to bestow labour and thought +here, to adorn and civilize nature. Savage, ungrateful nature, which in +wild sport defaced his remains, protruding her easily renewed, and fragile +growth of wild flowers and parasite plants around his eternal edifices. I +sat on a fragment of rock, and looked round. The sun had bathed in gold the +western atmosphere, and in the east the clouds caught the radiance, and +budded into transient loveliness. It set on a world that contained me alone +for its inhabitant. I took out my wand--I counted the marks. Twenty-five +were already traced--twenty-five days had already elapsed, since human +voice had gladdened my ears, or human countenance met my gaze. Twenty-five +long, weary days, succeeded by dark and lonesome nights, had mingled with +foregone years, and had become a part of the past--the never to be +recalled--a real, undeniable portion of my life--twenty-five long, long +days. + +Why this was not a month!--Why talk of days--or weeks--or months--I +must grasp years in my imagination, if I would truly picture the future to +myself--three, five, ten, twenty, fifty anniversaries of that fatal epoch +might elapse--every year containing twelve months, each of more numerous +calculation in a diary, than the twenty-five days gone by--Can it be? +Will it be?--We had been used to look forward to death tremulously-- +wherefore, but because its place was obscure? But more terrible, and far +more obscure, was the unveiled course of my lone futurity. I broke my wand; +I threw it from me. I needed no recorder of the inch and barley-corn growth +of my life, while my unquiet thoughts created other divisions, than those +ruled over by the planets--and, in looking back on the age that had +elapsed since I had been alone, I disdained to give the name of days and +hours to the throes of agony which had in truth portioned it out. + +I hid my face in my hands. The twitter of the young birds going to rest, +and their rustling among the trees, disturbed the still evening-air--the +crickets chirped--the aziolo cooed at intervals. My thoughts had been of +death--these sounds spoke to me of life. I lifted up my eyes--a bat +wheeled round--the sun had sunk behind the jagged line of mountains, and +the paly, crescent moon was visible, silver white, amidst the orange +sunset, and accompanied by one bright star, prolonged thus the twilight. A +herd of cattle passed along in the dell below, untended, towards their +watering place--the grass was rustled by a gentle breeze, and the +olive-woods, mellowed into soft masses by the moonlight, contrasted their +sea-green with the dark chestnut foliage. Yes, this is the earth; there is +no change--no ruin--no rent made in her verdurous expanse; she +continues to wheel round and round, with alternate night and day, through +the sky, though man is not her adorner or inhabitant. Why could I not +forget myself like one of those animals, and no longer suffer the wild +tumult of misery that I endure? Yet, ah! what a deadly breach yawns between +their state and mine! Have not they companions? Have not they each their +mate--their cherished young, their home, which, though unexpressed to us, +is, I doubt not, endeared and enriched, even in their eyes, by the society +which kind nature has created for them? It is I only that am alone--I, on +this little hill top, gazing on plain and mountain recess--on sky, and +its starry population, listening to every sound of earth, and air, and +murmuring wave,--I only cannot express to any companion my many thoughts, +nor lay my throbbing head on any loved bosom, nor drink from meeting eyes +an intoxicating dew, that transcends the fabulous nectar of the gods. Shall +I not then complain? Shall I not curse the murderous engine which has mowed +down the children of men, my brethren? Shall I not bestow a malediction on +every other of nature's offspring, which dares live and enjoy, while I live +and suffer? + +Ah, no! I will discipline my sorrowing heart to sympathy in your joys; I +will be happy, because ye are so. Live on, ye innocents, nature's selected +darlings; I am not much unlike to you. Nerves, pulse, brain, joint, and +flesh, of such am I composed, and ye are organized by the same laws. I have +something beyond this, but I will call it a defect, not an endowment, if it +leads me to misery, while ye are happy. Just then, there emerged from a +near copse two goats and a little kid, by the mother's side; they began to +browze the herbage of the hill. I approached near to them, without their +perceiving me; I gathered a handful of fresh grass, and held it out; the +little one nestled close to its mother, while she timidly withdrew. The +male stepped forward, fixing his eyes on me: I drew near, still holding out +my lure, while he, depressing his head, rushed at me with his horns. I was +a very fool; I knew it, yet I yielded to my rage. I snatched up a huge +fragment of rock; it would have crushed my rash foe. I poized it--aimed +it--then my heart failed me. I hurled it wide of the mark; it rolled +clattering among the bushes into dell. My little visitants, all aghast, +galloped back into the covert of the wood; while I, my very heart bleeding +and torn, rushed down the hill, and by the violence of bodily exertion, +sought to escape from my miserable self. + +No, no, I will not live among the wild scenes of nature, the enemy of all +that lives. I will seek the towns--Rome, the capital of the world, the +crown of man's achievements. Among its storied streets, hallowed ruins, and +stupendous remains of human exertion, I shall not, as here, find every +thing forgetful of man; trampling on his memory, defacing his works, +proclaiming from hill to hill, and vale to vale,--by the torrents freed +from the boundaries which he imposed--by the vegetation liberated from +the laws which he enforced--by his habitation abandoned to mildew and +weeds, that his power is lost, his race annihilated for ever. + +I hailed the Tiber, for that was as it were an unalienable possession of +humanity. I hailed the wild Campagna, for every rood had been trod by man; +and its savage uncultivation, of no recent date, only proclaimed more +distinctly his power, since he had given an honourable name and sacred +title to what else would have been a worthless, barren track. I entered +Eternal Rome by the Porta del Popolo, and saluted with awe its +time-honoured space. The wide square, the churches near, the long extent of +the Corso, the near eminence of Trinita de' Monti appeared like fairy work, +they were so silent, so peaceful, and so very fair. It was evening; and the +population of animals which still existed in this mighty city, had gone to +rest; there was no sound, save the murmur of its many fountains, whose soft +monotony was harmony to my soul. The knowledge that I was in Rome, soothed +me; that wondrous city, hardly more illustrious for its heroes and sages, +than for the power it exercised over the imaginations of men. I went to +rest that night; the eternal burning of my heart quenched,--my senses +tranquil. + +The next morning I eagerly began my rambles in search of oblivion. I +ascended the many terraces of the garden of the Colonna Palace, under whose +roof I had been sleeping; and passing out from it at its summit, I found +myself on Monte Cavallo. The fountain sparkled in the sun; the obelisk +above pierced the clear dark-blue air. The statues on each side, the works, +as they are inscribed, of Phidias and Praxiteles, stood in undiminished +grandeur, representing Castor and Pollux, who with majestic power tamed the +rearing animal at their side. If those illustrious artists had in truth +chiselled these forms, how many passing generations had their giant +proportions outlived! and now they were viewed by the last of the species +they were sculptured to represent and deify. I had shrunk into +insignificance in my own eyes, as I considered the multitudinous beings +these stone demigods had outlived, but this after-thought restored me to +dignity in my own conception. The sight of the poetry eternized in these +statues, took the sting from the thought, arraying it only in poetic +ideality. + +I repeated to myself,--I am in Rome! I behold, and as it were, familiarly +converse with the wonder of the world, sovereign mistress of the +imagination, majestic and eternal survivor of millions of generations of +extinct men. I endeavoured to quiet the sorrows of my aching heart, by even +now taking an interest in what in my youth I had ardently longed to see. +Every part of Rome is replete with relics of ancient times. The meanest +streets are strewed with truncated columns, broken capitals--Corinthian +and Ionic, and sparkling fragments of granite or porphyry. The walls of the +most penurious dwellings enclose a fluted pillar or ponderous stone, which +once made part of the palace of the Caesars; and the voice of dead time, in +still vibrations, is breathed from these dumb things, animated and +glorified as they were by man. + +I embraced the vast columns of the temple of Jupiter Stator, which survives +in the open space that was the Forum, and leaning my burning cheek against +its cold durability, I tried to lose the sense of present misery and +present desertion, by recalling to the haunted cell of my brain vivid +memories of times gone by. I rejoiced at my success, as I figured Camillus, +the Gracchi, Cato, and last the heroes of Tacitus, which shine meteors of +surpassing brightness during the murky night of the empire;--as the +verses of Horace and Virgil, or the glowing periods of Cicero thronged into +the opened gates of my mind, I felt myself exalted by long forgotten +enthusiasm. I was delighted to know that I beheld the scene which they +beheld--the scene which their wives and mothers, and crowds of the +unnamed witnessed, while at the same time they honoured, applauded, or wept +for these matchless specimens of humanity. At length, then, I had found a +consolation. I had not vainly sought the storied precincts of Rome--I had +discovered a medicine for my many and vital wounds. + +I sat at the foot of these vast columns. The Coliseum, whose naked ruin is +robed by nature in a verdurous and glowing veil, lay in the sunlight on my +right. Not far off, to the left, was the Tower of the Capitol. Triumphal +arches, the falling walls of many temples, strewed the ground at my feet. I +strove, I resolved, to force myself to see the Plebeian multitude and lofty +Patrician forms congregated around; and, as the Diorama of ages passed +across my subdued fancy, they were replaced by the modern Roman; the Pope, +in his white stole, distributing benedictions to the kneeling worshippers; +the friar in his cowl; the dark-eyed girl, veiled by her mezzera; the +noisy, sun-burnt rustic, leading his herd of buffaloes and oxen to the +Campo Vaccino. The romance with which, dipping our pencils in the rainbow +hues of sky and transcendent nature, we to a degree gratuitously endow the +Italians, replaced the solemn grandeur of antiquity. I remembered the dark +monk, and floating figures of "The Italian," and how my boyish blood had +thrilled at the description. I called to mind Corinna ascending the Capitol +to be crowned, and, passing from the heroine to the author, reflected how +the Enchantress Spirit of Rome held sovereign sway over the minds of the +imaginative, until it rested on me--sole remaining spectator of its +wonders. + +I was long wrapt by such ideas; but the soul wearies of a pauseless flight; +and, stooping from its wheeling circuits round and round this spot, +suddenly it fell ten thousand fathom deep, into the abyss of the present-- +into self-knowledge--into tenfold sadness. I roused myself--I cast off +my waking dreams; and I, who just now could almost hear the shouts of the +Roman throng, and was hustled by countless multitudes, now beheld the +desart ruins of Rome sleeping under its own blue sky; the shadows lay +tranquilly on the ground; sheep were grazing untended on the Palatine, and +a buffalo stalked down the Sacred Way that led to the Capitol. I was alone +in the Forum; alone in Rome; alone in the world. Would not one living man +--one companion in my weary solitude, be worth all the glory and +remembered power of this time-honoured city? Double sorrow--sadness, +bred in Cimmerian caves, robed my soul in a mourning garb. The generations +I had conjured up to my fancy, contrasted more strongly with the end of all +--the single point in which, as a pyramid, the mighty fabric of society +had ended, while I, on the giddy height, saw vacant space around me. + +From such vague laments I turned to the contemplation of the minutiae of my +situation. So far, I had not succeeded in the sole object of my desires, +the finding a companion for my desolation. Yet I did not despair. It is +true that my inscriptions were set up for the most part, in insignificant +towns and villages; yet, even without these memorials, it was possible that +the person, who like me should find himself alone in a depopulate land, +should, like me, come to Rome. The more slender my expectation was, the +more I chose to build on it, and to accommodate my actions to this vague +possibility. + +It became necessary therefore, that for a time I should domesticate myself +at Rome. It became necessary, that I should look my disaster in the face-- +not playing the school-boy's part of obedience without submission; enduring +life, and yet rebelling against the laws by which I lived. + +Yet how could I resign myself? Without love, without sympathy, without +communion with any, how could I meet the morning sun, and with it trace its +oft repeated journey to the evening shades? Why did I continue to live-- +why not throw off the weary weight of time, and with my own hand, let out +the fluttering prisoner from my agonized breast?--It was not cowardice +that withheld me; for the true fortitude was to endure; and death had a +soothing sound accompanying it, that would easily entice me to enter its +demesne. But this I would not do. I had, from the moment I had reasoned on +the subject, instituted myself the subject to fate, and the servant of +necessity, the visible laws of the invisible God--I believed that my +obedience was the result of sound reasoning, pure feeling, and an exalted +sense of the true excellence and nobility of my nature. Could I have seen +in this empty earth, in the seasons and their change, the hand of a blind +power only, most willingly would I have placed my head on the sod, and +closed my eyes on its loveliness for ever. But fate had administered life +to me, when the plague had already seized on its prey--she had dragged me +by the hair from out the strangling waves--By such miracles she had +bought me for her own; I admitted her authority, and bowed to her decrees. +If, after mature consideration, such was my resolve, it was doubly +necessary that I should not lose the end of life, the improvement of my +faculties, and poison its flow by repinings without end. Yet how cease to +repine, since there was no hand near to extract the barbed spear that had +entered my heart of hearts? I stretched out my hand, and it touched none +whose sensations were responsive to mine. I was girded, walled in, vaulted +over, by seven-fold barriers of loneliness. Occupation alone, if I could +deliver myself up to it, would be capable of affording an opiate to my +sleepless sense of woe. Having determined to make Rome my abode, at least +for some months, I made arrangements for my accommodation--I selected my +home. The Colonna Palace was well adapted for my purpose. Its grandeur-- +its treasure of paintings, its magnificent halls were objects soothing and +even exhilarating. + +I found the granaries of Rome well stored with grain, and particularly with +Indian corn; this product requiring less art in its preparation for food, I +selected as my principal support. I now found the hardships and lawlessness +of my youth turn to account. A man cannot throw off the habits of sixteen +years. Since that age, it is true, I had lived luxuriously, or at least +surrounded by all the conveniences civilization afforded. But before that +time, I had been "as uncouth a savage, as the wolf-bred founder of old +Rome"--and now, in Rome itself, robber and shepherd propensities, similar +to those of its founder, were of advantage to its sole inhabitant. I spent +the morning riding and shooting in the Campagna--I passed long hours in +the various galleries--I gazed at each statue, and lost myself in a +reverie before many a fair Madonna or beauteous nymph. I haunted the +Vatican, and stood surrounded by marble forms of divine beauty. Each stone +deity was possessed by sacred gladness, and the eternal fruition of love. +They looked on me with unsympathizing complacency, and often in wild +accents I reproached them for their supreme indifference--for they were +human shapes, the human form divine was manifest in each fairest limb and +lineament. The perfect moulding brought with it the idea of colour and +motion; often, half in bitter mockery, half in self-delusion, I clasped +their icy proportions, and, coming between Cupid and his Psyche's lips, +pressed the unconceiving marble. + +I endeavoured to read. I visited the libraries of Rome. I selected a +volume, and, choosing some sequestered, shady nook, on the banks of the +Tiber, or opposite the fair temple in the Borghese Gardens, or under the +old pyramid of Cestius, I endeavoured to conceal me from myself, and +immerse myself in the subject traced on the pages before me. As if in the +same soil you plant nightshade and a myrtle tree, they will each +appropriate the mould, moisture, and air administered, for the fostering +their several properties--so did my grief find sustenance, and power of +existence, and growth, in what else had been divine manna, to feed radiant +meditation. Ah! while I streak this paper with the tale of what my so named +occupations were--while I shape the skeleton of my days--my hand +trembles--my heart pants, and my brain refuses to lend expression, or +phrase, or idea, by which to image forth the veil of unutterable woe that +clothed these bare realities. O, worn and beating heart, may I dissect thy +fibres, and tell how in each unmitigable misery, sadness dire, repinings, +and despair, existed? May I record my many ravings--the wild curses I +hurled at torturing nature--and how I have passed days shut out from +light and food--from all except the burning hell alive in my own bosom? + +I was presented, meantime, with one other occupation, the one best fitted +to discipline my melancholy thoughts, which strayed backwards, over many a +ruin, and through many a flowery glade, even to the mountain recess, from +which in early youth I had first emerged. + +During one of my rambles through the habitations of Rome, I found writing +materials on a table in an author's study. Parts of a manuscript lay +scattered about. It contained a learned disquisition on the Italian +language; one page an unfinished dedication to posterity, for whose profit +the writer had sifted and selected the niceties of this harmonious language +--to whose everlasting benefit he bequeathed his labours. + +I also will write a book, I cried--for whom to read?--to whom +dedicated? And then with silly flourish (what so capricious and childish as +despair?) I wrote, DEDICATION TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. SHADOWS, ARISE, AND +READ YOUR FALL! BEHOLD THE HISTORY OF THE LAST MAN. + +Yet, will not this world be re-peopled, and the children of a saved pair of +lovers, in some to me unknown and unattainable seclusion, wandering to +these prodigious relics of the ante-pestilential race, seek to learn how +beings so wondrous in their achievements, with imaginations infinite, and +powers godlike, had departed from their home to an unknown country? + +I will write and leave in this most ancient city, this "world's sole +monument," a record of these things. I will leave a monument of the +existence of Verney, the Last Man. At first I thought only to speak of +plague, of death, and last, of desertion; but I lingered fondly on my early +years, and recorded with sacred zeal the virtues of my companions. They +have been with me during the fulfilment of my task. I have brought it to an +end--I lift my eyes from my paper--again they are lost to me. Again I +feel that I am alone. + +A year has passed since I have been thus occupied. The seasons have made +their wonted round, and decked this eternal city in a changeful robe of +surpassing beauty. A year has passed; and I no longer guess at my state or +my prospects--loneliness is my familiar, sorrow my inseparable companion. +I have endeavoured to brave the storm--I have endeavoured to school +myself to fortitude--I have sought to imbue myself with the lessons of +wisdom. It will not do. My hair has become nearly grey--my voice, unused +now to utter sound, comes strangely on my ears. My person, with its human +powers and features, seem to me a monstrous excrescence of nature. How +express in human language a woe human being until this hour never knew! How +give intelligible expression to a pang none but I could ever understand!-- +No one has entered Rome. None will ever come. I smile bitterly at the +delusion I have so long nourished, and still more, when I reflect that I +have exchanged it for another as delusive, as false, but to which I now +cling with the same fond trust. + +Winter has come again; and the gardens of Rome have lost their leaves-- +the sharp air comes over the Campagna, and has driven its brute inhabitants +to take up their abode in the many dwellings of the deserted city--frost +has suspended the gushing fountains--and Trevi has stilled her eternal +music. I had made a rough calculation, aided by the stars, by which I +endeavoured to ascertain the first day of the new year. In the old out-worn +age, the Sovereign Pontiff was used to go in solemn pomp, and mark the +renewal of the year by driving a nail in the gate of the temple of Janus. +On that day I ascended St. Peter's, and carved on its topmost stone the +aera 2100, last year of the world! + +My only companion was a dog, a shaggy fellow, half water and half +shepherd's dog, whom I found tending sheep in the Campagna. His master was +dead, but nevertheless he continued fulfilling his duties in expectation of +his return. If a sheep strayed from the rest, he forced it to return to the +flock, and sedulously kept off every intruder. Riding in the Campagna I had +come upon his sheep-walk, and for some time observed his repetition of +lessons learned from man, now useless, though unforgotten. His delight was +excessive when he saw me. He sprung up to my knees; he capered round and +round, wagging his tail, with the short, quick bark of pleasure: he left +his fold to follow me, and from that day has never neglected to watch by +and attend on me, shewing boisterous gratitude whenever I caressed or +talked to him. His pattering steps and mine alone were heard, when we +entered the magnificent extent of nave and aisle of St. Peter's. We +ascended the myriad steps together, when on the summit I achieved my +design, and in rough figures noted the date of the last year. I then turned +to gaze on the country, and to take leave of Rome. I had long determined to +quit it, and I now formed the plan I would adopt for my future career, +after I had left this magnificent abode. + +A solitary being is by instinct a wanderer, and that I would become. A hope +of amelioration always attends on change of place, which would even lighten +the burthen of my life. I had been a fool to remain in Rome all this time: +Rome noted for Malaria, the famous caterer for death. But it was still +possible, that, could I visit the whole extent of earth, I should find in +some part of the wide extent a survivor. Methought the sea-side was the +most probable retreat to be chosen by such a one. If left alone in an +inland district, still they could not continue in the spot where their last +hopes had been extinguished; they would journey on, like me, in search of a +partner for their solitude, till the watery barrier stopped their further +progress. + +To that water--cause of my woes, perhaps now to be their cure, I would +betake myself. Farewell, Italy!--farewell, thou ornament of the world, +matchless Rome, the retreat of the solitary one during long months!--to +civilized life--to the settled home and succession of monotonous days, +farewell! Peril will now be mine; and I hail her as a friend--death will +perpetually cross my path, and I will meet him as a benefactor; hardship, +inclement weather, and dangerous tempests will be my sworn mates. Ye +spirits of storm, receive me! ye powers of destruction, open wide your +arms, and clasp me for ever! if a kinder power have not decreed another +end, so that after long endurance I may reap my reward, and again feel my +heart beat near the heart of another like to me. + +Tiber, the road which is spread by nature's own hand, threading her +continent, was at my feet, and many a boat was tethered to the banks. I +would with a few books, provisions, and my dog, embark in one of these and +float down the current of the stream into the sea; and then, keeping near +land, I would coast the beauteous shores and sunny promontories of the blue +Mediterranean, pass Naples, along Calabria, and would dare the twin perils +of Scylla and Charybdis; then, with fearless aim, (for what had I to lose?) +skim ocean's surface towards Malta and the further Cyclades. I would avoid +Constantinople, the sight of whose well-known towers and inlets belonged to +another state of existence from my present one; I would coast Asia Minor, +and Syria, and, passing the seven-mouthed Nile, steer northward again, till +losing sight of forgotten Carthage and deserted Lybia, I should reach the +pillars of Hercules. And then--no matter where--the oozy caves, and +soundless depths of ocean may be my dwelling, before I accomplish this +long-drawn voyage, or the arrow of disease find my heart as I float singly +on the weltering Mediterranean; or, in some place I touch at, I may find +what I seek--a companion; or if this may not be--to endless time, +decrepid and grey headed--youth already in the grave with those I love-- +the lone wanderer will still unfurl his sail, and clasp the tiller--and, +still obeying the breezes of heaven, for ever round another and another +promontory, anchoring in another and another bay, still ploughing seedless +ocean, leaving behind the verdant land of native Europe, adown the tawny +shore of Africa, having weathered the fierce seas of the Cape, I may moor +my worn skiff in a creek, shaded by spicy groves of the odorous islands of +the far Indian ocean. + +These are wild dreams. Yet since, now a week ago, they came on me, as I +stood on the height of St. Peter's, they have ruled my imagination. I have +chosen my boat, and laid in my scant stores. I have selected a few books; +the principal are Homer and Shakespeare--But the libraries of the world +are thrown open to me--and in any port I can renew my stock. I form no +expectation of alteration for the better; but the monotonous present is +intolerable to me. Neither hope nor joy are my pilots--restless despair +and fierce desire of change lead me on. I long to grapple with danger, to +be excited by fear, to have some task, however slight or voluntary, for +each day's fulfilment. I shall witness all the variety of appearance, that +the elements can assume--I shall read fair augury in the rainbow-- +menace in the cloud--some lesson or record dear to my heart in +everything. Thus around the shores of deserted earth, while the sun is +high, and the moon waxes or wanes, angels, the spirits of the dead, and the +ever-open eye of the Supreme, will behold the tiny bark, freighted with +Verney--the LAST MAN. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Man, by Mary Shelley + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST MAN *** + +***** This file should be named 18247.txt or 18247.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/4/18247/ + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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