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diff --git a/31620-h/31620-h.htm b/31620-h/31620-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d1aead --- /dev/null +++ b/31620-h/31620-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,18850 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> +<title>Vashti, by Augusta Evans Wilson, a Project Gutenberg eBook</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + @media screen { + hr.pb {margin:30px 0; width:100%; border:none;border-top:thin dashed silver;} + .pagenum {display: inline; font-size: x-small; text-align: right; text-indent: 0; position: absolute; right: 2%; padding: 1px 3px; font-style: normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; text-decoration: none; background-color: inherit; border:1px solid #eee;} + .pncolor {color: silver;} + } + @media print { + hr.pb {border:none;page-break-after: always;} + .pagenum { display:none; } + } + body {margin-left: 11%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {margin-top: 0.5em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 0.5em;} + + .center, .center p {text-align: center;} + .dotspoem {letter-spacing: 0.5em;} + .dotwide {letter-spacing: 0.25em; text-align: center;} + .larger {font-size: large;} + .padtop {margin-top: 3em;} + .sig2 {display: block;padding-right: 5em;text-align: right;} + .sig3 {display: block;padding-right: 1em; padding-top:.25em;text-align: right;} + .smaller {font-size: small;} + blockquote {display: block; margin: .75em 5%; font-size: 90%;} + h1,h2,h3 {text-align: center;} + img {border: 1px solid silver; padding: 0;} + ins {text-decoration: none; border-bottom: thin dotted gray;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em; clear: both;} + + .caption {font-size: 90%; text-align:center;} + .chsp {margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em;} + .figcenter {margin: 2em auto 2em auto; text-align: center; width: auto;} + .figtag {height: 1px;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .smcaplc {text-transform: lowercase; font-variant: small-caps;} + a {text-decoration: none;} + hr.tb {border: none; border-bottom:1px solid black; width: 33%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;} + hr.toprule {width: 65%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; clear:both;} + p.center {text-align: center !important;} + p.cg {margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-align: left; width: 101%;} + p.ralign {text-align: right !important;} + span.indent10 {text-indent:0; width: 4.0em; display: block; float: left;} + span.indent16 {text-indent:0; width: 6.4em; display: block; float: left;} + span.indent2 {text-indent:0; width: 0.8em; display: block; float: left;} + span.indent26 {text-indent:0; width: 10.4em; display: block; float: left;} + span.indent4 {text-indent:0; width: 1.6em; display: block; float: left;} + span.indent8 {text-indent:0; width: 3.2em; display: block; float: left;} + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;} +</style> + +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vashti, by Augusta J. Evans Wilson + +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: Vashti + or, Until Death Us Do Part + +Author: Augusta J. Evans Wilson + +Release Date: March 13, 2010 [EBook #31620] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VASHTI *** + + + + +Produced by Charlene Taylor, Michael and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class='figcenter'> +<div class='figtag'> +<a name='linki_1' id='linki_1'></a> +</div> +<img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='' title='' width='365' height='600' /><br /> +<p class='caption'> +The stranger raised his hat and said: “Permit me to ask your name?”<br /> +“Salome Owen. And yours, sir, is—”<br /> +“Ulpian Gray.” Page <a href='#page_10'>10</a>.<br /> +—<i>Vashti.</i><br /> +</p> +</div> +<hr class='pb' /> +<div class='center'> +<h1>VASHTI</h1> +<h2><i>or</i> +UNTIL DEATH US DO PART</h2> +<p class='larger'>By AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON</p> +<p class='smaller'>(Augusta J. Evans)</p> +<p>Author of “Beulah,” “Macaria,” “Infelice,”<br /> +“St. Elmo,” “Inez,” etc., etc.,</p> +<p class='padtop'>“There is nothing a man knows, in grief or in sin<br /> +half so bitter as to think, what I might have been.”</p> +<p class='padtop'>A. L. BURT COMPANY, <span class='smcap'>Publishers</span><br /> +NEW YORK</p> +<hr class='pb' /> +<p class='center smaller'>Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1869, by<br /> +GEORGE W. CARLETON,<br /> +In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern +District of New York.</p> +<p class='center smaller'>Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, by<br /> +MRS. AUGUSTA J. EVANS WILSON,<br /> +In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D.C.</p> +</div> +<p><i>Vashti.</i></p> +<hr class='pb' /> +<p class='center'><span class='smcaplc'>TO THE HONORED MEMORY OF MY</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class='larger'><b><i>Beloved Father</i></b></span>,<br /> +<br /> +<span class='smcap'>WHOSE DEATH HAS RETARDED THE COMPLETION OF A WORK<br /> +WHICH, IN THE BEGINNING, WAS BLESSED<br /> +WITH HIS APPROVAL,</span><br /> +<br /> +I REVERENTLY DEDICATE THIS BOOK.</p> +<hr class='pb' /> +<div class='chsp' style='padding-top:0'> +<a name='PREFACE' id='PREFACE'></a> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> +</div> +<blockquote> +<p>“Every man has his own style, as he has his own nose; and +it is neither polite nor Christian to rally an honest man about +his nose, however singular it may be. How can I help it that +my style is not different? That there is no affectation in it, I +am very certain.”</p> +<p class='sig3'><i>Lessing.</i></p> +</blockquote> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Yea, I take myself to witness, <br /> +That I have loved no darkness,<br /> +Sophisticated no truth,<br /> +Nursed no delusion,<br /> +Allowed no fear.”<br /> +<br /></p> +<p class='ralign cg'><i>Matthew Arnold.</i></p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_6' name='page_6'></a>6</span> +<a name='UNTIL_DEATH_US_DO_PART' id='UNTIL_DEATH_US_DO_PART'></a> +<h2>UNTIL DEATH US DO PART.</h2> +</div> +<div class='chsp' style='padding-top:0'> +<a name='CHAPTER_I' id='CHAPTER_I'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +</div> +<p>“I can hear the sullen, savage roar of the breakers, if I do +not see them, and my pretty painted bark—expectation—is +bearing down helplessly upon them. Perhaps the unwelcome +will not come to-day. What then? I presume I should not +care; and yet, I am curious to see him,—anxious to know +what sort of person will henceforth rule the house, and go in +and out here as master. Of course the pleasant, peaceful days +are at an end, for men always make din and strife in a +household,—at least my father did, and he is the only one I +know much about. But, after all, why borrow trouble?—the +interloper may never come.”</p> +<p>The girl stood on tip-toe, shading her eyes with one hand, +and peering eagerly down the winding road which stretched at +right angles to the avenue, and over the hills, on towards the +neighboring town. No moving speck was visible; and, with +a sigh of relief, she sank back on the grassy mound and resumed +the perusal of her book. Above and around her spread +the wide branches of an aged apple-tree, feathered thickly +with pearly petals, which the wind tossed hither and thither +and drifted over the bermuda, as restless tides strew pink-chambered +shells on sloping strands; and down through the +flowery limbs streamed the waning March sun, throwing +grotesque shadows on the sward and golden ripples over the +face and figure of the young lounger. A few yards distant +a row of whitewashed bee-hives extended along the western +side of the garden-wall, where perched a peacock whose rainbow +hues were burnished by the slanting rays that smote like +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_7' name='page_7'></a>7</span> +flame the narrow pane of glass which constituted a window in +each hive and permitted investigation of the tireless workers +within. The afternoon was almost spent; the air, losing its +balmy noon breath, grew chill with the approach of dew, +and the figure under the apple-tree shivered slightly, and, +closing her book, drew her scarlet shawl around her shoulders +and leaned her dimpled chin on her knee.</p> +<p>Sixteen years had ripened and rounded the girlish form, +and given to her countenance that indefinable charm which +marks the timid hovering between careless, frolicsome youth, +and calmly conscious womanhood; while perfect health +rouged the polished cheeks and vermillioned the thin lips, +whose outlines sharply indexed more of decision than amiability +of character.</p> +<p>There were hints of brown in the heavy mass of waveless +dusky hair, that was elaborately braided and coiled around +the well turned head, and certain amber rays suggestive of +topaz and gold flashed out now and then in the dark-hazel iris +of the large eyes, lending them an eldritch and baleful glow. +Fresh as the overhanging apple-blooms, but immobile as if +carved from pearl,—perhaps it was just such a face as hers +that fronted Jason, amid the clustering boughs of Colchian +rhododendrons, when first he sought old Æëtes’ prescient +daughter,—the maiden face of magical Medea, innocent as yet +of murder, sacrilege, fratricide, and plunder,—eloquent of all +possibilities of purity and peace, but vaguely adumbrating all +conceivable disquietude and guilt.</p> +<p>The hushed expectancy of the fair young countenance had +given place to a dreamy languor, and the dark lashes drooped +heavily, when a long shadow fell upon the grass, and simultaneously +the peacock sounded its shrill <ins title='Was alarum'>alarm</ins>. Rising quickly +the girl found herself face to face with one upon whose +features she had never looked before, and for a moment each +eyed the other searchingly. The stranger raised his hat, and +inclining his head slightly, said,—</p> +<p>“Permit me to ask your name?”</p> +<p>“Salome Owen. And yours, sir, is—”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_8' name='page_8'></a>8</span></div> +<p>“Ulpian Grey.”</p> +<p>For a few seconds neither spoke; but the man smiled, and +the girl bit her under-lip and frowned.</p> +<p>“Are you the miller’s daughter?”</p> +<p>“I am the miller’s daughter; and you are the master of +Grassmere.”</p> +<p>“It seems that I come home like Rip Van Winkle, or +Ulysses, unknown, unwelcomed,—unlike the latter,—even by +a dog.”</p> +<p>“Where is your sister?”</p> +<p>“Not having seen her for five years, I am unable to answer.”</p> +<p>“She went to town two hours ago, to meet you.”</p> +<p>“Then, after all, I am expected; but pray by what route—balloon +or telegraph?”</p> +<p>“Miss Jane went to the railroad dépot, but thought it +possible you might not arrive to-day, and said she would +attend a meeting at the church, if you failed to come. I presume +she missed you in the crowd. Sir, will you walk into +the house?”</p> +<p>Perhaps he did not hear the question, and certainly he did +not heed it, amid the clamorous recollections that rushed upon +him as he gazed earnestly over the lawn, down the avenue, +and up at the ivy-mantled front of the old brick homestead. +Thinking it might impress him as ludicrous or officious that +she should invite him to enter and take possession of his own +establishment, Salome reddened and compressed her lips. Apparently +forgetful of her presence, he stood with his hat in +his hand, noting the changes that time had wrought: the +growth of venerable trees and favorite shrubs, the crumbling +of fences, the gathering moss on the sun-dial, and the +lichen stains upon two marble vases that held scarlet verbena +on either side of the broad stone steps.</p> +<p>His close-fitting travelling suit of gray showed the muscular, +well-developed form of a man of medium size, whose very +erect carriage enhanced his height and invested him with a +commanding air; while the unusual breadth of his chest and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_9' name='page_9'></a>9</span> +shoulders seemed to indicate that life had called him to athletic +out-door pursuits, rather than the dun and dusty atmosphere +of a sedentary, cloistered career.</p> +<p>There are subtle countenances that baffle the dainty stipple +and line tracery of time, refusing to become mere tablets, +mere fleshy intaglios of the past, whereon every curious +stranger may spell out the bygone, and, counting their footprints, +cast up the number of engraving years. Thus it happened +that if Salome had not known from the family Bible +that this man was almost thirty-five, her eager scrutiny of his +features would have discovered little concerning his age, and +still less concerning his character. Exposure to the winds and +heat of tropic regions had darkened and sallowed the complexion, +which his clear deep blue eyes and light brown hair +declared was originally of Saxon fairness; in proof whereof, +when he drew off one glove and lifted his hand it seemed as if +the marble fingers of one statue were laid against the bronze +cheek of another.</p> +<p>Looking intently at this grave yet benignant countenance, +full of serenity, because calmly conscious of its power, the girl +set her teeth and ground her heel into the velvet turf, for +<i>frangas non flectes</i> was written on his smooth, broad brow, +and she felt fiercely rebellious as some fiery, free creature of +the Kamse, when first confronted with the bit and trappings +of him who will henceforth bridle and tame the desert-bred.</p> +<p>Waking from his brief reverie, the stranger turned and +extended his hand, saying, in tones as low and sweet as a +woman’s,—</p> +<p>“Will you not welcome a wanderer back to his home?”</p> +<p>She gave him the tips of her fingers, but the “Imp of the +Perverse” dictated her answer,—</p> +<p>“As you saw fit to compare yourself, a few moments since, +to certain celebrated absentees, I am constrained to tell you +that I happen to be neither Penelope nor Gretchen, nor yet +the illustrious dog referred to.”</p> +<p>He smiled good-humoredly, and replied,—</p> +<p>“I am not very sure that there is not a spice of Dame Van +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10' name='page_10'></a>10</span> +Winkle somewhere in your nature. True, we are strangers, +but I believe you are my sister’s adopted child, and I hope +you are glad to see her brother at home once more. Jane is a +dear kind link, who should make us at least good friends; for, +if you are attached to her you will in time learn to like me.”</p> +<p>“I doubt it,—seeing that you resemble Miss Jane about as +nearly as I do the Grand Lama of Larissa, or the idol Bhadrinath. +But, sir, although it is not my office to welcome you, +I presume you have not forgotten the front door, and once +more I ask, Will you walk in and make yourself at home in +your own house?”</p> +<p>As she led the way to the steps, the arched gate at the end +of the avenue swung open, a carriage entered, and Salome +retreated to her own room, leaving unwitnessed the happy +meeting between an aged, infirm sister, and long-absent +brother.</p> +<p>Locking the door to secure herself from intrusion, she drew +a low rocking-chair to the hearth, where smouldered the +embers of a dying fire, and dropping her face in her palms, +stared abstractedly at the ashes. As she swayed slowly to and +fro, her lips parted and closed, her brows bent from their +customary curves of beauty, and half inaudibly she muttered,—</p> +<p>“The sceptre is departing from Judah. My rule is well +nigh ended; the interregnum has been brief, and the old +dynasty reigns once more. Just what I dreaded from the +hour I heard he was coming home. I shall be reduced to a +mere cipher, and made to realize my utter dependence,—and +the iron will soon enter my soul. We paupers are adepts in +the art of reading the countenance, and I have looked at this +Ulpian Grey long enough to know that I might as well bombard +Gibraltar with boiled peas as hope to conquer one of his +whims or alter one of his purposes. There will be bitterness +and strife between us. I shall wish him in his grave a +thousand times before it closes over him,—and he, unless he +is too good, will hate me cordially. I cannot and will not +give up all my hopes and expectations, without a long, fierce +struggle.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span></div> +<p>Salome Owen was the eldest of five children, who, by the +death of both parents, had been thrown penniless upon the +world, and found a temporary asylum in the county poor-house. +Her mother she remembered merely as a feeble, fractious +invalid; and her father, who had long been employed as +superintendent of large mills belonging to Miss Jane Grey, +had, after years of reckless intemperance, ended his wretched +career in a fit of mania a potu. His death occurred at a +season when Miss Grey was confined to her bed by an attack +of rheumatism, which rendered her a cripple for the remainder +of her days; but the first hours of her convalescence were +spent in devising plans for the education and maintenance of +his helpless orphans. In the dusty, cheerless yard of the poor-house +she had found the little group huddled under a mulberry +tree one hot July noon; and, sending the two younger +children to the orphan asylum in a neighboring town, she had +apprenticed one boy to a worthy carpenter, another to an +eminent horticulturist in a distant State; and Salome, the +handsomest and brightest of the flock, she carried to her own +home as an adopted child. Here, for four years, the girl had +lived in peace and luxurious ease, surrounded by all the elegances +and refining associations which though not inherent +in are at the command of wealth; and so rapidly and gracefully +had she fitted herself into the new social niche, that the +dark and stormy morning of her life had become only a dim +and hideous recollection, that rarely lifted its hated visage +above the smooth and shining surface of the happy present.</p> +<p>Fortuitous circumstances constitute the moulds that shape +the majority of human lives, and the hasty impress of an +accident is too often regarded as the relentless decree of all-ordaining +fate; while to the philosophic anthropologist it +might furnish matter for curious speculation whether, if Attila +and Alaric had chanced to find themselves the pampered +sons of some merchant prince,—some Rothschild or Peabody +of the fifth century,—their campaigns had not been purely +fiscal and bloodless, limited to the leaves of a ledger, while the +names of Goth and Hun had never crystallized into synonyms +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span> +of havoc and ruin; or had Timour been trained to cabbage-raising +and vine-dressing, whether he would not have lived in +history as the great horticulturist of Kesth, or the Diocletian +of Samarcand, rather than the Tartar tyrant and conqueror +of the East? How many possible Howards have swung at +Tyburn? How many canonized and haloed heads have barely +escaped the doom of Brinvilliers, and the tender mercies of +Carnifex?</p> +<p>Analogous to that wonderful Gulf Stream, once a myth and +still a mystery, the strange current of human existence, four +score and ten years long, bears each and all of us with a +strong, steady sweep away from the tropic lands of sunny +childhood, enamelled with verdure and gaudy with bloom, +through the temperate regions of manhood and womanhood, +fruitful and harvest-hued, on to the frigid, lonely shores of +dreary old age, snow-crowned and ice-veined; and individual +destinies seem to resemble the tangled drift on those broad +bounding gulf-billows, driven hither and thither, strewn on +barren beaches, scattered over bleaching coral crags, stranded +upon blue bergs,—precious germs from all climes and +classes; some to be scorched under equatorial heats; some to +perish by polar perils; a few to take root and flourish and +triumph, building imperishable land-marks; and many to +stagnate in the long, inglorious rest of a Sargasso Sea.</p> +<p>For all helpless human waifs in this surging ocean of time, +there is comfort in the knowledge that the fiercest storms toss +their drift highest; and one of these apparently savage waves +of adversity had swept Salome Owen safely to an isle of +palms and peace, where, under the fostering rays of prosperity, +the selfish and sordid elements of her character found +rapid development.</p> +<p>In affectionate natures, family ties serve as cords to strangle +selfishness; for, in large domestic circles, each member contributes +a moiety to swell the good of the whole—silently endures +some trial, makes some sacrifice, shares some sympathy +and sunshine, hoards some grief and gloom, and had Salome +remained with her brothers and sisters, their continual claims +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span> +on her time and attention would have healthfully diverted +thoughts that had long centred solely in self. Finding that +fortune had temporarily sheathed in velvet the goad of necessity, +the girl’s aspirations soared no higher than the maintenance +of her present easy and luxurious position, as a petted +dependent on the affection and bounty of a weak but generous +and lonely old lady. Having no other object near, upon which +to lavish the love and caresses that were stored in her heart, +Miss Jane had turned fondly to Salome, and so earnestly endeavored +to brighten her life, that the latter felt assured she +was selected as the heiress of that house and estate where she +had dwelt so happily; and thus sanguine concerning her +future prospects, the strong will of the girl completely dominated +the feebler and failing one of her benefactress, through +whose fingers the reins of government slipped so gradually, +that she was unconscious of her virtual abdication.</p> +<p>From this pleasant dream of a handsome heritage and life-long +plenty, Salome had been rudely aroused by the unwelcome +tidings that a young half-brother of Miss Jane was +coming to reside under her roof; and prophetic fear whispered +that the stranger would contest and divide her dominion. A +surgeon in the United States navy, he had been absent for five +years in distant seas, and only resigned his commission in consequence +of letters which informed him of the feeble condition +of his only surviving relative. Those who have eaten the +bread of charity learn to interpret countenances with an unerring +facility that eclipses the vaunted skill of Lavater, and +the girl’s brief inspection of the face which would henceforth +confront her daily, yielded little to dispel her gloomy forebodings. +The sound of the tea-bell terminated her reverie, and +rising, she walked slowly to the dining-room, throwing her +head as erect as possible, and compressing her mouth like some +gladiator summoned to the fatal arena of the Coliseum.</p> +<p>The dining-room was large and airy, with lofty wide windows, +and neatly papered walls, where in numerous old-fashioned +and quaintly carved frames hung the ancestral portraits +of the family. Although one window was open, and the mild +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span> +air laden with the perfumed breath of spring, a bright wood +fire flashed on the hearth, near which Miss Jane sat in her +large, cushioned rocking-chair, resting her swollen slippered +feet on a velvet stool, while her silver-mounted crutches +leaned against the arm of her chair. An ugly and very diminutive +brown terrier snarled and frisked on the rug, tormenting +a staid and aged black cat, who occasionally arched her +back and showed her teeth; and Dr. Grey stood leaning over +his sister’s chair, smoothing the soft grizzled locks that clustered +under the rich lace border of her cap. He was talking of +other days,—those of his boyhood, when, kneeling by that +hearth, she had pasted his kites, found strings for his tops, +made bags for his marbles, or bound up his bleeding hands, +bruised in boyish sports; and, while he read from the fresher +page of his memory the blessed juvenile annals long since +effaced from hers, a happy smile lighted her withered face, +and she put up one thin hand to pat the brown and bearded +cheek which nearly touched her head. To the pretty young +thing who had paused on the threshold, watching what passed, +it seemed a peaceful picture, cosy and complete, needing no +adjuncts, defying intruders; but Miss Jane caught a glimpse +of the shrinking figure, and beckoned her to the fire-place.</p> +<p>“Salome, come shake hands with my sailor-boy, and tell +him how glad we are to have his sunburnt face once more +among us. Ulpian, this is my dear child Salome, who makes +noise and sunshine enough in an otherwise dark and silent +dreary house. Why, children, don’t stand bowing at each +other, like foreign ministers at court! Ulpian, you are to be +a brother to that child; so go and kiss her like a Christian, +and let us have no more state and ceremony.”</p> +<p>“<i>Sans cérémonie</i> we introduced ourselves this afternoon, +under the apple-tree, and I presume Salome will accept the +assurance of my friendly intentions and fraternal regard, and +decline the seal which only long acquaintance and perfect confidence +could induce her to permit. Notwithstanding the very +evident fact that she is not entirely overwhelmed with delight +at my return, I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to one +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span> +who has so largely contributed to my sister’s happiness, and +shall avail myself of every opportunity to prove my appreciation +of her devotion.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey stepped forward, took Salome’s hand, and touched +it lightly with his lips, while the grave dignity of his manner +forbade the thought that affectation of gallantry or idle persiflage +suggested the words or action.</p> +<p>Disarmed by the quiet courtesy which she felt she had not +merited, the girl’s ready wit and nimbly obedient tongue for +once proved treacherous; and, conscious that the flush was +deepening on cheek and brow, she moved to the oval table in +the centre of the floor, and seated herself behind the massive +silver urn.</p> +<p>“Ulpian, take your place yonder, at the foot, and excuse my +absence from the table this first evening of your return. I +always have my meals here, close to the fire, and Salome presides +in my place. Child, put no cream in his tea, but a bountiful +share of sugar. You see, my boy, I have not grown too +old to recollect your whims.”</p> +<p>As he obeyed her, Salome was preparing to pour out the +tea; but, catching his eye, she paused, and Dr. Grey bowed his +head on his hand, and solemnly and impressively asked a +blessing, and offered up fervent thanks for the family reunion. +In the somewhat fragmentary discourse that ensued +between brother and sister the orphan took no part; and, a +half hour later, when the little party removed to the library +and established themselves comfortably for the evening, +Salome drew her chair close to the lamp, and, under pretence +of examining a book of engravings, covertly studied the features +and mien of the new-comer.</p> +<p>His quiet, low-toned conversation was of other lands and +distant nations, and, while there was an entire absence of that +ostentatious braggardism and dropsical egotism which unfortunately +attacks the majority of travellers, his descriptions of +foreign scenery were so graceful and brilliant, that despite +her ungracious determination and premeditated dislike, she +became a fascinated listener; and, more than once, found herself +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span> +leaning forward to catch his words. Her own vivid fancy +travelled with him over the lakes and isles, temples and +palaces, he had visited; and, when the clock struck eleven, and +a brief silence succeeded, she started as from some delightful +dream.</p> +<p>“Janet, shall we have prayers, or have I already kept you +up too late?”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey stooped and pressed his lips to his sister’s wrinkled +forehead, and her voice faltered slightly, as she answered,—</p> +<p>“It is never too late to thank God for all his goodness, especially +in bringing my dear boy safely back to me. Salome, get +the large Bible from the cushion in the parlor.”</p> +<p>As the orphan placed the book in Dr. Grey’s hand it opened +at the record of births, where on the wide page appeared only +the name of Ulpian Grey, and from the leaves fluttered a +small bow of blue ribbon.</p> +<p>He picked it up, and, considering it merely a book-mark, +would have replaced it, but Miss Jane exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“It is the blue knot that fastens that child’s collar. Give +it to her. She lost it yesterday, and has searched the house +for it. How came it in that old Bible, which I am sure has +not been used for fifteen years?”</p> +<p>Whatever solution of the mystery Salome might have +deigned to offer, remained unuttered, for Dr. Grey kindly +obviated the necessity of a reply by requesting her to bring +him an additional candle from an adjoining room; and the +superfluous celerity with which she started on the errand +called a twinkle to his eye and a half-smothered smile to his +lips. She felt assured that he was thoroughly cognizant of the +curiosity which had prompted her researches among the family +records, and inferred that he had either no vanity to be +flattered by such trifles, or was dowered with too much generosity +to evince any gratification at the discovery of an interest +she would have vehemently disclaimed.</p> +<p>It was the first time she had ever bowed before the family +altar, and, notwithstanding her avowed aversion to “Puritanic +ceremonials and Pharisaical practices,” she was unexpectedly +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span> +awed and deeply impressed by the solemnity with +which he conducted the brief services; while, despite her prejudice, +his grave courtesy toward her, and the subdued tenderness +that marked his treatment of his sister, commanded her +involuntary respect. When she stood before the mirror in her +own room, unbraiding her heavy hair, a dissatisfied expression +robbed her features of half their loveliness, and discontent +ploughed distorting lines about the scarlet lips which muttered,—</p> +<p>“I wonder if, in one of his evil fits, my father sold and +signed me away to Satan? I certainly am <i>bon gré mal gré</i> in +bondage to him; for, from my inmost heart I hate ‘good, +pious, sanctified souls,’ such as that marble man upstairs, who +has come back to usurp my kingdom, and lord it over this +heritage. After to-day a new regime. The potter’s hands are +fair and shapely, courteous and deft, but potter’s hands nevertheless. +Tough kneading he shall find it, and stiffer clay +than ever yet was moulded, or my name is not Salome Owen. +After all, how much better are we than the lower beasts of +prey? In the race for riches there is but one alternative,—to +devour, or be devoured; consequently that was an immemorial +and well tested rule in the warfare that commenced +when Adam and Eve found themselves shut out of Eden. +‘Each for himself,’ etc., etc., etc. Since I must <i>ex necessitate</i> +prey or be preyed upon, I shall waste no time in deliberation.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_II' id='CHAPTER_II'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +</div> +<p>When fifty-two years old, Daniel Grey amassed a handsome +fortune by speculating in certain gold and coal mine +stocks, which not only relieved him from the necessity of daily +toil in his dusty counting-room, but elevated him to that more +than Braminical caste, dubbed in Mammon-parlance—capitalists; +whose decrees outweigh legislative statutes, and by feeling +the pulse of stock-boards and all financial corporations, +regulate the fiscal currents of the State. A few months subsequent +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span> +to this sudden accession of wealth, his meek and +devoted wife—who had patiently shared all the trials and +hardships of his early impecunious career, and brightened an +humble home which boasted no treasure comparable to her +loving, unselfish heart,—was summoned to the enjoyment of +a heritage beyond the stars; and Daniel Grey, capitalist, +found himself a florid handsome widower, with two children, +Enoch and Jane, to remind him continually of the pale wife +over whose quiet ashes rose a costly mausoleum, where rare +exotics nodded to each other across gilded slab and sculptured +angels. That he profoundly mourned his loss no charitable +mind could doubt, notwithstanding the obstinate fact that +ere the violets had bloomed a twelvemonth over the dead +mother of his children he had provided them with one who +certainly bore her name, <ins title='Was unsurped'>usurped</ins> her precious privileges, +walked in her footsteps, but wofully failed to fill her place.</p> +<p>Mrs. Daniel Grey, scarcely the senior of the step-daughter +whose lips most reluctantly framed the sacred word “mother,” +was a fresh fair young thing, whose ideas of marriage extended +no further than diamonds, white satin, reception cards, +and bridal presents; and whose regard for her worthy husband +sought no surer basis than his bank-stock and insurance +dividends. Dainty and bright, in tasteful and costly apparel, +the pretty child-wife flitted up and down in his house and +over the serene surface of his life, touching no feeling of his +nature so deeply as that colossal <i>parvenu</i> vanity which exulted +in the possession of a graceful walking announcement of his +ability to clothe in fine fabrics and expensive jewels.</p> +<p>Perhaps the mildew that stained the ghastly gaunt angels +who kept guard over the dust of the dead wife, extended yet +further than the silent territory over which sexton and mattock +reigned, for one dreary December night, instead of nestling +for a post-prandial nap among the velvet cushions of his +luxurious parlor, Daniel Grey, capitalist, slept his last sleep +in a high-backed, comfortless chair before his desk, where the +confidential clerk found him next morning, with his rigid +icy fingers thrust between the leaves of his check-book.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span></div> +<p>According to the old Arab proverb,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“The black camel named Death kneeleth once at each door,<br /> +And a mortal must mount to return nevermore.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>And, past all peradventure, having borne away one member of +the household, the “Last Carrier” from force of habit hastens +to perform the same thankless service for the remainder;—thus +ere summer sunshine streamed on the husband’s +grave, another yawned at its side, and a wreathed and fluted +shaft shot up close to his mausoleum, to tell sympathizing +friends and careless strangers that the second wife of Daniel +Grey had been snatched away in the morning of life.</p> +<p>Her infant son Ulpian was committed to the tender guardianship +of his maternal grandmother, in whose hands he remained +until the close of his fourth year, when her death +necessitated his return to the home of his only relatives, +Enoch and Jane. At the request of his sister, the former had +sold the elegant new residence in a fashionable quarter of the +town, and removed to the old homestead and farm, hallowed +by reminiscences of their mother, and invested with the magic +attractions that early association weaves about the spots frequented +in youth.</p> +<p>Manifesting, even in boyhood, an unconquerable repugnance +not only to curriculum, but the monotonous routine of mercantile +pursuits, Enoch sullenly forswore stock-jobbing and +finance, and declared his intention of indulging his rural +tastes and becoming a farmer. Fine cattle and poultry of all +kinds, heavy wheat-crops, and well-stored corn-cribs engrossed +his thoughts, to the entire exclusion of abstract æsthetic speculation, +of operatic music, and Pre-Raphaelitism; while the +sight of one of his silky short-horned Ayrshires yielded him +infinitely more pleasure than the possession of all Rosa Bonheur’s +ideals could possibly have done, and the soft billowy +stretch of his favorite clover-meadow was worth all the canvas +that Claude or Poussin had ever colored. While Enoch had +cordially hated his fair blue-eyed young step-mother, not from +any personal or individual grounds of grievance, but simply +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span> +and solely because she dared to occupy the household niche, +sanctified once and forever by his own meek gentle-toned +mother, he nevertheless tenderly loved her baby-boy; and as +Ulpian grew to manhood he became the idol, at whose shrine +the brother and sister offered their pure and most intense +affection.</p> +<p>Neither had married, and when the youngest of the household +band completed his studies, and decided to accept a +naval appointment, the consternation and grief which the +announcement produced at the homestead, proved how essential +the presence of the half-brother had become to the happiness +of the sedate stolid Enoch, and equable unselfish +Jane. But the desire to travel subordinated all other sentiments +in Ulpian’s nature, and he eagerly embarked for a +cruise, from which he was recalled by tidings of the death of +his brother.</p> +<p>A brief sojourn at the homestead had sufficed to arrange +the affairs of the carefully-managed estate, and the young +surgeon returned to his post aboard ship, in distant oriental +seas. The increasing infirmity of his sister had finally induced +the resignation of his cherished commission, and +brought the man of thirty-five back to his home, where the +“old familiar faces” seemed to have vanished forever; and, +in lieu thereof, legions of cold-eyed strangers carelessly +confronted him.</p> +<p>Emancipated from all restraint, and early consigned to the +guidance of his boyish caprices and immature judgment, Ulpian +Grey’s character had unfolded itself under circumstances +peculiarly favorable for the fostering of selfishness and the +development of idiosyncrasies. As a plant, unmolested by +man and beast, germinates, expands, and freely +and completely manifests all its inherent tendencies, whether +detrimental or beneficial to humanity, so Dr. Grey’s matured +manhood was no distorted or discolored result of repeated +educational experiments, but a thoroughly normal efflorescence +of an unbiassed healthful nature.</p> +<p>Habits of unwavering application and searching study, contracted +in collegiate cloisters, tightened their grasp upon him, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span> +as he wandered away from the quiet precincts of <i>Alma Mater</i> +and into the crowded noisy campus of life; and even the +gregarious and convivial manners prevalent aboard ship failed +to divert his attention from the prosecution of scientific researches, +or to retard his rapid progress in classical scholarship.</p> +<p>For the treasures of knowledge thus patiently and indefatigably +garnered through a series of years, travel proved an +invaluable polyglot commentator, analyzing, comparing, annotating, +and italicizing, and had converted his mind into a vast, +systematically arranged pictorial encyclopædia of miscellaneous +lore, embellished with delicate etchings, noble engravings, +and gorgeous illuminations,—a thesaurus where <i>savants</i> might +seek successfully for <i>data</i>, and whence artists could derive +grand types, and pure tender coloring.</p> +<p>Reverent and loving appreciation of the intrinsically “true, +good, and beautiful” was part of the homage that his nature +rendered to its Creator, and instead of flowering into a morbid +and maudlin sentimentality which craves low-browed, long +straight-nosed, undraped statuettes in every nook and corner,—or +dwarfs the soul and pins it to the surplice of some +theologic <i>dogmata</i> claiming infallibility—or coffins the intellect +in cramped, shallow, psychological categories,—it bore +fruit in a wide-eyed, large-hearted, liberal-minded eclecticism, +which, waging no crusade against the various Saladins of +modern systems, quietly possessed itself of the really valuable +elements that constitute the basis of every ethical, æsthetic, +and scientific creed, which has for any length of time +levied black-mail on the credulity of mankind.</p> +<p>Breadth of intellectual vision promotes moral and emotional +expansion—for true catholicity of mind manufactures +charity in the heart; and toleration is the real mesmeric current +which brings the extremes of humanity <i>en rapport</i>,—is +the veritable ubiquitous Samaritan always provided with wine +and oil for the bruised and helpless, who are strewn along the +highway of life; and those who penetrated beyond the polished +surface of Dr. Grey’s character, realized that no tinge of cynicism, +no affectation of contempt for his country and countrymen +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span> +lurked in his heart, while erudition and foreign sojourning +seemed only to have warmed and intensified his sympathy +with all noble aims—his compassion for all grovelling ones.</p> +<p>That his compulsory return to the uneventful routine of +life at the homestead, involved a sacrifice which he would +gladly have avoided, he did not attempt to deny; but having +invested a large amount of earnest, vigorous faith in the final +conservatism of that much-abused monster which the seditious +army of the Disappointed anathematize as “Bad Luck,” he +went to work contentedly in this new sphere of action, and +waited patiently and trustfully for the slow grinding of the +great mill of Compensation, into whose huge hopper Fate had +unceremoniously poured all his plans.</p> +<p>His advent produced a very decided sensation not only in +the quiet neighborhood in which the farm was located, but +also in the adjacent town where the memory of Daniel Grey’s +meteoric ascent to pecuniosity still lingered in the minds of +the oldest citizens, and pleasantly paved the way for a cordial +reception of the fortunate son who inherited not only his +mother’s comeliness but his father’s hoarded wealth.</p> +<p>Living in the middle of the nineteenth century, and in a +hemisphere completely antipodal to that in which Utopia +was situated, or “Bensalem” dreamed of, the appearance of a +good-looking, well-educated, affluent bachelor could not fail to +stir all gossipdom to its dreg; and society, ever tenderly concerned +about the individual affairs of its prominent members, +was all agog—busily arranging for the <i>ci-devant</i> United +States Surgeon a programme, than which he would sooner +have undertaken the feats of Samson or the Avatars of +Vishnu.</p> +<p>His published card, announcing the fact that he had permanently +located in the city and was a patient candidate for +the privilege of setting fractured limbs and administering +medicine, somewhat dashed the expectations of many who conjected +that the Grey estate could not possibly be worth the +amount so long reputed, or the principal heir would certainly +not soil his fingers with pills and plasters, instead of sauntering +and dawdling with librettos, lorgnettes, meerschaums, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span> +and curiously-carved canes cut in the Hebrides or the jungles +of Java.</p> +<p>Over the door of that office, where the Angel of Death had +smitten his father thirty-five years before, a new sign swung +in the breeze, and showed the citizens the name of “Dr. +Ulpian Grey. Office hours from nine to ten, and from two +to three.”</p> +<p>The members of the profession called formally to welcome +him to a share of their annual profits, and collectively +gave him a dinner; the “best families” invited him to tea +or luncheon, croquet or “German,” and thus, having accomplished +his professional and social <i>début</i>, Ulpian Grey, +M.D., henceforth claimed and exercised the privilege of selecting +his associates, and employing his time as inclination +prompted.</p> +<p>In the comprehensive course of study to which he had so +long devoted his attention, he had not omitted that immemorial +stereotyped volume—Human Nature—which, despite +the attempted revisions of sages, politicians, and ecclesiastics, +remains as immutable as the everlasting hills; printing +upon the leaves of the youngest century phases of guilt +and guilelessness which find their prototypes in the gray dawn +of time, when the “morning stars sang together,”—yea, busy +to-day as of yore, slaughtering Abel, stoning Stephen, fretting +Moses, crucifying Christ. Finding much that was admirable, +and more that seemed ignoble, he gravely and +reverently sought to possess himself of the subtle arcana of +this marvellous book, rejecting as equally erroneous and unreliable +the magnifying zeal of optimism and the gloomy +jaundiced lenses of sneering pessimism,—thoroughly satisfied +that it was a solemn duty, obligatory upon all, to study +that complex paradoxical human nature, for the mastery of +which Lucifer and Jesus had ceaselessly battled since the day +when Adam and Eve were called “to dress and to keep” the +Garden by the Euphrates,—that heaven-born, heaven-cursed, +restless human nature, which now, as then,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span></div> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Grasps at the fruitage forbidden,<br /> +The golden pomegranates of Eden,<br /> +To quiet its fever and pain.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>A few days’ residence under the same roof, and a guarded +observation of Salome’s conduct, sufficed to acquaint Dr. Grey +with the ungenerous motives that induced her chagrin at his +return; and, without permitting her to suspect that he had so +accurately read her character, he endeavored as unobtrusively +as possible to bridge by kindness and courtesy the chasm of +jealous distrust which divided them.</p> +<p>Indolent and self-indulgent, she neither brooked dictation, +nor gracefully accepted any suggestions at variance with the +reigning whim; for, since she became an inmate of Miss Jane’s +hospitable home, existence had been a mere dreamy, aimless +succession of golden dawns and scarlet-curtained sunsets—a +slow, quiet lapsing of weeks into months,—an almost stagnant +stream curled by no eddies, freighted with few aspirations, +bearing no drift.</p> +<p>The circumstances and associations of her early life had destroyed +her faith in abstract nobility of character; self-abnegation +she neither comprehended nor deemed possible; and +of a stern, innate moral heroism she was utterly sceptical; +consequently a delicately graduated scale of selfishness was the +sole balance by which she was wont to weigh men and women.</p> +<p>Her irregular method of study and desultory reading had +rather enervated than strengthened a mind naturally clear +and vigorous, and left its acquisitions in a confused and kaleidoscopic +mass, bordering upon intellectual salmagundi.</p> +<p>One warm afternoon, on his return from town, as Dr. Grey +ascended the steps he noticed Salome reclining on a bamboo +settee at the western end of the gallery, where the sunshine +was hot and glaring, unobstructed by the thin leafy screen of +vines that drooped from column to column on the southern +and eastern sides of the building. If conscious of his approach +she vouchsafed not the slightest intimation of it, and +when he stood beside her she remained so immovable that he +might have imagined her asleep but for the lambent light +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span> +which rayed out from eyes that seemed intently numbering +the soft fluttering young leaves on a distant clump of elm +trees, which made a lace-like tracery of golden glimmer and +quivering shadow on the purple-headed clover at their feet.</p> +<p>Her fair but long slender fingers carelessly held a book +that threatened to slip from their light relaxing grasp, and +compressing his lips in order to smother a smile under his +heavy moustache, Dr. Grey stooped and put his hand on her +plump white wrist, where the blue veins were running riot.</p> +<p>“So young,—yet cataleptic! Unfortunate, indeed,” he +murmured.</p> +<p>She shook off his touch, and instantly sat erect.</p> +<p>“I should be glad to know what you mean.”</p> +<p>“I have an admirable, nay, I venture to add, an almost infallible +prescription for catalepsy, which has cured two chronic +and apparently hopeless cases, and it will afford me great +pleasure to try the third experiment upon you, since you +seem pitiably in want of a remedy.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. Were I as free from all other ills that ‘flesh +is heir to,’ as I certainly am of the taint of catalepsy, I might +indeed congratulate myself upon an immunity which would +obviate the dire necessity of ever meeting a physician.”</p> +<p>“Are you sure that you sufficiently understand the symptoms, +to recognize them unerringly?”</p> +<p>The rose tint in her cheeks deepened to scarlet, as she +haughtily drew herself up to her full height, and answered,—</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey himself is not more sagacious and adroit in detecting +them; especially when open eyes discover unwelcome +and disagreeable objects, which, wishing to avoid, they are +still compelled to see. I hope you are satisfied that I comprehend +you.”</p> +<p>“My meaning was not so occult as to justify a doubt upon +that subject; and moreover, Salome, lack of astuteness is far +from being your greatest defect. My motive should eloquently +plead pardon for my candor, if I venture to tell you that your +frequent affectation of unconsciousness of the presence of +others, ‘is a custom more honored in the breach than the +observance,’ and may prove prolific of annoyance in coming +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span> +years; for courtesy constitutes the keystone in the beautiful +arch of social amenities which vaults the temple of Christian +virtues. Lest you should take umbrage at my frankness, +which ought to assure you of my interest in your happiness +and improvement, permit me to remind you of the oriental +definition of a faithful friend, that has more pith than verbal +polish,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“The true friend is not he who holds up Flattery’s mirror,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>In which the face to thy conceit most pleasing hovers;<br /> +But he who kindly shows thee all thy vices, sirrah!<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And helps thee mend them ere an enemy discovers.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Rising, Salome swept him a profound courtesy, and, while +her fingers beat a tattoo on the book she held, she watched him +with a peculiar sparkle in her eyes, which he had already +learned to understand was a beacon flame kindled by intense +displeasure. Dr. Grey seated himself, and, taking off his +hat, said gently and winningly, as he pushed aside the hair +that clustered in brown rings over his forehead,—</p> +<p>“Here is ample room for both of us. Sit down, and be +reasonable; and let me catch a glimpse of the amiable elements +which I feel assured must exist somewhere in your +nature, notwithstanding your persistent endeavor to conceal +them. Your Janus character has hitherto breathed only war—war; +but, my young friend, I earnestly invoke its peaceful +phase.”</p> +<p>The kindness of tone and evident sincerity of manner +might have disarmed a prejudice better founded than hers; +but wrath consumed all scruples, and, recollecting his forbearance +with various former acts of rudeness, she presumed +to attempt further aggressions.</p> +<p>Waving her hand in tacit rejection of the proffered share of +the settee, she answered with more emphasis than perspicuity +demanded,—</p> +<p>“Does your reading of the book of Job encourage you to +believe that when those self-appointed counsellors—Eliphaz +the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—returned +to their respective homes, they had cause to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span> +congratulate themselves upon their cordial welcome to Job’s +bank of ashes, or felt bountifully repaid for their voluntary +mission of advice?”</p> +<p>“Unfortunately, no. My study of the record of the man +of Uz renders painfully patent that humiliating fact—old as +humanity—that sanctity of motive is no coat-of-mail to the +luckless few who bravely bear to the hearts of those with +whom they associate the unwelcome burden of unflattering +truths. Phraseology—definitions—vary with advancing centuries, +but not so the human impulses they express or explain; +and friendship in the days of Job was the identical ‘Mutual +Admiration Society,’ which at present converts its consistent +servile members into Damon and Pythias, but punishes any +violation of its canons with hatred dire and inextinguishable. +Were I blessed with the genius of Praxiteles or of Angelo, I +would chisel and bequeath to the world a noble statue,—typical +of that rare, fearless friendship, which, walking through +the lazaretto of diseased and morbid natures, bears not honied +draughts alone, but scalpel, caustic, and bitter tonics.”</p> +<p>The calm sweetness of voice and mien lent to his words an +influence which no amount of gall or satire could have imparted; +and, in the brief silence that ensued, Salome’s heart +was suddenly smitten with a humiliating consciousness of her +childish flippancy,—her utter inferiority to this man, who +seemed to walk serenely in a starry plane far beyond the mire +where she grovelled.</p> +<p>Ridicule braced and exaggerated her weaknesses, and the +strokes of sarcasm she could adroitly parry; but for persistent +magnanimity she was no match, and recoiled before it like the +traditional Fiend at sight of the <i>Santo Sudario</i>. Watching +her companion’s quiet countenance, she saw a shadow drift +over it, betokening neither anger nor scorn, but serious regret; +and involuntarily she drooped her head to avoid the eyes that +now turned full upon her.</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“Since</ins> I became a man, and to some extent capable of discriminating +with reference to the characters of persons with +whom I found myself in contact, I have made and invariably +observed one rule of conduct,—namely, never to associate with +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span> +those whom I cannot respect. Ignorance, want of refinement, +irritability of temper, and even lack of generous impulses, +I can forgive, when redeemed by candor and stern +honesty of purpose; but arrogance, dissimulation, and all-absorbing +selfishness I will not tolerate. In you I hoped and expected +better qualities than you permit me to find, and I +trust you will acquit me of intentional rudeness if I acknowledge +that you have painfully disappointed me. It was, and +still is, my earnest wish to befriend and to aid you,—to contribute +to your happiness, and cordially sympathize in any +annoyances that may surround you; but thus far you have +rendered it impossible for me to esteem you, and while I do +not presume that my good opinion is of any importance to +you, our present relations compel me to request that our +intercourse may in future be characterized by more urbanity +than has yet graced it. My sister has been much pained by +the feelings with which you evidently regard me, and since +you and I are merely guests under her roof, a due deference +to her wishes should certainly repress the exhibition of antipathies +towards those whom she loves. It is her earnest +desire (as expressed in a conversation which I had with her +yesterday) that I should treat you as a young sister; and, for +her sake, I offer you once more, and for the last time, my +hearty assistance in any department in which I am able to +render it.”</p> +<p>“The folds of your flag of truce do not conceal the drawn +sword beneath it; and let me tell you, sir, it is very evident +that ‘demand’ would far better have expressed your purpose +than the word ‘request.’”</p> +<p>“At least you should not be surprised if I doubt whether +you regard any truce as inviolable, and am inclined to suspect +you of latent treachery.”</p> +<p>“Your accusation of dissimulation is unjust, for I have +openly, fearlessly manifested my prejudice—my aversion.”</p> +<p>“That you dislike me is my misfortune, but that you +allow your detestation to generate discord in our small circle +is an error which I trust you will endeavor to correct. That I +have many faults I shall not attempt to deny; but mutual +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span> +forbearance will prove a mutual blessing. For Jane’s sake, +shall there not be peace between us?”</p> +<p>Standing before her, he looked gravely down into her face, +where flush and sparkle had died out, and saw—what she +was too proud to confess—that he had partially conquered her +waywardness, that she was reluctantly yielding to his influence; +but he understood her nature too thoroughly to pause +contented with this slight advantage in a contest which he +foresaw must determine the direction of her aims through life.</p> +<p>“Salome, I am waiting for your decision.”</p> +<p>Her lips stirred twice, but the words they framed were +either too haughty or too humble, for she refused them utterance; +and, while she deliberated, two tears settled the question +by rolling swiftly over her cheeks, and falling upon the cherry +ribbon at her throat.</p> +<p>Accepting it as a tacit signature to his terms of capitulation, +and satisfied with the result, Dr. Grey forbore to urge +verbal assurances. Taking the book from her hand, he said, +pleasantly,—</p> +<p>“Are you fond of French? I frequently find you poring +over your grammar.”</p> +<p>“I have never had a teacher, nor have I conquered the conjugations; +consequently, I know comparatively little about the +language.”</p> +<p>“Are you studying it with the intention of familiarizing +yourself with French literature, or merely to enable you to +translate the few phrases that modern writers sprinkle through +novels and essays?”</p> +<p>“For neither purpose, but simply because it is the court +language of the old world; and, if I should succeed in my hope +of visiting Europe, I might regret my ignorance of the universally +received medium of communication.”</p> +<p>“Have you, then, no desire to master those noble bursts of +eloquence by which Racine, Bossuet, Fénélon, and Cousin +have charmed the intellects of all nations?”</p> +<p>“None, whatever. I might as well tell you at once, what +you will inevitably discover ere long if you condescend to +inspect my meagre attainments, that for abstract study I have +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span> +no more inclination than to fondle some mummy in the +crypts of Cyrene, or play ‘blind man’s buff’ with the corpses +in the Morgue. My limited investments of time and +thought in intellectual stock have been made solely with +reference to speedy dividends of most practical and immediate +benefits; and knowledge <i>per se</i>—knowledge which will not +pay me handsome interest—has no more value in my eyes +than a handful of the dust of those Atures found in the +cavern of Ataruipe. Doubtless you think me pitiably benighted, +and possibly I might find more favor in your sight +if I affected a prodigious amount of literary enthusiasm, and +boundless admiration for scholarship and erudition; but that +would prove too troublesome an imposture,—for I am constitutionally, +habitually, and premeditatedly lazy.”</p> +<p>She saw a smile lurking under his heavy lashes, and half +ambushed in the corners of his mouth; and, vaguely conscious +that she was rendering herself ridiculous, she bit her lip with +ill-disguised vexation.</p> +<p>“Salome, I am afraid that under the garb of a jest you +are making me acquainted with a very mournful truth. You +have probably never heard of Lessing,—Gotthold Ephraim +Lessing.”</p> +<p>“Oh, I am not quite as ignorant as a Pitcairn’s Islander; +and I think I have somewhere seen that such a person as +Lessing lived at Wolfenbüttel. He once said, ‘The chase is +always worth more than the quarry.’ And again, ‘Did the +Almighty, holding in his right hand Truth, and in his left +Search after Truth, <ins title='Was deigned'>deign</ins> to proffer me the one I might +prefer,—in all humility, but without hesitation, I should +request Search after Truth.’ When you have nothing more +important to occupy your attention, give ten minutes’ reflection +to his admonition, and perhaps it may declare a dividend +years hence. Last week I found your algebra on the +rug before the library grate, and noticed several sums worked +out in pencil on the margin. Are you fond of mathematics?”</p> +<p>“Not that I am aware of.”</p> +<p>“What progress have you made?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span></div> +<p>“My knowledge of arithmetic is barely sufficient to take +me through a brief shopping expedition.”</p> +<p>“Have you no ambition to increase it?”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I have no ambition. That ‘last infirmity of +noble minds’ has never attacked me; and, folding my hands, +I chant ceaselessly to my soul, ‘Take thine ease, eat, drink, +and be merry.’ The rapture of the mathematician, who bows +before the shrine of his favorite science, is to my dull intellect +as incomprehensible as the jargon of metaphysics or the mysteries +wrapped up in Pali cerements. Equations, conic sections, +differential calculus, constitute a skull and cross-bones +to which I allow as wide a berth as possible.”</p> +<p>The weary dissatisfied expression of her large, luminous +eyes, belied the sneer in her voice and the curl of her thin +lip, and it cost her an effort to answer his next question.</p> +<p>“Will you tell me what rule you have adopted for the distribution +of your time, and the government of your life?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; you are heartily welcome to it: ‘Yet a little +slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.’ <i>Laissez nous +faire</i>. Moreover, Dr. Grey, if you will courteously lend me +your ears, I will favor you with a still more felicitous exposition +of my invaluable organon.”</p> +<p>Stooping suddenly, she raised from the floor a small volume +which had been concealed by her dress, and, as it opened at a +page stained with the juice of a purple convolvulus, she smiled +defiantly, and read with almost scornful emphasis,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “‘Ah, why</p> +<p class='cg'><span class='indent2'> </span>Should life all labor be?<br /> +Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And in a little while our lips are dumb.<br /> +Let us alone. What is it that will last?<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>All things are taken from us, and become<br /> +Portions and parcels of the dreadful Past.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Let us alone. What pleasure can we have<br /> +To war with evil? Is there any peace<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>In ever climbing up the climbing wave?<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>All things have rest, and ripen towards the grave<br /> +In silence; ripen, fall, and cease:<br /> +Give us long rest or death; dark death or dreamful <ins title='Quote added'>ease.’</ins></p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span></div> +<p>There, Dr. Grey, you have my creed and method,—<i>Laissez +nous faire</i>.”</p> +<p>With a degree of gravity that trenched on sternness, he +bowed, and answered,—</p> +<p>“So be it. I might insist that the closing lines of ‘Ulysses’ +nobly refute all the numbing heresy of the ‘Lotos Eaters’—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘But something ere the end,</p> +<p class='cg'>Some work of noble note may yet be done.<br /> +That which we are, we are:<br /> +One equal templer of heroic hearts,<br /> +Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will<br /> +To strive, to seek, to find, and not to <ins title='Quote added'>yield.’</ins></p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>But I would not rouse you from a lethargy, which, knowing it +to be fatal to all hopes of usefulness, you still deliberately prefer. +Take care, however, lest you bury the one original talent +so deep that you fail to unearth it when the Master demands +it in the final day of restitution. I have questioned you concerning +your studies, because I desired and intended to offer +my services as tutor, while you prosecuted mathematics and +the languages; but I forbear to suggest a course so evidently +distasteful to you. Unless I completely misjudge your character, +I fear the day is not distant, when, haunted by ghosts +of strangled opportunities, you will realize the solemn and +painful truth, that,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘There is nothing a man knows, in grief or in sin,<br /> +<i>Half so bitter as to think, What I might have been</i>!’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_III' id='CHAPTER_III'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Salome, you look so weary that I must insist upon +relieving you. Give me the book and run out for a breath of +fresh air—a glimpse of blue sky.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey laid his hand on the volume, but the girl shook +her head and pushed aside his fingers.</p> +<p>“I am not at all tired, and even if I were it would make +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span> +no difference. Miss Jane desires me to read this sermon +aloud, and I shall finish it.”</p> +<p>The invalid, who had been confined to her bed for many +days by a severe attack of rheumatism, partially raised herself +on one elbow, and said,—</p> +<p>“My dear, give him the book, while you take a little exercise. +You have been pent up here long enough, and, moreover, +I want to talk to Ulpian about some business matters. +Don’t look so sullen, my child; it makes no difference who +reads the sermon to me. Kiss me, and run out on the lawn.”</p> +<p>The orphan relinquished chair and book, but there was no +relaxation of her bent brows, and neither warmth nor lingering +pressure in the firm, hardly drawn lips, which lightly +touched the old lady’s sallow, wrinkled cheek. When she had +left the room, closing the door after her with more force than +was requisite to bolt it securely, Miss Jane sighed heavily, and +turned to her brother.</p> +<p>“Poor thing! She is so jealous of you; and it distresses me +to see that no friendship grows up between you, as I hoped +and believed would be the case. If you would only notice her +a little more I think you might win her over.”</p> +<p>“Leave it to time, Janet. I ‘have piped unto her and she +would not dance; I have mourned unto her, and she has not +lamented,’—and concessions only feed her waywardness. If +there be a residuum of good sense and proper feeling in her +nature, they will assert themselves after a while; if not, all +extraneous influences are futile. I will resume the reading, +if agreeable to you.”</p> +<p>Moody and rebellious, Salome stood for some moments on +the threshold of the front door, staring vacantly out over the +lawn; then, snatching her hat from a hook in the hall, she +swiftly crossed the grounds, climbed over a low lattice fence +at the foot of the declivity, and followed a worn but neglected +path leading into the adjoining forest.</p> +<p>The sanctity of the Sabbath afternoon rested like a benison +over the silent glades, where sunshine made golden roads along +the smooth brown pine straw, and glinted on the purple flags +that fluttered in the mild west wind. Even the melancholy +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span> +plaint of sad-eyed dun doves was hushed, as they slowly swung +in the swaying pine-tops; and two young lambs, neglected by +the wandering flock, lay sleeping quietly, with their snowy +heads pillowed on clustering violets,—far from the fold, forgotten +by their mothers, at the mercy of strolling dogs, +watched only by the Great Shepherd.</p> +<p>Salome’s rapid pace soon placed a mile between her and the +fence that bounded the lawn; and, pushing through the dense +undergrowth which betokened the proximity of a stream, she +stood ere long on the margin of a wide pond which supplied +the broad, shining sheet of beryl water that poured over the +rocky dam, close to the large irregular building called “Grey’s +Mill.”</p> +<p>Piles of lumber were bleaching in the sunshine, but the +machinery was at rest, the workmen were all absent, and not +a sound broke the stillness, save the steady, monotonous chant +of the water leaping down into the race, where a thousand +foam-flakes danced along towards the huge wheels, and died +on the soft green mosses and lush-creepers that stole down to +bathe in the sparkling wavelets. The knotted roots of an old +beech tree furnished a resting-place, and Salome sat down +and leaned her head against the scarred trunk, where lightning +had once girdled and partially destroyed it,—leaving +one-half the branches leafy, the remainder scorched and barren.</p> +<p>Overhanging willows darkened the edges of the pond; and, +in the centre, one tall, venerable cypress, lonely as some palm +in the desert, rose like a gray shaft tufted with a fine fringe +of fresh green; and occasional clusters of broad, shining +leaves, spread themselves on the surface of the water, cradling +large, snowy lilies, whose gold-powdered stamens trembled +ceaselessly. Now and then a trout leaped up, as if for a +breath of May air, and fell back into the circle that widened +until it touched either bank; and not far from a cow who +stood knee-deep in water, browsing on a wild rose that clambered +over the willows to peep at its pink image in the pond, a +proud pair of gray geese convoyed a brood of yellow younglings +that dived and breasted the ripples with evident glee.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span></div> +<p>With her arms clasped around her knees, Salome sat watching +the blue tendrils of smoke that rose from a clump of elms +beyond the mill and curled lazily upward until they lost themselves +in air; and, though the arching elm boughs hid mossy +roof and chimney, she nevertheless felt that she was looking +on the old house where she was born, and where ten dreary +years of sorrow and humiliation had embittered and perverted +her nature.</p> +<p>Those elms had seen her mother die, had heard her father’s +drunken revelry, and bent their aged heads to listen on that +wild wintry night, when in blood-curdling curses his soul rent +itself from the degraded tenement of clay. Apparently peace +brooded over earth, sky, and water; but to that lonely figure +under the riven beech, every object within the range of vision +babbled horrible tales of the early years, and memory pointed +to a corner of the lumber-shed adjoining the mill where she +had often secreted herself to avoid her father’s brutality,—always +keeping her head in the moonshine, because she dreaded +the darkness inside, which childish fancy filled with ghostly +groups. She hated the place as she hated the past, and this +was the second time she had visited it since the day that consigned +her to the poor-house; for it was impossible for her +to look at the pond without recollecting one dark passage in +her life, known only to God and herself. To-day she recalled, +with startling vividness a dusky, starlit June evening, when, +maddened by an unmerited and unusually severe punishment +inflicted by her father, she had resolved to drown herself, and +find peace in the mud at the bottom of the mill-pond. Placing +her infant sister on the grass, she had kissed her good-by, +and selecting the deepest portion of the water, had climbed +out on a willow branch and prepared for the final plunge. +Putting her fingers in her ears that she might not hear the +bubbling of the murderous water, she shut her eyes and +sprang into the pond; but her long hair caught the willow +twigs, and, half strangled and quite willing to live, she scrambled +up into the low limbs that seemed so anxious to rescue +her from a watery grave; and, dripping and trembling, crept +back to the house, comforting herself with the grim assurance +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span> +that whatever else might befall, she certainly was not foreordained +to be either beaten to death or drowned. The impulse +which had brought her on this occasion to a scene so fraught +with harrowing memories, was explicable only by the supposition +that its painful surroundings were in consonance with +the bitter and despondent mood in which she found herself; +and, in the gloom that this retrospection shed over her countenance, +her features seemed to grow wan and angular. For +several days she had been sorely disquieted by the realization +of Miss Jane’s rapidly failing strength; and the probability +of her death, which a year ago would have been entirely endurable +as an avenue to wealth, now appeared the direst +catastrophe that had yet threatened her ill-starred life.</p> +<p>It was distressing to think of the kind old face growing stiff +in a shroud, but infinitely more appalling to contemplate the +possibility of being turned out of a comfortable home and +driven to labor for a maintenance. Salome had a vague impression +that either Providence or the world owed her a luxurious +future, as partial compensation for her juvenile +miseries; but since both seemed disposed to repudiate the debt, +she was reluctantly compelled to ponder her prospective bankruptcy +in worldly goods, and, like the unjust steward, while +unwilling to work she was still ashamed to beg.</p> +<p>Although she strenuously resisted the strong, steady influence +so quietly exerted by Dr. Grey, the best elements of her +nature, long dormant, began to stir feebly, and she was conscious +of nobler aspirations than those which had hitherto +swayed her; and of a dimly-defined self-dissatisfaction that was +novel and annoying. Unwilling to admit that she valued his +good opinion, she nevertheless felt chagrined at her failure +to possess it, and gradually she realized her utter inferiority +to this man, whose consistent Christian character commanded +an entire respect which she had never before entertained for +any human being. Immersed in vexing thoughts concerning +her future, she mechanically stretched out her hand to pluck +a bunch of phlox and of lemon-hued primroses that were nodding +in the sunshine close to her feet; but, as she touched the +stems, a large copper-colored snake slowly uncoiled from the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span> +tuft of grass where they nestled and, gliding into the water, +disappeared in the midst of the lilies.</p> +<p>“I wonder if throughout life all the flowers I endeavor to +grasp will prove only Moccasin-beds! Why should they,—unless +God abdicates and Satan reigns? I have found, to my +cost, that existence is not made entirely of rainless June days; +but I doubt whether darkness and storms shut out the warm +glow and perpetually curtain the stars. Obviously I am no +saint; still, I am disposed to believe I am not altogether +wicked. I have committed no capital sins, nor grievously +transgressed the decalogue,—and why should I despair of my +share of the good things of life? I am neither Cain nor Jezebel, +and therefore Fates and Furies have no warrant to dog +my footsteps. Moreover, how do I know that Destiny is indeed +the hideous, vindictive crone that luckless wretches have +painted her, instead of an amiable, good soul, who is quite +as willing to scatter blessings as curses? Because some dyspeptic +Greek dreamed of three pitiless old weavers, blind to +human tears, deaf to human petitions, why should we wise +and enlightened people of the nineteenth century scare ourselves +with the skeleton of Paganism? I have as inalienable a +right to brocades, crown-jewels, and a string of titles, as any +reigning queen, provided I can only get my hands upon them; +and, since life seems to be a sort of snatch-and-hold game, +quick keen eyes and nimble fingers decide the question. I +have never trodden on the world’s tender toes, nor smitten its +pet follies, nor set myself aloft to gaze pityingly on its degradation, +therefore, the world honors me with no special grudge. +But one thing is mournfully certain,—my path is not strewn +with loaves and fishes ready baked and broiled, and I must +even go gleaning and fishing for myself. Almost everybody +has some gift or some mission; but I really do not see in what +direction I can set to work. Work! How I hate the bare +thought! I have not sufficient education to teach, nor genius +to write, nor a talent for drawing, and barely music enough in +my soul to enable me to carry the church tunes respectably. +Come, Salome Owen! Shake off your sloth, and face the +abominable fact that you must earn your own bread. It is a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span> +great shame, and I ought not to be obliged to work, for I am +not responsible for my existence, and those who brought me +into the world owed it to me to provide for my wants. I cannot +and will not forgive my father and mother; but that will +not mend matters, since, nevertheless, here I am, with a body +to feed and clothe, and God only knows how I am to accomplish +it. I find myself with youth, health, some beauty, an +average share of intellect, and all the wants pertaining thereunto. +If the worst comes to the worst I suppose I can contrive, +like other poverty-stricken girls, to marry somebody who +will support me comfortably; but that is rather an uncertain +speculation, and meantime Miss Jane might die. Now, if the +Bible is true, it must indeed be a blessed lot to be born a +brown sparrow, and have the Lord for a commissary. I am +a genuine child of old Adam, and labor is the heaviest curse +that could possibly be sent upon me.”</p> +<p>Once or twice during this profitless reverie she had paused +to listen to a singular sound that came from a dense group +of willows not far from the spot where she sat, and now it +grew louder, swelling into a measured cry, as of a child in +great distress.</p> +<p>“Somebody in trouble, but it does not concern me; I have +enough and to spare, of my own.”</p> +<p>She settled herself once more quite comfortably, but the +low, monotonous wail, smote her heart, and womanly sympathy +with suffering strangled her constitutional selfishness. +Rising, she crept cautiously along the edge of the pond until +she reached the thicket whence the sound proceeded, and, as +she pushed aside the low branches and peeped into the cool, +green nook, her eyes fell upon the figure of a little boy who +lay on the ground, rolling from side to side and sobbing violently.</p> +<p>“What is the matter? Are you sick or hungry?”</p> +<p>Startled by the sound of her voice, the child uttered a +scream of terror, and whirled over, hiding his face in the +leaves and grass.</p> +<p>“For Heaven’s sake, stop howling! What are you about,—wallowing +here in the mud, ruining your clothes, and yelling +like a hyena? Hush, and get up.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span></div> +<p>“Oh, please, ma’am, don’t tell on me! Don’t carry me +back, and I will hush!”</p> +<p>“Where do you live?”</p> +<p>“Nowhere. Oh!—oh!” And he renewed his cries.</p> +<p>“A probable story. What is your name?”</p> +<p>“Haven’t got any name.”</p> +<p>“You have no name, and you live nowhere? Come, little +fellow, this will never do. I am afraid you are a very bad boy +and have run away from home to escape being punished. +Hush this instant!”</p> +<p>He had kept his face carefully concealed, and, resolved to +ascertain the truth, Salome stooped and tried to lift him; but +he struggled desperately, and screamed frantically,—</p> +<p>“Let me alone! I won’t go back! I will jump into the +pond and drown myself if you don’t let me alone.”</p> +<p>He was so hoarse from constant crying that she could recognize +no familiar tones in his voice, but a great dread seized +her, and, suddenly putting her hands under his head, she +forced the face up, and looked at the flushed, swollen features.</p> +<p>“Stanley! Is it possible? My poor little brother!”</p> +<p>The equally astonished boy started up, and stared half wistfully, +half fearfully, at the figure standing before him.</p> +<p>“Is it you, Salome? I did not know you.”</p> +<p>“How came you here? When did you leave the Asylum?”</p> +<p>“I ran away, three days ago.”</p> +<p>“Why?”</p> +<p>“Because I was tired of living there, and I wanted to come +back home.”</p> +<p>“Home, indeed! You miserable begger, don’t you know +you have no home but the Orphan Asylum?”</p> +<p>“Yes, I have. I want to come back yonder. Don’t you see +home yonder, among the trees, with the pretty white and +speckled pigeons flying over it?”</p> +<p>He pointed across the pond to the old house beyond the +mill, whose outlines were visible through the openings in the +elms; and, as he gazed upon it with that intense longing so +touching in a child’s face, his sobs increased.</p> +<p>“Stanley, that is not your home now. Other people live +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span> +there, and you have no right to come back. Why did you run +away from the Asylum? Did they treat you unkindly?”</p> +<p>“No,—yes. They whipped me because I cried and said I +hated to stay there, and wanted to come home.”</p> +<p>Salome looked at the soiled, torn clothes, and sorrowful +face; and, bursting into tears, she bent forward and drew her +brother to her bosom. He put his arms around her neck, and +kissed her cheek several times, saying, softly and coaxingly,—</p> +<p>“Sister Salome, you won’t send me back, will you? Please +let me stay with you, and I will be a good boy.”</p> +<p>For some minutes she was unable to reply, and wept +silently as she smoothed the tangled hair back from the +child’s white forehead and pressed her lips to it.</p> +<p>“Stanley, how is Jessie? Where did you leave her?”</p> +<p>“She is well, and I left her at the Asylum. She had a long +cry the night I ran away, and said she wanted to see you, and +she thought you had forgotten us both. You know, Salome, +it is over a year since you came to see us, and Jessie and I are +so lonesome there, we hate the place.”</p> +<p>“What were you crying so bitterly about when I found you, +just now?”</p> +<p>“I am so hungry, and the man who lives yonder at home +drove me away. He said I was prowling around to steal something, +and if he saw me there any more he would shoot me. I +ate my last piece of biscuit yesterday.”</p> +<p>“Why did you not come to me instead of the miller?”</p> +<p>“I was afraid you would send me back to the Asylum; but +you won’t,—I know you won’t, Salome.”</p> +<p>“Suppose I had not happened to hear you crying,—what +would have become of you? Did you intend to starve here in +the swamp?”</p> +<p>“I thought I would wait till the miller left home, and then +beg his wife to give me some bread, and, if I could get nothing, +I was going to pull up some carrots that I saw growing +in a field back of the house. Oh, Salome, I am so hungry and +so tired!”</p> +<p>She sat down on a heap of last year’s leaves, which autumn +winds and winter rains had driven against the trunk of a decayed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span> +and fallen sweet-gum, and, drawing the weary head +with its shock of matted yellow curls to her lap, she covered +her own face with her hands to hide the hot tears that +streamed over her cheeks.</p> +<p>“Salome, are you very mad with me?”</p> +<p>“Yes, Stanley; you have behaved very badly, and I don’t +know what I ought to do with you.”</p> +<p>He tried to put aside one of her shielding hands, and failing, +wound his arms around her waist, and nestled as close as +possible.</p> +<p>“Sister, please let me stay and live with you, and I promise—I +declare—I will be a good boy.”</p> +<p>“Poor little fellow! You don’t in the least know what you +are talking about. How can you live with me when I have no +home, and not a dollar?”</p> +<p>“I thought you stayed with a rich lady, and had everything +nice that you wanted.”</p> +<p>“I do not expect to have even a shelter much longer. The +lady who takes care of me is sick, and cannot live very long; +and, when she dies, I don’t know where I shall go or what I +may be obliged to do.”</p> +<p>“If you will only keep me I will help you work. At the +Asylum I saw wood, and pick peas, and pull out grass and +weeds from the strawberry vines, and sometimes I sweep the +yards. Just try me a little while, Salome, and see how smart +I can be.”</p> +<p>“Would you be willing to leave poor little Jessie at the +Asylum? If she felt so lonesome when you were there, how +will she get along without you?”</p> +<p>“Oh, we could steal her out some night, and keep her with +us. Salome, I tell you I don’t mean to go back there. I will +die first. I will drown myself, or run away to sea. I would +rather starve to death here in the swamp. Everybody else +can get a home, and why can’t we?”</p> +<p>“Because your father was a drunkard, and left his children +to the charity of the poor-house; and, God knows, I heartily +wish we were all screwed down in the same coffin with him. +You and I, Jessie, and Mark, and Joel are all beggars—miserable +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span> +beggars! Hush, Stanley, you will sob yourself into a +fever! Stop crying, I say, if you do not want to drive me +crazy! I thought I had trouble enough, without being tormented +by the sight of your poor, wretched face; and now, +what to do with you I am sure I don’t know. There—do be +quiet. Take your arms away; I don’t want you to kiss me any +more.”</p> +<p>In the long silence that succeeded, the child, spent with +grief and fatigue, fell into a sound sleep, and Salome sat with +his head in her lap and her clasped hands resting on her knee.</p> +<p>The afternoon slowly wore away, and the dimpled pond +caught lengthening shadows on its surface as the sun dipped +into the forest. The measured tinkle of a distant bell told +that the cows were wending quietly homeward; and, while the +miller’s wife drove her geese into the yard, the pigeons nestled +in their leafy coverts high among the elm arches, and the +solemn serenity of coming summer night stole with velvet +tread over the scene, silencing all things save the silvery barcarolle +of the falling water, and the sweet, lonely vesper hymn +of a whippoorwill, half hidden in the solitary cypress.</p> +<p>Although tears came very rarely to her eyes, the orphan had +wept bitterly, and, surprised at finding herself so completely +unnerved on this occasion, she made a powerful effort to regain +her composure and usual stolidity of expression. Shaking +the little sleeper, she said,—</p> +<p>“Wake up, Stanley. Get your hat and come with me, at +least for to-night.”</p> +<p>The child was too weary to renew the conversation, and, +hand in hand, the two walked silently on until they approached +the confines of the farm, when Salome suddenly +paused at sight of Dr. Grey, who was crossing the pine forest +just in front of them. Pressing his sister’s hand, Stanley +looked up and asked, timidly,—</p> +<p>“What are you going to do with me?”</p> +<p>“Hush! I have not fully decided.”</p> +<p>She endeavored to elude observation by standing close to +the body of a large pine, but Dr. Grey caught a glimpse of her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span> +fluttering dress, and came forward rapidly, carrying in his +arms one young lamb and driving another before him.</p> +<p>“Salome, will you be so good as to assist me in shepherding +this obstinate little waif? It has been running hither and +thither for nearly half an hour, taking every direction but the +right one. If you will either walk on and lower the bars for +me or drive this lamb while I go forward, you will greatly +oblige me. Pardon me,—you look distressed. Something +painful has occurred, I fear.”</p> +<p>The girl’s usually firm mouth trembled as she laid her hand +on the torn straw hat that shaded Stanley’s features, and answered, +hurriedly,—</p> +<p>“Yes. We have both stumbled upon stray lambs; but mine, +unfortunately, happens to prove my youngest brother, and, +since I am neither Reuben nor Judah, I could not leave him in +the woods to perish. Stanley, run on and pull down the bars +yonder, where you see the sheep looking through the fence.”</p> +<p>“How old is he?”</p> +<p>“About eight years, I believe, but he is small for his age.”</p> +<p>“He does not in the least resemble you.”</p> +<p>“No; pitiable little wretch, he looks like nothing but destitution! +When a poor man dies, leaving a houseful of beggarly +orphans, the State ought to require the undertaker who buries +him to shoot or hang the whole brood, and lay them all in +the Potter’s Field out of the world’s way.”</p> +<p>“Such words and sentiments are strangely at variance with +the affectionate gentleness and resignation which best become +womanly lips, and I pity the keen suffering that wrings them +from yours. He who ‘setteth the solitary in families’ never +yet failed in loving guardianship of trusting orphanage, and +certainly you have no cause to upbraid fate, or impiously murmur +against the decrees of your God.”</p> +<p>He stood before her, with one hand stroking the head of the +lamb that nestled on his bosom; but his face was sterner, his +voice far more severe, than she had ever known either before, +and her eyes fell beneath the grave and sorrowful rebuke +which looked out from his.</p> +<p>“Your brother ran away from the Asylum, three days ago.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span></div> +<p>“How did you ascertain that fact?”</p> +<p>“About an hour after you left the house, the matron of the +Asylum sent to <ins title='Was inqure'>inquire</ins> whether you were aware of his absence, +and to notify you that your little sister Jessie is quite ill. I +was searching for you, when I accidentally found these lambs, +deserted by their mother. Thank you, Stanley; I will put up +the bars, and you can go to the house with your sister. Salome, +the carriage is ready, and if you desire to see Jessie immediately +I will take you over as soon as possible. There is +a full moon, and you can return with me or remain at the +Asylum until morning. Confer with my sister concerning +the disposal of this little refugee.”</p> +<p>He patted the boy’s head, and entered the sheepfold, while +Salome stood leaning against the fence, looking vacantly +down at the bleating flock.</p> +<p>Catching her brother’s hand, she hurried to the house, +bathed his face, brushed his disordered hair, and gave him a +bountiful supper of bread and milk; after which, Jane Grey +ordered the little culprit brought to her bedside, where she +delivered a kind lecture on his sinful disobedience. When Dr. +Grey entered the room, Salome was standing at the window, +while Stanley clung to her dress, hiding his face in its folds, +vowing vehemently that he would not return to the Asylum, +and protesting with many sobs that he would be the best boy +in the world if he were only allowed to remain at the farm.</p> +<p>“Salome, do quiet him; he will fret himself into a fever,” +said Miss Jane, whose nerves began to quiver painfully.</p> +<p>“He has it already,” answered the girl, without turning +her head. She did not observe Dr. Grey’s entrance, and when +he <ins title='Was aproached'>approached</ins> the window, where the mellow moonshine +streamed full on her face, he saw tears stealing over her +cheeks, and noticed that her fingers were clenched tightly.</p> +<p>“Salome, do you wish to see Jessie to-night? She has had +convulsions during the day, and may not live until morning.”</p> +<p>She looked up at his grave, noble countenance, and her lips +fluttered as she answered, huskily,—</p> +<p>“I can do nothing for her, and why should I see her die?”</p> +<p>“To whose care was she committed by her dying mother?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span></div> +<p>“To mine.”</p> +<p>“Have you faithfully kept the sacred trust?”</p> +<p>“I did all that I could until Miss Jane placed her in the +asylum.”</p> +<p>“Does your conscience acquit you?”</p> +<p>She silently dropped her face in her hands, and for some +seconds he watched her anxiously.</p> +<p>“Have you and Janet decided what shall be done with +Stanley?”</p> +<p>“No; the longer I ponder the matter, the more confused my +mind becomes.”</p> +<p>“Will you leave it in my hands, and abide by my decision?”</p> +<p>“Yes, gladly.”</p> +<p>“You promise to be satisfied with any course upon which I +may resolve?”</p> +<p>Looking up quickly, she exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Oh, yes; I trust you, fully. Do what you think best.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey put his hand under Stanley’s chin, and, lifting his +face, examined his countenance and felt his pulse.</p> +<p>“He is only frightened and fatigued. Put him to bed at +once in your room, and then let me take you to see little Jessie. +If you fail to go, you might reproach yourself in coming +years.”</p> +<p>It was nine o’clock when the carriage stopped at the door +of the Asylum, and Salome and Dr. Grey went up to the “Infirmary,” +where the faithful matron sat beside one of the little +beds, watching the deep slumber of the flushed and exhausted +sleeper.</p> +<p>The disease had almost spent its force, the crisis was passed, +and the attending physician had pronounced the patient much +better; still, when Salome stooped to kiss her sister, the +matron held her back, assuring her that perfect quiet was essential +for her recovery. Kneeling there beside the motherless +girl, Salome noted the changes that time and suffering had +wrought on the delicate features; and, as she listened to the +quick, irregular breathing, the fountain of tenderness was suddenly +unsealed in her own nature, and she put out her arms, +yearning to clasp Jessie to her heart. So strong were her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span> +emotions, so keen was her regret for past indifference and neglect, +that she lost all self-control, and, unable to check her +passionate weeping, Dr. Grey led her from the room, promising +to bring her again when the sick child was sufficiently +strong to bear the interview.</p> +<p>During the ride homeward he made no effort to divert her +thoughts or relieve her anxiety, knowing that although severe +it was a healthful regimen for her long indurated heart, and +was the <i>rénaissance</i> of her better nature.</p> +<p>When they arrived at home, the moon was shining bright +and full, and, as they waited on the gallery for a servant to +open the door, Dr. Grey drew most favorable auguries from +the chastened, blanched face, with its humbled and grieved +expression.</p> +<p>“Salome, I shall for the present keep Stanley here; and, +until I can make some satisfactory arrangement with reference +to his education, I would be glad to have you hear his recitations +every day. Have you the requisite leisure to superintend +his lessons?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir. I have not deserved this kindness from you, Dr. +Grey; but I thank you, from my inmost heart. You are good +enough to forgive my many offences, and I shall not soon forget +it.”</p> +<p>“Salome, you owe me no gratitude, but there is much for +which you should go down on your knees and fervently thank +your merciful God. My young friend, will you do this?”</p> +<p>He extended his hand, and, unable to utter a word, Salome +gave him hers, for a second only, and hastened to her own +room, where Stanley’s fair face lay in the golden moonlight, +radiant with happy dreams of white pigeons and pet lambs.</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_IV' id='CHAPTER_IV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Don’t strangle me, Jessie! Put down your arms, and +listen to me. Sobbing will not mend matters, and you might +as well make up your mind to be patient. Of course I should +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span> +like to take you with me, if I had a home; but, as I told you +just now, we are so poor that we must live where we can, not +where we prefer. Because I wear nice pretty clothes do you +suppose I have a pocketful of money? I have not a cent to +buy even a loaf of bread, and I can’t ask Miss Jane to take +care of you as well as of Stanley and myself. Poor little +thing, don’t cry so! I know you are lonely here without Stanley, +but it can’t be helped. Jessie, don’t you see that it can +not be helped?”</p> +<p>“I don’t eat so very much, and I could sleep with Buddie +and wouldn’t be in the way,—and I can wear my old clothes. +Oh, please, Salome! I will die if you leave me here.”</p> +<p>“You will do no such thing; you are getting well as fast as +possible. Crying never kills people,—it only makes their +heads ache, and their eyes red and ugly. See here, if you +don’t stop all this, I shall quit coming to see you! Do you +hear what I say?”</p> +<p>The only reply was a fresh sob, which the child strove to +smother by hiding her face in Salome’s lap.</p> +<p>The matron, who sat by the open window, looked up from +the button-hole she was working, and, clearing her throat, +said,—</p> +<p>“Better let her have her cry out,—that is the surest cure +for such troubles as hers. She was always manageable and +good enough until Stanley ran away, and since then she does +nothing but mope and bite her finger-nails. Cry away, Jessie, +and have done with it. Ah, miss, the saddest feature about +Asylums is the separation of families; and if the matron had +a heart of stone it would melt sometimes at sight of these +little motherless things clinging to each other. I’m sure I +have shed a gallon of tears since I came here. It is a fearful +responsibility to take charge of an institution like this, for if +I try to make the children respect my authority, and behave +themselves properly, outsiders ’specially the neighbors, says I +am too severe; and if I let them frolic and romp and make as +much din and uproar as they like, why, then the same folks +scandalize me and the managers, and say there is no sort of +discipline maintained. I verily believe, miss, that if an angel +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span> +came down from heaven to matronize these children, before +six months elapsed all the godliness would be worried out of +her soul by the slanders of the public and the squabbles of the +children. Now I don’t confess to be an angel, but I do claim +a conscience, and God knows I make it a rule to treat these +orphans exactly as I treated my own and only child, whom I +buried three years ago. Do you suppose that any woman who +has laid her first-born in its coffin could be brutal enough to +maltreat poor little motherless lambs? I don’t deny that +sometimes I am compelled to punish them, for it is as much +my duty to whip them for bad conduct as to see that their +meals are properly cooked and their clothes kept in order. Am +I to let them grow up thieves and liars? Must I stand by and +see them pull out each other’s hair and bite off one another’s +ears?”</p> +<p>“Of course not, Mrs. Collins. You must preserve some +discipline.”</p> +<p>“Must I? Well, miss, I will show you how beautifully that +sounds and how poorly it works. There is your brother Stanley +(I mean no offence, miss, but special cases explain better +than generalities),—there’s your brother Stanley, who ran +away—for what?”</p> +<p>“Because he was homesick and wanted to see me.”</p> +<p>“No such thing, begging your pardon. Perhaps he told +you that, but remember there are always two sides to every +tale. The truth of the matter is just this: Stanley has an ugly +habit of cursing, which I will not tolerate; and, twice when I +heard him swearing at the other children, I shamed him well +and slapped him soundly. Last week I told him and Joe +Clark to shell a basket of peas, while the cook was making +some ginger-bread for them, and before I was out of the +room they commenced quarrelling. They raised such an uproar +that I came back and saw the whole fray. Stanley cursed +Joe, who expostulated and tried to pacify him, and when he +finally threatened to tell me that Stanley was cursing again, +your brother snatched a hatchet that was lying on the dresser +and swore he would kill him if he did. He aimed a blow at +Joe’s head, but slipped on the pea-hulls, and the hatchet +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span> +struck the boy’s right foot, cutting off one of his toes. Now +what would you have done, under the circumstances,—allowed +the children to be tomahawked in that style? You say I must +have discipline. Well, miss, I tried to ‘discipline’ Stanley’s +wickedness out of him by giving him a whipping, and the end +of the matter was that he ran away that afternoon. That is +not the worst of it,—for the children all know the facts, and +since they find that Stanley Owen can run away and be sustained +in his disobedience, of course it tends to demoralize +them. So I say that if I do my duty I am lashed by the +tongues of people who know nothing of the circumstances; +and if I fail to perform my duty I am lashed by my own conscience,—and +between the two I have a sorrowful time; for +I declare to you, miss, that Stephen’s martyrdom was a small +affair in comparison with what I pass through every week. I +love the children and try to be kind to them, but I can’t have +them cursing and swearing like sailors, and scalping each +other. I must either raise them like Christians, or resign my +situation to some one who is ‘wise as serpents and harmless as +doves.’ It is all very fine to talk of ‘proper discipline’ in +charitable institutions; but, miss, in the name of common +sense, how can I get along unless the friends of the children +sustain me? Did you punish Stanley, and send him back? +On the contrary, you countenanced his bad conduct and kept +him with you, and it is perfectly natural that little Jessie here +should be dissatisfied and anxious to join him. I can’t scold +her, for I know she misses her brother, who was always very +tender and considerate in his treatment of her.”</p> +<p>“I appreciate the difficulties which surround you, and believe +that you are conscientiously striving to do your duty towards +these children; but I knew that if I compelled Stanley +to return it would augment instead of correcting the mischief.”</p> +<p>At this juncture the matron was summoned from the room, +and, during the silence that ensued, Jessie climbed into her +sister’s lap, wound her thin arms around her neck, and softly +rubbed her pale cheek against the polished rosy face, where +perplexity and annoyance were legibly written.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span></div> +<p>“Salome, don’t you love me a little?”</p> +<p>“Of course I do; Jessie, don’t be so foolish.”</p> +<p>“Please let me go with you and Stanley.”</p> +<p>“Do you want to starve,—you poor silly thing?”</p> +<p>“Yes; I would rather starve with Buddie than stay here by +myself.”</p> +<p>“I want to hear no more of such nonsense. You have not +tried starving, and you are too young to know what is really +for your good. Now, listen to me. At present I am obliged +to leave you here,—come, don’t begin crying again; but, if you +will be a good girl and try not to fret over what cannot be +helped, I promise you that just as soon as I can possibly support +you I will take you to live with me.”</p> +<p>“How long must I wait?”</p> +<p>“Until I make money enough to feed and clothe you.”</p> +<p>“Can’t you guess when you can come for me?”</p> +<p>“No, for as yet I know not how I can earn a dollar; but, if +you will be patient, I promise to work hard for you and Stanley.”</p> +<p>“I will be good. Salome, I have saved a quarter of a dollar +that the doctor gave me when I was sick,—because I let +the blister stay on my side a half hour longer; and I thought +I would send it to Buddie, to buy him some marbles or a kite; +but I reckon I had better give it to you to help us get a house.”</p> +<p>She drew from her pocket a green calico bag, and, emptying +the contents into her hand, picked out from among brass buttons +and bits of broken glass a silver coin, which she held up +triumphantly.</p> +<p>“No, Jessie,—keep it. Stanley has plenty of playthings, +and you may need it. Besides, your quarter would not go far, +and I don’t want it. Good-bye, little darling. Try to give +Mrs. Collins no trouble, and recollect that when I promise you +anything I shall be sure to keep my word.”</p> +<p>Salome drew the child’s head to her shoulder, and, as she +bent over and kissed the sweet, pure lips, Jessie whispered, +“When we say our prayers to-night, we will ask God to send +us some money to buy a home, won’t we? You know he made +the birds feed Elijah.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span></div> +<p>“But we are not prophets, and ravens are not flying about +with bags of money under their wings.”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“We</ins> do not know what God can do, and if we are only good, +He is as much bound to take care of us as of Elijah. He made +the sky rain manna and partridges for the starving people in +the desert, and He is as much our God as if we came out from +Egypt under Moses. I know God will help us, if we ask Him. +I am sure of it; for last week I lost Mrs. Collins’ bunch of +keys, and, when I could not find them anywhere, I prayed to +God to help me, and, sure enough, I remembered I left them +in the dairy where I was churning.”</p> +<p>Jessie’s countenance was radiant with hope and faith, which +her sister could not share, yet felt unwilling to destroy; and, +checking the heavy sigh that rose from her oppressed heart, +she hastily quitted the house.</p> +<p>In the midst of confused and perturbed reflections, rose like +some lonely rock-based beacon in boiling waves her sacred +promise to the trusting child, and ingenuity was racked to +devise some means for its prompt fulfilment. Consanguinity +began to urge its claim vehemently, and long dormant tenderness +pleaded piteously for exiled idols.</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“If</ins> I were only a Christian, like Dr. Grey! His faith, like +strong wings, bears him high above all sloughs of despond, all +morasses of moodiness. People cannot successfully or profitably +serve two masters. That is eminently true; not because +it is scriptural, but <i>vice versa</i>; because it is so obviously true +it could not escape a place in the Bible. Half work pays poor +wages, and it is not surprising that neither God nor Mammon +will patiently submit to it. I suppose the time has come when +I must bargain myself to one or the other; for, hitherto, I +have declared in favor of neither. I am not altogether sanctified, +nor yet desperately wicked, but I hate Satan, who +ruined my father, infinitely more than I dislike the restrictions +of religion. I owe him a grudge for all the shame and +suffering of my childhood,—which, if God did not interfere to +prevent, at least there is strong presumptive evidence that he +took no pleasure in witnessing. I don’t suppose I have any +faith; I scarcely know what it means; but perhaps if I try to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span> +serve God instead of myself, it will come to me as it came to +Paul and Thomas. I wonder whether mere abstract love of +righteousness and of the Lord drives half as many persons +into Christian churches as the fear of eternal perdition. I +don’t deny that I am afraid of Satan, for if he contrives to +smuggle so much sin and sorrow into this world what must his +own kingdom be? If there be any truth in the tradition that +every human being is afflicted by some besetting sin that +crouches at the door of the soul, lying in ambush to destroy +it, then my own ‘Dweller of the Threshold,’ is love of mine +ease. Time was when I would have bartered my eternal heritage +for a good-sized mess of earthly pottage, provided only it +was well spiced and garnished; but to-day I have no inclination +to be swindled like Esau. Idleness has well-nigh ruined +me, so I shall take industry by the horns, and laying thereon +all my sins of indolence, drive it before me as the Jews drove +Apopompœus.”</p> +<p>She walked on in the direction of the town, turning her +head neither to right nor left, and keeping her eyes fixed on +the blue air before her, where imagination built a home, +through whose spacious halls Stanley and Jessie sported at +will. On the principal street stood a fashionable dress-making +and millinery establishment, and thither Salome bent her +steps, resolved that the sun should not set without having witnessed +some effort to redeem the pledge given to Jessie.</p> +<p>Panoplied in Miss Jane’s patronage, she demanded and obtained +admission to the inner apartment of this Temple of +Fashion, where presided the Pythoness whose oracular utterances +swayed <i>le beau monde</i>.</p> +<p>What passed between the two never transpired, even among +the apprentices that thronged the adjoining room; but when +Salome left the house she carried under her arm a large +bundle which furnished work for the ensuing fortnight.</p> +<p>Evening shadows overtook her, while yet a mile distant +from home, and as she passed a small cottage, where candle-light +flared through the open window, she saw Dr. Grey +standing beside the bed, on which, doubtless, lay some sufferer.</p> +<p>Ere many moments had elapsed, she heard his well-known +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span> +footstep on the rocky road, and involuntarily paused to greet +him.</p> +<p>“What called you to old Mrs. Peterson’s?”</p> +<p>“Her youngest grandchild is very ill with brain fever; so +ill that I shall return and sit up with him to-night.”</p> +<p>“I was not aware that physicians condescended to act as +mere nurses,—to execute their own orders.”</p> +<p>“Then I fear you have formed a very low estimate of the +sacred responsibilities of my profession, or of the characters +of those who represent it. The true physician combines the +offices of surgeon, doctor, nurse, and friend.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Peterson is almost destitute, and to a great extent +dependent on charity; consequently you need not expect to +collect any fee.”</p> +<p>“Knowing her poverty, I attend the family gratuitously.”</p> +<p>“Is not your charity-list a very long one?”</p> +<p>“Could I divest myself of sympathy with the sufferings of +those who compose it I would not curtail it one iota; for I feel +like Boerhaave, who once said, ‘My poor are my best patients; +God pays for them.’”</p> +<p>“Then, after all, you are actuated merely by selfishness, +and remit payments in earthly dross,—in ‘filthy lucre,’—in +order to collect your fees in a better currency, where thieves do +not break through nor steal?”</p> +<p>“‘He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker; but +he that honoreth Him, hath mercy on the poor.’ If a tinge +of selfishness mingle with the hope of future reward, it will be +forgiven, I trust, by the great Physician, who, in sublimating +human nature, seized upon its selfish elements as powerful +agencies in the regeneration of mankind. An abstract worship +of virtue is scarcely possible while humanity is clothed +with clay, and I am not unwilling to confess that hope of +eternal compensation influences my conduct in many respects. +If this be indeed only subtle selfishness, at least we shall be +pardoned by Him who promised to prepare a place in the +Father’s mansion for those who follow His footsteps among +the poor.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span></div> +<p>She looked up at him, with a puzzled, searching expression, +that arrested his attention, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“How singularly honest you are! I believe I could have +faith if there were more like you.”</p> +<p>“Faith in what?”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“In</ins> the nobility of my race,—in the possibility of my own +improvement,—in the watchful providence of God.”</p> +<p>“Salome, there is much sound philosophy in the eighty-seventh +and eighty-ninth maxims of cynical Rochefoucauld, +‘It is more disgraceful to distrust one’s friends than to be deceived +by them. Our mistrust justifies the deceit of others.’ +My opportunities have been favorable for studying various +classes of men, and my own experience corroborates the truth +of Montaigne’s sagacious remark, ‘Confidence in another +man’s virtue is no slight evidence of a man’s own.’ Try to +cultivate trust in your fellow creatures, and the bare show +of faith will sometimes create worth.”</p> +<p>“Did Christ’s show of confidence in Judas save him from +betrayal?”</p> +<p>“Let us hope that he was the prototype of a very limited +class. You must not expect to find mankind divided into two +great castes—one all angels, the other comprising hopeless +demons. On the contrary, noble and most ignoble impulses +alternately sway the actions and thoughts of the majority of +our race; and the saint of to-day is not unfrequently tempted +to become the fiend of to-morrow. Remember that the conflict +with sinful promptings begins in the cradle—ends only +in the coffin,—and try to be more charitable in your judgments.”</p> +<p>They walked a few yards in silence, and at length Salome +asked,—</p> +<p>“Were you not kept up all of last night?”</p> +<p>“Yes; I was obliged to ride fifteen miles to set a dislocated +shoulder.”</p> +<p>“Then you must be exhausted from fatigue, and unfit for +watching to-night. Will you not allow me to relieve you, and +take charge of Mrs. Peterson’s grandchild? I admit I am +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span> +very ignorant; but I will faithfully follow your directions, +and I think you may venture to trust me.”</p> +<p>Confusion flushed her face as she made this proposition, but +in the pale, pearly lustre of the summer starlight, it was not +visible.</p> +<p>“Thank you heartily, Salome. I could implicitly trust +your intentions, but the case is almost hopeless, and I fear +you are too inexperienced to render it safe for me to commit +the child to your care. I appreciate your kindness, but am +too much interested in the boy to leave him when the disease +is at its crisis, and a cup of coffee will strengthen me for the +vigil. You have been to the Asylum this afternoon; tell me +something about little Jessie.”</p> +<p>“She is still rather pale, but otherwise seems quite well +again. Of course she is dissatisfied since Stanley has left, +and thinks she ought to be allowed to follow his example; but +I finally persuaded her to remain there patiently, at least +for the present. It is well that the poor have their sensibilities +blunted early in life, for they are spared many sorrows +that afflict those who are pampered by fortune and rendered +morbidly sensitive by years of indulgence and prosperity.”</p> +<p>A metallic ring had crept into her voice, hardening it, and +although he could not distinctly see her countenance, he knew +that the words came through set teeth.</p> +<p>“Salome, I hope that I misunderstand you.”</p> +<p>“No; unfortunately, you thoroughly comprehend me. Dr. +Grey, were you situated precisely as I find myself, do you suppose +you would feel your degradation as little as I seem to do? +Do you think you would relish the bread of charity as keenly +as one, who, for courtesy’s sake, shall be nameless? Could +you calmly stand by, and with utter <i>sang froid</i> see your +brothers and sisters—your own flesh and blood—drift on +every chance wave, like some sodden crust or withered weed +on a stormy, treacherous sea? Would not your family pride +bleed and die, and your self-respect wail and shrivel and +expire?”</p> +<p>“You have so grossly exaggerated and overcolored your +picture that I recognize little likeness to reality.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span></div> +<p>“I neither gloze nor mask; I simply front the facts, which +are, briefly, that you were nurtured in independence and +trained to abhor the crumbs that fall from other people’s +tables, while all heroic aspirations and proud chivalric dreams +were fed by the milk that nourished you; whereas, I grew up +in the wan, sickly atmosphere of penury; glad to grasp the +crust that chance offered; taught to consider the bread of dependence +precious as ambrosia; willing to forget family ties +that were fraught only with humiliation and wretchedness; +coveting bounty that I had not sufficient ambition to merit; +and eager to live on charity, as long as it could be coaxed, +hoodwinked, or scourged into supporting me comfortably. +Yesterday I read a sentence that might have been written for +me, so felicitously does it photograph me, ‘Temperament is a +fate oftentimes, from whose jurisdiction its victims hardly +escape, but do its bidding herein, be it murder or martyrdom. +Virtues and crimes are mixed in one’s cup of nativity, +with the lesser or larger margin of choice. <i>Blood is a +destiny.</i>’ You, Ulpian Grey, are what you are because your +father was a gentleman, and all your surroundings were +luxurious and refined; and I, the miller’s child, am what +you see me because my father was coarse and brutal; because +my body and soul struggled with staring starvation,—physical, +mental, and moral. Be just, and remember these things +when you are tempted to despise me as a pitiable, spiritless +parasite.”</p> +<p>“My little friend, you have most unnecessarily tortured +yourself, and grieved and mortified me. Have I ever treated +you with contempt or disrespect?”</p> +<p>“You evidently pity me, and compassion is about as welcome +to my feelings as a vitriol bath to fresh wounds.”</p> +<p>“Are you not conscious of having more than once acted in +such a manner as to necessitate my compassion?”</p> +<p>She was silent for some moments; but as they entered the +avenue, she said, impetuously,—</p> +<p>“I want you to respect me.”</p> +<p>“If you respect yourself and merit my good opinion, I shall +not withhold it. But of one thing let me assure you; my +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span> +standard of womanly delicacy, nobility, gentleness, and Christian +faith is very exalted; and I cannot and will not lower it, +even to meet the requirements of those who claim my friendship. +Thoroughly cognizant of my opinions concerning several +subjects, you have more than once, premeditatedly and obtrusively +outraged them, and while I can and do most cordially +overlook the offence, you should not deem it possible +for me to entertain a very lofty estimate of the offender. +When I came home you took such extraordinary pains to convince +me that not a single noble aspiration actuated you that +I confess you almost succeeded in your aim; but, Salome, I +hope you are far more generous than you deign to prove yourself, +and I promise you my earnest respect shall not lag +behind,—shall promptly keep pace with your deserts. You +can, if you so determine, make yourself an attractive, brilliant, +noble woman; an ornament—and better still—a useful, honored +member of society; but the faults of your character are +grave, and only prayer and conscientious, persistent efforts +can entirely correct them. I am neither so unreasonable nor +so unjust as to hold you accountable for circumstances beyond +your control; and, while I warmly sympathize with all your +sorrows, I know that you are still sufficiently young to rectify +the unfortunate warping that your nature received in its +mournful early years. To ask me to respect you is as idle +and useless and impotent as the soft murmur of this June +breeze in the elm boughs above us; but you can command my +perfect confidence and friendship solely on condition that you +merit it. Salome, something very unusual has influenced +you to-day, forcing you to throw aside the rubbish that you +patiently piled over your better self until it was effectually +concealed; and, if you are willing to be frank with me, I +should be glad to know what has so healthfully affected you. +I believe I can guess: has not little Jessie wooed and won +her sister’s heart, melting all its icy selfishness and warming +its holiest recesses?”</p> +<p>At this moment Stanley bounded down the steps to meet +them, and, bending over to receive his kiss and embrace, +Salome gladly evaded a reply. That night, after she had +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span> +taught her brother his lessons for the next day and made +him repeat the prayer learned in the dormitory of the Asylum,—when +she had read Miss Jane to sleep and seen the doctor +set out on his mission of mercy, she brightened the lamp-light +in her own room, and, opening the parcel, drew out and commenced +the dainty embroidery which she had promised should +be completed at an early day.</p> +<p>The night was warm, but the sea-breeze sang a lullaby in +the trees that peeped in at her window, and now and then a +strong gust blew the flame almost to the top of the lamp-chimney. +Stanley slept soundly in his trundle-bed, occasionally +startling her by half-uttered exclamations, as in his +dreams he chased rabbits or found partridge-eggs. Oblivious +of passing hours, and profoundly immersed in speculations +concerning her future, the girl sewed on, working scallop +after scallop, and flower after flower, in the gossamer cambric +between her slender fingers. Stars that looked upon her early +in the night had gone down into blue abysms below the +horizon, and the midnight song of a mocking-bird, swinging +in a lemon-tree beneath her window, had long since hushed +itself with the chirp of crickets and gossip of the katydids.</p> +<p>A tap on the facing of her open door finally aroused her, +and she hastily attempted to hide her work, as Dr. Grey +asked,—</p> +<p>“What keeps you up so late? Are you dressing a doll +for Jessie?”</p> +<p>“What brings you home so early? Is your patient better?”</p> +<p>“Yes; in one sense he is certainly better; for, free from all +pain, he rests with his God.”</p> +<p>“What time is it?”</p> +<p>“Half-past three. Little Charles died about an hour ago, +and, as I shall be very busy to-morrow, I came upstairs to +ask if you will oblige me by going over to Mrs. Peterson’s +and remaining with her until the neighbors assemble in the +morning. It is an unpleasant duty, and unless you are perfectly +willing I will not request you to perform it.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span></div> +<p>“Certainly, sir; I will go at once. Why should I hesitate?”</p> +<p>“Come down as soon as you are ready, and I will make +Harrison drive you over in my buggy. As it is only a mile +I walked home.”</p> +<p>When she stood before him, waiting for the servant to adjust +some portion of the harness, Dr. Grey wrapped her shawl +more closely around her, and said,—</p> +<p>“What new freak keeps you awake till four o’clock?”</p> +<p>“It is no freak, but the beginning of a settled purpose +that reaches in numberless ramifications through all my +coming years. It does not concern you, so ask me no more. +Good-night. I suppose I ought to tender you my thanks +for deeming me worthy of this melancholy mission; and if +so, pray be pleased to accept them.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_V' id='CHAPTER_V'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Jane, have you heard that we shall soon have some new +neighbors at ‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“No; who is brave enough to settle there?”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, a widow, has purchased and refitted the +house, preparatory to making it her home.”</p> +<p>“Do you suppose she knows the history of its former +owners?”</p> +<p>“Probably not, as she has never seen the place. The purchase +was made some months since by her agent, who stated +that she was in Europe.”</p> +<p>“Ulpian, I am sorry that the house will again be occupied, +for some mournful fatality seems to have attended all who +ever resided there; and I have been told that the last proprietor +changed the name from ‘Solitude’ to ‘Bochim.’”</p> +<p>“You must not indulge such superstitious vagaries, my +dear, wise Janet. The age of hobgoblins, haunted houses, +and supernatural influences has passed away with the marvels +of alchemy and the weird myths of Rosicrucianism. Because +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span> +many deaths have occurred at that place, and the residents +were consequently plunged in gloom, you must not rashly +impute eldritch influences to the atmosphere surrounding it. +Knowing its ghostly celebrity, I have investigated the grounds +of existing prejudice, and find that of the ten persons who +have died there during the last fifteen years, three deaths were +from <ins title='Was heriditary'>hereditary</ins> consumption, one from dropsy, two from +paralysis, one from epilepsy, one from brain-fever, one from +drowning, and the last from a fall that broke the victim’s +neck. Were these attributable to any local cause, the results +would certainly not have proved so diverse.”</p> +<p>“Call it superstition, or what you will, no amount of coaxing, +argument, or ridicule, no imaginable inducement could +prevail on me to live there,—even if the house were floored +with gold and roofed with silver. It is the gloomiest-looking +place this side of Golgotha, and I would as soon crawl into a +coffin for an afternoon nap as spend a night there.”</p> +<p>“Your imagination invests it with a degree of gloom which +is adventitious, and referable solely to painful associations; +for intrinsically the situation is picturesque and beautiful, and +the grounds have been arranged with consummate taste. +This morning I noticed a quantity of rare and very superb +lilies clustered in a corner of the <i>parterre</i>.”</p> +<p>“Pray, what called you there?”</p> +<p>“A workman engaged in repairing some portion of the +roof, slipped on the slate and broke his arm; consequently, +they sent for me.”</p> +<p>“Just what he might have expected. I tell you something +happens to everybody who ever sleeps there.”</p> +<p>“Do you suppose there is a squad of malicious spirits +hovering in ambush to swoop upon all new-comers, and not +only fracture limbs, but scatter to right and left paralysis, +epilepsy, and other diseases? From your rueful countenance +a stranger might infer that Pandora’s box had just been +opened at ‘Bochim,’ and that the very air was thick with +miasma and maledictions.”</p> +<p>“Oh, laugh on if you choose at my old-fashioned whims and +superstition; but, mark my words, that place will prove a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span> +curse to whoever buys it and settles there! Has Mrs. Gerome +a family?”</p> +<p>“I believe I heard that she had no children, but I really +know little about her except that she must be a woman of +unusually refined and cultivated tastes, as the pictures, books, +and various articles of vertu that have preceded her seem to +indicate much critical and artistic acumen. The entire building +has been refitted in exceedingly handsome style, and the +upholsterer who was arranging the furniture told me it had +been purchased in Europe.”</p> +<p>“When is Mrs. Gerome expected?”</p> +<p>“During the present week.”</p> +<p>“What aged person is she?”</p> +<p>“Indeed, my dear, curious Janet, I have asked no questions +and formed no conjectures; but I trust your baleful prognostications +will find no fulfilment in her case.”</p> +<p>“Ulpian, I had some very fashionable visitors to-day, who +manifested an extraordinary interest in your past, present, +and future. Mrs. Channing and her two lovely daughters +spent the morning here, and left an invitation for you to +attend a party at their house next Thursday evening. Miss +Adelaide went into ecstasies over that portrait in which you +wore your uniform, and asked numberless questions about +you; among others, whether you were still heart-whole, or +whether you had suffered some great disappointment early in +life which kept you a bachelor. What do you suppose she +said when I told her that you had never had a love-scrape in +your life?”</p> +<p>“Of course she impugned the statement, which, to a young +lady framed for flirtations, must indeed have appeared incredible.”</p> +<p>“On the contrary, she declared that the woman who succeeded +in captivating you would achieve a triumph more difficult +and more desirable than the victory of the Nile or of +Trafalgar. I was tempted to ask her if she might be considered +the ambitious Nelson, but of course politeness forbade. +Ulpian, she is the prettiest creature I ever looked at.”</p> +<p>“Yes, as pretty as mere healthy flesh can be without the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span> +sublimation and radiance of an indwelling soul. There is +nothing which impresses me so mournfully as the sight of a +beautiful, frivolous, unscrupulous woman, who immolates all +that is truly feminine in her character upon the shrine of +swollen vanity; and whose career from cradle to grave is as +utterly aimless and useless as that of some gaudy, flaunting +ephemeron of the tropics. Such women act as extinguishers +upon the feeble, flickering flame of chivalry, which modern +degeneracy in manners and morals has almost smothered.”</p> +<p>His tone and countenance evinced more contempt than Salome +had known him to express on any former occasion, and, +glancing at his clear, steady, grave blue eyes, she said to +herself,—</p> +<p>“At least he will never strike his colors to Admiral Adelaide +Channing, and I should dislike to occupy her place in his +estimation.”</p> +<p>“My dear boy, you must not speak in such ungrateful terms +of my beautiful visitor, who certainly has some serious design +on your heart, if I may judge from the very extravagant praise +she lavished upon you. I daresay she is a very nice, sweet +girl, and you know you told me once that if you should ever +marry your wife must be a beauty, else you could not love +her.”</p> +<p>“Very true, Janet, and I have no intention of retracting +or diminishing my rigid requirements, but my definition of +beauty includes more than mere physical perfection,—than +satin skin, pearl-tinted, fine eyes, faultless teeth, abundant +silky tresses, and rounded figure. It demands that the heart +whose blood paints lips and cheek, shall be pure, generous, +and holy; that the soul which looks out at me from lustrous +eyes shall be consecrated to another deity than Fashion,—shall +be as full of magnanimity, and strength, and peace, as a +harp is of melody; my beauty means meekness, faith, sanctity, +and exacts mental, moral, and material excellence. Rest +assured, my dear, sage counsellor, that if ever I bring a wife +to my hearthstone I will have selected her in obedience to the +advice of Joubert, who admonished us, ‘We should choose +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span> +for a wife only the woman we would choose for a friend, +were she a man.’”</p> +<p>“You expect too much; you will never find your perfect +ideal walking in flesh.”</p> +<p>“I will content myself with nothing less—I promise you +that.”</p> +<p>“Oh, no doubt you will believe that the woman you marry +is all that you dream or wish; but some fine morning you +will present me with a sister as full of foibles and vanities +and frailties as any other spoiled and cunning daughter of +Eve. Of course every bridegroom classes as ‘perfect’ the +blushing, trembling young thing who peeps shyly at him +from under a tulle veil and an orange wreath; but, take my +word for it, there is a spice of Delilah in every pretty girl, +and the credulity of Samson slumbers in all lovers. Nevertheless, +Ulpian, I would sooner see you in bondage to a pair +of white hands and hazel eyes,—would rather know that like +all your race you were utterly humbugged—hoodwinked—by +some fair-browed belle, whose low voice rippled over pouting +pink lips, than have you live always alone, a confirmed old +bachelor. After all, I doubt whether you have really never +had a sweetheart, for every schoolboy swears allegiance to +some yellow-haired divinity in ruffled muslin aprons.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey laid his hand gently on the shrivelled fingers that +were busily engaged in shelling some seed-beans, and answered, +jocosely,—</p> +<p>“Have I not often told you, that my dear, old, patient +sister Janet, is my only lady-love?”</p> +<p>“And your silly old Janet is not such an arrant fool as to +believe any such nonsense,—especially when she remembers +that from time immemorial sailors have had sweethearts in +every port, and that her spoiled pet of a brother is no exception +to his race or his profession.”</p> +<p>He laughed, and smoothed her grizzled hair.</p> +<p>“Since my sapient sister is so curious, I will confess that +once—and only once in my life—I was in dire danger of falling +most desperately in love. The frigate was coaling at +Palermo, and I went ashore. One afternoon, in sauntering +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span> +through the orange and lemon groves which render its environs +so inviting, I caught a glimpse of a countenance so serene, +so indescribably lovely, that for an instant I was disposed +to believe I had encountered the beatific spirit of St. Rosalie +herself. The face was that of a woman apparently about +eighteen years old, who evidently ranked among Sicilian aristocrats, +and whose elegant attire enhanced her beauty. I followed, +at a respectful distance, until she entered the garden +of an adjacent convent and fell on her knees before a marble +altar, where burned a lamp at the feet of a statue of the +Virgin; and no painting in Europe stamped itself so indelibly +on my memory as the picture of that beautiful votary. Her +delicate hands were crossed over her heart,—her large, liquid, +black eyes, raised in adoration,—her full, crimson lips parted +as she repeated the ‘<i>Ave Maria</i>’ in the most musical voice +I ever heard. Just above the purplish folds of her abundant +hair drooped pomegranate boughs all aflame with scarlet +blooms that fell upon her head like tongues of fire, as the +wind sprang from the blue hollows of the Mediterranean and +shook the grove. The sun was going swiftly down behind the +stone turrets of a monastery that crowned a distant hill, and +the last rays wove an aureola around my kneeling saint, who, +doubtless, aware of the effect of her graceful attitudinizing, +seemed in no haste to conclude her devotions. As I recalled +the charming tableau, those lines wherein Buchanan sought +to photograph the picturesqueness of the Digentia, float up +from some sympathetic cell of memory,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Could you look at the leaves of yonder tree,—<br /> +The wind is stirring them, as the sun is stirring me!<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The woolly clouds move quiet and slow<br /> +In the pale blue calm of the tranquil skies,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And their shades that run on the grass below<br /> +Leave purple dreams in the violet’s eyes!<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The vine droops over my head with bright<br /> +Clusters of purple and green,—the rose<br /> +Breaks her heart on the air; and the orange glows<br /> +Like golden lamps in an emerald night.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>My Sicilian Siren finally disappeared in a gloomy arched-way +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span> +leading into the convent, and I returned to the hotel to dream +of her until the morning sunshine once more bathed Conca +D’Oro in splendor,—when I instituted a search for the name +and residence of my inamorata. Six hours of enthusiastic +investigation yielded me the coveted information, but imagine +the profound despair in which I was plunged when I ascertained +from her own smiling lips that she was a happy wife +and the proud mother of two beautiful children. As she rose +to present her swarthy husband, I bowed myself out and took +refuge aboard ship. Here ends the recital of the first and +last bit of romance that ever threw its rosy tinge over the +quiet life of your staid and humble brother—Ulpian Grey, +M.D.”</p> +<p>“Ah, my dear sailor boy, I am afraid thirty-five years of +experience have rendered you too wary to be caught by such +chaff as pretty girls sprinkle along your path! I should be +glad to see your bride enter this door before I am carried out +feet foremost to my final rest by Enoch’s side.”</p> +<p>“Do not despair of me, dear Jane, for I am not exactly +Methuselah’s rival; and comfort yourself by recollecting that +Lessing was forty years old when he first loved the only woman +for whom he ever entertained an affection—his devoted +Eva König.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey bent over his sister’s easy-chair, and, taking her +thin, sallow face tenderly in his soft palms, kissed the sunken +cheeks—the wrinkled forehead; and then, laying her head +gently back upon its cushions, entered his buggy and drove +to his office.</p> +<p>“Salome, what makes you look so moody? There are as +many furrows on your brow as lines in a spider’s web, and +your lips are drawn in as if you had dined on green persimmons. +Child, what is the matter?”</p> +<p>Miss Jane lifted her spectacles from her nose, and eyed the +orphan, anxiously.</p> +<p>“I am very sorry to hear that ‘Solitude’ will be filled once +more with people, and bustle, and din. It is the nearest +point where we can reach the beach, and I have enjoyed many +quiet strolls under its grand, old, solemn trees. If haunted +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span> +at all, it is by Dryads and Hamadryads, and I like the babble +of their leaves infinitely better than the strife of human +tongues. Miss Jane, if I were only a pagan!”</p> +<p>“I am not very sure that you are not,” sighed the invalid.</p> +<p>“Nor I. I have lost my place,—I am behind my time in +this world by at least twenty centuries, and ought to have +lived in the jovial age of fauns and satyrs, when groves were +sacred for other reasons than the high price of wood,—when +gods and goddesses were abundant as blackberries, and at the +beck and call of every miserable wretch who chose to propitiate +them by offering a flask of wine, a bunch of turnips, a +litter of puppies, or a basket of olives. Hesiod and Homer +understood human nature infinitely better than Paul and +Luther.”</p> +<p>“Salome, you are growing shockingly irreverent and +wicked.”</p> +<p>“No, madam,—begging your pardon. I am only desperately +honest in wishing that my salvation and future +felicity could be secured beyond all peradventure, by a sacrifice +of oatcakes, or white doves, or black cats, instead of a +drab-colored life of prayer, penance, purity, and patience. I +don’t deny that I would rather spend my days in watching +the gorgeous pageant of the<i> Panathenaea</i>, or chanting dithyrambics +to insure a fine vintage, or even offering a <i>Taigheirm</i>, +than in running neck and neck with Lucifer for the kingdom +of heaven. I love kids, and fawns, and lambs, as well as +Landseer; but I should not long hesitate, had I the choice, +between flaying their tender flesh in sacrifice and mortifying +my own as a devout life requires.”</p> +<p>“But what would have become of your poor soul if you had +lived in Pagan times?”</p> +<p>“What will become of it under present circumstances, I +should be exceedingly glad to know. ‘The heathen are a +law unto themselves,’ and I sometimes wish I had been born a +Fejee belle, who lived, was tastefully tattooed, and died without +having even dreamed of missionaries,—those officious +martyrs who hope to wear a whole constellation on their foreheads +as a reward for having been eaten by cannibals, to whom +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span> +they expounded the unpalatable doctrine that, ‘this is the +condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men +loved darkness rather than light.’ Moreover, I confess—”</p> +<p>“That is quite sufficient. I have already heard more than +I relish of such silly and sacrilegious chat. At least, you +might have more prudence and discretion than to hold forth +so disgracefully in the hearing of your little brother.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane’s cheek flushed, and her feeble voice faltered.</p> +<p>“He has fallen fast asleep over the bean-pods; and, even if +he had not, how much of the conversation do you imagine he +would comprehend? His sole knowledge of Grecian theogony +consists of a brief acquaintance with a bottle of pseudo Greek +fire which burnt the pocket out of his best pantaloons.”</p> +<p>“Salome, you distress me; and, if Ulpian had not left us, +you would have kept all such heathenish stuff shut up in your +sinful and wayward heart.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey is no Gorgon, having power to petrify my +tongue. I am not afraid of him; and my respect for your +feelings is much stronger than my dread of his.”</p> +<p>“Hush, child! You are afraid of him, and well you may +be. I fear that all your Sabbath-school advantages—all your +Christian privileges—have been wofully wasted; and I shall +ask Ulpian to talk to you.”</p> +<p>“No, thank you, Miss Jane. You may save yourself the +trouble, for he has given me over to hardness of heart and +‘a reprobate mind,’ and his patience is not only ‘clean gone +forever,’ but he has carefully washed his hands of all future +interest in my rudderless and drifting soul. Let me speak +this once, and henceforth I promise to hold my peace. I do +not require to be ‘talked to’ by anybody,—I only need to be +let alone. Sabbath-schools are indisputably excellent things,—and +I can testify that they are ponderous ecclesiastical hammers, +pounding creeds and catechisms into the mould of +memory; but these nurseries of the church nourish and harbor +some Satan’s imps among their half-fledged saints; and while +they certainly accomplish a vast amount of good, they are by +no means infallible machines for the manufacture of Christians,—of +which fact I stand in melancholy attestation. I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span> +have a vague impression that piety does not grow up in a +night, like Jonah’s gourd <ins title='Was of'>or</ins> Jack the Giant-killer’s beanstalk; +but is a pure, glittering, spiritual stalactite, built by +the slow accretion of dripping tears. Do you suppose that +you can successfully train my soul as you have managed +my body?—that you can hold my nose and pour a dose of +faith down my throat, like ipecac or cod-liver oil? In matters +of theology I am no ostrich, and, if you afflict me <i>ad +nauseam</i> with religious dogmas, you must not wonder that my +moral digestion rebels outright. I shall not dispute the fact +that in justice to your precepts and example I ought to be a +Christian; but, since I am not, I may as well tell you at once +and save future trouble, that I can neither be baited into the +church like a hawk into a steel-trap, nor scared and driven +into it like bees into a hive by the rattling of tin pans and the +screaking of horns. Don’t look at me so dolefully, dear Miss +Jane, as if you had already seen my passport to perdition +signed and sealed. You, at least, have done your whole duty,—have +set all the articles of orthodoxy, well-flavored and +garnished, before me; and, if I am finally lost, my spiritual +starvation can never be charged against you in the last balance-sheet. +I am not ignorant of the Bible, nor altogether +unacquainted with the divers creeds that spring from its +pages as thick, as formidable, as ferocious, as the harvest +from the dragon’s teeth; and, thanking you for all you have +taught me, I here undertake to pilot my own soul in this +boiling, bellowing sea of life. I doubt whether some of the +charts you value will be of any service in my voyage, or +whether the beacons by which you steer will save me from the +reefs; but, nevertheless, I take the wheel, and, if I wreck my +soul,—why, then, I wreck it.”</p> +<p>In the magic evening light, which touches all things with a +rosy, transitory glamour, the fresh young face with its daintily +sculptured lineaments seemed marvellously and surpassingly +fair; but, like <i>morbidezza</i> marble, hopelessly fixed and +chill, and might have served for some image of Eve, when, +standing on the boundary of eternal beatitude, she daringly +put up her slender womanly fingers to pluck the fatal fruit. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span> +Her large, brilliant eyes followed the sinking sun as steadily—as +unblinkingly—as an eagle’s; but the gleam that rayed +out was baleful, presaging storms, as infallibly as that sullen, +lurid light, which glares defiantly over helpless earth when +to-day’s sun falls into the cloudy lap of to-morrow’s tempest.</p> +<p>A heavy sigh struggled across Miss Jane’s unsteady lips, +as, removing her glasses, she wiped her eyes, and said, +slowly,—</p> +<p>“Yes; I am a stupid, unsuspecting old dolt; but I see it +all now.”</p> +<p>“My ultimate and irremediable ruin?”</p> +<p>“God forbid!”</p> +<p>Salome approached the arm-chair, and, stooping, looked intently +at the aged, wan face.</p> +<p>“What is it that you see? Miss Jane, when people stand, +as you do, upon the borders of two worlds, the Bygone fades,—the +Beyond grows distinct and luminous. Lend me your +second sight, to decipher the characters scrawled like fiery +serpents over the pall that envelops the future.”</p> +<p>“I see nothing but the grim, unmistakeable fact that my +little, clinging, dependent child, has, without my knowledge, +put away childish things, and suddenly steps before me a wilful, +irreverent, graceless woman, as eager to challenge the +decrees of the Lord as was complaining Job before the breath +of the whirlwind smote and awed him. Some day, Salome, +that same voice that startled the old man of Uz will make you +bend and tremble and shiver like that acacia yonder, which the +wind is toying with before it snaps asunder. When that +time comes the clover will feed bees above my gray head, but +I trust my soul will be near enough to the great white throne +to pray God to have mercy on your wretched spirit, and +bring you safely to that blessed haven whither you can never +pilot yourself.”</p> +<p>Nervous excitement gave unwonted strength to the feeble +limbs; and, grasping her crutches, Miss Jane limped into +her own room and closed the door after her.</p> +<p>For some moments the girl stood looking out over the lawn, +where fading sunshine and deepening shadow made fitful +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span> +<i>chiaroscuro</i> along the primrose-paved aisles that stretched +under the elm arches,—then, raising her fingers as if tracing +lines on the soft, gold-dusted atmosphere that surrounded +her, she muttered doggedly,—</p> +<p>“Yes; I am at sea! But, if God is just, Miss Jane and I +will yet shake hands on that calm, surgeless, crystal sea, shining +before the throne. So, now I take the helm and put the +head of my precious charge before the wind, and only the Almighty +can foresee the result. In His mercy I put my trust. +So be it.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Gray distance hid each shining sail,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>By ruthless breezes borne from me;<br /> +And lessening, fading, faint, and pale,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>My ships went forth to sea.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_VI' id='CHAPTER_VI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Mother, I am afraid Mrs. Gerome does not like this +place, or the furniture, or something, for she has not spoken +a kind word about the house since she came. She looks +closely at everything, but says nothing. What do you suppose +she thinks?”</p> +<p>Robert Maclean, the gardener at “Solitude,” paused abruptly, +as his mother pinched his arm sharply and whispered,—</p> +<p>“Whist! There she comes down the azalea walk; and no +one likes to stumble upon their own name when they are not +expecting the sound or sight of it. No; she has turned off +towards the cedars, and does not see us. As to her likes and +dislikes, there is nothing this side of heaven that will content +her; and you might have known better than to suppose she +would be much pleased with anything. No matter what she +thinks, she seldom complains, and it is hard to find out her +views; but she told me to tell you that she approved all you +had done, and thanked you for the pains you have taken to +arrange things comfortably.”</p> +<p>Old Elsie tied the strings of her white muslin cap, and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span> +turned her back to the wind that was playing havoc with its +freshly fluted frills.</p> +<p>“Mother, I heard her laugh yesterday, for the first time. +It was a short, quick, queer little laugh, but it pleased me +greatly. The cook had set some duck-eggs under that fine +black Spanish hen; and, when they hatched, she marched +off with the brood into the fowl-yard, where they made straight +for the duck-pool and sailed in. The hen set up such a din +and clatter that Mrs. Gerome, who happened to get a +glimpse of them, felt sorry for the poor frightened fowl, and +tried to drive the little ones out of the water; but, whenever +she put her hand towards them to catch the nearest, the +whole brood would quack and dive,—and, when she had +laughed that one short laugh, she called to me to look after +them and went back to the house. You don’t know how +strangely that laugh sounded.”</p> +<p>“Don’t I? Speak for yourself, Robert. I have heard her +laugh twice, but it was when she was asleep, and it was an +uncanny, bitter sound,—about as welcome to my ears as her +death-rattle. Last night she did not close her eyes,—did not +even undress; and the hall clock was striking three this +morning when I heard her open the piano and play one of +those dismal, frantic, wailing things she calls ‘fugues,’ that +make the hair rise on my head and every inch of my flesh +creep as if a stranger were treading on my grave. When +she was a baby, cutting her eye-teeth, she had a spasm; and +seeing her straighten herself out and roll back her eyes till +only the white balls showed, I took it for granted she was +about to die, and, holding her in my arms, I fell on my knees +and prayed that she might be spared. Well, now, Robert, +I am sorry I put up that petition, for the Lord knew best; +and it would have been a crowning mercy if he had paid no +attention to my half-crazy pleadings and taken her home +then. What meddling fools we all are! I thought, at that +time, it would break my heart to shroud her sweet little +body; but ah! I would rather have laid my precious baby +in her coffin, with violets under her fingers, than live to see +that desperate, unearthly look, come and house itself in her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span> +great, solemn, hungry, tormenting eyes, that were once as +full of sparkles and merriment as the sky is of stars on a +clear, frosty night. My son, we never know what is good +for us; for, many times, when we clamor for bread we break +our teeth on it; and then, again, when we rage and howl +because we think the Lord has dealt out scorpions to us, +they prove better than the fish we craved. So, after all, I +conclude Christ understood the whole matter when he enjoined +upon us to say, ‘Thy will be done.’”</p> +<p>The old nurse wiped her eyes with the corner of her black +silk apron, and, leaning against the trunk of a tree, crossed +her arms comfortably over her broad and ample chest, while +Robert busied himself in repotting some choice carnations.</p> +<p>“But, mother, do you really think she will be satisfied to +stay here, after travelling so long up and down in the world?”</p> +<p>“How can I tell what she will or will not do? You know +very well that she goes to sleep with one set of whims and +wakes up with new ones. She catches odd freaks as some +people catch diseases. She said yesterday that she had had +enough of travel and change, and intended to settle and live +and die right here; but that does not prove that I may not +receive an order next week to pack her trunks and start to +Jericho or Halifax, and I should not think the world was +upside down and coming to an end if such an order came before +breakfast to-morrow. Poor lamb! My poor lamb! +Yonder she comes again. Do you notice how fast she walks, +as if the foul fiend were clutching at her skirts or she were +trying to get away from herself,—trying to run her restless +soul entirely out of her wretched body? Come away, Robert, +and let her have all the grounds to herself. She likes best +to be alone.”</p> +<p>Mother and son walked off in the direction of the stables, +and the advancing figure emerged from the dense shade where +interlacing limbs roofed one of the winding walks, and paused +before the circular stand on which lemon, rose, white, crimson, +and variegated carnations, nodded their fringed heads +and poured spicy aromas from their velvety chalices.</p> +<p>The face and form of Mrs. Gerome presented a puzzling +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span> +paradox, in which old age and youth seemed struggling for +mastery; and “death in life” found melancholy verification. +Tall, slender, and faultlessly made, the perfection of her +figure was marred by the unfortunate carriage of her head, +which drooped forward so heavily that the chin almost touched +her throat and nearly destroyed the harmony of the profile +outline. The head itself was nobly rounded, and sternly +classic as any well authenticated antique, but it was no marvel +that it habitually bowed under the heavy glittering mass +of silver hair, which wound in coil after coil and was secured +at the back by a comb of carved jet, thickly studded with +small silver stars. The extraordinary lustrousness of these +waves of gray hair that rippled on her forehead and temples +like molten metal, lent a weird and wondrous effect to the +straight, regular, rigid features,—daintily cut as those of Pallas, +and quite as pallid. The delicate and high arch of the +eyebrows was black as ebony, and in conjunction with the +long jetty lashes formed a very singular contrast to the shining +white tresses, which lay piled like freshly fallen snow-drift +above them. The brow was full, round, smooth, and +fair as a child’s; and more than one azure thread showed the +subtle tracery of veins, whose crimson currents left no rosy +reflex on the firm, gleaming white flesh, through which they +branched.</p> +<p>Beneath that faultless forehead burned unusually large +eyes, deep as mountain tarns, and of that pure bluish gray +that tolerates no hint of green or yellow rays. The dilated +pupils intensified the steel color, and faint violet lines ran +out from the iris to meet the central shadows, while above +and below the heavy black fringes enhanced their sombre +depths, where mournful mysteries seemed to float like corpses +just beneath the crystal shroud of ocean waves. The pale, passionless +lips,—perfect in their pure curves, but defrauded of +the blood which resolutely refused to come to the surface and +tint the fine satin skin,—were lined in ciphers that the curious +questioned and wondered over, but which few could read and +none fully comprehend. The beautiful, frigid mouth, where +all sweetness was frozen out to make room for hopelessness +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span> +and defiance, would have admirably suited some statue of +discrowned and smitten Hecuba; and no amount of sighs and +sobs, no stormy bursts of grief or fierce invective, could rival +the melancholy eloquence of its mute, calm pallor.</p> +<p>The wan face, with its gray globe-like eyes, and the metallic +glitter of the prematurely silvered hair, matched in hue the +pearl-colored muslin dress which fluttered in the wind; and, +standing there, this gray woman of twenty-three looked indeed +like Pygmalion’s stone darling,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Fair-statured, noble, like an awful thing<br /> +Frozen upon the very verge of life,<br /> +And looking back along eternity<br /> +With rayless eyes that keep the shadow Time.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Her frail, white hands, with their oval nails polished and +opalescent, were exceedingly beautiful; and, where the creamy +foam of the fine lace fell back from the dimpled wrists, +quaintly carved jet serpents with blazing diamond eyes coiled +around the throbbing thread-like pulses of sullen <i>sang azure</i>.</p> +<p>Bending over the carnations, she examined the gorgeous +hues,—toyed with their fragile stems,—and then, glancing +shyly over her shoulder like a startled fawn half expectant +of hounds and hunter, she glided rapidly to an artificial +mound crowned with a mouldering mossy plaster image of +Ariadne and her pard, and stood surveying her new domain.</p> +<p>“Solitude” filled a semicircular hollow between low wooded +hills, which ran down to lave their grassy flanks in the blue +brine of the Atlantic, and constituted the horns of a crescent +bay, on whose sloping sandy beach the billows broke without +barrier.</p> +<p>The old-fashioned brick house—with sharp, peaked roof, +turreted chimneys, and gable window looking down in front +upon the clumsily clustered columns that supported the +arched portico—was built upon a rocky knoll, of which nature +laid the foundation and art increased the height; and, +around and above it, towered a dense grove of ancient trees +that shut out the glare of the sea and effectually screened +the mansion from observation. The damp walls were heavily +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span> +draped with the sombre verdure of ivy, whose ambitious tendrils +clambered to the cleft chimney-tops, and peered impertinently +over the broad stone window-sills, whence the +indignant housemaid remorselessly sheared them away as +often as their encroachments grew perceptible.</p> +<p>In the rear of the house, and toward the west, stretched +orchard, vegetable garden, vineyard, and wheat-field, whose +rolling green waves seemed almost to break against the ruddy +trunks of cedars that clothed the hillside. To the left and +north lay low, marshy, meadow land, covered with rank grass +and frosted with saline incrustations; while south of the +building extended spacious grounds, studded here and there +with noble groups of deodars, Norway spruce, and various +ornamental shrubs, and bounded by a tall impenetrable hedge +of osage orange. Before the house, which faced the ocean +and fronted east, the lawn sloped gently down to a terrace +surmounted by a granite balustrade; and just beyond, supported +by stone piers on the golden sands, stood an octagonal +boat-house, built in the Swiss style, with red-tiled roof, and +floored with squares of white and black marble, whence a +flight of steps led to the little boat chained to one of the +rocky piers. Along the entire length of the terrace a line +of giant poplars lifted their aged, weather-beaten heads, high +above all surrounding objects,—ever on the <i>qui vive</i>, looking +seaward,—trim and erect as soldiers on dress parade, and +defiant of gales that had shorn them of many boughs, and +left ghastly scars on their glossy limbs.</p> +<p>Tradition whispered, with bated breath, that in the dim +dawn of colonial settlement a rude log hut had been erected +here by pirates, who came ashore to bury their ill-gotten +booty, and rumors were rife of bloody deeds and midnight +orgies,—all of which sprang into more vigorous circulation, +when, in laying the foundations of the boat-house piers, an +iron pot containing a number of old French and Spanish +coins was dug out of the shells and sand.</p> +<p>Melancholy tales of stranded vessels and drowned crews, +of a slaver burned to the water’s edge to escape capture, and of +charred corpses strewn on the beach, thickened the atmosphere +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span> +of legendary gloom that enveloped the spot,—where +the successive demise of several proprietors certainly sanctioned +the feeling of dread and superstitious distrust with +which it was regarded. That the unenviable celebrity it had +attained was referable to local causes generating disease, appeared +almost incredible; for, if miasmatic exhalations rose +dank and poisonous from the densely shaded humid house, +they were promptly dispelled by the strong, invincible ocean-breeze, +which tore aside leafy branches and muslin curtains, +and wafted all noxious vapors inland.</p> +<p>A committee of medical sages having cautiously examined +the place, unanimously averred that its reputed fatality could +not justly be ascribed to any topographical causes. Whereupon +the popular nerve, which closely connected the community +with supernaturaldom, thrilled afresh; and all the +calamities, real and imaginary, that had afflicted “Solitude” +from a period so remote that “the memory of man runneth +not to the contrary,” were laid upon the galled shoulders of +some red-liveried, sulphur-scented Imp of Abaddon, whose +peculiar mission was to haunt the “piratical nest;” and, in +lieu of human victims, to addle the eggs, blast the grape crop, +and make night hideous with spectral sights and sounds.</p> +<p>To an unprejudiced observer the hills seemed to have gleefully +clasped hands and formed a half-circle, shutting the +place in for a quiet breezy communion with garrulous ocean, +whose waves ran eagerly up the strand to gossip of wrecks and +cyclones, with the staid martinet poplars that nodded and +murmured assent to all their wild romances.</p> +<p>Such was the pleasant impression produced upon the mind +of the lonely woman who now owned it, and who hoped to +spend here in seclusion and peace the residue of a life whose +radiant dawn had been suddenly swallowed by drab clouds +and starless gloom.</p> +<p>The Scotch are proverbially credulous concerning all preternatural +influences; and, had Robert Maclean been cognizant +of half the ghostly associations attached to the residence +which he had selected in compliance with general instructions +from his mistress, it is scarcely problematical whether the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span> +house would not have remained in the hands of the real-estate +broker; but, fortunately for their peace of mind, Elsie and +her son were as yet in blissful ignorance of the dismal celebrity +of their new home.</p> +<p>Resting her folded hands on the bare shoulders of the +Ariadne, which modest lichens and officious wreaths of purple +verbena were striving to mantle, Mrs. Gerome scanned the +scene before her; and a quick, nervous sigh, that was almost +a pant, struggled across her lips.</p> +<p>“Unto this last nook of refuge have I come; and, expecting +little, find much. Shut out from the world, locked in +with the sea,—no neighbors, no visitors, no news, no gossip,—solitary, +shady, cool, and quiet,—surely I can rest here. +Forked tongues of scandal can not penetrate through those +rock-ribbed hills yonder, nor dart across that defying sea; and +neither wail nor wassail of men or women can disturb me +more. But how do I know that it will not prove a mocking +cheat like Baiæ and Maggiore, or Copais and Cromarty? I +have fled in disgust and <i>ennui</i> from far lovelier spots than +this, and what right have I to suppose that contentment has +housed itself as my guest in that old, mossy, brick pile, where +mice and wrens run riot? Like Cain and Cartophilus, my +curse travels with me, and I no sooner pitch my tent, than lo! +the rattle and grin of my skeleton, for which earth is not wide +enough to furnish a grave! Well! well! at least I shall +not be stared to death here,—shall not be tormented by +eye-glasses and sketch-books; can live in that dim, dark, +greenish den yonder, unobserved and possibly forgotten +and finally sleep undisturbed in the dank shade of those +deodars, with twittering birds overhead and a +sobbing sea at my feet. How long—how long before that +dreamless slumber will fall upon my heavy lids,—weary with +waiting? Only twenty-three yesterday! My God, if I should +live to be an old woman! The very thought threatens insanity! +Ten—twenty—possibly thirty years ahead of me. +No; I could not endure it,—I should go mad, or destroy myself! +If I were a delicate woman, if I only had weak lungs +or a dropsical heart, or a taint of any hereditary infirmity +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span> +that would surely curtail my days, I could be tolerably patient, +hoping daily for the symptoms to develop themselves. But, +unfortunately, though my family all died early, no two members, +selected the same mode of escape from this bastile of +clay; and my flesh is sound, and I am as strong and compact +as that granite balustrade, and—ha! ha!—quite as hard. +<i>Au pis aller</i>, if the burden of life becomes utterly intolerable +I can shuffle it off as quickly as did that proud Roman, who, +‘when the birds began to sing’ in the dawn of a day heralded +by tempestuous winds laden with perfume from the vales of +Sicily, shut his eyes forever from the warm sparkling Mediterranean +billows that broke in the roads of Utica, and pricked +the memory of inattentive Azrael with the point of a sword. +Neither Phædo, family, nor fame, could coax Cato to respect +the prerogative of Atropos; and if he, ‘the only free and unconquered +man,’ quailed and fled before the apparition of +numerous advancing years, what marvel that I, who am +neither sage nor Roman, should be tempted some fine morning +when the birds are sounding <i>reveille</i> around my chamber +windows, to imitate ‘what Cato did, and Addison approved’? +After all, what despicable cowards are human hearts, and how +much easier to die like Socrates, Seneca, and Zeno, than stagger +and groan under the load of hated, torturing years, that +are about as welcome to my shoulders as the ‘old man of the +sea’ to Sinbad’s! How long?—oh, how long?”</p> +<p>The gloomy gray eyes had kindled into a dull flicker that +resembled the fitful, ghostly gleam of sheet lightning, falling +through painted windows upon crumbling and defiled altars +in some lonely ruined cathedral; and her low, shuddering +tones, were full of a hopeless, sneering bitterness, as painfully +startling and out of place in a woman’s voice as would be the +scream of a condor from the irised throats of brooding doves, +or the hungry howl of a wolf from the tender lips of unweaned +lambs. In the gloaming light of a soft gray sky powdered by +a few early stars, stood this desolate gray woman, about +whose face and dress there was no stain of color save the blue +glitter of a large sapphire ring, curiously cut in the form of a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span> +coiled asp, with hooded head erect and brilliant diamond eyes +that twinkled with every quiver of the marble-white fingers.</p> +<p>Impatiently she turned her imperial head, when the sound +of approaching steps broke the stillness; and her tone was +sharp as that of one suddenly roused from deep sleep,—</p> +<p>“Well, Elsie! What is it?”</p> +<p>“Tea, my child, has been waiting half-an-hour.”</p> +<p>“Then go and get your share of it. I want none.”</p> +<p>“But you ate no dinner to-day. Does your head ache?”</p> +<p>“Oh, no; my heart jealously monopolizes that privilege!”</p> +<p>The old woman sighed audibly, and Mrs. Gerome added,—</p> +<p>“Pray, do not worry yourself about me! When I feel disposed +to come in I can find the way to the door. Go and +get your supper.”</p> +<p>The nurse passed her wrinkled hand over the drab muslin +sleeves and skirt, and touched the folds of hair.</p> +<p>“But, my bairn, the dew is thick on your head and has +taken all the starch out of your dress. Please come out of this +fog that is creeping up like a serpent from the sea. You are +not used to such damp air, and it might give you rheumatic +cramps.”</p> +<p>“Well, suppose it should? Does not my white head entitle +me to all such luxuries of old age and decrepitude? Don’t +bother me, Elsie.”</p> +<p>She put out her hand with a repellent gesture, but Elsie +seized it, and clasping both her palms over the cold fingers, +said, with irresistible tenderness,—</p> +<p>“Come, dearie!—come, my dearie!”</p> +<p>Without a word Mrs. Gerome turned and followed her +across the lawn and into the house, whose internal arrangement +was somewhat at variance with its unpretending exterior.</p> +<p>The rooms were large, with low ceilings; and fire-places, +originally wide and deep, had been recently filled and fitted +up with handsome grates, while the heavy mantelpieces of +carved cedar, that once matched the broad facings of the windows +and the massive panels of the doors, were exchanged for +costly <i>verd antique</i> and lumachella. The narrow passage running +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span> +through the centre of the building was also wainscoted +with cedar and adorned with fine engravings of Landseer’s +best pictures, whose richly carved walnut frames looked almost +cedarn in the pale chill light that streamed upon them through +the violet-colored glass which surrounded the front door and +effectually subdued the hot golden glare of the sunny sun. +The old-fashioned folding doors that formerly connected the +parlor and library had been removed to make room for a low, +wide arch, over which drooped lace curtains, partially looped +with blue silk cord and tassels, and both apartments were +furnished with sofas and chairs of rosewood and blue satin +damask, while the velvet carpet, with its azure ground strewn +with wreaths of white roses and hyacinths, corresponded in +color. Handsome book-cases, burdened with precious lore, +lined the walls of the rear room; and on either side of a massive +ormolu <i>escritoire</i>, bronze candelabra shed light on the +blue velvet desk where lay delicate sheets of gossamer paper +with varied and <i>outré</i> monograms, guarded by an exquisite +marble statuette of Harpocrates, which stood in the +mirror-panelled recess reserved for pen, ink, and sealing-wax. +The air was fragrant with the breath of flowers that nodded to +each other from costly vases scattered through both apartments; +and, before one of the windows, rose a bronze stand +containing china jars filled with pelargoniums, in brilliant +bloom. An Erard piano occupied one corner of the parlor, +and the large harp-shaped stand at its side was heaped with +books and unbound sheets of music. Here two long wax +candles were now burning brightly, and, on the oval marble +table in the centre of the floor, was a superb silver lamp representing +Psyche bending over Cupid, and supporting the finely-cut +globe, whose soft radiance streamed down on her burnished +wings and eagerly-parted sweet Greek lips. The design +of this exceedingly beautiful lamp would not have disgraced +Benvenuto Cellini, nor its execution have reflected discredit +upon the genius of Felicie Fauveau, though to neither of these +distinguished artificers could its origin have been justly ascribed. +In its mellow, magical glow, the fine paintings suspended +on the walls seemed to catch a gleam of “that light +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span> +that never was on sea or land,” for their dim, purplish Alpine +gorges were filled with snowy phantasmagoria of rushing avalanches; +their foaming cataracts braided glittering spray into +spectral similitude of Undine tresses and Undine faces; their +desolate red deserts grew vaguely populous with mirage mockeries; +their green dells and grassy hill-sides, couching careless +herds, and fleecy flocks, borrowed all Arcadia’s repose; and the +marble busts of Beethoven and of Handel, placed on brackets +above the piano, shone as if rapt, transfigured in the mighty +inspiration that gave to mankind “<i>Fidelio</i>” and the “<i>Messiah</i>.”</p> +<p>On the sofa which partially filled the oriel window, where +the lace drapery was looped back to admit the breeze, lay an +ivory box containing materials and models for wax-flowers; +and, in one corner, half thrust under the edge of the silken +cushion, was an unfinished wreath of waxen convolvulus and +a cluster of gentians. There, too, open at the page that narrated +the death-struggle, lay Liszt’s “Life of Chopin,” pressed +face downwards, with two purple pansies crushed and staining +the leaves; and a small gold thimble peeping out of a crevice +in the damask tattled of the careless feminine fingers that had +left these traces of disorder.</p> +<p>The collection of pictures was unlike those usually brought +from Europe by cultivated tourists, for it contained no Madonnas, +no Magdalenes, no Holy Families, no Descents or Entombments, +no Saints, or Sibyls, or martyrs; and consisted of +wild mid-mountain scenery, of solemn surf-swept strands, of +lonely moonlit moors, of crimson sunsets in <ins title='Left as original'>Cobi</ins> or Sahara, +and of a few gloomy, ferocious faces, among which the portrait +of Salvator Rosa smiled sardonically, and a head of +frenzied Jocasta was preëminently hideous.</p> +<p>As Mrs. Gerome entered the parlor and brightened the +flame of the Psyche lamp, her eyes accidentally fell upon +the bust of Beethoven, where, in gilt letters, she had inscribed +his own triumphant declaration, “<i>Music is like wine, inflaming +men to new achievements; and I am the Bacchus who +serves it out to them</i>.” While she watched the rayless marble +orbs, more eloquent than dilating darkening human pupils, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span> +a shadow dense and mysterious drifted over her frigid face, +and, without removing her eyes from the bust above her, she +sat down before the piano, and commenced one of those marvellous +symphonies which he had commended to the study +of Goethe.</p> +<p>Ere it was ended Elsie came in, bearing a waiter on which +stood a silver <i>epergne</i> filled with fruit, a basket of cake, and a +goblet of iced tea.</p> +<p>“My child, I bring your supper here because the dining-room +looks lonesome at night.”</p> +<p>“No,—no! take it away. I tell you I want nothing.”</p> +<p>“But, for my sake, dear—”</p> +<p>“Let me alone, Elsie! There,—there! Don’t teaze me.”</p> +<p>The nurse stood for some moments watching the deepening +gloom of the up-turned countenance, listening to the weird +strains that seemed to drip from the white fingers as they +wandered slowly across the keys; then, kneeling at her side, +grasped the hands firmly, and covered them with kisses.</p> +<p>“Precious bairn! don’t play any more to-night. For God’s +sake, let me shut up this piano that is making a ghost of you! +You will get so stirred up you can’t close your eyes,—you +know you will; and then I shall cry till day-break. If you +don’t care for yourself, dearie, do try to care a little for the +old woman who loves you better than her life, and who never +can sleep till she knows your precious head is on its pillow. +My pretty darling, you are killing me by inches, and I shall +stay here on my knees until you leave the piano, if that is not +till noon to-morrow. You may order me away; but not a step +will I stir. God help you, my bairn!”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome made an effort to extricate her hands, but the +iron grasp was relentless; and, in a tone of great annoyance, +she exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Oh, Elsie! You are an intolerable—”</p> +<p>“Well, dear, say it out,—an intolerable old fool! Isn’t that +what you mean?”</p> +<p>“Not exactly; but you presume upon my forbearance. +Elsie, you must not interrupt and annoy me, for I tell you +now I will not submit to it. You forget that I am not a +child.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span></div> +<p>“Darling, you will never be anything but a child to me,—the +same pretty child I took from its dead mother’s arms and +carried for years close to my heart. So scold me as you may, +my pet, I shall love you and try to take care of you just as +long as there is breath left in my body.”</p> +<p>She ended by kissing the struggling hands; and, striving +to conceal her vexation, Mrs. Gerome finally turned and +said,—</p> +<p>“If you will eat your supper, and stay with Robert, and +leave me in peace, I promise you I will close the piano, which +your flinty Scotch soul can no more appreciate than the brick +and mortar that compose these walls. You mean well, my +dear, faithful Elsie, but sometimes you bore me fearfully. I +know I am often wayward; but you must bear with me, for, +after all, how could I endure to lose you,—you the only +human being who cares whether I live or die? There,—go! +Good night!”</p> +<p>She threw her arms around Elsie’s neck, leaned her wan +cheek for an instant only on her shoulder, then pushed her +away and hastily closed the piano.</p> +<p>Two hours later, when the devoted servant stole up on tip-toe, +and peeped through the half-open door that led into the +hall, she found the queenly figure walking swiftly and lightly +across the room from oriel to arch, with her hands clasped +over the back of her head, and the silvery lamp-light shining +softly on the waves of burnished hair that rippled around her +pure, polished forehead.</p> +<p>As she watched her mistress, Elsie’s stout frame trembled, +and hot tears streamed down her furrowed face while she +lifted her heart in prayer, for the dreary, lonely, lovely woman, +who had long ago ceased to pray for herself. But when +the quivering lips of one breathed a petition before the throne +of God, the beautiful cold mouth of the other was muttering +bitterly,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Yea, love is dead, and by her funeral bier<br /> +Ambition gnaws the lips, and sheds no tears;<br /> +And, in the outer chamber Hope sits wild,—<br /> +Hope, with her blue eyes dim with looking long.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_VII' id='CHAPTER_VII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Ulpian, why do you look so grave and grieved? Does your +letter contain bad news?”</p> +<p>Miss Jane pushed back her spectacles and glanced anxiously +at her brother, who stood with his brows slightly knitted, +twirling a crumpled envelope between his fingers.</p> +<p>“It is not a letter, but a telegraphic dispatch, summoning +me to the death-bed of my best friend, Horace Manton.”</p> +<p>“The man whose life you saved at Madeira?”</p> +<p>“Yes; and the person to whom, above all other men, I am +most strongly and tenderly attached. His constitution is so +feeble that I have long been uneasy about him; but the end +has come even earlier than I feared.”</p> +<p>“Where does he live?”</p> +<p>“On the Hudson, a few miles above New York City. I +have no time to spare, for I shall take the train that leaves at +one o’clock, and must make some arrangement with Dr. +Sheldon to attend my patients. Will it trouble or tire you +too much to pack my valise while I write a couple of business +letters? If so, I will call Salome to assist you.”</p> +<p>“Trouble me, indeed! Nonsense, my dear boy; of course +I will pack your valise. Moreover, Salome is not at home. +How long will you be absent?”</p> +<p>“Probably a week or ten days,—possibly longer. If poor +Horace lingers, I shall remain with him.”</p> +<p>“Wait one moment, Ulpian. Before you go I want to +speak to you about Salome.”</p> +<p>“Well, Janet, I lend you my ears. Has the girl absolutely +turned pagan and set up an altar to Ceres, as she threatened +some weeks since? Take my word for the fact that she does +not believe or mean one half that she says, and is only amusing +herself by trying to discover how wide her audacious heresies +can expand your dear orthodox eyes. Expostulation and +entreaty only feed her affected eccentricities and skepticism, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span> +and if you will persistently and quietly ignore them, they will +shrivel as rapidly as a rank gourd-vine, uprooted on an August +day.”</p> +<p>“Pooh! pooh! my dear boy. How you men do prate sometimes +of matters concerning which you are as ignorant as the +yearling calves and gabbling geese that I suppose your learned +astronomers see driven every day to pasture on that range of +mountains in the moon—Eratosthenes—that modern science +pretends to have discovered, and about which you read so marvellous +a paper last week.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane reverently clung to the dishonored remnants of +the Ptolemaic theory, and scouted the philosophy of Copernicus +which she vehemently averred was not worth “a pinch of +snuff,” else the water in the well would surely run out once in +every twenty-four hours. Now, as she dived into the depths of +her stocking-basket, collecting the socks neatly darned and +rolled over each other, her brother smiled, and answered, good +humoredly,—</p> +<p>“Dear Janet, I really have not time to follow you to the +moon, nor to prove to you that your astronomical doctrines +have been dead and decently buried for nearly three hundred +years; but I should like to hear what you desire to tell me +with reference to Salome. What is the matter now?”</p> +<p>“Nothing ails her, except a violent attack of industry, +which has lasted much longer than I thought possible; for, to +tell you the truth without stint or varnish, she certainly was +the most sluggish piece of flesh I ever undertook to manage. +Study she would not, keep house she could not, sewing gave +her the headache, and knitting made her cross-eyed; but, +behold! she has suddenly found out that her pretty little pink +palms were made for something better than propping her +peach-bloom cheeks. A few days ago I accidentally discovered +that she was sitting up until long after midnight, and when I +questioned her closely, she finally confessed that she had +entered into a contract to furnish a certain amount of embroidery +every month. Bless the child! can you guess what +she intends to do with the money? Hoard it up in order to +rent a couple of rooms, where she can take Jessie and Stanley +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span> +to live with her. Ulpian, it is a praiseworthy aim, you must +admit.”</p> +<p>“Eminently commendable, and I respect and admire the +motive that incites her to such a laborious course. At present +she is too young and inexperienced to take entire charge of +the children, and I know nothing of your plans or intentions +concerning her future; but, let me assure you, dear Jane, that +I will cordially coöperate in all your schemes for aiding her +and providing a home for them, and my purse shall not prove +a laggard in the race with yours. Recently I have been revolving +a plan for their benefit, but am too much hurried just +now to give you the details. When I return we will discuss it +<i>in extenso</i>.”</p> +<p>“You know that I ascribe great importance to blood, but +strange as it may appear, that girl Salome has always tugged +hard at my heart-strings, as if our proud old blood beat in her +veins; and sometimes I fancy there must be kinship hidden behind +the years, or buried in some unknown grave.”</p> +<p>“Amuse yourself while I am away by digging about the +genealogical tree of the house of Grey, and, if you can trace a +fibre that ramifies in the miller’s family, I will gladly bow +to my own blood wherever I find it, and claim cousinship. +Meantime, my dear sister, do keep a corner of your loving +heart well swept and dusted for your errant sailor-boy.”</p> +<p>He hastily kissed her cheek and turned away to write letters, +while she went into the adjoining room to pack his +clothes.</p> +<p>When Salome returned from town, whither she had gone to +carry a package of finished work and obtain a fresh supply, +she found Miss Jane alone in the dining-room, and wearing a +dejected expression on her usually cheerful countenance.</p> +<p>“Did Ulpian tell you good-by?”</p> +<p>“No, I have not seen him. Where has he gone?”</p> +<p>“To New York.”</p> +<p>The long walk and sultry atmosphere had unwontedly +flushed the girl’s face, and the damp hair clung in glossy rings +to her brow; but, as Miss Jane spoke, the blood ebbed from +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span> +cheeks and lips, and sweeping back the dark tresses that +seemed to oppress her, she asked, shiveringly,—</p> +<p>“Is Dr. Grey going back to sea?”</p> +<p>“Oh no, child! An old friend is very ill, and telegraphed +for him. Sit down, dear,—you look faint.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, I don’t wish to sit down, and there is nothing +the matter with me. When will he come home?”</p> +<p>“I can not tell precisely, as his stay is contingent upon the +condition of his friend.”</p> +<p>“Is it a man or woman whom he has gone to see?”</p> +<p>The astonishment painted on Miss Jane’s face would have +been ludicrous to a careless observer, less interested than the +orphan in her slow and deliberate reply.</p> +<p>“A man, of course.”</p> +<p>“Did he tell you so?”</p> +<p>“Certainly. He went to see Mr. Horace Manton, with +whom he was associated while abroad. But suppose it had +been some winsome, brown-eyed witch of a woman, instead of +a dying man, what then?”</p> +<p>“Then you would have lost your brother, and I my French +pronouncing dictionary,—that is all. Did he leave any message +about my grammar and exercises?”</p> +<p>“No, dear; but he started so hurriedly—so unexpectedly—he +had not time for such trifles. Where are you going?”</p> +<p>“To put away my bonnet and bundle, and look after Stanley, +who is romping with the kittens on the lawn.”</p> +<p>The old lady laid down her knitting, leaned her elbows on +the arms of her rocking-chair, and, clasping her hands, bowed +her chin upon them, while a half-stifled sigh escaped her.</p> +<p>“Mischief,—mischief, where I meant only kindness! I +sowed good seed, and reap thistles and brambles! My charity-cake +turns out miserable dough! But how could I possibly +foresee that the child would be such a simpleton? What right +has she to be so unnecessarily interested in my brother, who is +old enough to have been her father? It is unnatural, absurd, +and altogether unpardonable in Salome to be guilty of such +presumptuous nonsense; and, of course, it is not in the least +my fault, for the possibility of this piece of mischief never +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span> +once occurred to me! True, she is as old as Ulpian’s mother +was when father married her; but then Mrs. Grey was not at +all in love with her white-haired husband, and had set her +affections solely on that Mercer-Street house, with marble +steps and plate-glass windows. How do I know that, after all, +Salome is not in love with Ulpian’s fortune instead of the +dear boy’s blue eyes, and handsome hair, and splendid teeth? +However, I ought not to think so harshly of the child, for I +have no cause to consider her calculating and selfish. Poor +thing! if she really cares for him there are breakers ahead of +her, for I am sure that he is as far from falling in love with +her as I would be with the ghost of my great-grandfather’s +uncle. Thank Providence, all this troublesome, mischievous, +Lucifer machinery of love and marriage is shut out of heaven, +where we shall be as the angels are. Ah, Salome! I fear +you are a giddy young idiot, and that I am a blind old imbecile, +and I wish from the bottom of my heart you had never +darkened my doors.”</p> +<p>The quiet current of Miss Jane’s secluded life had never +been ruffled by a serious <i>affaire du cœur</i>; consequently she indulged +little charity towards those episodes, which displayed +what she considered the most humiliating weakness of her sex.</p> +<p>While puzzling over the best method of extricating her <i><ins title='Was protégé'>protégée</ins></i> +from the snare into which she was disposed to apprehend +that her own well-meant but mistaken kindness had betrayed +her, she saw an unsealed note lying beneath the table, and, by +the aid of her crutch, drew it within reach of her fingers. A +small sheet of paper, carelessly folded and addressed to Salome, +merely contained these words,—</p> +<blockquote> +<p>“I congratulate you, my young friend, on the correctness of +your French themes, which I leave in the drawer of the library-table. +When I return I will examine those prepared +during my absence; and, in the interim, remain,</p> +<p>“Very respectfully,</p> +<p>“<span class='smcap'>Ulpian Grey</span>.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Miss Jane wiped her glasses, and read the note twice; then +held it between her thumb and third finger, and debated the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span> +expediency of changing its destination. Her delicate sense of +honor revolted at the first suggestion of interference, but +an intense aversion to “love-scrapes” finally strengthened her +prudential inclination to crush this one in its incipiency; and +she deliberately tore the paper into shreds, which she tossed +out of the window.</p> +<p>“If Ulpian only had his eyes open he would never have +scribbled one line to her; and, since I know what I know, and +see what I see, it is my duty to take the responsibility of destroying +all fuel within reach of a flame that may prove as +dangerous as a torch in a hay-rick.”</p> +<p>Limping into the library, she took from the drawer the two +books containing French exercises and laid them in a conspicuous +place on the table, where they could not fail to arrest +the attention of their owner; after which she resumed her +knitting, consoling herself with the reflection that she had +taken the first step towards smothering the spark that threatened +the destruction of all her benevolent schemes.</p> +<p>Up and down, under the spreading trees in the orchard, +wandered Salome, anxious to escape scrutiny, and vaguely conscious +that she had reached the cross-roads in her life, where +haste or inadvertence might involve her in inextricable difficulties.</p> +<p>She was neither startled, nor shocked, nor mortified, that +the unceremonious departure of the master of the house +stabbed her heart with pangs that made her firm lips writhe, +for she had long been cognizant of the growth of feelings +whose discovery had so completely astounded Miss Jane.</p> +<p>The orphan had not eagerly watched and listened for the +sight of his face—the sound of his voice—without fully comprehending +herself; for, however ingeniously and indefatigably +women may mask their hearts from public gaze and comment, +they do not mock their own reason by such flimsy +shams, and Salome could find no prospect of gain in playing +a game of brag with her inquisitive soul.</p> +<p>In the quiet orchard, where all things seemed drowsy—where +the only spectators were the mellowing apples that reddened +the boughs above her, and her sole auditors the brown +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span> +partridges that nestled in the tall grass, and the shy cicadæ +ambushed under the clover leaves—her pent-up pain and disappointment +bubbled over in a gush of passionate words.</p> +<p>“Gone without giving me a syllable, a word, a touch! +Gone, for an indefinite period, without even a cold ‘good-by, +Salome!’ You call yourself a Christian, Dr. Grey, and yet you +are cruel, now and then, and make me writhe like a worm on +a fish-hook! He told Stanley he would return in two or three +weeks, perhaps sooner,—but I know better. I have a dull +monitor here that says it will be a long, dreary time, before +I see him again. A wall of ice is rising to divide us—but it +shall not! it shall not! I will have my own! I will look into +his calm eyes! I will touch his soft, warm, white palms! I +will hear his steady, low, clear voice, that makes music in my +ears and heaven in my heart! It is three months since he +shook hands with me, but all time cannot remove the feeling +from my fingers; and some day I can cling to his hand and +lean my cheek against it,—and who dare dispute my right? +He says he never loved any woman! I heard him tell his +sister he had yet to meet the woman whom he could marry,—and, +if truth lingers anywhere in this world of sin, it finds a +sanctuary in his soul! He never loved any woman! Thank +God! I can’t afford to doubt it. No one but his sister has +touched his lips, or his noble, beautiful forehead. How I +envied little Jessie when he put his arm around her and +stooped and laid his cheek on hers. Oh, Dr. Grey, nobody else +will ever love you as I do! I know I am unworthy, but I will +make myself good and great to match you! I know I am +beneath you, but I will climb to your proud height,—and, so +help me God, I will be all that your lofty standard demands! +He does not care for me now,—does not even think of me; but +I must be patient and merit his notice, for my own folly sank +me in his good opinion. When these apples were pale, pink +blossoms, I dreaded his coming, and hoped the vessel would +be wrecked; now, ere they are ripe, I am disposed to curse the +cause of his temporary absence and think myself ill-used that +no farewell privileges were granted me. Now I can understand +why people find comfort in praying for those they love; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span> +for what else can I do but pray while he is away? Oh, I +shall not, cannot, will not, miss my way to heaven if he gets +there before me!”</p> +<p>In utter abandonment she threw herself down in the long +yellow sedge-grass,—frightening a whole covey of gossiping +young partridges and a couple of meek doves, all of which +whirred away to an adjacent pea-field, leaving her with her +face buried in her hands, and watched by trembling mute +crickets and cicadæ.</p> +<p>On the topmost twig of the tallest tree a mocking-bird +poised himself, and sympathetically poured out his vesper +canticle,—a song of condolence to the prostrate figure who, +just then, would have preferred the echo of a man’s deep voice +to all Pergolese’s strains.</p> +<p>After a little while pitying Venus swung her golden globe +in among the apple-boughs, peeping compassionately at her +luckless votary; and, finally, in the violet west,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Two silver beacons sphered in the skies,<br /> +Eve in her cradle opening her eyes.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Two weeks dragged themselves away without bringing any +tidings of the absent master; but, towards the close of the +third, a brief letter informed his sister that the invalid friend +was still alive, though no hope of his recovery was entertained, +and that it was impossible to fix any period for the writer’s return. +Salome asked no questions, but the eager, hungry expression, +with which she eyed the letter as it lay on the top +of the stocking-basket, touched Miss Jane’s tender heart; and, +knowing that it contained no allusion to the orphan, she put +it into her hand, and noticed the cloud of disappointment +that gathered over her features as she perused and refolded +it. Another week—monotonous, tedious, almost interminable—crept +by, and one morning as Salome passed the post-office +she inquired for letters, and received one post-marked New +York and addressed to Miss Jane.</p> +<p>Hurrying homeward with the precious missive, her pace +would well-nigh have distanced Hermes, and the dusty winding +road seemed to mock her with lengthening curves while +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span> +she pressed on; but at last she reached the gate, sped up the +avenue, and, pausing a moment at the threshold to catch her +breath and appear <i>nonchalant</i>, she demurely entered Miss +Jane’s apartment. The only occupant was a servant sewing +near the window, and who, in reply to an eager question, informed +Salome that the mistress had gone to spend the day +with a friend whose residence was six miles distant.</p> +<p>The girl bit her lip until the blood started, and, to conceal +her chagrin, took refuge in the parlor, where the quiet dimness +offered a covert. Locking the door, she sat down in one +of the cushioned rocking-chairs and looked at the letter lying +between her fingers. The gilt clock on the mantel uttered a +dull, clicking sound, and a little green and gold-colored bird +hopped out and “cuckooed” ten times. Miss Jane would +not probably return before seven, possibly eight o’clock, and +what could be done to strangle those intervening nine hours?</p> +<p>The blood, heated by exercise and impatience, throbbed +fiercely in her temples and thumped heavily at her heart, producing +a half-suffocating sensation; and, in her feverish +anxiety, the doom of Damiens appeared tolerable in comparison +with the torturing suspense of nine hours on the +rack.</p> +<p>The envelope was an ordinary white one, merely sealed +with a solution of gum arabic, and dexterous fingers could +easily open and reclose it without fear of detection, especially +by eyes so dim and uncertain as those for which it had been +addressed. A damp cloth laid upon the letter would in five +minutes prove an <i>open sesame</i> to its coveted contents, and a +legion of fiends patted the girl’s tingling fingers and urged +her to this prompt and feasible relief from her goading impatience. +Secure from intrusion and beyond the possibility +of discovery, she turned the envelope up and down and over, +examining the seal; and the amber gleams lying <i>perdu</i> under +the shadows of her pupils rayed out, glowing with a baleful +Lucifer light, as infallibly indicative of evil purposes as the +sudden kindling in a crouching cat’s or cougar’s gaze, just as +they spring upon their prey.</p> +<p>It was a mighty temptation, cunningly devised and opportunely +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span> +presented, and six months ago her parley with the +imps of Apollyon who contrived it would not have lasted five +minutes; but, in some natures, love for a human being will +work marvels which neither the fear of God, nor the hope of +heaven, nor yet the promptings of self-respect have power to +accomplish.</p> +<p>Now while Salome dallied with the temper and gave audience +to the clamors of her rebellious heart, she looked up and +met the earnest gaze of a pair of sunny blue eyes in a picture +that hung directly opposite.</p> +<p>It was an admirable portrait of Dr. Grey, clad in full uniform +as surgeon in the U.S. Navy, and painted when he was +twenty-eight years old. Up at that calm, cloudless countenance, +the girl looked breathlessly, spell-bound as if in the +presence of a reproving angel; and, after some seconds had +elapsed, she hurled the unopened letter across the room, and +lifted her hands appealingly,—</p> +<p>“No,—no! I did not—I cannot—I will not act so basely! +I must not soil fingers that should be pure enough to touch +yours. I was sorely tempted, my beloved; but, thank God, +your blessed blue eyes saved me. It is hard to endure nine +hours of suspense, but harder still to bear the thought that I +have stooped to a deed that would sink me one iota in your +good opinion. I will root out the ignoble tendencies of my +nature, and keep my heart and lips and hands stainless,—hold +them high above the dishonorable things that you abhor, and +live during your absence as if your clear eyes took cognizance +of every detail. Yea,—search me as you will, dear deep-blue +eyes,—I shall not shrink; for the rule of my future years +shall be to scorn every word, thought, and deed that I would +not freely bare to the scrutiny of the man whose respect I +would sooner die than forfeit. Oh, my darling, it were easier +for me to front the fiercest flames of Tophet than face your +scorn! I can wait till Miss Jane sees fit to show me the letter, +and, if it bring good news of your speedy coming, I shall +have my reward; if not, why should I hasten to meet a bitter +disappointment which may be lagging out of mercy to me?”</p> +<p>Picking up the letter as suspiciously as if it had been +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span> +dropped by the Prince of Darkness on the crest of Quarantina, +she stepped upon a table and inserted the corner of the envelope +in the crevice between the canvas and the portrait-frame, +repeating the while a favorite passage that she had +first heard from Dr. Grey’s lips,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“‘God meant me good too, when he hindered me<br /> +From saying “yes” this morning. I say no,—no!<br /> +I tie up “no” upon His altar-horns,<br /> +Quite out of reach of perjury!’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Young though she was, experience had taught her that the +most effectual method of locking the wheels of time consisted +in sitting idly down to watch and count their revolutions; +consequently, she hastened upstairs and betook herself vigorously +to the work of embroidering a <i>parterre</i> of flowers on the +front breadth of an infant’s christening dress which her employer +had promised should be completed before the following +Sabbath.</p> +<p>Stab the laggard seconds as she might with her busy needle, +the day was drearily long; and few genuine cuckoo-carols have +been listened to with such grateful rejoicing as greeted those +metallic gutturals that once in every sixty minutes issued +from the throat of the gaudy automaton caged in the gilt +clock.</p> +<p>True, nine hours are intrinsically nine hours under all circumstances, +whether decapitation or coronation awaits their +expiration; but to the doomed victim or the heir-apparent +they appear relatively shorter or longer. At last Salome saw +that the shadows on the grass were lengthening. Her head +ached, her eyes burned from steady application to her trying +work, and laying aside the cambric, she leaned against the +window-facing and looked out over the lawn, where Time +seemed to have fallen asleep in the mild autumn sunshine.</p> +<p>How sweet and welcome was the distance-muffled sound of +tinkling cow-bells, and the low bleating of homeward-strolling +flocks, wending their way across the hills through which +the road crawled like a dusty gray serpent.</p> +<p>A noisy club of black-birds that had been holding an indignation +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span> +meeting in the top of a walnut tree near the gate, adjourned +to the sycamore grove that overshadowed the barn +in the rear of the house; and Stanley’s pigeons, which had +been cooing and strutting in the avenue, went to roost in the +pretty painted pagoda Dr. Grey had erected for their comfort. +Finally, the low-swung, heavy carriage, with its stout dappled +horses, gladdened Salome’s strained eyes; and, soon after, she +heard the thump of Miss Jane’s crutches and her cheerful +voice, asking,—</p> +<p>“Where are the children? Tell them I have come home. +Bless me, the house is as dark as a dungeon! Rachel, have +we neither lamps nor candles?”</p> +<p>The orphan stole down the steps, climbed upon the table in +the parlor, and, seizing the letter, hurried into the dining-room, +where, quite exhausted by the fatigue of the day, the +old lady lay on the sofa.</p> +<p>She held out her hand and drew the girl’s face within +reach of her lips, saying,—</p> +<p>“My child, I am afraid you have had rather a lonely day.”</p> +<p>“Decidedly the loneliest and longest I ever spent, and I believe +I never was half so glad to see you come home as just +now when the carriage stopped at the door.”</p> +<p>Ah, what hypocrisy is sometimes innocently masked by the +earnest utterance of the truth! And what marvels of industry +are accomplished by self-love, which seeks more assiduously +than bees for the honied drops of flattery that feed its +existence!</p> +<p>Miss Jane was pardonably proud that her presence was so +essential to the happiness of the orphan whom she fondly +loved, and gratification spread a pleasant smile over her worn +features.</p> +<p>“Where is Stanley? The child ought not to be out so +late.”</p> +<p>“He went down to the sheep-pen to count the lambs and +look after one that broke its leg yesterday. Miss Jane, are +you too much fatigued to read a letter which I found this +morning in your box at the post-office?”</p> +<p>“Is it from Ulpian? I was wondering to-day why I did +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span> +not hear from him. Dear me, what have I done with my +spectacles? They are the torment of my life, for the instant +I take them off my nose they seem to find wings. Give me +the letter, and see whether I left my glasses on the bed where +I put my bonnet.”</p> +<p>Salome went into the next room and unsuccessfully searched +the bed, bureau, table, and wardrobe; and in an agony of impatience, +returned to the invalid.</p> +<p>“You must have lost them before you came home; I can’t +find them anywhere. Let me read the letter to you.”</p> +<p>“No; I must have my glasses. Perhaps I dropped them in +the carriage. Send word to the driver to look for them. It +was very careless in me to lose them, but I am growing so +forgetful. Rachel, do hunt for my spectacles.”</p> +<p>Salome ground her teeth to suppress a cry of vexation; and, +to conceal her impatience, joined heartily in the search.</p> +<p>Finally she found the glasses on the front steps, where they +had fallen when their owner left the carriage; and, feeling +that adverse fate could no longer keep her in suspense, she +hurried into the house and adjusted them on Miss Jane’s +eagle nose.</p> +<p>Conscious that she was fast losing control over the nerves +that were quivering from long-continued tension, Salome +stepped to the open window and stood waiting. Would the +old lady never finish the perusal? The minutes seemed hours, +and the pulsing of the blood in the girl’s ears sounded like +muttering thunder.</p> +<p>Miss Jane sighed heavily,—cleared her throat, and sighed +again.</p> +<p>“It is very sad, indeed! It is too bad,—too bad!”</p> +<p>Salome turned around, and exclaimed, savagely,—</p> +<p>“Why can’t you speak out? What is the matter? What +has happened?”</p> +<p>“Ulpian’s friend is dead.”</p> +<p>“Thank God!”</p> +<p>“For shame! How can you be so heartless?”</p> +<p>“If the man could not recover I should think you would +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span> +be glad that he is at rest, and that your brother can come +home.”</p> +<p>“But the worst of the matter is that Ulpian is not coming +home. Mr. Manton wished him to act as guardian for his +daughter, who is in Europe, and Ulpian will sail in the next +steamer for England, to attend to some business connected +with the estate. It is too provoking, isn’t it? He says it is +impossible to tell when we shall see him again.”</p> +<p>There was no answer, and, when Miss Jane wiped her eyes +and looked around, she saw the girl tottering towards the door, +groping her way like one blind.</p> +<p>“Salome,—come here, child!”</p> +<p>But the figure disappeared in the hall, and when the moonlight +looked into the orphan’s chamber the soft rays showed +a girlish form kneeling at the window, with a white face +drenched by tears, and quivering lips that moaned in feeble, +broken accents,—</p> +<p>“God help me! I might have known it, for I had a presentiment +of terrible trouble when he went away. How can I +trust God and be patient, while the Atlantic raves and surges +between me and my idol? After all, it was an angel of mercy +whose tender white hands held back this bitter blow for nine +hours. Gone to Europe, and not one word—not one line—to +me! Oh, my darling! you are trampling under your feet the +heart that loves you better than everything else in the universe,—better +than life, and its hopes of heaven!”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII' id='CHAPTER_VIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Salome, where did you learn to sing? I was astonished +this morning when I heard you.”</p> +<p>“I have not yet learned,—I have only begun to practise.”</p> +<p>“But, my child, I had no idea you owned such a voice. +Where have you kept it concealed so long?”</p> +<p>“I was not aware that I had it until a month ago, when it +accidentally discovered itself.”</p> +<p>“It is very powerful.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span></div> +<p>“Yes, and very rough; but care and study will smooth and +polish it. Miss Jane, please keep your eye on Stanley until I +come home; for, although I left him with his slate and arithmetic, +it is by no means certain that they will not part company +the moment I am out of sight.”</p> +<p>“Where are you going?”</p> +<p>“To carry back some work which would have been returned +yesterday had not the weather been so inclement.”</p> +<p>In addition to the package of embroidered handkerchiefs, +Salome carried under her arm a roll of music and an instruction-book; +and, when she reached the outskirts of the town, +turned away from the main street and stopped at the door of +a small comfortless-looking house that stood without enclosure +on the common.</p> +<p>Two swart, black-eyed children were playing mumble-peg +with a broken knife, in one corner of the room; a third, with +tears still on its lashes, had just sobbed itself to sleep on a +strip of faded carpet stretched before the smouldering embers +on the hearth; while the fourth, a feeble infant only six +months old, was wailing in the arms of its mother,—a thin, +sickly woman, with consumption’s red autograph written on +her hollow cheeks, where the skin clung to the bones as if +resisting the chill grasp of death. As she slowly rocked herself, +striving to hush the cry of the child, her dry, husky cough +formed a melancholy chorus, which seemed to annoy a man +who sat before the small table covered with materials for +copying music. His cadaverous, sallow complexion, and keen, +restless eyes, bespoke Italian origin; and, although engaged in +filling some blank sheets with musical notes, he occasionally +took up a violin that lay across his knees, and, after playing +a few bars, laid aside the bow and resumed the pen. Now +and then he glanced at his wife and child with a scowling +brow; but, as his eyes fell on their emaciated faces, something +like a sigh seemed to heave his chest.</p> +<p>When Salome’s knock arrested his attention he rose and advanced +to the half-open door, saying, impatiently,—</p> +<p>“Well, miss, have you brought me any money?”</p> +<p>“Good morning, Mr. Barilli. Here are the ten dollars that +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span> +I promised, but I wish you to understand that in future I shall +not advance one cent of my tuition-money. When the month +ends you will receive your wages, but not one day earlier.”</p> +<p>“I beg pardon, miss; but, indeed, you see—”</p> +<p>He did not conclude the sentence, but waved his hand towards +the two in the rocking-chair and proceeded to count +the money placed in his palm.</p> +<p>“Yes, I see that you are very destitute, but charity begins +at home, and I have to work hard for the wages that you have +demanded before they are due. Good morning, madam; I +hope you feel better to-day. Come, Mr. Barilli, I have no +time to waste in loitering. Are you ready for my lesson?”</p> +<p>“Quite ready, miss. Commence.”</p> +<p>For three-quarters of an hour he listened to her exercises, +which he accompanied with his violin, and afterwards directed +her to sing an air from a collection of songs on the table. As +her deep, rich contralto notes swelled round and full, he shut +his eyes and nodded his head as if in an ecstacy; and, when +she concluded, he rapped his violin heavily with the bow, and +exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Some day when you sing that at <i>Della Scala</i>, remember +the poor devil who taught it to you in a hovel. Soaked as +those old walls are with music from the most famous lips the +world ever applauded, they hold no echoes sweeter than that +last trill. After all, there is no passion—no pathos—comparable +to a perfect contralto crescendo. It is wonderful how you +Americans squander voices that would rouse all Europe into +a <i>furore</i>.”</p> +<p>“I am afraid your eager desire for pupils biases your judgment, +and invests my voice with fictitious worth,” answered +Salome, eyeing him suspiciously.</p> +<p>“Ha! you mean that I flatter, in order to keep you. Not +so, miss. If St. Cecilia herself asked tuition without good +pay, I should shut the door in her face; but, much as I need +money, I would not risk my reputation by praising what was +poor. If one of my children—that miserable little <ins title='Was period'>Beatrice,</ins> +yonder—only had your voice, do you think I would copy +music, or teach beginners, or live in this cursed hole? You +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span> +have a fortune shut up in your throat, and some day, when +you are celebrated, at least do me the justice to tell the world +who first found the treasure; and, out of your wealth, spare +me a decent tombstone in the Campo Santo of—of—”</p> +<p>He laughed bitterly, and, seizing his violin, filled the room +with mournful <i>miserere</i> strains.</p> +<p>“How long a course of training do you think will be necessary +before the inequalities in my voice can be corrected and +my vocalization perfected?”</p> +<p>“You are very young, miss, and it would not do to strain +your voice, which is well-nigh perfect in itself; but, of course, +your execution is defective,—just as a young nightingale cannot +warble all its strains before it is full-feathered. If you +study faithfully, in one year, or certainly one and a half, you +will be ready for your engagement at Della Scala. Hist! see +if you can follow me?”</p> +<p>He played a subtle, chromatic passage, ending in a trill, and +the orphan echoed it with such accuracy and sweetness that +the teacher threw down his bow, and, while tears stood in his +glittering eyes, he put his brown hand on the girl’s head, and +said, earnestly,—</p> +<p>“There ought to be feathers here instead of hair, for no +nightingale, nestled in the olive groves of Italy, ever warbled +more easily and naturally. Don’t go out to the world as Miss +Owen,—make it call you <i>Rosignuolo</i>. Take the next page in +the instruction-book for a new lesson, and practise the old +scales over before you touch the new,—they are like steps +in a ladder, and save jumps and jars. God made your voice +wonderful, and, if you are only careful not to undo his work, +it will develop itself every year in fresh power and depth. +Ha! if my poor squeaking Beatrice only had it! But there +is no more music stored in her throat and chest than in a +regiment of rats. Good day, miss. Your lesson is ended, and +I go to buy some wood for my miserable shiverers.”</p> +<p>He seized his hat and walking-stick and quitted the house, +leaving his pupil to gather up her music and conjecture, +meanwhile, whether the wood-yard or a neighboring bar-room +was his real destination.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span></div> +<p>His dissipated habits had greatly impaired her faith in the +accuracy of his critical acumen touching professional matters, +and, as she rolled up the sheet of paper in her hands, Salome +approached the feeble occupant of the rocking-chair, and said, +rather abruptly,—</p> +<p>“Madam Barilli, you ought to know when your husband +speaks earnestly and when he is merely indulging in idle flattery, +and I wish to learn his real opinion of my voice. Will +you tell me the truth?”</p> +<p>“Yes, miss, I will. I am no musician, and never was in +Europe, where he studied; but he talks constantly of your +voice, and tells me there is a fortune in it. Only last night +he swore that if he could control it, he would not take a hundred +thousand dollars for the right; and then, poor fellow, he +fell into one of his fierce ways and boxed my little Beatrice’s +ears, because, he said, all the teachers in the <i>Conservatoire</i> +could not put into her throat the trill that you were born with. +Ah, no, he flatters no one now! He has forgotten how, since +the day that I was coaxed to run away from my father’s elegant +home and marry the tenor singer of an opera troupe and +the professor who taught me the gamut at boarding-school. +Miss, you may believe him, for Sebastian Barilli means what +he says.”</p> +<p>“One hundred thousand dollars! I promise him and you +that if one-half of that amount can be ‘trilled’ into my pocket +you shall both be comfortable during the remainder of your +days.”</p> +<p>“Mine are numbered, and will end before your career begins; +and, when you sing in Della Scala, I trust I shall be +singing up yonder behind the stars, where cold and hunger +and heart-ache and cruel words cannot follow me. But, miss, +when I am gone, and Sebastian is over at the corner trying +to drown his troubles, and my four helpless little ones are +left here unprotected, for God’s sake look in upon them now +and then, and don’t let them cry for bread. My own family +long ago cast me off, and here I am a stranger; but you, who +have felt the pangs of orphanage, will not stand by and see +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span> +my darlings starve! Oh, miss, the poor who cannot pity the +poor must be hard-hearted indeed!”</p> +<p>The suffering woman pressed her moaning babe closer to +her bosom, and, taking Salome’s hand between her thin, hot +fingers, bowed her tear-stained face upon it.</p> +<p>Grim recollections of similar scenes enacted in the old house +behind the mill crowded upon the mind of the miller’s daughter, +hardening instead of melting her heart; but, withdrawing +her fingers, she said in as kind a tone as she could command,—</p> +<p>“The poor are sometimes too poor to aid each other, and +pity is most unpalatable fare; but, if your husband has not +grossly deceived himself and me with reference to my voice, +I will promise that your children shall not suffer while I live. +For their sake do not despond, but try to keep up your +spirits, else your husband will be utterly ruined. Gloomy +hearthstones make club-rooms and bar-rooms populous. +Good-by. When I come again, I will bring something to +stimulate your appetite, which seems to require coaxing.”</p> +<p>She stooped and looked for a minute at the gaunt, white +face of the half-famished infant pressed against the mother’s +feverish breast, and an irresistible impulse impelled her to +stroke back the rings of black hair that clustered on its sunken +temples; then, snatching her music and bundle, she hurried +out of the close, untidy room, and, once more upon the grassy +common, drew a long, deep breath of pure fresh air.</p> +<p>Autumn, with orange dawns, and mellow, misty moons, +when</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Sweet, calm days, in golden haze<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Melt down the amber sky,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>had died on bare brown stubble-fields and vine-veined hill-sides, +purple with clustering grapes on leafless branches; and +wintry days had come, with sleety morns and chill, crisp +noons, and scarlet sunset banners flouting the silver stars in +western skies, where the shivering, gasping old year had +woven,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“One strait gown of red<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Against the cold.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span></div> +<p>None of the earlier years of Salome’s life seemed to her half +so drearily long as the four monotonous months that followed +Dr. Grey’s departure; and, during the intervals between his +brief letters to his sister, the orphan learned a deceptive +quietude of manner, at variance with the <ins title='Was tumultous'>tumultuous</ins> feelings +that agitated her heart; for painful suspense which is borne +with clenched hands and firmly-set teeth is not the more +patient because sternly mute.</p> +<p>Which suffered least, Philoctetes howling on the shores of +Lemnos, or the silent Trojan priest, writhing in a death-struggle +with the serpent folds that crushed him before the +altar of Neptune?</p> +<p>If any messages intended for Salome found their way across +the ocean, they finally missed their destination, and reached +the dead-letter office of Miss Jane’s vast and inviolate pocket; +and, while this apparent neglect piqued the girl’s vanity, the +blessed assurance that the absent master was alive and well +proved a sovereign balm for all the bleeding wounds of <i>amour +propre</i>.</p> +<p>In order to defray the expense of her musical tuition, +which was carried on in profound secrecy, it was necessary +to redouble her exertions; and all the latent energy of her +character developed itself in unflagging work, which she persistently +prosecuted early and late, and in quiet defiance of +Miss Jane’s expostulations and predictions that she would +permanently impair her sight.</p> +<p>Paramount to the desire of amassing wealth that would +enable her to provide for Jessie and Stanley rose the hope +that the cultivation of her voice would invest her with talismanic +influence over the man who was singularly susceptible +of the magic of music; and, jealously guarding the new-found +gift, she spared no toil to render it perfect.</p> +<p>Fearful that her suddenly acquired fondness for singing +might arouse suspicion and inquiry, she rarely practised at +home unless Miss Jane were absent; and, having procured a +tuning-fork, she retreated to the most secluded portion of the +adjoining forest and rehearsed her lessons to a mute audience +of grazing cattle, sombre pines, nodding plumes of golden-rod, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span> +and shivering white asters, belated and overtaken by +wintry blasts. Alone with nature, she warbled as unrestrainedly +as the birds who listened to her quavering crescendos; +and more than once she had become so absorbed in this forest +practising, that twinkling stars peeped down at her through +the fringy canopy of murmuring firs.</p> +<p>In fulfilment of a promise given to Stanley, with the hope +of stimulating him to more earnest study, Salome one day +took a piece of sewing and her music-book, and set off with +her brother for the sea-shore, where he was sometimes allowed +to amuse himself by catching crabs and shrimps. The route +they were compelled to take was very circuitous, since strangers +were now forbidden to stroll through the grounds attached +to “Solitude,” which was the nearest point where land +and ocean met. Following a cattle-path that threaded the +bare brown hills and wound through low marsh meadows, +Salome at length climbed a cliff that overhung the narrow +strip of beach running along the base of the promontory, and, +while Stanley prepared his net, she applied herself vigorously +to the completion of a cluster of lilies of the valley which +she had begun to embroider the preceding night.</p> +<p>It was a mild, sunny afternoon, late in December, with only +a few flakes of white curd-like cirri drifting slowly before +the stiffening south wind that came singing a song of the +tropics over the gently heaving waste of waters—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Where the green buds of waves burst into white froth flowers.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Two glimmering sails stood like phantoms on the horizon; +and a silent colony of snowy gulls, perched in conclave on a +bit of weed-wreathed drift floating landward, were the only +living things in sight, save the childish figure on the yellow +beach under the bleaching rocks, and the girlish one seated on +the tallest cliff, where a storm-scarred juniper, bending inland, +waved its scanty fringe in the fresh salt breeze.</p> +<p>No note of human strife entered here, nor hum of noisy +business marts; and the solemn silence, so profound and holy, +was broken only by the soft, mysterious murmur of the immemorial +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span> +ocean, as its crystal fingers smote the harp of rosy +shells and golden sands.</p> +<p>Clasped in the crescent that curved a mile northward lay the +house, and grove, and grounds of “Solitude,” looking sombre +in the distance, as the shadow of surrounding hills fell upon +the dense foliage that overhung its quiet precincts, and toned +down the garish red of the boat-house roof, which lent a brief +dash of color to the peaceful picture. Beyond the last guarding +promontory that seemed to have plunged through the +shelving strand to bathe in blue brine and cut off all passage +along its base, a strong well-trained eye might follow the trend +of the coast even to the dim outlines and thread-like masts, +that told where the distant town hugged its narrow harbor; +and, in the opposite direction, low, irregular sand hills and +brown marshes crept southward, as if hunting the warmth +that alone could mantle them with living verdure.</p> +<p>As the afternoon wore away, the sinking sun dipped suddenly +behind a wooded eminence, which, losing the warm +purples it had worn since noon, grew chill and blue as his rays +departed; and, weary of her work, Salome put it aside and +began to practise her music lesson, beating time with her +slender fingers on the bare juniper-roots, from which wind +and rain had driven the soil. Running her chromatic scales, +and pausing at will to trill upon any minor note that wooed +her vagrant fancy, she played with her flexible voice as dexterous +violinists toy with the obedient strings they hold in +harmonious bondage to their bows.</p> +<p>Finally she pushed the exercises away, and began a <i>fantasus</i> +from “Traviata,” which she had heard Mr. Barilli play +several times; and so absorbed was she in testing her capacity +for vocal gymnastics that she failed to observe the moving +figure dwarfed by distance and pacing the sands in front of +“Solitude.”</p> +<p>The rich, fresh tones which seemed occasionally to tremble +with the excess of melody that burdened them played hide-and-seek +among the hills, startling whole choruses of deep-throated +echoes, and attending and retentive ocean, catching +the strains on her beryl strings, bore them whither—and how +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span> +far? To palm-plumed equatorial isles, where dying auricular +nerves mistook them for seraphic utterances? To toiling mariners, +tossed helplessly by fierce typhoons, who, pausing in +their scramble for spars, listened to the weird melody that +presaged woe and wreck? To the broken casements of fishermen’s +huts, on distant shores, where anxious wives peered out +in the blackening tempest, and shrank back appalled by +sounds which sea-tradition averred were born in coral caves, +mosaiced with blanching human skulls? What hoary hierophant +in the mysteries of cataphonics and diacoustics will +undertake to track those trills across the blue bosom of the +Atlantic or the purplish billows of the Indian Ocean?</p> +<p>The wind went down with the sun; silver-edged cirri lost +their glitter, and swift was</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “The spread</p> +<p class='cg'>Of orange lustre through these azure spheres<br /> +Where little clouds lie still like flocks of sheep,<br /> +Or vessels sailing in God’s other deep.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>In that wondrous and magical after-glow which tenderly +hovers over the darkening face of the dying day, like the +strange, spectral smile that only sheds its cold, supernatural +light on lips twelve hours dead, Salome’s fair face and graceful +<i>pose</i> was as softly defined against the western sky as some +nimbussed saint or madonna on the golden background of old +Byzantine pictures. Her small straw hat, wreathed with +scarlet poppies, lay at her feet; and around her shoulders she +had closely folded a bright plaid flannel cloak, which tinted +her complexion with its ruddy hues, as firelight flushes the +olive portraits that stare at it from surrounding walls, and the +braided black hair and large hazel eyes showed every brown +tint and topaz gleam.</p> +<p>Leaning her arms on the top of her music-book, she rested +her chin upon them, and sat looking seaward, singing a difficult +passage, in the midst of which her nimble voice tripped +on an E flat, and, missing the staccato step, rolled helplessly +down in a legato flood of melody; whereupon, with an impatient +grimace she shut her eyes, weary of watching the wave-shimmer +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span> +that almost dazzled her. After a few seconds, when +she opened them, there stood just on the edge of the cliff, as +if poised in air, a woman whose face and form were as sharply +cut in profile on the azure sea and sky as white cameo features +on black agate grounds.</p> +<p>Around the tall figure shining folds of silver poplin hung +heavy and statuesque, and over the shoulders a blue crape +shawl was held by a beautiful blue-veined hand, where a sapphire +asp kept guard; while a cluster of double violets fastened +behind one shell-like ear breathed their perfume among +glossy bands of gray hair.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“There was no color in the quiet mouth,<br /> +Nor fulness; yet it had a ghostly grace,<br /> +Pathetically pale,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>and wan, and woful—the still face turned seaward, fronting a +round white moon that was lifting its full disk out of the line +where air and water met—she stood motionless.</p> +<p>Lifting her head, Salome shivered involuntarily, and grew +a shade paler as she breathlessly watched the apparition, expecting +that it would fade into blue air or float down and +mingle with the waters that gave it birth. But there was no +wavering mistiness about the shining drapery; and, presently, +when she turned and came forward, the orphan, despite her +sneers at superstition, felt the hair creep and rise on her +temples, and, springing to her feet, they faced each other. +As the stranger advanced, Salome unconsciously retreated a +few steps, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Gray-eyed, gray-haired, gray-clad, gray-faced, and rising +out of that gray sea, I suppose I have at last met the gray +ghost that people tell me haunts old ‘Solitude.’ But how +came such a young face under that drift of white hair? If +all ghosts have such finely carved, delicate noses and chins, +such oval cheeks and pretty brows, most of us here in the +flesh might thank fortune for a chance to ‘shuffle off this +mortal coil.’ Say, are you the troubled evil spirit that haunts +‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“I am.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span></div> +<p>The voice was so mournfully sweet that it thrilled every +nerve in Salome’s quivering frame.</p> +<p>“Phantom or flesh—which are you?”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, the owner of ‘Solitude.’”</p> +<p>“Oh, indeed! I beg your pardon, madam, but I took you +for a wraith! You know the place has always been considered +unlucky—haunted—and you are such an extraordinary-looking +person I was inclined to think I had stumbled +on the traditional ghost. I am neither ignorant nor stupidly +superstitious; but, madam, you must admit you have an unearthly +appearance; and, moreover, I should be glad to know +how you rose from the beach below to the top of this cliff? +I see no feathers on your shoulders—no balloon under your +feet!”</p> +<p>“I was walking on the sands in front of my door, and, +hearing some very sweet strains that came floating down from +this direction, I followed the sound, and climbed by means +of steps cut in the side of this cliff. Since you regarded me +as a spectre, I may as well tell you that I was beginning to +fancy I was listening to one of the old sea-sirens, until I saw +your rosy face and red lips, far too human for a dripping mermaid +or a murderous, mocking Aglaiopheme.”</p> +<p>“No more a siren, madam, than you are a ghost! I am +only Salome Owen, the miller’s child, waiting for that boy +yonder, whose sublimest idea of heaven consists in the hope +that its blessed sea of glass is brimming with golden shrimp. +Stanley, run around the cliff, and meet me. It is too late +for us to be here. We should have started home an hour ago.”</p> +<p>“Who taught you ‘Traviata’?”</p> +<p>“I am teaching myself, with what small help I can obtain +from a vagabond musician, who calls himself Signor Barilli, +and claims to have been a tenor singer in an opera troupe at +Milan.”</p> +<p>“You ought to cultivate your voice as thoroughly as possible.”</p> +<p>“Why? Is it really good? Tell me, is it worth anything? +No one has heard it except that Italian violinist; and, if he +praises it, I sometimes fear it is because he is so horribly dissipated +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span> +that he confounds my <i>bravura</i> runs with the clicking +of his wine-glasses and the gurgling of his flask. Do you +know much about music?”</p> +<p>“I have heard the best living performers, vocal and instrumental, +and to a finer voice than yours I never listened; but +you need study and practice, for your execution is faulty. +You have a splendid instrument; but you do not yet understand +its management. Where do you live?”</p> +<p>“At ‘Grassmere,’ a farm two miles behind those hills, and +in a house hidden under elm and apple trees. Madam, it is +very late, and I must bid you good-evening. Before I go, I +should like to know, if you will not deem me unwarrantably +impertinent, whether you are a very young person with white +hair, or whether you are a very old woman with a wonderfully +young face?”</p> +<p>For a moment there was no answer; and, supposing that she +had offended her, the orphan bowed and was turning away, +when Mrs. Gerome’s calm, mournful tones arrested her:</p> +<p>“I am only twenty-three years old.”</p> +<p>She walked away, turning her countenance towards the +water, where moonlight was burnishing the waves; and, when +Salome and Stanley had reached the bend in their path that +would shut out the view of the beach, the former looked back +and saw the silver-gray figure standing alone on the silent +shore, communing with the silver sea, as desolate and as hopeless +as Buchanan’s “Penelope,”—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“An alabaster woman, whose fixed eyes<br /> +Stare seaward, whether it be storm or calm.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_IX' id='CHAPTER_IX'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Doctor Sheldon, do you think she is dangerously ill?”</p> +<p>“I am afraid, Salome, that she will soon become so; for +she is threatened with a violent attack of pneumonia, which +would certainly be very dangerous to a woman of her age. It +is a great misfortune that her brother is absent.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span></div> +<p>“Dr. Grey reached New York three days ago.”</p> +<p>“Indeed! I will telegraph immediately, and hasten his +return.”</p> +<p>Dr. Sheldon was preparing a blister in the room adjoining +the one occupied by Miss Jane, and the orphan stood by his +side, twisting her fingers nervously over each other, and looking +perplexed and anxious. He returned to his patient, and +when he came out some moments later, and took up his hat, +his countenance was by no means reassuring.</p> +<p>“Although I know that you are very much attached to +Miss Jane, and would faithfully endeavor to nurse her, you +are so young and inexperienced that I do not feel quite willing +to leave her entirely to your guardianship; and, therefore, +shall send a woman here to-night who will fully understand +the case. She is a professional nurse, and Dr. Grey will be +relieved to hear that his sister is in her hands, for he has +great confidence in her good sense and discretion. I shall +stop at the telegraph office, as I go home, and urge him to +return at once. Give me his address. Do not look so dejected. +Miss Grey has a better constitution than most persons +are disposed to believe, and she may struggle through this +attack.”</p> +<p>The new year was ushered in by heavy and incessant rains, +and, having imprudently insisted upon superintending the +drainage of a new sheepfold and the erection of an additional +cattle-shed, Miss Jane had taken a severe cold, which resulted +in pneumonia.</p> +<p>Assiduously and tenderly Salome watched over her, and +even after the arrival of Hester Dennison, the nurse, the orphan’s +solicitude would not permit her to quit the apartment +where her benefactress lay struggling with disease; while +Miss Jane shrank from the stranger, and preferred to receive +the medicine from the hand of her adopted child.</p> +<p>When Dr. Sheldon stood by the bed early next morning, and +noted the effect of his treatment, Salome’s keen eye observed +the dissatisfied expression of his face, and she drew sad auguries +from his clouded brow. He took a paper from his pocket, +and said, cheerfully,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span></div> +<p>“Come, Miss Jane, get up a smile to pay me for the good +news I bring. Can you guess what this means?” holding an +envelope close to her eyes.</p> +<p>“More blisters and fever mixtures, I suppose. Doctor, my +poor side is in a dreadful condition.”</p> +<p>As she laid her hand over her left lung, she winced and +groaned.</p> +<p>“How much would you give to have your brother’s hand, +instead of mine, on your pulse?”</p> +<p>“All that I am worth! But my boy is in Europe, and can’t +come back to me now, when I need him most.”</p> +<p>“No, he is in New York. You have been dreaming, and +forget that he has reached America.”</p> +<p>“No, I never knew it. Salome, is there a letter?”</p> +<p>“No letter, but a dispatch announcing his arrival. I told +you; but you must have fallen asleep while I was talking to +you.”</p> +<p>“No such thing! I have not slept a wink for a week.”</p> +<p>“That is right, Miss Jane; scold as much as you like; it +will do you no harm. But, meantime, let me tell you I have +just heard from Dr. Grey, and he is now on his way home.”</p> +<p>Salome was sitting near the pillow, and suddenly her head +bowed itself, while her lips whispered, inaudibly,—</p> +<p>“Thank God!”</p> +<p>The invalid’s face brightened, and, stretching her thin, hot +hand towards the orphan, she touched her shoulder, and +said:—</p> +<p>“Do you hear that, my child? Ulpian is coming home. +When will he be here?”</p> +<p>“Day after to-morrow evening, I hope, if there is no +detention and he makes all the railroad connections. I trust +you will prove sufficiently generous to bear testimony to my +professional skill, by improving so rapidly that when he +arrives there will be nothing left to do but compliment my +sagacity, and thank me for relieving you so speedily. Is not +your cough rather better?”</p> +<p>She did not reply; and, bending down, he saw that she was +asleep.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span></div> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“Doctor</ins>, I am afraid she is not much better.”</p> +<p>He sighed, shook his head, and beckoned Hester into the +hall in order to question her more minutely concerning the +patient.</p> +<p>That night and the next she was delirious, and failed to +recognize any one; but about noon on the following day she +opened her eyes, and, looking intently at Salome, who stood +near the foot of the bed, she said, as if much perplexed,—</p> +<p>“I saw Ulpian just now. Where is he?”</p> +<p>“He will be here this afternoon, I hope. The train is due +at two o’clock, and it is now a quarter past twelve.”</p> +<p>“I tell you I saw him not ten minutes since.”</p> +<p>“You are feverish, dear Miss Jane, and have been dreaming.”</p> +<p>“Don’t contradict me! Am I in my dotage, think you? I +saw my boy, and he was pale, and had blood on his hands, +and it ran down his beard and dripped on his vest. You can’t +deceive me! What is the matter with my poor boy? I will +see him! Give me my crutches this instant!”</p> +<p>She struggled into a partially upright position, but fell back +upon her pillow exhausted and panting for breath.</p> +<p>“You were delirious. I give you my word that he has not +yet come home. It was only a horrible dream. Hester will +assure you of the truth of what I say. You must lie still, for +this excitement will injure you.”</p> +<p>The nurse gave her a powerful sedative, and strove to divert +her thoughts; but ever and anon she shuddered and whispered,—</p> +<p>“It was not a dream. I saw my dear sailor-boy, and he +was hurt and bleeding. I know what I saw; and if you and +Hester swore till every star dropped out of heaven, I would +not believe you. If I am old and dying, my eyes are better +than yours. My poor Ulpian!”</p> +<p>Despite her knowledge of the feverish condition of the sick +woman, and her incredulity with reference to the vision that +so painfully disturbed her, Salome’s lips blanched, and a +vague, nameless, horrible dread seized her heart.</p> +<p>Very soon Miss Jane fell into a heavy sleep, and, while the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span> +nurse busied herself in preparing a bottle of beef-tea, the +orphan sat with her head pressed against the bedpost, and +her eyes riveted on the face of the watch in her palm, where +the minute-hand seemed now and then to stop, as if for +breathing-time, and the hour-hand to have forgotten the way +to two o’clock.</p> +<p>For nearly six months Salome had counted the weeks and +days,—had waited and hoped for the hour of Dr. Grey’s return +as the happiest of her life,—had imagined his greeting, +the bright, steady glow in his fine eyes, the warm, cordial +pressure of his white hand, the friendly tones of his pleasant +voice; for, though he had failed to bid her good-by, fate could +not cheat her out of the interview that must follow his arrival. +Fancy had painted so vividly all the incidents that would +characterize this longed-for greeting, that she had lived it over +a thousand times; and, now that the meeting seemed actually +at hand, she asked herself whether it were possible that disappointment +could pour one poisonous drop into the brimming +draught of joy that rose foaming in amber bubbles to her +parched lips.</p> +<p>In the profound silence that pervaded the darkened room, +the ticking of the watch was annoyingly audible, and seemed +to Salome’s strained and excited nerves so unusually loud that +she feared it might disturb the sleeper. At a quarter to two +o’clock she went to the hearth and noiselessly renewed the fire, +laying two fresh pieces of oak across the shining brass andirons, +whose feet represented lions’ heads.</p> +<p>She swept the hearth, arranged some vials that were scattered +on the dressing-table, and gave a few improving touches +to a vase filled with white and orange crocuses, then crept back +to the bedside and again picked up the watch. It still lacked +fifteen minutes of two, and, looking more closely, she found +that it had stopped. Tossing it into a hollow formed by the +folds of the coverlid, and repressing an impatient ejaculation, +she listened for the sound of the railroad whistle, which, +though muffled by distance, had not failed to reach her every +day during the past week.</p> +<p>Presently the silence, which made her ears ache, throbbed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span> +so suddenly that she started, but it was only the “cuckoo! +cuckoo!” of the painted bird on the gilded clock. That +clock was fifteen minutes slower than Miss Jane’s watch; and +Salome put her face in her hands, and tried to still the loud +thumping sound of the blood at her heart.</p> +<p>The train was behind time. Only a few moments as yet, +but something must have happened to occasion even this +slight delay; and, if something,—what?</p> +<p>Hester came in and whispered,—</p> +<p>“Dinner is ready, and Stanley is hungry. Has Miss Jane +stirred since I went out?”</p> +<p>“No; what time is it?”</p> +<p>“Half after two.”</p> +<p>“Oh, nonsense! You are too fast.”</p> +<p>“Not a minute,—begging your pardon. My brother stays +at the dépot, and keeps my watch with the railroad time.”</p> +<p>Salome went to the dining-room, gave Stanley his dinner, +and, anxious to escape observation, shut herself in the dim, +cold parlor, where she paced the floor until the cuckoo jumped +out, chirped three times, and, as if frightened by the girl’s +fixed eyes, fluttered back inside the clock. More than an hour +behind time! Now, beyond all hope or doubt, there had been +an accident! Loss of sleep for several consecutive nights, +and protracted anxiety concerning Miss Jane, had so unnerved +the orphan that she was less able to cope successfully with +this harrowing suspense than on former occasions; still the +sanguine hopefulness of youth battled valiantly with the +ghouls that apprehension conjured up, and she remembered +that comparatively trivial occurrences had sometimes detained +the train, which finally brought all its human freight safely +to the dépot.</p> +<p>The day had been very cold and gloomy; and thick, low +masses of smoke-colored cloud scudded across the chill sky, +whipped along their skirts by a stinging north-east blast into +dun, ragged, trailing banners. Despite the keenness of the +air, Salome opened one of the parlor windows and leaned her +face on the broad sill, where a drizzling rain began to show itself. +She had read and heard just enough with reference +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span> +to the phenomena of <i>clairvoyance</i> to sneer at them in happy +hours, and to recur helplessly to the same subject with a species +of silent dread when misfortune seemed imminent. To-day, +as Miss Jane’s delirious utterances haunted every nook and +cranny of her excited brain, permeating all topics of thought, +<ins title='Was se'>she</ins> recalled many instances, on legendary record, where the +dying were endowed with talismanic power over the secrets +of futurity. Could it be possible that Miss Jane had really +seen what was taking place many miles distant? Reason +shook her hoary head, and jeered at such childish fatuity; +but superstitious credulity, goaded by an intense anxiety, +would not be silenced nor put to the blush, but boldly babbled +of Swedenborg and burning Stockholm.</p> +<p>Once she had heard Dr. Grey tell his sister, in answer to +some inquiry concerning the <i>arcana</i> of mesmerism, that he +had bestowed much time and thought upon the investigation +of the subject, and was thoroughly convinced that there existed +subtle psychological laws whose operations were not yet comprehended, +but which, when analyzed and studied, would explain +the remarkable influence of mind over mind, and prove +that the dread and baffling mysteries of psychology were +merely normal developments of intellectual power instead of +supernatural or spiritual manifestations.</p> +<p>This abstract view of the matter was, however, most unsatisfactory +at the present juncture; and the current of Salome’s +reflections was abruptly changed by the sound of the locomotive +whistle,—not the prolonged, steady roar, announcing +arrival, but the sharp, short, shrill note of departure. Soon +after, the clock struck four, and, ere the echoes fell asleep +once more in the sombre corners of the quiet parlor, Dr. Sheldon +drove up to the front door and entered the house. +Springing into the hall, Salome met him, and laid her hand +on his arm.</p> +<p>“Salome, your face frightens me. How is Miss Jane? +Has she grown worse so rapidly since I was here this morning?”</p> +<p>“I see little change in her. But you have locked bad +news behind your set teeth. Oh, for God’s sake, don’t torture +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span> +me one second longer! Tell me the worst. What has happened?”</p> +<p>“The down-train was thrown from an embankment twenty +feet high, and the cars took fire. Many lives have been sacrificed, +and it is the most awful affair I ever heard of.”</p> +<p>He had partially averted his head to avoid the sight of her +whitening and convulsed features; but, laying her hands heavily +upon his shoulders, she forced him to face her, and her +voice sank to a husky whisper,—</p> +<p>“Is he dead?”</p> +<p>“I hope not.”</p> +<p>“Speak out,—or I shall go mad! Is he dead?”</p> +<p>“Calm yourself, Salome, and let us hope for the best. We +know nothing of the particulars of this dreadful disaster, and +have learned the names of none of the sufferers. I have little +doubt that Dr. Grey was on the train, but there is no certainty +that he was injured. The regular up-train could not leave +as usual, because the track was badly torn up; but a locomotive +and three cars ran out a while ago with several surgeons and +articles required for the victims. Pray sit down, my poor +child, for you are unable to stand.”</p> +<p>“Where did it happen?”</p> +<p>“Near Silver Run water-tank,—about forty miles from +here. The accident occurred at twelve o’clock.”</p> +<p>Salome’s grasp suddenly relaxed, and, tossing her hands +above her head, she laughed hysterically,—</p> +<p>“Ha, ha! Thank God, he is not dead! He is only hurt,—only +bleeding. Miss Jane saw it all, and he is not dead, or +she would have known it. Thank God!”</p> +<p>Dr. Sheldon was a stern man and renowned for his iron +nerves, but he shuddered as he looked at the pinched, wan face, +and heard the unnatural, hollow sound of her unsteady voice. +Had care, watching, and suspense unpoised her reason?</p> +<p>Something of that which passed through his mind looked +out of his eyes, and interpreting their amazed expression, the +girl waved her hand towards the door, and added,—</p> +<p>“I am not insane. Go in, and Hester will explain.”</p> +<p>He turned away, and she went back to the dusky room and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span> +threw herself down on the sofa, opposite to the portrait of +the U.S. surgeon.</p> +<p>Of what passed during the following two hours, she retained, +in after years, only a dim, confused, painful memory of +prayers and promises made to God in behalf of the absent.</p> +<p>Once before, when Miss Jane’s death seemed imminent, she +had been grieved and perplexed by the possibility that Dr. +Grey would inherit the estate and usurp her domains; but +to-day, when the Great Reaper hovered over the panting, +emaciated sufferer, and simultaneously threatened the distant +brother and sole heir of the extended possessions which this +girl had so long coveted, the only thought that filled her +heart with dread and wrung half-smothered cries from her +lips was,—</p> +<p>“Spare his life, oh, my God! Leave me penniless—take +friends, relatives, comforts, hopes of wealth—take all—take +everything, but spare that precious life and bring him safely +back to me! Have mercy on me, O Lord, and do not snatch +him away! for, if I lose him now, I lose faith in Christ—in +Thee—I lose all hope in time and eternity, and my sinful, +wrecked soul will go down forever in a night that knows no +dawning!”</p> +<p>For six months she had been indeed,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“A faded watcher through the weary night—<br /> +A meek, sweet statue at the silver shrines,<br /> +In deep, perpetual prayer for him she loved;”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>but patience, dragging anchor, finally snapped its cable, and +now, instead of an humble suppliant for the boon that alone +made existence endurable, she fiercely demanded that her idol +should not be broken, and, battling with Jehovah, impiously +thrust her life down before Him as an accursed and intolerable +burden, unless her prayers were granted. Ah, what +scorpions and stones we gather to our boards, and then dare +charge the stinging mockeries against a long-suffering, loving +God! Ten days before, Salome had meekly prayed, “Thy will +be done,” and had comforted herself with the belief that at last +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span> +she was beginning to grow pious and trusting, like Miss Jane; +but, at the first hint of harm to Dr. Grey, she sprang up, +utterly oblivious of the protestations of resignation that were +scarcely cold on her lips, and furious as a tigress who sees the +hunter approach the jungle where all her fierce affections +centre. God help as all who pray orthodoxly for His will, and +yet, when the emergency arrives, fight desperately for our own, +feeling wofully aggrieved that He takes us at our word, and +moulds the clay which we make a Pharisaical pretense of +offering!</p> +<p>A slow drizzling rain whitened the distant hills, that seemed +to blanch in their helplessness as the wind smote them like a +flail; and it wove a grayish veil over the leafless boughs of +bending, shivering elms, on the long, dim avenue. The +wintry afternoon closed swiftly, and, in its dusky dreariness, +Salome listened to the tattoo of the rain on the roof, and to the +<i>miserere</i> that wailed through the lonely chambers of her soul. +The chill at her heart froze her to numbness and oblivion of +the coldness of the atmosphere, and, when a servant came in +to close the window against the slanting sleet, she lay so still +that the woman thought her asleep, and stole away on tip-toe. +The room grew dark; but, through the half-opened door, the +light from the hall lamp crept in and fell on the gilded frame +and painted face of the portrait, tracing a silvery path along +the gloomy wall. As the night deepened, that wave of light +rippled and glittered until the handsome features in the picture +seemed to belong to some hierarch who peeped from a +window of heaven, into a world drenched with unlifting +darkness.</p> +<p>That oval piece of canvas had become the one fetich to +which Salome’s heart clung in silent adoration, defiant of the +iconoclastic touch of reason and the adverse decree of womanly +pride; for natures such as hers will always grovel in the dust, +hugging the mutilated fragments of their idol, rather than +bow at some new, fretted shrine, where other images hold +sway, commanding worship. Looking up almost wolfishly at +that tranquil, shining countenance, she said to her sullen, +mourning heart,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span></div> +<p>“There are no more like him, and, if we lose him, there is +nothing left in life, and all hope is at an end, and <i>finis</i> shall +be printed on the first page of the book of our existence; and +ruin, like a pitiless pall, shall cover what might have been a +happy, possibly a grand and good, human career. We did +not intend to love him,—no, no; we tried hard to hate him +who stood between us and affluence and indolent ease, but he +conquered us by his matchless magnanimity, and shamed our +ignoble aims and base selfishness, and put us under his royal +feet; and now we would rather be trampled by Ulpian, our +king, than crowned by any other man. Let us plead with +Christ to spare the only pilot who can save us from eternal +shipwreck.”</p> +<p>Lying there so helpless yet defiant in her desolation, some +subtle thread of association, guided, perhaps, by the invisible +fingers of her guardian angel, led her mind to a favorite couplet +often quoted by Dr. Grey,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“I heard faith’s low, sweet singing, in the night,<br /> +And, groping through the darkness, touched God’s hand.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>If the painted lips in the aureola on the wall had parted +and audibly uttered these words, they would scarcely have +impressed her more powerfully as a message from the absent; +and, rising instantly, the orphan prayed in chastened, humbled +tones for strength to be patient, for ability to trust God’s wisdom +and mercy.</p> +<p>How often, when binding our idolized Isaacs upon the altar, +and, meekly submissive to what appears God’s inexorable mandates, +we unmurmuringly offer our heart’s dearest treasure, +the sacrificial knife is stayed, and our loathed and horrible +Moriahs, that erst smelt of blood and echoed woe, become hallowed +Jehovah-jirehs, all aglow, not with devouring flames, +but the blessed radiance of God’s benignant smile, and musical +with thanksgiving strains. But Abraham’s burden preceded +Abraham’s boon, and the souls who cannot patiently endure +the first are utterly unworthy of the rapture of the last.</p> +<p>As the girl’s mind grew calmer under the breath of prayer—which +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span> +stills the billows of human passion and strife as the +command of Jesus smoothed the thundering surf of Genesareth,—she +recollected that she had absented herself from the +sick-room for an unusually long time. How long, she could +not conjecture, for the face of the clock was invisible, and she +had ceased to count the cuckoo-notes; but her limbs ached, +and a fillet of fire seemed to circle her brow.</p> +<p>With a lingering gaze upon the radiant portrait, she quitted +the parlor, and went wearily back to renew her vigil.</p> +<p>Hester Dennison was cowering over the hearth, spreading +her bony hands towards the crackling flames, and, walking up +to the mantelpiece, Salome touched the nurse, and whispered,—</p> +<p>“Hester, what did the doctor say? Is there any change?”</p> +<p>“Hush!” The woman laid a finger on her lip, and +glanced over her shoulder.</p> +<p>There was only a subdued light of a shaded lamp mingling +with the flicker of the fire, and, as Salome’s eyes followed +those of the nurse, they rested upon the figure of a man +kneeling at the bedside, and leaning his head against the pillow +where Miss Jane’s white hair was strewn in disorder.</p> +<p>A cry of delight, which she had neither the prudence nor +power to repress, rang through the silent chamber, startling +its inmates, and partially arousing the invalid. Salome forgot +that life and death were grappling over the prostrate form +of the aged woman,—forgot everything but the supreme joy +of knowing that her idol had not been rudely shattered.</p> +<p>Springing to the bedside, she put out her hands, and exclaimed, +rapturously:</p> +<p>“Oh, Dr. Grey! Were you much hurt? Thank God, you +are alive and here! Indeed, He is merciful—”</p> +<p>“Hush! Have you no prudence? Quit the room, or be +quiet.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey lifted his haggard face from the pillow, and the +light showed it pallid and worn by acute suffering, while a +strip of plaster pressed together the edges of a deep cut on +his cheek. His clothes glistened with sleet, and bore stains +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span> +that in daylight were crimson, though now they were only +ominously dark.</p> +<p>The stern tones of his voice, suppressed though it was, +stung the girl’s heart; and she answered, in a pleading whisper,—</p> +<p>“Only tell me that you are not severely injured. Speak +one kind word to me!”</p> +<p>“I am not dangerously hurt. Hush! Remember life +hangs in the balance.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dr. Grey! will you not even shake hands with me, +after all these dreary months of absence? This is hard, indeed.”</p> +<p>She had stood at his side, with her hands extended imploringly; +and now he moved cautiously, and, silently holding +up one hand swathed in linen bands, pointed to his left arm, +which was tightly splintered and bandaged.</p> +<p>The mute gesture explained all, and, sinking to the carpet, +she pressed her lips to the linen folds, and to the coat-sleeve, +where sleet and blood-spots mingled.</p> +<p>He could not have prevented her, even had he desired to do +so; but at that instant his sister moaned faintly, and, bending +forward to examine her countenance, he seemed for some minutes +unconscious of the presence of the form crouching close +by his side.</p> +<p>After a little while he looked down, sighed, and whispered,—</p> +<p>“My child, do go to bed. You can do no good here, and too +much watching has already unstrung your nerves. Go to your +room, and pray that God will spare our dear Janet to us.”</p> +<p>Was this the welcome for which she had waited and longed—of +which she had dreamed by day and by night? Not a +touch, barely a brief, impatient glance, and a few reproving, +indifferent words. She had rashly dared fate to cheat her out +of this long-anticipated greeting, and the grim, grinning crone +had accepted the challenge, and now triumphantly snapped +her withered fingers in the face of the vanquished.</p> +<p>When coveted fruit that has been hungrily watched through +the slow, tedious process of ripening finally falls rosy and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span> +mellow into eagerly uplifted fingers, and breaks in a shower +of bitter dust on the sharpened and fastidious palate, it rarely +happens that the half-famished dupe relishes the taste; and +Salome rose, feeling stunned and mocked.</p> +<p>In one corner of the room stood a chintz-covered lounge, +and, creeping to it, she laid herself down; and, shading her +features with her hand, looked through her fingers at the pale, +grieved face of the anxious brother. Sometimes he stood up, +studying the placid countenance of the sufferer, and now and +then he walked softly to the fire-place, and held whispered +conferences with Hester relative to the course of treatment +that had been pursued.</p> +<p>But everywhere Salome’s eyes followed him; and finally, +when he chanced to glance at the couch, and noticed its occupant, +whom he imagined fast asleep, he pointed to a blanket +lying on a chair, and directed Hester to spread it over the +girlish figure. The thoughtful act warmed the orphan’s +heart more effectually than the thick woollen cover; and when +he sat down in an easy-chair close to the bed, and within +range of Salome’s vision, she yielded to the comforting consciousness +of his presence. And, while her lips were moving +in thanks for his preservation and return, exhausted nature +seized her dues, and the girl fell asleep and dreamed that Dr. +Grey stood by the lounge, and whispered,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“No star goes down, but climbs in other skies;<br /> +The rose of sunset folds its glory up<br /> +To burst again from out the heart of dawn,<br /> +And love is never lost, though hearts run waste,<br /> +And sorrow makes the chastened heart a seer;<br /> +The deepest dark reveals the starriest hope,<br /> +And Faith can trust her heaven behind the veil.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_X' id='CHAPTER_X'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Yes, Hester, the danger is past; and, if the weather continues +favorable, my sister will soon be able to sit up. My +gratitude prompts me to erect an altar here, where the mercy +of God stayed the Destroying Angel, as in ancient days David +consecrated the threshing-floor of Araunah.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, if you can possibly spare me, I should like to +go back to town to-day as Dr. Sheldon has sent for me to +take charge of a patient at his Infirmary.”</p> +<p>“You ought not to desert me while I am so comparatively +helpless; and I should be glad to have you remain, at least +until I recover the use of my hands.”</p> +<p>“Miss Salome can take my place, and do all that is really +necessary.”</p> +<p>“The child is so inexperienced I am almost afraid to trust +her; still—”</p> +<p>“Don’t speak so loud. She is standing behind the window-curtain.”</p> +<p>“Indeed! I thought she left the room when I entered it. +Of course, Hester, I will not detain you if it is necessary that +you should be at the Infirmary; but I give you up very reluctantly. +Salome, if you are at leisure, please come and +see how Hester dresses my hand and arm, for I must rely +upon your kind services when she leaves us. Notice the manner +in which she winds the bandages. There, Hester,—not +quite so tight.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I never had an education, and am at best an +ignorant, poor soul: therefore, not knowing what to think +about many curious things that happen in sick-rooms, I should +be glad to hear what you have to say concerning that vision +of your sister. Remember, she saw it at the very minute +that the accident happened. I don’t believe in spirit-rapping, +and such stuff as dancing tables, and spinning chairs, +and pianos that play tunes when no human being is near +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span> +them; but I have heard and seen things that made the hair +rise and stand on my head.”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“</ins>The circumstance that occurred three days since is certainly +rather singular and remarkable, but by no means inexplicable. +My sister knew that I was then travelling by railroad,—that +I would, without some unusual delay, reach the +dépot at a certain hour, and, being in a delirious condition, +her mind reverted to the probability of some occurrence that +might detain me. Having always evinced a peculiar aversion +to railroads, which she deems the most unsafe method of travelling, +she had a feverish dream that took its coloring from her +excited apprehension of danger to me; and this vision, born +of delirium, was so vivid that she could not distinguish phantom +from reality. In ninety-nine cases out of every hundred +similar ones, the dream passes without fulfilment, and is rarely +recollected or mentioned; but the hundredth—which may +chance by some surprising coincidence to seem verified—is +noised abroad as supernatural, and carefully preserved among +‘well-authenticated spiritual manifestations.’ If I had escaped +injury, the freaks of my sister’s delirium would have +made no more impression on your mind than the ravings of a +lunatic; and, since I was so unfortunate as to be bruised and +burned, you must not allow yourself to grow superstitious, +and attach undue importance to a circumstance which was +entirely accidental, and only startling because so exceedingly +rare. Presentiments, especially when occurring in cases of +fever, are merely Will-o-the-wisps floating about in excited, +diseased brains. While at sea, and constantly associated with +sailors, whose minds constitute the most favorable and fruitful +soil for the production of phantasmagoria and <i>diablerie</i>, +I had frequent opportunities of testing the fallacy and absurdity +of so-called ‘presentiments and forebodings.’ I am +afraid it is the absence of spirituality in the hearts of the +people, that drives this generation to seek supernaturalism in +the realm of merely normal physics. The only true spiritualism +is that which emanates from the Holy Ghost,—conquers +sinful impulses, and makes a Christian heart the temple of +God.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span></div> +<p>Here Miss Jane called Hester into the adjoining room; +and turning to Salome, Dr. Grey added,—</p> +<p>“Notwithstanding the vaunted destruction of the ancient +Hydra of superstition by the darts and javelins of modern +rationalism, and the ponderous hot irons of empirics, it is +undeniably true that the habit of ‘seeking after a sign’ survived +the generation of Scribes and Pharisees whom Christ +rebuked; and manifests itself in the middle of the nineteenth +century by the voracity with which merely material phenomena +are seized as unmistakable indications of preternatural +agencies. The innate leaven of superstition triumphs +over common sense and scientific realism, and men and women +are awed by coincidences that reason scouts, but credulity +receives with open arms. Salome, I regret exceedingly that +I am forced to trouble you, but there are some important letters +which I wish to mail to-day, and you will greatly oblige +me by acting as amanuensis while I dictate. My present disabled +condition must apologize for the heavy tax which I am +imposing upon your patience and industry. Will you come to +the <ins title='Added quote and question mark'>library?”</ins></p> +<p>She made no protestations of willingness to serve him, and +confessed no delight at the prospect of being useful, but merely +bowed and smiled, with an expression in her eyes that puzzled +him.</p> +<p>Seated at the library-table, and writing down the sentences +that he dictated while pacing the floor, Salome passed one of +the happiest hours of her life; for it brought the blessed assurance +that, for the present at least, he acknowledged his need +of her.</p> +<p>One of the letters was addressed to Mr. Gerard Granville, +an <i>attaché</i> of the American legation at Paris, and referred +principally to financial affairs; and the other, directed to +Muriel Manton, contained an urgent request that she and her +governess would leave New York as speedily as possible and +become inmates of his sister’s house.</p> +<p>When she had folded the letters and sealed them with his +favorite emerald signet,—bearing the words, “<i>Frangas non +Flectes</i>,”—Salome looked up, and asked,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span></div> +<p>“How old is your ward, Miss Manton?”</p> +<p>“About your age,—though she looks much more childish.”</p> +<p>“Pretty, of course?”</p> +<p>“Why ‘of course’?”</p> +<p>“Simply because in novels they are always painted as pretty +as Persephone; and the only wards I ever knew happen to be +fictitious characters.”</p> +<p>“Novels are by no means infallible mirrors of nature, and +few wards are as attractive as my black-eyed pet. Muriel +will be very handsome, I hope, when she is grown; but now +she impresses me as merely sweet, piquant, and pretty.”</p> +<p>“Did you know her prior to your recent visit?”</p> +<p>“Yes; her father’s house was my home whenever I chanced +to be in New York, and I have seen her, occasionally, since +she was a little girl. For your sake, as well as mine, I am +glad she will reside here, because I hope she will prove in +every respect a pleasant companion for you.”</p> +<p>“Thank you; but, unfortunately, that is one luxury of +which I never felt the need, and with which, permit me to +tell you, I can readily dispense. I have little respect for +women, and no desire to be wearied with their inane garrulity.”</p> +<p>She leaned back in her chair, and tapped restlessly with +the end of the pen-staff on the morocco-covered table.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey looked down steadily and gravely into her provokingly +defiant face, and replied very coldly,—</p> +<p>“Were I in your place, I think I should jealously guard +my lips from the hasty utterance of sentiments that, if unfeigned, +ought to bring a blush to every true woman’s cheek; +for I fear that she who has no respect for her own sex bids +fair to disgrace it.”</p> +<p>A scarlet wave rolled up from throat to temples, and the +lurking yellow gleamed in her eyes, but the bend of her nostril +and curve of her lips did not relax.</p> +<p>“Which is preferable, hypocrisy or irreverence?”</p> +<p>“Both are unpardonable, in a woman.”</p> +<p>“Where is your vast charity, Dr. Grey?”</p> +<p>“Busy in sheltering that lofty ideal of genuine female perfection +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span> +which you seem so pertinaciously ambitious to sully +and degrade.”</p> +<p>“You are harsh, and scarcely courteous.”</p> +<p>“You will never find me less so when you vauntingly exhibit +such mournful blemishes of character.”</p> +<p>“At least, sir, I am honest, and show myself just what +God saw fit to allow misfortune to make me.”</p> +<p>“Hush, Salome! Do not add impiousness to the long catalogue +of your sinful follies. I hoped that there was a favorable +change in you before I left home, but I very much fear +that, instead of exorcising the one evil spirit that possessed +you, you have swept, and garnished, and settled yourself comfortably +with seven new ones.”</p> +<p>“And, like R. Chaim Vital, you come to pronounce <i>Nidui!</i> +and banish my diabolical guests. If cauterization cures moral +ulcers as effectually as those that afflict the flesh, then, verily, +you intend I shall be clean and whole. You are losing +patience with your graceless neophyte.”</p> +<p>“Yes, Salome; because forced to lose faith in her inclination +and capacity to sublimate her erring nature. Once for +all, let me say that habitual depreciation of your own sex will +not elevate you in the estimation of mine; for, however fallen +you may find mankind, they nevertheless realize amid their +degradation that,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘’Tis somewhat to have known, albeit in vain,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>One woman in this sorrowful, bad earth,<br /> +Whose very loss can yet bequeath to pain<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>New faith in worth.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>There was no taunt, no bitterness, in his voice; but grievous +disappointment, too deep for utterance; and the girl winced +under it, though only the flush burning on cheek and brow +attested her vulnerability.</p> +<p>“Remember, sir, that humanity was not moulded entirely +from one stratum of pipe-clay. Only a few wear paint, enamelling, +and gold as delicate costly <ins title='Was Sevres'>Sčvres</ins>; and, while the majority +are only coarse pottery, it is scarcely kind—certainly +not generous—in dainty, transparent china, belonging to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span> +king’s palaces, to pity or denounce the humble Delft or Wedgewoodware +doing duty in laborer’s cottages.”</p> +<p>“Very true, my poor little warped, blotched bit of perverse +pottery; but of one vital truth permit me to assure you: the +purity and elevation of our race depend upon preserving inviolate +in the hearts of men a belief that women’s natures are +crystalline as that celebrated glass once made at Murano, +which was so exceedingly fine and delicate that it burst into +fragments if poison was poured into it.”</p> +<p>“Then, obviously, I am no Venetian goblet; else long ago +I should have shattered under the bitter, black juices poured +by fate. It seems I am not worthy to touch the lips of doges +and grand dukes; but let them look to it that some day, when +spent and thirsty, they stretch not their regal hands for the +common clay that holds what all their costly, dainty fragments +can never yield. <i>Nous verrons!</i> ‘The stone which the +builders rejected has become the head of the corner.’”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had resumed his walk, but the half-suppressed, +passionate protest, whose underswell began to agitate her +voice, arrested his attention, and he came to the table and +stood close to the orphan.</p> +<p>“What is the matter with my headstrong young friend?”</p> +<p>She made no answer; but her elfish eyes sought his, and +braved their quiet rebuke.</p> +<p>“This is the last opportunity I shall offer you to tell me +frankly what troubles you. Can I help you in any way? If +so, command me.”</p> +<p>“Once you could have helped me, but that time has passed.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps not. Try me.”</p> +<p>“It is too late. You have lost faith in me.”</p> +<p>“No; you have lost all faith in yourself, if you ever indulged +any,—which I very much doubt. It is you who are +faithless concerning your own defective character.”</p> +<p>“Not I, indeed! I know it rather too well, either to set it +aloft for adoration or to trample it in the mire. When your +faith in me expired, mine was born. Do you recollect that +beautiful painted window in Lincoln Cathedral which the +untutored fingers of an apprentice fashioned out of the despised +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span> +bits of glass rejected by the fastidious master-builder? +It is so vastly superior to every other in the church that the +vanquished artist could not survive the chagrin and mortification, +and killed himself. My faith is very strong, that, +please God, I shall some day show you similar handiwork.”</p> +<p>“You grow enigmatical, and I do not fully understand +you.”</p> +<p>“No; you do not in the least comprehend me. The girl +whom you left six months ago has changed in many respects.”</p> +<p>“For better, or for worse?”</p> +<p>“Perhaps neither one nor yet the other; but, at least, sir, +‘my future will not copy fair my past.’”</p> +<p>“Since my return, I have noticed an alteration in your deportment, +which, I regret to say, I cannot consider an improvement; +and I should feel inclined to attribute your restless +impatience to nervous disease were I not assured by your +appearance that you are in perfect health. Remember, that +quietude of manner constitutes a woman’s greatest charm; +and, unfortunately, you seem almost a mimic mælstrom. But, +pardon me, I did not intend to lecture you; and, hoping all +things, I will patiently wait for the future that you seem to +have dedicated to some special object. I will try to have +faith in my perverse little friend, though she sometimes +renders it a difficult task. May I trouble you to stamp those +letters?”</p> +<p>He could not analyze the change that passed swiftly across +her face, nor the emotion that made her suddenly clinch her +hands till the rosy nails grew purple.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, don’t you believe that if Judas Iscariot had +only resisted the temptation of the thirty pieces of silver, +and stood by his master instead of betraying him, that his +position in heaven would have been far more exalted than +that of Peter, or even of John?”</p> +<p>“That is a question which I have never pondered, and am +not prepared to discuss. Why do you propound it?”</p> +<p>She did not answer immediately; and, when she spoke, her +glittering eyes softened in their expression, and resembled +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span> +stars rising through the golden mist of lingering sunset splendor.</p> +<p>“God gave you a nobler heart than mine, and left it an +easy, pleasant matter for you to be good; while, struggle as +I may, I am constantly in danger of tumbling into some +slough of iniquity, or setting up false gods for my soul to +bow down to. Because it is so much more difficult for me to +do right than for you, it is only just that my reward should +be correspondingly greater.”</p> +<p>“I am neither John nor Peter, nor are you Judas; and +only He who knows our mutual faults and follies, our +triumphs and defeats in the life-long campaign with sin, can +judge us equitably. I am too painfully conscious of my own +imperfections not to sympathize earnestly with the temptations +that may assail you; and, moreover, we should never +lose sight of the fact,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘What’s done we partly may compute,<br /> +But know not what’s resisted.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Dr. Grey, you have great confidence in the efficacy of +prayer?”</p> +<p>“Yes; for without it human lives are rudderless, drifting +to speedy wreck and ruin.”</p> +<p>“If I ask a favor, will you grant it?”</p> +<p>“Have I ever denied you anything that you asked?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir,—your good opinion.”</p> +<p>“I knew that had you really desired that, you would long +since have rendered it impossible for me to withhold it. But +to the point,—what is your petition?”</p> +<p>“I want you to pray for me.”</p> +<p>“Salome, are you serious? Are you really in earnest?”</p> +<p>“Mournfully in earnest.”</p> +<p>“Then rest satisfied that henceforth you will always have +a place in my prayer; but do not forget the greater necessity +of praying for yourself. Now, tell me how you have been employed +during my long absence. Where are the accumulated +exercises which I promised to examine and correct when I +returned?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span></div> +<p>“Promised whom?”</p> +<p>“You.”</p> +<p>“You forget that I did not see you the day you left, and +that you did not even bid me good-by.”</p> +<p>“I referred to your French exercises in a brief and hurried +note that I left for you.”</p> +<p>“Left where? I never received—never heard of it.”</p> +<p>“I laid it upon your plate, where I supposed you would +certainty notice it when you came home to dinner.”</p> +<p>“Why did not you give it to Miss Jane?”</p> +<p>“Simply because she was not in the room when I wrote it. +It is rather surprising that it escaped your observation, as I +laid it in a conspicuous place.”</p> +<p>She did not deem it necessary to inform him that on that +unlucky day she had suddenly lost her appetite, and failed to +go to the table; and now she put her fingers over her eyes to +conceal the blaze of joyful light that irradiated them, as he +mentioned the circumstance, comparatively trivial, but precious +in her estimation, since it was freighted with the assurance +that at least he had thought of her on the eve of his +unexpected departure. What inexpressible comfort that note +might have contributed during all those tedious months of +silence and separation! While she sat there thinking of the +dreary afternoon when, down in the orchard-grass she lay upon +her face, Dr. Grey came nearer to her, and said,—</p> +<p>“I hope you have not abandoned your French?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; but I devote less time than formerly to it.”</p> +<p>“If agreeable to you, we will resume the exercises as soon +as I can wield my pen.”</p> +<p>“If you can teach me Italian, I should prefer it; especially +since I have learned to pronounce French tolerably well?”</p> +<p>“What use do you expect to have for Italian,—at least, at +present? French is much more essential.”</p> +<p>“I have a good reason for desiring to make the change, +though just now I do not choose to be driven into any explanations.”</p> +<p>“Pardon me. I had no intention of forcing your confidence. +When in Italy, I always contrive to understand and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span> +make myself understood; but my knowledge and use of the +language is rather too slip-shod to justify my attempting to +teach you idioms, hallowed as the medium through which +Dante and Ariosto charmed the world. Miss Dexter, Muriel’s +governess, is a very thorough and accomplished linguist, and +speaks Italian not only gracefully but correctly. I have already +engaged her to teach you whatever she may deem advisable +when she comes here to live.”</p> +<p>“You are very kind. Is she a young person?”</p> +<p>“She is a very highly cultivated and elegant woman, +probably twenty-five or six years old, and has been in Florence +with Muriel.”</p> +<p>Involuntarily and unconsciously the orphan sighed, and the +muscles in her broad forehead tangled terribly.</p> +<p>“Salome, please put your hand in the right pocket of my +vest, and take out a key that ought to be there. No,—not +that; a larger steel one. Now you have it. Will you be so +good as to open that trunk which came by express yesterday +(it is in the upper hall), and bring me a box wrapped in pink +tissue-paper? I would not trouble you with so many commissions +if I could use my hands.”</p> +<p>Unable longer to repress her feelings, the girl exclaimed +eagerly,—</p> +<p>“If you could imagine what pleasure it affords me to render +you the slightest service, I am very sure you would not annoy +me with apologies for making me happy.”</p> +<p>In a few moments she returned to the library, bearing in +her hand a small but heavy package, which she placed on the +table before him.</p> +<p>“Please open it, and examine the contents.”</p> +<p>She obeyed him; and, after removing the wrapping, found +a blue velvet case that opened with a spring and revealed a +parcel enclosed in silver paper. Dr. Grey turned and walked +to the window; and, as Salome took off the last covering, a +watch and chain met her curious gaze. One side of the former +was richly and elaborately chased, and represented Kronos +leaning on his scythe; the other was studded with diamonds +that flashed out the name “Salome.” Astonishment and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span> +delight sealed the orphan’s lips, and, in silence, far more +eloquent than words, she bowed her head upon the table. +After a few moments had elapsed, Dr. Grey attempted to steal +out of the room; but, being obliged to pass close by her chair, +she put out her hand and arrested his movement.</p> +<p>“It is the most beautiful watch I have ever seen; but, oh, +sir! how shall I sufficiently thank you? How can I express +all that is throbbing here in my proud, grateful heart? Although +the costly gift is elegant and tasteful, I hold still +more precious the fact which it attests,—that during your +absence you thought of me. How shall I begin to prove my +gratitude for your kindness and generosity?”</p> +<p>“Do not thank me, my little friend; for, indeed I require +no verbal assurances that my <i>souvenir</i> is kindly received and +appreciated. Wear the watch; and let it continually remind +you not only of the sincerity of my friendship, but of the far +more important fact that every idle or injudiciously employed +hour will cry out in accusation against us in the final assize, +when we are called upon to render an account of the distribution +of that invaluable time which God allows us solely for +the accomplishment of His work on earth. It is so exceedingly +difficult for young persons to realize how marvellously +rapid is the flight of time, that you will, I trust, forgive me +if I endeavor to impress upon you the vital importance of +making each day fragrant with the burden of some good deed, +the resistance of some sore temptation, some service rendered +to God or to suffering humanity which shall make your years +mellow with the fruitage that will entitle you to a glorious +record in the golden book of Abou Ben Adhem’s angel. Let +this little jewelled monitress of the fleeting, mocking nature +of time, this ingenious toy, whose ticking is but the mournful, +endless knell of dead seconds, remind you that,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“This life of ours, what is it? A very few<br /> +Soon ended years, and then—the ceaseless psalm,<br /> +And the eternal Sabbath of the soul.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>As Salome looked up into his tranquil, happy face, two +tears glided across her cheeks, and fell upon the pretty +bauble.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span></div> +<p>“You will find a key in the case, and can wind it up, and +set it by the clock in the parlor.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, are you willing that my watch shall bear daily +testimony of something which I hold far above its diamonds,—that +you have faith in Salome Owen?”</p> +<p>“Perfectly willing that you should make it eloquent with +all friendly utterances and sympathy. Hester has bound my +arm so tightly that it impedes the circulation, and is very +painful. Please loosen the bandage.”</p> +<p>She complied as carefully as possible, though her hands +trembled; and, when the ligature had been comfortably adjusted +and the arm restored to its sling, she stooped and +pressed her lips softly and reverently to the cold, white +fingers, that protruded from the linen bands. He endeavored +ineffectually to prevent the caress, which evidently embarrassed +him; but she left two kisses on the bruised hand, and, snatching +her watch and chain from the table, hastily quitted the +room.</p> +<p>In after years, when loneliness and disappointment pressed +heavily upon her heart, she looked back to the three weeks +that succeeded Dr. Grey’s return as the halcyon days, as the +cloudless June morning of her life; and, in blissful retrospection, +temporarily found Elysium.</p> +<p>She wrote his letters, read aloud from his favorite books, +dressed and bandaged his blistered hand and fractured arm, +and surrendered her heart to an intense and perfect happiness +such as she had scarcely dared to hope would ever be her +portion.</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XI' id='CHAPTER_XI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Bring her into my office. Steady, men! There may +be broken bones, and jarring would be torture. Don’t +stumble over that book on the floor. Lay her here on the +sofa, and throw open the blinds.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, is she dead?”</p> +<p>“No, only badly stunned; and the contusion on the head +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span> +seems to be very severe. Stand back, all of you, and give her +air. When did it happen?”</p> +<p>“About twenty minutes ago. She is a stout, heavy woman, +and we could not walk very fast with such a burden. +Ah! you intend to bleed her?”</p> +<p>“Yes, I fear nothing else will relieve her. Mitchell, hold +the arm for me.”</p> +<p>“How did she receive this injury?” asked Dr. Mitchell, +who had been holding a consultation with Dr. Grey relative +to some perplexing case.</p> +<p>“Those gray ponies which we were admiring a half-hour +since, as they trotted by the door, took fright at a menagerie +procession coming up from the dépot to the Hippodrome,—and +ran away. In steering clear of the elephant, who was +covered from head to foot, and certainly looked frightful, the +horses ran into a mass of lumber and brick at the corner of +Fountain and Franklin streets, where a new store is being +erected, and the carriage was upset. Unfortunately the harness +was very strong, and did not give away until the carriage +had been dragged some yards among the rubbish, and one +of the horses finally floundered into a bed of mortar, and broke +the traces. The driver kept his hold upon the reins to the +last, but was badly bruised, and this woman was thrown out +on a pile of bricks and granite-caps. The municipal authorities +should prohibit these menagerie parades, for the +meekest plough-horse in the State could scarcely have faced +that band of musicians, flanked by the covered elephant and +giraffe, and the cages of the beasts,—much less those fiery +grays, who seem snuffing danger even when there is no provocation.”</p> +<p>“Who is this woman?”</p> +<p>“She is a total stranger to me,” answered Dr. Grey, bending +down to put his ear to the heart of the victim.</p> +<p>A bystander seemed better informed, and replied,—</p> +<p>“She is a servant or housekeeper of the lady who lives at +‘Solitude.’ But here comes the driver, limping and making +wry faces.”</p> +<p>Robert Maclean approached the sofa, and his scratched and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span> +bleeding face paled as he leaned over the prostrate form of his +mother.</p> +<p>“Oh, doctors, surely two of you can save her! For God’s +sake, don’t let her die! Does she breathe?”</p> +<p>“Yes, the bleeding has already benefitted her. She +breathes regularly, and the action of her heart is better. Sit +down, my man,—you look ghastly. Mitchell, give him some +brandy, and sew up that gash in his cheek, while I write a +prescription.”</p> +<p>“Never mind me, doctor; only save my poor mother. She +looks like death itself. Mother, mother, it is all over now! +Come, wake up, and speak to me!”</p> +<p>He seized one of her cold hands, and chafed it vigorously +between both of his, while tears and blood mingled, as they +dripped from his face to hers.</p> +<p>“Doctor, tell me the truth; is there any hope?”</p> +<p>“Certainly, my friend; there is every reason to believe she +will ultimately recover, though you need not be surprised if +she remains for some hours in a heavy stupor. Remember, a +pile of brick is not exactly a feather pillow, and it may be +some time before the brain recovers from the severity of the +contusion. What is your name?”</p> +<p>“Robert Maclean.”</p> +<p>“And hers?”</p> +<p>“Elsie Maclean. Poor, dear creature! How she labors +in her breathing. Suppose I lift her head?”</p> +<p>“No; let her rest quietly, just as she is, and I trust all +will be well. Come to the table, and allow me to put some +plaster over that cut which bleeds so freely. Trust me, +Maclean, and do not look so woe-begone. I am not deceiving +you. There may be serious internal injuries that I have not +discovered, but this stupor is not alarming. I can find no +fractured bones, and hope the blow on the head is the most +troublesome thing we shall have to contend with.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey proceeded to sponge the bruised and stained face +and, hoping to divert the man’s anxious thoughts, said, nonchalantly,—</p> +<p>“I believe you are in Mrs. Gerome’s employment?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span></div> +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> +<p>“How long have you been at ‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“I came here, sir, and bought the place, while she was in +Europe. Ah, doctor, if my mother should die, I believe it +would kill my mistress.”</p> +<p>“You are old family servants?”</p> +<p>“My mother took her when she was twelve hours old, and +has never left her since. She loves Mrs. Gerome even better +than she loves me—her own flesh and blood. I can’t go home +and tell my mistress I have nearly killed my mother. She +would never endure the sight of me again. Her own mother +died the day after she was born, and she has always looked +on that poor dear soul yonder as her <ins title='Added quote'>foster-mother.”</ins></p> +<p>Robert limped back to the sofa, and, seating himself on a +chair, looked wistfully into his mother’s countenance; then +hid his face in his hands.</p> +<p>“Come, be a man, Maclean; and don’t give way to nervousness! +Your mother’s condition is constantly improving, +though of course it is not so apparent to you as to me. What +has been done with the carriage and horses?”</p> +<p>“Oh, the carriage is a sweet pudding; and the grays—curses +on ’em!—are badly bruised. One of them had his +flank laid open by a saw lying on a lumber-pile; and I only +wish it had sawed across the jugular. They are vicious brutes +as ever were bitted, and it makes my blood run cold sometimes +to see their devilish antics when Mrs. Gerome insists on driving +them. They will break her neck, if I don’t contrive to +break theirs first.”</p> +<p>“I should judge from their appearance that it was exceedingly +unsafe for any lady to attempt to control them. +They seem very fiery and unmanageable. What has been +done with them?”</p> +<p>“The deuce knows!—knocked in the head, I trust. I +asked two men, who were in the crowd, to take them to the +livery-stable. Mrs. Gerome is not afraid of anything, and +one of her few pleasures is driving those gray imps, who know +her voice as well as I do. I have seen them put up their +narrow ears and neigh when she was a hundred yards off; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span> +and sometimes she wraps the reins around her wrists and +quiets them, when their eyes look like balls of fire. But +Rarey himself could not have stopped them a while ago, when +they determined to run over that menagerie show. My mistress +will say it was my fault, and she will stand by the gray +satans through thick and thin. Hist, doctor, my mother +groans!”</p> +<p>“Would it not be best for you to go home and acquaint +Mrs. Gerome with what has occurred?”</p> +<p>“I would not face her without my mother for—twenty +kingdoms! You have no idea how she loves her ‘old Elsie,’ +and I couldn’t break the news to her,—I would sooner break +my head.”</p> +<p>“This is not a proper place for your mother, and I advise +you to remove her to the hospital, which is not very far from +my office. She can be carried on a litter.”</p> +<p>“Oh, my mistress would never permit that! She will let +no one else nurse my mother; and, of course, she could not +go to a public place like a hospital, for you know she is so +dreadful shy of strangers.”</p> +<p>After many suggestions, and much desultory conversation, +it was finally decided that Elsie should be placed on a mattress, +in the bottom of an open wagon, and carried slowly +home. A careful driver was provided, and when Dr. Grey +had seen his patient comfortably arranged, and established +Robert on the seat with the driver, he yielded to the solicitations +of the son, that he would precede them to “Solitude,” +and acquaint Mrs. Gerome with the details of the accident.</p> +<p>Although ten months had elapsed since the latter took +possession of her new home, so complete had been her seclusion +that she remained an utter stranger; and, when visitors +flocked from town and neighborhood to satisfy themselves +concerning the rumors of the elegant furniture and appointments +of the house, they were invariably denied admittance, +and informed that since her widowhood Mrs. Gerome had not +re-entered society.</p> +<p>Curiosity was piqued, and gossip wagged her hundred busy +tongues over the tormenting fact that Mrs. Gerome had never +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span> +darkened the church-door since her arrival; and, occasionally, +when she rode into town, wore a thick veil that thoroughly +screened her features; and, instead of shopping like other +people, made Elsie Maclean bring the articles to the carriage +for her inspection.</p> +<p>The servants seemed to hold themselves as much aloof as +their mistress, and though Robert and his mother attended +service regularly every Sabbath, they appeared as gravely silent +and ungregarious as Sphinxes. The ministers of various +denominations called to pay their respects to the stranger, but +only the clerical cards succeeded in crossing the threshold; +and, while rumors of her boundless wealth crept teasingly +through Newsmongerdom, no one except Salome Owen had +yet seen the new-comer.</p> +<p>Cases of books and pictures occasionally arrived from +Europe, and never failed to stir the pool of gossip to its dregs; +for the wife of the express-agent was an intimate friend of +Mrs. Spiewell, whose husband was pastor of the church which +Elsie and Robert attended, and who felt personally aggrieved +that the Rev. Charles Spiewell was not welcomed as the spiritual +guide of the mistress of “Solitude.”</p> +<p>Finally, a morbid, meddling inquisitiveness goaded the +chatty little woman beyond the bounds of ministerial decorum, +and, having rashly wagered a pair of gloves that she would +gain an entrance to the parlors (whereof the upholsterer’s +wife told marvellous tales), she armed herself with a pathetic +petition for aid to build a “Widow’s Row,” and, with a subscription-list +for a “Dorcas Society,” and confident of ingress, +boldly rang the bell. Unfortunately, Elsie chanced that day +to be on post as sentinel, and, though she immediately recognized +the visitor as the mother of the small colony of Spiewells +who crowded every Sunday morning into the pew of the +pastor, she courtesied, and gave the stereotyped rebuff,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome begs to be excused.”</p> +<p>“Ah, indeed! But she does not know who has called, or +she would make an exception in my favor. I am your minister’s +wife, and must really see her, if only for two minutes. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span> +Take my card to her, and say I call on important business, +which cannot fail to interest her.”</p> +<p>Not a muscle of Elsie’s grave face moved, as she received +the card, and answered,—</p> +<p>“I am very sorry, madam, but Mrs. Gerome sees no visitors, +and my orders are positive.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Spiewell bit her lip, and reddened.</p> +<p>“Then take these papers to her, and ask if she will please +be so good as to examine their claims to her charity. In the +meantime I will wait in the parlor, and must trouble you for +a glass of water.”</p> +<p>She thrust the petitions into Elsie’s hand, and attempted +to slip into the hall, through the partial opening of the door +which the servant held during the parley; but, planting her +massive frame directly in the way, the resolute woman effectually +barred entrance, and, pointing to an iron <i>tęte-ŕ-tęte</i> +on the portico, said, decisively,—</p> +<p>“I beg pardon, madam, but you will find a seat there; and +I will bring the water while Mrs. Gerome reads your letters. +If you are fatigued, I will hand you luncheon and some wine.”</p> +<p>Mortified and enraged, Mrs. Spiewell grew scarlet, but +threw herself into the seat designated, resolved to snatch a +glimpse of the interior the instant the servant had disappeared.</p> +<p>Very softly Elsie closed and securely latched the door on +the inside, knowing that at that moment her mistress was +sitting in the oriel window of the front parlor.</p> +<p>In vain the visitor tried and twisted the bolt, and, completely +baffled, tears of chagrin moistened her eyes. She had +scarcely time to regain her seat, when Elsie reappeared, bearing +on a handsome salver a wine-glass, silver goblet, and an +elegant basket filled with cake.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome presents her compliments, and sends you +this fifty dollar bill for whatever society you represent.”</p> +<p>Too thoroughly discomfited to conceal her pique and indignation, +Mrs. Spiewell snatched letters and donation, and, +without lingering an instant, swept haughtily down the steps, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span> +“shaking off the dust of her feet” against “Solitude” and +its incorrigible owner.</p> +<p>An innocent impertinence once coldly frustrated soon takes +unto itself a sting and branding-irons, and thus, what was +originally merely idle curiosity, becomes bitter malice; and +henceforth the worthy minister’s gossiping wife lost no opportunity +of inveighing against the superciliousness of the +stranger, and of insinuating that some very extraordinary circumstances +led her “to fear that something was radically +wrong about that poor Mrs. Gerome, for troubles that could +not be poured into the sympathetic ears of pastors and of +pastors’ wives must be very dark, indeed.”</p> +<p>Whenever the name of the new-comer was mentioned, Mrs. +Spiewell compressed her lips, shook her head, and shrugged +her round shoulders; and, of course, persons present surmised +that the “minister’s lady” was acquainted with melancholy +facts which charity prevented her from divulging.</p> +<p>Many of the grievances and ills that afflict society spring +not from sinful, envenomed hearts, but from weak souls and +empty heads; and Mrs. Spiewell, who sat up with all the +measle-stricken, teething, sick children in her husband’s +charge, and would have felt disgraced had she missed a meeting +of the “Dorcas Society,” or of the “Barefeet Relief +Club,” would have been duly shocked if any one had boldly +charged her with slandering a woman whom she had never +seen, and of whose antecedents she knew absolutely nothing. +Verily, it is difficult, indeed, even for “the elect” to keep +themselves “unspotted from the world;” and Zimmerman +was a seer when he declared, “Who lives with wolves must +join in their howls.”</p> +<p>Absorbed by professional engagements, or fiscal cares, the +gentlemen of a community are rarely interested in or informed +of the last wreck of character which the whirlpool of +scandal strews on the strand of society; but vague rumors +relative to Mrs. Gerome’s isolation had penetrated even into +the quiet precincts of Dr. Grey’s sanctum, and consequently +invested his present mission with extraneous interest.</p> +<p>For the first time since her arrival he approached the confines +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span> +of her residence, and, as he threw the reins over the +dashboard of his buggy and stood under the lofty old trees that +surrounded the house, he paused to admire the beauty of the +grounds, the grouping of some statues and pot plants on a +neighboring mound, and the far-stretching sheen of the rippling +sea.</p> +<p>No living thing was visible except a golden pheasant and +scarlet flamingo strutting along the stone terrace at the foot +of the lawn, and silence and repose seemed brooding over +house and yard; when suddenly a rapid, passionate, piano-prelude +smote the stillness till the air appeared to throb and +quiver, and a thrillingly sweet yet intensely mournful voice +sang the wailing strains of <i>Addio del Passato</i>.</p> +<p>The indescribable yet almost overwhelming pathos of the +tones affected Dr. Grey much as the tremolo-stop in some +organ-overture in a dimly-lighted cathedral; and, as the +singer seemed to pour her whole aching heart and wearied +soul into the concluding “<i>Ah! tutto-tutto fini!</i>” he turned, +and involuntarily followed the sound, like one in a dream.</p> +<p>The front door was closed; but the sash of the oriel window +had been raised, and through the delicate lace curtains +that were swaying in the salt breath of ocean he could see +what passed in the parlor. A woman sat before the piano, +running her snowy fingers idly across the keys, now striking +<i>fortissimo</i> a wild stormy <i>fugue</i> theme, and then softly evoking +a subtle minor chord that seemed the utterance of some despairing +spirit breathing its last prayer for peace.</p> +<p>Her Marie-Louise blue dress was girded at the waist by a +belt and buckle of silver, and the loose sleeve of the right +arm was looped and pinned up, showing the dimpled elbow +and daintily rounded wrist encircled by the jet serpent. +Around her throat she had carelessly thrown a lace handkerchief, +and from the mass of hair that seemed tiny, snow-capped +waves, a cluster of blue nemophila leaned down to +touch the white forehead beneath, and peep at the answering +blue gleams in the large, shining, steely eyes. Her fingers +strayed listlessly into a <i>Nocturne</i>; but from the dreamy +expression of the face, upraised to gaze at the busts on the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span> +brackets above, it was evident that her thoughts had wandered +far away from <i>Addio del Passato</i>, and were treading the drift-strewn +strands of melancholy memory.</p> +<p>Presently she rose, walked twice across the room, and came +back to an <i>étagére</i> where stood an azure Bohemian glass vase, +supported by silver Tritons, and filled with late blue hyacinths +and early pancratiums.</p> +<p>Bending her regal head, she inhaled the mingled perfumes, +worthy of Sicilian or Cyprian meadows; and, while her slight +fingers toyed with the fragile petals, a proud smile lent its +sad light to the chill face, and she said aloud, as if striving to +comfort herself,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“‘Not the ineffable stars that interlace<br /> +The azure canopy of Zeus himself<br /> +Have surer sweetness than my hyacinths<br /> +When they grow blue, in gazing on blue heaven,<br /> +Than the white lilies of my rivers, when<br /> +In leafy spring Selene’s silver horn<br /> +Spills paleness, peace, and fragrance.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>With a heavy sigh she turned away, and sat down in the +rear room, near the arch, where an easel now stood, containing +a large, unfinished picture; and, taking her ivory palette +and brushes, she began to retouch the violet robe of one of +the figures.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had seen more beautiful women among the gilded +pillars and frescoes of palaces, and amid the olives and vineyards +of Parthenope; but in Mrs. Gerome he found a fascinating +mystery that baffled analysis and riveted his attention. +Neither young nor old, she had crowned herself with the +glories of both seasons, and seemed some sweet, dewy spring, +wrapped in the snows and frozen in the icy garb of winter.</p> +<p>He had expected to meet a middle-aged person, habited in +widow’s weeds, and meek from the severe scourging of a +recent and terrible bereavement; but that anomalous white +face and proud, queenly form were unlike all other flesh that +his keen eyes had hitherto scanned; and he regarded her as +curiously as he would have examined some abnormal-looking +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span> +specimen of nerves and muscles laid upon the marble slab of a +dissecting-table.</p> +<p>Recollecting suddenly that, if he did not present himself, +the wagon would arrive before he had accomplished the object +of his visit, he drew a card from his pocket, and, stepping +over the low sill of the oriel window, advanced to the arch.</p> +<p>The mistress of the house sat with her back turned towards +him, and was apparently absorbed in putting purple shadows +into the folds of a mantle that hung from the shoulders of a +kneeling figure on the canvas.</p> +<p>Face-downward on an ottoman near, lay a beautiful copy of +Owen Meredith’s poems; and, after a few seconds, she paused, +brush in hand, and, taking up the book, slowly read aloud—glancing, +as she did so, from page to picture,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “‘Then I could perceive</p> +<p class='cg'>A glory pouring through an open door,<br /> +And in the light five women. I believe<br /> +They wore white vestments, all of them. They were<br /> +Quite calm; and each still face unearthly fair,<br /> +Unearthly quiet. So like statues all,<br /> +Waiting they stood without that lighted hall;<br /> +And in their hands, like a blue star, they held<br /> +Each one a silver lamp.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Standing immediately behind her, Dr. Grey saw that she +had seized the weird “<i>Vision of Virgins</i>,” and was putting +into pigment that solemn phantasm of the poet’s imagination +where five radiant women were passing to their reward,—and +five wailing over flickering, dying lamps, were huddled helplessly +and hopelessly under a black and starless midnight sky. +Although unfinished, there was marvellous power in the picture, +and the sickly gleam from the expiring wicks made the +surrounding gloom more supernatural, like the deep shadows +skulking behind the lurid glare in some old Flemish painting.</p> +<p>He saw also that she had followed the general outline of +the poem; but one of the faces was so supreme in its mute +anguish that he thought of Reni’s “Cenci,” and of a wan +“Alcestis,” and a desperate “Cassandra,” he had seen at +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span> +Rome; and, in comparison, the description of the poet +seemed almost vapid,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “One as still as death</p> +<p class='cg'>Hollowed her hands about her lamp, for fear<br /> +Some motion of the midnight, or her breath,<br /> +Should fan out the last flicker. Rosy clear<br /> +The light oozed through her fingers o’er her <ins title='Added period'>face.</ins><br /> +There was a ruined beauty hovering there<br /> +Over deep pain, and dashed with lurid grace<br /> +A waning bloom.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The room with its costly, quaint, and tasteful furniture,—the +solitary and singularly beautiful woman; the wonderful +picture, growing beneath her hand; the solemn silence, broken +only by the deep, hollow murmur of the dimpling sea that sent +its shimmer in at the window to meet the painted shimmer in +a marine view framed on the wall,—all these wove a spell +about the intruder that temporarily held him a mute captive.</p> +<p>The artist laid a delicate green on the stripped and scattered +leaves from a wreath of Syrian lilies lying on the marble +steps of the bridegroom’s mansion, and once more she read a +passage from the open book,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “‘Then I beheld</p> +<p class='cg'>A shadow in the doorway. And One came<br /> +Crown’d for a feast. I could not see the Face.<br /> +The Form was not all human. As the Flame<br /> +Streamed over it, a presence took the place<br /> +With awe. He, turning, took them by the hand<br /> +And led them each up the wide stairway, and<br /> +The door closed.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The sound of her voice, low but clear, and burdened with +a sadness that no language could exhaust or interpret, thrilled +Dr. Grey’s steady nerves as no music had ever done, and, +stepping forward, he held out his card, and said,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, a painful necessity has compelled me to +intrude upon your seclusion, and I trust you will acquit me +of impertinence.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span></div> +<p>Rising, she fronted him with a frown severe as that which +clouded Artemis’ brow when profane eyes peered through +myrtle boughs into her sacred retreat, and the changed voice +seemed thick with bristling icicles.</p> +<p>“Your business must be imperative, indeed, if it warrants +this intrusion. What servant admitted you?”</p> +<p>“None. I came in haste, and, seeing the window open, +entered without ringing. Madam, my card will explain my +errand.”</p> +<p>“Has Dr. Grey an unpaid bill? I was not aware the servants +had needed your services; but if so, present your claim +to Robert Maclean, my agent.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome owes me nothing, and I came here reluctantly +and in compliance with Robert Maclean’s request, to +inform her of an accident which happened this afternoon +while—”</p> +<p>He paused, awed by the change that swept over her countenance, +filling it with horrible dread.</p> +<p>“Those gray horses?”</p> +<p>“Yes, madam.”</p> +<p>“Not Elsie? Oh! don’t tell me that my dear old Elsie was +mangled! Hush! I will not hear it!”</p> +<p>Palette and brushes fell upon the carpet, and she wrung +her fingers until the diamond-eyed asp set its blue fangs in +her cold flesh.</p> +<p>“Robert was merely bruised, but his mother was very badly +injured, and is still insensible. Every precaution has been +taken to counteract the effect of the severe blow on her head, +and I hope that after an hour or two she will recover her +consciousness. Robert is bringing her home as carefully as +possible, and you may expect them momentarily. Only his +urgent entreaties that I would precede him and prepare you +for the reception of his mother could have induced me to +waive ceremony and thrust myself into the presence of a lady +who seems little disposed to pardon the apparent presumption +of my visit.”</p> +<p>She evidently did not heed his words, and, suddenly clasping +her hands across her forehead, she said, bitterly,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span></div> +<p>“Coward! why can’t you speak out, and tell me that the +corpse will soon be here, and a coffin must be ordered? This +is the last blow! Surely, God will let me alone, now; for +there is nothing more that He can send to afflict me. Oh, +Elsie,—my sole comfort! The only one who ever loved me!”</p> +<p>A bluish pallor settled about her mouth, and Dr. Grey +shuddered as he looked into the dry, defiant eyes, so beautiful +in form and color but so mournfully desperate in their expression.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, your servant is neither dead nor dying, and +I have told you the worst. Down the road I can see the +wagon coming slowly, and I would advise you to call the +household together, in order to assist in lifting Elsie, who is +very stout and heavy. Calm yourself, madam, and trust your +favorite servant to my care.”</p> +<p>“Servant! Sir, she is mother, father, husband, friends,—all,—everything +to me! She is the only human being who +cares for, or understands, or sympathizes with me,—and I +could not live without her. Oh, sir, do not ask me to trust +you! The time has gone by when I could trust anybody +but Elsie. You are a physician,—you ought to know what +should be done for her; and, Dr. Grey, if you have any pity +in your soul, and any skill in your profession, save my old +Elsie’s life! Dr. Grey—”</p> +<p>She paused a few seconds, and added, in a whisper,—</p> +<p>“If she dies, I am afraid I might grow desperate, and commit +what you happy people call a crime.”</p> +<p>He felt an unwonted moisture dim his eyes, as he watched +the delicate face, white as the hair that crowned it, and wondered +if the wide, populous world could match her regal form +and perfect features.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, I think I can promise that Elsie will recover +from her injuries; but a prayer for her safety would +bring you more comfort than my feeble words of assurance +and encouragement. The mercy of God is surer than the combined +medical skill of the universe.”</p> +<p>“The mercy of God!” she repeated, with a gesture of +scorn and impatience. “No, no! God set his face like a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span> +flint against me, long, long ago, and I do not mock myself by +offering prayers that only call down smitings upon me. +Seven years since I prayed my last prayer, which was for +speedy death; and, from that hour, I seem to have taken a +new lease on life. Now I stand still and keep silent, and I +hoped that God had forgotten me.”</p> +<p>She covered her face with her hands and Dr. Grey drew a +chair close to her and endeavored to make her sit down, but +she resisted and shrank from his touch on her arm.</p> +<p>“Madam, the wagon has stopped at the door. Will you +direct your servants, or shall I?”</p> +<p>“If she is not dead, tell Robert to carry her into my room. +Oh, Dr. Grey, you will not let her die!”</p> +<p>As she looked up imploringly into his calm, noble face, she +met his earnest gaze, brimming with compassion and sympathy, +and her lips and chin quivered.</p> +<p>“Trust your God, and have faith in me.”</p> +<p>He went out to assist in removing his patient, and when +they had carried the mattress and its occupant into the room +opposite the parlor and laid it on the carpet near the window, +he had the satisfaction of observing a favorable change in +Elsie’s condition. While he stood by a table preparing some +medicine, Robert stole up, and asked:</p> +<p>“Do you notice any improvement? She groaned twice on +the road, and once I am sure she opened her eyes.”</p> +<p>“Yes; I think that very soon she will be able to speak, for +her pulse is gaining strength every hour.”</p> +<p>“How did my mistress take it?”</p> +<p>“She was much shocked and grieved. Maclean, where are +her friends and relatives?”</p> +<p>There was no reply, and, glancing over his shoulder to repeat +the inquiry, Dr. Grey saw Mrs. Gerome leaning against +the door.</p> +<p>“Robert, have you killed her?”</p> +<p>“Oh, no, ma’am! She is doing very well, the doctor says.”</p> +<p>She crossed the room, and sat down on the edge of the +mattress, taking one of the large brown hands in both of hers +and bending her face over the pillow.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span></div> +<p>“Elsie! mother! Elsie, speak to your poor child!”</p> +<p>That wailing voice pierced the stupor, and Dr. Grey was +surprised to see the woman’s eyes unclose and rest wonderingly +upon the countenance hovering over her.</p> +<p>“My dear Elsie, don’t you know me?”</p> +<p>“Yes, my bairn. What ails you?”</p> +<p>She spoke indistinctly, and shut her eyes once more, as if +exhausted.</p> +<p>“If she was in her coffin, I verily believe she would rise, +if she heard your voice calling her,” said Robert, wiping away +the tears of joy that trickled across his sunburnt cheeks.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey stooped to put his finger on Elsie’s pulse, and +Mrs. Gerome threw herself down on the carpet, and buried her +face in the pillow, where her silver hair mingled with the +grizzled locks that straggled from beneath the old woman’s +torn lace cap.</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XII' id='CHAPTER_XII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Well, Ulpian, are you convinced that ‘Solitude’ is an +unlucky place, and that misfortune dogs the steps of all who +make it a home? Once you laughed at my ‘superstition.’ +What think you now, my wiseacre?”</p> +<p>“My opinion has not changed, except that each time I see +the place I admire it more and more; and, were it for sale, +I should certainly purchase it.”</p> +<p>“Not with the expectation of living there?”</p> +<p>“Most assuredly.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane had suspended for a moment the swift clicking +of her knitting-needles in order to hear her brother’s reply, +and now she rejoined, almost sharply,—</p> +<p>“You will do no such silly thing while there is breath left +in my body to protest, or to persuade. Pooh! you only talk +to tease me; for five grains of observation and common sense +will teach you that there is a curse hanging over that old +piratical nest.”</p> +<p>“Dear Janet, when headstrong drivers persist in carrying a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span> +pair of fiery, vicious horses into the midst of a procession of +wild beasts that would have scared even your sober dull +Dapples out of their lazy jog-trot, it is not at all surprising +that snapped harness, broken carriage, torn flesh, and strained +joints should attest the folly of the experiment. The accident +occurred not far from my office, which is haunted by +nothing worse than your harmless sailor-boy.”</p> +<p>“All very fine, my blue-eyed oracle, but I notice that the +horses belonging to ‘Solitude’ were the only ones that made +mischief and came to grief; and I promise you that all the +hawsers in Gosport Navy-Yard will never drag me inside the +doomed place. How is your patient? If you expect her to +get well, you had better take a ‘superstitious’ old woman’s +counsel, and send her away from that valley of Jehoshaphat.”</p> +<p>“I am very sorry to tell you that she was more seriously +hurt than I was at first inclined to believe. Her spine was so +badly injured that although there is no danger of immediate +death, she will never be able to sit up or walk again. She +may linger many months, possibly years; but must, as long +as life lasts, remain a bed-ridden cripple. It is one of the +saddest cases I have had to deal with during my professional +career; and Elsie Maclean bears her sufferings with such noble +fortitude, such genuine Christian patience, coupled with stern +Scotch heroism, that I cannot withhold my admiration and +earnest sympathy. Yesterday I held a consultation with four +physicians, and, when we told her the hopelessness of her +condition, she received the announcement without even a sigh, +and seemed only to dread that instead of an assistant she +might prove a burden to her mistress.”</p> +<p>“She appears to be a very important personage in the +household.”</p> +<p>“Yes; she is Mrs. Gerome’s nurse, housekeeper, and counsellor,—and +I have rarely seen such warm affection as exists +between them. I wish, Janet, that you were strong enough +to call at ‘Solitude,’ for its mistress leads a lonely, secluded +life, and must require some society.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span></div> +<p>“But, Ulpian, I hear strange things about her, and it is +hinted that she is deranged.”</p> +<p>“Your knowledge of human nature should teach you how +little truth is generally found in the floating <i>on dits</i> of social +circles.”</p> +<p>“How long has she been widowed?”</p> +<p>“I do not know, but presume that her affliction has not +been very recent, as she wears no mourning.”</p> +<p>“If she has discarded widow’s weeds, and dresses in colors, +why should she taboo society, and make herself the town-talk +by refusing to receive even the clergy and their wives? She +has lived here ten months, and I understand from Dolly +Spiewell that not a soul has ever seen her. Of course such +eccentricities provoke gossip and tickle the tongue of scandal, +and if the world can’t find out the real cause of such conduct, +it very industriously sets to work and manufactures one.”</p> +<p>“Which, in my humble opinion, constitutes a piece of unwarrantable +impertinence on the part of meddling Mrs. +Grundy. The world might be more profitably engaged in +mending its own tortuous and mendacious ways, and allowing +poor solitary wretches to fondle their whims and caprices. +If Mrs. Gerome does not choose to receive visitors, what right +has the public to grumble, or even discuss the matter?”</p> +<p>As Salome spoke, she plunged her stiletto vigorously into a +piece of cambric, and her thin lip curled contemptuously.</p> +<p>“Abstractly true, my dear child; but, from the beginning +of time, people have meddled; and, since gossip she must, +even Eve chatted too freely with serpents. Besides, since we +are in the world, we should not turn eremites, and bristle +at the sight of one of our own race; for society has a few +laws that are inexorable,—that cannot be violated without +subjecting the offender to being stung to death by venomous +tongues; and one of these statutes is, that all shall see and +be seen, shall talk and be talked about, and shall visit and +be visited. When a woman unaccountably turns recluse, she +is at the mercy of public imagination, stimulated by disappointed +curiosity; and very soon the verdict goes forth that +she is either deformed or deranged.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span></div> +<p>“I dispute the prerogative of the public to dictate in such +matters, and I shall rebel whenever it presumes to lay even a +little finger across my path. What, pray tell me, is the world, +but an aggregation of persons like you and me, and what +possible concern can you or I have with the fact that Mrs. +Gerome burrows like a mole, beyond our sight? If she sees +fit to found a modern sect of Troglodytes, I can’t understand +that the wheels of society are thereby scotched, or that the +public has a shadow of right to raise a hue-and-cry and strive +to unearth her, as if she were a fox, a catamount, or a gopher. +It is useless for society to constitute itself a turning-lathe for +rounding off all individual angularities, and grinding people +down to dull uniformity until they are as indistinguishable +as a bag of unpainted marbles or of black-eyed peas; and, +if God had intended that we should all invariably think, feel, +and act after one pattern, He would have populated the world +with Siamese twins; whereas, the first couple that were born +on earth were so dissimilar that all the universe was not wide +enough to hold them both, and manslaughter began when the +race only numbered a quartette. If mankind had not arrogated +the privilege of being its ‘brother’s keeper,’ it would +never have been forced to deny the fact. I admire the honesty +and truth with which Alexander Smith bravely confessed, ‘I +love a little eccentricity; I respect honest prejudices. It is +high time, it seems to me, that a moral game-law were passed +for the preservation of the wild and vagrant feelings of human +nature.’”</p> +<p>“That is a dangerous doctrine, my dear child, especially +for a woman to entertain; because custom rules us with an +iron rod, and flays us alive if we contravene her decrees.”</p> +<p>“I should be exceedingly glad to learn by what authority +or process Truth is provided with sex? Are some orthodox +doctrines female and others male? Why have not we women +as clear a right to any given set of principles as men? Truth +is as much my property as that of the Czar of Russia, and, +if I choose to lay hold of any special province of it, why must +I perforce be dragged to the whipping-post of custom, simply +because by an accident I am called Susan or Hepzibah instead +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span> +of Peter or Lazarus? So long as my convictions of +truth (which custom brands as vagaries) are innocuous, I +have a perfect and inalienable right to indulge them; but the +instant I become pestiferous to society, let me be consigned +to the tender mercies of strait-jacket and insane-asylum +regimen. If I creep quietly along my own intellectual and +ethical trail, taking heed not to touch the sensitive toes of +custom, why should it ungenerously insist upon bruising +mine? My seer was right when he boldly declared, ‘The +world has stood long enough under the drill of Adjutant +<ins title='Guessed at end quote position'>Fashion.’</ins> It is hard work, the posture is wearisome, and +Fashion is an awful martinet, and has a quick eye, and comes +down mercilessly on the unfortunate wight who can not +square his toes to the approved pattern. It is killing work. +Suppose we try ‘standing at ease’ for a little while? Wherefore, +custom to the contrary notwithstanding, I contend that +Mrs. Gerome has as indisputable a right to refuse admittance +to Rev. Mrs. Spiewell as any anchorite of the Nitrian Sands +to decline receiving a bevy of inquisitive European belles. +If society rules like Russia or Turkey, then am I a candidate +for knout and bastinado. I do not wish to be unwomanly, +and honesty and candor are not necessarily unfeminine, +because some coarse, rough-handed, bold-eyed woman +has possibly rendered them unpopular.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane laid down her knitting, folded her hands, and, +as she watched the girl, her emotions were probably similar +to those that agitate some meek and staid hen, who, leading +a young brood of ducks from her nest, suddenly beholds them +displaying their aquatic proclivities by plunging into the +horse-pond, and performing all the evolutions of a regatta.</p> +<p>“Ah, child, I fear you think too little of what you wish or +intend to make yourself!”</p> +<p>“Only have patience, Miss Jane, and some day I will show +you all the graces of Griselda and Gudrun the second. Dr. +Grey, have you seen Mrs. Gerome?”</p> +<p>“Yes,—on two occasions.”</p> +<p>“Is she not the most extraordinary and puzzling person +you ever looked at?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span></div> +<p>“When and where could you have met her?”</p> +<p>“For a few minutes only, last winter, I saw her on the +beach, near ‘Solitude.’ We exchanged a half-dozen words, +and she left an impression on my mind which all time will +not efface. Since that evening I have frequently endeavored +to surprise her on the same spot, but only once I succeeded +in catching a glimpse of a blue shawl that fluttered in the +distance. She seemed to me a beautiful, pale priestess, consecrated +to the ministry of the shrine of sorrow; and, when +I hear snubbed-dom sneering at her, and remember the hopeless +expression with which her wonderful, homeless eyes +looked out across that grey, silent sea,—I cannot avoid thinking +that she is very wise in barring her doors, and heeding +the advice of Montenebi, ‘<i>Complain not of thy woes to the +public: they will no more pity thee than birds of prey pity +the wounded deer</i>.’”</p> +<p>“My acquaintance with Mrs. Gerome is too slight to warrant +the utterance of an opinion relative to her idiosyncrasies, +but I am afraid cynicism rather than grief immures +her from society. Her prematurely white hair and the remarkable +pallor of her smooth complexion combine to render +her appearance piquant and unnatural; and, certainly, there +is something in her face strangely suggestive of old Norse +myths, mystery, and magic. Her features, when analyzed, +prove faultlessly regular, but her life is out of tune, and the +expression of her countenance mars what would otherwise be +perfect beauty. I can, in some degree, describe the impression +she produced upon me by quoting the lines that were +suggested when I saw her this morning, standing by Elsie +Maclean’s bed,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘I saw a vision of a woman, where<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Night and new morning strive for domination;<br /> +Incomparably pale, and almost fair,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And sad beyond expression.<br /> +Her eyes were like some fire-enshrining gem,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Were stately, like the stars, and yet were tender;<br /> +Her figure charmed me, like a windy stem,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Quivering, and drooped, and slender.<br /> +She measured measureless sorrow toward its length<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And breadth, and depth, and height.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span></div> +<p>Salome looked up from the eyelet she was working, but Dr. +Grey had turned his head towards his sister who had fallen +asleep in her chair, and the orphan could not see his face.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome must have been very young when she married, +and—”</p> +<p>“Hush! Janet looks so weary that I want her to have a +long nap, and our voices might disturb her.”</p> +<p>He took his hat and gloves and left the room, and Salome +forgot her embroidery and fell into a reverie that proved +neither pleasant nor profitable, and lasted until Miss Jane +awoke.</p> +<p>In the afternoon of the following day, when the orphan +returned from her clandestine visit to the Italian musician, +she saw an unusual number of persons on the front gallery, +and found that the long-expected party from New York had +arrived during her absence. Miss Jane was talking to the +governess—a meek-looking, but exceedingly handsome woman, +of twenty-seven or eight years, with fair hair and quiet brown +eyes; and every detail of her dress, speech, and bearing averred +that Edith Dexter was no humble scion of proletariat. Her +polished yet reserved manners bespoke high birth and aristocratic +associations; but something in the composed, sad +countenance, in the listless drooping of the pretty head, hinted +that she had long since spilt the rosy sparkling foam of her +cup of life, and was patiently drinking its muddy lees.</p> +<p>On the upper step sat Dr. Grey, with his arm encircling the +form of his ward, whose head rested very confidingly against +his shoulder. Muriel Manton was dressed in deep mourning, +and had evidently been weeping, for her guardian was tenderly +wiping the tears from her cheek when Salome came up +the avenue; and, with a keen, jealous pang that she had never +felt before, the latter scanned the stranger’s claims to beauty.</p> +<p>Very black eyes, brilliant complexion, and fine teeth, she +certainly possessed; but her features were rather coarse; her +mouth was much too large for classic requirements; and +Salome was rejoiced to find her nose indisputably <i>retroussé</i>.</p> +<p>Years hence she would doubtless be a large, well-formed, +commanding woman, who could exhibit Lyons silk or Genoese +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span> +velvet to the best advantage, and would be considered a fine-looking, +rosy, robust personage; but at present the face, which +from under a small straw hat anxiously watched hers, was +infinitely handsomer, more attractive, more delicate, and intellectual; +and the miller’s child felt that she had little to +apprehend from the merely personal charms of the wealthy +ward.</p> +<p>Salome felt injured as she eyed the doctor’s arm, which +had never touched even her shoulder; and it was painful and +humiliating to notice the affectionate manner in which his +hand stroked one of Muriel’s that lay on his knee,—and to +remember that his fingers had not met hers in a friendly +grasp since long before his visit to Europe,—had only clasped +hers twice during their acquaintance.</p> +<p>“Come in, Salome, and let me introduce you to my ward +Muriel, and to Miss Dexter, who is prepared to receive you as +a pupil.”</p> +<p>Muriel silently held out her hand; but Salome only bowed +and <ins title='Was run'>ran</ins> lightly up the steps, as if she did not perceive the +outstretched fingers. Miss Dexter rose and advanced to meet +her, saying, in a tone that indexed great kindness of heart,—</p> +<p>“I am exceedingly glad to meet you, Miss Salome; for +Dr. Grey has promised that I shall find in you a most exemplary +and agreeable pupil.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. I am indeed glad to hear that he has +changed his opinion of me; and I must endeavor not to lose +my newly acquired amiable character,—but he was rather +rash to stand security for my good behavior.”</p> +<p>She saw that Dr. Grey was surprised at her cold reception +of his pet and <i>protegé</i>, and perversity took possession of her. +Going to the back of Miss Jane’s old-fashioned rocking-chair +she put her arms around her, and, leaning over, kissed her +cheek several times. It was not her habit to caress any one +or any thing,—not even her little brother,—and this unusual +demonstrativeness puzzled and surprised the old lady +who said, fondly,—</p> +<p>“I presume Ulpian is brave enough to encounter all the +risks of standing security for your obedience and docility.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span></div> +<p>“Certainly I appreciate his chivalry, since none knows +better than he the danger—nay, probability, of a forfeiture +of the contract on my part.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey rose, and, looking steadily at her, said, in a tone +which she well understood,—</p> +<p>“Promises are, in my estimation, peculiarly sacred things; +and that which I made to Miss Dexter in your behalf was +based upon one that I gave you some time since, namely, that +I would have faith in you. Come with me, Muriel; I want to +show you and Miss Dexter the finest cow this side of Ayrshire, +and some sheep that are handsome enough to compare favorably +with the best that ever browsed in the ‘Court of Lions.’”</p> +<p>He took his ward’s hand and led her away to the cattle-yard, +whither Miss Dexter accompanied them.</p> +<p>As Salome looked after the trio her eyes flashed and scarlet +spots burned on her cheeks, while a feeling of suffocation oppressed +her heart.</p> +<p>“Why will you vex him, when you know that he tries so +hard to like you?” asked Miss Jane in a distressed tone, +stroking the girl’s hot face, as she spoke.</p> +<p>The head was instantly lifted beyond her reach, and the +answer came swiftly, sharp and defiant,—</p> +<p>“Do you mean to say that it is so extremely difficult for +him to tolerate me?”</p> +<p>“You are obliged to know that you are not one of his +favorites, like that sweet-tempered Muriel, to whom he seems +so warmly attached; and it is all your own fault, for he was +disposed to like you when he first came home. Ulpian loves +quiet and amiable people, who are never rude and snappish; +and it appears to me that you are trying to see how hateful +and spiteful you can be. Why upon earth did you not shake +hands with those strangers, and treat them politely?”</p> +<p>“Because I don’t choose to be hypocritical,—and I don’t +like Miss Muriel Manton.”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“Nonsense!</ins> Stuff! I only wish you were half as well-bred +and courteous, and lady-like.”</p> +<p>“Do you, really? Then, to be obedient and, oblige you, +when they come back, I will imitate her example, and throw +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span> +myself into Dr. Grey’s arms, and rub my cheek against his +shoulder, and fondle his hands. If this be ‘lady-like,’ then, +indeed, I penitently cry ‘<i>peccavi!</i>’ and promise that in future +you shall not have cause to complain of me.”</p> +<p>“Pooh, pooh, child! What ails you? Muriel has known +Ulpian all her life, and looks upon him now as her father. +He has petted her since she was a little girl, and loves her +almost as well as if she were his child, instead of his ward. +You know she is an orphan; and it is very natural for her to +cling to her guardian, who was for a great many years her +father’s most intimate friend.”</p> +<p>“We are both orphans, and she is certainly not my junior, +yet your propriety would be shocked if I behaved as she does. +Where is Stanley?”</p> +<p>“Studying his geography lesson, with the assistance of the +globe, in the library. What do you want with him?”</p> +<p>“I am going to the beach, and wish him to walk with me.”</p> +<p>“It is too late for you to start for the seaside, and, moreover, +it would appear very discourteous in you to absent yourself +the first evening that these strangers spend here. Ulpian +would be displeased.”</p> +<p>“According to your statement a few minutes since, that is +his chronic condition, as far as I am concerned; and, as I +do not belong to the mimosa species, I think I may brave his +frowns.”</p> +<p>“That is not the worst you have to apprehend. Child, I +think it would be bitter indeed, to bear Ulpian Grey’s contempt.”</p> +<p>“I shall take care not to deserve it; and Dr. Grey never +forgets to be just.”</p> +<p>“My dear little girl, what right have you to be jealous of +his love for his young ward?”</p> +<p>The flame that was slowly dying out of her face leaped up +fiercer than before, and she crimsoned to the edges of her +hair.</p> +<p>“Jealous! Good heavens, Miss Jane, you must be dreaming! +I merely question the taste that allows his ‘lady-like’ +favorite to caress him so openly, and should not have expressed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span> +my disapprobation so strongly if you had not rated +me soundly, and held her up as a model for my humble imitation. +If she and her governess are to stir up strife between +you and me, I shall heartily wish them a speedy passage to +Halifax or heaven. Beyond all peradventure I shall get +murderously jealous if you dare to give this sloe-eyed, peony-faced +girl, my place in your dear old heart. She, of course, +will fondle her guardian as much as she pleases, or as often +as he sees fit to allow; but woe unto her if I catch her hands +and lips about you, my dearest and best friend! Don’t scold +me and praise her, or some fine day I shall jump at and +strangle her, which you know would not be ‘well-bred’ or +‘lady-like,’ much less moral and Christian.”</p> +<p>She almost smothered the old lady in her arms, and kissed +her several times.</p> +<p>“What has stirred up the evil spirit in you? You look +as wicked as your mother Herodias, thirsting for the blood +of John the Baptist; or as Jezebel plotting against the +prophet—”</p> +<p>“And telling me that like her I am ‘going to the dogs’ +is not the surest way to reform me. Stanley! Stanley! get +your hat and come here.”</p> +<p>“Your awful temper will be your ruin if you don’t put a +curb-bit on it. See here, Salome, don’t be so utterly silly +and childish! I do not wish you to go to the sea-shore this +evening.”</p> +<p>“Please, Miss Jane, don’t order me to stay at home, because, +then of course, I should feel bound to obey you, and I +should not behave prettily, and you would wish me at the +bottom of the sea, instead of on its brink. Let me go, and I +will come back cool as a cucumber, and well-behaved as Miss +Muriel Manton. Please don’t prohibit me; and I promise I +will lose my evil spirit in the sea, like that Gergesene wretch +that haunted the tombs. Here comes Stanley. Don’t shake +your head. I am off.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane would not receive the proffered farewell kiss, +but tears gathered and dimmed her eyes as she looked after +the graceful, girlish figure, swiftly crossing the lawn; and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span> +sad forebodings filled her affectionate heart when she thought +of the unknown future that stretched before that impetuous, +jealous, imperious nature.</p> +<p>Anxious that the strangers should feel thoroughly welcome +and at home, she joined them as soon as possible after their +return from the sheepfold, and exerted herself to keep the +shuttlecock of conversation in constant motion; but her +brother’s watchful eyes discerned the perturbed feeling she +sought to hide; and, when she insisted, for the first time in +two years, upon taking her seat and presiding at the tea-table, +he busied himself in arranging her cushions comfortably, +and whispered,—</p> +<p>“How good and considerate you are, my precious sister. +A thousand thanks for this generous effort, which I trust will +not fatigue you.”</p> +<p>He placed himself opposite, and was about to ask a blessing +on the meal, but paused to inquire,—</p> +<p>“Where are the children, Salome and Stanley?”</p> +<p>“They have gone down to the beach, and we will not wait +for them.”</p> +<p>Soon after, Muriel said,—</p> +<p>“I think Salome is almost beautiful. She has splendid +eyes and hair. Miss Edith, does she not remind you of a +piece of sculpture at Naples?”</p> +<p>“Yes; I noticed a resemblance to the <i>Julia-Agrippina</i>, and +the likeness must be remarkable, since it impressed us simultaneously. +Salome’s brow is fuller, and her chin more +prominent than that of the Roman woman we admired so +ardently; and, besides, I should judge that she had quite as +much or more will than the daughter of Germanicus, for her +lips are thinner.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey changed the topic of conversation, and Miss Dexter +courteously followed the cue.</p> +<p>The moon was high in heaven when Salome and her brother +came up the avenue; and, observing that the lights were extinguished +in the front rooms, she surmised that the new-comers +had retired very early, in consequence of fatigue from their +long journey. Sending Stanley to bed, she sat down on the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span> +steps to rest a few moments before going upstairs, and began +to fan herself with her straw hat.</p> +<p>She had grown very calm, and almost ashamed of her passionate +ebullition in the presence of strangers; and numerous +good resolutions were sending out fibrous roots in her heart. +How long she rested there she knew not, and started when +<ins title='Removed extra word, he'>Dr. Grey</ins> said, in a subdued voice,—</p> +<p>“Salome, I am waiting to lock the door, and should be glad +if you will come in now, or be careful to secure the inner bolt +whenever you do. As I always shut up the house, I was +afraid you might not think of it; and burglaries are becoming +alarmingly frequent.”</p> +<p>She rose instantly, and entered the hall.</p> +<p>“What time is it?”</p> +<p>“Eleven o’clock.”</p> +<p>“Is it possible? You know, sir, that the evenings are very +short now.”</p> +<p>“Yes.”</p> +<p>He was removing a chair from the gallery and closing the +Venetian blinds, and she could not see his face. Hoping to +receive some friendly look, which she was painfully aware she +did not deserve, she loitered till he turned around.</p> +<p>“Salome, have you a light in your room?”</p> +<p>“I do not know, but suppose so.”</p> +<p>“There are two candles in the library, and you had better +take one, rather than stumble along in the dark and wake +everybody.”</p> +<p>He brought out one, and handed it to her.</p> +<p>“Thank you. Good-night, Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>“Good-night, Salome.”</p> +<p>The candle-light showed no displeasure in his countenance, +which was calm as usual, and there was not a hint of +harshness in his unwontedly low voice; but she read disappointment +in his grave, kind eyes. She knew that she +could not sleep until she had made her peace with him; and, +though it cost her a great effort to conquer her pride, she said, +humbly,—</p> +<p>“‘And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span> +seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent,—thou +shalt forgive him.’”</p> +<p>“Yes; but the frequency of the offence renders it difficult +to believe the repentance genuine.”</p> +<p>“Christ, your master, did not doubt it.”</p> +<p>“I am less than the disciples whom he addressed; and they +answered, ‘Increase our faith.’”</p> +<p>“You did not pray for me this morning.”</p> +<p>“I never neglect my promises. Why do you doubt that I +fulfilled them this morning?”</p> +<p>“This has been one of my sinful days, when Satan runs +rough-shod over all my good intentions, and drags me through +the mire that I was trying to hold my soul far above. I tell +you, sir, that the ‘unclean spirit’ that vexed the daughter of +the Syrophœnician woman was mild, and harmless, and well-mannered, +in comparison with the demon that takes bodily +possession of me, and whose name is not ‘<i>Suset</i>’! but a fearful +<i>Ruach</i> demanding the ban <i>Cherem</i>. I once thought all +that part of Scripture which referred to the casting out of +devils was metaphorical; but I know better now; for the one +that Luther assaulted with his inkstand was not more palpable +than that which enters into my heart every now and +then, and overturns the altars of the ‘true, good, and beautiful,’ +and sets up instead a small hall of Eblis, as full of +horrible, mis-shapen things as that hideous ‘Last Judgment’ +of Orcagna, in the Campo Santo at Pisa, which you once +showed me in a portfolio of engravings. Oh, Dr. Grey! you +ought to be merciful to me; for indeed God gave me a fearfully +wicked and cunning spirit for a perpetual companion +and tempter. Even Christ had Lucifer and Quarantina.”</p> +<p>“Yes, and conquered both, and promised assistance to all +who earnestly desire and resolve to follow his example.”</p> +<p>“You cannot forgive my rudeness?”</p> +<p>“The act of incivility was very slight; but, my young +friend, the unaccountable perversity of your character certainly +fills my mind with serious apprehension concerning +your future. Of course, I can very readily forgive the occasion +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span> +that displayed it, but I cannot entirely forget the spirit +that distresses me when I least expect it.”</p> +<p>“If you will dismiss this afternoon from your mind, I +will never—”</p> +<p>“Stop! Make me no more promises till you are strong +enough to keep them inviolate. Promise less and pray more; +I am not angry, but I am disappointed.”</p> +<p>She drooped her head to avoid his grave, sad gaze, and for +a moment there was silence.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, will you shake hands with me, in token of +pardon?”</p> +<p>“Certainly, if you wish it.”</p> +<p>He took her hand in both of his, pressed it kindly, and said, +in a low, solemn tone,—</p> +<p>“Good-night, Salome. May God guide, and strengthen, +and help you to be the noble woman, the consistent Christian, +which only His grace and blessing can ever enable you to become. +Remember the cheering words of Jean Paul Richter, +‘Evil is like the nightmare, the instant you bestir yourself +it has already ended.’”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII' id='CHAPTER_XIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Ulpian, have you had any conversation with Salome?”</p> +<p>“Upon what subject?”</p> +<p>“Have you talked with her concerning her studies?”</p> +<p>“Not recently. Soon after Muriel and Miss Dexter came, +I mentioned to her the fact that I should be glad to see her +enter a class with Muriel and pursue the same studies, and +that such an arrangement would be entirely agreeable to Miss +Dexter; but she declined the proposition, saying she would +only trouble the latter to teach her Italian. Do you know +why she is so anxious to acquire that language?”</p> +<p>“No; to tell you the truth, I know less and less every day +about her actions, for the child has suddenly grown very +reserved. This morning she was walking up and down the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span> +library with her hands behind her and her eyes looking as if +they were travelling to Jericho or Jeddo, and when I asked +her why she was so unusually silent, she snapped like a toy-torpedo, +‘I am silent because this is one of my wicked days, +and I am fighting the devil; and if I open my lips I shall +say something that will give him the victory.’ I held out +my hand to her and begged her to come and sit by me and +tell me what troubled or tempted her,—and what do you +suppose she said?”</p> +<p>“Something, I am afraid, that I shall be sorry to hear you +repeat.”</p> +<p>“She laid her hand on her heart and answered, ‘You are +very good, Miss Jane, but you can no more help me than the +disciples could relieve that wretch whom only Christ healed.’ +‘<i>This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.</i>’ Whereupon, +she snatched a book from the table and left the room. +I did not see her for several hours, and when I met her in +the hall, a few moments since, I said, ‘Well, dear, which won +the victory, sin or my little girl?’ She put her hands on my +shoulders, laughed bitterly, and answered, ‘It was a drawn +battle. Neither has much to boast of, and we lie on our +arms watching—nay, glaring at each other. Let me be quiet +a little while, and don’t ask me about <ins title='Added quote'>it.’”</ins></p> +<p>“Can you conjecture the cause of the present trouble?”</p> +<p>“I have a suspicion.”</p> +<p><ins title='Removed quote'>Miss</ins> Jane paused, sighed, and frowned.</p> +<p>“I should think you might persuade her to confide in you.”</p> +<p>“Pooh! Persuade her? I would quite as soon undertake +to persuade the Andes to dance a jig as attempt to discover +what she has determined not to divulge. If you knew her as +well as I do, you would appreciate the uselessness of trying to +persuade her to do anything. But you men never see what lies +right under your noses, and I believe if you lived in the same +house with that child for five years longer you would understand +her as little as you do to-day. Ulpian, shut the door, +and sit down here close to me.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey complied; and, laying her shrunken hand on her +brother’s knee, Miss Jane said, hesitatingly,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span></div> +<p>“My dear boy, I don’t know whether I ought to tell you, +and, indeed, I do not see my way clearly; but you seem so unsuspecting +that I think it is my duty to talk to you.”</p> +<p>“Pray come to the point, dear Janet. Your exordium is +very tantalizing. Tell me frankly what disturbs you.”</p> +<p>“It pains me to call your attention to a fact that I know +cannot fail to produce annoyance.”</p> +<p>He put his arm around her, and, drawing her head to his +shoulder, answered, tenderly,—</p> +<p>“My precious sister, I have seen for some days that you +were perplexed and anxious, but I abstained from questioning +you because I felt assured whenever you deemed it best to confide +in me, you would voluntarily unburden your heart. Now +lay all your troubles upon me, and keep back nothing. Has +Salome grieved you?”</p> +<p>“Oh, the child does not intend to grieve me! Ulpian, +can’t you imagine what makes her unhappy, and restless, and +contrary?”</p> +<p>“She is very wayward, passionate, and obstinate, and any +restraint upon her whims is peculiarly irksome and intolerable +to her; but I believe she is really striving to correct the unfortunate +defects in her character. She evidently dislikes our +guests, and this proves a continual source of disquiet to her; +for, while she endeavors to treat them courteously, I can see +that she would be excessively rude if she dared to indulge her +antipathies.”</p> +<p>“Do you know why she dislikes Muriel so intensely?”</p> +<p>“No; I cannot even conjecture. Muriel is very amiable +and affectionate, and seems disposed to become very fond of +Salome, if she would only encourage her advances. Can you +explain the mystery?”</p> +<p>“If you were not as blind as a mole, or the fish in Mammoth +Cave, you would see that Salome is insanely jealous of +your affection for your ward, and that is the cause of all the +trouble.”</p> +<p>“It is unreasonable and absurd in her to entertain such +feelings; and, moreover, she has no right to cherish any +jealousy towards my ward.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span></div> +<p>“Unreasonable! Yes, quite true; but did you ever know +a woman to be very reasonable concerning the man she loves?”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey’s quiet face flushed, and he rose instantly, looking +incredulous and embarrassed.</p> +<p>“Surely, my dear sister, you do not intend to insinuate, or +desire me to infer, that Salome has any—”</p> +<p>He paused, bit his lip, and walked to the window.</p> +<p>“I mean to say, in plain Anglo-Saxon, and I desire you to +understand, that Salome is no longer a child; and that she +loves you, my dear boy, better than she will ever love any other +human being. These things are very strange, indeed, and +girls’ whims baffle all rules and disappoint all reasonable expectations; +but, nevertheless, it does no good to shut your eyes +to facts that are as clear as daylight. It is not a sudden +freak that has seized the poor child; it has grown upon her, +almost without her understanding herself; but I discovered it +the day that you left home so unexpectedly for New York. +Her distress betrayed her real feelings; and, since then, I have +watched her, and can see how completely her thoughts centre +in you.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Janet, I hope you mistake her! I cannot believe it +possible, for I recall nothing in her conduct that justifies your +supposition; and I do not think I lack penetration. If she +were really interested in me, as you imagine, she certainly +would not thrust so prominently and constantly before me +faults of character which she well knows I cannot tolerate. +Moreover, my dear sister, consider the disparity in our years, +the incompatibility of our tastes and habits, and the improbability +that a handsome young girl should cherish any feeling +stronger than esteem or friendship for a staid man of my age! +No, no; it is too incredible to be entertained, and I am sorry +you ever suggested such an annoying chimera to me. Salome +is rather a singular compound, I willingly admit, but I acquit +her of the folly you seem inclined to impute to her.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey walked up and down the library floor, and, as +his sister watched him, a sad smile trembled over her thin, +wrinkled face.</p> +<p>“Ulpian, you are considerably younger than our poor +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span> +father was when he married a beautiful creature not one +month older than Salome is to-day. Will you sit in judgment +on your own young mother?”</p> +<p>“Nay, Janet; the parallelism is not as apparent as you +imagine, for my manner toward Salome has been calculated +to check and chill any sentiment analogous to that which my +father sought to win from my mother. Pray, do not press +upon me a surmise which is indescribably painful to me.”</p> +<p>He resumed his seat, and, thrusting his fingers through his +hair, leaned his head on his open hand.</p> +<p>“My dear boy, if true, why should it prove indescribably +painful to you?”</p> +<p>“Cannot your womanly intuitions spare me an explicit +reply?”</p> +<p>“No; speak frankly to me.”</p> +<p>“No man of honor—no man who has any delicacy or refinement +of feeling—can fail to be distressed and annoyed by +the thought that he has unintentionally and unconsciously +aroused in a woman’s heart an interest which he cannot possibly +reciprocate.”</p> +<p>“But, if you have never considered the subject until now, +how do you know that you may not be able to return the +affection?”</p> +<p>“Because, when I examine my own heart, I find not even +the germ of a feeling which years might possibly ripen into +love.”</p> +<p>“Will you candidly answer the question I am about to ask +you?”</p> +<p>“Yes, I think I can safely promise that much, simply because +I wish to conceal nothing from you; and I cannot conjecture +any inquiry on your part from which I should shrink. +What would you ask?”</p> +<p>“Is it because you are interested in some other woman, +that you speak so positively of the hopelessness of my poor +Salome’s case?”</p> +<p>“No, my sister; no woman has any claim or hold on my +heart stronger than that of mere friendship. I have never +loved any one as I must love the woman I make my wife; and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span> +since I have seen and merely admired so many who were attractive, +lovely, and lovable, I often think that I shall probably +never marry.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘For several virtues</p> +<p class='cg'>I have liked several women; never any<br /> +With so full a soul, but some defect in her<br /> +Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owned,<br /> +And put it to a foil.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Of course this is a matter with reference to which I shall not +dogmatize, for we are all more or less the victims of caprice; +and, like other men, I may some day set the imperious feet of +fancy upon the neck of judgment and sound reason. As yet, +I have not met the perfect character whom I could ask to +bear my name; still, I may be so fortunate as either to find my +ideal, or imagine that I do; or else become so earnestly attached +to some beautiful woman, that, for her sake, I will +willingly lower my lofty standard. These are the merest +possible contingencies, and I have little inclination to discuss +them; but I wish at all times to be entirely frank with you. +Salome would never suit me as a life-long companion. She +meets none of the requirements of my intellectual nature, and +her perverse disposition, and what might almost be termed +<i>diablerie</i>, repel instead of attracting me. I pity the child, and +can sympathize cordially with her efforts to redeem herself +from the luckless associations of earlier years that wofully +distorted her character; and I can truly say that I am interested +in her welfare and improvement, and have a faint +brotherly affection for her; but I thoroughly comprehend my +own feelings when I assure you, Janet, that were Salome and +I left alone in the world I could never for a moment entertain +the idea of calling such a wayward child my wife. Are +you satisfied?”</p> +<p>“Convinced, at least, that you are not deceiving me. But, +Ulpian, the girl is growing very beautiful—don’t you think +so?—or, is it my love that makes me see her through flattering +lenses?”</p> +<p>“Her lips are too thin, and her eyes too keen and restless +for perfect beauty, which claims repose as one of its essential +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span> +elements; but, notwithstanding these flaws, she has undoubtedly +one of the handsomest faces I have ever seen, and +certainly a graceful, fine figure.”</p> +<p>“And you are such an admirer of beauty,” said Miss Jane, +slipping her fingers caressingly into her brother’s hand.</p> +<p>“Yes; I shall not deny that I yield to no one in appreciation +of lovely faces; but, if I am aware that, like some rich +crimson June rose whose calyx cradles a worm, the heart +beneath the perfect form is gnawed by some evil tendency, or +shelters vindictive passion and sinful impulses, I should certainly +not select it in making up the precious bouquet that is +to shed perfume and beauty in my home, and call my thoughts +from the din and strife of the outer world to holiness and +peace.”</p> +<p>“You have no mercy on the child.”</p> +<p>“I ought to have no mercy on glaring faults which she +should ere this have corrected.”</p> +<p>“But she is so young—only seventeen! Think of it!”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey frowned, and partially withdrew his hand from +his sister’s clasp.</p> +<p>“Janet, you grieve me. Surely you are not pleading with +me in behalf of Salome?”</p> +<p>Tears trickled over Miss Jane’s sallow cheeks and dripped +on the doctor’s hand, as she replied,—</p> +<p>“Bear with me, Ulpian. The girl is very dear to me; and, +loving you as she unquestionably does, I know that you could +make her a noble, admirable woman,—for she has some fine +traits, and your influence would perfect her character. Believe +me, my dear boy, you, and you only, can remould her +heart.”</p> +<p>“Possibly,—if I loved her; for then I would be patient +and forbearing towards her faults. But I cannot even respect +that handsome, fiery, impulsive, unreasonable child, much less +love her; and, if I ever marry, my wife must be worthy to +remould my own defective life and erring nature. I am surprised, +my dear sister, that you, whose sincere affection I can +not doubt, should be willing to see me link my life with that +of one so much younger, and, I grieve to say it, so far inferior +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span> +in all respects. What congenial companionship could +I promise myself? What confidence could I repose—what +esteem could I entertain—for a silly girl, who, without warrant +and utterly unsought, bestows her love (if, indeed, what +you say be true) upon a man who never even dreamed of such +folly, and is old enough to be her father?”</p> +<p>“I can not comprehend the logic that condemns Salome, +and justifies your own mother; for, if there be any difference +in their lines of conduct, I am too stupid to see it.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane lifted her head from her brother’s shoulder, resolutely +dried her eyes, and settled her cap.</p> +<p>“My mother’s tombstone should shelter her from all animadversion, +especially from the lips that owe their existence +to her. Do not, my sister, disturb the mouldering ashes of +the long-buried past. The unfortunate fact you have mentioned, +and which I should gladly doubt if you would only +permit me to do so, renders it necessary for me to be perfectly +candid with you, and you will, I trust, pardon what I feel +compelled to say to you. I have remarked that you watch me +quite closely whenever I am engaged in conversation with my +ward or her governess, and yesterday, when Muriel came, +stood by me, and leaned her arm on my shoulder, you frowned +and looked harshly at the child. Once for all, let me tell +you that there is no more possibility of my loving Muriel or +Edith, than Salome. Of the three, I care most for Muriel, +who looks upon me as her second father, and to whom I am +deeply attached. If I caress the poor, stricken child, and +allow her to approach me familiarly, you ought to understand +your brother sufficiently well not to ascribe his conduct to any +feeling which he would blush to confess to his sister. The +day before Horace died, he said, ‘Be a father to my daughter; +take my place when I am gone.’ If I were at liberty to +divulge some matters confided to me, I could easily assure +you that there is not a shadow of possibility that Muriel will +ever grieve and mortify me as Salome has done. Now look +at me, dear Janet, and kiss me, and trust your brother; for he +will never deceive you, and can not endure a moment’s estrangement +from you.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span></div> +<p>Miss Jane put up her lips for the caress, and, after a short +silence, Dr. Grey continued,—</p> +<p>“Tell me now what you think best under the circumstances, +and I will endeavor to coöperate with you. Does Salome +know you are cognizant of her weakness—her misfortune—”</p> +<p>He stammered, and again his face flushed.</p> +<p>“Upon my word, Ulpian, you are positively blushing! +Don’t worry yourself, dear, over what can not be helped, or at +least is attributable to no fault of yours. No; you may be +sure Salome would be drawn, quartered, and broiled, before +she would confess to me the feeling which she does not suspect +I have discovered. Poor thing! I can’t avoid pitying her +whenever you take Muriel’s hand or caress her in any way. +This morning you smoothed the hair back from her forehead +while she was stooping over her drawing, and poor Salome’s +eyes flashed and looked like a leopard’s. She clenched her +fingers as if she were strangling something, and an expression +came over her face that was dangerous, and made me shiver a +little. Something must be done; but I am sure I do not know +what to advise.”</p> +<p>“How futile and mocking are merely human schemes! +My principal object in bringing Muriel and Miss Dexter here, +was to provide agreeable and improving companions for your +pet and to afford her the privilege of sharing the educational +advantages which Muriel enjoyed. <i>L’homme propose, et Dieu +dispose</i>, if, indeed, an occurrence so earnestly to be deplored +can be deemed providential. What are her plans relative to +Jessie?”</p> +<p>“If she has matured any, she keeps them shut up in her +own heart. Once she talked freely to me on all subjects, but +recently she seems to avoid acquainting me with her intentions +or schemes. Of course, Ulpian, you know I have always +expected to leave her a portion of my property.”</p> +<p>“Certainly, dear Janet; you ought to provide comfortably +for the girl whom you have taught to rely upon your bounty. +It would be cruel and unpardonable to foster hopes that you +could not fully realize.”</p> +<p>“It was my intention to put into your hands the share I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span> +intended for her, and to leave her also to your care, when I +die; but now I know not what is best. If she could be separated +from you, she might divert her thoughts and become interested +in other things or persons; but so long as you are in +the same house I know there will be nothing but wretchedness +and disappointment for her.”</p> +<p>After a long pause, during which Dr. Grey looked seriously +pained and perplexed, he said, sorrowfully,—</p> +<p>“You are right in thinking separation would be best; and I +will go away at once—”</p> +<p>“Go where?” exclaimed his sister, grasping his coat-sleeve.</p> +<p>“I will furnish the rooms over my office, and live there. It +will be more convenient for my business; but I dislike to leave +you and the dear old homestead.”</p> +<p>“Stuff! You will churn the Atlantic, with the North Pole +for a dasher! Ulpian Grey! come weal come woe, I don’t intend +to give you up. Here, right here, you will live while +there is breath in my body,—unless you wish to make me sob +it out and die the sooner. Pooh! Salome’s shining eyes can +not recompense me for the loss of my boy’s blue ones, and I +will not hear of such nonsense as the move you propose. You +know, dear, I can’t be here very long at the best, and while +God spares me I want you near me. Besides, the separation +of a few miles would not be worth a thimbleful of chaff; for, +of course, Salome would hear of or see you daily, and the +change would amount to nothing but anxiety and grief on my +part. We will think the matter over, and do nothing rashly. +But try to be patient with my little girl; and, for my sake, +Ulpian, do not allow her to suspect that you dream of her +feeling towards you. It is pitiable,—it is distressing beyond +expression; and God knows, if I had thought for an instant +that such a state of things would ever have come to pass, I +would have left her in the poor-house sooner than have been +instrumental in bringing such misery upon her young life. +Last night I was suffering so much with my shoulder that +I could not sleep, and I heard the child pacing her room until +after three o’clock. It was useless to question her; for, of +course, she would not confess the real cause, and I did not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span> +wish her to know that I noticed what I could not cure. But, +my dearest boy, we are not to be blamed; so don’t look so +mortified and grieved. I would not have opened your unsuspecting +eyes if I had not feared that your ignorance of +the truth might increase the trouble, and I knew I could +safely appeal to my sailor-boy’s honor. Now you know all, +and must be guided by your own good sense and delicacy in +your future course toward the poor, proud young thing. Be +guarded, Ulpian, and don’t torment her by petting Muriel in +her presence; for sometimes I am afraid there is bad blood in +her veins, that brings that wicked glow to her eyes, and I +dread that she might suddenly say or do some desperate thing +that would plunge us all in sorrow. You know she is not a +meek creature, and we must pity her weakness.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had grown very pale, and the profound regret +printed on his countenance found expression also in the deepened +and saddened tones of his voice.</p> +<p>“Trust me, Janet! I will do all a man can to rectify the +mischief, of which, God knows, I have been an innocent and +entirely unintentional cause. Salome’s course is unwomanly, +and lowers her in my estimation; but she is so young I shall +hope and pray that her preference for me is not sufficiently +strong to prove more than an idle, fleeting, girlish fancy.”</p> +<p>He took his gloves from the table and left the room; and, +for some time after his departure, his sister sat rocking herself +to and fro, pondering all that had passed. Finally, she +struck her hand decisively upon the cushioned top of her +crutch, and muttered,—</p> +<p>“Yes, he certainly is as nearly perfect as humanity can be; +but, after all, Ulpian Grey is only flesh and blood, and despite +his efforts to crush it, there must be some vanity hidden under +his proud humility,—for certainly he is both humble in one +sense, and inordinately proud in another; and I do not believe +there lives a man of his age who would not be flattered by the +love of a fresh young beauty like Salome. He thinks now +that he is distressed and mortified; and, of course, he is +honest in what he tells me; but I have studied human nature +to very little purpose for the last fifty years, if, before long, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span> +he does not find himself more interested in Salome than he +will be willing to confess. Her love for him will invest her +with a charm she never possessed before, for men are vulnerable +as women to the cunning advances of flattery. One +thing is as sure and clear as that two and two make four,—if +he is proof against Salome’s devotion it will be attributable to +the fact that he gives his heart to some one else; and I thought +his blue eyes rather shied away from mine when he said he +had yet to meet the woman he could marry. You don’t intend +to deceive me, my precious boy, I know you don’t; but I +should not be astounded if you had hoodwinked yourself,—a +very little. But ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,’ +and I will wait,—and we shall see what we shall see.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV' id='CHAPTER_XIV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Elsie, it is worse than useless to talk to me. Once I +could listen to you,—once I felt as you do now; but that time +has gone by forever. I will read to you as often as you desire +it, provided you do not make every chapter a text for a <ins title='Was a comma'>sermon.</ins> +What do you wish to hear this morning?”</p> +<p>“The fortieth Psalm.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome opened the Bible, and, when she had finished +the psalm designated, shut the book and laid it back close to +Elsie’s pillow.</p> +<p>The old woman placed her hand on the round, white arm of +her mistress, who rested carelessly against the bed.</p> +<p>“You know, my child, that David’s afflictions were sore +indeed; but he declares, ‘I waited patiently for the Lord, and +he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.’ You will not be +patient, and God can’t help you till you are. We are like +children punished for bad conduct,—as long as we rebel and +struggle, of course we must be still further chastised; but the +moment we show real penitence, our parents notice that we are +bearing correction patiently, and then they throw away the +rod and stretch out their arms, and snatch us close to their +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span> +loving hearts. Even so God holds one hand to draw us tenderly +to Him; and, if we are obstinately sinful, with the other +He scourges us into the right path,—determined to help us, +even against our own wills. Ah, if I could see you waiting +patiently for the Lord!”</p> +<p>“You will never see it. Patience was ‘scourged’ out of +me, and now I stand still because I am worn out with struggling, +waiting—not patiently, but wearily and helplessly—to +see the end of my punishment. What have I done that I +should feign a penitence I shall never feel? I was a happy, +trusting, unoffending woman, when God smote me fiercely; +and, because I was so innocent, I could not kiss my stinging +rod, I grappled desperately with it. Elsie, don’t stir up the +bitter dregs in my soul, and mix them with every thought. +Let them settle.”</p> +<p>“My darling, I don’t want them to settle. I pray either +that they may be stirred up and taken out, or sweetened by +the grace of God. Do you ever think of the day when you +will face your sainted mother?”</p> +<p>“No. I think only of enduring this present life until +death, my deliverer, comes to my rescue.”</p> +<p>“But, my bairn, you are not fit to die.”</p> +<p>“Fit to die as to live,” answered her mistress, morosely.</p> +<p>“For God’s sake, don’t flout the Almighty in that wicked +manner! If you would only be baptized and take refuge in +prayer, as every Christian should, you would find peace for +your poor, miserable soul.”</p> +<p>“No; peace can’t be poured out of a pitcher with the baptismal +water; and all the waves tossing and glittering out there +in the ocean could not wash one painful memory from my +heart. I have had one baptism, and it was ample and +thorough. I went down into the waters of woe, and all their +black billows broke over me. Instead of the Jordan, I was +immersed in the Dead Sea, and the asphaltum cleaves to me.”</p> +<p>“Oh, dearie, you will break my heart! I wish now that +you had died when you were only fourteen months old, for +then there would have been one more precious lamb in the +flock of the Good Shepherd, safe in heavenly pastures—one +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span> +more dear little golden head nestling on Jesus’ bosom,—instead +of—of—”</p> +<p>Elsie’s emotion mastered her voice, and she sobbed convulsively.</p> +<p>“Why did not you finish? ‘Instead of a gray head waiting +to go down into the pit of perdition.’ Yes, it was a terrible +blunder that I was not allowed to die in my infancy; but it +can’t be helped now, and I wish you would not fret yourself +into a fever over the irremediable. Why will you persist in +tormenting yourself and me about my want of resignation +and faith, when you know that exhortation and persuasion +have no more effect upon me than the whistle of the plover +down yonder in the sedge and seaweed,—where I heartily +wish I were lying, ten feet under the shells? Rather a damp +pillow for my fastidious, proud head, but, at least, cool and +quiet. Calm yourself, my dear Elsie, for God will not hold +you responsible if I miss my place among the saints, when He +divides the sheep from the goats, in the last day,—<i>Dies iræ +dies illa</i>. Let me straighten your pillow and smooth your +cap-border, for I see your doctor coming up the walk. There,—dry +your eyes. When you want me, send Robert or Katie to +call me.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome leaned over the helpless, prostrate form on +the bed, pressed her cheek against that of her nurse, where +tears still glistened, and glided swiftly out of the room just +before Dr. Grey entered.</p> +<p>Never had he seen his patient so completely unnerved; but, +observing her efforts to compose herself, he forbore any allusion +to an agitation which he suspected was referable to +mental rather than physical causes. Bravely the stubborn +woman struggled to steady her voice, and still the twitching +tell-tale muscles about her mouth; but the burden of anxiety +finally bore down all resolves, and, covering her face with her +broad hand, she wept unrestrainedly.</p> +<p>In profound silence Dr. Grey sat beside her for nearly five +minutes; then, fearful that the excitement might prove injurious, +he said, gently,—</p> +<p>“I hope you are not suffering so severely from bodily pain? +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span> +What distresses you, my good woman? Perhaps, if I knew +the cause, I might be able to render you some service.”</p> +<p>“It is not my body,—that, you know, is numb, and gives +me no pain,—but my mind! Doctor, I am suffering in mind, +and you have no medicine that can ease that.”</p> +<p>“Possibly I may accomplish more than you imagine is +within reach of my remedies. Of one thing you may rest +assured,—you will never have reason to regret any confidence +you may repose in me.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I believe you are a Christian; at least, I have +heard so; and, since my affliction, I have been watching you +very closely, and begin to think I can trust you. Are you a +member of the church?”</p> +<p>“I am; although that fact alone should not entitle me to +your confidence. We are all erring, and full of faults, but I +endeavor to live in such a manner that I shall not bring disgrace +upon the holy faith I profess.”</p> +<p>“Shut the door, and come back to me.”</p> +<p>He bolted the door, which stood ajar, and resumed his seat.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I know as well as you do that I can’t last a +great while, and I ought to prepare for what may overtake me +any day. I have tried to live in accordance with the law of +God, and I am not afraid to die; but I am afraid to leave +my mistress behind me. When I am gone there will be no one +to watch over and plead with her, and I dread lest her precious +soul may be lost. She won’t go to God for herself, or by herself, +and who will pray for her salvation when I am in my +shroud? Oh, I can not die in peace, leaving her alone in the +world she hates and despises! What will become of my poor, +bonnie bairn?”</p> +<p>Elsie sobbed aloud, and Dr. Grey asked,—</p> +<p>“Has Mrs. Gerome no living relatives?”</p> +<p>“None, sir, in America. There are some cousins in Scotland, +but she has never seen them, and never will.”</p> +<p>“Where are the members of her husband’s family?”</p> +<p>A visible shudder crept over that portion of the woman’s +body which was not paralyzed, and her face grew dark and +stern.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span></div> +<p>“He was an orphan.”</p> +<p>“His loss seems to have had a terrible effect upon Mrs. +Gerome, and rendered her bitter and hopeless.”</p> +<p>“How hopeless, none but she and I and the God above us +know. Once she was the meekest, sweetest spirit, that ever +gladdened a nurse’s heart, and I thought the world was +blessed by her coming into it; but now she is sacrilegious and +scoffing, and almost dares the Lord’s judgments. Dr. Grey, it +would nearly freeze your blood to hear her sometimes. Poor +thing! she will have no companions, and so has a habit of +talking to herself, and I often hear her arguing with the Almighty +about her life, and the trouble He allowed to fall into +it. Last night she was walking there under my window, begging +God to take her out of the world before I die. Begging, +did I say? Nay,—demanding. My precious, pretty bairn!”</p> +<p>“Elsie, be candid with me. Is not Mrs. Gerome partially +deranged?”</p> +<p>She struggled violently to raise herself, but failing, her +head fell back, and she lifted her finger angrily.</p> +<p>“No more deranged than you or I. That is a vile slander +of busybodies whom she will not receive, and who take it for +granted that no lady in her sound senses would refuse the +privilege of gossiping with them. She is as sane as any one, +though there is an unnatural appearance about her, and if her +heart was only as sound as her head I could die easily. They +started the report of craziness long, long ago, in order to get +hold of her fortune; but it was too infamous a scheme to +succeed.”</p> +<p>Elsie’s strong white teeth were firmly set, and her clenched +fingers did not relax.</p> +<p>“Who started the report of her insanity?”</p> +<p>“One who injured her, and made her what you see her.”</p> +<p>“She had no children?”</p> +<p>“Oh, no! Once I begged her to adopt a pretty little orphan +girl we saw in Athens, but she ridiculed me for an old fool, +and asked me if I wished to see her warm a viper to sting +what was left of her heart.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome has indulged her grief for her husband’s +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span> +loss, until she has become morbidly sensitive. She should go +into the world, and interest herself in benevolent schemes; +and, ultimately, her diseased thoughts would flow into new +and healthful channels. The secluded life she leads is a hotbed +for the growth of noxious fungi in heart and mind. If +you possess any influence over her, persuade her to re-enter +society. She is still young enough to find not only a cure for +her grief, but an ample share of even earthly happiness.”</p> +<p>Elsie sighed, and waved her hand impatiently.</p> +<p>“You do not know all, or you would understand that in +this world she can not expect much happiness. Besides, she +is peculiarly sensitive about her appearance; and, of course, +when she is seen, people stare, and wonder how such a young +thing got that pile of white hair. That is the reason she quit +travelling and shut herself up here.”</p> +<p>“Was it grief that prematurely silvered her hair?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; it was as black as your coat, until her trouble +came; and then in a fortnight it turned as gray as you see it +now. Doctor, I said she was not deranged, and I spoke truly; +but sometimes I have feared that, when I am gone, she might +get desperate, and, in her loneliness, destroy herself. You are +a sensible man, and can hold your tongue, and I feel that I +can trust you. Now, I know that Robert loves her, and while +he lives will serve her faithfully; but you are wiser than my +son, and I should be better satisfied if I left her in your +charge, when I go home. Will you promise me to take care +of her, and to try to comfort her in the day when she sees +me buried?”</p> +<p>“Elsie, you impose upon me a duty which I am afraid Mrs. +Gerome will not allow me to discharge; and, since she is so +exceedingly averse to meeting strangers, I should not feel +justified in thrusting myself into her presence.”</p> +<p>“Not even to prevent a crime?”</p> +<p>“I hope that your excited imagination and anxious heart +exaggerate the possibility of the danger to which you allude.”</p> +<p>“No; exaggeration is not one of my habits, and I know my +mistress better than she knows herself. She thinks that suicide +is not a sin, but says it is cowardly; and she utterly detests +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span> +and loathes cowardice. Dr. Grey, I could not rest quietly +in my coffin if she is left alone in this dreary house, after I +am carried to my long home. Will you stay here awhile, or +take her to your house,—at least for a short time?”</p> +<p>“I will, at all events, promise to comply with your wishes +as fully as she will permit. But recollect that I am comparatively +a stranger to her, and her haughty reception of me +the day I was compelled to come here on your account, does +not encourage me to presume in future. Respect for her +wishes, however unreasonable, and respect for myself, would +forbid an intrusion on my part.”</p> +<p>“If you saw an utter stranger drowning, would fear of +being considered presumptuous or impertinent prevent your +trying to save him? Your self-love should not hold you back +from a Christian duty.”</p> +<p>“And you may rest assured that it never shall, when I feel +that interference—no matter how unwelcome or ungraciously +received—will prove beneficial. But remember that your +mistress is eccentric and shrinking, and all efforts to befriend +her must be made very cautiously.”</p> +<p>“True, doctor; yet sometimes, instead of consulting her, it +is best to treat her as a wilful child. I believe you could +obtain some influence over her if you would only try to break +the ice, because she has spoken kindly of you several times +since I have been so helpless, and asked what she could do to +show her gratitude for your goodness to me. Yesterday she +said she intended to direct Robert to take some fine fruit to +your house, and she remarked that your eyes were, in comparison +with other folks’, what Sabbath is to working week-days,—were +so full of rest, that tired anxious people might be +refreshed by looking at them. Sir, that is more than I have +heard her utter for seven years about anybody; and, therefore, +I think you might do her some good.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey shook his head, but remained silent; and presently +Elsie touched his arm, and continued,—</p> +<p>“There is something I wish to say to you before I die, but +not now. I want you to promise me that when you see my end +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span> +is indeed at hand, you will tell me in time to let me talk a +little to you. Will you?”</p> +<p>“You may linger for months, and it is possible that you +may die quite suddenly; consequently, it might be impracticable +for me to fulfil the promise you require. Still, if I can +do so, I will certainly comply with your wishes. Would it not +be better to tell me at once what you desire me to know?”</p> +<p>“While I live it is not necessary that any one should know, +and it is only when I am about to die that I shall speak to +you. For my sake, for humanity’s sake, try to become acquainted +with my mistress and make her like you, as she +certainly will, if she only knows you.”</p> +<p>A tap at the door interrupted the conversation, and soon +after, Dr. Grey quitted the sick-room.</p> +<p>He paused in the hall to examine a fine copy of Landseer’s +“Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner,” and, while he stood before +it, a large greyhound started up from the mat at the front +door, and bounded towards him. Simultaneously Mrs. +Gerome appeared at the threshold of the parlor.</p> +<p>“Come here, sir! Poor fellow, come here!”</p> +<p>The dog obeyed her instantly; and, pressing close to her, +looked up wistfully in her face.</p> +<p>“Good morning, Mrs. Gerome. I must thank you for coming +so promptly to my assistance. I have never seen this dog +until to-day, and, consequently, was not on my guard.”</p> +<p>“He arrived only yesterday, and is so overjoyed to be with +me once more that he allows no one else to approach.”</p> +<p>“He is by far the handsomest dog I have ever seen in +America.”</p> +<p>“Yes, I had great difficulty in obtaining him. My agent +assures me that he belongs to the best that are reared in the +tribe of Beni Lam; and that he is a genuine Arab, there can +be no doubt.”</p> +<p>“How long have you owned him?”</p> +<p>“Two years. Unfortunately he was bitten by a snake one +day while wandering with me among the ruins at Pæstum, and +was so singularly affected that I was forced to leave him at +Naples. Various causes combined to delay his restoration to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span> +me until last week, when he crossed the Atlantic; and yesterday +he went into ecstasies when I received him from the express +agent. Hush! no growling! Down, sir! Take care, +Dr. Grey; he will bear no hand but mine, and it is rather +dangerous to caress him, as you may judge from the fangs he +is showing you.”</p> +<p>The dog was remarkably tall, silky, beautifully formed, +and of a soft mole-color; and around his neck a collar formed +of four small silver chains, bore an oval silver plate on which +was engraved in German text, “<i>Ich Dien—Agla Gerome</i>.”</p> +<p>“I congratulate you upon the possession of such a treasure,” +said the visitor, with unfeigned admiration,—as, with +the eye of a <i>connoisseur</i>, he noted the fine points about the +sleek, slim animal, who eyed him suspiciously.</p> +<p>“Thank you. How is Elsie to-day?”</p> +<p>“More nervous than I have seen her since the accident, and +some of her symptoms are rather discouraging, though there +is no immediate danger. Do not look so hopeless; she may be +spared to you for many months.”</p> +<p>“Why will you not let me hope that she may ultimately +recover?”</p> +<p>“Because it is utterly futile, and I have no desire to deceive +you, even for an instant. Good morning, Robert.”</p> +<p>The gardener approached with a large basket filled with +peaches and nectarines, and, taking off his hat, bowed profoundly.</p> +<p>“My mistress ordered these placed in your buggy, as I +believe our nectarines ripen earlier than any others in the +neighborhood.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, Maclean. Mrs. Gerome is exceedingly kind, +and I have an invalid sister who will enjoy this beautiful +fruit. Those nectarines would not disgrace Smyrna or Damascus, +and are the first of the season.”</p> +<p>Robert passed through the hall, bearing the basket to the +buggy; and at that instant there was a startling crash, as of +some heavy article falling in the parlor. The dog sprang up +with a howl, and Dr. Grey followed Mrs. Gerome into the +room to ascertain the cause of the noise. A glance sufficed +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span> +to explain that a picture in a heavy frame had fallen from a +hook above the mantelpiece, and in its descent overturned +some tall vases, which now lay shattered on the hearth. Dr. +Grey lifted the painting from the rubbish, and, as he turned +the canvas towards the light, Mrs. Gerome said,—</p> +<p>“‘<i>Une tristesse implacable, une effroyable fatalité pčse sui +l’œuvre de l’artiste. Cela ressemble ŕ une malediction amčre, +lancée sur le sort de l’humanité.</i>’ There is, indeed, some +fatality about that copy of Durer’s ‘Knight, Death, and the +Devil,’ which seems really ill-omened, for this is the second +time it has fallen. Thank you, sir. The frame only is injured, +and I will not trouble you to remove it. Let it lean +against the grate, until I have it rehung more securely.”</p> +<p>“It is too grim a picture for these walls, and stares at its +companions like the mummy at Egyptian banquets.”</p> +<p>“On the contrary, it impresses me as grotesque in comparison +with Durer’s ‘Melancholy,’ yonder, or with Holbein’s +‘Les Simulachres de la mort.’”</p> +<p>“Durer’s figure of ‘Melancholy’ has never satisfied me, and +there is more ferocity than sadness in the countenance, which +would serve quite as well for one of the Erinney hunting +Orestes, even in the adytum at Delphi. The face is more +sinister than sorrowful.”</p> +<p>“Since your opinion of that picture coincides so entirely +with mine, tell me whether I have successfully grasped +Coleridge’s dim ideal.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome drew from a corner of the rear room an easel +containing a finished but unframed picture; and, gathering +up the lace curtain drooping before the arch, she held the +folds aside, to allow the light to fall full on the canvas.</p> +<p>“Before you examine it, recall the description that suggested +it.”</p> +<p>“I am sorry to say that my recollection of the passage is +exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory. Will you oblige me by +repeating it?”</p> +<p>“Excuse me; your hand is resting upon the book, which +is open at the fragment.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey bowed, and, lifting the volume from the table +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span> +glanced rapidly over the lines designated, then turned to the +picture, where, indeed,</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Stretched on a mouldering abbey’s broadest wall,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Where ruining ivies propped the ruins steep,<br /> +Her folded arms wrapping her tattered pall,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Had Melancholy mused herself to sleep.<br /> +The fern was pressed beneath her hair,<br /> +The dark green adder’s tongue was there;<br /> +And still as past the flagging sea-gale weak,<br /> +The long, lank leaf bowed fluttering o’er her cheek.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>That pallid cheek was flushed; her eager look<br /> +Beamed eloquent in slumber! Inly wrought,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Imperfect sounds her moving lips forsook,<br /> +And her bent forehead worked with troubled thought.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The beautiful face of the reclining figure was dreamily +hopeless and dejected, yet pathetically patient; and, in the +strange amber light reflected from a sunset sea, the fringy +shadow of a cluster of fern-leaves seemed to quiver over the +pale brow and still mouth, and floating raven hair, where the +green snake glided with crest erect and forked tongue within +an inch of one delicate, pearly ear. The gray stones of the +lichen-spotted wall, the graceful sweep of the shrouding drab +drapery, whose folds clung to the form and thence swung +down from the edge of the rocky battlement, the mouldering +ruins leaning against the quiet sky in the rear, and the glassy +stretch of topaz-tinted sea in the foreground, were all painted +with pre-Raphaelite exactness and verisimilitude, and every +detail attested the careful, tender study, with which the picture +had been elaborated.</p> +<p>Was it by accident or design that the woman on the painted +wall bore a vague, mournful resemblance to the owner and +creator? Dr. Grey glanced from Durer’s “Melancholy” to +the canvas on the easel; then his fascinated eyes dwelt on +the dainty features of the artist, and he thought involuntarily +of another Coleridgean image,—of the “pilgrim in whom the +spring and the autumn, and the melancholy of both, seemed to +have combined.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span></div> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, in this wonderful embodiment of Coleridge’s +fragmentary ideal you have painted your own portrait.”</p> +<p>“No, sir. Look again. My ‘Melancholia’ has a patient +face, hinting of possible peace. When I design its companion, +‘Desolation,’ I may be pardoned if my canvas reflects what +always fronts it.”</p> +<p>“May I ask when you wrought out this extraordinary conception?”</p> +<p>“During the past month. The last touch was given this +morning, and the paint is not yet dry on that cluster of +purplish seaweed clinging to the base of the battlement. Last +night I dreamed that Coleridge stood looking over my shoulder +and while I worked he touched the sea, and it flushed a ruby +red brighter than laudanum; and then he leaned down, +and with a pencil wrote <i>Dele</i> across the fragment in his +Sibylline Leaves.’ To-day I tried the effect of the hint, but +the amber water mellows the woman’s features, and the ruby +light rendered them sullen and rigid.”</p> +<p>“Were I to judge from the <i>bizarre</i> themes that you select, +I should be tempted to fear that the wizard spell of opium +evoked some of these strangely beautiful creations of your +brush. What suggested this picture?”</p> +<p>“You merely wish to complete your diagnosis of my +psychological condition? If so, there is no reason why I +should hesitate to tell you that while I was playing one of +Chopin’s <i>Nocturnes</i> the significance of the Polish ‘<i>Zäl</i>’ perplexed +me. In striving to analyze it, Coleridge’s ‘Melancholy’ +occurred to my mind, and teased and haunted me until +I wrought it out palpably. My work there means more than +his fragment, and includes something which I suppose Chopin +meant by that insynonymous word ‘<i>Zäl</i>.’”</p> +<p>Standing under the arch, with one hand holding back the +lace drapery, the other hanging nerveless at her side, she +looked as weird as any of her ideal creations; and, in the +greenish seashine breaking through the dense foliage of the +trees about the house, her wan face, snowy muslin dress, and +floating white ribbons, seemed unsubstantial as the figures on +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span> +the wall. To-day there was no spot of color in face or dress, +save the azure gleam of the large, brilliant ring, on her uplifted +hand; and, as Dr. Grey scrutinized her appearance, he +found it difficult to realize that blood pulsed in that marble +flesh, and warm breath fluttered in that firm, frigid mouth. +Glancing around the rooms, he said,—</p> +<p>“Solitude is indeed a misnomer for a home peopled with +such creations as adorn these walls.”</p> +<p>“No. Have you forgotten the definition of Epictetus? +‘<i>To be friendless is solitude.</i>’”</p> +<p>“I hope, madam, that you may never find yourself in that +unfortunate category, and certainly there are—”</p> +<p>“Sir, I know what Michael Angelo felt when he wrote from +Rome, ‘I have no friends; I need none.’”</p> +<p>She interrupted him with an indescribably haughty gesture, +and an anomalous spasm of the lips that belonged to no +known class of smiles.</p> +<p>“On the contrary, Mrs. Gerome, the hunger for true friends +has rendered you morose and cynical.”</p> +<p>He did not shrink from the wide eyes that flashed like +blue steel in moonshine; and as his own, calm, steady, and +magnetic, dwelt gravely on her face, he fancied she winced, +slightly.</p> +<p>“No, sir. When I hunt or recognize friends, I shall +borrow Diogenes’ lantern. Good morning, Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>“Pardon me if I detain you for a moment to inquire who +taught you to paint.”</p> +<p>“The absolute necessity of self-forgetfulness.”</p> +<p>“But you surely had some tuition in the art?”</p> +<p>“Yes; I had the usual boarding-school privilege of a +master for perspective, and pastel. Dr. Grey, have you been +to Europe?”</p> +<p>“Yes, madam; on several occasions.”</p> +<p>“You visited Dresden?”</p> +<p>“I did.”</p> +<p>“Step forward a little,—there. Now, sir, do you know +that painting hanging over my <i>escritoire</i>?”</p> +<p>“It is Ruysdael’s ‘Churchyard,’ and, from this distance, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span> +seems a remarkably fine copy of that sombre, desolate, ghoul-haunted +picture.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. That is the only piece of work of which I +feel really proud. Some day, when the light is pure and +strong, come in and examine it. Now there is a greenish +tinge over all things in the room thrown by sea-shimmer +through the clustering leaves. Ah, what a long, low, presageful +moan that was, which broke from foaming lips, on +yonder strand!”</p> +<p>“Good morning, Mrs. Gerome. The inspection of your +pictures has yielded me so much pleasure that I must tender +you my very sincere thanks for your courtesy.”</p> +<p>She bowed distantly; and, when he reached his buggy, he +glanced back and saw that perfect, pallid face, pressed against +the cedar facing of the oriel, looking seaward. He lifted his +hat, but she did not observe the salute; and, as he drove away, +she kept her eyes upon the murmuring waves, and repeated, +as was her habit, the lines that chanced to present themselves,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Listen! you hear the solemn roar<br /> +Begin, and cease, and then again begin,<br /> +With tremulous cadence, slow, and bring<br /> +The eternal note of sadness in.<br /> +Sophocles, long ago,<br /> +Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought<br /> +Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow<br /> +Of human misery.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XV' id='CHAPTER_XV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Miss Dexter, where is Muriel?” asked Dr. Grey, +glancing around the library, where the governess sat sewing, +while Salome read aloud a passage in Ariosto.</p> +<p>“She is not very well, and went up stairs, two hours ago, +to rest. Do you wish to see her immediately?”</p> +<p>“Yes. Call her down.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span></div> +<p>When the teacher left the room, Dr. Grey approached the +table where Salome sat, and looked over her shoulder.</p> +<p>“I went to the Asylum to-day, and found little Jessie +very well, but quite dissatisfied because you visit her so rarely. +You should see her as often as possible, since she is so dependent +upon you for sympathy and affection.”</p> +<p>“I do.”</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter gives a flattering report of your aptitude for +acquiring languages, and assures me that you will soon speak +Italian fluently.”</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter doubtless believes that praise of a pupil +reflects credit on the skill of the teacher. Unfortunately for +her flattering estimate of me, I must disclaim all polyglot +proclivities, and have no intention of eclipsing Mezzofanti, +Max Muller, or Giovanni Pico Mirandola. I needed, for a +special purpose, a limited acquaintance with Italian; and, as I +have attained what I desired, I shall not trouble myself much +longer with dictionaries and grammars.”</p> +<p>“And that special purpose—”</p> +<p>“Concerns nobody else, consequently I keep it to myself.”</p> +<p>He turned from her and advanced to meet his ward, who +came rapidly forward, holding out both hands.</p> +<p>“Doctor, where have you been all day? I did not see +you at breakfast or dinner, and it seems quite an age since +yesterday afternoon. You see I am moping, horribly.”</p> +<p>“My dear child, I see you are looking pale and weary, which +is overt and unpardonable treason. I sent for you to ask if +it would be agreeable to you to walk, or drive with me.”</p> +<p>“Certainly,—either or both.”</p> +<p>She had placed her hands in his, and stood looking up +joyfully into his quiet countenance.</p> +<p>“Get your hat, while I order my buggy brought to the +door.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, my dear doctor. The very thing I longed +for, as I noticed you riding up the avenue. I never saw +you on horseback until to-day. It is a delightful evening +for a drive.”</p> +<p>She gaily swung his hands, like a gratified child, and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span> +started off for her hat, but, ere she crossed the threshold, +turned back, and, walking up to her guardian, laid her arm on +his shoulder and whispered something.</p> +<p>He laughed, and put his hand under her chin, saying, as he +did so,—</p> +<p>“Little witch! How did you know it?”</p> +<p>Her reply was audible only to the ears for which it was +framed, and she darted away, evidently much happier than +she had seemed for many days.</p> +<p>While awaiting her return, Dr. Grey picked up her sketch-book, +and was examining the contents, when Salome rose and +hurried towards the door. As she passed him, his back was +turned, and her muslin dress swept within reach of his spur, +which caught the delicate fabric. She impatiently jerked +the dress to disengage it, but it clung to the steel points, and +a long rent was made in the muslin. With a half-smothered +ejaculation, she tried to wrench herself free, but the dress +only tore across the breadth from seam to seam. Dr. Grey +turned, and stooped to assist her.</p> +<p>“Wait an instant, Salome; you have almost ruined your +dress.”</p> +<p>He was endeavoring to disentangle the shreds from the +jagged edge of the spur, but she bent down, and, seizing the +skirt in both hands, tore it away, leaving a large fragment +trailing from the boot-heel.</p> +<p>“‘More haste, less speed.’ Patience is better than petulance, +my young friend.”</p> +<p>His grave, reproving voice, rendered her defiant; and, with +a forced, unnatural laugh, she bowed, and hurried away, +saying, as she looked over her shoulder,—</p> +<p>“And spurs than persuasion? You mistake my nature.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had been riding, all the morning, across a broken +stretch of country, where the roads were exceedingly insecure, +and, as he removed the troublesome spur and laid it on the +mantelpiece, he folded up the strip of muslin and put it into +his pocket.</p> +<p>“I am waiting for you,” cried Muriel, from the hall door.</p> +<p>He sighed, and went to his buggy; but the cloud did not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span> +melt from his brow, for, as he drove off, he noticed Salome’s +gleaming eyes peering from the window of her room; and +pity and pain mingled in the emotions with which he recalled +his sister’s warning words.</p> +<p>“Muriel, here is your letter, and, better still, Gerard will +be with us to-morrow. Diplomatic affairs brought him +temporarily to Washington, and he will spend next week with +us. I cordially congratulate you, my dear child, and hastened +home to bring you the good news, which I felt assured you +would prefer to receive without witnesses.”</p> +<p>Muriel’s blushing face was bent over her letter; but she +put her hand on her guardian’s, and pressed it vigorously.</p> +<p>“A thousand thanks for all your goodness! Gerard writes +that it was through your influence he was enabled to visit +Washington; and, indeed, dear Dr. Grey, we are both very +grateful for your kind interest in our happiness. Even poor +papa could not be more considerate.”</p> +<p>“For several days past I have observed that you were +unusually depressed, and that Miss Dexter looked constrained. +Are you not pleasantly situated in my sister’s house. Do not +hesitate to speak frankly.”</p> +<p>Muriel’s eyes filled with tears, and she answered, evasively,—</p> +<p>“Miss Jane is very kind and affectionate.”</p> +<p>“Which means that Salome is not.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, why does she dislike me so seriously? I have +tried to be friendly and cordial towards her; but she constantly +repels me. I really admire her very much; but I am +afraid she positively hates me.”</p> +<p>“No, that is impossible; but she is a very peculiar, and, I +am sorry to be forced to say, an unamiable girl, and is +governed by every idle caprice. I hope that you will not +allow yourself to be annoyed by any want of courtesy which +she may unfortunately have displayed. Although a member +of the household, Salome has no right to dispense or to withhold +the hospitalities of my sister’s home, or to insult her +guests; and I trust that her individual whims will have no +effect whatever upon you, unless they create a feeling of compassion +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span> +and toleration in your kind heart. She has some +good traits hidden under her <i>brusquerie</i>, and when you know +her better you will excuse her rudeness.”</p> +<p>“Why is she so moody? I have not seen a pleasant smile +on her face since I came here.”</p> +<p>“My dear child, let us select some more agreeable topic +for discussion. Gerard will probably arrive on the early +train, which will enable him to breakfast with us to-morrow. +He will endeavor to persuade you to return at once to +Europe; but I must tell you, in advance of his proposal, that +I hope you will not yield to his wishes, since it would grieve +me to part with you so soon.”</p> +<p>Muriel turned aside her head to avoid her guardian’s penetrating +gaze, and silently listened to his counsel concerning +the course she should pursue towards her betrothed.</p> +<p>For a year they had been affianced without the knowledge +of her father, from whom she had been separated; but the +frankness with which both had discussed the matter with Dr. +Grey forbade the possibility of his withholding his approbation +of the engagement; though he assured them he could +not consent to its speedy consummation, as Muriel was too +young and childish to appreciate the grave responsibility of +such a step. Gerard Granville was several years older than +his betrothed, and Dr. Grey had been astonished at his +choice; but a long and intimate acquaintance led him to esteem +the young man so highly, that, while he felt that Muriel +was far inferior, he strove to stimulate her ambition, and +hoped she would one day be fully worthy of him.</p> +<p>To-day Dr. Grey drove for an hour through quiet, unfrequented +country roads; and finally, when Muriel expressed +herself anxious to catch a glimpse of the sea and a breath +of its brine, he turned into a narrow track that led down to +some fishermen’s huts on the beach.</p> +<p>While they paused on the edge of the low, yellow strand, +and inhaled the fresh ocean air, Dr. Grey grew silent, and +his companion fell into a blissful reverie relative to to-morrow’s +events. Suddenly he placed his hand on her arm, +and said, “Listen! What a wonderfully sweet, flexible voice! +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span> +Surely, fishermen’s wives are not singing Mendelssohn’s compositions? +Did you hear that gush of melody? It comes not +from that house, but seems floating from the opposite direction. +Such strains almost revive one’s faith in the Hindoo +<i>Gandharvas</i>,—musical genii, filling the air with ravishing +sounds. There! is it not exquisite? Hold these reins while +I ascertain who owns that marvellous voice.”</p> +<p>Eager and curious as a boy, he sprang from the buggy, +and, following the bend of the beach, passed two small +deserted huts, and plunged into a grove of stunted trees, +whence issued the sound that attracted his attention. Ere +he had proceeded many yards he saw a woman sitting on a +bank of sand and oyster-shells, and singing from an open +sheet of music, while she made rapid gestures with one hand. +Her face was turned from him, but, as he cautiously approached, +the <i>pose</i> of the figure, the noble contour of the head +and neck, and a certain muslin dress which matched the strip +in his pocket, made his heart beat violently. Intent only on +solving the mystery, he stepped softly towards her; but just +then a brace of plover started up at his feet, and, as they +whirred away, the woman turned her head, and he found +himself face to face with his musician.</p> +<p>“Salome!”</p> +<p>“Well, Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>She had risen, and a beautiful glow overspread her cheeks, +as she met his eyes.</p> +<p>“What brings you to this lonely spot, three miles from +home, when the sun has already gone down?”</p> +<p>“Have I not as unquestionable a right to walk alone to +the seaside as you to drive your ward whithersoever you list? +Poverty, as well as wealth, sometimes makes people strangely +independent. What have you done with Miss Muriel Manton?”</p> +<p>There was such a sparkle in her eyes, such a bright flush +on her polished cheeks and parted lips, that Dr. Grey wondered +at her beauty, which had never before impressed him +as so extraordinary.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span></div> +<p>“Salome, why have you concealed your musical gift from +me? Who taught you to sing?”</p> +<p>“I am teaching myself, with such poor aid as I can obtain +from that miserable vagabond, Barilli, who is generally +intoxicated three days out of every six. Did you expect to +find Heine’s yellow-haired Loreley, or a treacherous Ligeia, +sitting on a rock, wooing passers-by to speedy destruction?”</p> +<p>“I certainly did not expect to meet my friend Salome alone +at this hour and place. Child, do not trifle with me,—be +truthful. Did you come here to meet any one?”</p> +<p>“One never knows what may or may not happen. I came +here to practise my music lesson, <i>sans</i> auditors, and I meet +Dr. Grey,—the last person I expected or desired to see.”</p> +<p>He came a step nearer, and put his hand on her shoulder.</p> +<p>“Salome, you distress and perplex me. My child, are you +better or worse than I think you?”</p> +<p>She lifted her slender hand and laid it lightly on his, which +still rested upon her shoulder.</p> +<p>“I am both,—better and worse. Better in aim than you +believe; worse in execution than you could realize, even if I +confessed all, which I have not the slightest intention of +doing. Ah, Dr. Grey, if you read me thoroughly, you would +not be surprised, or consider it presumptuous that I sometimes +think I am that anomalous creature, whom Balzac defined +as ‘Angel through love, demon through fantasy, child +through faith, sage through experience, man through the +brain, woman through the heart, giant through hope, and +poet through dreams.’”</p> +<p>As Dr. Grey looked down into the splendid eyes, softened +and magnified by a crystal veil of unshed tears, he sighed, +and answered,—</p> +<p>“You are, indeed, a bundle of contradictions. Why have +you so sedulously concealed the existence of your fine voice, +which the majority of girls would have been eager to exhibit?”</p> +<p>“It was not lack of vanity, but excess, that prompted me +to keep you in ignorance, until I could astonish you by its +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span> +perfection. You have anticipated me only by a few days, +and I intended singing for you next week.”</p> +<p>“It is not prudent for you to venture so far from home, +especially at this hour.”</p> +<p>“We paupers are not so fastidious as our lucky superiors, +and cannot afford timid airs, and affectation of extreme +nervousness. Having no escort, and expecting none, I walk +alone in any direction I choose, with what fearlessness and +contentment I find myself able to command.”</p> +<p>“It will be dark before you can reach the public road.”</p> +<p>“No, sir; there is a young moon swinging above the tree-tops, +to light me on my lonesome ramble; and I come here so +often that even the rabbits and whippoorwills know me. +Where is Miss Muriel?”</p> +<p>“Waiting in the buggy, on the beach. I must go back to +her.”</p> +<p>“Yes. Pray do not delay an instant, or she will imagine +that some dire calamity has befallen her knight, who, in +hunting a siren, encountered Scylla or Charybdis. Good +evening, Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>“I am unwilling to leave you here so unprotected. Come +and ride with Muriel, and I will walk beside the buggy. My +horse is so gentle that a child can guide him.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. Not for a ten-acre lot in Mohammed’s +Paradise would I mar Miss Muriel’s happiness, or punish +myself by a <i>tęte-ŕ-tęte</i> with her. It would be positively ‘discourteous’ +in me to accept your proposal; and, moreover, I +abhor division,—<i>tout ou rien</i>.”</p> +<p>“Wilful, silly child! It is not proper for you to wander +along that dreary road in the dark. Come with me.”</p> +<p>“Not I. Make yourself easy by recollecting that ‘naught +is never in danger.’ See yonder in the west,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Where, lo! above the sandy sunset rose<br /> +The silver sickle of the green-gowned <ins title='Added quote'>witch.’”</ins></p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>She laughed lightly, derisively, and collected the sheets of +music scattered on the bank.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195' name='page_195'></a>195</span></div> +<p>Silently Dr. Grey returned to his ward, who exclaimed, at +sight of him,—</p> +<p>“I am glad to see you again, for you stayed so long I was +growing frightened. Did you find the singer?”</p> +<p>“Yes.”</p> +<p>“What is the matter? You look troubled and solemn.”</p> +<p>“I am merely annoyed by circumstances beyond my <ins title='Added quote'>control.”</ins></p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, who was that sweet singer?”</p> +<p>“Salome Owen.”</p> +<p>“How can such a thing be possible, when I have never +heard a note from her lips? You told me she had no musical +talent.”</p> +<p>“I was not aware that she sang at all, until this afternoon, +and your surprise does not equal mine.”</p> +<p>“Where did you find her?”</p> +<p>“Sitting on a mound of sand, singing to the sea.”</p> +<p>“Who is with her?”</p> +<p>“No one. I requested her to come with us, and offered to +walk beside my buggy; but she declined. Please be so considerate +as to say nothing about this occurrence, when you +reach home; because animadversion only hardens that poor +girl in her whimsical ways. Now we will dismiss the matter.”</p> +<p>Muriel endeavored to render herself an agreeable companion +during the remainder of the drive; but her guardian, +despite his efforts to become interested in her conversation, +was evidently <i>distrait</i>, and both felt relieved when they +reached Grassmere, where Miss Jane and the governess welcomed +their return.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey dismissed his buggy and entered the hall; but +passed through the house, and, crossing the orchard, followed +the road leading seaward.</p> +<p>Only a few summer stars were sprinkling their silvery rays +over the gray gloom of twilight, and the shining crescent in +the violet west had slipped down behind the silent hills that +girded the rough, winding road.</p> +<p>When Salome put her fingers on the gloved hand which, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196' name='page_196'></a>196</span> +in the surprise of their unexpected meeting, Dr. Grey had +involuntarily placed on her shoulder, she had felt that he +shrank instantly from her touch, and withdrew his hand +hastily, as if displeased with the familiarity of the action. +All the turbid elements in her nature boiled up. Could it +be possible that he really loved his rosy-faced, bright-eyed, +prattling ward? She set this conjecture squarely before her, +and forced herself to contemplate it. If he desired to marry +Muriel, of course he would do so whenever he chose, and the +thought that he might call her his wife, and give her his +name, his caresses, wrung a cry of agony from Salome’s lips. +She threw herself on the sand-bank, and, resting her chin on +her folded arms, gazed vacantly across the yellow strand at +the glassy, leaden sea that stared back mockingly at her.</p> +<p>She was too miserable to feel afraid of anything but Dr. +Grey’s marriage; and, moreover, she had so often, during the +early years of her life, gone to and fro in the darkness, that +she was a stranger to that timidity which girls usually indulge +under similar circumstances. The fishermen had +abandoned the neighboring huts some months before, and +“Solitude,” one mile distant, was the nearest spot occupied +by human beings.</p> +<p>She neither realized nor cared that it was growing darker, +and, after awhile, when the sea was no longer visible through +the dun haze that brooded over it, she shut her eyes and +moaned.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had walked on, hoping every moment to meet her +returning home; and, more than once, he was tempted to +retrace his steps, thinking that she might have taken some +direct path across the hills, instead of the circuitous one +bending around their base. Quickening his pace till it +matched his pulse, which an indefinable anxiety accelerated, +he finally saw the huts dimly outlined against the starry sky +and quiet sea.</p> +<p>Pausing, he took off his hat to listen to</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'><span class='indent10'> </span>“The water lapping on the crag,<br /> +And the long ripple washing in the reeds,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span></div> +<p>and, while he stood wiping his brow, there came across the +beach,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“A cry that shivered to the tingling stars,<br /> +And, as it were one voice, an agony<br /> +Of lamentation, like a wind that shrills<br /> +All night in a waste land, where no one comes,<br /> +Or hath come since the making of the world.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>In the uncertain light he ran towards the clump of trees +where he had left Salome, and strained his eyes to discover +some moving thing. He knew that he must be very near the +spot, but neither the expected sound nor object greeted him, +and, while he stopped and held his breath to listen, the +silence was profound and death-like. He was opening his +lips to call the girl’s name, when he fancied he saw something +move slightly, and simultaneously a human voice smote +the oppressive stillness. She was very near him, and he heard +her saying to herself, with mournful emphasis,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Have I brought Joy, and slain her at his feet?<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Have I brought Peace, for his cold kiss to kill?<br /> +Have I brought youth, crowned with wild-flowers sweet,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>With sandals dewy from a morning hill,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>For his gray, solemn eyes, to fright and chill?<br /> +Have I brought Scorn the pale, and Hope the fleet,<br /> +And First Love, in her lily winding-sheet,—<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And is he pitiless still?”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey knew now that she was not crying. Her hard, +ringing, bitter tone, forbade all thought of sobs or tears; but +his heart ached as he listened, and surmised the application +she was making of the melancholy lines.</p> +<p>Unwilling that she should know he had overheard her, he +waited a moment, then raised his voice and shouted,—</p> +<p>“Salome! Salome! Where are you?”</p> +<p>There was no answer, and, fearing that she might elude +him, he stretched out his arms, and advanced to the spot, +which he felt assured was only a few yards distant.</p> +<p>She had risen, and, standing in the gloom of the coming +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span> +night, deepened by the interlacing boughs above her, she felt +Dr. Grey’s hand on her dress, then on her head, where the +moisture hung heavily in her thick hair.</p> +<p>“Salome, why do you not answer me?”</p> +<p>Shame kept her silent.</p> +<p>He passed his hand over her hot face, then groped for her +fingers, which he grasped firmly in his.</p> +<p>“Come home with your best friend.”</p> +<p>He knew that she was in no mood to submit to reprimand, +to appreciate argument, or even to listen to entreaty, and +that he might as profitably undertake to knead pig-iron as +expostulate with her at this juncture.</p> +<p>For a mile they walked on without uttering a word; then +he felt the fingers relax, twitch, and twine closely around his +own.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, where is Muriel? Where is your buggy?”</p> +<p>“Both are at home, where others should have been, long +ago.”</p> +<p>“You walked back to meet me?”</p> +<p>“I did.”</p> +<p>“How did you find me, in the dark?”</p> +<p>“I heard your voice.”</p> +<p>“But not the words?”</p> +<p>“Why? Are you ashamed for me to hear what any strolling +stranger, any unscrupulous vagabond, might have listened +to?”</p> +<p>“It is such a desolate, lonely place, I thought no one would +stumble upon me, and I have been there so often without +meeting a living thing except the crabs and plover.”</p> +<p>“You are no longer a child, and such rashness is altogether +unpardonable. What do you suppose my sister would think +of your imprudent obstinacy?”</p> +<p>They walked another mile, and again Salome convulsively +pressed the cool, steady, strong hand, in which hers lay hot +and quivering.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, tell me the truth,—don’t torture me.”</p> +<p>“What shall I tell you? You torture yourself.”</p> +<p>“Did you hear what I was saying to my own heart?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span></div> +<p>“I heard you repeating some lines which certainly should +possess no relevancy for the real feeling of my young friend.”</p> +<p>She snatched her fingers from his, and he knew she covered +her face with them.</p> +<p>They reached the gate at the end of the avenue, and Salome +stopped suddenly, as the lights from the front windows flashed +out on the lawn.</p> +<p>“Go in, and leave me.”</p> +<p>She threw herself on the sward, under one of the elm-trees, +and leaned her head against its trunk.</p> +<p>“I shall do no such thing, unless you desire the entire +household to comment upon your reckless conduct.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dr. Grey, I care little now what the whole world +thinks or says! Let me be quiet, or I shall go mad.”</p> +<p>“No; come into the house, and sing something to compensate +me for the anxiety and fatigue you have cost me. I +do not often ask a favor of you, and certainly in this instance +you will not refuse to grant my request.”</p> +<p>She did not reply, and he bent down and softly stroked +the hair that was damp with dew and sea-fog.</p> +<p>The long-pent storm broke in convulsive sobs, and she +trembled from head to foot, while tears poured over her +burning cheeks.</p> +<p>“Poor child! Can you not confide in me?”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, will you forget all that has passed to-day? +Will you try never to think of it again?”</p> +<p>“On condition that you never repeat the offence.”</p> +<p>“You do not despise me?”</p> +<p>“No.”</p> +<p>“You pity me?”</p> +<p>“I pity any human being who is so unfortunate as to +possess your wilful, perverse, passionate disposition. Unless +you overcome this dangerous tendency of character, you may +expect only wretchedness and humiliation in coming years. +I am sincerely sorry for you, but I tell you unhesitatingly, +that I find it difficult to tolerate your grave and obtrusive +faults.”</p> +<p>She raised her clasped hands, and said, brokenly,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span></div> +<p>“This is the last time I shall ever ask you to forgive me. +Will you?”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“As</ins> freely and fully as a grieved brother ever forgave a +wayward sister.”</p> +<p>He took the folded hands, lifted her from the grass, and +led her to a side door opening upon the east gallery.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, give me one kind word before I go.”</p> +<p>The lamp-light from the hall shone full on his pale face, +which was sterner than she had ever seen it, as he forcibly +withdrew his hands from her tight clasp, and, putting her +away from him, said, very coldly,—</p> +<p>“I exhausted my store of kind thoughts and words when I +called you my sister.”</p> +<p>He saw that she understood him, for she tried to hide her +face, but a spasm passed over it, and she would have fallen +had he not caught her in his arms and carried her up to her +own room.</p> +<p>Stanley was asleep with his head pillowed on his open +geography, but the candle burned beside him, and Dr. Grey +placed Salome on a lounge near the window, and sprinkled +her face with water.</p> +<p>Kneeling by the low couch, he rubbed her hands vigorously +with some cologne he found on her bureau; and, watching +her pale, beautiful features, his heart swelled with compassion, +and his calm eyes grew misty. Consciousness very soon +returned, and when she saw the noble, sorrowful countenance, +bent anxiously over her, she covered her face with her hands +and moaned rather than spoke,—</p> +<p>“I can’t endure your pity. Leave me with my self-contempt +and degradation.”</p> +<p>“My little sister, I leave you in God’s merciful hands, and +trust you to the guidance of your womanly pride and self-respect. +Good-night. We will not engrave this unfortunate +day on our tablets, but forget its record, save one fact, that +for all time it makes me your brother; and, Salome,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“‘So we’ll not dream, nor look back, dear,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>But march right on, content and bold,<br /> +To where our life sets heavenly clear,—<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Westward, behind the hills of gold.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI' id='CHAPTER_XVI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Dr. Grey, who is that beautiful girl to whom Muriel introduced +me this morning? I was so absorbed in admiration +of her face that I lost her name.”</p> +<p>As he spoke, Mr. Gerard Granville struck the ashes from +his cigar, and walked up to the table where Dr. Grey was +sealing some letters.</p> +<p>“Her name is Salome Owen, and she is my sister’s adopted +child.”</p> +<p>“What is her age, if I may be pardoned such impertinent +queries?”</p> +<p>“I believe she has entered her eighteenth year.”</p> +<p>“She is a regal beauty, and shows proud blood as plainly +as any princess.”</p> +<p>“Take care, Granville; imagination has cantered away +with your penetration. Salome’s family were coarse and +common, though doubtless honest people. Her father was a +drunken miller, who died in an attack of delirium tremens, +and left his children as a legacy to the county. I merely +mention these deplorable facts to show you that your boasted +penetration is not entirely infallible.”</p> +<p>“Miller or millionaire,—the girl would grace any court in +Europe, and only lacks a dash of <i>aplomb</i> to make her irresistible. +I have seen few faces that attracted and interested +me so powerfully.”</p> +<p>“Yes, she certainly is very handsome; but I do not agree +with you in thinking that she lacks <i>aplomb</i>. Granville, if +you have finished your cigar, we will adjourn to the parlor, +where the ladies are taking their tea.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey collected his letters and walked away, followed +by his guest; and, a moment after, a low, scornful laugh, +floated in through the window which opened on the little +flower-garden.</p> +<p>Miss Jane had requested Salome to gather the seeds of some +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span> +apple and nutmeg geraniums that were arranged on a shelf +near the western window of the library; and, while stooping +over the china jars, and screened from observation by a +spreading lilac-bush, the girl had heard the conversation relative +to herself.</p> +<p>Excessive vanity had never been numbered among the +faults that marred her character, but Dr. Grey’s indifference to +personal attractions, which strangers admitted so readily, +piqued, and thoroughly aroused a feeling that was destined +to bring countless errors and misfortunes in its train; and, +henceforth,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“There was not a high thing out of heaven,<br /> +Her pride o’ermastereth not.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Hitherto the love of one man had been the only boon she +craved of heaven; but now, conscious that the darling hope +of her life was crushed and withering under Dr. Grey’s +relentless feet, she resolved that the admiration of the world +should feed her insatiable hunger,—a maddening hunger +which one tender word from his true lips would have assuaged,—but +which she began to realize he would never utter.</p> +<p>During the last eighteen hours, a mournful change had +taken place in her heart, where womanly tenderness was +rapidly retreating before unwomanly hate, bitterness, and +blasphemous defiance; and she laughed scornfully at the +“idiocy” that led her to weary heaven with prayers for the +preservation of a life that must ever run as an asymptote to +her own. How earnestly she now lamented an escape, for +which she had formerly exhausted language in expressing +her gratitude; and how much better it would have been if +she could mourn him as dead, instead of jealously watching +him,—living without a thought of her.</p> +<p>All the girlish sweetness and freshness of her nature +passed away, and an intolerable weariness and disappointment +usurped its place. Since her acquaintance with Dr. Grey, he +had been her sole <i>Melek Taous</i>, adored with Yezidi fervor; +but to-day she overturned, and strove to revile and desecrate +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span> +the idol, to whose vacant pedestal she lifted a colossal vanity. +Her bruised, numb heart, seemed incapable of loving any one, +or anything, and a hatred and contempt of her race took +possession of her.</p> +<p>The changing hues of Muriel’s tell-tale face when Mr. +Granville arrived, and the excessive happiness that could not +be masked, had not escaped Salome’s lynx vision; and very +accurately she conjectured the real condition of affairs, relative +to which Dr. Grey had never uttered a syllable. Bent +upon mischief, she had, malice prepense, dressed herself +with unusual care, and arranged her hair in a new style of +coiffure, which proved very becoming.</p> +<p>Now, as the hum of conversation mingled with the sound +of Muriel’s low, soft laugh, reached her from the parlor, her +chatoyant eyes kindled, and she hastily went in to join the +merry circle.</p> +<p>“Come here, child, and sit by me,” said Miss Jane, making +room on the sofa, as her <i>protégée</i> entered.</p> +<p>“Thank you, I prefer a seat near the window.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey sat in a large chair in the centre of the floor, with +Muriel on an ottoman close to him, and Mr. Granville leaned +over the back of the chair, while Miss Dexter shared Miss +Jane’s old-fashioned ample sofa. In full view of the whole +party, Salome seated herself at a little distance, and, with +admirably assumed nonchalance, began to enclose and sew +up the geranium-seeds, in some pretty, colored paper bags, +prepared for the purpose.</p> +<p>After a few minutes Mr. Granville sauntered across the +room, looked at the cuckoo clock, and finally went over to +the window, where he leaned against the facing and watched +Salome’s slender white fingers.</p> +<p>She was dressed in a delicate muslin, striped with narrow +pink lines, and flounced at the bottom of the skirt, and wore +a ribbon sash of the same color; while in the broad braids +of hair raised high on her head, she had fastened a superb +half-blown Baron Provost rose, just where two long glossy +curls crept down. The puffed sleeves, scarcely reaching the +elbows, displayed the finely rounded white arms, and the exactness +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span> +with which the airy muslin fitted her form, showed its +symmetrical outline to the greatest advantage.</p> +<p>Muriel touched her guardian, and whispered,—</p> +<p>“Did you ever see Salome look so beautiful? Her coiffure +to-night is almost Parisian, and how very becoming!”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey was studying the innocent, happy countenance of +his unsuspecting ward, and he could not repress a sigh, when, +turning his eyes towards Salome, he noticed the undisguised +admiration in Mr. Granville’s earnest gaze.</p> +<p>A nameless dread made him take Muriel’s hand and lead +her to the piano.</p> +<p>“Play something for me. I am music-hungry.”</p> +<p>“Is Saul sad to-night?” she asked, smiling up at him.</p> +<p>“A little fatigued and perplexed, and anxious to have his +cares exorcised by the magic of your fingers.”</p> +<p>With womanly tact she selected a <i>fantasia</i> which Mr. Granville +had often pronounced the gem of her <i>repertoire</i>, and +momentarily expected to hear his whispered thanks; but page +after page was turned, and still her lover did not approach +the piano, where Dr. Grey stood with folded arms and +slightly contracted brows. Muriel played brilliantly, and +was pardonably proud of her proficiency, which Mr. Granville +had confessed first attracted his attention; and to-night, when +the piece was concluded and she commenced a <i>Polonaise</i>, she +looked over her shoulder hoping to meet a grateful, fond +glance. But his eyes were riveted on the fair rosy face at +his side, and his betrothed bit her pouting lip and made sundry +blunders.</p> +<p>As she rose from the piano-stool, Mr. Granville exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Miss Muriel, you love music so well that I trust you will +add your persuasions to mine, and induce Miss Owen to +sing for us, as she declares she is comparatively a tyro in +instrumental music, and would not venture to perform in +your presence.”</p> +<p>“She has never sung for me, but I hope she will not refuse +your request. Salome, will you not oblige us?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span></div> +<p>Muriel’s eyes were dim with tears, but her sweet voice did +not falter.</p> +<p>“I was not aware that you sang at all,” said Miss Dexter, +looking up from a mat which she was crocheting.</p> +<p>“She has a fine voice, but is very obstinate in declining to +use it. Come, Salome, don’t be childish, dear. Sing something,” +coaxed Miss Jane.</p> +<p>The girl waited a few seconds, hoping that another voice +would swell the general request, but the lips she loved best +were mute; and, suddenly tossing the paper bags from her +lap, she rose and moved proudly to the piano.</p> +<p>“Miss Manton, will you or Miss Dexter be so kind as to +play my accompaniment for me? I am neither Liszt, nor +Thalberg, and the vocal gymnastics are all that I can venture +to undertake.”</p> +<p>Muriel promptly resumed her seat before the instrument, +and played the symphony of an aria from “Favorite,” which +Salome placed on the piano-board. Barilli had assured her +that she rendered this fiery burst of rage and hatred as well +as he had ever heard it; and, folding her fingers tightly +around each other she drew herself up to her full height, and +sang it.</p> +<p>Mr. Granville leaned against the piano, and Dr. Grey was +standing in the recess of the window when the song began, +but ere long he moved forward unconsciously and paused, +with his hand on his ward’s shoulder and his eyes riveted in +astonishment on Salome’s countenance. She knew that the +approbation and delight of this small audience was worth all +the <i>encore</i> shouts of the millions who might possibly applaud +her in future years; and if ever a woman’s soul poured itself +out through her lips, all that was surging in Salome’s heart +became visible to the man who listened as if spell-bound.</p> +<p>Miss Jane grasped her crutches, and rose, leaning upon +them, while a look of mingled joy and wonder made her sallow +face eloquent; and Miss Dexter dropped her ivory needle, +and gazed in amazement at the singer. Muriel forgot her +chords,—turned partially around, and watched in breathless +surprise the marvelous execution of several difficult passages, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span> +where the rich voice seemed to linger while improvising +sparkling turns and trills that were strangely intricate, and +indescribably sweet.</p> +<p>As she approached the close of her song, Salome became +temporarily oblivious of pride, wounded vanity, and murdered +hopes,—forgot all but the man at her side, for whose commendation +she had toiled so patiently, and turning her +flushed, radiant face, toward him, her magnificent eyes aflame +with triumph looked appealingly up at his, and her hands +were extended till they rested on his arm.</p> +<p>So the song ended, and for a moment the parlor was still +as a tomb. Dr. Grey silently enclosed the girl’s two hands +in his, and, for the first time since she had known him, Salome +saw tears swimming in his grave, beautiful eyes, and noticed +a slight tremor on his usually steady lips.</p> +<p>“There is nothing in the old world or the new comparable +to that voice, and I flatter myself I speak <i>ex cathedra</i>. Miss +Owen, you will soon have the public at your feet.”</p> +<p>She did not heed Mr. Granville’s enthusiastic eulogy. She +saw nothing but Dr. Grey’s admiring eyes,—felt nothing but +the close warm clasp, in which her folded fingers lay,—and +her ears ached for the sound of his deep voice.</p> +<p>“Salome, I shall not soon forgive you for keeping me in +ignorance of the existence of the finest voice it has ever been +my good fortune to hear. Knowing your adopted brother’s +fondness for music, how could you hoard your treasure so +parsimoniously, denying him such happiness as you might +have conferred?”</p> +<p>He untwined her fingers, which clung tenaciously to his, +and saw that the blood ebbed out of cheeks and lips as she +listened to his carefully guarded language. Silently she +obeyed Miss Jane’s summons to the sofa.</p> +<p>“You perverse witch! Where have you been practising +all these months, that have made you such a wonderful cantatrice? +Child, answer me.”</p> +<p>“I did not wish to annoy the household by thrumming on +the piano and afflicting their ears with false flat scales, consequently +I followed the birds, and rehearsed with them, under +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span> +the trees, and down on the edge of the sea. If you like my +voice I am glad, because I have studied to perfect it.”</p> +<p>“Like it, indeed! As if I could avoid liking it! But you +must have had good training. Who taught you?”</p> +<p>“I took lessons from Barilli.”</p> +<p>“Aha,—Ulpian! Now you can understand how he contrives +to feed his family. Salome’s sewing-money explains +it all. Kiss me, dear. I always believed there was more in +you than came to the surface.”</p> +<p>“Miss Owen ought to go upon the stage. Such gifts as +hers belong to the public, who would soon crown her queen +of song.”</p> +<p>Salome glanced at the handsome stranger, and bowed.</p> +<p>“It is my purpose, sir, to dedicate myself and future to the +Opera, where I trust I shall not utterly fail, as I have been +for a year studying with reference to this step.”</p> +<p>A bomb-shell falling in that quiet circle, would scarcely +have startled its members more effectually; and, anxious to +avoid comment, Salome quitted the parlor and ran out on the +lawn.</p> +<p>After awhile she heard Muriel’s skilful touch on the piano, +and, when an hour had elapsed, the echo of voices died away, +and soon a profound silence seemed to reign over the house.</p> +<p>The hot blood was coursing thick and fast in her veins, +and evil purposes brooded darkly over her oppressed and +throbbing heart. She was thoroughly cognizant of the intense +admiration with which Mr. Granville regarded her, and +to-night she had compared his handsome face with the older, +graver, and less regular features of Dr. Grey, and wondered +why the latter was so much more fascinating. Her beauty +transcended Muriel’s, and it would prove an easy task to +supplant her in the affections of her not very ardent lover. +Life in Paris, spiced with the political intrigues incident to +diplomatic circles, would divert her thoughts, and might +possibly make the coming years endurable. Was the game +worth the candle? No thought of Muriel’s misery entered +for an instant into this entirely sordid calculation, or would +have deterred her even momentarily, had it presented itself +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span> +in expostulation. The girl’s heart had suddenly grown callous, +and her hand would have ruthlessly smitten down any +object that dared to cross her path, or retard the accomplishment +of her schemes. Weary at last of pacing the dim starlit +avenue, and yet too wretched to think of sleeping, she <ins title='Was re-ëntered'>re-entered</ins> +the house, and cautiously locking the door, threw +herself into a corner of the parlor sofa, which stood just beneath +the portrait she so often studied.</p> +<p>If she had not at this juncture been completely absorbed +in gazing upon it, she might have seen the original, who soon +rose and came forward from the shadow of the curtains.</p> +<p>“Salome, I wish to make you my confidante,—to tell you +something which I have not yet mentioned even to Janet. +Can I trust you, little sister?”</p> +<p>Resting against the arm of the sofa, he looked intently into +her face, reading its perturbed lines.</p> +<p>“I presume you are amusing yourself by tantalizing my +curiosity, as your experiments appear to have thoroughly +satisfied you that I am utterly unworthy of trust. I follow +the flattering advice you were so kind as to give me some +time since, and make no promises, which shatter like crystal +under the hammer of the first temptation. You see, sir, you +are teaching me to be cautious.”</p> +<p>“You are teaching yourself lessons in dissimulation and +maliciousness, that you will heartily rue some day, but your +repentance will come too tardily to mend the mischief.”</p> +<p>She tried to screen her countenance, but he was in no +mood for trifling, and putting his palm under her chin, forced +her to submit to his scrutiny.</p> +<p>“Salome, if I did not cherish a strong faith in the latent +generosity of your soul, I would not come to you as I do +now to offer confidence, and demand it in return.”</p> +<p>She guessed his meaning, and her eyes glowed with all the +baleful light that he had hoped was extinguished forever.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey makes a grace of necessity, and a pretence of +confiding that which has ceased to be a secret. Is such his +boasted candor and honesty?”</p> +<p>“If I believed that you were already acquainted with what +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span> +I propose to divulge, I would not fritter away my time in +appealing to a nobility of feeling which that fact alone +would prove the hopelessness of my ever finding in you.”</p> +<p>He felt her face grow hot, and for an instant her eyes +drooped before his, stern and almost threatening.</p> +<p>“Well, sir; I wait for your confidential disclosures. Is +there a Guy Fawkes, or Titus Oates, plotting against the +peace and prosperity of the house of Grey?”</p> +<p>“Verily I am disposed to apprehend that there may be.”</p> +<p>She endeavored to wrench her face from his hand, but he +held it firmly, and continued,—</p> +<p>“I wish to say to you that Muriel is very sensitive, and I +hope that during Mr. Granville’s visit, you will try to be as +considerate and courteous as possible, to both. Salome, +Gerard Granville has asked Muriel to be his wife, and she has +promised to marry him at the expiration of a year.”</p> +<p>The girl laughed derisively, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Pray, Dr. Grey, be so good as to indulge me with your +motive in furnishing this piece of information?”</p> +<p>“Your astuteness forbids the possibility of any doubt with +reference to my motives,—which are, explicitly, anxiety for +Muriel’s happiness, and for the preservation of your integrity +and self-respect.”</p> +<p>“What jeopardizes either?”</p> +<p>“Your heartless, contemptible vanity, which tempts you to +demand a homage and incense that should be offered only +where it is due,—at another, and I grieve to add, a purer +shrine.”</p> +<p>“Ah! My unpardonable sin consists in having braided my +black locks, and made myself comely! If you will procure +an authentic portrait of the Witch of Endor, I will do proper +penance by likening my appearance thereunto. Poor little +rose! Can’t you open your pink lips and cry <i>peccavi</i>? Come +down, sole ally and accomplice of my heinous vanity, and +plead for me, and make the <i>amende honorable</i> to this grim +guardian of Miss Muriel’s peace!”</p> +<p>She snatched the drooping rose from her hair, and tossed +it at his feet.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210' name='page_210'></a>210</span></div> +<p>“Salome, you forget yourself!”</p> +<p>His stern displeasure rendered her reckless, and she continued,—</p> +<p>“True, sir. I did forget that the poor miller’s child had +no right to obtrude her comeliness in the presence of the +banker’s daughter. I confess my ‘high crime and misdemeanor’ +against the pet of fortune, and await my condign +punishment. Is it your sovereign will that I shear my shining +locks like royal Berenice, and offer them in propitiation? +Or, does it seem ‘good, meet, and your bounden duty,’ to +have me promptly inoculated with small-pox, for the destruction +of my skin, which is unjustifiably smoother and +clearer than—”</p> +<p>“Hush, hush!”</p> +<p>He laid his hand over her lips, and, for a while, there +was an awkward pause.</p> +<p>“If it were only possible to inoculate your heart with a +little genuine womanly charity,—if it were possible to persuade +you to adopt as your rule of conduct that golden one +which Christ gave as a patent of peace to all who followed +it. But it is futile, hopeless. You will not, you will not,—and +my fluttering dove is at the mercy of a famished eagle, +already poised to swoop. I ‘reckoned without my host’ when +I so confidently appealed to your magnanimity, to your +feminine integrity of soul. You are a ‘deaf adder that +stoppeth her ear.’”</p> +<p>“Which will not ‘hearken to the voice of the charmer, +charm he never so wisely.’ Dr. Grey, what has the pampered +heiress, the happy <i>fiancée</i> of that handsome man upstairs, +to fear from the poverty-stricken daughter of a miller, who +you conscientiously inform your guest passed from time to +eternity through the gate opened by delirium tremens. Mark +you, my ‘adder ears’ have not been sealed all the evening.”</p> +<p>She had taken his hand from her lips, and thrown it from +her.</p> +<p>“People who condescend to listen to conversations that are +not intended for them, generally deserve the punishment of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_211' name='page_211'></a>211</span> +hearing unpleasant truths discussed. Salome, our interview +is at an end.”</p> +<p>“Not yet. Do you sincerely desire to see Muriel Mr. +Granville’s wife?”</p> +<p>“I do, because I know that she is strongly attached to +him.”</p> +<p>“And you are sufficiently generous to sacrifice your happiness, +in order to promote hers? Oh, marvellous magnanimity!”</p> +<p>“Your insinuation is beneath my notice.”</p> +<p>“How long have you known of her engagement?”</p> +<p>“Since the first interview I had with her, after her father’s +death.”</p> +<p>“Let me see your face, Dr. Grey. If truth has not been +hunted out of the earth, it took refuge in your eyes. There, +I am satisfied. You never loved her. I think I must have +been insane, or I would not have imagined it possible. No, +no; she never touched your heart, save with a feeling of +compassion. Don’t go, I want to say something to you. Sit +down, and let me think.”</p> +<p>She walked up and down the room for ten minutes, and, +with his face bowed on his hand, Dr. Grey watched and +waited.</p> +<p>Finally he stooped to pick up the crushed rose on the floor, +and then she came back and stood before him.</p> +<p>“I promise you I will not lay a straw in the path of +Muriel’s happiness, and it shall not be my fault if Mr. Granville +fails in a lover’s <i>devoir</i>. I was tempted to entice him +from his sworn allegiance. Why should I deny what you +know so well? But I will not, and when I give my word, it +shall go hard with me but I keep it; especially when you +hold the pledge. Are you satisfied? I know that you have +little cause to trust me, but I tell you, sir, when I deceive +you, then all heaven with its hierarchies of archangels can +not save me.”</p> +<p>After all, Ulpian Grey was only a man of flesh and blood, +and his heart was touched by the beauty of the young face, +and the mournful sweetness of the softened voice.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212' name='page_212'></a>212</span></div> +<p>“Thank you, Salome. I accept your promise, and rely +upon it. As a pledge of your sincerity I shall retain this +rose, and return it to you when little Muriel is a happy wife.”</p> +<p>She clasped her hands, and looked at him with a mournful, +wistful expression, that puzzled him.</p> +<p>“My friend, my little sister, what is it? Tell me, and let +me help you to do your duty, for I see that you are wrestling +desperately with some great temptation.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, be merciful to me. Send me away. Oh, for +God’s sake, send me away!”</p> +<p>She had grown ghastly pale, and her whole face indexed +a depth of anguish and despair that baffled utterance.</p> +<p>“My dear child, where do you desire to go? If your wishes +are reasonable they shall be granted.”</p> +<p>“Will you persuade Miss Jane to take Jessie in my place, +and send me to France or Italy?”</p> +<p>“To study music with the intention of becoming a <i>prima +donna</i>?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> +<p>“My young friend, I cannot conscientiously advise a compliance +with wishes so fraught with danger to yourself.”</p> +<p>“You fear that my voice does not justify so expensive an +experiment?”</p> +<p>“On the contrary, I have not a doubt that your extraordinary +voice will lift you to the highest pinnacle of musical +celebrity; and, because your career on the stage promises to +prove so brilliant, I shudder in anticipating the temptations +that will unavoidably assail you.”</p> +<p>“You are afraid to trust me?”</p> +<p>“Yes, my little sister; you are so impulsive, so prone to +hearken to evil dictates rather than good ones, that I dread +the <ins title='Was though'>thought</ins> of seeing you launched into the dangerous career +you contemplate, without some surer, safer, more infallible +pilot than your proud, passionate heart. If you were homely, +and a dullard, I should entertain less apprehension about your +future.”</p> +<p>Her broad brow blackened with a frown that became a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213' name='page_213'></a>213</span> +terrible scowl, and her eyes gleamed like lightning under the +edge of a thunderous summer cloud.</p> +<p>“What is it to you whether I live or die? The immaculate +soul of Ulpian Grey, M.D., will serenely wing its way up +through the stars, on and on to the great Gates of Pearl,—oblivious +of the beggar who, from the lowest Hades, where +she has fallen, eagerly watches his flight.”</p> +<p>“The anxious soul of Ulpian Grey will pray for yours, as +long as we remain on earth. Salome, I am the truest friend +you will ever find this side of the City of God; and, when I +see you plunging madly into ruin, I shall snatch you back, +cost me what it may. Your jeers and struggle have not +deterred me hitherto, nor shall they henceforth. You are as +incapable of guiding yourself aright, as a rudderless bark is +of stemming the gulf-stream in a south-west gale; and I am +afraid to trust you out of my sight.”</p> +<p>“Yes, I understand you; the good angel in your nature +pities the demon in mine. But your pity stifles me; I could +not endure it; and, besides, I cannot stay here any longer. +I must go out into the world, and seize the fortune that +people tell me my voice will certainly yield me.”</p> +<p>Flush and sparkle had died out of her face, which, in its +worn, haggard pallor, looked five years older than when she +entered the parlor, three hours before.</p> +<p>“Pecuniary considerations must not influence you, because, +while Janet and I live, you shall want nothing; and when +either dies, you will be liberally provided for. Dismiss from +your mind a matter that has long been decided, and which no +wish of yours can annul or alter.”</p> +<p>With an impatient wave of the hand, she answered,—</p> +<p>“Give to poor little Jessie and Stanley what was intended +for me. They are helpless, but I can take care of myself; +and, moreover, I am not contented here. I want to see +something of the world in which—<i>bon gré mal gré</i>—I find +myself. Let me go. Rousseau was a sage. ‘<i>Le monde est le +livre des femmes</i>.’”</p> +<p>He shook his head, and said, sorrowfully,—</p> +<p>“No, your instincts are unreliable; and if you roam away +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214' name='page_214'></a>214</span> +from Jane and from me, you will sip more poison than +honey. Be wise, and remain where Providence has placed +you. I will bring Jessie here, and you shall teach her what +you choose, and <ins title='Original wording retained'>Stanley can command all the educational advantages +he will improve</ins>. After a while, you shall, if you +prefer it, have a pleasant home of your own, and dwell there +with the two little ones. Such has long been my scheme and +purpose; but, during my sister’s life, she will never consent +to give you up; and you owe it to her not to desert her in the +closing years, when she most urgently requires the solace of +your love and society.”</p> +<p>Salome covered her face with her hands, and something +like a heavy dry sob shook her frame; but the spring of +bitterness seemed exhaustless, and her voice was indescribably +scornful in its defiant ring.</p> +<p>“You are very charitable, Dr. Grey, and I thank you for +all your embryonic benevolent plans for me and my pauper +relatives; but I have drawn a very different map for my +future years. You seem to regard this house as a second +‘<i>La Tour sans venin</i>,’ which, like its prototype near Grenoble, +possesses an atmosphere fatal to all poisonous, noxious +things; but surely you forget that it has long sheltered me.”</p> +<p>“No, it has never arrogated the prerogative of ‘<i>La Tour +sans venin</i>,’ but of one thing, my poor wilful child, you shall +never have reason to be skeptical,—that dear Jane and I will +indefatigably strive to serve you as faithfully and successfully, +as did in ancient days, the Psylli whom Plutarch immortalized.”</p> +<p>While he spoke Dr. Grey had been turning over the leaves +of the old family Bible, which happened to lie within his +reach; and now, without premonition, he read aloud the fifty-fifth +Psalm.</p> +<p>She listened, not willingly, but <i>ex necessitate rei</i>, and rebelliously; +and, when he finished the Psalm, and knelt, with his +face on his arms, which were crossed upon the back of a chair, +she stood haughtily erect and motionless beside him.</p> +<p>His prayer was brief and fervent, that God would aid her +in her efforts to curb her passionate temper, and to walk in +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_215' name='page_215'></a>215</span> +accordance with the teachings of Jesus; and that he would +especially overrule all things, and guide her decision in the +important step she contemplated. He rose, and turned towards +her, but her countenance was hidden.</p> +<p>“Good night, Salome. God bless you and direct you.”</p> +<p>She raised her face, and her eyes sought his with a long, +questioning, pleading gaze, so full of anguish that he could +scarcely endure it. Then he saw the last spark of hope expire; +and she bent her queenly head an instant, and silently +passed from the parlor.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“I have watched my first and holiest hopes depart,<br /> +<span class='indent8'> </span>One after one;<br /> +I have held the hand of Death upon my heart,<br /> +<span class='indent8'> </span>And made no moan.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII' id='CHAPTER_XVII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Pardon my intrusion, Mrs. Gerome, and ascribe it to +Elsie’s anxiety concerning your health. In compliance with +her request, I have come to ascertain whether you really +require my attention.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey placed his hat and gloves on the piano, and established +himself comfortably in a large chair near the arch, +where Mrs. Gerome, palette in hand, sat before her easel.</p> +<p>“Elsie’s nerves have run away with her sound common +sense, and filled her mind with vagaries. She imagines that +I need medicine, whereas I only require quiet and peace, +which neither she nor you will permit me to enjoy.”</p> +<p>She did not even glance at the visitor, but mixed some +colors rapidly, and deepened the rose-tints in a cluster of +apple-blossoms she was scattering in the foreground of a +picture.</p> +<p>“If it is not of vital importance that those pearly petals +should be finished immediately, I should be glad to have you +turn your face towards me for a few moments. There,—thank +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216' name='page_216'></a>216</span> +you. Mrs. Gerome, do I look like a nervous, whimsical +man, whose fancy mastered his professional judgment, or +blunted his acumen?”</p> +<p>“You certainly appear as phlegmatic, as utterly unimaginative, +as any lager-loving German, whom Teniers or +Ostade ever painted ‘<i>Unter den linden</i>.’”</p> +<p>“Then my words should possess some influence when they +corroborate Elsie’s statement, that you are far from well. +Do not be childishly incredulous, and impatiently shake your +head; from a woman of your age and sense one expects more +dignity and prudence.”</p> +<p>“Sir, your rudeness has at least a flavor of stern honesty +that makes it almost palatable. Do you propose to take my +case into your skilful hands?”</p> +<p>“I merely propose to expostulate with you upon the unfortunate +and ruinous course of life you have decided to +pursue. No eremite of the Thebaid, or the Nitroon, is more +completely immured than I find you; and the seclusion from +society is quite as deleterious as the want of out-door air and +sunshine. Your mind, debarred from communion with your +race and denied novel and refreshing themes, centres in its +own operations and creations, broods over threadbare topics +until it has grown morbid; and, instead of deriving healthful +nourishment from the world that surrounds it, exhausts and +consumes itself, like fabled Araline, spinning its substance +into filmy nothings.”</p> +<p>“Filmy nothings! Thank you. I flatter myself, when I +am safely housed under marble, the world will place a different +estimate upon some things I shall leave behind to challenge +criticism.”</p> +<p>“How much value will public plaudits possess for ears +sealed by death? Mrs. Gerome, you are too lonely; you must +have companionship that will divert your thoughts.”</p> +<p>“Not I, indeed! All that I require, I have in abundance,—music, +books, and my art. Here I am independent, for remember +that he was a petted son of fame, who said, ‘Books +are the true Elysian fields, where the spirits of the dead +converse, and into these fields a mortal may venture unappalled. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217' name='page_217'></a>217</span> +What king’s court can boast such company,—what +school of philosophy such wisdom?’ Verily if you had ever +examined my library you would not imagine I lacked companionship. +Why sir, yonder,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘The old, dead authors throng me round about,<br /> +And Elzevir’s gray ghosts from leathern graves look out.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Count Oxenstiern spoke truly, when he declared, ‘Occupied +with the great minds of antiquity, we are no longer annoyed +by contemporaneous fools.’”</p> +<p>She rose and pointed to the handsome cases in the rear +room, filled with choice volumes; and, while she stood with +one arm resting on the easel, Dr. Grey looked searchingly at +her.</p> +<p>To-day there was a <i>spirituelle</i> beauty in the white face that +he had never seen before; and the large eloquent eyes were +full of dreamy sunset radiance, unlike their wonted steely +glitter. A change, vague and indefinable, but unmistakable, +had certainly passed over that countenance since its owner +came to reside at “Solitude,” and, instead of marring, had +heightened its loveliness. The features were thinner, the +cheeks had lost something of their pure oval moulding, and +the delicate nostrils were almost transparent in their waxen +curves; but the arch of the lip was softened and lowered, and +the face was like that of some marble goddess on which mid-summer +moonshine sleeps.</p> +<p>Her white mull robe was edged at the skirt and up the +front with a rich border of blue morning-glories, and a blue +cord and tassel girded it at her waist, while the broad braids +of hair at the back of her head were looped and fastened with +a ribbon of the same color. Her sleeves were gathered up to +keep them clear of the paint on the palette, and the dimples +were no longer visible in her arms. The ivory flesh was +shrinking closer to the small bones, and the diaphanous hands +were so thin that the sapphire asp glided almost off the slender +finger around which it was coiled.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, you have lost twenty pounds of flesh within +the last two months, and your extreme pallor alarms me.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218' name='page_218'></a>218</span></div> +<p>“All things look pallid in these rooms, for the light is +bluish, reflected from carpet, furniture, and curtains.”</p> +<p>“I have noticed that you invariably wear blue, to the +exclusion of all other colors.”</p> +<p>“Yes. Throughout the Levant it is considered a mortuary +color; and, moreover, I like its symbolism. The <i>Mater +dolorosa</i> often wears blue vestments; also the priests during +Lent; and even the images of Christ are veiled in blue, as +holy week approaches. Azure, in its absolute significance, +represents truth, and is the symbol of the soul after death; +so, as I walk the earth,—a fleshy ‘death in life,’—I clothe +myself symbolically. In pagan cosmogonies the Creator is +always colored blue. Jupiter Ammon, Vischnou, Cneph, +Krischna,—all are azure. And because it is a solemn, consecrated +color, mystic and mournful, I wear it.”</p> +<p>“My dear madam, this is a morbid whimsicality that +trenches closely upon monomania, and would be more tolerable +in a lackadaisical school-girl, than in a mature, intelligent, +and gifted woman. Some of your fantasies would be +positively respectable in a Bedlamite, and you seem an anomalous +compound of eccentricities peculiar to extreme youth +and to advanced age.”</p> +<p>“I believe, sir, that you are entirely correct in your +analysis. I stand before you, young in years, but forsaken by +that ‘blue-eyed Hope’ who frolics hand in hand with youth; +and yet utterly devoid of that philosophy and wisdom which +justly belong to the old age of my heart.”</p> +<p>Her tone was indescribably weary, and, as she laid aside +her brush and folded her hands together on the cross-beam +of the easel, the transient light died out of her countenance, +and the worn, tired look, came back and settled on every +feature.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “The soft, sad eyes,</p> +<p class='cg'>Set like twilight planets in the rainy skies,—<br /> +With the brow all patience, and the lips all pain,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>wove a strange spell over the visitor, whose gaze was riveted +on the only woman who had ever aroused even temporary +interest in his heart.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219' name='page_219'></a>219</span></div> +<p>She was always beautiful, but to-day there was a helpless, +hopeless abandonment in her listless demeanor, that appealed +successfully to the manly tenderness and chivalry of his +nature; and into his strong, true, noble soul, came a longing +to cheer, and guide, and redeem this strange, desolate woman, +whose personal loveliness would have made her regnant over +the gay circles of fashionable life, yet whose existence was +more lonely than that of an eaglet in some mountain eyrie.</p> +<p>Rising, he leaned against the easel and looked down into +the colorless face that possessed such a wondrous charm for +him.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, for natures diseased like yours, the only +remedy, the only cure, is earnest, vigorous labor; and the +regimen you really require is mournfully at variance with +your present habits and modes of thought.”</p> +<p>“I do labor incessantly; more indefatigably than any +plowman, or mason, or carpenter. Your prescription has +been thoroughly tested, and found worthless, as an antidote +to my malady,—hopelessness.”</p> +<p>“Unfortunately the labor has all been mental; heart and +soul have stood aloof, while the brain almost wore itself out. +This canvas is destroying you; your creations are too rapid, +too exhausting.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, you grievously misapprehend the whole matter, +for my work reminds me of what Canova once said of West’s +pictures, ‘He groups; he does not compose.’”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey put his hand on her wrist, and counted the rapid, +feeble, irregular pulse.</p> +<p>She made an effort to throw off his fingers, but they clung +tenaciously to the polished arm.</p> +<p>“How many hours do you sleep, during the twenty-four?”</p> +<p>“Sometimes three, occasionally one, frequently none.”</p> +<p>“How much longer do you suppose your constitution will +endure such merciless taxation?”</p> +<p>“I know very little about these things, and care still less, +but as Horne Tooke said, when a foreigner inquired how +much treason an Englishman might venture to write without +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_220' name='page_220'></a>220</span> +being hanged, ‘I cannot inform you just yet, but I am trying.’”</p> +<p>“Has life become such an intolerable burden that you are +impatient to shake it off?”</p> +<p>“Even so, Dr. Grey. When Elsie dies the last link will +have snapped, and I trust I shall not long survive her. If I +prayed at all, it would be for speedy death.”</p> +<p>“If you prayed at all, existence would not prove so wearisome; +for resignation would cure half your woes.”</p> +<p>“Confine your prescriptions to the body,—that is tangible, +and may be handled and scrutinized; but venture no nostrums +for a heart and soul of which you know nothing. Once I was +almost a Moslem in the frequency and fervor of my prayers; +but now, the only petition I could force myself to offer would +be that prayer of Epictetus, ‘<i>Lead me, Zeus and Destiny, +whithersoever I am appointed to go; I will follow without +wavering; even though I turn coward and shrink, I shall +have to follow, all the same.</i>’”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey sighed heavily, and answered,—</p> +<p>“It is painful to hear from feminine lips a fatalism so +grim as to make all prayer a mockery; and it would seem +that the loss of those dear to you, would have insensibly and +unavoidably drawn your heart heavenward, in search of its +<ins title='Was transplated'>transplanted</ins> idols.”</p> +<p>He knew from the sudden spasm that seized her calm features, +and shuddered through her tall figure, that he had +touched, perhaps too rudely, some chord in her nature which—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Made the coiled memory numb and cold,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>That slept in her heart like a dreaming snake,<br /> +Drowsily lift itself, fold by fold,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And gnaw, and gnaw hungrily, half-awake.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Ah, indeed, my heart was drawn after them,—but not +heavenward! No, no, no! My idols were not transplanted,—they +were shattered!—shattered!”</p> +<p>She leaned forward, looking up into his face; and, raising +her hand impressively, she continued in a voice so mournful, +so hopelessly bitter, that Dr. Grey shivered as he listened.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221' name='page_221'></a>221</span></div> +<p>“Oh, sir, you who stand gazing down in sorrowful reproach +upon what you regard as my unpardonable impiety, +little dream of the fiery ordeal that consumed my childlike, +beautiful faith, as flames crisp and blacken chaff. I am +alone, and must ever be, while in the flesh; and I hoard my +pain, sparing the world my moans and tears, my wry faces and +desperate struggles. I tell you, Dr. Grey,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘None know the choice I made; I make it still.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>None know the choice I made, and broke my heart,<br /> +Breaking mine idol; I have braced my will<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Once, chosen for once my part.<br /> +I broke it at a blow, I laid it cold,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Crushed in my deep heart where it used to live.<br /> +My heart dies inch by inch; the time grows old,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Grows old in which I grieve.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>He did not comprehend her, but felt that her past must +have been melancholy indeed, of which the bare memory was +so torturing.</p> +<p>“At least, Mrs. Gerome, let us thank God, that beyond +the grave there remains an eternal reunion with your idol, +and—”</p> +<p>“God forbid! You talk at random, and your suggestion +would drive me mad, if I believed it. Let me be quiet.”</p> +<p>She walked away, and seemed intently watching the sea, of +whose protean face she never wearied; and, puzzled and +tantalized, Dr. Grey turned to examine the unfinished picture.</p> +<p>It represented an almost colossal woman, kneeling under +an apple-tree, with her folded hands lifted towards a setting +sun that glared from purple hills, across waving fields of +green and golden grain. The azure mantle that enveloped +the rounded form, floated on the wind and seemed to melt +in air, so dim were its graceful outlines; and on one shoulder +perched a dove with head under its wing, nestling to sleep,—while +a rabbit nibbled the grass at her feet, and a squirrel +curled himself comfortably on the border of her robe. In +the foreground were scattered sheaves of yellow wheat, full +ears of corn, bunches of blue, bloom-covered grapes, clusters +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222' name='page_222'></a>222</span> +of olives, and various delicate flowers whose brilliant hues +seemed drippings from some wrung and broken rainbow.</p> +<p>The face was unlike flesh and blood,—was dim, elfish, wan, +with large, mild eyes, as blue and misty as the <i>nebulæ</i> that +Herschel found in Southern skies,—eyes that looked at +nothing, but seemed to penetrate the universe and shed soft +solemn light over all things. Back from the broad, low brow, +floated a cloud of silky yellow hair, that glittered in the slanting +rays of sunshine as if powdered with gold dust; and over +its streaming strands fluttered two mottled butterflies, and a +honey-laden bee. On distant hill-slopes cattle browsed, and +at the right of the kneeling woman a young lamb nibbled a +cluster of snowy lilies, while a dappled fawn watched the +gambols of a dun kid; and on the left, in a tuft of bearded +grass, a brown snake arched its neck to peer at a brood of +half-fledged partridges.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, will you be so kind as to explain this mythologic +design?”</p> +<p>She came back to the easel, and took up her palette.</p> +<p>“If it requires an explanation it is an egregious failure, +and shall find a vacant corner in some rubbish garret.”</p> +<p>“It is exceedingly beautiful, but I do not fully comprehend +the symbolism.”</p> +<p>“If it does not clearly mean the one thing for which it +was intended, it means nothing, and is worthless. Look, sir, +she—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Forgets, remembers, grieves, and is not sad;<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The quiet lands and skies leave light upon her eyes;<br /> +None knows her weak, or wise, or tired, or glad.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey bit his lip, but shook his head.</p> +<p>“You must read me your painted riddle more explicitly. +Is it Ceres?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; a few sheaves do not make a harvest. I am a +stupid bungler, spoiling canvas and wasting paint, or else you +are as obtuse as the critics who may one day hover hungrily +over it. Try the aid of one more clew, and if you fail to +catch my purpose, I will dash my brush all loaded with ochre, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223' name='page_223'></a>223</span> +right into those mystic, prescient eyes, and blur them forever. +Listen, and guess,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘This is my lady’s praise;<br /> +God after many days<br /> +Wrought her in unknown ways,<br /> +<span class='indent4'> </span>In sunset lands;<br /> +This was my lady’s birth,<br /> +God gave her might and mirth<br /> +And laid his whole sweet earth<br /> +<span class='indent4'> </span>Between her hands.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Pray do not visit the sin of my stupidity upon that +fascinating picture. I am not familiar with the lines you +quote, but know that you have represented Nature, have embodied +an ideal Isis, or Hertha, or Cybele; though I can not +positively name the phase of the Universal Mother, which +you have seized and perpetuated.”</p> +<p>He caught her arm, and removed from her fingers the palette +and brushes.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, it is more than either or all of the three you +mention; for Persian mythology, like Persian wines and +Persian roses, is richer, more subtle, more fragrant, more +glowing than any other. That woman is ‘<i>Espendérmad</i>.’”</p> +<p>“Thank you; now I comprehend the whole. God has +endowed you with wonderful talent. The fruit and flowers +in that foreground must have cost you much labor, for indeed +you seem to have faithfully followed the injunction of Titian, +‘Study the effect of light and shade on a bunch of grapes.’ +That luscious amber cluster lying near the poppies is tantalizingly +suggestive of Rhineland, and of the vines that +garland the hills of Crete and Cyprus.”</p> +<p>A shade of annoyance and disappointment crossed the artist’s +face.</p> +<p>“Now, I quite realize what Cespedes felt, when, finding +that visitors were absorbed by the admirable finish of some +jars and vases in the foreground of the ‘Last Supper,’ upon +which he had expended so much time and thought, he called +his servant and exclaimed in great chagrin, ‘Andres, rub me +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_224' name='page_224'></a>224</span> +out these things, since, after all my care and study, people +choose to see nothing but these impertinences.’”</p> +<p>“If Zeuxis’ grandest triumph consisted in painting grapes, +you assuredly should not take umbrage at my praise of that +fruit on your canvas, which hints of Tokay and Lachrima +Christi. I am not an artist, but I have studied the best +pictures in Europe and America, and you must acquit me of +any desire to flatter when I tell you that background yonder +is one of the most extraordinary successes I have ever seen, +from either amateur or professional painters.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome arched her black brows slightly, and replied,—</p> +<p>“Then the success was accidental, and I stumbled upon it, +for I bestow little study on the backgrounds of my work. +They are mere dim distances of bluish haze, and do not +interest me, and, since I paint for amusement, I give most +thought to my central figure.”</p> +<p>“Have you forgotten the anecdote of Rubens, who, when +offered a pupil with the recommendation that he was sufficiently +advanced in his studies to assist him at once in his +backgrounds, laughed, and answered, ‘If the youth was +capable of painting backgrounds he did not need his instruction; +because the regulation and management of them required +the most comprehensive knowledge of the art.’”</p> +<p>“Yes, I am aware that is one of the <i>dogmata</i> of the craft, +but Rubens was no more infallible than you or I, and his +pictures give me less pleasure than those of any other artist +of equal celebrity. Dr. Grey, if I am even a tolerable judge +of my own work, the best thing I have yet achieved is the +drapery of that form. Perhaps I am inclined to plume myself +upon this point, from the fact that it was the opinion of +Carlo Maratti that ‘The arrangement of drapery is more +difficult than drawing the human figure; because the right +effect depends more upon the taste of the artist than upon any +given rules.’ That sweep of blue gauze has cost me more toil +than everything else on the canvas.”</p> +<p>“Pardon the expression of my curiosity concerning your +modes of composition in these singular and quaint creations, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_225' name='page_225'></a>225</span> +for which you have no models; and tell me how this ideal +presented itself to your imagination.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I am not a great genius like Goethe, and unfortunately +can not candidly echo his declaration, that, +‘Nothing ever came to me in my sleep.’ I can scarcely tell +you when this idea was first born in my busy, tireless brain, +but it took form one evening after I had read Charlotte +Bronté’s ‘Woman Titan,’ in ‘Shirley,’ and compared it with +that glowing description of Jean Paul Richter, ‘And so the +Sun stands at the border of the Earth, and looks back on +his stately Spring, whose robe-folds are valleys, whose breast-bouquet +is gardens, whose blush is a vernal evening, and who, +when she rises, will be Summer.’ Still it was vague, and +eluded me, until I found somewhere in my most desultory +reading, an account of ‘<i><ins title='Was Espendermad'>Espendérmad</ins></i>,’ one of the six angels +of Ormuzd, to whom was entrusted the guardianship of the +earth. That night I dreamed that I stood under a vine at +Schiraz, gathering golden-tinted grapes, when a voice arrested +me, and, looking over my shoulder, I saw that face peeping +at me across a hedge of crimson roses. Next day I sketched +the features as they had appeared in my dream, but I was +not fully satisfied, and waited and pondered. Finally, I read +‘Madonna Mia,’ and then all was as you see it now, startlingly +distinct and palpable.”</p> +<p>“Why did you not select some dusky-haired, dusky-eyed, +olive-tinted oriental type, instead of a blonde who might +safely venture into Valhalla as a genuine Celtic Iduna?”</p> +<p>“With the exception of the yellow locks, I suspect the face +of my ‘<i><ins title='Was Espendermad'>Espendérmad</ins></i>’ might easily be matched among the +maidens of the Caucasus, who furnish the most perfect types +of Circassian beauty. You know there is a tradition that +when Leonardo da Vinci chanced to meet a man with an expression +of character that he wished to make use of in his +work, he followed him until he was able to delineate the face +on canvas; but, on the contrary, the countenances I paint +present themselves to my imagination, and pursue me inexorably +until I put them into pigment. I do not possess +ideals,—they seize and possess me, teasing me for form and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226' name='page_226'></a>226</span> +color, and forcing me to object them on canvas. Such is the +<i>modus operandi</i> of whims that give me my ‘<i><ins title='Was Espendermad'>Espendérmad</ins></i>’ +praying to the Sun for benisons on the Earth, which she is +appointed to guard. Ah, if like the lambkins and birds, I, +too, could creep to the starry border of her azure robe, and +lay my weary head down and find repose. Some day, if my +mind ever grows calm enough, I want to paint a picture of +Rest, that I can hang on my wall and look upon when I am +worn out in body and soul, when, indeed,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘My feet are wearied, and my hands are tired,<br /> +<span class='indent8'> </span>My heart oppressed,<br /> +And I desire, what I long desired,<br /> +<span class='indent8'> </span>Rest,—only Rest.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“My dear madam, unless you speedily change your present +mode of life, you will not paint that contemplated picture, for +a long rest will soon overtake you.”</p> +<p>A gleam that was nearer akin to joy than any expression +he had yet seen, passed from eye to lip, and she answered, +almost eagerly,—</p> +<p>“If that be true, it offers a premium for the continuance of +habits you condemn so strenuously; but I dare not hope it, +and I beg of you not to tantalize me with vain expectations +of a release that may yet be far, far distant.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey’s heart stirred with earnest sympathy for this +lonely hopeless soul, who, standing almost upon the threshold +of life, stretched her arms so yearningly to woo the advance of +death.</p> +<p>The room was slowly filling with shadows, and, leaning +there against her easel, she looked as unearthly as the pearly +forms that summer clouds sometimes assume, when a harvest-moon +springs up from sea foam and fog, and stares at them. +When she spoke again, her voice was chill and crisp.</p> +<p>“My malady is beyond your reach, and baffles human skill. +You mean only kindness, and I suppose I ought to thank +you, but alas! the sentiment of gratitude is such a stranger +in my heart, that it has yet to learn an adequate language. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_227' name='page_227'></a>227</span> +Dr. Grey, the only help you can possibly render me is to prolong +Elsie’s life. As for me, and my uncertain future, give +yourself no charitable solicitude. Do you recollect what Lessing +wrote to Claudius? ‘I am too proud to own that I am +unhappy. I shut my teeth, and let the bark drift. Enough +that I do not turn it over with my own hands.’ Elsie is +signalling for me. Do you hear that bell? Good-night, Dr. +Grey.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII' id='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“I have had a long conversation with Ulpian, and find +him violently opposed to the scheme you mentioned to me +several days since. He declares he will gladly share his last +dollar with you sooner than see you embark in a career so +fraught with difficulties, trials, and—”</p> +<p>Miss Jane paused to find an appropriate word, and Salome +very promptly supplied her.</p> +<p>“Temptations. That is exactly what you both mean. Go +on.”</p> +<p>“Well, yes, dear. I am afraid the profession you have +selected is beset with dangerous allurements for one so inexperienced +and unsophisticated as yourself.”</p> +<p>“Bah! Speak out. I am sick of circumlocution. What +do you understand by unsophisticated?”</p> +<p>“Why, I mean,—well, what can I mean but just what the +word expresses,—unsophisticated? That is, young, thoughtless, +ignorant of the ways of the world, and the excessive +cunning and deceit of human nature.”</p> +<p>“Begging your pardon, it has another significance, which +you will find if you look into your dictionary,—that blessed +Magna Charta of linguistic rights and privileges. I do not +claim the prerogatives of Ruskin’s class of the ‘well educated, +who are learned in the peerage of words; know the words +of true descent and ancient blood at a glance, from words +of modern <i>canaille</i>;’ but I venture the assertion that I am +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228' name='page_228'></a>228</span> +sufficiently sophisticated to plunge into the vortex of public +life, and yet keep my head above water.”</p> +<p>“I don’t want to see my little girl an actress, or a <i>prima +donna</i>, bold, forward, and eager to face a noisy, clamorous +crowd, who feel privileged to say just what they please about +her. It would break my heart; and, if you are bent on such +a step, I hope you will wait, at least, till I am dead.”</p> +<p>“You ought to be willing to see me do anything honest, +that will secure my dependent brother and sister from want.”</p> +<p>“The necessity of laboring for them is not especially imperative +at this juncture, and why should you be more sensitive +now than formerly? Do not deceive yourself, dear +child, but face the truth, no matter how ugly it may possibly +be. It is not a sense of duty to the younger children, but an +inflated vanity, that prompts you to parade your beauty and +your wonderful voice on the stage, where they will elicit applause +and flattering adulation. My little girl, that is the +most dangerous, the most unhealthy atmosphere, a woman +can possibly breathe.”</p> +<p>“Pray tell me how you learned all this? You, who have +spent your life in this quiet old house, who have been almost +as secluded as some Cambrian Culdee, can really know nothing +of that public life you condemn so bitterly.”</p> +<p>“The history of those who have walked in the path you +are now preparing to follow, proves the deleterious influences +and ruinous associations that surround that class of women.”</p> +<p>“Jenny Lind and Sarah Siddons redeem any class, no +matter how much maligned.”</p> +<p>“But what assurance have I, that, unlike the ninety-nine, +you will resemble the one-hundredth?”</p> +<p>“Only try me, Miss Jane.”</p> +<p>“Ah, child! A rash boy said the same thing when he +tried to drive the sun, and not only consumed himself but +nearly burned up the world. There is rather too much at +stake to warrant such reckless experiments.”</p> +<p>“Quit mythology,—it is not in your line,—and come back +to stern facts and serious realities. Because I wish to dance +a quadrille or cotillion, and acquit myself creditably, does it +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_229' name='page_229'></a>229</span> +ensue as an inexorable consequence, that I shall join some +strolling ballet troupe, and out-Bayadčre the Bayadčres?”</p> +<p>“That depends altogether upon your agility and grace. If +you could reasonably hope to rival your Hebrew namesake, I +am afraid my little girl would think it ‘her duty’ to dance +instead of to sing, for the acquisition of a fortune; and insist +upon executing wonderful things with her heels and toes, +instead of her voice.”</p> +<p>“You and Dr. Grey seem to have simultaneously arrived at +the charitable conclusion that my heart is pretty much in the +same condition that the Hebrew temple was, when Christ +undertook to drive out the profane. Thongs in hand you two +have overturned my motives, and, by a very summary court-martial, +condemned them to be scourged out. Now, mark +you, I am neither making change nor selling doves, and still +less are you and your brother—Jesus. Dr. Grey does me +the honor to indulge a chronic skepticism concerning the possibility +of any good and unselfish impulse in my nature, and +I am sorry to see that you have caught the contagious doubt +of me, and of my motives.”</p> +<p>She began the sentence in a challenging, sneering voice, +but it was ended in a lower and faltering tone.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“While in the light of her large angry eyes,<br /> +Uprose and rose a slow imperious sorrow.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“My dear, don’t attempt to whip Ulpian over my shoulders. +You know very well that I have invested in you an amount of +faith that the united censure of the world cannot shake; and +if Ulpian does not follow my example, whose fault is it, I +should be glad to know? Evidently not his,—certainly not +mine,—but undoubtedly yours. I have noticed that you took +extraordinary care and a very peculiar pleasure in making +him believe you much worse in all respects than you really +are; and since you have labored so industriously to lower +yourself in his estimation, it would be a poor compliment to +your skill and energy if I told you that you had not entirely +succeeded in your rather remarkable aim. Before he came +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_230' name='page_230'></a>230</span> +home you were as contented, and amiable, and happy, as my +old cat there on the rug; but Ulpian’s appearance affected +you as the entrance of a dog does my maltese, who arches +her back, and growls, and claws, as long as he is in sight. I +am truly sorry you two could never agree, but I feel bound +to tell you that you have only yourself to blame. I do not +claim that my sailor-boy is a saint, but he is assuredly some +inches nearer sanctification than my poor little Salome. +Don’t you think so? Be honest, dear.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane’s hand tenderly caressed the beautiful head; and, +as Salome was too sullen or too much mortified to reply, the +old lady continued,—</p> +<p>“Nevertheless, Ulpian is a true and devoted friend, and +can not bear the thought of your leaving us, for any purpose, +much less the one you contemplate. Last night he said, +‘Janet, I am her brother, and think you I shall allow my +sister to go out from the sacred precincts of home, and become +a target for the envy and malice of the better classes +who will criticise her, and for the coarse plaudits of the pit? +Do you suppose I can willingly see her bare feet turned towards +a path paved with glowing ploughshares? Tell her, +for me, that if ever she should carry her unfortunate freak +into execution, I shall never wish to touch her hand again, +for I shall feel that it has lost its purity in the clasp of many +to whom she can not refuse it during a professional career.’”</p> +<p>The orphan lifted her head from the arm of Miss Jane’s +chair, where it had rested for some minutes, and striking her +palms forcibly together, she exclaimed, proudly,—</p> +<p>“Tell Dr. Grey I humbly thank him, but the threat has +lost its sting; and if I should chance to meet him years hence, +though my hands shall be pure and clean as Una’s, and as +unsullied as his own,—so help me heaven! I will never +thrust my touch on his, nor so far forget myself as to suffer +his fingers to approach mine. When I pass from this +threshold, we will have shaken hands forever.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey’s ears are not proof against such elevated, ringing +tones of voice, and he could not avoid hearing, as he came +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231' name='page_231'></a>231</span> +up the steps, the childish words which he assures you he has +no intention of believing or remembering.”</p> +<p>He had tapped twice at the half-open door, and now came +forward with a firm, quick step, to the ottoman where Salome +sat. Taking her hands, he patted the palms softly against +each other, and smiling good-humoredly, continued,—</p> +<p>“They are very white, and shapely, and pure, and I am +not afraid that my little sister will soil them. Her brother +looks forward to the day when they will gently and gracefully +help him in his work among God’s suffering poor. I have +not forgotten how dexterous and docile I found your fingers, +when I had temporarily lost the use of my own, and I shall +not fail to levy contributions of labor in the coming years.”</p> +<p>She had snatched her fingers from his, and no sooner had +he ceased speaking, than she bowed haughtily, and answered,—</p> +<p>“Our reconciliations all belong to the Norman family, and +are quite as lasting as Lamourette’s. Ceaseless war is preferable +to a violated truce, and since I have not swerved from +my purpose, I shall not falter in its enunciation. If I live +it shall not be my fault if I fail to go upon the stage. I am +not so fastidious as Dr. Grey, and one who sprang from +<i>canaille</i> must be pardoned if she betrays a longing for the +‘flesh-pots of Egypt.’”</p> +<p>She would have given her right hand to recall her words,—when, +a moment later, she met the gaze of profound pity and +disappointment with which Dr. Grey’s eyes dwelt upon her +countenance, hardened now by its expression of insolent +haughtiness; but he allowed her no opportunity for retraction, +even had she mastered her overweening pride, and stooping +to whisper a brief sentence in his sister’s ear, he took a medical +book from the table, and left the room.</p> +<p>The silence that ensued seemed interminable to Salome, +and at last she turned, bowed her head in Miss Jane’s lap, +and muttered through set teeth,—</p> +<p>“You see it is best that I should go. Even you must be +weary of this strife.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_232' name='page_232'></a>232</span></div> +<p>The old lady’s trembling hands were laid lovingly on the +girl’s hot brow and scorched cheeks.</p> +<p>“Not half so weary as your own oppressed heart. My dear +child, why do you persist in tormenting yourself so unmercifully? +Why will you say things that you do not mean?—that +are absolute libels on your actual feelings? I have often +seen and deplored affectations of generosity and refinement, +but you are the first person I ever met who delighted in a pretence +of meanness, which her genuine nature abhorred. +Salome, I have tried to prove myself a mother to you since +the day that I took you under my roof; and now, when I am +passing away from the world,—when a few short months will +probably end my feeble life, I think you owe it to me to give +me no sorrow that your hands can easily ward off. Don’t +leave me. When I am gone there will be time and to spare, +for all your schemes. Stay here, and let me have peace and +sunshine about me, in my last fading hours. Ah, dear, you +can’t be cruel to the old woman who has long loved you so +tenderly.”</p> +<p>The orphan pressed the withered hands to her lips, and, +covering her face with the folds of Miss Jane’s black silk +apron, exclaimed passionately,—</p> +<p>“Do not think me ungrateful,—do not think me insensible +to your love and kindness; but, indeed I am very miserable +here. Oh, Miss Jane! if you knew how I have suffered, you +would not chide, you would only pity and sympathize with +me; for your heart will never steel itself against your poor +wretched Salome!”</p> +<p>She lost control of herself, and sobbed violently.</p> +<p>“My dear little girl, tell me all your sorrows. To whom +can you reveal your trials and griefs, if not to me? For +some weeks past I have observed that you shunned my gaze, +and seemed restless when I endeavored to discover how you +were employing your time; and I have realized that you were +sorely distressed, but I disliked to force your confidence, or +appear suspicious. Now, I have a right to ask what makes +you miserable in my house? Is the little girl ashamed to +show me her heart?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_233' name='page_233'></a>233</span></div> +<p>“One month since, I would have gone to the stake rather +than have shown it to you, or have had any one dream of the +wretchedness locked in its chambers; but a week ago I was +overwhelmed with humiliation, and now I am not ashamed +to tell you. Now that Dr. Grey knows it, I would not care +if the whole world were hissing and jeering at my heels, and +shouting my shame with a thousand trumpets. I tried to +keep it from him, and failing, the world is welcome to roll it +as a sweet morsel under its busy, stinging, slanderous tongue. +Miss Jane, I have intended to be sincere in every respect, +but it appears that, after all, I have probably been an arrant +hypocrite if you believe that I dislike your brother. I want +to go away, because I can no longer endure to live in the +same house with Dr. Grey, who shows me more plainly every +hour that he can never return the affection I have been idiotic +and presumptuous enough to cherish for him. There! I +have said it,—and my lips are not blistered by the unwomanly +confession, and you still permit my head to rest in your lap. +I expected you would be indignant and insulted, and gladly +send such a lunatic from your family circle,—or that you +would dismiss me coolly, with lofty contempt; but only a +woman can properly pity a woman’s weakness, and you are +crying over me. Ah, if your tears were falling on my grave, +instead of my face!”</p> +<p>Miss Jane was weeping bitterly, but now and then she +stooped and kissed the quivering lips of her unhappy charge, +who found some balm in the earnest sympathy with which +her appeal was received.</p> +<p>“My precious child, why should you be ashamed of your +love for the noblest man who ever unconsciously became a +woman’s idol? I do not much wonder at your feelings, because +you have seen no one else in any respect comparable to +him, and it is difficult for you to realize the disparity in your +ages. Poor thing! It must be terrible, indeed, to one who +loves him as you do, to have no hope of possessing his affection +in return. But I suppose it can’t be helped,—and one +half the world seem to pour out their love on the wrong +persons, and find misery where they should have only joy and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_234' name='page_234'></a>234</span> +peace. Thank God, all this mischief is shut out of heaven! +Dear, don’t hide your face, as if you had stolen half of my +sheep; whereas my poor innocent sailor-boy has unintentionally +stolen my little girl’s heart.”</p> +<p>“Miss Jane, you are too good,—too kind. Do not help +me to excuse myself,—do not teach me to palliate my pitiable +weakness. It is a grievous, a shameful, a disgraceful thing, +for a woman to allow herself to love any man who gives her +no evidence of affection, and shows her beyond all doubt that +he is utterly indifferent to her. This is a sin against womanly +pride and delicacy that demands sackcloth and ashes, +and penance and long years of humiliation and self-abasement; +and I tell you this is the one sin which my proud soul +will never pardon in my poor weak, despised heart.”</p> +<p>“If you feel this so keenly, you will soon succeed in conquering +and casting out of your heart an affection, which, +having nothing to feed upon, will speedily exhaust itself. +You are young, and your elastic nature will rebound from +the pressure that you now find so painful. My dear, a few +months or years will bring comparative oblivion of this period +of your life.”</p> +<p>“No; they will engrave more deeply the consciousness +that I have missed my sole chance of earthly happiness, for +Dr. Grey is the only man I shall ever love,—is the only man +who can lift me to his own noble height of excellence. I know +it is customary to laugh at a girl’s protestations of undying +devotion, and that the theory of feminine constancy is as +entirely effete as the worship of the Cabiri, or the belief in +Blokula and its witches; but, unfortunately, the world has +not sneered it entirely out of existence, and I am destined to +furnish a mournful exemplification of its reality. Whether +my nature is unlike that of the majority of women, I shall +not undertake to decide; but this I know,—God gave me only +so much love to spend, and I poured it all out, I deluged my +idol with it, instead of doling it carefully through the future +years. Like the woman of Bethany, I have broken my box +of alabaster, and spilled all my precious ointment, which +might have served for a lifetime of anointing, and I cannot +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_235' name='page_235'></a>235</span> +renew the shattered receptacle, nor gather back the wasted +fragrance; and so my heart must remain without spikenard +or balm during its earthly sojourn. I have been prodigal,—have +beggared my womanly nature,—and henceforth shall +feast on husks. But this piece of folly can be laid on no +shoulders but my own, and I must not wince if they are galled +by burdens which only I have imposed. Some women, under +similar circumstances, console themselves by fostering a tender +and excessive gratitude, which they pet and fondle and call +second love; but the feeling belongs to a different species, +and is to strong, earnest, genuine love, what the stunted pines +of second growth are to the noble, stalwart, unapproachable +oaks, that spring from the primitive virgin soil.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane lifted the bowed face, and rested the head against +her bosom.</p> +<p>“If you are so thoroughly convinced of the impossibility of +mastering this affection, why talk of going away? You will +be happier here, under any circumstances, than among +strangers.”</p> +<p>“Do not misapprehend me. I do not intend to cherish my +weakness,—to caress and pamper it. I mean to strangle, +and mangle, and bury it, if possible. I meant, not that I +should always love Dr. Grey, but that I should never be able +to regard any one else as I once loved him. I can not stay +here, seeing him daily trample my alabaster and ointment +under his feet. I can not endure the humiliation that has +for some days past made this house more intolerable than I +may one day find Phlegethon. I want to go into the whirl +and din of life, where my thoughts can dwell on some more +comforting theme than the peerless preëminence of the man +who is master here, where I can spend hours in elaborating +<i>toilettes</i> and <i>coiffures</i> that will show to the greatest advantage +my small stock of personal charms; where the admiration and +love of other men will at least amuse and soothe the heart +that has no more love for anybody, or anything. Miss Jane, +if I had never become so deeply attached to Dr. Grey, it +might perhaps be unsafe for me to venture into the career +which now lies before me; but when a woman’s heart is cold +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236' name='page_236'></a>236</span> +and dead in her bosom, there is no peril she need fear; for +only her warm, pleading heart, can ever silence the iron clang +of conscience and the silvery accents of reason. Worshipping +some clay god, my loving, yearning heart, might possibly +have led me astray; but now, pride and ambition stand +as sentinels over its corpse, and a heartless woman, desirous +only of amassing a fortune and making herself a celebrity in +musical circles, is as safe from harm as the bones of her grandmother, +twenty years <ins title='Added quote'>buried.”</ins></p> +<p>The agony that convulsed the orphan’s features, and +shivered the smoothness of her usually sweet voice, touched +the old lady’s sympathy, and she wept silently; straining her +imagination for some argument that would make an impression +on the adamantine will with which she found her own +in conflict.</p> +<p>“My child, tell me how long you have had this trouble. +When did you first feel an interest in Ulpian?”</p> +<p>Unhesitatingly Salome related all that had occurred in her +intercourse with Dr. Grey, and her companion was surprised +at the frankness and mercilessness with which she analyzed +her own feelings at each stage of the acquaintance that proved +so disastrous to her peace of mind; and not only held her +weakness up for scorn, but exonerated Dr. Grey from all censure.</p> +<p>The minuteness of the confession was exceedingly painful; +and, at its conclusion, she pressed her palms to her cheeks, +and moaned,—</p> +<p>“There, Miss Jane, I have not winced; I have kept back +nothing. I have been as patient and inexorable in laying +open my nature, in treating you to a <i>post-mortem</i> examination +of my heart, as a dentist in scraping and chiselling a +sensitive tooth, or a surgeon in cutting out a cancer that +baffled cauterization. Now you know all that I can tell you, +and I here lay the past in a sepulchre, and roll the stone upon +it, and henceforth I trust you will respect the dead; at least, +let silence rest upon its ashes. <i>Hic jacet cor cordium.</i>”</p> +<p>Salome extricated herself from the arms of her best friend, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_237' name='page_237'></a>237</span> +and smoothed the hair that constant strokes had somewhat +disordered.</p> +<p>“Salome, I can not live much longer.”</p> +<p>“I know that, dear Miss Jane, and it pains me even to +think of leaving the only person who ever really loved me.”</p> +<p>“For my sake, dear child, bear the trial of remaining here a +little longer; at least, until I die. Do not desert me in my +last hours. I do not want the hands of strangers about me, +when I am cold and stiff.”</p> +<p>Salome rose and walked several times up and down the +room; then paused beside the easy-chair, and laid her clasped +hands in Miss Jane’s.</p> +<p>“You alone have a right to control me. Do with me as +you think best. I will not forsake the true, tender friend, +who has done more for me than all else on earth, or in heaven. +For the present I remain here; but allow me to say that I +do not abandon my scheme. I relinquish none of its details,—I +only bide my time.”</p> +<p>“‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ Thank you, +my precious little girl, for yielding to my wishes when they +conflict with yours. Some day you will rejoice that you made +what seemed a sacrifice of inclination on the altar of duty. +Now, listen to me. Ulpian is so enraptured with your voice, +that, while he will never consent to this stage-struck madness, +he is exceedingly anxious that you should enjoy every +musical advantage, and is curious to ascertain to what degree +of perfection your voice can be trained. After consulting me, +he wrote two days ago to a celebrated professor of music in +Philadelphia or New York (I really forget where the man is +now residing), and offered him a handsome salary if he would +come and teach you for at least six months, or as much longer +as he deems requisite. I believe the gentleman is delicate +and threatened with consumption, which obliges him to spend +the winters in a warm climate, and Ulpian first met him in +Italy. My boy thinks that the opinion of this Professor Von +Somebody is oracular in musical matters; and, as he has +trained some of the best singers in Europe, Ulpian wishes +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_238' name='page_238'></a>238</span> +him to have charge of your voice. Say nothing about it until +we hear whether he can accept our offer. Kiss me.”</p> +<p>Salome’s face crimsoned, and she said, hesitatingly,—</p> +<p>“Miss Jane, I can not consent that Dr. Grey should contribute +one cent toward my musical tuition. I can humbly +and gratefully accept your charitable aid, but not his. You +love me, and therefore your bounty is not oppressive or humiliating, +but he only pities and tolerates me, and I would +starve in some gutter rather than live as the recipient of +his charity. If you can conveniently spare the money necessary +to give me additional cultivation, I shall thankfully receive +it, for Barilli has taught me all of which he is master, +and there is no one else in town in whom I have more confidence. +It was my desire and determination that the work +of my hands should pay for polishing my voice, but embroidery-fees +would not suffice to defray the expenses of the +professor to whom you allude; and, if Dr. Grey pays for his +services, I must in advance assure you and him that I shall +decline them, and rely upon Barilli and myself.”</p> +<p>“Pooh! pooh! It is poor philosophy to quarrel with your +bread and butter, no matter who happens to hand it to you. +Don’t be so savage on Ulpian, who really cares more for you +than you deserve. But if it comforts your proud, fierce spirit, +you are welcome to know that I—Jane Grey—pay Professor +Von—whatever his name may be; and Ulpian’s pocket, about +which you seem so fastidious, will not be damaged one dollar +by the transaction. Are you satisfied,—you pretty piece of +beggarly pride?”</p> +<p>“I am more grateful to you, dear Miss Jane, than I shall +ever be able to express. God only knows what would have +become of me if you had not mercifully snatched me, soul and +body, from the purlieus of ruin.”</p> +<p>She stooped to receive the fond kiss of her benefactress, +and went into her own room.</p> +<p>Nearly an hour later she slowly descended the stairs, and +took her hat from the stand in the hall. As she adjusted it +on her head, and tied the ribbons behind her knot of hair, +Mr. Granville came out of the parlor and seized her hand.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239' name='page_239'></a>239</span></div> +<p>“Why will you torment me so cruelly? I have been +waiting and watching for you, at least half an hour.”</p> +<p>She haughtily took her fingers from his, and indignantly +drew herself up,—</p> +<p>“Mr. Granville presumes on his position as guest, to intrude +upon some who do not desire his society. I was not +aware, sir, that I had any engagement with you.”</p> +<p>“Forgive me, Salome! How have I offended you? If you +could realize how much pleasure your presence affords me, +you would not punish me by absenting yourself as you have +persistently done for three days past.”</p> +<p>He bent his handsome face closer to hers, looking appealingly +into her beautiful flashing eyes; but she put up her +hands to push him aside, and answered,—</p> +<p>“I shall be happy to entertain you in the evenings, when +the remainder of the household assemble in the parlor; and +will, with great pleasure, sing for you whenever Miss Muriel +will kindly oblige me by playing my accompaniments; but +I prefer to confine our acquaintance to such occasions.”</p> +<p>“Will you not allow me the privilege of accompanying you +in the walk for which you seem prepared?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; I respectfully decline your attendance.”</p> +<p>She saw his cheek flush, and he said, hastily,—</p> +<p>“Salome, I shall begin to hope that you fear to trust your +own heart.”</p> +<p>“Do not forget yourself, sir. If you knew where my heart +is housed, you would spare yourself the fruitless trouble, and +me the annoyance, of attentions and expressions of admiration +which I avail myself of this opportunity to assure you +are particularly disagreeable to me. I wish to treat you +courteously, as the guest of those under whose roof I am permitted +to reside, but ‘thus far, and no farther,’ must you +venture. Moreover, Mr. Granville, since we are merely comparative +strangers, I should be gratified if you will in future +do me the honor to recollect that it is one of my peculiarities,—one +of my idiosyncrasies,—to prefer that only those I respect +and love should call me Salome. Good afternoon, sir.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_240' name='page_240'></a>240</span></div> +<p>She took her music-book, bowed coolly, and made her exit +through the front door, which she closed after her.</p> +<p>In the hammock that was suspended on the eastern side of +the piazza, Dr. Grey had thrown himself to rest; and meanwhile, +to search for some surgical operation recorded in one +of his books.</p> +<p>Just behind him a window opened from the hall, and to-day, +though a rose-colored shade was lowered, the sash had +been raised, and every word that was uttered in the passage +floated distinctly to him.</p> +<p>The whole conversation occurred so rapidly that he had +no opportunity of discovering his presence to the persons +within, and though he cleared his throat and coughed rather +spasmodically, his warning was unheeded by those for whom +it was intended.</p> +<p>He knew that Salome could not possibly have guessed his +proximity, as he was not accustomed to use this hammock, +and was completely shielded from observation; and, while +pained and surprised by Mr. Granville’s dishonorable course, +which threatened life-long wretchedness for poor Muriel, Dr. +Grey’s heart throbbed with joy at the assurance that Salome +was not so ungenerous as he had feared. Probably no other +human being would have so highly appreciated her conduct +on this occasion; and, as he mused, with his thumb and forefinger +thrust between the leaves of the book, a glad smile broke +over his grave face.</p> +<p>“God bless the girl! Her prayers and mine have not been +in vain, and she is putting under her feet the baser impulses +that mar her character. Granville is considered by the world +exceedingly handsome and agreeable, and many,—yes, the +majority of women, would have yielded, and indulged in a +‘harmless flirtation,’ where Salome stood firm. There was +something akin to the scornful ring of Rachel’s voice in that +child’s tones, when she told Gerard he presumed on his position +as guest; and I will wager my hand that her large eyes +did not exactly resemble a dove’s when she informed him it +was not his privilege to call her Salome. She has a fierce, +imperious, passionate temper, that goads her into mischief; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241' name='page_241'></a>241</span> +but, after all, she is—she must be—nobler than I have sometimes +thought her. God grant it! God bless her!”</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“But blame us women not,—if some appear<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Too cold at times; and some too gay and light.<br /> +Some griefs gnaw deep. Some woes are hard to bear.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Who knows the Past? And who can judge us right?”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX' id='CHAPTER_XIX'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Doctor Grey, are you awake? Dr. Grey, here is a +note from ‘Solitude,’ and the messenger begs that you will +lose no time, as one of the servants is supposed to be +dying.”</p> +<p>Salome had knocked twice at Dr. Grey’s door, without +arousing him, and the third time she beat a tattoo that would +have broken even heavier slumbers than his.</p> +<p>“I am awake, and will strike a light in a moment.”</p> +<p>She heard him stumbling about the room, and finally there +was a crash, as of a broken vase or goblet.</p> +<p>“What is the matter? Can’t you find your matches?”</p> +<p>“No; some one has removed the box from its usual place, +and I am fumbling about at random, and smashing things +indiscriminately. Will you be so good as to bring me a +match?”</p> +<p>“I have a candle in my hand, which you can take, while I +order Elbert to get your buggy ready.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, Salome.”</p> +<p>She placed the candle on the mat before his door, laid +the note beside it, and went down to the servants’ rooms to +call the driver.</p> +<p>It was two o’clock, and Dr. Grey had come home only an +hour before, from a patient who resided at some distance.</p> +<p>Dressing himself as expeditiously as possible, he read the +blurred and crumpled note.</p> +<blockquote> +<p>“Dr. Grey: For God’s sake come as quick as possible. +I am afraid my mother is dying.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“<span class='smcap'>Robert Maclean.</span>”</p> +</td></tr></table> +</blockquote> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242' name='page_242'></a>242</span></div> +<p>Three days before, when he visited Elsie, he found her more +composed and comfortable than she had been for several +weeks, and Mrs. Gerome had seemed almost cheerful, as she +sat beside the bed, crimping the borders of the invalid’s muslin +caps which the laundress had sent in, stiff and spotless.</p> +<p>Recollecting Elsie’s desire to confide something to him before +her death, and dreading the effect which this sudden +termination of her life might have upon her mistress, in +whom he was daily becoming more deeply interested, Dr. +Grey hurried down stairs and met the orphan.</p> +<p>“Elbert is not quite ready, but will be at the door directly. +I told him the case was urgent.”</p> +<p>“You are very considerate, Salome, and I am much obliged +for your thoughtfulness; though I regret that the messenger +waked you, instead of Rachel or me. I have never before +known Rachel fail to hear the bell, and I was so weary that I +think a ten-inch columbiad would scarcely have aroused me.”</p> +<p>“I was not asleep,—was sitting at my window; and hearing +some one slam the gate and gallop up the avenue, I went to +the door and opened it, to prevent the ringing of the bell +and waking of the entire household.”</p> +<p>“You should have been asleep four hours ago, and I had +no idea you were still up, when I came home. There was no +light in your room. Are you quite well?”</p> +<p>“Thank you, I am quite well.”</p> +<p>She was dressed as he had seen her at dinner, and now, as +she stood resting one hand on the balustrade of the stairway, +he thought she looked paler and more weary than he had +ever observed her.</p> +<p>The scarlet spray of pelargonium had withered from the +heat of her head, where it had rested all the evening, and the +large creamy Grand Duke jasmine fastened at her throat by +a sprig of coral, was drooping and fading, but still exhaled +its strong delicious perfume.</p> +<p>“Your appearance contradicts your assertion. Is your +wakefulness attributable to any anxiety or trouble which I can +remove?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243' name='page_243'></a>243</span></div> +<p>“No, sir. I hear Elbert opening the gate. Who is sick at +‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“The servant who was so severely injured many months +ago, by a fall from a carriage, has grown suddenly worse.”</p> +<p>Salome accompanied him to the front door, in order to +lock it after his departure; and, as he descended the steps, he +turned and said, in a subdued voice,—</p> +<p>“You have probably heard that Mrs. Gerome is a very +peculiar,—indeed, a decidedly eccentric person?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; it is reported that she is almost a lunatic.”</p> +<p>“Which is totally false. She is very sensitive, and shrinks +from strangers, and consequently has no friends here. If I +should find Elsie dying, or if I need you, I wish you to come +promptly. It may be necessary to have some one beside the +household, and you are the only person I can trust. Try to +go to sleep immediately, for I may send for you very early in +the morning.”</p> +<p>“I shall be ready to come when I am needed.”</p> +<p>The buggy rolled up to the steps, and Dr. Grey sprang into +it and drove swiftly down the avenue.</p> +<p>Salome crept softly back up stairs, but Miss Jane called +out,—</p> +<p>“Who is there, in the hall? What is the matter?”</p> +<p>The girl opened the door, and put her head inside.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey has been called to see a sick woman at ‘Solitude,’ +and I have just locked the door after him.”</p> +<p>“Why could not Rachel do that, and save you from coming +down stairs? What time of night is it?”</p> +<p>“About half-past two. Rachel is asleep. Good-night.”</p> +<p>“‘Solitude,’ did you say?”</p> +<p>“Yes, madam.”</p> +<p>“Well, if people will persist in burrowing in that unlucky +den, they must take the consequences. Ulpian, poor fellow, +will be completely worn out. Good-night, dear; don’t get up +to breakfast, if you feel sleepy.”</p> +<p>Salome went to her own room, changed her dress, laid +gloves, hat, and shawl in readiness upon the bed, and threw +herself down on the lounge to rest, and if possible to sleep.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244' name='page_244'></a>244</span></div> +<p>When Dr. Grey reached “Solitude,” he found Robert Maclean +pacing the paved walk that led to the gate.</p> +<p>“Oh, doctor! Have you come at last? It seems to me I +could have crawled twice to your house, since Jerry came +back.”</p> +<p>“What change has taken place in your mother’s condition? +She was better than usual, when I saw her last.”</p> +<p>“We thought she was getting along very well, till all of +a sudden she became speechless. Go in, sir; don’t stop to +knock.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome sat at the bedside, mechanically chafing one of +the hands that lay on the coverlet, and the face of the dying +woman was not more ghastly than the one which bent over +her. As Dr. Grey approached, the mistress of the house +rose, and put out her hands towards him, with a wistful, +pleading, childish manner, that touched him inexpressibly.</p> +<p>“Do not let her die.”</p> +<p>He leaned over the pillow, and put his finger on the +scarcely palpable pulse.</p> +<p>“Elsie, tell me where or how you suffer.”</p> +<p>A ray of recognition leaped up in her sunken eyes, and she +looked at him with a yearning, imploring expression, that was +pitiable and distressing indeed.</p> +<p>He saw that she was struggling to articulate, but failing +in the effort, a groan escaped her, and tears gathered and +trickled down her pinched face. He smoothed her contracted +forehead, and said, soothingly,—</p> +<p>“Elsie, you feel that I will do all that I can to relieve you. +You can not talk to me, but you know me?”</p> +<p>She inclined her head slightly, and in examining her he +discovered that only one side was completely paralyzed, and +that she could still partially control her left arm. When he +had done all that medical skill could suggest, he stood at her +side, and she suddenly grasped his fingers.</p> +<p>He put his face close to hers, and observing her tears start +afresh, whispered,—</p> +<p>“You wish to tell me something before you die?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245' name='page_245'></a>245</span></div> +<p>A gurgling sound, and a faint motion of her lips was the +only reply of which she was capable.</p> +<p>He placed a pencil between her fingers, but she could not +use it intelligibly, and he noticed that her eyes moved from +his to those of her mistress, as if to indicate that she was +the subject of the desired conversation.</p> +<p>It was distressing to witness her efforts to communicate +her wishes, while the tears dripped on her pillow; and unable +to endure the sight of her anguish, Mrs. Gerome sank on her +knees and hid her face in the coverlet.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey gently lifted Elsie’s arm and placed her hand on +the head of her mistress, and the expression of her face assured +him he had correctly interpreted her feelings. Something +still disturbed her, and he suggested,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, put your hand in hers.”</p> +<p>She silently obeyed him, and then the old woman’s eyes +looked once more intently into his. He could not conjecture +her meaning, until, in feeling her pulse, he found that she +was trying to touch his fingers with hers.</p> +<p>He slipped his own into the palm where Mrs. Gerome’s lay, +and, by a last great effort, she pressed them feebly together.</p> +<p>Even then, the touch of those white, soft fingers, thrilled +his heart as no other hand had ever done, and he said,—</p> +<p>“Elsie, you mean that you leave her in my care? That +you put her in my hands? That you trust her to me?”</p> +<p>It was impossible to mistake the satisfied expression that +flashed over her countenance.</p> +<p>“I accept the trust. Elsie, I promise you that while I +live she shall never want a true and faithful friend. I will +try to take care of her body, and pray for her soul. I will +do all that you would have done.”</p> +<p>Once more, but very faintly, she pressed the two hands she +had clasped, and closed her eyes.</p> +<p>“Oh, doctor, can’t you save her?” sobbed Robert.</p> +<p>In the solemn silence that ensued Mrs. Gerome lifted her +face, and Dr. Grey never forgot the wild, imploring gaze, that +met his. He understood its import, and shook his head. She +rose instantly, moved away from the bed, and left the room.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246' name='page_246'></a>246</span></div> +<p>For nearly an hour Dr. Grey hung over the prostrate form, +which lay with closed eyes, and gradually sank into the +heavy lethargic sleep, from which he knew she could never +awake.</p> +<p>Leaving her to the care of Robert and two female servants, +he went in search of the mistress of the silent and dreary +house.</p> +<p>Taking a lamp from the escritoire in the back parlor, he +went from room to room, finding nowhere the object he +sought, and at length became alarmed. As he stood in the +front door, perplexed and anxious, the thought presented itself +that she might have gone down to the beach. He went back +to the apartment occupied by the dying woman,—felt once +more the sinking pulse, and took a last look at the altered +and almost rigid face.</p> +<p>“Robert, I can do her no good. Her soul will very soon +be with her God.”</p> +<p>“Oh, sir, don’t leave her! Don’t give her up, while there +is life in her body!” cried the son, grasping the doctor’s +sleeve.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey put his hand on the Scotchman’s shoulder, and +whispered,—</p> +<p>“I am going to hunt for Mrs. Gerome. She is not in the +house. I may be able to render her some service, but your +mother is beyond all human aid.”</p> +<p>“Is there any pulse?”</p> +<p>“It is so feeble now, I can scarcely count it.”</p> +<p>“Please, doctor, stay here by her while she breathes. +Don’t desert the dear soul. My poor mother!”</p> +<p>Robert lost all control of himself, and wept like a child.</p> +<p>Loth to forsake him in this hour of direst trial, Dr. Grey +leaned against the bed, and for some moments watched the +irregular convulsive heaving of the woman’s chest.</p> +<p>“Oh, sir, if my mistress hadn’t a heart of stone, she would +have let her die peacefully. She might at least have granted +her dying prayer.”</p> +<p>“What was it?”</p> +<p>“All of yesterday afternoon she pleaded with her to be +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247' name='page_247'></a>247</span> +baptized. My mother—God bless her dear soul!—my mother +told her that she could not consent to die until she saw her +baptized; and, with the tears pouring down her poor face, +she begged and prayed that I might fetch the minister from +town, and that she might see the ceremony performed. But +my mistress walked up and down the floor, and said, ‘Never! +never! I have done with mockeries. I have washed my hands +of all that,—long, long ago.’ And now—it is too late; and +my poor mother can never—God be merciful to us! is it all +over?”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey raised the head, but the breathing was imperceptible +and, after a little while, he softly pressed down the +lids that were partially lifted from the glazed eyes, and quitted +the room.</p> +<p>His buggy stood at the rear gate, and the driver was +asleep, but his master’s voice aroused him.</p> +<p>“Elbert, go home, and ask Miss Salome please to come over +as soon as you can drive her here.”</p> +<p>The east was purple and gold, the sea a purling mass of +molten amber, and only two stars were visible low in the west, +where a waning moon swung on the edge of the distant misty +hills. The air was chill, and a silvery haze hung above the +moaning waves, and partially veiled the windings of the +beach. Under the trees that clustered so closely around the +house, the gloom of night still lingered like a pall, but as Dr. +Grey approached the terrace, he felt the pure fresh presence +of the new day. Up and down the sands his eyes wandered, +hoping to discern a woman’s figure, but no living thing was +visible, except the flamingo and yellow pheasant still +perched where they had spent the night, on the stone balustrade +that bordered the terrace. He took off his hat to +enjoy the crystalline atmosphere, and while he faced the +brightening east, the sharp peculiar bark of the Arab greyhound +broke the solemn silence that brooded over sea and +land.</p> +<p>The sound proceeded from the boat-house, and he hastened +towards it, startling a mimic army of crabs and fiddlers that +had not yet ended their nightly marauding. The tide was +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_248' name='page_248'></a>248</span> +higher than usual at this early hour, and the waves were breaking +sullenly against the stone piers.</p> +<p>As Dr. Grey ascended the iron steps leading to the pavilion, +the dog growled and showed his teeth, but the visitor succeeded +in partially winning him over, and now passed unmolested +into the circular room. A cushioned seat extended +around the wall, where windows opened at the four points +of the compass; and on the round table in the centre of the +marble-tiled floor lay a telescope.</p> +<p>At the eastern window sat Mrs. Gerome, with her head +resting on her crossed arms. Although Dr. Grey’s steps +echoed heavily, as he trod the damp mosaic where the mist +had condensed, she gave no evidence of having discovered his +presence until he stood close beside her. Then she raised one +hand, with a quick gesture of caution and silence. He sat +down near her, and watched the countenance that was fully +exposed to his scrutiny.</p> +<p>No tears had dimmed the wide, mournful, almost despairing +eyes, that gazed with strange intentness over the amber +sea, at the golden radiance that heralded the coming sun; and +every line and moulding of her delicate features seemed cold +and rigid enough for a cenotaph. Even the lips were still and +compressed, and a bluish shadow lay about their dimpled +corners, and under the heavy jet eyelashes. Her silver comb +had become loosened, and was finally dragged down by the +coil of hair that slipped slowly until it fell upon the morocco +cushion of the seat, and the glistening waves of gray hair +rolled around her shoulders, and rippled low on her brow. +Sea fog had dampened and sea wind tossed this mass of white +locks, till it made a singular burnished frame for the wan +face that looked out hopeless and painfully quiet.</p> +<p>Her silk <i>robe de chambre</i> of leaden gray, bordered with +blue, was unbuttoned at the throat, and showed its faultless +curve and contour; while the full, open sleeves, blown back +by the strong breeze, bared the snowy arms, where one of the +jet serpents that formed her bracelets, pressed so heavily on +the white flesh that a purple band was visible when the hand +was raised and the bracelet slipped back.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_249' name='page_249'></a>249</span></div> +<p>Watching her intently, Dr. Grey could not detect the slightest +quiver of nerve or muscle; and she breathed so low and +softly that he might have doubted whether she was really +conscious, if he had not correctly interpreted the strained expression +of the unwinking gray eyes whose pupils contracted +as the sky flushed and kindled.</p> +<p>On the floor lay a dainty handkerchief, and stooping to +pick it up, he inhaled the delicate, tenacious perfume of tube-rose, +which, blended with orange-flowers, he had frequently +discovered when standing near her.</p> +<p>Placing it within reach of her fingers, he said, very gently +and more tenderly than he was aware of,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome,—”</p> +<p>“Hush! I know what you have come to tell me. I knew +it when I came away. Let me alone, now.”</p> +<p>She raised her head, and turned her eyes to meet his, and he +shuddered at the hard, bitter look, that came swiftly over the +blanched features. For some seconds they gazed full at each +other, and Dr. Grey’s eyes filled with a mist that made hers +seem large and radiant as wintry stars.</p> +<p>He knew then that his heart was no longer his own,—that +this wretched, solitary woman, had installed herself in its +most sacred penetralia; that she had not suddenly, but gradually, +become the dearest object that earth possessed.</p> +<p>He did not ask himself whether she filled all his fastidious +and lofty requirements,—whether she rose full-statured to his +noble standard,—whether reverence, perfect confidence, and +unqualified admiration would follow in the footsteps of mere +affection. He neither argued, nor trifled, nor deceived himself, +but bravely confessed to his own true soul, that, for the +first time in his life, he loved warmly and tenderly the only +woman whose touch had power to stir his quiet, steady pulses.</p> +<p>He had not intended to surrender his affections to the custody +of any one until reason and judgment had analyzed, +weighed, and cordially endorsed the wisdom of his choice; +and now, although surprised at the rashness with which his +heart, hitherto so tractable and docile, vehemently declared +allegiance to a new sovereign, he did not attempt to mask or +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_250' name='page_250'></a>250</span> +varnish the truth. Thoroughly comprehending the fact that +it was neither friendship nor compassion, he gravely looked +the new feeling in the face, and acknowledged it,—the tyrant +which sooner or later wields the sceptre in every human heart.</p> +<p>Had he faithfully kept his compact with himself, and followed +the injunction of Joubert, “Choose for a wife only the +woman, whom, were she a man, you would choose for your +friend”?</p> +<p>Because he found a fascination in her society, should he +conclude that it was a healthful atmosphere for his sturdy, +exacting, uncompromising nature?</p> +<p>To-day he swept aside all these protests and questions, postponing +the arraignment of his heart before the tribunal of +slighted and indignant reason, and allowed the newly mitred +pontiff to lead him whither she chose.</p> +<p>Unconscious of the emotions that brought an unusual glow +to his face and light to his eyes, Mrs. Gerome had dropped +her head once more on her arms, and the weary, despairing +expression of her countenance, as she looked at the gilded +horizon, where sea and sky seemed divided only by a belt of +liquid gold,—might have served for the face of some careless +Vestal, who, having allowed the fire to expire on the altar +she had sworn to guard sleeplessly, sat hopeless, desolate, and +doomed,—watching from the dim, cheerless temple of Hestia, +the advent of that sun whose rays alone could rekindle the +sacred flame, and which, ere its setting, would witness the execution +of her punishment.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey bent over her, and said,—</p> +<p>“I came here in quest of you, hoping to persuade you to +return to the house.”</p> +<p>“No. You came to tell me that Elsie is dead. You came +to break the news as gently as possible,—and to pity and try +to comfort me. You are very good, I dare say; but I wish to +be alone.”</p> +<p>“You have been too long alone, and I can not consent to +leave you here.”</p> +<p>At the sound of his subdued voice, she turned her face towards +him, and, for a moment,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_251' name='page_251'></a>251</span></div> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“A strange slow smile grew into her eyes,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>As though from a great way off it came<br /> +And was weary ere down to her lips it fluttered,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And turned into a sigh, or some soft name<br /> +Whose syllables sounded likest sighs<br /> +Half-smothered in sorrow before they were uttered.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Dr. Grey, my loneliness transcends all parallels, and is +beyond remedy. Why should I not stay here? All places are +alike to me, now. That cold, silent corpse at the house, is +not Elsie; and, since she has been taken, I shall be utterly +alone, go where I may.”</p> +<p>She shivered, and he picked up a crape shawl lying in a +heap under the table, and wrapped it around her. The soft +folds were damp, and, as he lifted the veil of hair, to draw +the shawl closer about her shoulders and throat, he felt that +it was moist from the humid atmosphere.</p> +<p>“Sir, I am not cold,—I wish I were. It is useless to wrap +up my body so warmly, and leave my heart shivering until +death freezes it utterly.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey took her beautiful white hands in his warm palms, +and held them firmly.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, you do not know what is best for you, and +must be guided by one who will prove himself your truest +friend.”</p> +<p>“Don’t mock my misery! I never had but one friend, and +henceforth must live friendless. I knew what was before me, +and therefore I dreaded this dark, dark day, and begged you +to save her. She was the world to me. She supplied the +place of father, mother, husband, society, and because God +saw that her loving sympathy and care made my existence +a trifle less purgatorial than He saw fit to render it, He took +her away. My poor Elsie would quit the highest throne in +heaven to come back to her desolate, dependent child; for only +she knew how and why I trusted and leaned upon her. Ah, +God! it is hard that I who have so long shunned strangers +should be at their mercy, in the last hour of trial that can be +devised by fiends, or allowed by heaven to afflict me.”</p> +<p>She struggled to free her hands and hide her face, but her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_252' name='page_252'></a>252</span> +companion clasped them in one of his, and attempted to draw +her head down to his shoulder.</p> +<p>“No, sir! The grave is the only resting-place for my poor, +accursed head. Do not touch me.”</p> +<p>She shrank as far as possible from him, and her voice, +hitherto so firm and dry, trembled.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, I intend to take Elsie’s place. You had +confidence in her sagacity and penetration, and know that she +was cautious in all things. During her long illness she +studied my character and antecedents, and finally begged me +to take you under my guardianship when she could no longer +watch over you. She was importunate in her appeal, and to +comfort and compose her I gave her a solemn promise that at +her death I would take her place. You may deem me intrusive, +and perhaps presumptuously impertinent, but time +proves all things, and, after a little while, you will cling to +me as you so long clung to her. I shall wait patiently for +your confidence; shall deserve,—and then exact it. You need +a strong arm to curb and guide you,—you need a true, honest +heart, to sympathize with your sorrows and difficulties,—you +need a fearless friend to defend you from the assaults of gossip +and malice; and all these, if God spares my life, I am resolved +to be to you. You can not repulse, or offend, or chill, +or wound me, for my word is sacredly pledged to the dead; +and, by the grace of God, I will strictly and fully redeem it, +when we meet at the last day.”</p> +<p>The earnestness of his manner, the grave resolution of his +tone, and the invincible fearlessness with which his clear, +calm, penetrating eyes, looked into hers, seemed momentarily +to overawe her; and she sat quite still, pondering his unexpected +words. Pressing her cold fingers very gently, he +continued,—</p> +<p>“Elsie had such confidence in my discretion, and friendly +interest in your welfare, that she requested me to warn her of +her approaching dissolution in order that she might communicate +something, which she assured me she desired to confide +to me before her death. The paralysis of her tongue prevented +the fulfilment of her wish, but you saw how keenly she +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_253' name='page_253'></a>253</span> +suffered from her inability to utter what was pressing on her +heart. You can not have forgotten that her last act was to +put your hand in mine, and you heard my solemn acceptance +of the charge committed to me.”</p> +<p>An expression of dread that bordered on horror, came over +her ghastly face, and her hands grasped his, almost spasmodically.</p> +<p>“Did she hint what she wished to tell you? Did you guess +it all?”</p> +<p>“No. Whatever her secret may have been, it passed unuttered +into that realm where all mysteries are solved. I +neither know nor surmise the nature of her desired revelation, +but some day when you fully understand me, I shall ask you +to tell me that which she believed I ought to know. My dear +madam, when I come to you and demand your confidence, I +have no fear that you will withhold it.”</p> +<p>She closed her eyes as if to shut out some painful vision, +and drooped her head lower, till it rested on her chest.</p> +<p>The sun flashed up from his ocean bed, and, as the first +beams fell on the woman’s hair, Dr. Grey softly passed his +broad white hand over its perfumed masses, redolent of orange +flowers.</p> +<p>“The air is too damp for you. Come with me to the +house.”</p> +<p>She did not heed his words, and perhaps his touch on her +head recalled some exquisitely painful memory, for she shook +it off, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Doubtless, like the remainder of the curious herd, you are +wondering at my ‘crown of glory,’—and conjecturing what +dire tragedy bequeathed it to me. Sir,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘My hair was black, but white my life:<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The colors in exchange are cast!<br /> +The white upon my hair is rife,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The black upon my life has passed.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey, I understand you; but you need not stay here to +keep guard over me, as if I were an imbecile or a refugee from +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_254' name='page_254'></a>254</span> +an insane asylum. That I am not the one or the other, is +attributable to the fact that my powers of endurance are almost +fabulous. You fear that in my loneliness and complete +isolation I may turn coward, at the last ordeal I am put +through,—and, like Zeno cry out, and in a fit of desperation +strangle myself? Dr. Grey, make yourself easy. I do not +love my Creator so devotedly that I must needs hurry into his +presence before He sees proper to send me a summons.’”</p> +<p>“I am afraid to leave you here, for any woman who does +not love and reverence her Maker, requires a guardian. Of +course you will do as you like, but I shall remain here as long +as you do.”</p> +<p>He rose, and crossing his arms on his chest, began to walk +about the pavilion. She caught up her hair, twisted it hastily +into a knot, and secured it with her comb. As she did so, a +small cluster of double violets dropped into her lap. She had +gathered them the preceding afternoon, had carried them as +an offering to Elsie, who insisted that she should wear them +in her hair, “they looked so bonnie just behind the little +roguish ear.” At her request Mrs. Gerome had placed them +at the side of her head, and the old woman made her lean +down that she might smell them, and leave a kiss on their blue +petals. Now the sight of the withered flowers melted her icy +composure, and, as she lifted the little crushed, faded bouquet, +and pressed it against her wan cheek, a moan broke from her +colorless lips.</p> +<p>“Oh, Elsie,—Elsie! How could you desert me? You knew +you were all I had to love and trust,—and how could you die +and leave me alone,—utterly alone, in this miserable world +that has so cruelly injured me!”</p> +<p>She clasped her hands passionately over the flowers, and the +motion caused the sapphire ring, which was now much too +large, to slip from the thin finger, and roll ringing across +the marble floor.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey picked it up, and as he replaced it, drew her hand +under his arm, and led her out of the boat-house. They +walked slowly, and as they ascended the steps, he saw his +buggy approaching the side gate.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_255' name='page_255'></a>255</span></div> +<p>Opening the parlor door, he drew his companion into the +room, where the Psyche lamp still burned brightly.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, will you trust me?”</p> +<p>He had hoped that a return to the house would touch her +heart and make her weep, but the cold, dry glitter of her eyes +disappointed him.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I trust neither men nor women, nor even the +angels in heaven; for one of them turned serpent, and if +tradition be true, made earth the dismal ‘Bochin’ I have +found it.”</p> +<p>She turned from him, and threw herself wearily upon the +divan that filled the recess of the oriel window.</p> +<p>Securing the door of the library, he extinguished the lamp, +and closing the parlor went out to meet Salome.</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XX' id='CHAPTER_XX'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Doctor Grey, you look weary and anxious.”</p> +<p>“I feel so, for this has been a memorable night.”</p> +<p>“The servant who opened the gate for us said that the poor +old woman died about day-break.”</p> +<p>“Yes; when I arrived I found her speechless, and of course +could <ins title='Was no'>do</ins> nothing but watch her die. Come down this walk, I +wish to talk to you before you go into the house.”</p> +<p>He pointed to a serpentine walk, overarched by laurustinus, +and they had proceeded some yards before he spoke again.</p> +<p>“Salome, I believe you told me that you had met Mrs. +Gerome?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; once upon the cliffs, a mile below, I saw her for +a few moments.”</p> +<p>“She is a very eccentric woman.”</p> +<p>“I should judge so, from her appearance.”</p> +<p>“Her life seems to have been blighted by early griefs, and +she has grown cynical and misanthropic. Loving no one but +her faithful and devoted nurse, she has completely isolated +herself, and consequently the death of this servant—companion—nay, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_256' name='page_256'></a>256</span> +foster-mother—is a terrible blow to her. I +want your promise that what you may hear or witness in this +house shall not travel beyond its walls to feed the worse-than-Ugolino +hunger of never-satiated scandal and gossip.”</p> +<p>Salome’s brow contracted and darkened.</p> +<p>“Do you class me among newsmongers and character-cannibals?”</p> +<p>“If I did, you certainly would not be here at this instant. +I sent for you to come and take my place temporarily, as I +am compelled to see a patient many miles distant, who is +dangerously ill. The majority of women might go away, and +comment upon the occurrences of this melancholy day, but I +wish to keep sacred all that Mrs. Gerome desires to screen +from public gaze and animadversion. Because she is not fond +of society, it revenges itself by circulating reports detrimental +to the owner of a house which is elegantly furnished, not for +popular praise, but solely for her own comfort and gratification. +While I regard her course as very deplorable, and +particularly impolitic for one so young and unprotected, I am +totally unacquainted with the reasons that control her; and, +in this hour of grief and bitterness, I earnestly desire to +shield her from intrusion and impertinent scrutiny.”</p> +<p>“In other words, you wish me to have eyes and yet see not,—and +having ears to hear not? You must indeed have little +confidence in my good sense, and still less in my feminine sympathy +for the afflicted, if you suppose that under existing circumstances +I could come to the house of mourning to collect +materials to be rolled as sweet morsels under the slanderous +tongues, that already wag so industriously concerning ‘Solitude’ +and its solitary mistress. Verily, I occupy a lofty niche +in your estimation, and it would doubtless be pardonably +prudent in you to reconsider, and bid Elbert take me home +with all possible dispatch, before I see Fatima or Bluebeard.”</p> +<p>“When will you cease to be childish, and remember that a +woman’s work lies before you?”</p> +<p>“You may date that desirable transmogrification from the +hour when you cease to stir up the mud and dregs in my +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_257' name='page_257'></a>257</span> +nature, by doubting the possibility that they will ever settle, +and leave a pure medium between your soul and mine. Just +so soon,—and no sooner.”</p> +<p>“My young friend, you are too sensitive. I now offer you +the strongest proof of confidence that I can ever hope to command. +Will you take charge of this stricken household in my +absence, and not only superintend the arrangements necessary +for the funeral, but watch over Mrs. Gerome and see that no +one disturbs her?”</p> +<p>“You may trust me to execute her wishes and your orders.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. There certainly is no one except you whom I +would trust in this emergency. One thing more; if Mrs. +Gerome leaves the house, do not lose sight of her. It may be +necessary to keep a very strict surveillance over her, and I +will return as soon as possible, and relieve you.”</p> +<p>As they entered the house, Salome said,—</p> +<p>“You will stop at home and get your breakfast?”</p> +<p>“No, I shall not have time.”</p> +<p>“Let me make you a cup of coffee before you start.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, it is not necessary; and besides, the house is +in such confusion that it would be difficult to obtain anything. +Come with me.”</p> +<p>She followed him into the dim room, where the tall but +emaciated form of Elsie Maclean had been dressed for its last +long sleep. The housemaid sat at the bedside, and Robert +stood at one of the windows.</p> +<p>The first passionate burst of grief had spent itself, and the +son was very calm.</p> +<p>At a sign from Dr. Grey he came forward, and bowed to the +stranger.</p> +<p>“Robert, I am obliged to be absent for several hours, and +Miss Owen will remain until I return. If you need advice or +assistance come to her, and do not disturb Mrs. Gerome, who is +lying on a sofa in the parlor. I will drive through town, and +send your minister out immediately.”</p> +<p>“You are very good, sir. Do you think the funeral should +take place before to-morrow? I want to speak to my mistress +about it.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_258' name='page_258'></a>258</span></div> +<p>“For her sake, it is advisable that it should not be delayed +beyond this afternoon. It is very harrowing to know that the +body is lying here, and I think she would prefer to leave all +these matters to you. It would be better for all parties to +have the funeral ceremonies ended this evening.”</p> +<p>“I suppose, sir, you know that my poor mother will be +buried here, in the grounds.”</p> +<p>“For what reason? The cemetery is certainly the best +place.”</p> +<p>Robert handed a slip of paper to Dr. Grey, who read, in a +remarkably beautiful chirograph, the following words,—</p> +<p>“Robert, it was your mother’s desire and is my wish that +she should be buried near that cluster of deodar cedars, just +beyond the mound. Send for an undertaker, and for the +minister who visited her during her illness; and let everything +be done as if it were my funeral instead of hers. Put some +geranium leaves and violets in her dear hands, and upon her +breast.”</p> +<p>“When did you receive this?” asked Dr. Grey.</p> +<p>“A moment ago, Phœbe, the cook, brought it to me from +my mistress.”</p> +<p>“Of course you have no choice, but must comply with her +wishes and those of the dead. Still, I regret this decision.”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; it is ill luck to keep a grave near the eaves of a +house, and it will be bad for my mistress to have it always in +sight; for she mopes enough at best, and does not sleep +o’ nights, and the Lord only knows what will become of her +with my poor mother’s corpse and coffin within ten yards of +her window. Sir, how does she take this awful blow? It +comforted me to know you were with her.”</p> +<p>“She bears this affliction as she seems to have endured all +others that have overtaken her, in a spirit of rebellious bitterness +and defiance. I am afraid that the excitement will +seriously injure her. Salome, I will return as early as the +safety of a patient will permit.”</p> +<p>Robert followed the doctor to his buggy, to consult him +with reference to some of the sad details of the impending +funeral, and after a hasty glance at the placid countenance of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_259' name='page_259'></a>259</span> +the dead, Salome went back to the hall, and sat down opposite +to the parlor door, which had been pointed out to her. Her +nerves were strong, healthy, and firm, but the presence of +death, the profound silence that reigned, the chill atmosphere, +and dreary aspect of the house,—all conspired to oppress her +heart.</p> +<p>Through the open door she could see the ever restless sea, +and hear its endless murmuring monotone, and imagination +seizing the ill-omened legends she had heard recounted concerning +this spot, peopled the corners of the hall with phantoms, +and every flitting shadow on the lawn became a spectre.</p> +<p>Now and then the servants—two middle-aged women—passed +softly to and fro, and twice Robert crossed the passage, +but not a sound issued from the parlor; and once, when +Phoebe came with her mistress’s breakfast on a waiter, and +tried the bolt, she found the door locked. She knocked several +times, but receiving no answer went quietly back to the +kitchen.</p> +<p>Weary of sitting on one of the hard, uncomfortable walnut +chairs, that stood with its high carved back close to the wall, +Salome rose, and amused herself by studying the engravings +that surrounded her. In the midst of her investigations she +was startled by a loud, doleful, blood-curdling sound, that +seemed to proceed from some spot immediately beneath the +floor of the hall. It was different from anything she had ever +heard before, but resembled the prolonged howl of a dog, and +rose and fell on the air like a cry from some doomed spirit.</p> +<p>Robert came out of the room which his mother had always +occupied, and, as he passed Salome, she asked,—</p> +<p>“What is the matter? What is the meaning of that horrible +noise?”</p> +<p>“Only the greyhound howling at the dead that he knows is +lying over his head. Ah, ma’am! The poor brute sees what +we can’t see, and his death-baying is awful.”</p> +<p>“Where is he? The sound seems to come through the +floor.”</p> +<p>“He is so savage that I was afraid he would hurt some of +the strangers who will come here to-day, so I chained him in +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_260' name='page_260'></a>260</span> +the basement. Hist, ma’am! Did you ever hear anything so +dreadful? It raises the hair off my head.”</p> +<p>He went down stairs, and the howling, which was caused by +the fact that the dog was hungry and unaccustomed to being +chained, ceased as soon as he was set free. Ere long Robert +came back, followed by the greyhound, whose collar he grasped +firmly. At sight of Salome he growled and plunged towards +her, but Robert was on the alert, and held him down. Leading +him to the parlor door, the gardener knocked, and put his +mouth to the key-hole.</p> +<p>“If you please, ma’am, will you let Greyhound in? It +won’t do to leave him at large, and when I chain him he almost +lifts the roof with his howls.”</p> +<p>No reply reached Salome’s strained ears, but the door was +opened sufficiently to admit the dog, who eagerly bounded in, +and then the click of the lock once more barred intrusion; +and when the joyful barking had ceased, all grew silent once +more.</p> +<p>From a basket of fresh flowers brought in by the boy who +assisted Robert, Salome selected the white ones and made a +wreath, which she laid aside and sprinkled; then gathering +some rose and nutmeg geranium-leaves, and a few violets +blooming in jars that stood on the gallery, she cautiously +glided into the chamber of death, and arranged them in +Elsie’s rigid hands.</p> +<p>Soon after, the undertaker and minister arrived, and while +they conferred with Robert concerning the burial service, the +girl went back to her vigil before the parlor door, and endeavored +to divert her thoughts by looking into a volume of +poems that lay on the hall table. The book opened at +“Macromicros,” where a brilliant verbena was crushed between +the leaves, and delicate undulating pencil-lines enclosed +the passage beginning,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“O woman, woman, with face so pale!<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Pale woman, weaving away<br /> +A frustrate life at a lifeless loom.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Slowly the hours wore away, and at noon Elsie’s body was +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_261' name='page_261'></a>261</span> +placed in the coffin and left on a table in the room opposite +the parlor.</p> +<p>It was two o’clock when Dr. Grey came up the steps, looking +more fatigued than Salome had ever seen him. He sat +down beside her on the gallery, and sighed as he caught a +glimpse of the men who were bricking up the grave that +yawned on the right hand side of the lawn.</p> +<p>“Where is Mrs. Gerome?”</p> +<p>“In the parlor. Once I heard her pacing the floor very +rapidly, and saying something to her dog. Since then—two +hours ago—not a sound has reached me.”</p> +<p>“She has taken no food?”</p> +<p>“No, sir. The servant who prepared her breakfast knocked +twice at the door, but was refused admittance.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey went into the hall, and rapped vigorously on the +door, but there was no movement within.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, please permit me to speak to you for a few +minutes. If it were not necessary, I would not disturb you.”</p> +<p>The appeal produced no effect; and, without hesitating, he +walked to the door of the library or rear parlor,—took the key +from his pocket, opened it, and entered.</p> +<p>The dog was asleep on the velvet rug before the hearth, +and his mistress sat at her escritoire, with her arms resting on +the blue desk, and her face hidden upon them. A number of +letters and papers were scattered about, and, in an open +drawer a silver casket was visible, with a pearl key in its +lock.</p> +<p>Before the marble Harpocrates stood two slender violet-colored +Venetian glasses, representing tulips, and filled with +fuchsias and clematis that were dropping their faded velvet +petals, and the atmosphere was sweet with the breath of carnations +and mignonette blooming in the south window.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey hoped that Mrs. Gerome had fallen asleep; but +when he bent over her, he saw in the mirror above her that the +large, bright eyes were gazing vacantly into the recess of the +desk.</p> +<p>She noticed his image reflected in the glass, and instantly +sat upright, spreading her hands over her papers as if to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_262' name='page_262'></a>262</span> +screen them. He drew a chair near hers, and put his finger +on her pulse, which throbbed so rapidly he could scarcely +count it.</p> +<p>“Have you slept at all, since I left you this morning?”</p> +<p>“No.”</p> +<p>“You promised that you would not attempt to destroy +yourself.”</p> +<p>“I have kept my word.”</p> +<p>“Yes; you ‘keep it to our ear, and break it to our hope,’ +for you must know that unless you take some rest and refreshment, +you will be seriously ill.”</p> +<p>He saw a spark leap up in her eyes, like a bubble tossed +into sunshine by a sudden ripple, and she shook back the hair +that seemed to oppress her.</p> +<p>“Do not tease and torment me, now. I want to be quiet.”</p> +<p>“My task is an unpleasant one, therefore I shall not postpone +it. In a short time—within the next hour—Elsie will +be buried, and you owe a last tribute of gratitude and respect +to her remains. Will you refuse it to the faithful friend to +whom you are indebted for so much affection and considerate +care?”</p> +<p>“She would not wish me to do anything that is so repugnant, +so painful to me.”</p> +<p>“Have you no desire to look at her kind, placid face once +more?”</p> +<p>“I wish to remember it as in life,—not rigid and repulsive +in death.”</p> +<p>“She looks so tranquil you would think she was sleeping.”</p> +<p>“No,—no! Don’t ask me. I never saw but one corpse, +and that was of a sailor drowned in mid ocean, and I shall +never be able to forget its ghastliness and distortion as it lay +on deck, under sickly moonshine.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, you must follow Elsie’s body to the grave. +Believe that I have good reasons for this request, and grant +it.”</p> +<p>She shook her head.</p> +<p>“Your habits of seclusion have subjected you to uncharitable +remarks, and your absence from the funeral would +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_263' name='page_263'></a>263</span> +create more gossip than any woman can afford to give grounds +for. There is a rumor that you are deranged, and the best +refutation will be your quiet presence at the grave of your +faithful nurse.”</p> +<p>She straightened herself, haughtily.</p> +<p>“Seven years ago I turned my back upon the world, and +scorned its verdict.”</p> +<p>“The men or women who defy public opinion invite social +impalement, and rarely fail to merit the branding and opprobrium +they invariably receive. Madam, I should imagine +that to a nature so refined and shrinking as yours, almost any +trial would seem slight in comparison with the certainty of +becoming a target for sarcasm, pity, and malice, in every +kitchen in the neighborhood. Permit my prudence to prevail +over your reluctance to the step I have advised, and some day +you will thank me for my persistency. You have time to make +the proper changes in your dress, and, when the hour arrives, +I will knock at your own door. My dear madam, do not +delay.”</p> +<p>She rose, and began to replace the papers in the drawers of +her desk, which she closed and locked.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, why should you care if I am slandered?”</p> +<p>“Because I am now your best friend, and must tell you +frankly your foibles and dangers, and endeavor to guard you +from the faintest breath of detraction.”</p> +<p>“I am very suspicious concerning the motives of all who +come about me; and, at times, I have been so unjust as to +ascribe even my poor Elsie’s devotion to a desire to control +my fortune for the benefit of herself and child. Do you expect +me to trust you more implicitly than I ever trusted +her?”</p> +<p>“I shall make it impossible for you to doubt me. Come to +your room. Elsie’s few acquaintances will soon be here.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome thrust the key of her desk into her pocket, +but a moment after, when she drew out her handkerchief, it +fell on the carpet, and without observing it, she passed swiftly +across the hall, and into her own apartment.</p> +<p>As Dr. Grey lingered to secure the door, his eye fell upon +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_264' name='page_264'></a>264</span> +the silver key on the floor; and, placing it in his vest pocket, +he rejoined Salome.</p> +<p>At four o’clock several of Robert’s friends came and seated +themselves in the room where the coffin sat wreathed with +flowers; and immediately after, Mr. and Mrs. Spiewell made +their appearance, accompanied by two ladies whose features +were concealed by thick veils. Robert and the servants soon +joined them, and Salome stole into the room and sat down in +one corner.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey tapped softly at the door of Mrs. Gerome’s apartment, +and she came out instantly, and walked firmly forward +till she stood in the presence of the dead. She was dressed in +black silk, and wore two heavy lace veils over her bonnet, +which effectually screened her countenance. Crossing the +floor, she stood at Robert’s side, and the minister rose and began +the burial service.</p> +<p>When a prayer was offered, all the other persons present +bowed their heads, but the mistress of the mansion remained +erect and motionless; and, as the pall-bearers took up the coffin +and proceeded to the grave, she followed Robert.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey stepped to her side and offered his arm, but she +took no notice of the act, and walked on as if she were an +automaton.</p> +<p>The service was concluded, the coffin lowered, and, amid +Robert’s half-smothered sobs, the mound was raised under the +deodars, whose long shadows slanted athwart it, in the dying +sunlight.</p> +<p>The little group dispersed, and Mr. Spiewell led his wife to +the owner of “Solitude.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, Mrs. Spiewell and I have long desired the +pleasure of your acquaintance, and hope, if you need friends, +you will permit us—”</p> +<p>“Thank you for your kindness in visiting my faithful old +Elsie.”</p> +<p>The tall, veiled figure had cut short his speech by a quick, +imperative gesture of her hand; and, turning instantly away, +disappeared in one of the densely shaded walks that wound +through the grounds.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_265' name='page_265'></a>265</span></div> +<p>Dr. Grey escorted the party to their carriages, and as he +handed Mrs. Spiewell in, she said, in her sharp nasal tones,—</p> +<p>“I heard that Mrs. Gerome was devotedly attached to the +poor old creature who had nursed her, but she certainly seems +to me very indifferent and heartless.”</p> +<p>“She is more deeply afflicted by her loss than you can +possibly realize, and I am exceedingly apprehensive that she +will be ill in consequence of her inability to sleep or eat. My +dear madam, we must not judge too hastily from appearances, +else we shall deserve similar treatment. Who are those two +ladies veiled so closely?”</p> +<p>“Friends, I presume, or they would not be here.”</p> +<p>But the little woman seemed uneasy, and flushed under the +doctor’s searching gaze.</p> +<p>“I hope dear Miss Jane is as well as one can ever expect +her to be in this life. Come, Charles; you forget, my dear, +that we have a visit to make before tea-time. I notice, doctor, +that you have a new carpet on the floor of your pew, and +a new cushion-cover to match; and, indeed, you are so fine +that the remainder of the church seems quite faded and +shabby. Good evening, doctor; my love to all at home.”</p> +<p>The clergyman’s gray pony trotted off with his master and +mistress, and Dr. Grey returned to Salome, who waited for +him at the steps of the terrace.</p> +<p>“What do you suppose brought Mrs. Channing and Adelaide +to the poor old woman’s funeral?” asked the orphan.</p> +<p>“How did you discover them?”</p> +<p>“I found this handkerchief, whose initials I embroidered +two months ago, and recognize as belonging to Mrs. Channing. +As for Miss Adelaide, when she moved her veil a little aside to +peep at Mrs. Gerome, I caught a glimpse of her pretty face. +Do they visit here?”</p> +<p>“Certainly not; nobody visits here but the butcher, baker, +and doctor. Those ladies came solely on a tour of inspection, +and to gratify a curiosity that is not flattering to their characters. +My dear child, you look tired.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, what is there so mysterious about this house +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_266' name='page_266'></a>266</span> +and its owner that all the town is agog and agape when the +subject is mentioned? What is Mrs. Gerome’s history?”</p> +<p>“I am totally unacquainted with its details, and only +know that since she became a widow, she has been a complete +recluse. She is very unhappy, and we must exert ourselves +to cheer her. This has been a lonely, dreary day to you, I +fear, and I trust it will not be necessary for me to ask you to +remain here to-night.”</p> +<p>The sun had set, leaving magnificent cloud-pictures on sky +and sea, and while the orphan turned to enjoy the glorious +prospect above and around her, Dr. Grey went in search of the +lonely women who now continually occupied his thoughts.</p> +<p>She was standing under the pyramidal cedars, looking down +at the new grave, where Salome’s wreath hung on the head-board, +and hearing approaching footsteps would have moved +away, but he said, pleadingly,—</p> +<p>“Do not avoid me.”</p> +<p>She paused, and suddenly held out her hands to him.</p> +<p>“Ah,—is it you? Dr. Grey, what shall I do? How can +I bear to live here,—alone,—alone.”</p> +<p>He took her hands and looked down into her white, chill +face.</p> +<p>“My dear friend, take your suffering heart to God, and He +will heal, and comfort, and strengthen you. If He has sorely +afflicted you, try to believe that Infinite love and mercy +directed all things, and that ultimately every sorrow of earth +will be overruled for your eternal repose and happiness. Remember +that this world is but a threshing-floor, where angels +use afflictions as flails, to beat the chaff and dust from our +hearts, and present them as perfect grain for the garners of +God. I know that you are desolate, but you can never be +utterly alone, since the precious promise, ‘Lo! I am with +you alway, even unto the end of the world.’”</p> +<p>Despairingly she shook her head.</p> +<p>“All that might comfort some people, but it falls on my +ears and heart like the sound of the clods on Elsie’s coffin. I +have no religion,—no faith,—no hope,—in time or eternity. +My miserable past entombs all things.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_267' name='page_267'></a>267</span></div> +<p>“Do not unearth your woes,—let the grave seal them. +Your life stands waiting to be sanctified,—dedicated to Him +who gave it. My dear friend,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Cleanse it and make it pure, and fashion it<br /> +After His image: heal thyself; from grief<br /> +Comes glory, like a rainbow from a cloud.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The sound of his voice, more than the import of his words, +seemed to soothe her, for her eyes softened; but the effect was +transitory, and presently she exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Mere ‘sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal!’ Pretty +words, and musical; but empty as those polished shells yonder +that echo only hollow strains of the never silent sea. Once, +Dr. Grey,—”</p> +<p>She paused, and a shiver crept through her stately form; +then she slowly continued, in a tone of indescribable pathos,—</p> +<p>“Once I could have listened to your counsel, for once my +soul was full of holy aims, and my heart as redolent of pure +Christian purposes as a June rose is of perfume; but now,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘They are past as a slumber that passes,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>As the dew of a dawn of old time;<br /> +More frail than the shadows on glasses,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>More fleet than a wave or a rhyme.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey drew her arm through his, and silently led her to +the house, and into the parlor. He noticed that her breathing +was quick and short, and that she sank wearily upon the sofa, +as if her strength had well-nigh failed her.</p> +<p>He untied her bonnet-strings and removed it, and she threw +her head down on the silken cushion, as a spent child might +have done.</p> +<p>Taking a vial from his pocket, he dropped a portion of the +contents into a wine-glass, and filled it with sherry wine.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, drink this for me. It will benefit you.”</p> +<p>She swallowed the mixture, and remained quiet for some +seconds; then a singularly scornful smile curved her mouth as +she said,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_268' name='page_268'></a>268</span></div> +<p>“You drugged the wine. Well, so be it. Nepenthe or +poison are alike welcome, if they bring me death, or even temporary +oblivion.”</p> +<p>Katie came in and lighted the lamp, and Dr. Grey sat beside +the sofa and watched the effect of his prescription.</p> +<p>Tired at length of the sober sea and dark gloomy grounds, +Salome came back to the house and stood on the threshold of +the parlor door, looking curiously at the quiet, silent group, +and at the pictures on the walls.</p> +<p>She could see very distinctly the beautiful white face of the +mistress pressed against the blue damask cushion, and clear in +outline as she had once observed it on the background of +ocean; and she noticed that the features were sharper and +that the figure was thinner. From the silvery lamp-light +the gray hair seemed to have caught a metallic lustre on the +ripples that ebbed back from the blue-veined temples, and the +woman looked like a marble snow-crowned image, draped in +black.</p> +<p>With one elbow on his knee, and his cheek resting in his +hand, Dr. Grey leaned forward, studying the features turned +towards him, and watching her with almost breathless interest. +He was not aware of Salome’s presence, and was unconscious +of the strained, troubled gaze, that she fixed upon him.</p> +<p>The tender love that filled his heart looked out of his grave +deep eyes, which never wandered from the face so dear to +him, and moved his lips in an inaudible prayer for the peace +and welfare of the lonely waif whom Providence or fate had +brought into his path, to evoke all the tenderness latent in +his sturdy, manly nature.</p> +<p>In the twinkling of an eye, Salome had learned the whole +truth and standing there, she staggered and grasped the doorway +for support, wishing that the heavens and earth would +pass away—that death might smite her, and end the agony +that never could be patiently endured.</p> +<p>Recently she had tutored herself to bear the loss of his love +and the deprivation of his caresses,—she had mapped out a +future in which her lot was one of loneliness,—but through all +the network of coming years there ran like a golden cord binding +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_269' name='page_269'></a>269</span> +their destinies the precious hope that at least Dr. Grey +would die as he had lived hitherto,—without giving to any +woman the coveted place in his heart, where the orphan would +sooner have reigned than upon the proudest throne in Europe.</p> +<p>She had prayed that, with this assurance, God would help +her to be contented—would enable her to make her life useful +and pure, and, like Dr. Grey’s, a blessing to those about her.</p> +<p>It had never occurred to her that the man whom she reverenced +above all things human or divine, and whose exalted +ideal of feminine perfection soared as far above her as the +angels in Lebrun’s “Stoning of St. Stephen” soared above +the sinning multitude below them—that the man whose fastidiousness +concerning womanly character and deportment +seemed exaggerated and almost morbid, could admire or defend, +much less love that gray-haired widow, whom the world +pronounced either a lunatic, or a scoffing, misanthropic infidel.</p> +<p>The discovery was so unexpected, so startling, that it +partially stunned her; and, like one addicted to somnambulism, +she softly crossed the room and stood behind Dr. Grey’s +chair.</p> +<p>He had taken Mrs. Gerome’s hand to examine her pulse, +and retained it in his, looking fondly at the dainty moulding +of the fingers and the exquisite whiteness of the smooth skin. +How long she stood there Salome never knew, for paralysis +seemed creeping, numb and cold, over her heart and brain.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey saw that his exhausted patient was asleep, and +knew that the opiate he had administered in the wine would +not relinquish its hold until morning; and when her breathing +became more quiet and regular he bent his head and +softly kissed the hand that lay heavily in his.</p> +<p>Salome covered her face and groaned; and rising, he was +for the first time cognizant of her presence. His face flushed +deeply.</p> +<p>“How long have you been here?”</p> +<p>“Long enough to discover why you visit ‘Solitude’ so +often.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_270' name='page_270'></a>270</span></div> +<p>He could not see her countenance, but her unnaturally +hollow tone pained and shocked him.</p> +<p>“You are very much fatigued, my dear child, and as soon +as I have given some directions to Robert, I will take you +home. Get your bonnet, and meet me at the door.”</p> +<p>He took a shawl that was lying on the piano and laid it +carefully over the sleeper, then bent one knee beside the sofa, +and mutely prayed that God would comfort and protect the +woman who was becoming so dear to him.</p> +<p>With one long, anxious, tender look into her hopeless yet +beautiful face, he left the room and went in search of Robert +and Katie. When he had given the requisite directions, and +descended the steps, he found Salome waiting, with her fingers +grasping the side of the buggy. Silently he handed her +in; and, as she sank back in one corner and muffled her face, +they drove swiftly through the sombre grounds, where the +aged trees seemed murmuring in response to the ceaseless +mutter of the sullen sea.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Whom first we love, you know, we seldom wed.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Time rules us all. And Life indeed is not<br /> +The thing we planned it out ere hope was dead.<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And then we women cannot choose our lot.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXI' id='CHAPTER_XXI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Ulpian, you certainly do not intend to sit up again to-night? +Even brass or whitleather would not stand the wear +and tear that your constitution is subjected to. You really +make me unhappy.”</p> +<p>“My dear Jane, it would make you still more unhappy if +from mere desire to promote my personal ease and comfort, I +could forget the solemn responsibility imposed by my profession. +Moreover, my physical strength is quite equal to +the tax I exact from it.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_271' name='page_271'></a>271</span></div> +<p>“I doubt it, for we have all remarked how pale and worn +you look.”</p> +<p>“My jaded appearance is attributable to mental anxiety, +rather than bodily exhaustion.”</p> +<p>“If Mrs. Gerome is so ill as to require such unremitting +care and vigilance, she should have a nurse, instead of expecting +a physician to devote all his time and attention to her. +Where is Hester Denison?”</p> +<p>“I have placed her at the steam-mill above town, where +there is a bad case of small-pox, and even if she were not thus +engaged, I should not take her to ‘Solitude.’”</p> +<p>“Pray, why not? She took first-rate care of me when I was +so sick last year.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome is morbidly sensitive at all times, and at +this juncture I should be afraid to introduce a stranger into +her sick room.”</p> +<p>“When people are so excessively nervous about being seen, +I can’t help feeling a little suspicious. Do you suppose that +Mrs. Gerome loved her husband so much better than the +majority of widows love theirs, that seven years after his death +she can’t bear to be looked at? I like to see a woman show +due respect to her husband’s memory, but I tell you my experience—or +rather my observation—leads me to believe that +these young widows who make the greatest parade of their +grief, and load themselves with crape and bombazine till they +can scarcely stagger under their flutings, flounces, and jet-fringes, +are the most anxious to marry again.”</p> +<p>“Stop, my darling sister! Who has been filling your +tongue and curdling all the ‘milk of human kindness’ in your +generous heart? If women refuse to each other due sympathy +in sorrow, to what quarter can they turn for that balm which +their natures require? I never before heard you utter sentiments +that trenched so closely upon harsh uncharitableness. +Your lips generally employ only the silvery language of +leniency, which I so much love to hear, but to-day they adopt +the dialect of Libeldom. Recollect, my dear sister, that even +the pagan Athenians would never build a temple to Clemency, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_272' name='page_272'></a>272</span> +which they contended found her most appropriate altars in +human hearts.”</p> +<p>“Pooh, Ulpian! You need not preach me such a sermon, +as if I were a heathen. Facts, when they happen to be real +facts, are the best umpires in the world, and to their arbitrament +I leave my character for charity. When Reuben Chalmers +died, his wife was so overwhelmed with grief that she +shut herself up like a nun; and when she drove out for fresh +air wore two heavy crape veils, and never allowed any one to +catch a glimpse of her countenance. Not even to church did +she venture, until one morning, at the end of two years, she +laid aside her weeds, clad herself in bridal array, was married +in her own parlor, and the next Sunday made her first appearance +in public after the death of her husband, leaning on +the arm of her second spouse. Now, that is true,—is no +libel,—pity it is not! Though ‘one swallow does not make +a summer,’ I can’t help feeling suspicious of very young and +hopelessly inconsolable widows, and am always reminded of +Anastasia Chalmers. So you see, my blue-eyed preacher, when +your old Janet talks of these things, she is not caught ‘reckoning +without her host.’”</p> +<p>“One deplorable instance should not bias you against an +entire class, and the beautiful constancy of Panthea ought to +neutralize the example of a hundred Anastasia Chalmers. Is +it not unfortunate that poor human nature so tenaciously +recollects all the evil records, and is so oblivious of the noble +acts furnished by history? Do cut the acquaintance of the +huge family of <i>on dits</i>, who serve the community in much the +same capacity as did the cook of Tantalus, when he dressed +and garnished Pelops for the banquet table. Unluckily, +devouring malice can not furnish the ‘ivory shoulder’ requisite +to mend its mischief. We are all prone to forget the +injunction, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged,’ and instead of +remembering that we are directed to bear one another’s burdens, +we gall the shoulders of many, by increasing the weights +we should lighten. Janet, don’t flay all the poor young +widows; leave them to such measures of peace as they may +find among their weeds.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_273' name='page_273'></a>273</span></div> +<p>Miss Jane listened to her brother’s homily with a half-smile +lurking about the puckered corners of her eyes and mouth, and +putting her finger in the button-hole of his coat, drew him +closer to her, as they sat together on the sofa.</p> +<p>“How long since you took the tribe of widows under your +special protection?”</p> +<p>“Since the moment, that, owing to some inexplicable +freak, my dear Janet suffered ‘evil communications to corrupt’ +her ‘good manners,’ and absolutely forgot to be just +and generous.”</p> +<p>He kissed his sister and rose, but the troubled look that +settled once more on his countenance did not escape her observation.</p> +<p>“Ulpian, is Mrs. Gerome very ill?”</p> +<p>“Yes, I am exceedingly unhappy about her. She is dangerously +ill with a low, nervous, fever that baffles all my remedies.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey walked up and down the room, and Miss Jane +pressed her spectacles closer to her nose, and watched him.</p> +<p>“If the poor woman leads such a lonely, miserable life, I +should think that death would prove a blessed release to her. +Of course it is natural and reasonable that you should desire +to save all your patients, but why are you so very unhappy +about her?”</p> +<p>He did not answer immediately, and when he spoke his deep +tone was tremulous with fervent feeling.</p> +<p>“Because I find that she is dearer to me than all the other +women in the world, except my sister; and her death would +grieve me more than any trial that has yet overtaken me—more +than you can realize, or than I can express.”</p> +<p>He took Miss Jane’s face in his hands, kissed her, and left +the room.</p> +<p>Meeting Muriel and Salome in the hall, the former seized +his arm, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“You shall not leave home again! Let me tell Elbert to +put up your buggy. If you continue to work yourself down, +as you are now doing, you will be prematurely old, and gray, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_274' name='page_274'></a>274</span> +and decrepit. Come into the parlor, and let me play you to +sleep.”</p> +<p>“I heartily wish I could follow your pleasant prescription, +but duty is inexorable, and knows no law but that of obedience.”</p> +<p>“Must you sit up to-night? Is that poor lady no better?”</p> +<p>“I can see no improvement, and must remain until I do.”</p> +<p>“You are afraid that she will die?”</p> +<p>“I hope that God will spare her life.”</p> +<p>His serious tone awed Muriel, who raised his hand to her +lips, and murmured,—</p> +<p>“My dear doctor, I wish I could help you. I wish I could +do something to make you look less troubled.”</p> +<p>“You can help me, little one, by being happy yourself, and +by aiding Salome in cheering my sister, while I am forced +to spend so much time away from her. Good evening. Take +care of yourselves till I come home.”</p> +<p>Humming a bar of a Genoese barcarole, Muriel ran up +stairs to join her governess; but Salome turned and followed +the master of the house to the front door.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, can I render you any assistance at ‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“Thank you,—the time has passed when you might have +aided me. Two weeks ago, when I requested you to go with +me, Mrs. Gerome was rational and would have yielded to your +influence, but now she is delirious and you could accomplish +nothing. The servants are faithful and attentive, and can be +trusted during my absence to execute my orders.”</p> +<p>A bright flush rose to Salome’s temples, and her eyes +drooped beneath his, so anxious and yet so calmly sad.</p> +<p>“At the time you spoke to me I could not go, but now I +really should be glad to accompany you. Will you take me?”</p> +<p>“No, Salome.”</p> +<p>“Your reason, Dr. Grey?”</p> +<p>“Is one whose utterance would pain you, consequently I +trust you will pardon me for withholding it.”</p> +<p>“At my own peril, I demand it.”</p> +<p>“The motive which prompts your offer precludes the possibility +of my acceptance.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_275' name='page_275'></a>275</span></div> +<p>“How dare you sit in judgment on my motives? You who +prate and homilize of charity! charity! and who quote the +‘golden rule’ solely for the edification and guidance of those +around you. Example is more potent than precept, and we +are creatures of imitation. Suppose I should question the +disinterestedness of your motives in allowing one patient to +monopolize your attention to the detriment of the remainder? +Of course you would be shocked and think me presumptuous, +for one’s sins and follies often play hide and seek, and sometimes +we insult our own pet fault when we find it housed in +some other piece of flesh.”</p> +<p>“Good night, Salome. I shall endeavor to forget all this, +since I am too sincerely your friend to desire to set your +hasty words in the storehouse of memory.”</p> +<p>He looked down pityingly, sorrowfully, into her angry imperious +eyes, and sudden shame smote her, making her cheeks +glow and tingle as if from the stroke of an open hand.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, wait one moment! Let me say something, that +will show,—that will—”</p> +<p>“Only make matters worse. No, Salome, I have little time +for trifling, still less for recrimination, none at all for dissimulation; +and, in your present mood, the least we can say +will prove the most powerful for good.”</p> +<p>He went down to his buggy, but stopped and reflected; +and fearing that he might have been too harsh, he turned and +approached her, as she stood leaning against one of the +columns of the gallery.</p> +<p>“Do not think me rude. I am not less your friend than +formerly, though I am anxious, and doubtless appear preoccupied. +Let us shake hands in peace.”</p> +<p>He extended his own, but the girl stood motionless, and the +remorseful anguish and humiliation of her uplifted face +touched his heart.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, if you really forgive and forget, prove it by +taking me to ‘Solitude.’”</p> +<p>“Do not ask what you well know I have quite determined it +is best that I should not grant.”</p> +<p>The spark leaped up lurid as ever, in her dilating eyes.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_276' name='page_276'></a>276</span></div> +<p>“You take this method to punish me for my refusal to +comply with your wishes a fortnight since?”</p> +<p>“I have neither the right nor inclination to punish you +in any respect, and you must pardon my inability to accede +to a request which my judgment does not approve. Good-by.”</p> +<p>He put his hand into his pocket, and left her; and while +she stood irresolute and disappointed, a servant summoned +her to Miss Jane’s presence.</p> +<p>“Can I do anything for you?” asked the orphan, observing +the cloud on the old lady’s brow.</p> +<p>“Yes, dear; sit down here and talk to me. I feel lonely, +now that Ulpian is away so constantly. He seems very uneasy +about that woman at ‘Solitude,’ and I never saw him +manifest so much anxiety about any one. By the by, Salome, +tell me something concerning her.”</p> +<p>“I have already told you all I know of her.”</p> +<p>“Wherein consists her attractiveness?”</p> +<p>“Who said she was attractive? She is handsome, and there +is something peculiar and startling about her, but she is by +no means a beauty. I have heard Dr. Grey say that she possessed +remarkable talent, but I have been favored with no +exhibition of it. Why do you not question your brother? +Doubtless it would afford him much pleasure to furnish an inventory +of her charms and accomplishments, and dilate upon +them <i>ad libitum</i>.”</p> +<p>“What makes you so savage?”</p> +<p>“Simply because there happens to be a touch of the wild +beast in my nature, and I have not a doubt that if the doctrine +of metempsychosis be true, I was a tawny dappled leopardess +or a green-eyed cougar in the last stage of my existence. +Miss Jane, sometimes I feel as if it would be a luxury—a relief—to +crunch and strangle something or somebody,—which +is not an approved trait of orthodox Christian character, to +say nothing of meek gentility and lady-like refinement.”</p> +<p>She laughed with a degree of indescribable scorn and bitterness +that was pitiable indeed in one so young.</p> +<p>“There is an evil fit on Saul.” +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_277' name='page_277'></a>277</span></p> +<p>“Yes; and you are neither my harp nor my David.”</p> +<p>“Does my little girl expect to find a ‘cunning player,’ who +will charm away all the barbarous notions that occasionally +lead her astray, and tempt her to wickedness?”</p> +<p>“Verily,—no. The son of Jesse has forsaken his own +household, and made unto himself an idol elsewhere; and I—Saul—surrender +to Asmodeus.”</p> +<p>Miss Jane laid her hand on the girl’s arm, and said, in a +hesitating, troubled manner,—</p> +<p>“Has Ulpian told you?”</p> +<p>“Why should he tell me? My eyes sometimes take pity on +my ears,—and seeing very distinctly, save the necessity of +hearing. My vision is quite as keen now as when in my anterior +existence, I crouched in jungles, watching for my prey. +Oh, Miss Jane! if you could look here, and know all that I +have suffered during the past three weeks, you would not +wonder that the tiger element within me swallows up every +other feeling.”</p> +<p>She struck her hand heavily upon her heart, and the old +lady was frightened and distressed by the glitter of the eyes +and the dilation of the slender nostrils.</p> +<p>“When I came in, I knew from your countenance that you +had heard something which you desired to prepare me for,—which +you intended to break gently to me. But your kindness +is unavailing. The truth crashed in on my heart without premonition; +and I saw, and understood, and accepted the inevitable; +and since then,—ah, my God! since then—”</p> +<p>Her head drooped upon her bosom, and a groan concluded +the sentence.</p> +<p>“Perhaps Ulpian only pities the poor woman’s desolation, +and will lose his interest in her when she recovers her health. +You know how tenderly he sympathizes with all who suffer, +and I dare say it is more compassion than love.”</p> +<p>“What hypocrites we often are, in our desire to comfort +those whom we see in agony! Miss Jane, your kind heart is +holding a hand over the mouth of conscience, to smother its +cries and protests while you utter things in which you know +there is no truth. You mean well; but you ought to know +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_278' name='page_278'></a>278</span> +better than to expect to deceive me. I understand the difference +between love and compassion, and so do you; and Dr. +Grey has not kept the truth from you. He has given his heart +to that gray-haired, gray-eyed woman,—and if she lives, he +will marry her; and then, if there were twenty oceans, I +should want them all to roll between us. I tell you now, I +can not and will not stay here to see the day that makes that +pale gray phantom his wife. I should go mad, and do something +that might add new horrors to that doomed and abhorred +‘Solitude,’ that has become Dr. Grey’s Mecca. I +could live without his love, but I can not stand tamely by and +see him lavish it on another. Some women,—such, for instance, +as we read of in novels, would meekly endure this +trial, as one appointed by Heaven to wean them from earth; +would fold their hands, and grow devout, and romantically +thin and wan,—and get sweet, patient, martyr expressions +about their unkissed lips; but I am in no respect a model +heroine, and it will prove safer for us all if I am far away +when Dr. Grey brings his bride to receive your sisterly embrace. +If you are lonely, send for Muriel and Miss Dexter, +and let them entertain you. Just now, I am not fit company +for any but the dwellers in Padalon; so let me go away where +I can be quiet.”</p> +<p>“Stay, Salome! Where are you going?”</p> +<p>“To walk.”</p> +<p>The orphan disengaged her dress from Miss Jane’s fingers, +which had clutched its folds to detain her, and made her +escape just as Muriel tapped at the door.</p> +<p>During the three weeks that had elapsed since Elsie’s death +Mrs. Gerome had not left the house, and the third day after +the funeral she laid her head down on the pillow from which +it seemed probable she would never again lift it.</p> +<p>A low steady fever seized her, and at length her brain became +so seriously affected that all hope of recovery appeared +futile and delusive. In the early stages of her illness, Dr. +Grey requested Salome to assist him in nursing her, but the +girl dared not trust herself to witness the manifestations of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_279' name='page_279'></a>279</span> +an affection that nearly maddened her, and had almost rudely +refused compliance.</p> +<p>As the days wore drearily on, and Dr. Grey’s haggard, +anxious countenance, told her that her rival was indeed upon +the brink of dissolution, a wild hope whispered that perhaps +she might be spared the fierce ordeal she so much dreaded; +that if Mrs. Gerome died, the future might brighten,—life +would be endurable. In her wonted impulsive manner, the +girl had thrown herself on her knees, and passionately prayed +the Almighty to remove from earth the one woman who +proved an obstacle to all her hopes of peace and contentment.</p> +<p>She did not pause to inquire whether her petition was not +an insult to Him who alone could grant it; she neither +analyzed, nor felt self-rebuked for her sinful emotions and +intense hatred of the sick woman,—but vowed repeatedly +that she would lead a purer, holier life, if God would only interpose +and prevent Dr. Grey from becoming the husband +of any one.</p> +<p>She had no faith in the superior wisdom of her Maker, and +would not wait patiently for the developments of His divine +will toward her; but chose her own destiny, and demanded +that Omnipotence should become an ally for its accomplishment. +Like many who are less honest in confessing their +faith, this girl professed allegiance to her Creator only so +long as He appeared a coadjutor in her schemes; and, when +thwarted and disappointed, fierce rebellion broke out in her +heart, and annulled her oaths of fealty and obedience.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey was not ignorant of the emotions that swayed and +controlled her conduct, and when she declared herself ready +to attend the invalid, he was thoroughly cognizant of the fact +that she longed to witness the death which she deemed impending; +and he could not consent to see her eager eyes watching +the feeble breathing of the woman whom he now loved so +fervently.</p> +<p>While he believed that in most matters Salome would not +deceive him, he realized that in one of her passionate moods +of jealous hate, irremediable mischief might result, and prudently +resolved to keep her beyond the pale of temptation.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_280' name='page_280'></a>280</span></div> +<p>It was almost dark when he reached the secluded house +where he had passed so many days and nights of anxiety, and +went into the quiet room in which only a dim light was permitted +to burn. Katie was sitting near the bed, but rose at +his approach, and softly withdrew.</p> +<p>Emaciated and ghastly, save where two scarlet spots burned +on the hollow cheeks, Mrs. Gerome lay, with her wasted arms +thrown over her head, and her eyes fixed on vacancy. Even +when delirium was at its height she yielded to the physician’s +voice and touch, like some wild creature who recognizes no +control save that of its keeper; and from his hand alone would +she take the medicines administered.</p> +<p>Whether the influence was merely magnetic, he did not +inquire, but felt comforted by the assurance that his presence +had power to tranquillize her.</p> +<p>Now, as he drew her arms down from the pillow, and took +her thin hot hand in his cool palms, a shadowy smile stole +over her features, and she fixed her eyes intently on his.</p> +<p>“I knew you would protect me from him.”</p> +<p>“Protect you from whom?”</p> +<p>“From Maurice. He is hiding yonder,—behind the window-curtain.”</p> +<p>She pointed across the room, and a scowl darkened her +countenance.</p> +<p>“You have only been dreaming.”</p> +<p>“No, I am awake; and if you look behind the curtain you +will find him. His eyes are burning my face.”</p> +<p>Willing to dispel this fantasy, Dr. Grey went to the window, +and, drawing aside the lace drapery, showed her the vacant +recess.</p> +<p>“Ah, he has escaped! Well, perhaps it is better so, and +there will be no blood shed. Let him go back to Edith,—‘golden-haired +Edith Dexter,’—and live out the remnant of +his days. He came hoping to find me dead, but I am not as +accommodating now as formerly. Where are those violets? +Tell Elsie to bring the jars in, where I can smell them.”</p> +<p>He took a bunch of the fragrant flowers from his coat +pocket, and put them in her hand, for during her illness she +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_281' name='page_281'></a>281</span> +was never satisfied unless there was a bouquet near her; and +now, having feebly smelled them, her eyes closed.</p> +<p>More than once she had mentioned the name of Edith Dexter, +always coupling it with that of Maurice, who she evidently +believed was lurking with evil purposes around her +home; and Dr. Grey was sorely perplexed to follow the thread +that now and then appeared, but failed to guide him to any +satisfactory solution of the mystery. He knew that since she +made “Solitude” her place of residence, Mrs. Gerome had +never met Muriel’s governess, and he conjectured that she had +either known her in earlier years or now alluded to another +person bearing the same name. Miss Dexter was very fair, +with a profusion of light yellow hair, and suited in all respects +the incoherent description that fell from the sick +woman’s lips.</p> +<p>While at home for a short time that afternoon, Dr. Grey +had spoken of the dangerous condition of his patient, and +asked the governess if she had ever seen or known Mrs. Gerome. +Without hesitation, Edith Dexter quietly replied in +the negative.</p> +<p>Formerly he had indulged little curiosity with reference to +the widow’s history, but since she had become endeared to +him, he was conscious of an earnest desire to possess himself +of a record of all that had so darkened and chilled the life +of the only woman he had ever loved.</p> +<p>Once she had been merely an interesting psychological puzzle, +and in some degree a physiological anomaly: but from +the day of Elsie’s death, his heart had yielded more and more +to the strange fascination she exerted over him; and now, as +he sat looking into her face, so mournfully sharpened and +blanched by disease, he acknowledged to his own soul that if +she should die the brightest and dearest hopes that ever gladdened +his life would be buried in her grave.</p> +<p>Thoroughly convinced that his happiness depended on her +recovery, he prayed continually that if consistent with God’s +will, He would spare her to him, and save him from the +anguish of a lonely life, which her love might bless and +brighten.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_282' name='page_282'></a>282</span></div> +<p>But above the petition,—above all the strife of human love, +and hope, and fear,—rose silvery clear, “Nevertheless, +Father, not my will, but Thine.”</p> +<p>During his long vigils he had allowed imagination to paint +beautiful pictures of the To-Come, wherein shone the figure +of a lovely wife whose heart was divided only between God +and her husband,—whose life was consecrated first to Christ, +secondly to promoting the happiness of the man who loved her +so truly.</p> +<p>The apprehension of losing her was rendered still more +acute by the reflection that her soul was not prepared for its +exit from the realm of probation, and the thought of a separation +that would extend through endless æons, was well-nigh +intolerable.</p> +<p>If she survived this attack, he believed that his influence +would redeem and sanctify her life; if she died, would God +have mercy on her wretched soul?</p> +<p>His faith in Providence was no jagged, quivering reed, but +a strong, staunch, firm staff that had never yet failed him, +and in this hour of severe trial he leaned his aching heart +confidently and calmly upon it.</p> +<p>That some mysterious circumstances veiled the earlier portion +of Mrs. Gerome’s life, he had inferred from Elsie’s +promise of confidence, and since death denied her the desired +revelation, he had put imagination upon the rack, in order to +solve the riddle.</p> +<p>What could the old nurse wish to tell him, that she was +unwilling to divulge until her latest breath? Could the stain +of crime cling to that pale face on the pillow, or to those +white hands that rested so helplessly in his? Had she soiled +her life by any deed that would bring a blush to those thin +sunken cheeks, or a flush of shame to the brow of the man +who loved her? Now bending fondly over her, the language +of his heart was,—</p> +<p>“Let her dead past bury its dead! Let the bygone be what +it may,—come sorrow, come humiliation, but I will dauntlessly +shield her with my name, defend her with my strong +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_283' name='page_283'></a>283</span> +arm, uphold her by my honor, save her soul by my prayers, +comfort and gladden her heart with my deathless love.”</p> +<p>He was well aware that this night must decide her fate,—that +her feeble frame could not much longer struggle with the +disease that had almost vanquished it,—and leaning his forehead +against her hand, he silently prayed that God would +speedily restore her to health, or give him additional grace to +bear the bitter bereavement.</p> +<p>She slept more quietly than she had been able to do for +some days, and Dr. Grey sent for Robert, who was pacing the +walk that led to the stables. They sat down together on the +steps at the rear of the house, and the gardener asked in a +frightened, husky tone,—</p> +<p>“Is there bad news?”</p> +<p>“I see little change since noon, except that she is more +quiet, which is certainly favorable; but she is so very ill that +I thought it best to consult you about several matters. Do +you know whether she has made a will?”</p> +<p>“No, sir. How should I know it, even if she had?”</p> +<p>“Who is her agent?”</p> +<p>Robert hesitated, and pretended to be busy filling and lighting +his pipe.</p> +<p>“Maclean, I have no desire to pry into Mrs. Gerome’s affairs, +but it is necessary that those who direct or control her +estate should be appraised of her condition. It is supposed +that her fortune is ample, and her heirs should be informed +of her illness.”</p> +<p>“She has no heirs, except—”</p> +<p>He paused, and after a few seconds exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Don’t ask me! All I know is that I heard her say she +intended to leave her fortune to poor painters.”</p> +<p>“To whom shall I write, or rather telegraph? Where did +she live before she came to ‘Solitude’? Who were her +friends?”</p> +<p>“Mr. Simonton, of New York, is her lawyer and agent. +Two letters have come from him since she has been sick. Of +course I did not open them, but I know his handwriting. +They are behind the clock in the back parlor.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_284' name='page_284'></a>284</span></div> +<p>“Would it not be better to telegraph him at once?”</p> +<p>“What good could he do? Better send for the minister, +and have her baptized. Oh! but this is truly a world of +trouble, and I almost wish I was safely out of it.”</p> +<p>“If she were conscious, she would not submit to baptism; +and it would not be right to take advantage of her delirium +and force a ceremony to which she is opposed.”</p> +<p>“Not even, sir, to save her soul?”</p> +<p>“Her soul can not be affected by the actions of others, unless +her will coöperates, which is impossible in her present +condition. Robert, after your mother was partially paralyzed, +she said that she desired to confide something to me just before +her death, and intimated that it referred to Mrs. Gerome. +She wished me to befriend her mistress, and felt that I ought +to know the particulars of her early history. Unfortunately, +Elsie was speechless when I arrived, and could not tell me +what she had intended to acquaint me with. I mention this +fact to assure you that if your mother could trust me, you +need not regard me so suspiciously.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, as far as I am concerned, you are very welcome +to every thought in my head and feeling in my heart; but +where it touches my mistress I have nothing to say. I will +not deny that I know more than you do, but when my poor +mother told me, she held my hand on the Bible and made me +swear a solemn oath that what she told me should never pass +my lips to any man, woman, or child. So you must not blame +me, sir.”</p> +<p>“Certainly not, Robert. But if she has any friends it is +your duty to send for them at once.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey rose and went into the library, where for some +moments he walked to and fro, perplexed and grieved. As his +eye rested on the escritoire, he recollected the key which he +had kept in his pocket since the hour that he picked it up +from the carpet.</p> +<p>Doubtless a few minutes’ search in its drawers and casket +would place him in possession of the facts which Elsie wished +to confide; but notwithstanding the circumstances that +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_285' name='page_285'></a>285</span> +might almost have justified an investigation, his delicate sense +of honor forbade the thought. Taking the letters from the +mantelpiece, he turned them to the lamp-light.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'><i>Mrs. Agla Gerome,<br /> +<span class='indent8'> </span>Care of Robert Maclean,<br /> +<span class='indent16'> </span>Box 20.</i><br /> +<span class='indent26'> </span>—— ——.</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>They were post-marked New York, and from the size and +appearance of the envelopes he suspected that they contained +legal documents. Perhaps one of them might prove a will, +awaiting signature and witnesses. Dr. Grey carried them +into the room where his patient still slept, and placed them +on the dressing-table. Accidentally his glance fell on a large +worn Bible that lay contiguous, and brightening the light, he +opened the volume, and turned to the record of births.</p> +<p>“Vashti Evelyn, born June 10th, 18—.</p> +<p>“Henderson Flewellyn, born April 17th, 18—.</p> +<p>“Vashti Flewellyn, born January 30th, 18—.”</p> +<p>On the marriage record he found,</p> +<p>“Married, July 1st, 18—, Vashti Evelyn to Henderson +Flewellyn.</p> +<p>“Married, September 8th, 18—, Evelyn Flewellyn to +Maurice Carlyle.”</p> +<p>The only deaths recorded were those of Henderson and +Vashti Flewellyn.</p> +<p>Whatever the mystery might be, Dr. Grey resolved to pursue +the subject no further; but wait patiently and learn all +from the beautiful lips of the white-faced sphinx, who alone +possessed the right to unseal the record of her blighted life.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Who might have been—ah, what, I dare not think!<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>We all are changed. God judges for us best.<br /> +God help us do our duty, and not shrink,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>And trust in heaven humbly for the rest.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_286' name='page_286'></a>286</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXII' id='CHAPTER_XXII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> +</div> +<p>The profound stillness that pervades a room where life +and death grapple for mastery, invites and aids that calm, +inexorable introspection, which Gotama Buddha prescribes +as an almost unerring path to the attainment of peace; and, +in the solemn silence of his last and memorable vigil, Dr. +Grey brought his heart into complete unmurmuring subjection +to the Divine will. A <i>soi-disant</i> “resignation” that +draws honied lips to the throne of grace, leaving a heart of +gall in the camp of sedition, could find no harbor in his +uncompromisingly honest nature; and though the struggle +was severe, he felt that faith in Eternal wisdom and mercy +had triumphed over merely human affection and earthly +hopes, and his strong soul chanted to itself the comforting +strains of Lampert’s “Trust Song.”</p> +<p>No mere gala barge, gay with paint and gaudy with +pennons, was his religion; no fair summer-day toy bearing +him lightly across the sun-kissed, breeze-dimpled sea of prosperity +and happiness, and frail as the foam that draped its +prow with lace; but a staunch, trim, steady, unpretending +bark, that with unfaltering faith at the helm, rode firmly all +the billows of adversity, and steered unerringly harborward +through howling tempests and impenetrable gloom. Human +friendships and sympathy he considered unstable and treacherous +as Peter, when he shrank from his Lord; but Christian +trust was one of the silver-tongued angels of God, ringing +chimes of patience and peace, far above the din of wailing, +bleeding hearts, and the fierce flames of flesh martyrdom.</p> +<p>One o’clock found Dr. Grey sitting near the pillow, where +for five hours Mrs. Gerome had slept as quietly as a tired +child. The fever-glow had burned itself out, and left an +ashen hue on the lips and cheeks.</p> +<p>Wishing to arouse her, he spoke to her several times and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_287' name='page_287'></a>287</span> +raised her head, but though she drank the powerful stimulant +he held to her mouth, her heavy eyelids were not lifted, +and when he smoothed the pillow and laid her comfortably +upon it, she slumbered once more.</p> +<p>At the foot of the bed, with his keen yellow eyes fastened +on his mistress, crouched the greyhound, his silky head on his +paws; and on a pallet in one corner of the room slept Katie, +ready to render any assistance that might be required.</p> +<p>The apartment was elegantly furnished, and green and +gold tinted all its appointments. On an Egyptian marble +table stood a work-box curiously inlaid with malachite and +richly gilded, and there lay some withered flowers, a small +thimble, and a pair of scissors with mother-of-pearl handles. +Around the walls hung a number of paintings, which, with +one exception, were landscapes or ocean-views; and as Dr. +Grey sat watching the shimmer of lamp-light on their +carved frames and varnished surfaces, they seemed to furnish +images of</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Green glaring glaciers, purple clouds of pine,<br /> +White walls of ever-roaring cataracts;<br /> +Blue thunder drifting over thirsty tracts,<br /> +Rose-latticed casements, lone in summer lands,—<br /> +Some witch’s bower; pale sailors on the marge<br /> +Of magic seas, in an enchanted barge<br /> +Stranded at sunset, upon jewelled sands.<br /> +Some cup of dim hills, where a white moon lies,<br /> +Dropt out of weary skies without a breath<br /> +In a great pool; a slumb’rous vale beneath,<br /> +And blue damps prickling into white fire-flies.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>No sweet-lipped, low-browed Madonnas, no rapt Cecilias, no +holy Johns nor meek Stephens, no reeling Satyrs nor vine-clad +<i>Bacchantés</i> relieved the eye, weary of mountain <ins title='Added comma'>ghylls,</ins> +red-ribbed deserts, and stormy surfage.</p> +<p>One long narrow picture baffled interpretation, and excited +speculations that served in some degree to divert the sad +current of the physician’s thoughts.</p> +<p>It was a dreary plain, dotted with the “fallen cromlechs +of Stonehenge,” and in front of the desecrated stone altars +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_288' name='page_288'></a>288</span> +stood a veiled woman, with her hands clasped over a silver +crescent-curved knife, and her bare feet resting on oaken +chaplets and mistletoe boughs, starred and fringed with +snowy flowers. Under the dexterously painted gauze that +shrouded the face, the outline of the features was distinctly +traceable, end behind the film,—large, oracular, yet mournful +eyes, burned like setting stars, seen through magnifying +vapors that wreathe the horizon.</p> +<p>It was a solemn, desolate, melancholy picture, relieved by +no flush of color,—gray plain, gray distance, gray sky, gray +temple tumuli, and that ghostly white woman, gazing grimly +down at the gray-haired sufferer on the low bed beneath her.</p> +<p>Under some circumstances, certain pictures seem basilisk-eyed, +riveting a gaze that would gladly seek more agreeable +subjects, and it chanced that Dr. Grey found a painful +fascination in this piece of canvas that hung immediately in +front of him. Wherein consisted the magnetism that so +powerfully attracted him, he could not decide, but several +times when the wind blew the scalloped edge of the lace curtain +between the lamp and the picture, and threw a dim +wavering shadow over the figure on the wall, he almost expected +to see the veil float away from the stony face, and +reveal what the artist had adroitly shrouded. Now it looked a +doomed “Norma,” and anon the Nemesis of a dishonored +faneless faith, that was born among Magi, and had tutored +Pythagoras; and finally Dr. Grey rose and turned away to +escape its spectral spell.</p> +<p>Waking Katie, he charged her to call him if any change +occurred in his patient, and went to the front of the house +for a breath of fresh air.</p> +<p>Narcissus-like, a three-quarter moon was staring down at +her own image, rocked on the bosom of the sea, while dim +stars printed silver photographs on the deep blue beneath +them,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“And the hush of earth and air<br /> +Seemed the pause before a prayer.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The wind that had blown steadily for two days past from +the south-east, had gone down into some ocean lair; but the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_289' name='page_289'></a>289</span> +sullen element refused to forget its late scourging, and occasionally +a long swelling billow dashed itself into froth +against the stone piers of the boat-house, and the cliffs which +stood like a phantom fleet along the southern bend of the +beach, were fringed with a white girdle of incessant breakers.</p> +<p>Far out from shore the rolling mass of water was darkly +blue, but now and then a wave broke over its neighbor, and +in the distance the foam flashed under moonshine like some +reconnoitring Siren-face, peeping landward for fresh victims; +or as the samite-clad arm that Arthur and Sir Bedivere saw +rise above the mere to receive Excalibar.</p> +<p>Following the beckoning of those snowy hands, and listening +to the low musical monologue that sea uttered to shore, +Dr. Grey started in the direction of the terrace, whence he +could see the whole trend of the beetling coast, but some +unaccountable impulse induced him to pause and look back.</p> +<p>The dense shadow of the trees shut out from the spot where +he stood the golden radiance of the moon, but over the lawn +it streamed in almost unearthly splendor,—and there he +saw some white object glide swiftly towards the group of +deodars. The first solution that occurred to his mind was +that Katie had fallen asleep, and Mrs. Gerome in her delirium +making her way out of the house, was seeking her favorite +walk; but a moment’s reflection convinced him that she was +too utterly prostrated to cross the room, still less the grounds, +and, resolved to satisfy himself, he followed the moving object +that retreated before him.</p> +<p>Walking rapidly but stealthily in the shadow of the trees +and shrubbery, he soon ascertained that it was a woman’s +figure, and saw that it stopped at Elsie’s grave, and bent down +to touch the head-board. Creeping forward, he had approached +within ten yards of her, when his hat struck the +lower limbs of a large acacia, and startled a bird that uttered +a cry of terror and darted out. The sound caused the figure +to turn her head, and catching a glimpse of Dr. Grey, she ran +under the dense boughs of the deodars, and disappeared.</p> +<p>He followed, and groped through the gloom, but when he +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_290' name='page_290'></a>290</span> +emerged, no living thing was visible; and, perplexed and +curious, he stood still.</p> +<p>After some moments he heard a faint sound, as of some +one smothering a cough, and pursuing it, found himself at +the boundary of the grounds. Here a thick hedge of osage +orange barred egress, and he saw the woman disentangling +her drapery from the thorns that had seized it.</p> +<p>Springing forward, he exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Stand still! You can not escape me. Who are you?”</p> +<p>A feigned and lugubrious voice answered,—</p> +<p>“I am the restless spirit of Elsie Maclean, come back to +guard her grave.”</p> +<p>In another instant he was at her side, and laying his hand +on the white netted shawl with which she was veiling her +features, he tore it away, and Salome’s fair face looked defiantly +at him.</p> +<p>“If I had known that my pursuer was Dr. Grey, I would +not have troubled myself to play the ghost farce, for of +course I could not expect to frighten you off; but I hoped you +were one of the servants, who would not very diligently chase +a spectre. I did not suppose that you could be coaxed or +driven thus far from your arm-chair beside the bed where +Mrs. Gerome is asleep.”</p> +<p>Astonishment kept him silent for some seconds, and, in the +awkward pause, the girl laughed constrainedly—nervously.</p> +<p>“After all your show of bravery in pursuing a woman, I +verily believe you are too much frightened to arrest me if +I chose to escape.”</p> +<p>“Salome, has something terrible happened at home, that +you have come here at midnight to break to me?”</p> +<p>“Nothing has happened at home.”</p> +<p>“Then why are you here? Are you, too, delirious?”</p> +<p>Her scornful laugh rang startlingly on the still night air.</p> +<p>“Oh, Salome! You grieve, you shock me!”</p> +<p>“Yes, Dr. Grey, you have assured me of that fact too +frequently—too feelingly—to permit me to doubt your sincerity. +You need not repeat it; I accept the assertion that +you are shocked at my indiscretions.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_291' name='page_291'></a>291</span></div> +<p>Compassion predominated over displeasure, as he observed +the utter recklessness that pervaded her tone and manner.</p> +<p>“I am unwilling to believe that you would, without some +very cogent reason, violate all decorum by coming alone at +dead of night two miles through a dreary stretch of hills and +woods. Necessity sometimes sanctions an infraction of the +rules of rigid propriety, and I am impatient to hear your +defence of this most extraordinary caprice.”</p> +<p>She was endeavoring to disengage the fringe of her shawl +from the hedge, but finding it a tedious operation, she caught +her drapery in both hands and tore it away from the thorns, +leaving several shreds hanging on the prickly boughs.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I have no defence to offer.”</p> +<p>“Tell me what induced you to come here.”</p> +<p>“An eminently charitable and commendable interest in +your fair patient. I came here simply and solely to ascertain +whether Mrs. Gerome would die, or whether she could possibly +recover.”</p> +<p>Unflinchingly she looked up into his eyes, and he thought +he had never seen a fairer, prouder, or lovelier face.</p> +<p>“How did you expect to accomplish your errand by wandering +about these grounds, exposing yourself to insult and to +injury?”</p> +<p>“I have been on the gallery since twilight, looking through +the lace curtains at Mrs. Gerome lying on her bed, and at +you sitting in the arm-chair. Her eyes are keener than +yours, for she saw me peeping through the window, and told +you so. When you left the room I came out among the trees +to escape observation. I scorn all equivocation, and have no +desire to conceal the truth, for if I am not dowered</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘With blood trained up along nine centuries,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>To hound and hate a lie,’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>at least I hold my pauper soul high above the mire of falsehood; +and</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘The things we do,</p> +<p class='cg'>We do: we’ll wear no mask, as if we blushed.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_292' name='page_292'></a>292</span></div> +<p>They had walked away from the hedge, and Dr. Grey +paused at the mound, where the Ariadne gleamed cold and +white in the moonbeams that slanted across it like silver +lances.</p> +<p>Revolving in his mind the best method of extricating the +orphan from the unfortunate predicament in which her rashness +had plunged her, he did not answer immediately, and +Salome continued, impatiently,—</p> +<p>“If you imagine that I came here to act as spy upon your +actions, you most egregiously mistake me, for I know all that +the most rigid surveillance could possibly teach me. I heard +you say that this night would prove a crisis in Mrs. Gerome’s +case, and I was so anxious to learn the result that I could +not wait quietly at home until morning. I begged you to +bring me, and you refused; consequently, I came alone. Deal +frankly with me,—tell me, will that woman die?”</p> +<p>The breathless eagerness with which she bent towards him, +the strained, almost ferocious expression of her keen eyes, +sickened his soul, and he put his hand over his face to shut +out the sight of hers.</p> +<p>“Tell me the truth. I must and will know it.”</p> +<p>Her sweet clear voice had become a low hoarse pant, and +the knotted lines were growing harder and tighter on her +beautiful brow.</p> +<p>“I pray ceaselessly that God will spare her to me, and I +hope all things from His mercy. Another hour will probably +end my suspense, and decide the awful question of life or +death. Salome, if she should die, my future will be very +lonely,—and my heart bereft of the brightest, dearest hopes, +that have ever cheered it.”</p> +<p>A half-smothered cry struggled across the orphan’s trembling +lips that had suddenly grown colorless, and he saw her +clutch her fingers.</p> +<p>“And if she lives?”</p> +<p>“If she lives, and will accept the affection I shall offer +her, the remainder of my years will be devoted to the work +of making her forget the sorrows that have darkened the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_293' name='page_293'></a>293</span> +early portion of her life. I do not wish to conceal the fact +that she is inexpressibly dear to me.”</p> +<p>During the long silence that ensued, a lifetime of agony +seemed compressed into the compass of a few moments, but +Salome stood motionless, with her arms pressed over her +aching heart, and her head thrown haughtily back, while the +moonlight streamed down on her face where pride and pain +were struggling for right to reign.</p> +<p>When all expectation of earthly happiness is smothered in +a proud, passionate soul, and the future robes itself in those +dun hues that only the day-star of eternity can gild, nerves +and muscles shrink and shiver at the massacre of hopes which +despair hews down, in the hour that it “storms the citadel +of the heart, and puts the whole garrison to the sword.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey could not endure the sight of that fixed, hardened +face, and sorely distressed by the consciousness of the suffering +which he had unintentionally inflicted on one so young, +he moved away, and for some time walked slowly under the +arching laurestines. Although his stern integrity of purpose +acquitted him of all blame, and he could accuse himself of +no word or deed that might be held amenable to conscience +for the mischief and misery that had resulted from his acquaintance +with this unfortunate girl, he regretted that he +had remained in the same house, and, by constant association, +fed the flame that absence might have extinguished.</p> +<p>While he pitied the weakness that had induced her to yield +so entirely to the preference she indulged for him, he felt +humiliated at the thought that he, who had intended to guide +and elevate this wayward child of nature, had been instrumental +in darkening and embittering her young life.</p> +<p>When he came back to the spot, whence she had not moved, +and laid his hand gently on her shoulder, she smiled strangely, +and</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Unbent the grieving beauty of her brows.<br /> +But held her heart’s proud pain superbly still.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“My little sister, you must not stay here any longer. +Would you prefer to go home at once in my buggy, or remain +in the parlor until daylight?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_294' name='page_294'></a>294</span></div> +<p>“Neither. Let me sit down on the stone terrace till the +end comes. I will disturb no one. It will be three hours +before day breaks, and when you know whether your idol will +live or die, come and tell me. Take your hand from my +shoulder.”</p> +<p>He had endeavored to detain her, but she shrank away +from his grasp, and glided down the smooth sward to the +terrace which divided it from the ripple-barred and ringed +sands of the shelving beach.</p> +<p>As he returned to the house, the wind sprang up and +moaned through the dense foliage above him, and an owl, +perched in some clustering bough that overhung the portico, +screamed and hooted dismally. The sound was so startling +that the greyhound leaped to his feet and set up an answering +howl, which almost froze Katie with fright, and caused even +Mrs. Gerome’s heavy eyelids to unclose.</p> +<p>Salome sat down on the paved terrace, crossed her arms +over the low stone balustrade, and resting her chin upon +them, looked out at the burnished bosom of the ocean. Just +beneath her, and near enough to moisten the granite with +the silvery spray,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Its waves are kneeling on the strand,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>As kneels the human knee,<br /> +Their white locks bowing to the sand,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The priesthood of the sea.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>If the old Rabbinical legend of Sandalphon be grounded in +some solemn vision granted to the saints of eld, who walked +in Syria, then peradventure on this night, the angel must +have been puzzled indeed concerning the petitions that floated +up, and demanded admission to the Eternal ear.</p> +<p>From the anxious heart of the sincere and humble Christian +who knelt at the bedside of the invalid, rose a fervent prayer +that if consistent with the Father’s will, He would lay His +healing hand upon the sufferer, and restore her to health and +strength; while the wretched girl on the terrace prayed +vehemently that God would crush the feeble flicker of life in +Mrs. Gerome’s wasted frame, would take from the world a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_295' name='page_295'></a>295</span> +woman whose existence was a burden to herself and threatened +to prove a curse to others.</p> +<p>The passionate cry of Salome’s soul was,—</p> +<p>“Punish me in any way, and all other ways! Send sickness, +destitution, humiliation,—let every other affliction smite +me; but save me from the intolerable anguish of seeing that +woman his wife! O my God! the world is not wide enough +to hold us both. Take her, or else call me speedily hence. +I am not fit to die, but I shall never be better, if I am doomed +to witness this marriage. I would sooner go down to perdition +now, than live to see that thing of horror. Of two hells, +I choose that which takes me farthest from her.”</p> +<p>For the first time in her life she felt that the hours were +flying, that the day of doom was rushing to meet her, and +she shuddered when one after another the constellations +slipped softly and solemnly down the sky, and vanished behind +the dim shadowy outline of the western hills. Gradually +the moon sank so low that the sea could no longer reflect her +beams, and as the mighty waste of waters slowly darkened, +and the wind stiffened, and the song of the surf swelled like +a rising requiem, the girl felt that all nature was preparing +to mourn with her over the burial of her only hope of earthly +peace.</p> +<p>If Mrs. Gerome died, a quiet future stretched before the +orphan, and she could bear to live without the love which she +had the grim satisfaction of knowing brightened no other +woman’s life.</p> +<p>The happiness of the man for whom she almost impiously +prayed, was a matter of little importance compared with the +ease of her own heart; and she had yet to learn that the +welfare and peace of the object she loved so selfishly would +one day become paramount to all other aims and considerations. +That pure and sublime spirit of self-abnegation which +immolates every hope and wish that is at variance with the +happiness of the beloved had not yet been born in Salome’s +fiery nature; and she cared little for the anguish that might +be Dr. Grey’s portion, provided her own heart could be spared +the pang of witnessing his wedded bliss.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_296' name='page_296'></a>296</span></div> +<p>Through the trees, she could see the steady light of the +lamp that burned in the room where the sick woman lay, and +so she watched and waited, shivering in the shadow that fell +over earth and ocean just before the breaking of the new day.</p> +<p>Along the eastern horizon, the white fires of rising constellations +paled and flickered and seemed to die, as a gray +light stole up behind them; and the gray grew pearly, and +the pearly opaline, and ere long the sky crimsoned, and the +sea reddened until its waves were like ruby wine or human +gore.</p> +<p>In the radiant dawn of that day which would decide the +earthly destinies of three beings, Salome saw Dr. Grey coming +across the lawn. His step was quiet,—neither slow nor hasty, +and she could not conjecture the result; but as he approached, +she rose, wrapped her shawl about her, and advanced to meet +him. He paused, took off his hat, and she knew all before a +syllable passed his lips.</p> +<p>“Salome, God has heard my prayers,—has mercifully taken +my darling from the arms of death, and given her to me. I +do not think I am too sanguine in saying that she will +ultimately recover, and my heart can not find language that +will interpret its gratitude and joy.”</p> +<p>Never before had such a light shone in his clear, calm blue +eyes, and illumined his usually grave countenance; and though +continued vigils and keen anxiety had left their signet on his +pale face, his great happiness was printed legibly on every +feature, and found expression even in the deepened and softened +tones of his voice.</p> +<p>The girl did not move or speak, but looked steadily into +his bright eyes, and the calmness with which she listened, +comforted and encouraged him to hope that ere long she +would conquer her preference.</p> +<p>How could he know that at that instant she was impiously +vowing that heaven had heard her last prayer?—that never +again should a petition cross her lips? God had granted one +prayer,—had decided against hers,—had denied her utterly; +and henceforth she would not weary Him,—she would not +mock herself and her misery.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_297' name='page_297'></a>297</span></div> +<p>Dr. Grey saw that there was no quiver on the still, pale +lips, no contraction of the polished forehead; but the rigidity +of her face broke up suddenly in a smile of indescribable +mournfulness,—a smile where self-contempt and pity and +hopeless bitterness all lent their saddest phases.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, in your present happy mood, you certainly can +not be so ungracious as to deny me a favor?”</p> +<p>“Have I ever refused my little sister anything she asked?”</p> +<p>“The only favor you can ever grant me will be to persuade +Miss Jane to consent to my departure. Look to it, sir, that I +am allowed to go, and that right speedily; for go I certainly +shall, at all hazards. Convince your sister that it is best, and +let me go away forever, without incurring the displeasure of +the only friend I ever had or ever shall have.”</p> +<p>She moved away as if to leave the grounds, but he caught +her arm.</p> +<p>“Wait five minutes, Salome, and I will take you home in +my buggy. It is not right for you to walk alone at this early +hour, and I will not allow it.”</p> +<p>She shook off his hand as if it had been an infant’s; and, +as she walked away, he heard her laugh with a degree of +savage bitterness that stabbed his generous heart like a +dagger; while behind her trailed the hissing echo,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “Oh, alone, alone,—</p> +<p class='cg'>Not troubling any in heaven, nor any on earth.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII' id='CHAPTER_XXIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>In the pure, clear light of early morning, “Grassmere,” +with its wide, smooth lawn, and old-fashioned brick house, +weather-stained and moss-mantled, looked singularly peaceful +and attractive. Against the sombre mass of tree-foliage, +white and purple altheas raised their circular censers, as +if to greet the sun that was throwing level beams from the +eastern hill-top, and delicate pink, and deep azure, and pearl-pale +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_298' name='page_298'></a>298</span> +convolvulus held up their velvet trumpets all beaded with +dew, to be drained by the first kiss of the great Day-God. Up +and down the comb of the steep roof, beautiful pigeons with +necklaces that rivalled the trappings of Solomon, strutted +and cooed; on the eaves, busy brown wrens peeped into the +gutters,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“And of the news delivered their small souls,”—</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>gossiping industriously; while from a distant nook some +vagrant partridge whistled for its mate, and shy doves swinging +in the highest elm limbs, moaned plaintively of the last +hunting-season, that had proved a St. Barthlomew’s day to +the innocent feathered folk.</p> +<p>On the lawn a flock of turkeys were foraging among the +clover-blossoms, and over the dewy grass a large brood of +young guineas raced after their mother, or played hide-and-seek, +like nut-brown elves, under the white and purple tufts +of flowers. Save the bird-world—always abroad early—no +living thing seemed astir, and the silence that reigned was +broken only by the distance-softened bleating of Stanley’s +pet lamb.</p> +<p>As Salome walked slowly and wearily up the avenue, she +saw that the housemaid had opened the front door, and when +the orphan ascended the steps, all within was still as a +tomb, except the canary that sprang into its ring and began +to warble a <i>reveille</i> as she approached the cage. Miss Jane +was usually an early riser, and often aroused her servants, +but to-day the household seemed to have overslept themselves, +and when Salome had rearranged her dress, and waked her +little brother, she rang the bell for Rachel, who soon obeyed +the summons.</p> +<p>“Is Miss Jane up?”</p> +<p>“No, ma’am, I suppose not, as she has not rung for me. +You know I always wait for her bell.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps she is not very well this morning. I will go +and see whether she intends to get up.”</p> +<p>Salome went down stairs and knocked at the door of Miss +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_299' name='page_299'></a>299</span> +Jane’s room, but no sound was audible within, and she softly +turned the bolt and entered.</p> +<p>The lamp was burning very dimly on a table close to the +bed, and upon the open Bible lay the spectacles which the +old lady had placed there twelve hours before, when she +finished reading the nightly chapter that generally composed +her mind and put her to sleep.</p> +<p>Salome conjectured that she had forgotten to extinguish +the lamp, and as she cautiously turned the wick down, her +eyes rested on the open page where pencil-lines marked the +twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, and enclosed the sixth and +seventh verses, “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the +golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, +or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the +dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return +unto God who gave it.”</p> +<p>Removing the glasses, the girl closed the book, and leaned +over the pillow to look at the sleeper. She had turned her +face towards the wall, and one hand lay under her head, +pressed against her cheek, while the other held her handkerchief +on the outside of the counterpane.</p> +<p>Very softly she slumbered, with a placid smile half breaking +over her aged, wrinkled features; and unwilling to shorten +the morning nap in which she so rarely indulged, Salome sat +down at the foot of the bed, and leaning her head on her +hands, fell into a painful and profound reverie.</p> +<p>Nearly an hour passed, unheeded by the unhappy girl, +whose anguish rendered her indifferent to all that surrounded +her; and after a while a keen pang thrilled her heart, as she +heard Dr. Grey’s pleasant voice jesting with Stanley on the +lawn. His happiness seemed an insult to her misery, and +she stopped her ears to exclude the sound of his quiet laugh.</p> +<p>A half hour elapsed, and then his well-known rap was +heard at the door. Miss Jane did not answer, and Salome +was in no mood to welcome him home; but he waited for +neither, and came in, gently closing the door behind him.</p> +<p>At sight of the orphan, he started slightly, and said,—</p> +<p>“Is my sister sick?”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_300' name='page_300'></a>300</span></div> +<p>“I don’t know, but she is sleeping unusually late. I +thought it best not to disturb her.”</p> +<p>The look of dread that swept over his countenance frightened +her, and she rose as he moved hastily to the bedside.</p> +<p>“Salome, open the blinds. Quick! quick!”</p> +<p>She sprang to the window, threw the shutters wide open, +and hastened back. Dr. Grey’s hand was on his sister’s wrist, +and his ear pressed against her heart,—strained to catch +some faint pulsation. His head went down on her pillow, +and Salome held her breath.</p> +<p>“Oh, Janet! My dear, patient, good sister! This is indeed +hard to bear. To die alone—unsoothed—unnoticed; +with no kind hands about you! To die—without one farewell +word!”</p> +<p>He hid his face in his hands, and Salome staggered to the +bed, and grasped Miss Jane’s rigid, icy fingers.</p> +<p>In the silence of midnight, Death stole her spirit from its +clay garments, and while she slept peacefully had borne her +beyond the confines of Time, and left her resting forever in +the City Celestial.</p> +<p>A life dedicated to pure aims and charitable deeds had +been rewarded with a death as painless as the slumber of a +tired child on its mother’s bosom, and, without struggle or +premonition, the soul had slipped from the bondage of flesh +into the Everlasting Peace that remaineth for the children +of God.</p> +<p>It was impossible to decide at what hour she had died; and +when the members of the appalled household were questioned, +Muriel and Miss Dexter stated that she had kissed them good +night and appeared as well as usual at her customary time +of retiring; and Rachel testified that after she was in bed, +she rang her bell and directed her to tell the cook that as Dr. +Grey would probably come home about daylight, she must get +up early and have a cup of coffee ready when he arrived. +Sobbing passionately, Rachel added,—</p> +<p>“When I asked her if I should put out the lamp, she +said, ‘No; Ulpian may lose his patient, and come home sad, +and then he will come in and talk to me awhile.’ And just +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_301' name='page_301'></a>301</span> +as I was leaving the room, she called to me, ‘Rachel, what +coat did Ulpian wear? It turns so cool now before daylight +that he will take cold if he has on that linen one.’ I told +her I did not know, and she would not be satisfied till I +went to his room and found that the linen coat was hanging +in the closet, and the gray flannel one was missing. Then +she opened her Bible and said, ‘Ah, that is all right. The +flannel one will do very well, and my boy will be comfortable.’”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey’s grief was deep, but silent; and, during the +dreary day and night that succeeded, he would allow no one +to approach him except Muriel, whose soft little hands, and +tearful, tender caresses, seemed in some degree to comfort +him.</p> +<p>One month before, Salome would have wept and mourned +with him, but the fountain of her tears was exhausted and +scorched by the intense bitterness and despairing hate that +had taken possession of her since the day of Elsie’s burial; +and stunned and dry-eyed, she watched the preparations for +the obsequies of her benefactress.</p> +<p>Her love for Miss Jane had never been sufficiently fervent +to render her distress very poignant; but in the death of this +devoted friend she was fully aware that at last she was set +once more adrift in the world, without chart or rudder save +that furnished by her will.</p> +<p>Life to-day was not the beautiful web, all aglow with the +tangling of gold and silver threads, that had once charmed +and dazzled her, for the mildew of hopelessness had tarnished +the gilding, and the mesh was only a mass of dark knots, +and subtle crossings, and inextricable confusion.</p> +<p>Like that lost star that once burned so luridly in Cassiopeia, +and flickered out, leaving a gulf of gloom where +stellar glory was, the one most precious hope that lights and +sanctifies a woman’s heart had waned and grown sickly, and +finally had gone out utterly, and dust and ashes and darkness +filled the void. In natures such as hers, this hope is +not allied to the phœnix, and, once crushed, knows no resurrection; +consequently she cheated herself with no vain expectation +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_302' name='page_302'></a>302</span> +that the mighty wizard, Time, could evoke from +corpse or funeral-pyre even a spark to cheer the years that +were thundering before her.</p> +<p>A few months ago the future had glistened as peaceful +and silvery as the Dead Sea at midnight, when a full-orbed +Syrian moon glares down, searching for the palms and palaces +that once marked Gomorrah’s proud places; and, like some +thirsty traveller smitten with surface sheen, she had laid +her fevered lips to the treacherous margin, and, drinking +eagerly, had been repaid with brine and bitumen.</p> +<p>Disappointment was with her no meek, mute affair, but a +savage fiend that browbeat and anathematized fate, accusing +her of rendering existence a mere Nitocris banquet, where, +while every sense is sharpened and pampered, and fruition +almost touches the outstretched hands of eager trust, the +flood-gates of the mighty Nile of despair are lifted, and its +chill, dusky waves make irremediable wreck of all.</p> +<p>With the quiet thoughtfulness and good sense that characterized +her unobtrusive conduct, Miss Dexter had prepared +from Muriel’s wardrobe an entire suit of mourning, which +she prevailed upon Salome to accept and wear; and, on the +morning of the funeral, the latter went down early into the +draped and darkened parlor, where the coffin and its cold +tenant awaited the last offices that dust can perform for dust.</p> +<p>She had not spoken to Dr. Grey for twenty-four hours, +and, finding him beside the table where his sister’s body lay, +the orphan would have retreated, but he caught the rustling +sound of her crape and bombazine, and held out his hand.</p> +<p>“Come in, Salome.”</p> +<p>She took no notice of the offered fingers, but passed him, +and went around the table to the opposite side.</p> +<p>The wrinkled, sallow face, still wore its tranquil half-smile, +and, under the cap-border of fine lace, the grizzled hair lay +smooth and glossy on the sunken temples.</p> +<p>In accordance with a wish which she had often expressed, +the ghostly shroud was abandoned, and Miss Jane was dressed +in her favorite black silk. Salome had gathered a small +bouquet of the fragile white blossoms of apple-geranium, of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_303' name='page_303'></a>303</span> +which the old lady was particularly fond, and, bending over +the coffin, she laid them between the fingers that were interlaced +on the pulseless heart.</p> +<p>With a quiet mournfulness, more eloquent than passionate +grief, the girl stood looking for the last time at the placid +countenance that had always beamed kindly and lovingly +upon her since that dreary day, when, under the flickering +shadow of the mulberry-tree, she had called her from the +poor-house and given her a happy home.</p> +<p>She stooped to kiss the livid lips, that had never spoken +harshly to her; and, for some seconds, her face was hidden +on the bosom of the dead. When she raised it, the dry, +glittering eyes and firm mouth, betokened the bitterness of +soul that no invectives could exhaust, no language adequately +express.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, if the exchange could be made, I would not +only willingly, but gladly, thankfully, lie down here in this +coffin, and give your sister back to your arms. The Reaper, +Death, has cut down the perfect, golden grain, and left the +tares to shiver in the coming winter. Some who are useless +and life-weary bend forward, hoping to meet the sickle, but it +sweeps above them, and they wither slowly among the +stubble.”</p> +<p>He looked at her, and found it difficult to realize that the +pale, quiet, stern woman, standing there in sombre weeds, +was the same fair young face that he had seen thirty-six +hours before in the moonlight that brightened Elsie’s grave. +He thought that only the slow, heavy rolling of years could +have worn those lines about her faded lips, and those dark +purplish hollows under the steady, undimmed eyes. That +composed, frigid Salome, watching him from across the +corpse and coffin, seemed a mere chill shadow of the fiery, +impetuous, radiant girl, whose passionate waywardness had +so often annoyed and grieved him. The alabaster vase was +still perfect in form, but the lamp that had hitherto burned +within, lending a rosy glow to clay, had fluttered and expired, +and the change was painful indeed.</p> +<p>His attention was so riveted upon the extraordinary alteration +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_304' name='page_304'></a>304</span> +in her appearance, that her words fell on his ear, as +empty, as meaningless, as the echoes heard in dreams, and +when she ceased speaking, he looked perplexed, and sighed +heavily.</p> +<p>“What did you say? I do not think I understand you; +my mind was abstracted when you spoke.”</p> +<p>“True; you never will understand me. Only the dead +sleeping here between us fully comprehended me, and even +unto the end of my life-chapter I must walk on misapprehended. +When the coffin-lid is screwed down over that dear, +kind face, I shall have bidden adieu to my sole and last +friend; for in the Hereafter she will not know me. Ah, Miss +Jane! you tried hard to teach me Christianity, but it was like +geometry, I had no talent for it,—could not take hold of it,—and +it all slipped through my fingers. If there is indeed an +inexorable and incorruptible Justice reigning behind the +stars, you will be so happy that I and my sins, and my desolation +will not trouble you. Good-by, dear Miss Jane; it is +not your fault that I missed my chance of being coaxed into +the celestial fold with the elect sheep, and find myself +scourged out with the despised goats. God grant you His +everlasting rest.”</p> +<p>She turned, but Dr. Grey stretched his arm across his +sister’s body, and caught the orphan’s dress.</p> +<p>“Salome, God has called my own sister to her blessed rest +in Christ, but my adopted sister He has left to comfort, to +sympathize with me. Here, in the sacred presence of my +dear dead, I ask you to take her place, and be to me throughout +life the true, loving, faithful friend whom nothing can +alienate, and of whom only death can deprive me. My little +sister, let the future ripen and sanctify our confidence, affection, +and friendship.”</p> +<p>“No, sir; sinners can not fill the niches of the saints; and +to-day we are more completely divided than if the ocean roared +between us. Once I struggled hard to cure myself of my +faults,—to purify and fashion my nature anew, but the +incentive has died, and I have no longer the proud aspirations +that lifted me like eagle’s wings high above the dust into +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_305' name='page_305'></a>305</span> +which I have now fallen,—and where I expect to remain. +You need not fear that I shall commit some capital sin, and +go down in disgrace to my grave; for there must be some +darling hope, some precious aim, that goads people to crime,—and +neither of these have I. I do not want your friendship, +and I will not allow your dictation; and, if you are as +generous as I have believed you, I think you will spare me +the manifestation of your pity. Miss Jane was the only link +that united us in any degree, and now we are asunder and +adrift. You see at least I am honest, and since I have not +your confidence, I decline your compassion and espionage, and +refuse to accept a sham friendship,—to trust myself upon +a gossamer web that stretches across a dismal gulf of gloom, +and wretchedness, and endless altercation. When I am in one +continent, and you are in another, we shall be better friends +than now.”</p> +<p>Her cold, slow, measured accents, and the calm pallor of +her features told how complete was the change that had set +its stern seal on body and soul; and Dr. Grey’s heart ached, +as he realized how withering was the blight that had fallen +on her once buoyant, sanguine nature.</p> +<p>“My dear Salome, for Janet’s sake, and in memory of all +her love and counsel, let me beg you not to indulge feelings +that can only result in utter—”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, let there be silence and peace between us, at +least in the presence of the dead. Expostulation from your +lips only exasperates and hardens me; so pray be quiet. No! +do not touch me! Our hands have not clasped each other +so often nor so closely that they must needs miss the warmth +and pressure in the coming years of separation, and I will not +soil your palm with mine.”</p> +<p>She coldly put aside the hand that endeavored to take hers, +and, after one long, sad gaze at the marble face in the coffin, +turned away, and went back to her own room.</p> +<p>Miss Jane’s charities had carried her name even to the +secluded nooks of the county, and, when her death was announced, +many humble beneficiaries of her bounty came to +offer the last testimonial of respect and gratitude, by following +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_306' name='page_306'></a>306</span> +the remains to their final resting-place. As the hour +approached for the solemn rites, the house was filled with +friends and acquaintances; and the members of the profession +to which Dr. Grey belonged came to attend the funeral, and +officiate as pall-bearers.</p> +<p>Seated beside Dr. Grey, on one of the sofas, Salome’s dry +eyes noted all that passed while the services were performed; +and, when the hearse moved down the avenue, she took his +offered arm, and was placed in the same carriage.</p> +<p>It was a long, dreary drive to the distant cemetery, and +she was relieved to some extent when they found themselves +at the family vault. Miss Jane had always desired to be +buried under the slab that covered her brother, and had +directed a space left for that purpose. Now the marble was +removed, and the coffins of Jane and Enoch Grey rested side +by side. The voice of the minister ceased, and only little +Stanley’s sobs broke that mournful silence which always ensues +while spade or trowel does its sad work. Then the +sculptured slab was replaced, and brother and sister were left +to that blessed repose which is granted only to the faithful +when “He giveth His beloved sleep.”</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Write, ‘Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord,<br /> +Because they rest,’ ... because their toil is o’er.<br /> +The voice of weeping shall be heard no more<br /> +In the Eternal City. Neither dying<br /> +Nor sickness, pain nor sorrow, neither crying,<br /> +For God shall wipe away all tears. Rest,—rest.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>In the death of his sister, Dr. Grey mourned the loss of +the only mother he had ever known, for his earliest recollections +were of Miss Jane’s tender care and love, and his affection +was rather that of a devoted son than brother; consequently, +the blow was doubly painful: but he bore it with a +silent fortitude, a grave and truly Christian resignation, that +left an indelible impression upon the minds of Miss Dexter +and Muriel, and taught them the value of a faith that could +bring repose and trust in the midst of a trial so severe.</p> +<p>His continued vigils at “Solitude,” and the profound grief +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_307' name='page_307'></a>307</span> +that could not find vent in tears or words, had printed characters +on his pale, wearied face, that should have commanded +the sympathy of all who shared his friendship; but the sight +of his worn features and the sound of his slow step only +embittered the heart of the orphan, who saw in these evidences +of fatigue and anxiety new manifestations of affection +for the patient who was not yet entirely beyond danger.</p> +<p>Four days after the funeral, Dr. Grey came in to breakfast +later than usual, having driven over very early to “Solitude;” +and, as he seated himself at the table and received +from Muriel’s hand a cup of coffee, he leaned forward and +kissed her rosy cheek.</p> +<p>“Thank you, my child. You are very kind to wait for +me.”</p> +<p>“How is that poor Mrs. Gerome? Will she never be well +enough to dispense with your services?”</p> +<p>Once, Salome would have answered, “He hopes not;” +but now she merely turned her head a little, to catch his +reply.</p> +<p>“She is better to-day than I feared I should find her, as +some alarming symptoms threatened her yesterday; but now +I think I can safely say the danger has entirely passed.”</p> +<p>Muriel hung over the back of his chair, pressing him to +try several dishes that she pronounced excellent, but he +gently refused all except the coffee; and, when he had pushed +aside the empty cup, he drew the face of his ward close to +his own, and murmured a few words that deepened the glow +on her fair cheeks, while she hastily left the room to read a +letter.</p> +<p>For some moments he sat with his head resting on his +hand, thinking of the dear old face that usually watched +him from the corner of the fire-place, and of the kind words +that were showered on him while he breakfasted; but to-day +the faded lips were frozen forever, and the dim eyes would +never again brighten at his approach.</p> +<p>He sighed, brushed back the hair that clustered in glossy +brown rings on his forehead, and rose.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_308' name='page_308'></a>308</span></div> +<p>“Salome, if you are not particularly engaged this morning, +I should be glad to see you in the library.”</p> +<p>“At what hour?”</p> +<p>“Immediately, if you are at leisure.”</p> +<p>The orphan put aside the fold of crape which she was converting +into a collar, and inclined her head slightly.</p> +<p>Since that brief and painful interview held beside Miss +Jane’s coffin, not a syllable had passed between them, and +the girl shrank with a vague, shivering dread from the impending +<i>tęte-ŕ-tęte</i>.</p> +<p>Silently she followed the master of the house into the +library, where Dr. Grey drew two chairs to the table, and, +when she had seated herself in one, he took possession of the +other.</p> +<p>Opening a drawer, he selected several papers from a mass +of what appeared to be legal documents, and spread them +before her.</p> +<p>“I wish to acquaint you with the contents of my sister’s +will, which I examined last night. Will you read it, or shall +I briefly state her wishes?”</p> +<p>“Tell me what you wish me to know.”</p> +<p>She swept the papers into a pile, and pushed them away.</p> +<p>“Have you ever read a will?”</p> +<p>“No, sir.”</p> +<p>She leaned her elbows on the table, and rested her face in +her hands.</p> +<p>“All these pages amount simply to this,—dear Jane made +her will immediately after my return from Europe, and its +provisions are: that this place, with house, land, furniture, +and stock, shall be given to and settled upon you; and moreover +that, for the ensuing five years, you shall receive every +January the sum of one thousand dollars. Until the expiration +of that period, she desired that I should act as your +guardian. By reference to the date and signature of these +papers, you will find that this will was made as soon as she +was able to sit up, after her illness produced by pneumonia; +but appended to the original is a codicil stating that the validity +of the distribution of her estate, contained in the former +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_309' name='page_309'></a>309</span> +instrument, is contingent upon your conduct. Feeling most +earnestly opposed to your contemplated scheme of going upon +the stage as a <i>prima donna</i>, she solemnly declares, that, if +you persist in carrying your decision into execution, the foregoing +provisions shall be cancelled, and the house, land, and +furniture shall be given to Jessie and Stanley; while only one +thousand dollars is set apart as your portion. This codicil +was signed one month ago.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey glanced over the sheets of paper, and refolded +them, allowing his companion time for reflection and comment, +but she remained silent, and he added,—</p> +<p>“However your views may differ from those entertained by +my sister, I hope you will not permit yourself to doubt that a +sincere desire to promote your life-long happiness prompted +the course she has pursued.”</p> +<p>Five minutes elapsed, and the orphan sat mute and still.</p> +<p>“Salome, are you disappointed? My dear friend, deal +frankly with me.”</p> +<p>She lifted her pale, quiet face, and, for the first time in +many weeks, he saw unshed tears shining in her eyes, and +glittering on her lashes.</p> +<p>“I should be glad to know whether Miss Jane consulted +you, in the preparation of her will?”</p> +<p>“She conferred with me concerning the will, and I cordially +approved it; but of the codicil I knew nothing, until her +lawyer—Mr. Lindsay—called my attention to it yesterday +afternoon.”</p> +<p>“You are very generous, Dr. Grey, and no one but you +would willingly divide your sister’s estate with paupers, who +have so long imposed upon her bounty. I had no expectation +that Miss Jane would so munificently remember me, and I +have not deserved the kindness which she has lavished on <ins title='Changed from period'>me,</ins> +for Jessie and Stanley I gratefully accept her noble gift, and +it will place them far beyond the possibility of want; while +the only regret of which I am conscious, is, that I feel compelled +to pursue a career, which my best, my only friend +disapproved. In the name of poor little Jessie and Stanley, I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_310' name='page_310'></a>310</span> +thank you, sir, for consenting to such a generous bequest of +property that is justly yours. You, who—”</p> +<p>“Pray do not mention the matter, for independent of the +large legacy left me by my sister, my own fortune is so ample +that I deserve no thanks for willingly sharing that which I +do not need. My little sister, you must not rashly decide a +question which involves your future welfare, and I can not +and will not hear your views at present. Take one week for +calm deliberation, weigh the matter prayerfully and thoughtfully, +and at the expiration of that time, meet me here, and +I will accept your decision.”</p> +<p>She shook her head, and a dreary smile passed swiftly over +her passionless face.</p> +<p>“Twenty years of reflection would not alter, or in any +degree bend my determination, which is as firmly fixed as +the base of the Blue-Ridge; and—”</p> +<p>“Pardon me, Salome, but, until the week has elapsed, I do +not wish or intend to receive your verdict. Before this day +week, recollect all the reasons which dear Janet urged against +your scheme; recall the pain she suffered from the bare contemplation +of such a possibility, and her tender pleadings and +wise counsel. Ah, Salome, you are young and impulsive, but +I trust you will not close your ears against your brother’s +earnest protest and appeal. If I were not sincerely attached +to you, I should not so persistently oppose your favorite +plan, which is fraught with perils and annoyances that you +can not now realize. Hush! I will not listen to you to-day.”</p> +<p>He rose, and laying his hands softly on her head, added, in +a solemn but tremulously tender tone,—</p> +<p>“And may God in His infinite wisdom and mercy overrule +all things for your temporal and eternal welfare, and so +guide your decision, that peace and usefulness will be your +portion, now and forever.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_311' name='page_311'></a>311</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV' id='CHAPTER_XXIV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Yes, Dr. Grey, I am better than I ever expected or desired +to be in this world.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, this is scarcely the recompense that my +anxious vigilance and ceaseless exertions merit at your hands.”</p> +<p>The invalid leaned far back in her cushioned easy-chair, +and, as the physician rested his arm on the mantelpiece and +looked down at her, he thought of the lines that had more +than once recurred to his mind, since the commencement of +their acquaintance,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“What finely carven features! Yes, but carved<br /> +From some clear stuff, not like a woman’s flesh,<br /> +And colored like half-faded, white-rose leaves.<br /> +’Tis all too thin, and wan, and wanting blood,<br /> +To take my taste. No fulness, and no flush!<br /> +A watery half-moon in a wintry sky<br /> +Looks less uncomfortably cold. And ... well,<br /> +I never in the eyes of a sane woman<br /> +Saw such a strange, unsatisfied regard.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“I suppose I ought to be grateful to you, Dr. Grey, for +Katie and Robert have told me how patiently and carefully +you nursed and watched over me, during my illness; but instead +of gratitude, I find it difficult to forgive you for what +you have done. You fanned into a flame the spark of life +that was smouldering and expiring, and baffled the disease +that came to me as the handmaid of Mercy. Death, transformed +into an angel of pity, kindly opened the door of escape +from the woe and weariness of this sin-cursed world, into the +calmness and dreamless rest of the vast shoreless Beyond; +and just when I was passing through, you snatched me back +to my burdens and my bitter lot. I know, of course, that +you intended only kindness, but you must not blame me if I +fail to thank you.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_312' name='page_312'></a>312</span></div> +<p>“You forget that life is intended as a season of fiery probation, +and that without suffering there is no purification, and +no reward. Remember, ‘Calm is not life’s crown, though calm +is well;’ and those who forego the pain must forego the +palm.”</p> +<p>“I would gladly forego all things for a rest,—a sleep that +could know no end. Katie tells me I have been ill a month, +and from this brief season of oblivion you have dragged me +back to the existence that I abhor. Dr. Grey, I feel to-day as +poor Maurice de Guérin felt, when he wrote from Le Val, +‘My fate has knocked at the door to recall me; for she had +not gone on her way, but had seated herself upon the threshold, +waiting until I had recovered sufficient strength to resume +my journey. “Thou hast tarried long enough,” said +she to me; “come forward!” And she has taken me by the +hand, and behold her again on the march, like those poor +women one meets on the road, leading a child who follows +with a sorrowful <ins title='Added period'>air.’”</ins></p> +<p>“There is a better guide provided, if you would only accept +and yield to his ministrations. For the flint-faced fate that +you accuse so virulently, substitute that tender and loving +guardian the Angel of Patience.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘To weary hearts, to mourning homes,<br /> +God’s meekest Angel gently comes.<br /> +<span class="indent2 dotwide"> . . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> +There’s quiet in that Angel’s glance,<br /> +There’s rest in his still countenance!<br /> +<span class="indent2 dotwide"> . . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> +The ills and woes he may not cure<br /> +He kindly trains us to endure.<br /> +<span class="indent2 dotwide"> . . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> +He walks with thee, that Angel kind,<br /> +And gently whispers, ‘Be resigned.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>A moment since, you quoted De Guérin, and perhaps you may +recollect one of his declarations, ‘I have no shelter but resignation, +and I run to it in great haste, all trembling and distracted. +Resignation! It is the burrow hollowed in the cleft +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_313' name='page_313'></a>313</span> +of some rock, which gives shelter to the flying and long-hunted +prey.’ You will never find peace for your heart and +soul until you bring your will into complete subjection to that +of Him ‘who doeth all things well.’ Defiance and rebellious +struggles only aggravate your sorrows and trials.”</p> +<p>She listened to the deep, quiet voice, as some unlettered +savage might hearken to the rhythmic music of Homer, +soothed by the tones, yet incapable of comprehending their +import; and as she looked up at the grave, kingly face, her +eyes fell upon the broad band of crape that encircled his +straw hat, which had been hastily placed on the mantelpiece.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, you ought to speak advisedly, for Robert told +me that you had recently lost your sister, and that you are +now alone in the world. You, who have severe afflictions, +should know how far resignation lightens them. I was much +pained to learn that your sister died while you were absent,—while +you were sitting up with me. Ah, sir! you ought to have +watched her, and left me to my release. You have been very +kind and considerate toward one who has no claim upon +aught but your pity; and I would gladly lie down in your +sister’s grave, and give her back to your heart and home.”</p> +<p>Her countenance softened for an instant, and she held out +her hand. He took the delicate fingers in his, and pressed +them gently.</p> +<p>“God grant that your life may be spared, until all doubt +and bitterness is removed from your heart, and that when you +go down into the grave it may be as bright with the blessed +faith of a Christian as that which now contains my sister +Janet. Do not allow the gloom of earthly disappointment to +cloud your trust, but bear always in mind those cheering +words of Saadi,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Says God, “Who comes towards me an inch through doubtings dim,<br /> +In blazing light I do approach a yard towards him.”’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“If I am to be kept in this world until all the bitterness is +scourged out of me, I might as well resign myself to a career +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_314' name='page_314'></a>314</span> +as endless as that of Ahasuerus. I tell you, sir, I have been +forced to drink out of quassia-cups until my whole being has +imbibed the bitter; and I am like that tree to which Firdousi +compared Mahmoud, ‘Whose nature is so bitter, that were you +to plant it in the garden of Eden, and water it with the ambrosial +stream of Paradise, and were you to enrich its roots +with virgin honey, it would, after all, discover its innate disposition, +and only yield the acrid fruit it had ever borne.’”</p> +<p>“What right have you to expect that existence should prove +one continued gala-season? When Christ went down meekly +into Gethsemane, that such as you and I might win a place in +the Eternal City, how dare you demand exemption from grief +and pain, that Jesus, your God, did not spare Himself? Are +you purer than Christ, and wiser than the Almighty, that +you impiously deride and question their code for the government +of the Universe, in which individual lives seem trivial +as the sands of the desert, or the leaves of the forest? Oh! it +is pitiable, indeed, to see some worm writhing in the dust, and +blasphemously dictating laws to Him who swung suns and +asterisms in space, and breathed into its own feeble fragment +of clay the spark that enabled it to insult its God. Put away +such unwomanly scoffing,—such irreverent puerilities; sweep +your soul clean of all such wretched rubbish, and when you +feel tempted to repine at your lot, recollect the noble admonition +of Dschelaleddin, ‘If this world were our abiding-place, +we might complain that it makes our bed so hard; but it is +only our night-quarters on a journey, and who can expect +home <ins title='Adding quote'>comforts?’”</ins></p> +<p>“I can not feel resigned to my lot. It is too hard,—too +unjust.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, are you more just and prescient than +Jehovah?”</p> +<p>She passed her thin hand across her face, and was silent, +for his voice and manner awed her. After a little while, she +sat erect in her chair, and tried to rise.</p> +<p>“Doctor, if you could look down into the gray ruins of my +heart, you would not reprove me so harshly. My whole being +seems in some cold eclipse, and my soul is like the Sistine +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_315' name='page_315'></a>315</span> +Chapel in Passion-week, where all is shrouded in shadow, and +no sounds are heard but Misereres and Tenebræ.”</p> +<p>“Promise me that in future you will try to keep it like +that Christian temple, pure and inviolate from all imprecations +and rebellious words. If gloom there must be, see to it +that resignation seals your lips. What are you trying to do? +You are not strong enough to walk alone.”</p> +<p>“I want to go into the parlor,—I want my piano. Yesterday +I attempted to cross the room, and only Katie’s presence +saved me from a severe fall.”</p> +<p>She stood by her chair, grasping the carved back, and Dr. +Grey stepped forward, and drew her arm under his.</p> +<p>In her great weakness she leaned upon him, and when they +reached the parlor door, she paused and almost panted.</p> +<p>“You must not attempt to play,—you are too feeble even +to sit up longer. Let me take you back to your room.”</p> +<p>“No,—no! Let me alone. I know best what is good for +me; and I tell you my piano is my only Paraclete.”</p> +<p>Holding his arm for support, she drew a chair instead of +the piano-stool to the instrument, and seated herself.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey raised the lid, and waited some seconds, expecting +her to play, but she sat still and mute, and presently he +stooped to catch a glimpse of her countenance.</p> +<p>“I want to see Elsie’s grave. Open the blinds.”</p> +<p>He threw open the shutters, and came back to the piano.</p> +<p>Through the window, the group of deodars was visible, and +there, bathed in the mild yellow sunshine was the mound, and +the faded wreath swinging in the breeze.</p> +<p>For many minutes Mrs. Gerome gazed at the quiet spot +where her nurse rested, and with her eyes still on the grave, +her fingers struck into Chopin’s Funeral March.</p> +<p>After a while, Dr. Grey noticed a slight quiver cross her +pale lips, and when the mournful music reached its saddest +chords, a mist veiled the steely eyes, and very soon tears rolled +slowly down her cheeks.</p> +<p>The march ended, she did not pause, but began Mozart’s +Requiem, and all the while that slow rain of tears dripped +down on her white fingers, and splashed upon the ivory keys.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_316' name='page_316'></a>316</span></div> +<p>Dr. Grey was so rejoiced at the breaking up of the ice that +had long frozen the fountain of her tears, that he made no +attempt to interrupt her, until he saw that she tottered in +her chair. Taking her hands from the piano, he said +gently,—</p> +<p>“You are quite exhausted, and I can not permit this to +continue. Come back to your room.”</p> +<p>“No; let me stay here. Put me on the sofa in the oriel, and +leave the blinds open.”</p> +<p>He lifted her from the chair and led her to the sofa, where +she sank heavily down upon the cushions.</p> +<p>Without comment or resistance, she drank a glass of strong +cordial which he held to her lips, and lay with her eyes closed, +while tears still trickled through the long jet lashes.</p> +<p>She wore a robe of white merino, and a rich blue shawl of +the same soft material which was folded across her shoulders, +made the wan face look like some marble seraph’s, hovering +over an altar where violet light streams through stained glass.</p> +<p>For some time Dr. Grey walked up and down the long room, +glancing now and then at his patient, and when he saw that +the tears had ceased, he brought from a basket in the hall an +exquisitely beautiful and fragrant bouquet of the flowers +which he knew she loved best,—heliotrope, violets, tube-rose, +and Grand-Duke jessamine, fringed daintily with spicy geranium +leaves, and scarlet fuchsias.</p> +<p>Silently he placed it on her folded hands, and the expression +of surprise and pleasure that suddenly lighted her countenance, +amply repaid him.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, it has been my wish to <ins title='Original word retained'>except</ins> services from no +one,—to owe no human being thanks; but your unvarying +kindness to my poor Elsie and to me, imposes a debt of gratitude +that I can not easily liquidate. I fear you are destined +to bankrupt me, for how can I hope to repay all your thoughtful, +delicate care, and generous interest in a stranger? Tell +me in what way I can adequately requite you.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey drew a chair close to the sofa, and answered,—</p> +<p>“Take care lest your zeal prove the contrary, for you know +a distinguished philosopher asserts that, ‘Too great eagerness +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_317' name='page_317'></a>317</span> +to requite an obligation is a species of ingratitude;’ and such +an accusation would be unflattering to you, and unpleasant +to me.”</p> +<p>Turning the bouquet around in order to examine and admire +each flower, Mrs. Gerome toyed with the velvet bells, and +said, sorrowfully,—</p> +<p>“Their delicious perfume always reminds me of my beautiful +home near Funchal, where heliotrope and geraniums grew +so tall that they looked in at my window, and hedges of fuchsias +bordered my garden walks. Never have I seen elsewhere +such profusion and perfection of flowers.”</p> +<p>“When were you in Madeira?”</p> +<p>“Two years ago. The villa I occupied was situated on the +side of a mountain, whose base was covered with vineyards; +and from a grove of lemon and oleanders that stood in front +of the house I could see the surging Atlantic at my feet, and +the crest of the mountain clothed with chestnuts, high above +and behind me. In one corner of my vineyard stood a solitary +palm, which tradition asserted was planted when Zarco discovered +the island; and the groves of orange, citron, and pomegranate +trees were always peopled with humming-birds, and +flocks of green canaries. There, surrounded by grand and +picturesque scenery of which I never wearied, I resolved to +live and die; but Elsie’s desire to return to America, which +held the ashes of her husband and child, overruled my inclination +and the dictates of judgment, and reluctantly I +left my mountain Eden and came here. Now, when I smell +violets and heliotrope, regret mingles with their aroma; and, +after all, the sacrifice was in vain, and Elsie would have slept +as calmly there, under palm and chestnut, as yonder, where +the deodar-shadows fall.”</p> +<p>“Is your life here a faithful transcript of that portion of it +passed at Funchal?”</p> +<p>“Yes; except that there I saw no human being but the +servants, who transacted any business that demanded interviews +with the consul.”</p> +<p>“It was fortunate that Elsie’s wise counsel prevailed over +your caprice, for many of your griefs proceed from the complete +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_318' name='page_318'></a>318</span> +isolation to which you so strangely doom yourself; and +until you become a useful member of that society you are so +fully fitted to adorn and elevate, you need not hope or expect +the peace of mind that results only from the consciousness of +having nobly discharged the sacred obligations to God, and +to your race. ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens,’ was the solemn +admonition of Him who sublimely bore the burdens of an entire +world. Now tell me, have you ever stretched out a finger +to aid the toiling multitudes whose cry for help wails over +even the most prosperous lands? What have you done to +strengthen trembling hands, or comfort and gladden oppressed +hearts? How dare you hoard within your own home +the treasure of fortune, talent, and sympathy, which were +temporarily entrusted to your hands, to be sown broadcast in +noble charities,—to be judiciously invested in promoting the +cause of Truth in the fierce war Evil wages against it? +Hitherto you have lived solely for yourself, which is a sin +against humanity; and have pampered a morbid and rebellious +spirit, that is a <ins title='Original spelling'>grevious</ins> sin against your God. Shake off +your lethargy and cynicism, and let a busy future redeem a +vagrant and worthless past. ‘<i>He that goeth forth and weepeth, +bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, +bringing his sheaves with him.</i>’”</p> +<p>The flowers dropped on her bosom, and, clasping her hands +across her forehead, she turned her face towards the sea, and +seemed pondering his words.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, my purse has always been open to the needy, +and Elsie was my almoner. Whenever you find a destitute +family, or hear an appeal for help, I shall gladly respond, and +constitute you the agent for the distribution of my charity-fund. +As for bearing the sorrows of others, pray excuse me. +I am so weighed down with my own burdens that I have no +strength or leisure to spare to my neighbors, and since I ask +no aid, must not be censured for rendering none. It is utterly +useless to urge me to enter society, for like that sad +pilgrim in Brittany, ‘In losing solitude I lose the half of my +soul. I go out into the world with a secret horror. When I +withdraw, I gather together and lock up my scattered treasure, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_319' name='page_319'></a>319</span> +but I put away my ideas sorely handled, like fruits fallen from +the tree upon stones.’ No, no; in seclusion I find the only +modicum of peace that earth can ever yield me, and can +readily understand why Chateaubriand avoided those crowds +which he denominated, ‘The vast desert of men.’”</p> +<p>“You must not be offended, if, in reply, I remind you of +the rude but vigorous words of that prince of cynics, Schopenhauer, +‘Society is a fire at which the wise man from a prudent +distance warms himself; not plunging into it, like the fool +who after getting well blistered, rushes into the coldness of +solitude, and complains that the fire burns.’ Of the two evils, +reckless dissipation and gloomy isolation, the latter is probably +an economy of sin; but since neither is inevitable, we +should all endeavor to render ourselves useful members of +society, and unfurl over our circle the banner of St. Paul, +‘Use this world as not abusing it.’ Mrs. Gerome, do not obstinately +mar the present and future, by brooding bitterly +over the trials of the past; but try to believe that, indeed,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘Sorrows humanize our race;</p> +<p class='cg'>Tears are the showers that fertilize this world.<br /> +And memory of things precious keepeth warm<br /> +The heart that once did hold them.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>He watched her eagerly yet gravely, hoping that her face +would soften; but she raised her hand with a proud, impatient +motion.</p> +<p>“You talk at random, concerning matters of which you +know nothing. I hate the world and have abjured it, and you +might as well go down yonder and harangue the ocean on the +sin of its ceaseless muttering, as expect to remodel my aimless, +blank life.”</p> +<p>Pained and disappointed, he remained silent, and, as if +conscious of a want of courtesy, she added,—</p> +<p>“Do not allow your generous heart to be disquieted on my +account, but leave me to a fate which can not be changed,—which +I have endured seven years, and must bear to my grave. +Now that you see how desolate I am, pity me, and be silent.”</p> +<p>“It will be difficult for you to regain your strength here, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_320' name='page_320'></a>320</span> +where so many mournful associations surround you, and I +came to-day to beg you to take a trip somewhere, by sea or +land. Almost any change of scene and air will materially +benefit you, and you need not be absent more than a few weeks. +Will you take the matter under consideration?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; why should I? Can hills or waves, dells or +lakes, cure a mind which you assure me is diseased? Can sea +breeze or mountain air fan out recollections that have jaundiced +the heart, or furnish an opiate that will effectually +deaden and quiet regret? I long ago tried your remedy—travelling, +and for four years I wandered up and down, and +over the face of the old world; but amid the crumbling +columns of Persepolis, I was still Agla Gerome, the wretched; +and when I stood on the margin of the Lake of Wan, I saw in +its waves the reflection of the same hopeless woman who now +lies before you. Change of external surroundings is futile, +and no more affects the soul than the roar of surface-surf +changes the hollow of an ocean bed where the dead sleep; +and, verily,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘My heart is a drear Golgotha, where all the ground is white<br /> +With the wrecks of joys that have perished,—the skeletons of delight.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>He saw that in her present mood expostulation would only +aggravate the evil he longed to correct, and hoping to divert +the current of her thoughts, he said,—</p> +<p>“I trust you will not deem me impertinently curious if I +ask what singular freak bestowed upon you the name of +‘Agla’?”</p> +<p>A startling change swept over her features, and her tone +was haughtily challenging.</p> +<p>“What interest can Dr. Grey find in a matter so trivial? If +I were named Hecate or Persephone, would the world have a +right to demur, to complain, or to criticise?”</p> +<p>“When a lady bears the mystic name, which, in past ages, +was given to the Deity, by a race who, if superstitious, were +at least devout and reverent, she should not be surprised if it +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_321' name='page_321'></a>321</span> +excites wonder and comment. Forgive me, however, if my inquiry +annoyed you.”</p> +<p>He rose and took his hat, but her hand caught his arm.</p> +<p>“Do you know the import of the word?”</p> +<p>“Yes; I understand the significance of the letters, and the +wonderful power attributed to them when arranged in the +triangles and called the ‘Shield of David.’ Knowing that it +was considered talismanic, I could not imagine why you were +christened with so mystical a name.”</p> +<p>“I was never christened.”</p> +<p>He could not explain the confusion and displeasure which +the question excited, and anxious to relieve her of any feeling +of annoyance, he added,—</p> +<p>“Have you ever looked into the nature of the <i>Aglaophotis</i>?”</p> +<p>She struggled up from her cushions, and exclaimed, with a +vehemence that startled him,—</p> +<p>“What induced you to examine it? I know that it is a +strange plant, growing out of solid marble, and accounted a +charm by Arab magicians. Well, Dr. Grey, do not I belong +to that species? You see before you a human specimen of +<i>Aglaophotis</i>, growing out of a marble heart.”</p> +<p>Sometimes an exaggerated whimsicality trenches so closely +upon insanity, that it is difficult to discriminate between +them; and, as Dr. Grey noted the peculiarly cold glitter of +her large eyes, and the restless movement of her usually quiet +hands, he dreaded that the crushing weight on her heart +would ultimately impair her mind. Now he abruptly changed +the topic.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, whenever it is agreeable to you to drive +down the beach or across the woods and among the hills, it +will afford me much pleasure to place my horse, buggy, and +myself at your disposal; and, in fine weather like this, a drive +of a few miles would invigorate you.”</p> +<p>“Thank you. I shall not trouble you, for I have my low-swung +easy carriage, and my grays—my fatal grays. Ah if +they would only serve me as they did my poor Elsie! When +I am strong enough to take the reins, I will allow them an +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_322' name='page_322'></a>322</span> +opportunity. Dr. Grey, if I seem rude, forgive me. You are +very kind and singularly patient, and sometimes when you +have left me, I feel ashamed of my inability to prove my +sincere appreciation of your goodness. For these beautiful +flowers, I thank you cordially.”</p> +<p>She held out her hand, and, as he accepted it, he drew from +his pocket the silver key which he had so carefully preserved.</p> +<p>“Accident made me the custodian of this key, which I +found on the floor the day of Elsie’s burial. Knowing that it +belonged to your escritoire, whence I saw you take it, I +thought it best not to commit it to a servant’s care, and have +kept it in my pocket until I thought you might need it.”</p> +<p>Although the room was growing dim, he detected the expression +of dread that crossed her countenance, and saw her +bite her thin lip with vexation.</p> +<p>“You have worn for one month the key of my desk, where +lie all my papers and records; and when I was so desperately +ill, I presume you looked into the drawers, merely to ascertain +whether I had prepared my will?”</p> +<p>The mockery of her tone stung him keenly, but he allowed +no evidence of the wound to escape him. Bending over her as +she sat partially erect, supported by cushions, he took her +white face tenderly in his hands, and said, very calmly and +gently,—</p> +<p>“When you know me better, you will realize how groundless +is your apprehension that I have penetrated into the recesses +of your writing-desk. Knowing that it contained valuable +papers, I guarded it as jealously as you could have done; and, +upon the honor of a gentleman, I assure you I am as ignorant +of its contents as if I had never entered the house. When I +consider it essential to my peace of mind to become acquainted +with your antecedents, I shall come to you and ask what I +desire to learn. While you were so ill, I told Robert that your +friends should be notified of your imminent danger, and inquired +of him whether you had made a will, as I deemed it +my duty to inform your agent of your alarming condition. +He either could not or would not give me any satisfactory +reply, and there the matter ended. When I am gone, do not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_323' name='page_323'></a>323</span> +reproach yourself for having so unjustly impugned my +motives, for I shall not allow myself to believe that you really +entertain so contemptible an opinion of me; and shall ascribe +your hasty accusation to mere momentary chagrin and pique.”</p> +<p>“Ah, sir! you ought not to wonder that I am so suspicious; +you—but how can you understand the grounds of my distrust, +unless—”</p> +<p>“Hush! We will not discuss a matter which can only excite +and annoy you. Mrs. Gerome, under all circumstances +you may unhesitatingly trust me, and I beg to assure you I +shall never divulge anything confided to me. You need a +friend, and perhaps some day you may consider me worthy to +serve you in that capacity; meantime, as your physician, I +shall continue to watch over and control you. To-day you +have cruelly overtasked your exhausted system, and I can +not permit you to remain here any longer. Come immediately +to your own room.”</p> +<p>His manner was so quietly authoritative that she obeyed +instantly, and when he lifted her from the sofa, she took his +arm, and walked towards the door. Before they had crossed +the hall, he felt her reel and lean more heavily against him, +and silently he took the thin form in his arms, and carried +her to her room.</p> +<p>The gray head was on his shoulder, and the cold marble +cheek touched his, as he laid her softly down on her bed and +arranged her pillows. He rang for Katie, and, in crossing +the floor, stepped on something hard. It was too dusky in +the closely curtained apartment to see any object so small, +but he swept his hand across the carpet and picked up the +key that had slipped from her nerveless fingers. Placing it +beside her, he smiled and said,—</p> +<p>“You are incorrigibly careless. Are you not afraid to tax +my curiosity so severely, and tempt me so pertinaciously, by +strewing your keys in my path? The next time I pick up +this one, which belongs to your escritoire, I shall engage some +one to act as your guardian. Katie, be sure she takes that +tonic mixture three times a day. Good-night.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_324' name='page_324'></a>324</span></div> +<p>When the sound of his retreating footsteps died away, Mrs. +Gerome thrust the key under her pillow, and murmured,—</p> +<p>“I wonder whether this Ulpian can be as true, as trusty, as +nobly fearless as his grand old Roman namesake, whom not +even the purple of Severus could save from martyrdom? Ah! +if Ulpian Grey is really all that he appears. But how dare I +hope, much less believe it? Verily, he reminds me of Madame +de Chatenay’s description of Joubert, ‘He seems to be a soul +that by accident had met with a body, and tried to make the +best of it.’”</p> +<p>“Did you speak to me, ma’am?” asked Katie, who was +bustling about, preparing to light the lamp.</p> +<p>“No. The room is like a tomb. Open the blinds and loop +back all the curtains, so that I can look out.”</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“And the sunset paled, and warmed once more<br /> +With a softer, tenderer after-glow;<br /> +In the east was moon-rise, with boats off-shore<br /> +And sails in the distance drifting slow.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXV' id='CHAPTER_XXV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Doctor Grey, sister says she wants to see you, before you +go to town.”</p> +<p>Jessie Owen came softly up to the table where Dr. Grey sat +writing, and stood with her hand on his knee.</p> +<p>“Very well. Tell sister I will come to her as soon as I +finish this letter. Where is she?”</p> +<p>“In the library.”</p> +<p>“In ten minutes I shall be at leisure.”</p> +<p>He found Salome with a piece of sewing in her hand, and +her young sister leaning on her lap, chattering merrily about +a nest full of eggs which she and Stanley had found that +morning in a corner of the orchard; while the latter swung on +the back of her chair, winding over his finger a short curl +that lay on her neck. It was a pleasant, peaceful, homelike +picture, worthy of Eastman Johnson’s brush, and for thirty +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_325' name='page_325'></a>325</span> +years such a group had not been seen in that quiet old library.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey paused at the threshold, to admire the graceful +pose of Jessie’s fairy figure,—the lazy nonchalance of Stanley’s +posture,—and the finely shaped head that rose above both, +like some stately lily, surrounded by clustering croci; but +Salome was listening for his footsteps, and turned her head at +his entrance.</p> +<p>“Stanley, take Jessie up to my room, and show her your +Chinese puzzle. When I want either or both of you, I will +call you. Close the door after you, and mind that you do +not get to romping, and shake the house down.”</p> +<p>“How very pretty Jessie has grown during the last year. +Her complexion has lost its muddy tinge, and is almost +waxen,” said the doctor, when the children had left the room +and scampered up stairs.</p> +<p>“She is a very sweet-tempered and affectionate little thing, +but I never considered her pretty. She is too much like her +father.”</p> +<p>“Salome, death veils all blemishes.”</p> +<p>“That depends very much on the character of the survivors; +but we will not discuss abstract propositions,—especially +since I have resolved to follow the old oriental maxim,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Leave ancestry behind, despise heraldic art,<br /> +Thy father be thy mind, thy mother be thy heart.<br /> +Dead names concern not thee, bid foreign titles wait;<br /> +Thy deeds thy pedigree, thy hopes thy rich estate!’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey, the week has ended, and I took the liberty of reminding +you of the fact, as I am anxious to acquaint you +with my purposes for the future.”</p> +<p>He drew a chair near hers, and seated himself.</p> +<p>“Well, Salome, I hope that reflection has changed your +views, and taught you the wisdom of my sister’s course with +reference to yourself.”</p> +<p>“On the contrary, the season of deliberation you forced +upon me has only strengthened and intensified my desire +to carry into execution the project I have so long dreamed of; +and to-day I am more than ever firmly resolved to follow, at +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_326' name='page_326'></a>326</span> +all hazards, the dictates of my own judgment, no matter +with whose opinions or wishes they may conflict.”</p> +<p>She expected that he would expostulate, and plead against +her decision, but he merely bowed, and remained silent.</p> +<p>“My object in asking this interview was to ascertain how +soon it would be convenient for you to place in my hands the +legacy of one thousand dollars which was bequeathed to me on +condition that I went upon the stage; and also to inquire +what you intend to do with the children, of whom Miss Jane’s +will constitutes you the guardian?”</p> +<p>“You wish me to understand that you are determined to +defy the wishes of your best friend, and take a step which +distressed her beyond expression?”</p> +<p>“I shall certainly go upon the stage.”</p> +<p>“I have no alternative but to accept your decision, which +you are well aware I regard as exceedingly deplorable. The +money can be paid to you to-morrow, if you desire it. Hoping +that you would abandon this freak, I had intended to keep +the children here, under your supervision, while I removed to +my house in town, and left their tuition to Miss Dexter; but +since you have decided otherwise, I shall remain here for the +present, keeping them with me, at least until after Muriel’s +marriage. The income from this farm averages two thousand +dollars a year, and will not only amply provide for their +wants and education, but will enable me to lay aside annually +a portion of that amount. When Muriel marries, Miss Dexter +may not be willing to remain here, and if she leaves us I +shall endeavor to find as worthy and reliable a substitute. +Have you any objection to this arrangement?”</p> +<p>“I have no right to utter any, since you are the legal guardian +of the children. But contingencies might arise for which +it seems you have not provided.”</p> +<p>“What do you mean?”</p> +<p>“I mean that I can trust Jessie and Stanley to you, but +when you are married I prefer that they should find another +home; or, if need be, Jessie can come to me.”</p> +<p>An angry flush dyed Dr. Grey’s olive face, and kindled a +fiery gleam in his usually mild, clear, blue eyes, but looking at +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_327' name='page_327'></a>327</span> +the girl’s compressed and trembling lips, and noting the underlying +misery which her defiant expression could not cover, +his displeasure gave place to profound compassion.</p> +<p>“Salome, dismiss that cause of anxiety from your mind, +and trust the assurance I offer you now,—that when I marry, +my wife will be worthy to assist me in guiding and governing +my wards.”</p> +<p>She was prepared to hear him retort that the career she had +chosen would render her an unsuitable counsellor for little +Jessie; and conscious that she had deeply wounded him, his +calm reply was the sharpest rebuke he could possibly have +administered.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I have no extraordinary amount of tenderness +for the children, because they are indissolubly associated with +that period of my life to which I never recur without pain +and humiliation that you can not possibly realize or comprehend; +still, I am not exactly a brute, and I do not wish them +to be trained to regard me as a Pariah, or to be told that I +have forfeited their respect and affection. When I am gone, +let them think kindly of me.”</p> +<p>“Your request is a reflection upon my friendship, and is +so exceedingly unjust that I am surprised and pained; but let +that pass. I am sure I need not tell you that your wishes +shall be complied with. I have often thought that after +Stanley completed his studies, I would take him into my office, +and teach him my own profession. Have you any objection +to this scheme?”</p> +<p>“No, sir. I am willing to trust him implicitly to you. +He has one terrible fault which I have been trying to correct, +and which I hope you will not lose sight of. The boy seems +constitutionally addicted to telling stories, and prefers falsehood +to truth. I have punished him repeatedly for this habit, +and you must, if possible, save him from the pauper vice of +lying, which is peculiarly detestable to me. I know less of +the little one’s character, but believe that she is not afflicted +with this evil tendency.”</p> +<p>“Stanley’s fault has not escaped me, and two days ago I +was obliged to punish him for a gross violation of the truth; +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_328' name='page_328'></a>328</span> +but as he grows older, I trust he will correct this defect, and +I shall faithfully endeavor to show him its enormity. Is +there anything else you wish to say to me about the children? +I will very gladly hear any suggestions you can offer.”</p> +<p>“No, sir. I have governed myself so badly, that it ill becomes +me to dictate to you how they should be trained. God +knows, I am heartily glad they were mercifully thrown into +your hands; and if you can only make Stanley Owen such a +man as you are, the old blot on the name may be effaced. +From Mark and Joel I have not heard for several months, and +presume they will be sturdy but unlettered mechanics. If I +succeed, I shall interfere and send them to school; otherwise, +they must take the chances for letters and a livelihood.”</p> +<p>“Salome, you are bartering life-long peace and happiness +for the momentary gratification of a whim, prompted solely +by vanity. How worthless are the brief hollow plaudits of +the world (which will regard you merely as the toy of an +hour), in comparison with the affection and society of your +own family? Here, in your home, how useful, how contented +you might be!”</p> +<p>Her only reply was a hasty, imperious wave of the hand, +and a long silence followed.</p> +<p>In the bright morning light that streamed in through the +tendrils of honeysuckle clambering around the window, Dr. +Grey looked searchingly at the orphan, and could scarcely +realize that this pale, proud, pain-stricken face, was the same +rosy round one, fair and fearless, that had first met his gaze +under the pearly apple-blossoms.</p> +<p>Then, pink flesh, hazel eyes, vermillioned lips, and glossy +hair had preferred incontestable claims to beauty; now, an +artist would have curiously traced the fine lines and curves +daintily drawn about eyes, brow and mouth, by the stylus of +care, of hopelessness, of wild bursts of passion. Her figure +retained its rounded symmetry, but the countenance traitorously +revealed the struggles, the bitter disappointments, the +vindictive jealousy, and rudely-smitten and blasted hopes, +that had robbed her days of peace and her nights of sleep.</p> +<p>Until this moment, Dr. Grey had not fully appreciated the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_329' name='page_329'></a>329</span> +change that had been wrought by two tedious years, and as he +scrutinized the sadly sharpened and shadowed features, a +painful feeling of humiliation and almost of self-reproach +sprang from the consciousness that his inability to reciprocate +her devoted love had brought down this premature blight upon +a young and whilom happy, careless girl,—transforming +her into a reckless, hardened, hopeless woman.</p> +<p>While his inexorable conscience fully exonerated him from +censure, his generous heart ached in sympathy for hers, and +his chivalric tenderness for all things weaker than himself, +bled at the reflection that he had been unintentionally instrumental +in darkening a woman’s life.</p> +<p>But hope,—beautiful, blue-eyed, sunny-browed hope,—whispered +that this was a fleeting youthful fancy; and that +absence and time would dispel the temporary gloom that now +lay on her heart, like some dense cold vapor which would +grow silvery, and melt in morning sunshine.</p> +<p>Under his steady gaze the blood rose slowly to its old signal-station +on her cheeks, and she put up one hand to shield its +scarlet banners.</p> +<p>“Salome, will you tell me when and where you intend to +go? Since you have resolved to leave us, I desire to know in +what way I can aid you, or contribute to the comfort of the +journey you contemplate.”</p> +<p>“From the last letter of Professor V——, declining your +proposal that he should come here and instruct me, I learn +that within the ensuing ten days he will sail for Havre, <i>en +route</i> to Italy, where he intends spending the winter. If +possible, I wish to reach New York before his departure, and +to accompany him. The thousand dollars will defray my expenses +until I have completed my musical training, which +will fit me for the stage, and insure an early engagement in +some operatic company. Knowing your high estimate of +Professor V——, both as a gentleman and as a musician, I +am exceedingly anxious to place myself under his protection; +especially since his wife and children will meet him at Paris, +and go on to Naples. Are you willing to give me a letter of +introduction, commending me to his favorable <ins title='Added quote and question mark'>consideration?”</ins></p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_330' name='page_330'></a>330</span></div> +<p>The hesitating timidity with which this request was uttered, +touched him more painfully than aught that had ever passed +between them.</p> +<p>“My dear child, did you suppose that I would permit you +to travel alone to New York, and thrust yourself upon the +notice of strangers? I will accompany you whenever you go, +and not only present you to the professor, but request him +to receive you into his family as a member of his home-circle.”</p> +<p>A quiver shook out the hard lines around her lips, and she +turned her eyes full on his.</p> +<p>“You are very kind, sir, but that is not necessary; and a +letter of introduction will have the same effect, and save you +from a disagreeable trip. Your time is too valuable to be +wasted on such journeys, and I have no right to expect that +solely on my account you should tear yourself away—from—those +dear to you.”</p> +<p>“I think my time could not be more profitably employed +than in promoting the happiness and welfare of my adopted +sister, who was so inexpressibly dear to my noble Janet. It +is neither pleasant nor proper for a young lady to travel without +an escort.”</p> +<p>He had risen, and laid his hand lightly on the back of her +chair.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“She smiled; but he could see arise<br /> +Her soul from far adown her eyes,<br /> +Prepared as if for sacrifice.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Is it a mercy, think you, Dr. Grey, to foster a fastidiousness +that can only barb the shafts of penury? What right +have toiling paupers to harbor in their thoughts those dainty +scruples that belong appropriately to princesses and palaces? +Why tell me that this, that, or the other step is not ‘proper,’ +when you know that necessity goads me? Sir, I feel now like +that isolated Florentine, and echo her words,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘And since help</p> +<p class='cg'>Must come to me from those who love me not,<br /> +Farewell, all helpers. I must help myself,<br /> +And am alone from henceforth.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_331' name='page_331'></a>331</span></div> +<p>“You prefer that I should not accompany you to New +York?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir; but I gratefully accept a letter to Professor +V——.”</p> +<p>“Very well; it shall be in readiness when you wish it. +Have you fixed any time for your departure?”</p> +<p>“This is Friday,—and I shall go on the six o’clock train, +Monday morning.”</p> +<p>“Is there any service that I can render you in the interim?”</p> +<p>“No, thank you.”</p> +<p>“As you have no likeness of the children, would it be agreeable +to you to have their photographs taken to-day,—and, at +the same time, a picture of yourself to be left with them? If +you desire it I will meet you in town, at the gallery, at any +hour you may designate.”</p> +<p>Standing before him, she answered, almost scornfully,—</p> +<p>“I shall not have time. Some day—if I succeed—I will +send them my photograph, taken in gorgeous robes as <i>prima +donna</i>; provided you promise that said robes shall not constitute +a <i>San Benito</i>, and doom the picture to the flames. +I will detain you no longer, Dr. Grey, as the sole object of +the interview has been accomplished.”</p> +<p>“Pardon me; but I have a word to say. Your career will +probably be brilliantly successful, in which event you will feel +no want of admirers and friends,—and will doubtless ignore +me for those who flatter you more, and really love you less. +But, Salome, failure may overtake you, bringing in its train +countless evils that at present you can not realize,—poverty, +disease, desolation, in the midst of strangers,—and all the +woes that, like hungry wolves, attack homeless, isolated +women. I earnestly hope that the leprous hand of disaster +and defeat may never be laid upon your future, but the most +cautious human schemes are fallible—often futile—and if you +should be unsuccessful in your programme, and find yourself +unable to consummate your plans, I ask you now, by the +memory of our friendship, by the sacred memory of the dead, +to promise me that you will immediately write and acquaint +me with all your needs, your wishes, your real condition. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_332' name='page_332'></a>332</span> +Promise me, dear Salome, that you will turn instantly to me, +as you would to Stanley, were he in my place,—that you will +let me prove myself your elder brother,—your truest, best +friend.”</p> +<p>He put his hand on her head, but she recoiled haughtily +from his touch.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I promise you,</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘I will not soil thy purple with my dust,<br /> +Nor breathe my poison on thy Venice-glass.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>I promise you that if misfortune, failure, and penury lay +hold of me, you shall be the last human being who will learn +it; for I will cloak myself under a name that will not betray +me, and crawl into some lazaretto, and be buried in some +potter’s field, among other mendicants,—unknown, ‘unwept, +unhonored, and unsung.’”</p> +<p>If some motherless young chamois, rescued from destruction, +and pampered and caressed, had suddenly turned, and +savagely bitten and lacerated the hand that fondled and fed it, +Dr. Grey would not have been more painfully startled; but +experience had taught him the uselessness of expostulation +during her moods of perversity, and he took his hat and +turned away, saying, almost sternly,—</p> +<p>“Bear in mind that neither palace nor potter’s field can +screen you from the scrutiny of your Maker, or mask and +shelter your shivering soul in the solemn hour when He demands +its last reckoning.”</p> +<p>“Which ‘reckoning,’ your eminently Christian charity assures +you will prove more terrible for me than the Bloody +Assizes. ‘By the memory of our friendship!’ Oh, shallow +sham! Pinning my faith to the <i>dictum</i>, ‘The tide of friendship +does not rise high on the bank of perfection,’ my fatuity +led me to expect that your friendship was wide as the universe, +and lasting as eternity. Wise Helvetius told me that, +‘To be loved, we should merit but little esteem; all superiority +attracts awe and aversion;’ <i>ergo</i>, since my credentials +of unworthiness were indisputable, I laid claim to a vast +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_333' name='page_333'></a>333</span> +share of your favor. But, alas! the logic of the seers is well-nigh +as hollow as my hopes.”</p> +<p>He looked over his shoulder at her, with an expression of +pity as profound as that which must have filled the eyes of +the angel, who, standing in the blaze of the sword of wrath, +watched Adam and Eve go mournfully forth into the blistering +heats of unknown lands. Before he could reply, she +laughed contemptuously, and continued,—</p> +<p>“<i>Nil desperandum</i>, Dr. Grey. Remember that, ‘Faith and +persistency are life’s architects; while doubt and despair bury +all under the ruins of any endeavor.’ When I have trilled +a fortune into that abhorred vacuum, my pocket, I shall go +down to the Tigris, and catch the mate to Tobias’ fish, and +by the cremation thereof, fumigate my pestiferous soul, and +smoke out the Asmodeus that has so long and comfortably +dwelt there.”</p> +<p>“God grant you a Raphael, as guide on your journey,” was +his calm, earnest reply, as he disappeared, closing the door +after him.</p> +<p>When the sound of his buggy-wheels on the gravelled +avenue told her he had gone, she threw herself on the floor, +and crossing her arms on a chair, hid her face in them.</p> +<p>During Saturday, no opportunity presented itself for renewing +the conversation, and early on Sunday morning Dr. +Grey sent to her room a package marked $1,000.00—though +really containing $1,500.00—and a letter addressed to Professor +V——. Without examining either, she threw them into +her trunk, which was already packed, and went down to +breakfast.</p> +<p>She declined accompanying Miss Dexter and Muriel to +church, alleging, as an excuse, that it was the last day she +could spend with the children.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey approached her when the remainder of the family +had left the table, where she sat abstractedly jingling her +fork and spoon.</p> +<p>He noticed that her breakfast was untasted, and said, very +gently,—</p> +<p>“I suppose that you wish to visit our dear Jane’s grave, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_334' name='page_334'></a>334</span> +before you leave us, and, if agreeable to you, I shall be glad +to have you accompany me there to-day.”</p> +<p>“Thank you; but if I go, it will be alone.”</p> +<p>He stooped to kiss Jessie, who leaned against her sister’s +chair, and, when he left the room, Salome caught the child in +her arms, and pressed her lips twice to the spot where his had +rested.</p> +<p>Late in the afternoon she eluded the children’s watchful +eyes, and stole away from the house, taking the road that led +towards “Solitude.” In one portion of the osage hedge that +surrounded the place, the lower branches had died, leaving a +small opening, and here Salome gained access to the grounds. +Walking cautiously under the thick and dark masses of shrubbery +and trees, she reached the arched path near the clump of +pyramidal deodars, whose long, drooping plumes were fluttering +in the evening wind.</p> +<p>Thence she could command a view of the house and grounds +in front, and thence she saw that concerning which she had +come to satisfy herself,—believing that the evidence of her +own eyes would fortify her for the approaching trial of separation. +Dr. Grey’s horse and buggy stood near the side +gate, and Dr. Grey was walking very slowly up and down the +avenue leading to the beach, while Mrs. Gerome’s tall form +leaned on his arm, and the greyhound followed sulkily.</p> +<p>Salome had barely time to look upon the spectacle that fired +her heart and well-nigh maddened her, ere the dog lifted his +head, gave one quick, savage bark, and darted in the direction +of the cedars.</p> +<p>Dread of detection and of Dr. Grey’s pitying gaze was more +potent than fear of the brute, and she ran swiftly towards +the gap in the hedge, by which she had effected an entrance +into the secluded grounds. Just as she reached it, the greyhound +bounded up, and they met in front of the opening. He +set his teeth in her clothes, tearing away a streamer of her +black dress, and, as she silently struggled, he bit her arm +badly, mangling the flesh, from which the blood spouted. +Disengaging a shawl which she wore around her shoulders, she +threw it over his head, and, as the meshes caught in his collar, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_335' name='page_335'></a>335</span> +and temporarily entangled him, she sprang through the gap, +and seized a heavy stick which lay within reach. He followed, +snarling and pawing at the shawl that ultimately dropped at +Salome’s feet; but finding himself beyond the boundary he +was expected to guard, and probably satisfied with the punishment +already inflicted, he retreated before a well-aimed blow +that drove him back into the enclosure.</p> +<p>The instant he started towards the cedars Dr. Grey suspected +mischief, and, placing Mrs. Gerome on a bench that +surrounded an elm, he hurried in the same direction.</p> +<p>When he reached the spot, the dog was snuffing at a patch +of bombazine that lay on the grass; and, confirmed in his sad +suspicion, the doctor passed through the opening in the hedge +and looked about for the figure which he dreaded, yet expected +to see.</p> +<p>Bushy undergrowth covered the ground for some distance, +and, hoping that nothing more serious than fright had resulted +from the escapade, he stowed away the bombazine fragment +in his coat pocket, and slowly retraced his steps.</p> +<p>Secreted by two friendly oaks that spread their low boughs +over her, Salome had seen his anxious face peering around +for the intruder, and when he abandoned the search and disappeared, +she smothered a bitter laugh, and strove to stanch +the blood that trickled from the gash by binding her handkerchief +over it. Torn muscles and tendons ached and +smarted; but the great agony that seemed devouring her heart +rendered her almost oblivious of physical pain. In the dusk +of coming night she crossed the gloomy forest, where a whippoorwill +was drearily lamenting, and, walking over an unfrequented +portion of the lawn, went up to her own room.</p> +<p>She bathed and bound up the wound as securely as the use +of only one hand would permit, and put on a dress whose +sleeves fastened closely at the wrist.</p> +<p>Ere long, Dr. Grey’s clear voice echoed through the hall, +and the sound made her wince, like the touch of some glowing +brand.</p> +<p>“Jessie, where is sister Salome? Tell her tea is ready.”</p> +<p>The orphan went down and took her seat, but did not even +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_336' name='page_336'></a>336</span> +glance at the master of the house, who looked anxiously at her +as she entered.</p> +<p>During the meal Jessie asked for some sweetmeats that +were placed in front of her sister, and, as the latter drew the +glass dish nearer, and proceeded to help her, the child exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Oh, look there! What is that dripping from your sleeve? +Ugh! it is blood.”</p> +<p>“Nonsense, Jessie! don’t be silly. Hush! and eat your +supper.”</p> +<p>Two drops of blood had fallen on the table-cloth, and the +girl instantly set her cup and saucer over them.</p> +<p>She felt the slow stream trickling down to her wrist, and +put her arm in her lap.</p> +<p>“Is anything the matter?” asked Dr. Grey, who had observed +the quick movement.</p> +<p>“I hurt my arm a little, that is all.”</p> +<p>Her tone forbade a renewal of inquiry, and, as soon as possible, +she withdrew to her room, to adjust the bandage.</p> +<p>The children were playing in the library, and Muriel was +walking with her governess on the wide piazza.</p> +<p>While Salome was trying by the aid of fingers and teeth to +draw a strip of linen tightly over her wound, a tap at the +door startled her.</p> +<p>“I am engaged, and can see no one just now.”</p> +<p>“Salome, I want to speak to you, and shall wait here until +I do.”</p> +<p>“Excuse me, Dr. Grey. I will come down in ten minutes.”</p> +<p>“Pardon me, but I insist upon seeing you here, and hope +you will not compel me to force the door open.”</p> +<p>She wrapped a towel around her arm, drew down her +sleeve, and opened the door.</p> +<p>“To what am I indebted for the honor of this interview?”</p> +<p>“To my interest in your welfare, which cannot be baffled. +Salome, what is the matter? You looked so pale that I +noticed you particularly, and saw the blood on the table-cloth. +My dear child, I will not be trifled with. Tell me +where you are hurt.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_337' name='page_337'></a>337</span></div> +<p>“Pray give yourself no uneasiness. I merely scraped and +bruised my arm. It is a matter of no consequence.”</p> +<p>“Of that I beg to be considered the best judge. Show me +your arm.”</p> +<p>“I prefer not to trouble you.”</p> +<p>He gently but firmly took hold of it, unwound the towel, +and she saw him start and shudder at sight of the mangled +flesh.</p> +<p>“An ugly gash! Tell me how you hurt yourself so +severely.”</p> +<p>“It is a matter that I do not choose to discuss; but since +you have seen it, I wish you would be so good as to dress and +bandage the wound.”</p> +<p>“Oh, my little sister! Will you never learn to trust your +brother?”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dr. Grey! will you never learn to let me alone, when +I am indulging the ‘Imp of the Perverse’ in an audience, +and do not wish to be interrupted?”</p> +<p>She mimicked his pleading tone so admirably that his face +flushed.</p> +<p>“Come to the sitting-room. No one can disturb us there, +and I will attend to your injury, which is really serious.”</p> +<p>She followed him, and stood without flinching one iota, +while he clipped away the jagged pieces of flesh, covered the +long gash with adhesive plaster, and carefully bandaged the +whole.</p> +<p>“Salome, you must dismiss all idea of starting to-morrow, +for indeed it would not be safe for you to travel alone, with +your arm in this condition. It may give you much trouble +and suffering.”</p> +<p>“Which, of course, <i>nolens volens</i>, I must bear as best I +may; but, so surely as I live to see daylight, I shall start, +even if I knew I should have to stop <i>en route</i> and bury my +pretty arm, and be forced to buy a cork one, wherewith to +gesticulate gracefully when I die as ‘Azucena.’ There! thank +you, Dr. Grey; of course you are very good,—you always are. +Shall I bid you all good-by now, or wait till morning? Better +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_338' name='page_338'></a>338</span> +make my adieu to-night, so that I may not disturb the matutinal +slumbers of the household.”</p> +<p>There was a dangerous, starry sparkle in her eyes, that he +would not venture to defy, and, sighing heavily, he answered,—</p> +<p>“I shall accompany you to the depôt, and place you under +the protection of the conductor.”</p> +<p>“I do not desire to give you that trouble, and—”</p> +<p>“Hush! Do not grieve me any more than you have already +done, by your hasty, unkind, unfriendly speeches. I shall +see you in the morning.”</p> +<p>He left the room abruptly, to conceal the distress which he +did not desire her to discover; and having found Muriel and +Miss Dexter, Salome bade them good-by, requested them not +to disturb themselves next morning on her account, and called +the children to her room.</p> +<p>For two hours they sat beside her on the lounge, crying +over her impending departure, but when she had promised to +take them as far as the depôt, their thoughts followed other +currents, and very soon after, both slumbered soundly in +their trundle-bed.</p> +<p>With her cheek resting on her hand, Salome sat looking at +them, noting the glossiness of their curling hair, the flush on +their round faces, the regular breathing of peaceful childhood’s +sleep. Once she could have wept, and would have knelt +and prayed over them; but now her own overmastering misery +had withered all the tenderness in her heart, and, while her +eyes of flesh rested on the orphans, her mental vision was +filled with the figure of that gray-haired woman hanging on +Dr. Grey’s arm. In a dull, cold, abstract way, she hoped that +the little ones would be happy,—how could they be otherwise +when fortune had committed them to Dr. Grey’s guardianship? +But a numb, desperate feeling had seized her, and she +cared for nothing, loved nothing, prayed for nothing.</p> +<p>How the hours of that night of wretchedness passed she +never knew; but when the little bird in the parlor clock +“cuckooed” three times, she was aroused from her reverie by +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_339' name='page_339'></a>339</span> +the tramp of horses’ hoofs on the gravel, and then the sharp +clang of the bell echoed through the silent house.</p> +<p>It was not unusual for messengers to summon Dr. Grey +during the night, and she was not surprised when, some moments +later, she heard his voice in the hall. After the lapse +of a quarter of an hour, his firm, well-known step approached +and paused at her threshold.</p> +<p>“Salome, are you up?”</p> +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> +<p>“Come into the passage.”</p> +<p>She opened the door, and stood with the candle in her +hand.</p> +<p>“I regret exceedingly that I am compelled to leave here +immediately, as I must hasten to see a man and child who +have been horribly burned and injured by the falling in of a +roof. The parties live some distance in the country, and I +fear I shall not be able to get back in time to go with you to +the cars. I shall drive as rapidly as possible, and hope to accompany +you, but if I should be detained, here is a note which +I hastily scribbled to Mr. Miller, the conductor, whom you +will find a very kind and courteous gentleman. I sincerely +deplore this summons, but the sufferers are old friends of my +sister, and I hope you will believe that nothing but a case of +life and death would prevent me from seeing you aboard the +train.”</p> +<p>“I am sorry, sir, that you thought it necessary to apologize.”</p> +<p>She was not yet prepared to part from him forever,—she +had been nerving herself for the final interview at the depôt; +but now it came with a shock that utterly stunned her, and +she reeled against the door-facing, as if recoiling from some +fearful blow.</p> +<p>The livid pallor of her lips, and the spasm of agony that +contracted her features, frightened him, and, as he sprang +closer to her, the candle fell from her fingers. He caught it, +ere it reached the mat, and placed it on a chair.</p> +<p>“My dear child, your arm pains you, and I beg you to defer +your journey at least until Tuesday. I shall be anxious and +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_340' name='page_340'></a>340</span> +miserable about you, if you go this morning, and, for my +sake, Salome, if not for your own, remain here one day longer. +I have not asked many things of you, and I trust you will not +refuse this last request I may ever be allowed to make.”</p> +<p>She attempted to speak, but there came only a quiver across +her mouth, and a sickly smile that flickered over the ghastly +proud face, like the lying sunshine of Indian summer on +marble cenotaphs.</p> +<p>“Salome, you will, to oblige me, wait until Tuesday?”</p> +<p>She shook her head, and mastered her weakness.</p> +<p>“No, Dr. Grey; I must go at once. I take all the hazard.”</p> +<p>“Then you will find on the mantelpiece in my room, a +paper containing directions for the treatment of your arm, +which demands care and attention. I am sorry you are so +obstinate, and, if I possessed the authority, I would forbid +your departure.”</p> +<p>He could not endure the despairing expression of her eyes, +which seemed supernaturally large and brilliant, and his own +quailed, for the first time within his recollection. She knew +that she was going away forever, to avoid the sight of his happiness +with Mrs. Gerome; that, in comparison with that torture, +all other trials, even separation, would be endurable, but +the least evil was more severe than she had dreaded. Now, as +she looked up at his noble face, overshadowed with anxiety +and regret, and paler than she had ever seen it, the one prayer +of her heart was, that, ere a wife’s lips touched his, death +might claim him for its prey.</p> +<p>“Salome, I am deeply pained by the course you persist in +following, but I will not provoke and annoy you by renewed +expression of a disapprobation that has proved so ineffectual +in influencing your decision. God grant that the results may +sanction your confidence in your own judgment,—your distrust +of mine. I promised you once that I would pray for you, +and I wish to assure you, that, while I live, I shall never lay +my head upon my pillow without having first committed you +to the mercy and loving care of that Guardian who never +‘slumbers, nor sleeps.’ May God bless and guide you, my dear +young friend, and if not again in this world, grant that we +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_341' name='page_341'></a>341</span> +may meet in the Everlasting City of Peace. Little sister, be +sure to meet me in the Kingdom of Rest, where dear Janet +waits for us both.”</p> +<p>His calm eyes filled with tears, and his voice grew tremulous, +as he took Salome’s cold, passive hand, and kissed it.</p> +<p>“Good-by, Dr. Grey; if I find my way to heaven, it will be +because you are there. When I am gone, let my name and +memory be like that of the dead.”</p> +<p>She stood erect, with her fingers lying in his palm, and the +ring of her voice was like the clashing of steel against steel.</p> +<p>He bent down, and, for the first time, pressed his lips to her +forehead; then turned quickly and walked away. When he +reached the head of the stairs, he looked back and saw her +standing in the door, with the candle-light flaring over her +face; and in after years, he could never recall, without a keen +pang, that vision of a girlish form draped in mourning, and +of fair, rigid features, which hope and happiness could never +again soften and brighten.</p> +<p>Her splendid eyes followed him, as if the sole light of her +life were passing away forever; and, with a heavy sigh, he +hurried down the steps, realizing all the mournful burden of +that Portuguese sonnet,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand<br /> +Henceforward in thy shadow. Nevermore<br /> +Alone upon the threshold of my door<br /> +Of individual life, I shall command<br /> +The uses of my soul, nor lift my hand<br /> +Serenely in the sunshine as before,<br /> +Without the sense of that which I forbore—<br /> +Thy touch upon the palm. The widest land<br /> +Doom takes to part us, leaves thy heart in mine,<br /> +With pulses that beat double. What I do<br /> +And what I dream include thee, as the wine<br /> +Must taste of its own grapes. And when I sue<br /> +God for myself, He hears that name of thine,<br /> +And sees within my eyes the tears of two.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_342' name='page_342'></a>342</span> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI' id='CHAPTER_XXVI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“I hope nothing has gone wrong, Robert? You look unusually +forlorn and doleful.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey stepped out of his buggy, and accosted the gardener, +who was leaning idly on the gate, holding a trowel +in his hand, and lazily puffing the smoke from his pipe.</p> +<p>“I thank you, sir; with us the world wags on pretty much +the same, but when a man has been planting violets on his +mother’s grave he does not feel like whistling and making +merry. Besides, to tell the truth,—which I do not like to +shirk,—I am getting very tired of this dismal, unlucky place. +If I had known as much before I bought it as I do now, all +the locomotives in America could not have dragged me here. +I was a stranger, and of course nobody thought it their special +duty to warn me; so I was bitten badly enough by the agent +who sold me this den of misfortune. Now, when it is too +late, there is no lack of busy tongues to tell me the place is +haunted, and has been for, lo! these many years.”</p> +<p>“Nonsense, Robert! I gave you credit for too much good +sense to listen to the gossip of silly old wives. Put all these +ridiculous tales of ghosts and hobgoblins out of your mind, +man, and do not make me laugh at you, as if you were a +child who had been so frightened by stories of ‘raw-head and +bloody-bones,’ that you were afraid to blow out your candle +and creep into bed.”</p> +<p>“I am neither a fool nor a coward, and I will fight anything +that I can feel has bone and muscle; but I am satisfied +that if all the water in Siloam were poured over this place, it +would not wash out the curse that people tell me has always +rested on it since the time the pirates first located here. I +can’t admit I believe in witches, but undoubtedly I do believe +in Satan, who seems to have a fee-simple to the place. +It is not enough that my poor mother is buried yonder, but +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_343' name='page_343'></a>343</span> +my wheat and oats took the rust; the mildew spoiled my grape +crop; the rains ruined my melons; the worms ate up every +blade of my grass; the cows have got the black-tongue; the +gale blew down my pigeon-house and mashed all my squabs; +and my splendid carnations and fuchsias are devoured by red +spider. Nothing thrives, and I am sick at heart.”</p> +<p>The dogged discontent written so legibly on his countenance, +did not encourage the visitor to enter into a discussion +of the abstract causes of blight, gales, and black-tongue, and +he merely answered,—</p> +<p>“The evils you have enumerated are not peculiar to any +locality; and all the farmers in this neighborhood are echoing +your complaints. How is Mrs. Gerome?”</p> +<p>“Neither better nor worse. You know what miserable +weather we have had for a week. This morning she ordered +the small carriage and horses brought to the door, and when +I took the reins, she dismissed me and said she preferred driving +herself. I told her the grays had not been used, and were +badly pampered standing so long in their stalls, and that I +was really afraid they would break her neck, as she was not +strong enough to manage them; but she laughed, and answered +that if they did, it would be the best day’s work they had ever +accomplished, and she would give them a chance. Down the +beach they went like a flash, and when she came home their +flanks smoked like a lime-kiln. What is ever to be done with +my mistress, I am sure I don’t know. She makes the house so +doleful, that nobody wants to stay here, and only yesterday +Katie and Phœbe, the cook, gave notice that they wished to +leave when the month was out. She has no idea what she +will do, or where she will go. We have wanted a hot-house, +and she ordered me to get the builder’s estimate of the cost of +two plans which she drew; but when I carried them to her, +she pushed them aside, and said she would think of the matter, +but thought she might leave this place, and therefore would +not need the building. She is as notionate as a child; and no +one but my poor mother could ever manage her. Hist! sir! +Don’t you hear her? You may be sure there is mischief brewing +when she sings like that.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_344' name='page_344'></a>344</span></div> +<p>Dr. Grey walked towards the house, and paused on the +portico to listen,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Quis est homo, qui non fleret<br /> +Christi matrem si videret,<br /> +In tanto supplicio.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The voice was not so strong as when he had heard it in +<i>Addio del Passata</i>, but the solemn mournfulness of its cadences +was better suited to the <i>Stabat Mater</i>, and indexed much +that no other method of expression would have reached. +After some moments she forsook Rossini, and began the <i>Agnus +Dei</i> from Haydn’s Third Mass,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Surely she could not render this grand strain if her soul +was in fierce rebellion; and, with strained ears and hushed +breath, Dr. Grey listened to the closing</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Dona nobis pacem,—pacem,—pacem.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>It was a passionate, wailing prayer, and the only one that +ever crossed her lips, yet his heart throbbed with pleasure, +as he noted the tremor that seemed to shiver her voice into +silvery fragments; and as she ended, he knew that tears were +not far from her eyes.</p> +<p>When he entered the room, she had left the piano, and +wheeled a sofa in front of the grate, where she sat gazing, +vacantly into the fiery fretwork of glowing coals.</p> +<p>A copy of Turner’s “Liber Studiorum,” superbly bound in +purple velvet, lay on her knee, and into a corner of the sofa +she had tossed a square of canvas almost filled with silken +Parmese violets.</p> +<p>“Good-evening, Mrs. Gerome; I hope I do not interrupt +you.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey removed the embroidery to the table, and seated +himself in the sofa corner.</p> +<p>“Good evening. Interruption argues occupation and absorbed +attention, and the term is not applicable to me. I +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_345' name='page_345'></a>345</span> +who live as vainly, as uselessly, as fruitlessly, as some fakir +twirling his thumbs and staring at his beard, have little right +to call anything an interruption. My existence here is as +still, as stagnant, as some pool down yonder in the sedge +which last week’s waves left among the sand hillocks, and +your visits are like pebbles thrown into it, creating transient +ripples and circles.”</p> +<p>“You have gone back to the God of your æsthetic idolatry,” +said he, touching the “Liber Studiorum.”</p> +<p>“Yes, because ‘Beauty pitches her tents before him,’ and +his pencil is more potent in conjuring visions that enchant +my wearied mind, than Jemschid’s goblet or Iskander’s +mirror.”</p> +<p>“But why stand afar off, trusting to human and fallible +interpreters, when it is your privilege to draw near and +dwell in the essence of the only real and divine beauty?”</p> +<p>“Better reverence it behind a veil, than suffer like Semele. +I know my needs, and satisfy them fully. Once my heart was +as bare of adoration as Egypt’s tawny sands of crystal rain-pools; +but looking into the realm of nature and of art, I +chose the religion of the beautiful, and said to my famished +soul,</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘From every channel thro’ which Beauty runs,<br /> +To fertilize the world with lovely things,<br /> +I will draw freely, and be satisfied.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“This morbid sentimentality, this sickly gasping system of +æsthetics, <i>soi-disant</i> ‘Religion of the Beautiful,’ is the curse +of the age,—is a vast, universal vampire sucking the life +from humanity. Like other idolatries it may arrogate the +name of ‘Religion,’ but it is simply downright pagan materialism, +and its votaries of the nineteenth century should look +back two thousand years, and renew the <i>Panathenœa</i>. The +ancient Greek worship of æsthetics was a proud and pardonable +system, replete with sublime images; but the idols +of your emasculated creed are yellow-haired women with +straight noses,—are purple clouds and moon-silvered seas,—and +physical beauty constitutes their sole excellence. Lovely +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_346' name='page_346'></a>346</span> +landscapes and perfect faces are certainly entitled to a liberal +quota of earnest admiration; but a religion that contents +itself with merely material beauty, differs in nothing but +nomenclature from the pagan worship of Cybele, Venus, and +Astarte.”</p> +<p>A chill smile momentarily brightened Mrs. Gerome’s features, +and turning towards her visitor, she answered slowly,—</p> +<p>“Be thankful, sir, that even the worship of beauty lingers +in this world of sin and hate; and instead of defiling and +demolishing its altars, go to work zealously and erect new +ones at every cross-roads. Lessing spoke for me when he +said, ‘Only a misapprehended religion can remove us from +the beautiful, and it is proof that a religion is true and rightly +understood when it everywhere brings us back to the Beautiful.’”</p> +<p>“Pardon me. I accept Lessing’s words, but cavil at your +interpretation of them. His reverence for Beauty embraced +not merely physical and material types, but that nobler, +grander beauty which centres in pure ethics and ontology; +and a religion that seeks no higher forms than those of clay,—whether +Himalayas or ‘Greek Slave,’—whether emerald +icebergs, flashing under polar auroras, or the myosotis that +nods there on the mantelpiece,—a religion that substitutes +beauty for duty, and Nature for Nature’s God, is a shameful +sham, and a curse to its devotees. There is a beauty worthy +of all adoration, a beauty far above Antinous, or Gula or +Greek æsthetics,—a beauty that is not the <i>disjecta membra</i> +that modern maudlin sentimentality has left it,—but that +perfect and immortal ‘Beauty of Holiness,’ that outlives +marble and silver, pigment, stylus, and pagan poems that +deify dust.”</p> +<p>He leaned towards her, watching eagerly for some symptom +of interest in the face before him, and bent his head +until he inhaled the fragrance of the violets which clustered +on one side of the coil of hair.</p> +<p>“‘Beauty of Holiness.’ Show it to me, Dr. Grey. Is it at +La Trappe, or the Hospice of St. Bernard? Where are its +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_347' name='page_347'></a>347</span> +temples? Where are its worshippers? Who is its Hierophant?”</p> +<p>“Jesus Christ.”</p> +<p>She closed her eyes for a moment, as if to shut out some +painful vision evoked by his words.</p> +<p>“Sir, do you recollect the reply of Laplace, when Napoleon +asked him why there was no mention of God in his ‘<i>Mécanique +Celeste</i>?’ ‘<i>Sire, je n’avais pas besoin de cette hypothčse.</i>’ +I was not sufficiently insane to base my religion of +beauty upon a holiness that was buried in the tomb supplied +by Joseph of Arimathea,—that was long ago hunted out of +the world it might have purified. Once I believed in, and +revered what I supposed was its existence, but I was speedily +disenchanted of my faith, for,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘I have seen those that wore Heaven’s armor, worsted:<br /> +I have heard Truth lie:<br /> +Seen Life, beside the founts for which it thirsted,<br /> +Curse God and die.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey, I do not desire to sneer at your Christian trust, +and God knows I would give all my earthly possessions and +hopes for a religion that would insure me your calm resignation +and contentment; but the resurrection of my faith would +only resemble that beautiful floral <i>Palingenesis</i> (asserted by +Gaffarel and Kircher), which was but ‘the pale spectre of +a flower coming slowly forth from its own ashes,’ and speedily +dropping back into dust. Leave me in the enjoyment +of the only pleasure earth can afford me, the contemplation +of the beautiful.”</p> +<p>“Unless you blend with it the true and good, your love of +beauty will degenerate into the merely sensuous æsthetics, +which, at the present day, renders its votaries fastidious, +etiolated voluptuaries. The deification of humanity, so successfully +inaugurated by Feuerbach and Strauss, is now no +longer confined to realms of abstract speculation; but cultivated +sensualism has sunk so low that popular poets chant +the praises of Phryne and Cleopatra, and painters and sculptors +seek to immortalize types that degrade the taste of all +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_348' name='page_348'></a>348</span> +lovers of Art. The true mission of Art, whether through +the medium of books, statues, or pictures, is to purify and +exalt; but the curse of our age is, that the fashionable +pantheistic raving about Nature, and the apotheosizing of +physical loveliness,—is rapidly sinking into a worship of the +vilest elements of humanity and materialism. Pagan æsthetics +were purer and nobler than the system, which, under that +name, finds favor with our generation.”</p> +<p>She listened, not assentingly, but without any manifestation +of impatience, and while he talked, her eyes rested +dreamily upon the yellow beach, where,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Trampling up the sloping sand,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>In lines outreaching far and wide,<br /> +The white-maned billows swept to land.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Whether she pondered his words, or was too entirely absorbed +by her own thoughts to heed their import, he had no +means of ascertaining.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, what have you painted recently?”</p> +<p>“Nothing, since my illness; and perhaps I shall never +touch my brush again. Sometimes I have thought I would +paint a picture of Handel standing up to listen to that sad +song from his own ‘Samson,’—‘<i>Total eclipse, no sun, no +moon</i>!’ But I doubt whether I could put on canvas that +grand, mournful, blind face, turned eagerly towards the +stage, while tears ran swiftly from his sightless eyes. Again, +I have vague visions of a dead Schopenhauer, seated in the +corner of the sofa, with his pet poodle, Putz, howling at +his master’s ghastly white features,—with his Indian Oupnekhat +lying on his rigid knee, and his gilded statuette of Gotama +Buddha grinning at him from the mantelpiece, welcoming +him to Nirwána. There stands my easel, empty and shrouded; +and here, from day to day, I sit idle, not lacking ideas, but +the will to clothe them. Unlike poor Maurice de Guérin, +who said that his ‘head was parching; that, like a tree which +had lived its life, he felt as though every passing wind were +blowing through dead branches in his top,’ I feel that my +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_349' name='page_349'></a>349</span> +brain is as vigorous and restless as ever, while my will alone +is paralyzed, and my heart withered and cold within me.”</p> +<p>“Your brush and palette will never yield you any permanent +happiness, nor promote a spirit of contentment, until +you select a different class of subjects. Your themes are all +too sombre, too dismal, and the sole <i>motif</i> that runs through +your music and painting seems to be <i>in memoriam</i>. Open +the windows of your gloomy soul, and let God’s sunshine +stream into its cold recesses, and warm and gild and gladden +it. Throw aside your morbid proclivities for the melancholy +and abnormal, and paint peaceful <i>genre</i> pictures,—a group of +sunburnt, laughing harvesters, or merry children, or tulip-beds +with butterflies swinging over them. You need more +warmth in your heart, and more light in your pictures.”</p> +<p>“Eminently correct,—most incontestably true; but how do +you propose to remedy the imperfect <i>chiaro-oscuro</i> of my +character? Show me the market where that light of peace +and joy is bartered, and I will constitute you my broker, with +unlimited orders. No, no. I see the fact as plainly as you +do, but I know better than you how irremediable it is. My +soul is a doleful <i>morgue</i>, and my pictures are dim photographs +of its corpse-tenants. Shut in forever from the sunshine, +I dip my brush in the shadows that surround me, +for, like Empedocles,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘I alone</p> +<p class='cg'>Am dead to life and joy; therefore I read<br /> +In all things my own deadness.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“If you would free yourself from the coils of an intense +and selfish egoism that fetter you to the petty cares and trials +of your individual existence,—if you would endeavor to forget +for a season the woes of Mrs. Gerome, and expend a +little more sympathy on the sorrows of others,—if you would +resolve to lose sight of the caprices that render you so unpopular, +and make some human being happy by your aid +and kind words,—in fine, if, instead of selecting as your model +some cynical, half-insane woman like Lady Hester Stanhope, +you chose for imitation the example of noble Christian usefulness +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_350' name='page_350'></a>350</span> +and self-abnegation, analogous to that of Florence +Nightingale, or Mrs. Fry, you would soon find that your +conscience—”</p> +<p>“Enough! You weary me. Dr. Grey, I thoroughly understand +your motives, and honor their purity, but I beg that +you will give yourself no further anxiety on my account. +You cannot, from your religious standpoint, avoid regarding +me as worse than a heathen, and have constituted yourself +a missionary to reclaim and consecrate me. I am not quite +a cannibal, ready to devour you, by way of recompense for +your charitable efforts in my behalf, but I must assure you +your interest and sympathy are sadly wasted. Do you remember +that celebrated ‘vase of Soissons,’ which was plundered +by rude soldiery in Rheims, and which Clovis so eagerly +coveted at the distribution of the spoils? A soldier broke +it before the king’s hungry eyes, and forced him to take +the worthless mocking fragments. Even so flint-faced fate +shattered my happiness, and tauntingly offers me the ruins; +but I will none of it!”</p> +<p>“Trust God’s overruling mercy, and those fragments, fused +in the furnace of affliction, may be remoulded and restored +to you in pristine perfection.”</p> +<p>“Impossible! Moreover, I trust nothing but the brevity +of human life, which one day cannot fail to release me from +an existence that has proved an almost intolerable burden. +You know Vogt says, ‘The natural laws are rude, unbending +<ins title='Guessing at end quote'>powers,’</ins> and I comfort myself by hoping that they can neither +be bribed nor browbeaten out of the discharge of their duty, +which points to death as ‘the surest calculation that can be +made,—as the unavoidable keystone of every individual +life.’ A grim consolation, you think? True; but all I shall +ever receive. Dr. Grey, in your estimation I am sinfully +inert and self-indulgent; and you conscientiously commend +my idle hands to the benevolent work of knitting socks for +indigent ditchers, and making jackets for pauper children. +Now, although it is considered neither orthodox nor modest +to furnish left-hand with a trumpet for sounding the praises +of almsgiving right-hand, still I must be allowed to assert +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_351' name='page_351'></a>351</span> +that I appropriate an ample share of my fortune for charitable +purposes. Perhaps you will tell me that I do not give +in a proper spirit of loving sympathy,—that I hurl my donations +at my conscience, as ‘a sop to Cerberus.’ I have +never injured any one, and if I have no tender love in my +heart to expend on others, it is the fault of that world which +taught me how hollow and deceitful it is. God knows I +have never intentionally wounded any living thing; and if +negatively good, at least my career has no stain of positive +evil upon it. I am one of those concerning whom Richter +said, ‘There are souls for whom life has no summer. These +should enjoy the advantages of the inhabitants of Spitzbergen, +where, through the winter’s day, the stars shine clear +as through the winter’s night.’ I have neither summer nor +polar stars, but I wait for that long night wherein I shall +sleep peacefully.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, defiant pride bars your heart from the +white-handed peace that even now seeks entrance. Some +great sorrow or sin has darkened your past, and, instead of +ejecting its memory, you hug it to your soul; you make it a +mental Juggernaut, crushing the hopes and aims that might +otherwise brighten the path along which you drag this murderous +idol. Cast it away forever, and let Peace and Hope +clasp hands over its empty throne.”</p> +<p>From that peculiar far-off expression of the human eye +that generally indicates abstraction of mind, he feared that +she had not heard his earnest appeal; but after some seconds, +she smiled drearily, and repeated with singular and touching +pathos, lines which proved that his words were not lost upon +her,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“‘Ah, could the memory cast her spots, as do<br /> +The snake’s brood theirs in spring! and be once more<br /> +Wholly renewed, to dwell in the time that’s new,—<br /> +With no reiterance of those pangs of yore.<br /> +Peace, peace! Ah, forgotten things<br /> +Stumble back strangely! and the ghost of June<br /> +Stands by December’s fire, cold, cold! and puts<br /> +The last spark out.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_352' name='page_352'></a>352</span></div> +<p>The mournful sweetness and calmness of her low voice made +Dr. Grey’s heart throb fiercely, and he leaned a little farther +forward to study her countenance. She had rested her elbow +on the carved side of the sofa, and now her cheek nestled +for support in one hand, while the other toyed unconsciously +with the velvet edges of the <i>Liber Studiorum</i>. Her dress +was of some soft, shining fabric, neither satin nor silk, and +its pale blue lustre shed a chill, pure light over the wan, +delicate face, that was white as a bending lily.</p> +<p>The faint yet almost mesmeric fragrance of orange flowers +and violets floated in the folds of her garments, and seemed +lurking in the waves of gray hair that glistened in the bright +steady glow of the red grate; and moved by one of those +unaccountable impulses that sometimes decide a man’s destiny, +Dr. Grey took the exquisitely beautiful hand from the book +and enclosed it in both of his.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, you seem strangely unsuspicious of the +real nature of the interest with which you have inspired me; +and I owe it to you, as well as to myself, to avow the feelings +that prompt me to seek your society so frequently. For some +months after I met you, my professional visits afforded me +only rare and tantalizing glimpses of you, but from the day +of Elsie’s death, I have been conscious that my happiness is +indissolubly linked with yours,—that my heart, which never +before acknowledged allegiance to any woman, is—”</p> +<p>“For God’s sake, stop! I cannot listen to you.”</p> +<p>She had wrung her hand violently from his clinging fingers, +and, springing to her feet, stood waving him from her, while +an expression of horror came swiftly into her eyes and over +her whole countenance.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey rose also, and though a sudden pallor spread from +his lips to his temples, his calm voice did not falter.</p> +<p>“Is it because you can never return my love, that you so +vehemently refuse to hear its avowal? Is it because your +own heart—”</p> +<p>“It is because your love is an insult, and must not be +uttered!”</p> +<p>She shivered as if rudely buffeted by some freezing blast, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_353' name='page_353'></a>353</span> +and the steely glitter leaped up, like the flash of a poniard, +in her large, dilating eyes.</p> +<p>Shocked and perplexed, he looked for a moment at her +writhing features, and put out his hand.</p> +<p>“Can it be possible that you so utterly misapprehend me? +You surely can not doubt the earnestness of an affection +which impels me to offer my hand and heart to you,—the +first woman I have ever loved. Will you refuse—”</p> +<p>“Stand back! Do not touch me! Ah,—God help me! +Take your hand from mine. Are you blind? If you were an +archangel I could not listen to you, for—for—oh, Dr. Grey!”</p> +<p>She covered her face with her hands, and staggered towards +a chair.</p> +<p>A horrible, sickening suspicion made his brain whirl and +his heart stand still. He followed her, and said, pleadingly,—</p> +<p>“Do not keep me in painful suspense. Why is my declaration +of devoted affection so revolting to you? Why can you +not at least permit me to express the love—”</p> +<p>“Because that love dishonors me! Dr. Grey, I—am—a—wife!”</p> +<p>The words fell slowly from her white lips, as if her heart’s +blood were dripping with them, and a deep, purplish spot +burned on each cheek, to attest her utter humiliation.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey gazed at her, with a bewildered, incredulous expression.</p> +<p>“You mean that your heart is buried in your husband’s +grave?”</p> +<p>“Oh, if that were true, you and I might be spared this +shame and agony.”</p> +<p>A low wail escaped her, and she hid her face in her arms.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome, is not your husband dead?”</p> +<p>“Dead to me,—but not yet in his grave. The man I +married is still alive.”</p> +<p>She heard a half-stifled groan, and buried her face deeper +in her arms to avoid the sight of the suffering she had +caused.</p> +<p>For some time the stillness of death reigned around them, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_354' name='page_354'></a>354</span> +and when at last the wretched woman raised her eyes, she +saw Dr. Grey standing beside her, with one hand on the back +of her chair, the other clasped over his eyes. Reverently +she turned and pressed her lips to his cold fingers, and he felt +her hot tears falling upon them, as she said, falteringly,—</p> +<p>“Forgive me the pain that I have innocently inflicted +on you. God is my witness, I did not imagine you cared for +me. I supposed you pitied me, and were only interested in +saving my miserable soul. The servants told me you were +very soon to be married to a young girl who lived with your +sister; and I never dreamed that your noble, generous heart +felt any interest in me, save that of genuine Christian compassion +for my loneliness and desolation. If I had suspected +your feelings, I would have gone away immediately, or told +you all. Oh, that I had never come here!—that I had never +left my safe retreat, near Funchal! Then I would not have +stabbed the heart of the only man whom I respect, revere, +and trust.”</p> +<p>Some moments elapsed ere he could fully command himself, +and when he spoke he had entirely regained composure.</p> +<p>“Do not reproach yourself. The fault has been mine, +rather than yours. Knowing that some mystery enveloped +your early life, I should not have allowed my affections to +centre so completely in one concerning whose antecedents +I knew absolutely nothing. I have been almost culpably +rash and blind,—but I could not look into your beautiful, +sad eyes, and doubt that you were worthy of the love that +sprang up unbidden in my heart. I knew that you were +irreligious, but I believed I could win you back to Christ; +and when I tell you that, after living thirty-eight years, +you are the only woman I ever met whom I wished to call my +wife, you can in some degree realize my confidence in the +innate purity of your character. God only knows how +severely I am punished by my rashness, how profoundly I deplore +the strange infatuation that so utterly blinded me. +At least, I am grateful that my brief madness has not involved +you in sin and additional suffering.”</p> +<p>The burning spots faded from her cheeks as she listened +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_355' name='page_355'></a>355</span> +to his low, solemn words, and when he ended, she clasped +her hands passionately, and exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Do not judge me, until you know all. I am not as unworthy +as you fear. Do not withdraw your confidence from +me.”</p> +<p>He shook his head, and answered, sadly,—</p> +<p>“A wife, yet bereft of your husband’s protection! A wife, +wandering among strangers, and a deserter from the home +you vowed to cheer! Your own admission cries out in judgment +against you.”</p> +<p>He walked to the table and picked up his gloves, and Mrs. +Gerome rose and advanced a few steps.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, you will come now and then to see me?”</p> +<p>“No; for the present I do not wish to see you.”</p> +<p>“Ah! how brittle are men’s promises! Did you not assure +Elsie that you would never forsake her wretched child?”</p> +<p>“Our painful relations invalidate that promise,—cancel +that pledge. I can not visit you as formerly; still, I shall +at all times be glad to serve you; and you have only to acquaint +me with your wishes to insure their execution.”</p> +<p>“Remember how solitary, how desolate, I am.”</p> +<p>“A wife should be neither, while her husband lives.”</p> +<p>The cold severity of his tone wounded her inexpressibly, +and she haughtily drew herself up.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey will at least allow me an opportunity of explaining +the circumstances that he seems to regard as so +heinous?”</p> +<p>He looked at the proud but quivering mouth,—into the +great, shadowy, gray eyes, and a heavy sigh escaped him.</p> +<p>“Perhaps it is better that I should know your history, for it +will diminish my own unhappiness to feel assured that you +are worthy of the estimate I placed upon you one hour ago. +Shall I come to-morrow, or will you tell me now what you +desire me to know?”</p> +<p>“I can not sleep until I have exonerated myself in your +clear, truthful, holy eyes: I can not endure that you should +think harshly of me, even for a day. This room is suffocating! +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_356' name='page_356'></a>356</span> +I will meet you on the portico; and yonder, by the +sea, I will show you my life.”</p> +<p>She went to the escritoire, opened one of the drawers, and +took out a package. Wrapping a cloak around her, she +quitted the parlor, and found Dr. Grey leaning against one +of the columns.</p> +<p>He did not offer her his arm as formerly, but slowly and +silently they walked down towards the beach, where the surf +was rolling heavily in with a steady roar, and tossing sheets +of foam around the stone piers.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “While far across the hill,</p> +<p class='cg'>A dark and brazen sunset ribbed with black,<br /> +Glared, like the sullen eyeballs of the plague.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII' id='CHAPTER_XXVII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Doctor Grey, had you possessed a tithe of the ingenuity +of Peiresc, you might long ago have interpreted the deep, +dark incisions in my character, which, like the indentations +on his celebrated amethyst, show where the <i>laminæ</i> of luckless +events inscribed my history with mournful ciphers. +Elsie’s hints would have furnished any woman with a clew; +but, since you have not availed yourself of their aid, I must +lift the shroud that hides the corpse of my youth, my happiness, +my faith in man, my hope in God. Ah! unto what +shall I liken it? This ruined, wretched thing I call my +life? To the <i>Tauk e Kerra</i>,—standing in a dreary waste, +lifting its vast, keyless arch helplessly to heaven? Even such +a crumbling arch, beautiful and grand in its glorious promise, +is the incomplete, crownless life of Agla Gerome,—a lonely +and melancholy monument of a gigantic failure. Two months +before my birth, my father, Henderson Flewellyn, died, and +when I was three hours old, my poor young mother followed +him, leaving me to the care of her nurse, Elsie Maclean, and +of an old uncle who was at that time residing in Copenhagen. +Having no relatives to dictate, Elsie named me Vashti, for +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_357' name='page_357'></a>357</span> +my mother; but my great-uncle wrote that my baptism must +be deferred until he could be present, and instructed her to +call me Evelyn, after himself. But the stubborn Scotch +will would not bend, and my name was written in the family +Bible, Vashti Flewellyn. Before the expiration of three +years, Mr. Mitchell Evelyn died, bequeathing his fortune to +me, as Evelyn Flewellyn, and consigning me to the guardianship +of Mr. Lucian Wright, a widowed minister of New York. +I was a feeble, sickly child, hovering continually upon the +confines of death, and, as city air was deemed injurious to me, +Elsie kept me at a farm-house on the Hudson, belonging to +the estate that I was destined to inherit. Here I remained +until my tenth year, when Mr. Wright removed me to the +vicinity of Albany, and placed me under the care of his +maiden sister, who had a small class of girls to educate. +Elsie accompanied and watched over me, and here I spent +four quiet, happy years; but the death of my teacher set +me once more afloat, and I was carried to New York, and +left at a large and fashionable boarding-school. I was fond +of study, and boundlessly ambitious, and soon formed a warm, +close friendship with a teacher who entered the institution +after I became one of its inmates. I had no one to love but +Elsie, who never left me, and consequently, I gave to Edith +Dexter, the young teacher, all the affection that I would have +lavished on parents, brothers, and sisters, had they been +granted to me. She was several years my senior, and the loveliest +woman I ever saw. Reared in affluence, her family had +become impoverished, and Edith was thrown upon her own resources +for a support. My father’s fortune was very large, +and the property left me by Mr. Evelyn swelled my estate to +very unusual proportions. Mr. Wright had carefully attended +to the investment of the income, and I was regarded +as the heiress of enormous wealth. Tenderly attached to +Edith, whose beauty, intelligence, and varied accomplishments +rendered her peculiarly attractive, I loaded her with presents, +and determined that as soon as my educational career ended, +I would establish myself in an elegant residence on Fifth +Avenue, take Edith to live under my roof, treat her always +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_358' name='page_358'></a>358</span> +as my sister, and share my ample fortune with her. Dr. +Grey, you can form no adequate conception of the depth of +the love I entertained for her. Day and night my busy +brain devised schemes for lightening her labors, for promoting +her happiness; and I spared no exertion to shield her from +the petty vexations and humiliating annoyances incident to +her situation. Waking, I prayed for her; sleeping in her +arms, I dreamed of the future we should spend together. At +the close of the session, she went into Vermont to visit her +invalid mother, and I to Mr. Wright’s quiet home, to remain +until the end of vacation. The minister was a kind-hearted +but weak old man, who treated me tenderly, and humored +every caprice that attacked my brain. I had never before +been his guest, and here, at his house, on the second day +of my sojourn, I met his favorite nephew, Maurice Carlyle.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome uttered the name through firmly set teeth, +and the blue cords on her forehead tangled terribly.</p> +<p>Clenching her fingers, she drew a long breath, and continued,—</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“At</ins> that time, he was by far the most fascinating, and +certainly the handsomest man I have ever met, and when I +recall the beauty of his face, the grace of his manner, the +noble symmetry of his figure, and the sparkling vivacity of +his conversation, I do not wonder that from the first hour +of our acquaintance he charmed me. I was but a child, a +proud, impulsive young thing, full of romance, full of wild +dreams of manly chivalry and feminine constancy and devotion; +and Maurice Carlyle seemed the perfect incarnation +of all my glowing ideals of knightly excellence and heroism. +He was thirty,—I not yet sixteen; he poor and fastidious,—I +generous and trusting, and possessed of one of the largest +estates on the continent. He had spent much of his life +abroad, and was as polished as any courtier who ever graced +St. Cloud or St. James; I an impetuous young simpleton, +who knew nothing of the world, save those tantalizing +glimpses snatched from behind the bars of a boarding-school. +Here, examine these portraits, while the light still lingers, +and you will see the woful disparity that existed between us +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_359' name='page_359'></a>359</span> +at that period. They were painted a fortnight after I met +him.”</p> +<p>She opened a velvet case, and laid before her companion two +oval ivory miniatures, richly set with large pearls.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey took them both in his hand, and, by the dull, +lurid glow that tipped a ridge of clouds lying along the western +horizon, he saw two pictures.</p> +<p>One, a remarkably handsome man, with brilliant black +eyes and regular features, and a cast of countenance that +forcibly reminded him of the likenesses of Edgar A. Poe, while +the expression denoted more of chicane than chivalry in his +character. The other, a fresh, sweet, girlish face, eloquent +with innocence and purity, with clear, gray eyes, overhung +by jetty lashes, and overarched by black brows, while a mass +of dark hair was heaped in short curls on her forehead and +temples, and fell in long ringlets over her neck.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey looked at Mrs. Gerome, and now at the portrait, +but the resemblance could nowhere be traced, save in the delicate +yet haughty arch of the eyebrows, and the dainty moulding +of the faultless nose.</p> +<p>While he glanced from one to the other, she placed a third +miniature beside those in his hand, and he started at sight +of a surpassingly lovely countenance, which recalled the outlines +of one that he had left in his library three hours before, +where Miss Dexter sat reading to Muriel.</p> +<p>“There you have the gods of my old worship,—Edith and +Maurice. Can you wonder at my infatuation?”</p> +<p>She took the pictures, and a derisive smile distorted her +lips, as she looked shiveringly at them, and hastily replaced +them on their velvet cushions. Closing the spring with a +convulsive snap, she tossed the case on the terrace, whence it +fell to the grass below; and drew her blue velvet drapery +closer around her.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, you know quite enough of human nature to anticipate +what followed. Three days after I met Maurice +Carlyle, he swore deathless devotion to his ‘gray-eyed angel,’ +and offered me his hand. Ah! when I recall that evening, +and think of the words uttered so tenderly, so passionately, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_360' name='page_360'></a>360</span> +when I summon before me that radiant face, and listen again +to the voice that so utterly bewitched me, the remembrance +maddens me, and I feel a murderous hate of my race stirring +my blood into fierce throbs. With my hands folded in his, +we planned our future, painted visions that made my brain +reel, and when his lips touched my forehead, as sacred seal +of our betrothal, I felt that earth could add nothing to my +blessed lot. Of course Mr. Wright warmly sanctioned my +choice, drugging his conscience with the reflection that if +Maurice was extravagant and inert, my fortune would obviate +the necessity of his attending to his nominal profession, that +of the law. The old man insisted, however, that as I was +a mere child, we must defer our marriage two years. Mr. +Carlyle frowned, and vowed he could not live more than +twelve months without his ‘peerless prize,’ and like any other +silly girl, I believed it as unhesitatingly as I did the lessons +from the gospels that were read to us night and morning. +What cloudless days flew over my young head, during the ensuing +month; days wherein I never tired of kneeling and +thanking God for the marvellous blessing of Maurice Carlyle’s +love. Life was mantling in a crystal goblet, like <i>eau de vie de +Dantzic</i>, and I could not even taste it without watching +the gold sparkles rise and fall and flash; and how could I +dream, then, that the draught was not brightened with gilt +leaves, but really flavored with <i>curare</i>? The only drawback +to my happiness was Elsie’s opposition to my engagement, +and Mr. Carlyle’s refusal to allow me to acquaint Edith with +my betrothal. He was so ‘furiously jealous of that yellow-haired +woman whom his darling loved too well.’ It would +be quite time enough to inform her of my happiness when I +returned to school. From the beginning, Elsie distrusted, +disliked, and eyed him suspiciously, but her expostulations +and arguments only strengthened his influence, and partially +overthrew hers. One day Mr. Carlyle sought me in great +haste, and with considerable agitation informed me that he +had been unexpectedly summoned abroad. Business, with +the details of which he tenderly forbore to weary me, would +detain him many months in Europe, and he implored me to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_361' name='page_361'></a>361</span> +consent to a private marriage before his departure. Mr. +Wright was in very feeble health, had been threatened with +paralysis, and my ardent lover would be too unendurably +miserable separated from me, when death might at any moment +rob me of my guardian. I consented, and hastened to +obtain Mr. Wright’s sanction. That day chanced to be one +of his despondent, hypochondriacal seasons, and after some +persuasion on my part, and much sophistry from his nephew, +the weak old man yielded. Then my lover pressed his advantage, +and vowed he could never leave me, that his young +bride must accompany him to London, that my mind would +be too much engrossed by thoughts of him to permit the +possibility of my studying advantageously in his absence, and +that he would assume the responsibility of superintending +and perfecting his wife’s education. Mr. Wright demurred; +Mr. Carlyle raved; I wept. Maurice clasped me in his arms, +and in the midst of my tears and pleadings, my guardian +succumbed. It was arranged that our marriage should take +place within a fortnight, and that we should immediately +start to Europe. Poor Elsie!—truest, wisest, best friend God +ever gave me,—was enraged and distressed beyond expression. +She wept, wrung her hands, and falling on her knees entreated +me not to execute my insane purpose,—assured me I was a +lamb led to sacrifice, was the victim of an infamous scheme +between uncle and nephew to possess themselves of my estate, +and she exhausted argument and persuasion in attempting +to recall my wandering common sense. Much as I loved +her, this bitter vituperation of my idol incensed and estranged +me, and I temporarily forbade her to enter my presence. +Poor, dear, devoted Elsie! When my heart relented, and I +sought her to assure her of my forgiveness, tears and groans +greeted me, and I found her sitting at the foot of her bed, +with her face hidden in her apron.”</p> +<p>Stretching her arms towards the grave, Mrs. Gerome +paused; her lips quivered, and two tears rolled down her +cheeks.</p> +<p>“Ah! dear old heart! Brave, true, tender soul! How different +my lot would have been had I heeded her prayers +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_362' name='page_362'></a>362</span> +and counsel! Not until I lie down yonder, and mingle my +dust with hers, can I, even for an instant, forget her faithful, +sleepless care and love. I believe she is the only human +being who was ever tenderly and truly attached to me, and +God knows I learned before I lost her how much her affection +was worth.”</p> +<p>The cold, ringing voice grew tremulous, wavering, and some +moments passed before Mrs. Gerome continued,—</p> +<p>“Mr. Carlyle preferred a private wedding, but I insisted +upon a ceremony at the church where Mr. Wright officiated, +and immediately telegraphed to Edith, requesting her presence +as bridesmaid, and offering to provide her outfit and defray +all expenses, if she would accompany us to Europe. My betrothed +bit his lip, and objected; but on this point, at least, +I was firm, and assured him I would not be married unless +Edith could be with me. She wrote, declining my invitation +to Europe, but came to New York, the day of my wedding. +When I look back at what followed, I have a vague, confused +feeling, similar to that which results from taking opium. +Mr. Carlyle had positively interdicted my taking Elsie to +Europe, assuring me that his wife should not be in leading-strings +to a spoiled and presumptuous nurse, and promising +me that, when we returned to America, she might occupy +the position of housekeeper in our establishment. Absorbed +by my own supreme happiness, I scarcely saw Edith until +we were dressed for the ceremony, and when she came and +leaned against the table where the bridal presents were arranged, +I noticed that she was pale and much agitated, but +ascribed her emotion to grief at my approaching departure. +Several of my schoolmates officiated as bridesmaids, and a +large party assembled at the church to witness the marriage. +Mr. Carlyle was a great favorite in society, and his friends +were invited to the wedding breakfast at the parsonage. It +was on the bright morning of my sixteenth birthday, when +I stood before the altar and listened to and uttered the words +that made me a wife. Every syllable, every intonation, of +the minister’s voice is branded on my memory as with a red-hot +iron: ‘Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_363' name='page_363'></a>363</span> +to live together after God’s ordinance, in the holy estate of +matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, serve him, love, honor, and +keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, +keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?’ +And there, before the altar, with the stained glass making a +rainbow behind the pulpit, I answered, ‘<i>I will</i>.’ Oh, Dr. +Grey, pity me! pity me!”</p> +<p>A cry of anguish escaped her, and she extended her arms +until her hands rested on her companion’s shoulder.</p> +<p>In silence he bent his head, and put his lips to the tightly +clasped fingers.</p> +<p>“Tell me, sir,—if that vow means that man may make a +plaything of God’s statutes? If it binds for one hour, does +it not bind while life lasts?”</p> +<p>“‘<i>So long as ye both shall live</i>,’” answered Dr. Grey, solemnly; +and he gently removed her hand, and drew himself +a little farther from her.</p> +<p>She was too painfully engrossed by sad reminiscences to +notice the action, and resumed her narrative.</p> +<p>“There was a gay party at the breakfast, and I could not +remove my fascinated eyes from the radiant face of my husband, +who had never seemed half so princely as now, when he +was wholly my own. Once he bent his handsome head to +mine, and whispered, ‘<i>La Peregrina</i>,’ the pet name he had +given me, because he averred that, in his estimation, my love +was worth as many ducats as that celebrated pearl of Philip. +‘<i>La Peregrina</i>,’ indeed! Ah! he melted it in gall and hemlock, +and drained it at his wedding feast. My heart was so +overflowing with happiness that I slipped my fingers into +his, and, in answer to his fond epithet, whispered, ‘Maurice, +my king.’”</p> +<p>The speaker was silent for a moment, and an expression of +disgust and scorn usurped the place of mournfulness.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I deserved my punishment, for no Aztec ever +worshipped his stone God more devoutly than I did my black-eyed, +smooth-lipped idol. ‘Thou shalt have no other gods +before me.’ Ah! my ‘graven image’ seemed so marvellously +godlike that I bowed down before it; and there, in the midst +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_364' name='page_364'></a>364</span> +of my adoration, the curse of idolatry smote me. Half bewildered +by the rapture that made my heart throb almost to +suffocation, I stole away from the guests and hid myself in +the small hot-house attached to Mr. Wright’s study, longing +for a little quiet that would enable me to realize all the blessedness +of my lot. With childish glee I toyed with my title,—with +my new name,—Maurice Carlyle’s wife—Evelyn Carlyle! +How pretty it sounded,—how holy it seemed! My future +was as brilliant as that vast enchanted hall into which poor +Nouronihar was enticed through her insane love for Vathek, +and, like hers, my illusion was dispelled by a decree that +strangled hope in my heart, and enveloped it in flames.”</p> +<p>Here the flood of melancholy memories drowned her words, +and, crossing her arms on the stone balustrade, she sat silent +and moody.</p> +<p>In the dusky, crepuscular light, Dr. Grey could no longer +discern the emotions that printed themselves so legibly on her +countenance; but the outline of her face, and the listless, +hopeless droop of her figure, curved between him and the +dun waste of waters.</p> +<p>Overhead a few dim, hazy stars shivered on the ragged +skirts of trailing gray clouds, and the ceaseless rustle of the +shuddering poplars formed a mournful accompaniment to +the muttering of the ocean, whose weary waves were sobbing +themselves to rest, like scourged but unconquered children.</p> +<p>“I thank you for your patience, Dr. Grey. You forbear to +hurry me, even as you would shrink from rudely jostling or +pushing forward the mattock which slowly digs into a grave,—removing +human mould and crumbling coffin, searching for +the skeleton beneath. Exhuming human bones is melancholy +work, but sadder still is the mission of one who disinters the +ashes of a woman’s love, hope, and faith. Across the centre of +Mr. Wright’s hot-house ran a light trellis of fine lattice-work +cut into an arch and covered with the dense luxuriant foliage +of the bignonia trained over it. Behind this screen I had +ensconced my happy self, and sat idly bruising the leaves of +a rose geranium that chanced to be near me, when my blissful +reverie was interrupted by the sound of that voice which +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_365' name='page_365'></a>365</span> +had stolen my heart, my reason, my common sense. Believing +that he had missed and was searching for his bride, I +rose and peeped through the glossy leaves of the clambering +vine that divided us. Not four feet distant stood my husband +of an hour, with his arms clasped fondly around Edith, +who, in a broken, passionate voice, denounced his perfidy and +heartlessness. Vehemently he pleaded for an opportunity to +exculpate himself, and there, tearful and sobbing, with her +head on his bosom, my friend listened to an explanation that +was destined to enlighten more than one person. From his +lips I learned that he had become entangled in certain financial +difficulties that involved his honor as a gentleman; he had +used money to enable him to embark in a speculation which, +if successful, would have afforded him the means of marrying +in accordance with the dictates of his heart; but, like the +majority of nefarious schemes, it failed signally, and fear of +detection, and the absolute necessity of obtaining a large +amount of money, had goaded him to the desperate step of +sacrificing his happiness and offering his hand to me. He +strained her to his breast, kissed her repeatedly, and impiously +called God to witness that he loved her, and her only, +truly, tenderly; that never for an instant had his affection +wandered from her, ‘his beautiful, idolized darling.’ He +bitterly denounced his folly, cursed the hour that had thrown +me and my fortune in his path, and swore that he utterly +loathed and despised the silly child whose wealth alone had +made her his dupe; and, as he flatteringly expressed it, his +‘hated and intolerable incubus.’ He had intended to spare +her and himself the agony of this hour,—had determined to +remain always in Europe, where he could escape the mocking +contrast of his bride and his beloved. With indescribable +scorn, and a wonderful fertility of derisive epithets, he held +me up, as on the point of a scalpel, and proved the utter impossibility +of his having been influenced by any other than +the most grossly mercenary motives; while, between the bursts +of invective against me, he lavished upon her a hundred fond, +tender, passionate phrases of endearment that had never been +applied to me. Pressing one hand on her head, he raised the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_366' name='page_366'></a>366</span> +other, and called Heaven to witness, that, although the world +might regard him as the husband of ‘that sallow, gray-eyed, +silly girl,’ whose gold alone had bought his name, the only +woman he could ever love was his own beautiful Edith; and, +should death come to his aid and free him from the detested +bond that linked him to the heiress, he swore he would not +lose a day in claiming the lovely wife that fate had denied +him. All this, and much more, which I have not now the requisite +patience to recapitulate, fell on my ears, startling me +more painfully than the trumpet-blast of the Last Judgment +will ever do. Standing there, in my costly bridal robe, I +listened to the revelation that blotted out all sun and moon +and stars from my life,—that made earth a dismal Sheol and +the future a howling desolation,—a dreary wilderness of +woe. In my agony and shame I clenched my hands so +savagely, one upon the other, that my diamond betrothal-ring +cut sharply into the quivering flesh, and blood-drops oozed +and dripped on my shining gossamer veil and white velvet +dress. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, my whole +nature was metamorphosed; and my coming years swept in +panoramic vision before me, beckoning me to the prompt performance +of a stern and humiliating duty. The blood in my +veins seemed to hiss and bubble like a seething cauldron, and +my heart fired with a hate for which language has no name, +no garb, no provision; but my brain kept faithful guard, and +reason calmly pointed out my future path. When Mr. Carlyle +ended his tirade against me and his curses on his own folly, +I moved forward into the arch and confronted my dethroned +and defiled gods. If the tedious years of the primitive +patriarchs could be allotted to me they would never suffice +to efface the picture that lingers in deep, hot lines on my +memory, and pursues me as ruthlessly as the avenging cross +followed and tortured the miserable fugitive in Gustave +Doré’s ‘<i>Le Juif errant</i>,’ or the Eyeless Christ that proved a +haunting Nemesis to the Empress Irene. Edith’s lovely face +was on his bosom, and his false, handsome lips were pressed +to hers. So, I met my husband and my dearest friend, one +hour after the utterance of vows that were perhaps still echoing +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_367' name='page_367'></a>367</span> +in the courts of heaven. Such spectacles of human perfidy +are the real Medusas that Gorgonize trusting, tender, +throbbing hearts, and in view of this one I laughed aloud,—laughed +so unnaturally that it was no marvel I was called a +maniac. At sight of my desperate white face Edith shrieked +and fainted, and Maurice blanched and stammered and cowered. +Without a word of comment or recrimination I silently +passed on to my own room, where Elsie was waiting to clothe +me in my travelling-suit. In three hours the steamer would +sail, and I had little leisure for resolution and execution. +Summoning the lawyer to whose care my estate was entrusted, +I requested him to call Mr. Wright and Mr. Carlyle into the +dressing-room that adjoined my apartment, and there I held +an audience with the three who were most interested in my +career. Briefly I explained what had occurred, and announced +my determination, then and there, to separate forever +from the man who could never be more than my nominal +husband. I told them I held marriage, next to the Lord’s +Supper, the holiest sacrament instituted by God, but mine +had been an infamous mockery, an unpardonable sin against +me, and an <ins title='Was unsult'>insult</ins> to Heaven, whose blessing could never rest +upon it. Marriage, without sanctifying love, was unhallowed, +was a transgression of divine law, and a crime against my +womanhood which neither God nor man should forgive. +Maurice Carlyle had perjured himself,—had never loved the +woman who went with him to the altar,—and the affection +that had stirred my heart one hour before, was now as dead +as the Pharaohs hidden for centuries under the pyramids. +We two, who had sworn to love, honor, and cherish one +another, now hated and despised each other beyond all possibility +of expression; and I considered it a heinous sin to +perpetuate the awful mockery, to cling to the letter of a contract +that bade defiance to every impulse of heart and soul,—to +every dictate of reason and decree of conscience. Wedded +lives and divided hearts I believed a crime, and while I +admitted that man could not put asunder those whom God’s +statutes joined together, I contended that Mr. Carlyle’s perjury +rendered it sinful for him and me to reside under the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_368' name='page_368'></a>368</span> +same roof. I could not recognize the validity of divorces, for +human hands could not unlink God’s fetters, and man’s law +had no power to free either of us from the bonds we had +voluntarily assumed in the invoked presence of Jehovah. I +would neither accept nor permit a divorce, for, in my estimation, +it was not worth the paper that framed it, and was a +species of sacrilegious trifling; but I would never live as +the wife of a man who had repeatedly declared he had not an +atom of affection for me. <i>Under some circumstances I +deemed separation a woman’s duty</i>, and while I fully comprehended +the awful import of the vow ‘<i>Till death us do +part</i>,’ and denied that human legislators could free us, or +annul the marriage, I was resolved, while life lasted, to +consider myself a duped, an unloved, but a lawful wife,—a +woman consecrated by solemn oaths that no human action +could cancel. Since money was the bait, I was willing to +divide my fortune as the price of a quiet separation; and +though from that hour I intended to quit his presence forever, +and regard the tie that linked us as merely nominal, I +would allow him a liberal income until I attained my majority +and would liquidate all his present debts. To your imagination, +Dr. Grey, I leave the details of what ensued,—my +guardian’s remorseful grief, my lawyer’s wonder and expostulation, +Mr. Carlyle’s confusion, chagrin, and rage. He +pleaded, argued, threatened; but he might as well have attempted +to catch and restrain in the hollow of his hand the +steady sweep of Niagara, as hope to change my purpose. My +terms were fixed, and I gave him permission to tell the world +what he chose concerning this strange <i>denouement</i> of the +wedding feast. If I could only go away at once, I cared not +what the public thought or said; and finally, finding me no +longer a yielding child, but a desperate, stern, relentless +woman, my terms were acceded to. Briefly we discussed the +legal provisions, and I signed some hastily prepared papers +that settled a bountiful annuity upon Mr. Carlyle. My trunks +were sent to the steamer, the carriage was brought to the +door, and in the presence of my guardian and the lawyer, I +announced my desire never to look again upon the man who +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_369' name='page_369'></a>369</span> +had so completely blighted my life. In silence I laid upon the +table my betrothal and wedding rings, and the sparkling diamond +cross that had constituted my bridal present. No word +of reproach passed my lips, for women love when they upbraid, +and only aching, fond hearts furnish stinging rebukes; +but I hated and scorned the author of my ruin too utterly to +indulge in crimination and reproach. So we two, who had +just been pronounced man and wife, who had clasped hands +and linked hearts and lives until we should stumble into the +tomb,—we, Maurice Carlyle and Evelyn, his bride, four hours +married, stood up and looked at each other for the last time. +During the interview I had addressed no remark to him, and +the last words I ever uttered to him were contained in that +sentence fondly whispered when he bent over me at the table, +‘Maurice, my king.’ As I bade adieu to my guardian, and +paused before the princely figure whom the world called my +husband, our eyes met, and he flushed, and muttered, ‘You +will rue your rashness.’ Silently I looked on the handsome +features that had so suddenly grown loathsome to me, and he +snatched my wedding ring from the table and held it appealingly +towards me, saying remorsefully, ‘Evelyn, my wife, forgive +your wretched husband!’ Without a word, or a touch +of his outstretched hands, I turned and went down to the +carriage, where my faithful nurse sat weeping and waiting. +One hour later, the vessel swung from her moorings, and Elsie +and I were soon at sea. A girl only sixteen, four hours married, +separated forever from husband and friends,—without +hope or faith in either human or heavenly things,—hating, +with most intolerable intensity, the man whose name she had +just assumed, and to whom she felt indissolubly bound, in +accordance with the vow ‘<i>So long as ye both shall live</i>.’”</p> +<p>Out of the tossing, moaning sea, the moon had risen slowly, +breaking through a rent scarf of cloud that barred her solemn, +white disc, and silvering the foam of the racing waves that +seemed to reflect the glittering fringe of the scudding vapor in +the chill vault above them. There was no mellow radiance, no +golden lustre such as southern moons are wont to shed, but +a weird, fitful glitter on sea and land, that now shone with +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_370' name='page_370'></a>370</span> +startling vividness, and anon waned, until sombre shadows +seemed stalking in spectral ranks from some distant, gloomy +ocean lair. It was one of those melancholy nights when +the supernatural realm threatened to impinge upon the +physical, that shuddered and shrank from the contact,—when +the atmosphere gave vague hints of ghostly denizens, and +every passing breeze seemed laden with sepulchral damps and +vibrating with sepulchral sounds.</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome sat erect, with her hands resting on the balustrade, +and under that mysteriously white moon her pearl-pale +face looked as hopelessly cold and rigid as any Persepolitan +sphinx, that nightly fronts the immemorial stars +which watch the ruined tombs of Chilminar.</p> +<p>Raising her fingers to her forehead, she lifted and shook a +band of the shining white hair, and resumed her narration, in +the same steady, passionless tone.</p> +<p>“These gray locks were the fruit of that bridal day, for, +on the afternoon that we sailed, I was taken very ill with what +was called congestion of the brain,—was unconscious throughout +the voyage, and when we reached Liverpool, my hair, once +so black and glossy, was as you see it now. Ah! how often, +since that time, have I heard poor Elsie mourning over my +mother’s untimely death, and quoting that ancient superstition, +‘You should never wean a child while trees are in blossom; +otherwise it will have gray hair.’ Mr. Wright was so +prostrated by grief at what had occurred, that he survived +my departure only a few weeks; and at his death, Mr. Carlyle +attempted to seize and control my estate. Urging the plea of +my minority, he insisted upon assuming the charge of my +property, and in order to consummate his avaricious designs, +and screen his name from opprobrium, he told the world that +I was hopelessly insane; and that the discovery of this fact, +one hour after his marriage, had induced him to send me +abroad under the care of a faithful and judicious nurse. To +give plausibility to this statement, a paragraph was inserted +in the New York papers announcing that I was a raving +maniac and an inmate of an English asylum for lunatics. +Mr. Clayton, my lawyer, was the sole surviving witness of my +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_371' name='page_371'></a>371</span> +final interview, and of its financial provisions; and, had he +yielded to bribes and threats which were unsparingly offered, +God only knows what would have been my fate, since the +tender mercies of my husband destined me to the cheerful +and attractive precincts of a mad-house. To Mr. Clayton’s +stern integrity and brave defence, I am indebted for the +preservation of my fortune and the defeat of a daring and iniquitous +scheme to arrest me in London and commit me to +the custody of an asylum-warden. Fortunately for me, he +lived long enough to transfer to my own guardianship, when +I attained my majority, the estate which had cost me every +earthly hope. Six months after my departure from America +I bade farewell to Europe, and plunged into the most remote +and unfrequented portions of the East, where I wished to remain +unknown and unnoticed. In a half-defiant and half-superstitious +mood, I had assumed the talismanic and mystical +name of Alga Gerome, with the faint hope that it +might shield me from the intrigues and persecutions which I +felt assured would always dog the steps of Evelyn Carlyle. +Having appointed a cautious and confidential agent in New +York and Paris, I destroyed all traces of my whereabouts, +and became as utterly lost to the world as though the portals +of the grave had closed upon me. Without friends, and accompanied +only by Elsie and her son Robert, I lived year after +year in wandering through strange lands. Books and pictures +were my solace, and to strangle time I first devoted myself +to drawing and painting. After a while I came back to +Rome, and frequented the studios and galleries, perfecting +myself in the mechanical department of Art. But fear of +encountering some familiar face drove me from the Eternal +City, and a sudden whim took me to Madeira, where I spent +the only portion of my life to which I recur with any degree +of satisfaction. There, surrounded by magnificent scenery, +and safe from intrusion, I intended to drag out the remainder +of my dreary years; but poor Elsie grew so restless, so homesick, +so impatient to visit the graves of her household band, +that I finally allowed myself to be persuaded into returning +to my native land. Robert preceded us, and purchased this +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_372' name='page_372'></a>372</span> +secluded spot, which I had stipulated must be upon the sea-shore +and secure from all intrusion. Avoiding New York, I +came reluctantly to Boston, thence to ‘Solitude,’ without +seeing or hearing of any whom I had once known. When I +was twenty-one, I transferred to Mr. Carlyle the sum of thirty +thousand dollars, as a final settlement; but my agent scrupulously +obeyed my instructions, and no human being, save himself, +is aware of my place of residence or the name under +which I am sheltered. Strenuous efforts have been made by +Mr. Carlyle to unearth his wretched dupe, but since I left +England, nearly eight years ago, he has been unable to discover +any trace of my location. From time to time I received +bills, contracted by him, and paid by my lawyer after I left +New York; and in my escritoire are two accounts of jewellers, +where I find charged the flashing ring and costly diamond +cross, which I refused to retain but for which I paid, after +my separation. Prone to dissipation, Mr. Carlyle plunged into +excesses that would have squandered royal portions, and +my agent writes that his eagerness to ascertain where I am +residing has recently increased, in consequence of his pecuniary +necessities, although the terms of our separation deprive +him of every shadow of claim upon me or my purse. +Such, Dr. Grey, is the shattered idol of my girlish adoration,—such +the divinity of dust upon which I spent the treasures +of my love and trust. Gray-haired, gray-hearted, mocked, and +maddened in the dawn of my confiding womanhood, nominally +a wife, but in reality a nameless waif, shut out from +happiness, and pitied as a maniac,—such, is that most desolate +and isolated woman, whom, as Agla Gerome, you have +known as the mistress of this lonely place. As for my name, +I sometimes wonder whether in the last great gathering in the +court of Heaven, my own mother will know what to call her +unbaptized child,—whether the sins charged against me will +be read out as those of Vashti, or Evelyn, or Agla. Elsie +<ins title='Was persistenly'>persistently</ins> clung to Vashti, and verily there seems a grim +fitness in her selection,—a dismal analogy between my blasted +life and that of the discrowned Persian Queen. Be that as it +may, if I miss a name I surely shall not miss the equity that +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_373' name='page_373'></a>373</span> +man denies me. ‘<i>So long as ye both shall live</i>.’ When I +look out in springtime, over the blossoming earth, daisies, +and violets, and primroses range themselves into lines that +spell out these hated words of an ever-echoing vow, and if, +in midnight hours, I raise my weary eyes, the sleepless stars +revengefully group themselves, and flash back to me, in burning +characters, ‘<i>Till death us do part</i>.’ Up yonder, behind +sun, and planet, and nebulæ, I shall look God in the face, and +pointing to my withered heart and blighted life, can say truly, +‘At least I kept the ruins free from perjury; there, at your +feet, is the oath unsullied, that I called you to accept on the +awful day when I knelt at your altar.’ Love, honor, and +obedience, Maurice Carlyle’s unworthiness rendered impossible; +but the vow which consecrated and set me apart, which +forbade the thought that other men might offer homage and +affection, or even ordinary tributes of admiration, I have kept +sacredly and faithfully. I might have plunged into the whirlpool +of fashionable life, and found temporary oblivion of my +humiliation and disappointment; but from such a career my +whole being revolted, and in seclusion I have dragged out a +dreary series of years that can scarcely be termed life. +Recently I have been honored by several proposals for a +divorce, on condition of an additional settlement of money +upon my eminently chivalric and devoted husband; but my +invariable reply has been, <i>human legislation is impotent to +cancel the statutes of Almighty God, which declare that only +death can free what Jehovah has joined together</i>, and the legal +provisions of man crumble and shrivel before the divine command, +‘<i>For the woman which hath an husband is bound by +the law to her husband so long as he liveth</i>.’ With what impatience, +what ceaseless yearning, I await the cold touch of +that deliverer who alone can sever my galling, detested fetters, +none but the God above us can understand and realize. The +eagerness with which I once anticipated my bridal hour does +not approximate the intensity of my longing for the day of +my death. O merciful God! surely, surely, I have been sufficiently +tortured, and the tardy release can not be far distant.”</p> +<p>She raised her face skyward, as if invoking Divine aid, but +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_374' name='page_374'></a>374</span> +her wan lips were voiceless; and only the song of the surf mingled +with the whisper of trembling poplars, whose fading +leaves gleamed ghostly and chill under the silver sheen of +that broad white moon.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“There heavily, across the troubled night,<br /> +A warning comet trails her hideous hair,<br /> +And underneath, the wroth sea-waves are white.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>During the hour in which Dr. Grey listened to the recital +of this woman’s hapless career, she became as utterly dead to +him as though shroud and sepulchre had already claimed her; +and when she ceased speaking, he looked as sorrowfully down +at her fair, frozen face, as if the coffin-lid were shutting it +forever from his view.</p> +<p>Henceforth she was as sacred in his sad eyes as some beloved +corpse, and bowing his head upon his hands, he prayed long +but silently that God would strengthen him for the duties of +a desolate future,—would sanctify this grievous disappointment +to his eternal welfare, and grant him power to lead +heavenward the heart of the only woman whom he had ever +desired to call his own.</p> +<p>Putting away the beautiful dreams wherein this regal form +had moved to and fro as crown and queen of his home and +heart, he calmly resigned the cherished scheme that linked this +woman’s life with his; and felt that he would gladly barter +all his earthly hopes for the assurance, that, throughout +eternity, he might be allowed the companionship which time +denied him.</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome rose, and folding her mantle around her, said +proudly,—</p> +<p>“Married life, unhallowed by love, is more acceptable in +your righteous eyes than my isolated existence; and you have +passed sentence against me. So be it. Strange code of morality +you Christians hug to your hearts, squeezing the form +that holds no spirit; but some day I shall be acquitted by +that incorruptible tribunal where God alone has the right +to judge us. Till then, farewell.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_375' name='page_375'></a>375</span></div> +<p>She turned to leave the terrace, but he arrested the movement, +and placed himself before her.</p> +<p>“You misinterpret my silence, if you suppose it was employed +in censuring your course. Pondering all that you have +recapitulated, I can conjecture no line of conduct towards +your husband less deplorable than that which you have pursued; +and I honor the stern honesty and integrity of purpose +from which you have never swerved. Mrs. Carlyle, I acquit +you of all guilt, save that of impious defiance, of rebellion +against your God, whose grace could sweeten even the bitter +dregs of the cup you have well-nigh drained.”</p> +<p>At the sound of her name, so long unuttered, she winced +and writhed as if some sensitive nerve had been suddenly +pierced and torn; but without heeding her emotion, Dr. Grey +continued,—</p> +<p>“If your earthly lot has been stinted of sunshine, can you +not bear a little temporary gloom,—must you needs people +it with adverse witnesses, must you thicken the darkness +with imprecations? You forget that life is only the racecourse, +not the goal,—that this world is for human souls +what the plain of Dura proved for the Hebrew trio who braved +its flames. Suppose you are lonely and bereft of the love +that might have cheered you? Was not Christ far more +isolated and loveless? In His fearful ordeal He was forsaken +by God,—but to you remains the everlasting promise, ‘I will +not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.’ O wretched +woman! give your aching heart to Him who emptied it of +earthly idols in order to fit it up for His own temple.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Is God less God, that thou art left undone?<br /> +Rise, worship, bless Him, in this sackcloth spun,<br /> +As in that purple.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Silently she listened, looking steadily up at his noble face, +where intense mental anguish had left unwonted pallor, and +printed new ciphers on brow and lips; and when his adjuration +ended, she put out her hand.</p> +<p>“That you do not <ins title='Was condem'>condemn</ins> me is the most precious consolation +you could offer, for your good opinion is worth much +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_376' name='page_376'></a>376</span> +to my proud, sensitive soul. If all men were like you there +would be no mutilated, ruined lives, such as mine,—no +nominal wives roaming up and down the world in search of +an obscure corner wherein to hide dishonored heads and +crushed hearts. God grant you some day a wife worthy of the +noblest man it has ever been my good fortune to meet. Good-by.”</p> +<p>He did not accept the offered hand, and stood for a moment +as if struggling to master some impulse to which he could not +yield. Perhaps he dared not trust the touch of those gleaming, +slender fingers that had clasped a living husband’s; or +perchance he was so absorbed by painful thoughts that he +failed to observe them.</p> +<p>Laying his palm softly on her snowy head, he said tenderly,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Carlyle, you have innocently, and I believe unconsciously, +caused me the keenest suffering I have ever endured; +and I feel assured you will not withhold the only reparation +which you could render, or I accept. Will you promise to +consecrate the remainder of your life to the service of Christ? +Will you humble your defiant soul, and so spend your future, +that when this brief earthly pilgrimage ends you can pass joyfully +to the city of Rest? Girded with this hope, I can brave +all trials,—can be content to look upon your face no more in +this world,—can patiently wait for a reunion in that Eternal +Home where they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain +that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry +nor are given in marriage.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dr. Grey, if it were possible!”</p> +<p>She clasped her hands and bowed her chin upon them, awed +by his tones, and unable to met his grave, pleading eyes.</p> +<p>“Faith and prayer are the talismans that render all things +possible to an earnest Christian; and it has been truly said +‘We mount to heaven mostly on the ruins of our cherished +schemes, finding our failures were successes.’ Recollect,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘There is a pleasure which is born of pain:<br /> +The grave of all things hath its violet,’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_377' name='page_377'></a>377</span></div> +<p>and do not indulge a corroding bitterness that has almost destroyed +the nobler elements of your nature. I will exact no +promise, but when I am gone, do not forget the request that +my soul makes of yours. May God point out your work and +help you to perform it faithfully. May His hand guide and +uphold, and His merciful arms enfold you, now and forever, +is and shall be my prayer.”</p> +<p>For a moment his hand lingered as if in benediction upon +the drooping gray head, then he quietly turned and walked +away, knowing full well that he was bidding adieu to the most +precious of all earthly objects,—that he too was shattering +a lovely “graven image,” before which his heart had fondly +bowed.</p> +<p>As the sound of his firm step died away, the lonely woman +lifted her face and looked after the form, vanishing in the +gloom of the overarching trees. When he had disappeared, +and she turned seaward, where the moon, as if inviting her +to heaven, had laid a broad shining band of beaten silver +from wave to sky,—the miserable wife raised her hands appealingly, +and made a new <ins title='Was convenant'>covenant</ins> with her pitying God.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “Wherefore thy life</p> +<p class='cg'>Shall purify itself, and heal itself,<br /> +In the long toil of love made meek by tears.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII' id='CHAPTER_XXVIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Merton, you are not conscious of the extent of your infatuation, +which has already excited comment in our limited +circle of acquaintances.”</p> +<p>“Indeed! The members of ‘our limited circle of acquaintances’ +are heartily welcome to whatever edification or amusement +they may be able to derive from the discussion of my individual +affairs, or the analysis of my peculiar tastes. You +forget, my dear Constance, that to devour and in turn be +devoured is an inexorable law of this world; and if my eccentricities +furnish a <i>ragout</i> for omnivorous society, I should be +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_378' name='page_378'></a>378</span> +philanthropically glad that tittle-tattledom owes me thanks.”</p> +<p>The speaker did not lay aside the newspaper that partially +concealed his countenance; and when he ceased speaking, his +eyes reverted to the statistical table of Egyptian and Algerine +cotton, which for some moments he had been attentively examining.</p> +<p>“My dear brother, you are spasmodically and provokingly +philosophical! Pray do me the honor to discard that stupid +<i>Times</i>, which you pore over as if it were the last sensation +novel, and be so courteous as to look at me while you are +talking,” replied the invalid sister, beating a tattoo on the side +of her couch.</p> +<p>“I believe I have nothing to communicate just now,” was +the quiet and unsatisfactory answer, as he drew a pencil from +his pocket and made some numeral annotations on the margin +of the statistics.</p> +<p>“Surely, Merton, you are not angry with your poor Constance?”</p> +<p>Merton Minge lowered his paper, restored the pencil to his +vest pocket, and wheeling his chair forward, brought himself +closer to the couch.</p> +<p>“I wish you were as far removed from fever as I certainly +am from anger. Your eyes are too bright, my pretty one.”</p> +<p>He put his fingers on her pulse, and when he removed them, +compressed his lips to stifle a sigh.</p> +<p>“Why will you so persistently evade me?—why will you +always change the subject when I allude to that young lady?”</p> +<p>“Because, when a man attains the sober and discreet age of +forty years, he naturally and logically thinks he has earned, +and is entitled to, an exemption from the petty teasing to +which sophomores and sentimentalists are subjected. While I +gratefully appreciate the compliment implied in your forgetfulness, +permit to remind you of the disagreeable fact that +I am no longer a boy.”</p> +<p>“You lose sight of that same ugly and ill-mannered fact, +much more frequently than I am in danger of doing; and I +affectionately suggest that you stimulate your own torpid +memory. Ah, brother! why will you not be frank, and confide +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_379' name='page_379'></a>379</span> +in me? Women are not easily hoodwinked, except by +their lovers,—and you can not deceive me in this matter.”</p> +<p>“What pleasure do you suppose it would afford me to practice +deceit of any kind towards my only sister? To what +class of motives could you credit such conduct?”</p> +<p>“I think you shrink from acknowledging your real feelings, +because you very well know that I could never sanction +or consent to them.”</p> +<p>Mr. Minge arched his heavy brows, and the sternly drawn +lines of his large mouth relaxed, and threatened to run into +curves that belonged to the ludicrous, as he turned his twinkling +eyes upon his sister’s face.</p> +<p>“What extraordinary hallucinations attack even sage, sedate, +middle-aged men? Ten minutes ago I would have sworn +I was your guardian; whereas, it seems your apron-strings +are the reins that rule me. Don’t pout, my Czarina, if I +demand your credentials before I bow submissively to your +<i>ukase</i>.”</p> +<p>“Irony is not your forte; and, Merton, I beg you to recollect +that I detest bantering,—it is so excessively ungenteel. +No wonder you look nervous and ashamed, after your recent +very surprising manifestation of—well, I might as well say +what I mean—of <i>mauvais goűt</i>.”</p> +<p>Constance Minge impatiently threw off the light worsted +shawl that rested on her shoulders, and propped her cheek on +her jewelled hand.</p> +<p>Her brother’s countenance clouded, and his lips hardened, +but after one keen look at her flushed features, he once more +resumed the perusal of the paper. Some moments elapsed, +and his sister sobbed, but he took no notice of the sound.</p> +<p>“Merton, I never expected you would treat me so cruelly.”</p> +<p>“Make out your charges in detail, and when you are sure +you have included all the petty deeds of tyranny as well as the +heinous acts of brutality, I will examine the indictment, and +hear myself arraigned. Shall I bring you some legal cap, and +loan you my pencil?”</p> +<p>For five minutes she held her handkerchief to her eyes, and +then Mr. Minge rose and looked at his watch.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_380' name='page_380'></a>380</span></div> +<p>“You will not be so unkind as to leave me again this afternoon, +and spend your time with that—”</p> +<p>“Constance, you transcend your privileges, and this is a +most <i>apropos</i> and convenient occasion to remind you that +presumption is one fault I find it particularly difficult to forgive. +Since my forbearance only invites aggression, let me +hear say (as an economy of trouble), that you are rashly invading +a realm where I permit none to enter, much less to +dictate. I hope you understand me.”</p> +<p>“I knew it,—I felt it! I dreaded that artful girl would +make mischief between us,—would alienate the only heart I +had left to care for me. Oh, how I wish she had been forty +fathoms under the sea before you ever saw her!—before you +ceased to love me!”</p> +<p>A flood of tears emphasized the sentence, which seemed lost +upon Mr. Minge, as he lighted a cigar, tried its flavor, threw +it away, and puffed the smoke from a second.</p> +<p>“I am sorry you can’t smoke and compose your nerves, as I +am preparing to do,—though I confess I prefer to kiss your +lips untainted by such odors. Shall I?”</p> +<p>He held his cigar aside to prevent the wind from wafting +the curling column of smoke in her face, and bent his head +close to hers; but she put up her hand to prevent the caress, +and averted her face.</p> +<p>“As you like. But mark you, Constance, the next time our +lips touch, you will find yourself in the nominative case, while +I meekly fill an objective position. You are a poor, wilful, +spoiled child, and I must begin to undo my own ruinous +work.”</p> +<p>He picked up his hat and walked off, followed by a pretty +Italian mouse-colored greyhound, whose silver bell tinkled as +she ran down the steps.</p> +<p>“Merton, come back! Do not leave me here alone, or I +shall die. Brother!—”</p> +<p>On strode the stalwart figure, looking neither to right nor +left, and behind him trailed the vaporous aroma of the fine +cigar. Raising herself on her couch, the invalid elevated her +voice, and exclaimed,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_381' name='page_381'></a>381</span></div> +<p>“Please, dear Merton, come back,—at least long enough to +let me kiss you. Please, brother!”</p> +<p>He paused,—wavered,—drew geometrical figures on the +ground with the tip of his boot, and finally took off his hat, +turned and bowed, saying,—</p> +<p>“Show some flag of truce, if you really want me to return.”</p> +<p>She raised her hands and gracefully tossed him several +kisses.</p> +<p>Slowly Mr. Minge retraced his steps, and, as he sat down +once more close to his sister and pushed back his hat, she saw +that he intended her to realize that her reign was at an end; +and she trembled and turned pale at the expression with which +he regarded her.</p> +<p>“Merton, don’t you know—don’t you believe—that I love +you above everything else?”</p> +<p>She sat erect, and stole one arm around the neck that did +not bend toward her, as was its habit.</p> +<p>“If you really loved me, you would desire to see me happy.”</p> +<p>“I do desire it, earnestly and sincerely; and there is no +sacrifice I would not make to see you really happy.”</p> +<p>“Provided I selected your mode of obtaining the boon, and +moreover consulted your caprices and antipathies; otherwise, +my happiness would annoy and insult you.”</p> +<p>“Don’t scold,—kiss me.” She put up her lips, but he did +not respond to the motion, and she pettishly drew his head +down and kissed him several times. “How obstinate you have +grown!—how harsh towards me! It is all the result of +that—”</p> +<p>She bit her lip, and her brother frowned.</p> +<p>“Take care! You seem continually disposed to stumble +very awkwardly into forbidden realms.”</p> +<p>The petted invalid nestled her pretty head on his bosom, +and patted his cheek with one hot hand.</p> +<p>“Brother, Kate Sutherland was here this morning, and left—besides +numerous kind messages for you—a three-cornered +note that I ordered Adčle to place in your dressing-case, +where I felt sure you would see it.”</p> +<p>“Yes, I saw it.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_382' name='page_382'></a>382</span></div> +<p>“An invitation to ascend Monte Pellegrini?”</p> +<p>“Which I respectfully decline.”</p> +<p>“O Merton! Why not go?”</p> +<p>“Simply because I never premeditatedly, and with <i>malice +prepense</i>, bore myself by joining parties composed of persons +in whom I have not an atom of interest.”</p> +<p>“But Kate is so lovely?”</p> +<p>“Not to me.”</p> +<p>“Nonsense! She was the handsomest young girl in Paris, +and was the acknowledged belle of the season.”</p> +<p>“Possibly. Henna-dyed nails are considered irresistible in +Turkey, but your opalescent ones attract me infinitely more +pleasantly.”</p> +<p>“Pray what have my nails to do with Kate’s beauty?”</p> +<p>“Nothing destructive, I hope,—as I am disposed to think +she has little to spare.”</p> +<p>“Good heavens! You surely would not insinuate that you +believe or consider,—or would admit, that she is not vastly +superior to—to—there, Beauty, down! She is actually +dining on the fringe of my pelerine!”</p> +<p>To cover her confusion, Constance addressed herself to the +diminutive dog at her feet, and taking her flushed face in his +hands, the brother looked steadily down, and answered,—</p> +<p>“I never insinuate. It impresses me as a cowardly and contemptible +bit of plebeian practice that found favor after the +royal purple was trailed in agrarian democratic dust; and +lest you should unjustly impute abhorred innuendoes to me, +I will say perspicuously, that the most attractive and beautiful +woman I have ever seen is not your fair friend Miss +Sutherland, nor any other darling of diamond and satin sheen, +but a young lady whom I admire beyond expression, Miss +Salome Owen.”</p> +<p>An angry flush burned on the invalid’s face, and her mouth +curled scornfully.</p> +<p>“She is rather handsome sometimes,—so are gypsies and +other waifs; but it is a wild sort of beauty,—if beauty you +persist in terming it; and low birth and blood are visible in +everything that appertains to her. I never expected to see +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_383' name='page_383'></a>383</span> +my brother condescend to the level of opera-singers, and I am +astonished at your infatuation. There! you need not expect +to blast me with that fiery look, and besides, you know you +mentioned her name, which I had scrupulously avoided. I +confess I am very proud of my family, and of you, its sole +male representative, and I wish it preserved from all taint.”</p> +<p>“Untainted it shall remain, while a drop of the blood throbs +in my veins, and I, who am jealous of my honor, have carefully +pondered the matter, and maturely decided that he who +entrusts his happiness to Salome Owen will be indeed an enviable +man, and pardonably proud of his prize. Once I bartered +myself away at the altar, and gave my name and hand +for wealth, for aristocratic antecedents, for fashionable status, +and five years of purgatorial misery was the richly merited +penalty for the insult I offered my heart. Death freed me, +and for ten years I have lived at least in peace, indulging no +thought of a second alliance, and merely amused, or disgusted +by the matrimonial snares that have lined my path. I no +longer belong to that pitiable class who feel constrained to +marry for position, and who convert the altar-steps into so +many rounds of the social ladder; and I have earned the right +to indulge my outraged heart in any caprice that promises to +mellow, to gild the evening of my life with that home-sunshine +that was denied its gloomy tempestuous morning. My +future, my fortune, my social standing, my unblemished name, +are all my own,—and I shall exercise my privilege of bestowing +them where and when I please, heedless of the sneers and +howls of disappointed mercenary schemers. Come weal, come +woe, I here announce that neither you nor the world need hope +to influence me one ‘jot or tittle’ in an affair where I allow +no impertinent interference. I warn you this is the last time +I shall permit even an indirect allusion to matters with which +you have no legitimate concern; and provided you do not obtrude +them upon me, it is a question of indifference to me +what your opinion and that of your ‘circle’ may chance to +be. Constance, you here have your ultimatum. Defy me, if +you please, but prompt separation will ensue; and you will unexpectedly +find yourself <i>en route</i> for America. Peace or +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_384' name='page_384'></a>384</span> +war? Before you decide, recollect that all your future will +be irretrievably colored by it.”</p> +<p>“In my state of health it is positively cruel for you to +threaten me; and some day when you follow my coffin to +Mount Auburn, you will repent your harshness. I wish to +heaven I had never left home!”</p> +<p>A passionate fit of weeping curtailed the sentence, and, +while the face was covered with the lace handkerchief, the +brother rose and made his escape.</p> +<p>Despite the fact that forty years had left their whitening +touches on his head and luxuriant beard, Merton Minge, +who had never been handsome, even in youth, was sufficiently +agreeable in appearance to render him an object of deep interest +in the circle where he moved. Medium-statured, and +very robust, a healthful ruddy tinge robbed his complexion +of that sallow hue which mercantile pursuits are apt to induce, +and brightened the deep-set black eyes which his debtors +considered mercilessly keen, cold, and incisive.</p> +<p>The square face, with its broad, full forehead, and deep +curved furrow dividing the thick straight brows,—its well-shaped +but prominent nose, and massive jaws and chin partially +veiled by a grizzled beard that swept over his deep +chest,—was suggestive of ledgers rent-roll, and stock-boards, +rather than æsthetics, chivalry, or sentimentality. The only +son of a proud but impoverished family, who were eager to retrieve +their fortune, he had early in life married the imperious +spoiled daughter of a Boston millionaire, whose dower consisted +of five hundred thousand dollars, and a temper that +eclipsed the unamiable exploits of ancient and modern shrews.</p> +<p>Hopeless of domestic happiness in a union to which affection +had not prompted him, Mr. Minge devoted himself to +the rapid accumulation of wealth, and by judicious and successful +speculations had doubled his fortune, ere, at the comparatively +early age of thirty, he was left a childless widower. +Whether he really thanked fate for his timely release, his +most intimate friends were never able to ascertain, for he +wore mourning, badges for three years, and conducted himself +in all respects with exemplary dignity and scrupulous propriety. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_385' name='page_385'></a>385</span> +But the frigid indifference with which he received all +matrimonial overtures indicated that his conjugal experience +was not so rosy as to tempt him to repeat the experiment.</p> +<p>His mother was a haughty, frivolous woman, jealously tenacious +of her position as one of the oligarchs of <i>le beau monde</i>, +and his fragile sister had from childhood been the victim of +rheumatism that frequently rendered her entirely helpless. +To these two and their fashionable friends, he abandoned his +elegant home, costly equipages, and opera-box, reserving only +a suite of rooms, his handsome riding-horse, and yacht.</p> +<p>Grave and unostentatious, yet not moody,—neither impulsively +liberal and generous nor habitually penurious and uncharitable,—he +led a quiet and monotonously easy life, varied +by occasional trips to foreign lands, and comforted by the assurance +that his income-tax was one of the heaviest in the +state. Two years after the death of his mother, he took his +sister a second time to Europe, hoping that the climate of +the Levant might relieve her suffering; and upon the steamer +in which he crossed the Atlantic he met Salome Owen.</p> +<p>Extravagantly fond of music, though unable to extract it +from any instrument, his attention had first been attracted +by her exquisite voice, which invested the voyage with a novel +charm and rendered her a great favorite with the passengers.</p> +<p>Human nature is wofully inflexible and obstinate, and not +all the Menus, Zoroasters, Solomons, and Platos have taught +it wisdom; wherefore it is not surprising that a caustic wit +and savage cynic asserts, “The vices, it may be said, await us +in the journey of life like hosts with whom we must successively +lodge; and I doubt whether experience would make +us avoid them if we were to travel the same road a second +time.”</p> +<p>Habit may be second nature, but it is the Gurth, the thrall +of the first,—the vassal of inherent impulses; and even the +most ossified natures contain some soft palpitating spot that +will throb against the hand that is sufficiently dexterous to +find it. In every man and woman there lurks a vein of sentiment, +which, no matter how heavily crushed by the super-incumbent +mass of utilitarian, practical commonplaceisms, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_386' name='page_386'></a>386</span> +will one day trickle through the dusty <i>débris</i>, and creep like a +silver thread over the dun waste of selfishness; or, Arethusa-like, +burst forth suddenly after long subterranean wandering.</p> +<p>For forty years it had crawled silently and sluggishly under +the indurated and coldly egoistic nature of Merton Minge,—had +been dammed up at times by avarice and at others by grim +recollections of his domestic infelicity; but finally, after +tedious meandering in the Desert of Heartlessness, it struggled +triumphantly to the surface one glorious autumn night, +when a golden moon illumined the Atlantic waves and kindled +a bewitching beauty in the face of Salome, who sat on +deck, singing an impassioned strain from <i>La Favorite</i>.</p> +<p>Her silvery voice was the miraculous rod that smote his petrified +affections, and a wellspring of tenderness gushed forth, +freshening, softening, and clothing with verdure and bloom +his arid, sterile, stony temperament. Long-buried dreams of +his boyhood stirred in their chilly graves and flitted dimly +before him, and a hope that had slumbered so soundly he had +utterly ignored its memory, started up, eager and starry-eyed, +as in the college days of eld,—the precious hope, underlying +all other emotions in a man’s heart, that one day he too +would be loved and prayed for by a pure womanly heart, and +pure, sweet, womanly lips.</p> +<p>Fifteen years before, he had vowed “to cherish,” not the +haughty girl whose hand he clasped, but the five hundred +thousand dollars that gilded it; and faithfully he had kept +his oath to the god of his idolatry, sacrificing the best half of +his life to insatiate <i>Kuvera</i>.</p> +<p>On that cloudless October night, as he watched the shimmer +of the moon on Salome’s silky hair, and noted the purely +oval outline of her daintily carved face, and the childish grace +of her fine form,—as he listened to flute-like tones, as irresistible +as Parthenope’s, his cold, formal, non-committal mouth +stirred, his hand involuntarily opened and closed firmly, as if +grasping some “pearl of great price,” and his slow, almost +stagnant pulses, leaped into feverish activity, and soon ran +riot. Perhaps more regular features, and deeper, richer carnation +bloom had confronted him, but love makes sad havoc of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_387' name='page_387'></a>387</span> +ideals and abstract standards, and he who defined beauty, +“the woman I love,” was wiser than Burke and more analytical +than Cousin.</p> +<p>The freshness, the <i>brusquerie</i>, the outspoken honesty, that +characterized Salome, strangely fascinated this grave, selfish, +<i>blasé</i> aristocrat, who was weary of hollow, polished conventionalities +and stereotyped society phrases; and, as he sat on +deck watching her countenance, he would have counted out his +fortune at her feet for the privilege of claiming her fair, +slender hand, and her tremulous, scarlet lips, instinct with +melody that entranced him.</p> +<p>Henceforth life had a different goal, a nobler aim, a +tenderer and more precious hope; and all the energy of his +vigorous character was bent to the fulfilment of the beautiful +dream that one day that young girl would bear his name, +grace his princely home, and nestle in his heart.</p> +<p>He did not ask, Can that fair, graceful, gifted young thing +ever love a gray-haired man, old enough to call her his daughter? +Nay, nay! Common sense was utterly dethroned and +expelled,—romance usurped the realm, and draped the future +with rainbows; and he only set his teeth firmly against each +other, and said to his bounding heart and blinded soul, “Patience, +ye shall soon possess her!”</p> +<p>To Paris, Lyons, Naples, he had followed her, and finally +secured a villa at Palermo, where Prof. V—— had established +himself and his household in a comfortable suite of rooms.</p> +<p>To-day, as he left his sister and approached the house where +the professor dwelt, his countenance was moody and forbidding, +but its expression changed rapidly, as he caught a +glimpse of the white muslin dress that fluttered in the evening +wind.</p> +<p>Salome was swiftly pacing the wide terrace that commanded +a view of the Mediterranean, and her hands were clasped behind +her, as was her habit when immersed in thought.</p> +<p>Over her head she had thrown a white gauze scarf of +fringed silk, which, slipping back, displayed the elaborate +braids of hair wound around the head, where a crescent of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_388' name='page_388'></a>388</span> +snowy hyacinths partially encircled the glossy coil, and +drooped upon her neck.</p> +<p>Her face wore a haggard, anxious, restless expression, and +the thin lips had lost their bright coral tint,—the smooth, +clear cheeks something of their rounded perfection.</p> +<p>As Mr. Minge came forward, she paused in her walk and +leaned against the marble railing of the terrace, where a +lemon tree, white with bloom, overhung the mosaiced floor and +powdered it with velvety petals.</p> +<p>He held out his hand.</p> +<p>“I hope I find you better?”</p> +<p>“Do I look so, think you?” said she, eyeing him impatiently, +and keeping her hands folded behind her.</p> +<p>“Unfortunately, no; and if I possessed the right I have +more than once solicited, other physicians should be consulted. +Why will you tamper with so serious a matter, and unnecessarily +augment the anxiety of those who love you?”</p> +<p>“I beg you to believe that my self-love is infinitely stronger +than any other with which I am honored, and prompts me to +all possible prudential precautions. Three doctors have already +annoyed me with worthless prescriptions, and this +morning I paid their bills and dismissed them; whereupon, +one of them revenged himself by maliciously informing me +that I should not be able to sing a note for one year at <ins title='Added quote'>least.”</ins></p> +<p>“To what do they attribute the disease?”</p> +<p>“To that attack of scarlet fever, and also to the too frequent +and severe cauterization of my throat. Time was when +like other fond fools, I fancied Fate was not the hideous hag +that wiser heads had painted her, but an affable old dame, +easily cajoled and propitiated. With Carthaginian gratitude +she repays my complimentary opinion by trampling my hopes +and aims as I crush these petals, which yield perfume to their +spoiler, while I could—”</p> +<p>She put her foot upon the drifting lemon blossoms, and +bit her lip to keep back the bitter words that trembled on +her tongue.</p> +<p>“Come and sit here on the steps, and confide your plans to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_389' name='page_389'></a>389</span> +one whose every scheme shall be subordinated to your wishes, +your happiness.”</p> +<p>Mr. Minge attempted to take her hand, but she drew back +and repulsed him.</p> +<p>“Excuse me. I prefer to remain where I am; and when I +am so fortunate and sagacious as to mature any plans, I shall +be sure to lock them in my own heart beyond the tender +mercies of meddling, marplot fortune.”</p> +<p>Her whole face grew dark, sinister, almost dangerous in its +sudden transformation, and, leaning against the railing, she +impatiently swept off the snowy lemon leaves. Mr. Minge +took the end of her scarf, and as he toyed with the fringe, +sighed heavily.</p> +<p>“Of course you are forced to abandon your contemplated +<i>début</i> in Paris?”</p> +<p>“Yes. A <i>début</i> minus a voice, does not tempt me. Ah! +how bright the future looked when I sang for the agent of +the Opera-House, and found myself engaged for the season. +How changed, how cheerless all things seem now.”</p> +<p>“Salome, fate is Janus-faced, and while frowning on you +smiles benignantly on me. I joyfully hail every obstacle that +bars your path, hoping that, weary of useless resistance, you +will consent to walk in the flowery one I have offered you. +My beautiful darling, why will you refuse the—”</p> +<p>“Silence! I am in no mood to listen to a repetition of sentiments +which, however flattering to my vanity, have no power +to touch my heart. Mr. Minge, I have twice declined the offer +you have done me the honor to make; and while proud of +your preference, my Saxon is not so ambiguous or redundant +as to leave any margin for misconception of my meaning.”</p> +<p>“My dear Salome, I fear your decision has been influenced +by the consciousness that my poor, petted Constance has occasionally +neglected the courtesies which you had a right to +claim from the sister of the man who seeks to make you his +wife.”</p> +<p>“No, sir; your sister’s sneers, and the petty slights and persecutions +for which I am indebted to her friend, Miss Sutherland, +have not sufficient importance to affect me in any degree. +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_390' name='page_390'></a>390</span> +My decision is based upon the unfortunate fact that I do not +love you.”</p> +<p>“No woman can withstand such devotion as I bring you, +and time would soon soften and deepen your feelings.”</p> +<p>“Sir, you unduly flatter yourself. Neither time nor +eternity would change me, and you would do well to remember +that it is my voice, sir,—not my hand and heart,—that I offer +for sale.”</p> +<p>“Your stubborn rejection is explicable only by the supposition +that you have deceived me,—that you have already +bartered away the heart I long to call my own.”</p> +<p>“I am a miller’s child,—you a millionaire, but permit +me to remind you that I allow no imputation on my veracity. +Why should I condescend to deceive you?”</p> +<p>She petulantly snatched her scarf from the fingers that still +stroked it caressingly; but an instant later a singular change +swept over her countenance, and pressing her hands to her +heart, she said in a proud, almost exultant tone,—</p> +<p>“Although I deny your right to question me upon this subject, +you are thoroughly welcome to know that I love one man +so entirely, so deathlessly, that the bare thought of marrying +any one else sickens my soul.”</p> +<p>Mr. Minge turned pale, and grasped the carved balustrade +against which he rested.</p> +<p>“O Salome! you have trifled.”</p> +<p>“No, sir. Take that back. I never stoop to trifling; and +the curse of my life has been my almost fatal earnestness of +purpose. If I ever deliberated one moment concerning the +expediency of clothing myself first with your aristocratic +name, afterwards with satin, velvet, and diamonds,—if I ever +silenced the outcry of my heart long enough to ask myself +whether <i>gilded misery</i> was not the least torturing type of the +epidemic wretchedness,—at least I kept my parley with Mammon +to myself; and if you obstinately cherished hopes of final +success, they sprang from your vanity, not my dissimulation. +Mark you, I here set up no claim to sanctity,—for indeed my +sins are ‘thick as leaves in Vallombrosa’; but my pedigree +does not happen to link me with Sapphira, and deceit is not +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_391' name='page_391'></a>391</span> +charged to me in the real Doomsday Book. Theft would be +more possible for me than falsehood, for while both are labelled +‘wicked,’ I could never dwarf and shrivel my soul by the +cowardly process of mendacity. Mr. Minge, had I been a trifle +less honest and true than I find myself, I might have impaired +my self-respect by trifling.”</p> +<p>“Forgive me, Salome, if the pain I endure rendered me +harsh or unjust. My dearest, I did not intend to wound you, +but indeed you are cruel sometimes.”</p> +<p>“Yes; truth is the most savagely cruel of all rude, jagged +weapons, and leaves ugly gashes and quivering nerves exposed, +and these are the hurts that never cicatrize—that gape and +bleed while the heart throbs to feed them.”</p> +<p>“Tell me candidly whether the heart I covet belongs to +that Mr. Granville, who paid you such devoted attention in +Paris.”</p> +<p>A short, scornful, mirthless laugh rang sharply on the air, +and turning quickly, Salome exclaimed contemptuously,—</p> +<p>“I said I loved a man,—a true, honest, brave, noble man,—not +that perfumed, unprincipled, vain, foppish automaton, +who adorns a corner of the diplomatic apartment where <i>attachés</i> +of the American embassy ‘most do congregate’! +Gerard Granville is unworthy of any woman’s affection, for +maugre the indisputable fact that he is betrothed to a fond, +trusting girl, now in the United States, he had the effrontery +to attempt to offer his addresses to me. If an honest man be +the noblest work of God, then, beyond all peradventure, the +disgrace of creation is centred in an unscrupulous one, such +as I have the honor to pronounce Mr. Granville.”</p> +<p>Seizing her hands, Mr. Minge carried them forcibly to his +lips, and said, in a voice that faltered from intensity of feeling,—</p> +<p>“Is it the hope that your love is reciprocated which bars +your heart so sternly against my pleadings? Spare me no +pangs,—tell me all.”</p> +<p>She freed her fingers from his grasp, and retreating a few +steps, answered with a passionate mournfulness which he +never forgot,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_392' name='page_392'></a>392</span></div> +<p>“If I were dowered with that precious hope, not all the +crown jewels in Christendom and Heathendom could purchase +it. Not the proudest throne on that continent of empires +that lies yonder to the north, could woo me one hour +from the only kingdom where I could happily reign,—the +heart of the man I love. No—no—no! That hope is as distant +as the first star up there above us, which has rent the blue +veil of heaven to gaze pityingly at me; and I would as +soon expect to catch that silver sparkle and fold it in my +arms as dream that my affection could ever be returned. The +only man I shall ever love could not bend his noble, regal +nature to the level of mine, and towers beyond me, a pinnacle +of unapproachable purity and perfection. Ah, indeed, +he is one of those concerning whom it has been grandly said: +‘<i>The truly great stand upright as columns of the temple +whose dome covers all,—against whose pillared sides multitudes +lean, at whose base they kneel in times of trouble.</i>’ Mr. +Minge, it is despair that crouches at my heart, not hope that +shuts its portals against your earnest petition; for a barrier +wider, deeper than a hundred oceans divides me from my idol, +who loves, and ere this, is the husband of another.”</p> +<p>She did not observe the glow that once more mantled his +cheek, and fired his eyes, until he exclaimed with unusual +fervor,—</p> +<p>“Thank God! That fact is freighted with priceless comfort.”</p> +<p>Compassion and contempt seemed struggling for mastery, +as she waved him from her, and answered, impatiently,—</p> +<p>“Think you that any other need hope to usurp my +monarch’s place,—that one inferior dare expect to wield his +sceptre over my heart? Pardon me,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘If there were not an eagle in the realm of birds,<br /> +Must then the owl be king among the feathered <ins title='Changed to single quote'>herds?’</ins></p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Some day a gentler spirit than mine will fill your home with +music, and your heart with peace and sunshine; and, in that +hour, thank honest Salome Owen for the blessings you owe to +her candor. I must bid you good-night.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_393' name='page_393'></a>393</span></div> +<p>She drew the scarf closer about her head and throat, and +turned to leave the terrace.</p> +<p>“Will you not allow me to drive you to-morrow afternoon +on the Marino? Do not refuse me this innocent and inexpressibly +valued privilege. I will not be denied! Good-night, +my—Heaven shield you, my worshipped one! Hush!—I +will hear no refusal.”</p> +<p>He stooped, kissed the folds of the scarf that covered her +head, and hurried down the steps of the terrace.</p> +<p>The glory of a Sicilian sunset bathed the face and figure +that stood a moment under the lemon-boughs, watching the +retreating form which soon disappeared behind clustering +pomegranate, olive, and palm; and a tender compassion +looked out of the large hazel eyes, and sat on the sad lips that +murmured,—</p> +<p>“God help you, Merton Minge, to strangle the viper that +coils in your heart, and gnaws its core. My own is a serpent’s +lair, and I pity the pangs that rend yours also. But +after a little while, your viper will find a file,—mine, alas! +not until death arrests the slow torture. To-morrow afternoon +I shall be—where? Only God knows.”</p> +<p>She shivered slightly, and raised her beautiful eyes towards +the west, where golden gleams and violet shadows were +battling for possession of a reef of cloud islets, which dotted +the azure upper sea of air, and were reflected in the watery +one beneath.</p> +<p>“Courage! courage!</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Those who have nothing left to hope,<br /> +Have nothing left to dread.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX' id='CHAPTER_XXIX'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Muriel, where can I find Miss Dexter?”</p> +<p>“She went out on the lawn an hour ago, to regale herself +with what she calls, ‘atmospheric hippocrene,’ and I have +not heard her come in, though she may have gone to her +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_394' name='page_394'></a>394</span> +room. Pray tell me, doctor, why you wish to see my governess?—to +inquire concerning my numerous peccadilloes?”</p> +<p><ins title='Removed quote'>Muriel</ins> adroitly folded her embroidered silk apron over a +package of letters that lay in her lap, and affected an air of +gayety at variance with her dim eyes and wet lashes.</p> +<p>“I shall believe that conscience accuses you of many juvenile +improprieties, since you so suspiciously attack my motives +and intentions. Indeed, little one, you flatter yourself unduly, +in imagining that my interview with Miss Dexter necessarily +involves the <ins title='Was discusson'>discussion</ins> of her pupil. I merely wish +to enlist her sympathy in behalf of one of my patients. +Muriel, I would have been much more gratified if I had found +you walking with her, instead of moping here alone.”</p> +<p>“I am not moping.”</p> +<p>The girl bit her full red lip, and strove to force back the +rapidly gathering tears.</p> +<p>“At least you are not cheerful, and it pains me to see that +anxious, dissatisfied expression on a face that should reflect +only sunshine. What disturbs you?—the scarcity of Gerard’s +letters?”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey sat down beside his ward, and throwing her arms +around his neck, she burst into a passionate flood of tears. +The sudden movement uncovered the letters, which slipped +down and strewed the carpet.</p> +<p>“Oh, doctor! I am very miserable!”</p> +<p>“Why, my dear child?”</p> +<p>“Because Gerard does not love me as formerly.”</p> +<p>“What reason have you for doubting his affection?”</p> +<p>“He scarcely writes to me once a month, and then his letters +are short and cold as icicles, and full of court gossip and +fashion items, for which he knows I do not care a straw. +Yesterday I received one,—the first I have had for three +weeks,—and he requests me to defer our marriage at least six +months longer, as he cannot possibly come over in May, the +time appointed when he was here.”</p> +<p>She hid her face on her guardian’s shoulder, and sobbed.</p> +<p>An expression of painful surprise and stern displeasure +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_395' name='page_395'></a>395</span> +clouded Dr. Grey’s countenance, as he smoothed the hair +away from the girl’s throbbing temples.</p> +<p>“Calm yourself, Muriel. If Gerard has forfeited your confidence, +he is unworthy of your tears. Do you apprehend that +his indifference is merely the result of separation, or have you +any cause to attribute it to interest in some other person?”</p> +<p>“That is a question I cannot answer.”</p> +<p>“Cannot, or will not?”</p> +<p>“I know nothing positively; but I fear something, which +perhaps I ought not to mention.”</p> +<p>“Throw aside all hesitancy, and talk freely to me. If +Granville is either fickle or dishonorable, you should rejoice +that the discovery has been made in time to save you from +life-long wretchedness.”</p> +<p>“If we were only married, I am sure I could win him back +to me.”</p> +<p>“That is a fatal fallacy, that has wrecked the happiness of +many women. If a lover grows indifferent, as a husband he +will be cold, unkind, unendurable. If as a devoted fiancée +you can not retain and strengthen his affection,—as a wife +you would weary and repel him. Have you answered the last +letter?”</p> +<p>“No, sir.”</p> +<p>“My dear child, do you not consider me your best friend?”</p> +<p>“Certainly I do.”</p> +<p>“Then yield to my guidance, and follow my advice. Lose +no time in writing to Mr. Granville, and cancel your engagement. +Tell him he is free.”</p> +<p>“Oh, then I should lose him,—and happiness, forever!” +wailed Muriel, clasping her hands almost despairingly.</p> +<p>“You have already lost his heart, and should be unwilling +to retain him in fetters that must be galling.”</p> +<p>“Ah, Dr. Grey! it is very easy for you who never loved any +one, to tell me, in that cold, business-like way, that I ought to +set Gerard free; but you cannot realize what it costs to follow +your counsel. Of course I know that in everything else you +are much wiser than I, but persons who have no love affairs of +their own are not the best judges of other people’s. He is so +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_396' name='page_396'></a>396</span> +dear to me, I believe it would kill me to give him up, and +see him no more.”</p> +<p>“On the contrary, you would survive much greater misfortune +than separation from a man who is unworthy of you. I +cannot coerce, but simply counsel you in this matter, and +should be glad to learn what your own decision is. Do you +intend to wait until Gerard Granville explicitly requests you +to release him from his engagement?”</p> +<p>She winced, and the tears gushed anew.</p> +<p>“Oh, you are cruel! You are heartless!”</p> +<p>“No, my dear Muriel; I am actuated by the truest affection +for my little ward, and desire to snatch her from future +humiliation. My knowledge of human nature is more extended, +more profound than yours, but since you seem unwilling +to avail yourself of my experience, it only remains for +you to acquaint me with your determination. Are you willing +to tell me the nature of your answer?”</p> +<p>“I intend to accede to Gerard’s wish, and will defer the +marriage until November; but in the meantime, I shall endeavor +to win back his heart, which I believe has been artfully +enticed from me.”</p> +<p>“By whom?”</p> +<p>She made no reply, and lifting her head from his shoulder, +Dr. Grey looked keenly into her face, and repeated his question.</p> +<p>“Do not urge me to express suspicions that may possibly +be unjust.”</p> +<p>“That are entirely unjust, you may rest assured,” said he, +almost vehemently.</p> +<p>“By what means did you so positively ascertain that fact?”</p> +<p>“The result will prove. Now, my dear child, you must acquit +me of heartlessness and cruelty when I tell you, that, +under existing circumstances, I cannot and will not consent +to the solemnization of your marriage until you are of age. +Once the conviction that an earlier consummation of your +engagement was essential to the happiness of both parties, +overruled the dictates of my judgment, and induced me to acquiesce +in your wishes; but subsequent events have illustrated +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_397' name='page_397'></a>397</span> +the wisdom of my former opposition, and now I am resolved +that no argument or persuasion shall prevail upon me +to sanction or permit your marriage until you are twenty-one.”</p> +<p>With a sharp cry of chagrin and amazement, Muriel sprang +to her feet.</p> +<p>“You surely do not mean to keep me in this torture, for +nearly three years? I will not submit to such tyranny, even +from Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>“As a faithful guardian, I can see no alternative, and fear +of incurring your displeasure shall not deter me from the performance +of a stern duty to the child of my best and dearest +friend. I must and will do what your father certainly would, +were he alive. My dear Muriel, control yourself, and do not, +by harsh epithets and unjust accusations, wound the heart +that sincerely loves you. To-day, as your guardian, I hearken +to the imperative dictates of my conscience, and turn a deaf +ear to the pleadings of my tender affection, which would +save you from even momentary sorrow and disappointment. +Since my decision is irrevocable, do not render the execution +of my purpose more painful than necessity demands.”</p> +<p>Seizing his hand, Muriel pressed it against her flushed +cheek, and pleaded falteringly,—</p> +<p>“Do not doom your poor little Muriel to such misery. Oh, +Dr. Grey! dear Dr. Grey, remember you promised my dying +father to take his place,—and he would never inflict such +suffering on his child. You have forgotten your promise!”</p> +<p>“No, dear child. It is because I hold it so sacred that I +cannot yield to your entreaties; and I must faithfully adhere +to my obligations, even though I forfeit your affection. +I shall write to Mr. Granville by the next mail, and it is my +wish that henceforth the subject should not be referred to. +Cheer up, my child; three years will soon glide away, and at +the expiration of that time you will thank me for the firmness +which you now denounce as cruelty. Good-morning. Be sure +to think kindly of your guardian, whose heart is quite as sad +as your own.”</p> +<p>She struggled and resisted, but he kissed her lightly on +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_398' name='page_398'></a>398</span> +the forehead, and as he left the room heard her bitter invectives +against his tyranny and hard-heartedness.</p> +<p>Crossing the elm-studded lawn, he approached a secluded +walk, bordered with lilacs and myrtle, and saw the figure of +the governess pacing to and fro.</p> +<p>During the four months that had elapsed since his last +visit to “Solitude,” he scrutinized and studied her character +more closely than formerly, and the investigation only heightened +and intensified his esteem.</p> +<p>No hint of her history had ever passed the calm, patient +lips, which had forgotten how to laugh, and now, as he +watched her pale, melancholy face, which bore traces of extraordinary +beauty, he exonerated her from all blame in the +ruinous deception that had blasted more lives than one; and +honored the silent heroism which so securely locked her disappointment +in her own heart. He knew that consumption +was the hereditary scourge of her family, that she bore in her +constitution the seeds of slowly but surely developing disease, +and did not marvel at the quiet indifference with which she +treated symptoms which he had several times pointed out as +serious and dangerous.</p> +<p>To-day her manner was excited, and her step betrayed very +unusual impatience.</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter, from the frequency of your cough I am +afraid you are imprudent in selecting this walk, which is so +densely shaded that the sun does not reach it until nearly +noon. Are not your feet damp?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; my shoes are thick, and thoroughly protect +them.”</p> +<p>She paused before him, and, in her soft, brown eyes, he saw +a strange, unwonted restlessness,—an eager expectancy that +surprised and disturbed him.</p> +<p>“Are you at leisure this morning?”</p> +<p>“Do you need my services immediately?”</p> +<p>She answered evasively; and he noticed that she glanced +anxiously toward the road leading into town.</p> +<p>“You will greatly oblige me, if some time during the day, +you will be so good as to superintend the preparation of some +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_399' name='page_399'></a>399</span> +calves’-feet jelly, for one of my poor patients. I would not +trouble you, but Rachel is quite sick, and the new cook does +not understand the process. May I depend upon you?”</p> +<p>“Certainly, sir; it will afford me pleasure to prepare the +jelly.”</p> +<p>Looking more closely at her face, he saw undeniable traces +of recent tears, and drew her arm through his.</p> +<p>“I hope you will not deem me impertinently curious if I +beg you to honor me with your confidence, and explain the +anxiety which is evidently preying upon your mind.”</p> +<p>Embarrassment flushed her transparent cheek, and her shy +eyes glanced up uneasily.</p> +<p>“At least, Miss Dexter, permit me to ask whether Muriel +is connected with the cause of your disquiet?”</p> +<p>“My pupil is, I fear, very unhappy; but she withholds +much from me since she learned my disapproval of her approaching +marriage.”</p> +<p>“Will you acquaint me with your objections to Mr. Granville?”</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“Against</ins> Mr. Granville, the gentleman, I have nothing to +urge; but I could not consent to see Muriel wed a man, who, +I am convinced, has no affection for her.”</p> +<p>“Have you told her this?”</p> +<p>“Repeatedly; and, of course, my frankness has offended +and alienated her. Oh, Dr. Grey! the child totters on the +brink of a flower-veiled precipice, and will heed no warning. +Perhaps I should libel Mr. Granville were I to impute mercenary +motives to him,—perhaps he fancied he loved Muriel +when he addressed her,—I hope so, for the honor of manhood; +but the glamour was brief, and certainly he must be aware +that he has not proper affection for her now.”</p> +<p>“And yet, she is very lovable and winning.”</p> +<p>“Yes,—to you and to me; but her good qualities are not +those which gentlemen find most attractive. What is Christian +purity and noble generosity of soul, in comparison with +physical perfection? Muriel often reminds me of one whom +I loved devotedly, whose unselfish and unsuspicious nature +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_400' name='page_400'></a>400</span> +wrought the ruin of her happiness; and from her miserable +fate I would fain save my pupil.”</p> +<p>He knew from the tremor of her lips and hands, and the +momentary contraction of her fair brow, to whom she alluded; +and both sighed audibly.</p> +<p>“My convictions coincide so entirely with yours, that I +have had an interview with my ward, and withdrawn my +consent to her marriage until she is of age.”</p> +<p>“Thank God! In the interim she may grow wiser, or +some fortuitous <ins title='Was occurence'>occurrence</ins> may avert the danger we dread.”</p> +<p>In the brief silence that ensued, the governess seemed +debating the expediency of making some revelation; and, +encountering one of her perplexed and scrutinizing glances, +the doctor smiled and said, gravely,—</p> +<p>“I believe I understand your hesitancy; but I assure you I +should never forfeit any trust you might repose in me. You +have some cause of serious annoyance, entirely irrespective +of my ward, and I may be instrumental in removing it.”</p> +<p>“Thank you, Dr. Grey. For some days I have been canvassing +the propriety of asking your advice and assistance; +and my reluctance arose not from want of confidence in you, +but from dread of the pain it would necessarily inflict upon +me, to recur to events long buried. It is not essential, however, +that I should weary you with the minutiæ of circumstances +which many years ago smothered the sunshine in my +life, and left me in darkness, a lonely and joyless woman. I +have resided here long enough to learn the noble generosity +of your character, and to you, as a true Christian gentleman, +I come for aid,—premising only that what I am about to say +is strictly confidential.”</p> +<p>“As such, I shall ever regard it; but if I am to become +your coajutor in any matter, let me request that nothing be +kept secret, for only entire frankness should exist between +those who have a common aim.”</p> +<p>A painful flush tinged her cheek, and the fair, thin face, +grew indescribably mournful, as she clasped her hands firmly +over his arm.</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, when unscrupulous men or women deliberately +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_401' name='page_401'></a>401</span> +stab the happiness of a fellow-creature, they have no wounded +sensibilities, no haunting compunction,—and if remorse finally +overtakes, it finds them well-nigh callous and indurated; +but woe to that innocent being who is the unintentional and +unconscious agent for the ruin of those she loves. I cannot +remember the time when I did not love the only man for +whom I ever entertained any affection. He was the playmate +of my earliest years,—the betrothed of my young maidenhood,—and +just before my poor father died, he joined our +hands and left his blessing on my choice. Poverty was the +only barrier to our union, but I took a situation as teacher, +and hoarded my small gains in the hope of aiding my lover, +who went abroad with a wealthy uncle, and completed his +education in Germany. I knew that Maurice had contracted +very extravagant and self-indulgent habits,—but in the court +of love is there any ‘high crime’ or misdemeanor for which +a woman’s heart will condemn her idol? Nay, nay; she will +plead his defence against the stern evidence of her own incorruptible +reason; and, if need be, share his punishment,—die +in his stead. I denied myself every luxury, and jealously +husbanded my small salary, anticipating the happy hour +when we might invest it in furniture for our little home; +and, indeed, in those blessed days of hope, it seemed no +hardship,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘And joy was duty, and love was law.’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>From time to time our marriage was deferred, but I well +knew I was beloved, and so I waited patiently, until fortune +should smile upon me. In the interim I became warmly +attached to a young girl in the school where I taught, and +whose affection for me was enthusiastic and ardent. Evelyn +was an orphan, and the heiress of enormous wealth, which +she seemed resolved to share with me; and, more than once, +I was tempted to acquaint her with the obstacle that debarred +me from happiness. Ah! if I had only confided in her, +and trusted her faithful love, how much wretchedness would +have been averted! But she appeared to me such an impulsive +child that I shrank from unburdening my heart to +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_402' name='page_402'></a>402</span> +her, while she acquainted me with every thought and aim of +her pure, guileless life. She was singularly, almost idolatrously +fond of me, and I loved her very sincerely, for her +character was certainly the most admirable I have ever met.</p> +<p>“At vacation we parted for three months, and I hurried +to meet my lover, who had promised to join me in Vermont, +where my mother had gone to recruit her failing health. For +the first time Maurice proved recreant, and wrote that imperative +business detained him in New York. Did I doubt +him, even then? Not in the least; but endeavored by cheerful +letters to show him how patiently I could bear the separation +that might result in pecuniary advantage to him. My +mother looked anxious, and foreboded ill; but I laughed at +her misgivings, and proudly silenced her warning voice. In +the midst of my blissful dream came a lengthy telegraphic +dispatch from my young girl-friend Evelyn, inviting me to +hasten to New York, and accompany her on a bridal tour +through Europe. In a brief and almost incoherent note, +subsequently received, she accidentally omitted the name of +her future husband, and designated him as ‘my prince,’ ‘my +king,’ ‘my liege lover.’ The same mail brought me a long +and exceedingly tender letter from my own betrothed, informing +me that at the expiration of ten days he would +certainly be with me to arrange for an immediate consummation +of our engagement. A railroad accident delayed me +twenty-four hours, and I did not reach New York until the +morning of the day on which my friend was married. The +ceremony took place at ten o’clock, and when I arrived, +Evelyn was already in the hands of the hair-dresser. I was +hurried into the room prepared for me, and while waiting +for my trunk, noticed a basket containing some of the +wedding cards. I picked up one, and you can perhaps imagine +my emotions, when I saw that my own lover was the betrothed +of my friend. Dr. Grey, eight miserable years have gone +wearily over my head since then, but now, in the dead of night, +if I shut my eyes, I see staring at me, like the rayless, glazed +orbs of the dead, that silver-edged wedding card, bearing +in silver letters—Maurice Carlyle, Evelyn Flewellyn. Oh, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_403' name='page_403'></a>403</span> +blacker than ten thousand death-warrants! for all the hopes +of a lifetime went down before it. Every ray of earthly +light was extinguished in a night of woe that can have no +dawn, until the day-star of eternity shimmers on its gloom.”</p> +<p>She shuddered convulsively, and the agonized expression of +her face was so painful to behold that her companion averted +his head.</p> +<p><ins title='Added quote'>“I</ins> was alone with my misery, and so overwhelming was the +shock that I fainted. When the hair-dresser came to offer +her services, she found me lying insensible on the carpet. +How bitterly, how unavailingly, have I reproached myself +for my failure to hasten to Evelyn, even then, and divulge +all. But with returning consciousness came womanly pride, +and I resolved to hide the anguish for which I knew there +was no cure. As soon as I was dressed, we were summoned +down stairs to meet the remainder of the bridal party, and +there I saw the man whom I expected to call my husband +talking gayly with his attendants.</p> +<p>“Evelyn impetuously presented me as her ‘dearest friend,’ +and, without raising his eyes, he bowed profoundly and turned +away. How I endured all I was called to witness that morning, +I know not; but my strength seemed superhuman. +The ceremony was performed in church, and after our +return to the house, Mr. Carlyle asserted and claimed the +right to kiss the bridesmaids. There were four, and I was +the last whom he approached. I was standing in the shadow +of the window-curtain, which I had clutched for support, +and, as he came close to me, our eyes met for the first +time that day, and I can never, never forget the pleading +mournfulness, the passionate tenderness, the despair, that +filled his. I waved him from me, but he seized my hand, +and pressed his hot lips lingeringly to mine. Then he whispered, +‘My only love, my own Edith, do not judge till you +hear your wretched Maurice. Meet me in the hot-house when +Evelyn goes to change her dress, and I will explain this +awful, this accursed necessity.’ A few moments later he +stood with his bride at the head of the table in the breakfast-room, +while I was placed close to Evelyn, and the mirror +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_404' name='page_404'></a>404</span> +opposite reflected the group. I know now it was sinful, but, +oh! how could I help it? As I looked at the reflection in +the glass, and compared my face with that of the bride, I +felt my poor wicked heart throb with triumph at the thought +that my superior beauty could not soon be forgotten,—that, +though her husband, he was still my lover. Dr. Grey, do +not despise me for my weakness, as I should have despised +him for his perfidy; and remember that a woman cannot +in a moment renounce allegiance to a man who is the one +love of her life. They forced me to drink some wine that +fired my brain and made me reckless, and an hour after, +when Maurice came up and offered his arm, inviting me to +promenade for a few minutes in the hot-house, I yielded and +accompanied him. He told me a tale of dishonorable financial +transactions, into which he had been betrayed solely by the +hope of obtaining money that would enable him to hasten +our union; but the utter failure of the scheme threatened him +with disgrace, possibly with imprisonment, and the only mode +of preserving his name from infamy, was to possess himself +of Evelyn’s large fortune. Just as he clasped me in his arms, +and vehemently declared his deathless affection for me,—his +contempt and hatred of his poor childish bride,—I heard +a strange sound that was neither a wail nor a laugh, a sound +unlike any other that ever smote my ears, and looking up, +I saw Evelyn standing before us.”</p> +<p>Miss Dexter groaned aloud, and covered her eyes with her +hand.</p> +<p>“Oh, my God! help me to shut out that horrible vision! If +I could forget that distorted, death-like face, with livid lips +writhing away from the gleaming teeth, and desperate, wide +eyes, glaring like globes of flame! She looked twenty years +older, and from her clenched hands,—her beautiful, exquisite +hands,—that were wont to caress me so tenderly, the blood +was dripping down on her lace veil and her white velvet +bridal dress. How much she heard I know not, for I never +saw her again. I swooned in Maurice’s arms, and was carried +to my own room; and when I finally groped my way to +Evelyn’s apartment, they told me she had been gone two +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_405' name='page_405'></a>405</span> +hours,—had sailed for Europe, leaving her husband in New +York. What passed in her farewell interview with him none +but he and her lawyer knew; but they separated there on +condition that his debts were cancelled. She went abroad +with a faithful old Scotch woman who had been her nurse, +and her husband told the world she was a maniac.”</p> +<p>“Did he tell you so? Did you believe it?” exclaimed Dr. +Grey, with a degree of vehemence that startled the governess.</p> +<p>“I have never seen Maurice Carlyle since that awful hour +in the hot-house. He came repeatedly to my home, but I +refused to meet him, and dozens of his letters have been returned +unopened. Once, while I was absent, he obtained an +interview with my mother, and besought her intercession in +his behalf, pleading for my pardon, and assuring her that, +as his wife was hopelessly insane, he would apply for a divorce, +and then claim the hand of the only woman he had +ever loved. I dreaded the effect upon Evelyn, and had no +means of ascertaining her real condition. Soon after, I +lost my mother, whose death was hastened by grief and humiliation; +and, when I had laid her down beside my father, +I went in search of Evelyn. Several times I had attempted +to communicate with her, and with Elsie, the nurse, but my +letters always came back unopened, and bearing the London +stamp. Having been informed that she was in an insane +asylum in England, I took the money that had been so +carefully hoarded for a different purpose and went to London. +One by one, I searched all the asylums in the United +Kingdom, and finding no trace of her, came back to America. +Finally, on the death-bed of Mr. Clayton, her lawyer, who +understood my great anxiety to discover her, I was told +in strict confidence that she was perfectly sane,—had never +been otherwise,—but preferred that the false report in circulation +should not be corrected, since her husband had set it +in motion. I learned that she was well and pleasantly located +somewhere in the East, but would never see the faces of +either friends or foes, and absolutely refused all intercourse +with her race. From one of her letters (which, a moment +after, he burned in the grate) Mr. Clayton read me a paragraph: +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_406' name='page_406'></a>406</span> +‘<i>The greatest mercy you can show me is to allow +me to forget. Henceforth mention no more the names of any +I ever knew; and let silence, like a pall, shroud all the past +of Vashti.</i>’ He died next day, and since then—”</p> +<p>The sad, sweet voice, which for some moments had been +growing more and more unsteady, here sank into a sob, and +the governess wept freely, while her whole frame shook with +the violence of long-pent anguish, that now defied control.</p> +<p>“Oh, if I could find her! If I could go to her and tell +her all, and exonerate myself! If I could show her that he +was mine always,—mine long before she ever saw him,—then +she would not think so harshly of me. I know not what explanation +Maurice gave her, nor how much of our conversation +she overheard; and I cannot live contentedly,—oh! I cannot +die in peace till I see my poor crushed darling, and hear +from her lips the assurance that she does not hold me responsible +for her wretchedness. Dr. Grey, I love her with +a pitying tenderness that transcends all power of expression. +Perhaps if Maurice had ever loved her, I could not feel as +I do towards her; for a woman’s nature tolerates no rival +in the affection of her lover, and, unprincipled as mine proved +in other respects, I know that his heart was always unswervingly +my own. My dear, noble Evelyn! My pure, loving +little darling! Ah! I have wearied heaven with prayers that +God would give her back to my arms.”</p> +<p>Unable to conceal the emotion he was unwilling she should +witness, Dr. Grey disengaged his arm and walked away, striving +to regain his usual composure.</p> +<p>Did the governess suspect the proximity of her long-lost +friend? If she claimed his assistance in prosecuting her +search, what course would duty dictate?</p> +<p>Retracing his steps, he found that she had seated herself +on a bench near one of the tallest lilacs, and having thrown +aside her quilted hood of scarlet silk, her care-worn countenance +was fully exposed.</p> +<p>She was gazing very intently at some object in her hand, +which she bent over and kissed several times, and did not +perceive his approach until he stood beside her.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_407' name='page_407'></a>407</span></div> +<p>“Dr. Grey, I believe my prayer has been heard, and that at +last I have discovered a clew to the retreat of my lost +Evelyn. Last week I went to a jewelry store in town, to +buy a locket which I intended as a birthday gift for Muriel. +Several customers had preceded me, and while waiting, my +attention was attracted towards one of the workmen who +uttered an impatient ejaculation and dashed down some article +upon which he was at work. As it fell, I saw that it was +an oval ivory miniature, <ins title='Was originaly'>originally</ins> surrounded with very large +handsome pearls, the greater portion of which the jeweller +had removed and placed in a small glass bowl that stood near +him. I leaned down to examine the miniature, and though +the paint was blurred and faded, it was impossible to mistake +the likeness, and you cannot realize the thrill that ran along +my nerves as I recognized the portrait of Evelyn. So great +was my astonishment and delight that I must have cried +out, for the people in the store all turned and stared at me, +and when I snatched the piece of ivory from the work-table, +the man looked at me in amazement. Very incoherently I +demanded where and how he obtained it, and, beckoning to the +proprietor, he said, ‘Just as I told you; this has turned out +stolen property.’ Then he opened a drawer and took from +it a similar oval slab of ivory, and when I looked at it and +saw Maurice’s handsome face, my brain reeled, and I grew +so dizzy I almost fell. ‘Madam, do you know these portraits?’ +asked the proprietor.</p> +<p>“I told him that I did,—that I had seen these jewelled +miniatures eight years before on the dressing-table of a bride, +and I implored him to tell me how they came into his +possession. He fitted them into a dingy, worn case, which +seemed to have been composed of purple velvet, and informed +me that he purchased the whole from an Irish lad, who asserted +that he picked it up on the beach, where it had evidently +drifted in a high tide. On examination, he found that the +case had indeed been saturated with sea-water, but the pearls +were in such a remarkable state of preservation that he +doubted the lad’s statement. He had bought the miniatures +in order to secure the pearls, which he assured me were unusually +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_408' name='page_408'></a>408</span> +fine, and to satisfy himself concerning the affair had +advertised two ivory miniatures, and invited the owners to +come forward and prove property. After the expiration +of a week, he discontinued the notice, and finally ordered the +pearls removed from their gold frames. When I had given +him the names of the originals, he consented that I should +take the portraits which were now worthless to him, and +gave me also the name of the boy. It was not until two +days afterward that I succeeded in finding Thomas Donovan, +a lad about fourteen years old, whose mother Phœbe is a +laundress, and does up laces and fine muslins. When I +called and stated the object of my visit he seemed much confused, +but sullenly repeated the assertion made to the jeweller. +Yesterday I went again and had a long conversation with +his mother, who must be an honest soul, for she assured me +she knew nothing of the matter, and would investigate it +immediately. The boy was absent, but she promised either +to send him here this morning or come in person, to acquaint +me with the result. I offered a reward if he would confess +where he obtained them; and if he proved obstinate, threatened +to have him arrested. Now, Dr. Grey, you can understand +why I have so tediously made a full revelation of my +past, for I wish to enlist your sympathy and claim your aid +in my search for my long-lost friend. These portraits inadequately +represent the fascinating beauty of one of the originals, +and the sweetness and almost angelic purity of the +other.”</p> +<p>She held up the somewhat defaced and faded miniatures +for the inspection of her companion, but scarcely glancing +at them, he said, abstractedly,—</p> +<p>“You are sure they belong to Mrs. Carlyle?”</p> +<p>“Yes. As she put on her diamonds just before going down +stairs she showed me the portraits in her jewelry casket, where +she had also placed a similar one of myself. Ah! at this +instant I seem to see her beaming face, as she bent down, +and sweeping her veil aside, kissed my picture and Maurice’s.”</p> +<p>“Do you imagine that she is in America?”</p> +<p>“No; I fear she is dead, and that these were stolen from +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_409' name='page_409'></a>409</span> +the old nurse. Who is that yonder? Ah, yes,—Phœbe Donovan. +Now I shall hear the truth.”</p> +<p>Forgetting her shawl, and unmindful of the fact that the +sun was streaming full on her head and face, she hurried +to meet the woman who was ascending the avenue, and very +soon they entered the house.</p> +<p>A quarter of an hour elapsed ere Phœbe came out, and +walked rapidly away; and, unwilling to prolong his suspense, +Dr. Grey went in search of the governess.</p> +<p>He met her in the hall, and saw that she was equipped for +a walk. Her cheeks were scarlet, her brown eyes all aglow +with eager expectation, and her lips twitched, as she exclaimed,—</p> +<p>“Oh, doctor, I hope everything; for I learn that the pictures +were found on the lawn at ‘Solitude,’ where Phœbe was +once hired as cook; and she recognized the case as the same +she had one day seen on a writing-desk in the parlor. The +boy confessed that he picked it up from the grass, and, after +taking out the contents, soaked the case in a bucket of salt-water. +Phœbe says the pictures belong to Mrs. Gerome, the +gray-headed woman who owns that place on the beach, and +I am almost tempted to believe she is Elsie, who may have +married again. At all events, I shall soon know where she +obtained the portraits.”</p> +<p>“You are not <ins title='Was gong'>going</ins> to ‘Solitude’?”</p> +<p>“Yes, immediately. I cannot rest till I have learned all. +God grant I may not be mocked in my hopes.”</p> +<p>The unwonted excitement had kindled a strange beauty in +the whilom passive face, and Dr. Grey could for the first time +realize how lovely she must have been in the happy days of +eld.</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter, Mrs. Gerome will not receive you. She +sees no visitors, not even ministers of the gospel.”</p> +<p>“She must—she shall—admit me; for I will assure her +that life and death hang upon it.”</p> +<p>“How so?”</p> +<p>“If Evelyn is alive, and I can discover her retreat, I will +urge her to go to her husband, who needs her care. You +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_410' name='page_410'></a>410</span> +know Mrs. Gerome,—she is one of your patients. Come with +me, and prevail upon her to receive me.”</p> +<p>In her eagerness she laid her hand on his arm, and even +then noticed and wondered at the crimson that suddenly +leaped into his olive face.</p> +<p>“Some day I will give you good reasons for refusing your +request, which it is impossible for me to grant. If you are +resolved to hazard the visit, I will take you in my buggy +as far as the gate at ‘Solitude,’ and when you return will +confer with you concerning the result. Just now, I can +promise no more.”</p> +<p>An expression of disappointment clouded her brow.</p> +<p>“I had hoped that you would sympathize with and be +more interested in my great sorrow.”</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter, my interest is more profound, more intense, +than you can imagine, but at this juncture circumstances +forbid its expression. My buggy is at the door.”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXX' id='CHAPTER_XXX'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXX.</h2> +</div> +<p>Even at mid-day the grounds around “Solitude” were +sombre and chill, for across the sky the winds had woven a +thin, vapory veil, whose cloud-meshes seemed fine as lacework; +and through this gilded netting the sun looked hazy, +the light wan and yellow, and rifled of its customary noon +glitter.</p> +<p>Following one of the serpentine walks, the governess was +approaching the house, when her attention was attracted by +the gleaming surface of a tomb, and she turned towards the +pyramidal deodars that were swaying slowly in the breeze,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Warming their heads in the sun,<br /> +Checkering the grass with their shade,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>and photographing fringy images on the shining marble.</p> +<p>A broad circle of violets, blue with bloom, surrounded a +sexangular temple, whose dome was terminated by a mural +crown and surmounted by a cross. The beautifully polished +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_411' name='page_411'></a>411</span> +pillars were fluted, and wreathed with carved ivy that wound +up to the richly-sculptured cornices, where poppies clustered +and tossed their leaves along the architrave; and, in the +centre, visible through all the arches, rose an altar, bearing +two angels with fingers on their lips, who guarded an exquisite +urn that was inscribed “<i>cor cordium</i>.”</p> +<p>Beneath the eastern arch, that directly fronted the sea, +were two steps leading into the mausoleum, and, as Miss +Dexter stood within, she saw that the floor was arranged +with slabs for only two tombs close to the altar, one side +of which bore in golden tracery,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“<i>Elsie Maclean, 68. Amicus Amicorum.</i>”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Around the base of the urn were scattered some fresh geranium-leaves, +and very near it stood a tall, slender, Venetian +glass vase filled with odorous flowers, which had evidently +been gathered and arranged that day.</p> +<p>For whom had the remaining slab and opposite side of the +altar been reserved?</p> +<p>The heart of the governess seemed for a moment to forget +its functions, then a vague hope made it throb fiercely; and +rapidly the anxious woman directed her steps towards the +house, that seemed as silent as the grave behind her.</p> +<p>The hall door had swung partially open, and, dreading that +she might be refused admittance if she rang the bell, she +availed herself of the lucky accident (which in Elsie’s lifetime +never happened), and entered unchallenged and unobserved.</p> +<p>From the parlor issued a rather monotonous and suppressed +sound, as of some one reading aloud, and, advancing a few +steps, the governess stood inside the threshold.</p> +<p>The curtains of the south window were looped back, the +blinds thrown open, and the sickly sunshine poured in, lighting +the easel, before which the mistress of the house had +drawn an ottoman and seated herself.</p> +<p>To-day, an air of unwonted negligence marked her appearance, +usually distinguished by extraordinary care and taste.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_412' name='page_412'></a>412</span></div> +<p>Her white merino <i>robe de chambre</i> was partially ungirded, +and the blue tassels trailed on the carpet; her luxuriant hair +instead of being braided and classically coiled, was gathered +in three or four large heavy loops, and fastened rather loosely +by the massive silver comb that allowed one long tress to +straggle across her shoulder, while the folds in front slipped +low on her temples and forehead.</p> +<p>Intently contemplating her work, she leaned her cheek on +her hand, and only the profile was visible from the door, as +she repeated, in a subdued tone,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“I stanch with ice my burning breast,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>With silence balm my whirling brain,<br /> +O Brandan! to this hour of rest,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>That Joppan leper’s ease was pain.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The easel held the largest of many pictures, upon which she +had lavished time and study, and her present work was a wide +stretch of mid-ocean, lighted by innumerable stars, and a +round glittering polar moon that swung mid-heaven like +a globe of silver, and shed a ghostly lustre on the raging, +ragged waves, above which an Aurora Borealis lifted its +gleaming arch of mysterious white fires.</p> +<p>On the flowery shore of a tropic isle, under clustering +boughs of lime and citron, knelt the venerable figure of +Saint Brandan,—and upon a towering, jagged iceberg, whose +crystal cliffs and diamond peaks glittered with the ghastly +radiance reflected from arctic moon and boreal flames, lay +Judas, pressing his hot palms and burning breast to the frigid +bosom of his sailing sapphire berg.</p> +<p>No hideous, scowling, red-haired arch-apostate was this +painted Iscariot,—but a handsome man, whose features were +startlingly like those in the ivory miniature.</p> +<p>It was a wild, dreary, mournful picture, suggestive of +melancholy mediæval myths, and most abnormal phantasms; +and would more appropriately have draped the walls of some +flagellating ascetic’s cell, than the luxuriously furnished room +that now contained it.</p> +<p>Bending forward to deepen the dark circles which suffering +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_413' name='page_413'></a>413</span> +and remorse had worn beneath the brilliant eyes of the +apostle, the lonely artist added another verse to her quotation,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Once every year, when carols wake<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>On earth the Christmas night’s repose,<br /> +Arising from the sinner’s lake<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>I journey to these healing snows.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>The motion loosened a delicate white lily pinned at her +throat, and it fell upon the palette, sullying its purity with +the dark paint to which its petals clung. She removed it, +looked at its defaced loveliness, and tossed it aside, saying +moodily,—</p> +<p>“Typical of our souls, originally dowered with a stainless +and well-nigh perfect holiness, but drooping dust-ward continually, +and once tainted by the fall,—hugging the corruption +that ruined it.”</p> +<p>As the governess looked and listened, a half-perplexed, +half-frightened expression passed over her countenance, and +at length she advanced to the arch, and said, tremblingly,—</p> +<p>“Can I have a few moments’ conversation with Mrs. +Gerome, on important business?”</p> +<p>“My God! am I verily mad at last? Because I called up +Judas, must I also evoke the partner of his crime?”</p> +<p>With a thrilling, almost blood-curdling cry Mrs. Gerome +had leaped to her feet at the sound of Miss Dexter’s voice, +and, dropping palette and brush, confronted her with a look +of horror and hate. The quick and violent movement shook +out her comb, and down came the folds of hair, falling like +a silver cataract to her knees.</p> +<p>Bewildered by memories which the face and form recalled, +the governess looked at the shining white locks, and her lips +blanched, as she stammered,—</p> +<p>“Are you Mrs. Gerome?”</p> +<p>Her scarlet hood had fallen back, disclosing her wealth of +golden hair; and gazing at her thin but still lovely features, +rouged by a hectic glow that lent strange beauty to the +wide, brown eyes, Mrs. Gerome answered, huskily,—</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_414' name='page_414'></a>414</span></div> +<p>“I am the mistress of this house. Who is the woman who +has the audacity to intrude upon my seclusion, and vividly remind +me of one whose hated lineaments have cursed my memory +for years? Woman, if I believed <i>she</i> had the effrontery +to thrust herself into my presence, I should fear that at this +instant I am afflicted with the abhorred sight of Edith Dexter, +than whom a legion of devils would be more welcome!”</p> +<p>The name fell hissingly from her stern mouth, and when +she shook back the hair that drooped over her brow, the gray +globe-like eyes glittered as polished blue steel under some fitful +light.</p> +<p>A low, half-stifled cry escaped the governess, and springing +forward she fell on her knees and grasped the white hands +that had clutched each other.</p> +<p>“Evelyn! It must be Evelyn! despite this gray hair and +wan, changed face! and I could never mistake these beautiful, +beautiful hands—unlike any others in the world! Evelyn, +my lost darling! oh, I thank God I have found you before I +die!”</p> +<p>She covered the cold fingers with kisses, and pressed her +face to a band of the floating hair; but with a gesture of +loathing Mrs. Gerome broke away, and retreated a few steps.</p> +<p>“How dare you come into my presence? Goaded by a +desire to witness the ruin you helped to accomplish? Your +audacity at least astounds me; but fate decrees you the enjoyment +of its reward. Lo! here I am! Behold the gray +shadow of what was once a happy, confiding girl! Behold +in the desolate, lonely woman, who hides her disgrace under +the name of Agla Gerome, that bride of an hour, that Evelyn +whose heart you stabbed! Does the wreck entirely satisfy +you? What more could even fiendish malevolence desire?”</p> +<p>“Evelyn, you wrong me. For mercy’s sake do not upbraid +and taunt me so unjustly!”</p> +<p>In vain she held out her hands imploringly, while tears +rolled over her crimsoned cheeks, and sobs impeded her utterance. +Mrs. Gerome laughed bitterly.</p> +<p>“What! I wrong you? Have <i>you</i> gone mad, instead of +your victim? Miss Dexter, you and I can scarcely afford +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_415' name='page_415'></a>415</span> +to deal in mock tragedy, and though you make a pretty +picture kneeling there, I have no mind to paint you yonder, +where I put your colleague, Judas. Is it not a good likeness +of your lover, as he looked that memorable day when the +broad banana-leaves overshadowed his handsome head?”</p> +<p>She rapped the canvas with her clenched hand, and continued, +in accents of indescribable scorn,—</p> +<p>“Do you kneel as penitent or petitioner? You come to +crave my pardon, or my husband?”</p> +<p>The governess had bowed her face almost to the carpet, +like some fragile flower borne down by a sudden flood; but +now she rose, and, throwing her head back proudly, answered +with firm yet gentle dignity,—</p> +<p>“Of Mrs. Gerome I crave nothing. Of Evelyn Carlyle I +demand justice; simply bare justice.”</p> +<p>“Justice! You are rash, Miss Dexter, to challenge fate; +for, were justice meted out, the burden would prove more intolerable +to you than that King Stork whom Zeus sent down +as a Nemesis to quiet clamorous frogs. Justice, let me tell +you, long <ins title='Was age'>ago</ins> fled from this hostile and inhospitable earth +and took refuge beyond the stars, where, please God, you and +I shall one day confront her and get our long-defrauded +dues. Justice? Nay, nay! the thing I recognize as justice +would crush you utterly, and you should flee to the <i>Ultima +Thule</i> to avoid it. I divine your mission. You come as +envoy-extraordinary from my honorable and chivalric husband, +to demand release from the bonds that doom me to wear +his name and you to live without that spotless ægis? Since +my fortune no longer percolates through the sieve of his +pocket, and legal quibbles can not now avail to wring thousands +from my purse, he desires a divorce, in order to remove +to your fair wrists the fetters which have proved more galling +to mine than those of iron.”</p> +<p>“Evelyn, insult must not be heaped upon injury. As God +hears me, I tell you solemnly that you have seen your husband +since I have. Upon Maurice Carlyle’s face I have never +looked since that fatal hour when I last saw yours, ghastly +and rigid, against the background of guava-boughs. From +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_416' name='page_416'></a>416</span> +that day until this, I have neither seen, nor spoken, nor written +to him.”</p> +<p>“Then why are you here, to torment me with the sight of +your face, which would darken the precincts of heaven, if +I met it inside of the gates of pearl?”</p> +<p>“I have come to exonerate myself from the aspersions that +in your frenzy you have cast upon me. Evelyn, I am here +to prove that my wrongs are greater than yours,—and if +either should crave pardon, it would best become you to sue +for it at my hands. But for you, I should have been a +happy wife,—blessed with a devoted husband and fond mother; +and now in my loneliness I stand for vindication before her +who robbed me of every earthly hope, and blotted all light, +all verdure, all beauty from my life. You had known Maurice +Carlyle six weeks, when you gave him your hand. I had +grown up at his side,—had loved, trusted, prayed, and +labored for him,—had been his promised wife for seven dreary +years of toil and separation, and was counting the hours +until the moment when he would lead me to the altar. Ah, +Evelyn,—”</p> +<p>A violent spell of coughing interrupted the governess, and +when it ended she did not complete the sentence.</p> +<p>Impatiently Mrs. Gerome motioned to her to continue, and, +turning her head which had been averted, the hostess saw that +her guest was endeavoring to stanch a stream of blood that +trickled across her lips. Involuntarily the former started forward +and drew an easy-chair close to the slender figure which +leaned for support against the corner of the piano.</p> +<p>“Are you ill? Pray sit down.”</p> +<p>“It is only a hemorrhage from my lungs, which I have long +had reason to expect.”</p> +<p>Wearily she sank into the chair, and hastily pouring a glass +of water from a gilt-starred crystal <i>carafe</i>, standing on the +centre-table, Mrs. Gerome silently offered it. As the governess +drained and returned the goblet, a drop of blood that stained +the rim fell on the hand of the mistress of the house.</p> +<p>Miss Dexter attempted to remove it with the end of her +plaid shawl, but her companion drew back, and taking a +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_417' name='page_417'></a>417</span> +dainty, perfumed handkerchief from her pocket, shook out its +folds and said, hastily,—</p> +<p>“It is of no consequence. I see your handkerchief is already +saturated; will you accept mine?”</p> +<p>Without waiting for a reply, she laid it on the lap of the +visitor, and left the room.</p> +<p>Soon after, a servant brought in a basin of water and +towels, which she placed on the table, and then, without question +or comment, withdrew.</p> +<p>Some time elapsed before Mrs. Gerome re-entered the parlor, +bearing a glass of wine in her hand. Miss Dexter had +bathed her face, and, looking up, she saw that the gray hair +had been carefully coiled and fastened, and the flowing +merino belted at the waist; but the brow wore its heavy cloud, +and the arch of the lip had not unbent.</p> +<p>“I hope you are better. Permit me to insist upon your +taking this wine.”</p> +<p>She proffered it, but the governess shook her head, and +tears ran down her cheeks, as she said,—</p> +<p>“Thank you,—but I do not require it; indeed I could not +swallow it.”</p> +<p>The hostess bowed, and, placing the glass within her reach, +walked to the window which looked out on the marble mausoleum, +and stood leaning against the cedarn facing.</p> +<p>Five, ten minutes passed, and the silence was only broken by +the ticking of the bronze clock on the mantelpiece.</p> +<p>“Evelyn.”</p> +<p>The voice was so sweet, so thrilling, so mournfully pleading, +that it might have wooed even stone to pity; but Mrs. Gerome +merely glanced over her shoulder, and said, frigidly,—</p> +<p>“Can I in any way contribute to Miss Dexter’s comfort? +The servants tell me there is no conveyance waiting for you; +but, since you seem too feeble to walk away, my carriage is at +your service whenever you wish to return. Shall I order it?”</p> +<p>“No, I will not trouble you. I can walk; and, after a +little while, I will go away forever. Evelyn, do you think me +utterly unprincipled?”</p> +<p>A moment passed before she was answered.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_418' name='page_418'></a>418</span></div> +<p>“While you are in my house, courtesy forbids the expression +of my opinion of your character.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Evelyn, my darling! God knows I have not merited +this harshness, this cruelty from your dear hands. Eight +tedious, miserable years I have searched and prayed for you,—have +clung to the hope of finding you, of telling you all,—of +hearing your precious lips utter those words for which my +ears have so long ached, ‘Edith, I hold you guiltless of my +wretchedness.’ But at last, when my search is successful, to be +browbeaten, derided, denounced, insulted,—oh, this is bitter +indeed! This is too hard to be borne!”</p> +<p>Her anguish was uncontrollable, and she sobbed aloud.</p> +<p>Across Mrs. Gerome’s white lips crept a quiver, and over +her frozen features rose an unwonted flush; but she did not +move a muscle, or suffer her eyes to wander from the cross +and crown on Elsie’s tomb.</p> +<p>“Evelyn, I believe, I hope (and may God forgive me if I +sin in hoping), that I have not many years, or perhaps even +months to live; and it would comfort me in my dying hour +to feel that I had laid before you some facts, of which I know +you must be ignorant. You have harshly and unjustly prejudged +me,—have steeled yourself against me; still I wish +to tell you some things that weigh heavily upon my aching, +desolate heart. Will you allow me to do so now? Will you +hear me?”</p> +<p>There was evidently a struggle in the mind of the motionless +woman beside the window, but it was brief, and left no +trace in the cold, ringing voice.</p> +<p>“I will hear you.”</p> +<p>Slowly and impressively the governess began the narrative, +of which she had given Dr. Grey a hasty <i>résumé</i>, and when +she mentioned the midnight labors in which she had engaged, +the copying of legal documents, the sale of her drawings, the +hoarding of her salary in order to aid her mother and her +betrothed, and to remove the obstacles to her marriage, Mrs. +Gerome sat down, and, crossing her arms on the window-sill, +hid her face upon them.</p> +<p>Unflinchingly Miss Dexter detailed all that occurred after +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_419' name='page_419'></a>419</span> +her arrival in New York; and finally, approaching the window, +she insisted that her listener should peruse the last letter +received from her lover, and containing the promise that +within ten days he would come to claim his bride. But the +lovely hand waved it aside, and the proud voice exclaimed impatiently,—</p> +<p>“I need no additional proof of his perfidy, which, beyond +controversy, was long ago established. Go on! go on!”</p> +<p>Upon all that followed the ceremony,—the departure of +the wife,—and her own despairing grief, the governess dwelt +with touching eloquence and pathos; and, at last, as she +spoke of her fruitless journey to England,—her sad search +through the insane asylums,—Mrs. Gerome lifted her queenly +head, and bent a piercing glance upon the speaker.</p> +<p>Ah! what a hungry, eager expression looked out shyly from +her whilom hopeless eyes, when, with an imperious gesture, +she silenced her visitor, and asked,—</p> +<p>“You spent your hard earnings, not in <i>trousseau</i>, or preparations +for housekeeping; but hunting for me in lunatic +asylums? Suppose you had found me in a mad-house?”</p> +<p>“Then I should have become an inmate of the same gloomy +walls; and, while you lived, should have shared with faithful +Elsie the care and charge of you. God is my witness, I had +resolved to dedicate my remaining years to the task of cheering +and guarding yours. Oh, Evelyn! not until we stand in +the great Court of Heaven can you realize how sincerely, how +tenderly, and unwaveringly, I love you. My darling, how +can you distrust my faithful heart?”</p> +<p>She sank on her knees, and, throwing her arms around the +tall, slender form, looked with mournful, beseeching tenderness +at the haughty features above her.</p> +<p>For a moment the proud, pale face glowed,—the great +shadowy eyes kindled and shone like wintry planets in some +crystalline sky; but doubt, murderous, cynical doubt, grappled +with hope, and strangled it.</p> +<p>“Edith, I wish I could believe you. I am struggling desperately +to lay hold of the fluttering garments of faith, but +I cannot! Suspicion has walked hand in hand with me so +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_420' name='page_420'></a>420</span> +long that I cannot shake off her numbing touch, and I distrust +all human things, save the dusty heart that moulders +yonder in my old Elsie’s grave.”</p> +<p>She pointed to the white columns of the temple, and then +the uplifted fingers fell heavily on Edith’s shoulder.</p> +<p>“Go on. I wish to learn whose treachery betrayed the +secret of my retreat.”</p> +<p>Pressing her feverish lips to the hand she admired so enthusiastically, +Miss Dexter resumed her recital of what had +occurred since her journey to London, and finally ended it +with an account of her removal to ‘Grassmere,’ and of the discovery +of the miniatures that guided her to ‘Solitude.’</p> +<p>A long pause followed, and a heavy sigh, only partially +smothered, indexed the contest that raged under Mrs. Gerome’s +calm exterior.</p> +<p>“Edith, would you have inferred from Dr. Grey’s manner +that he was not only acquainted with my history, but yours, +at least, so far as it intersected mine? Did he furnish no +hint, no clew, that aided you in your search?”</p> +<p>“None whatever. On the contrary, he appeared so preoccupied, +so abstracted, that I reproached him with indifference +to my troubles. It is not possible that he knew all, while +I briefly summed up a portion of the past.”</p> +<p>“At that moment he was thoroughly cognizant of everything +that I could tell him. But, at least, one honorable, +trustworthy man yet graces the race; one pure, incorruptible, +and consistent Christian remains to shed lustre upon a +church that can nowhere boast his peer. I confided all to +Dr. Grey, and he has kept the trust. Ah, Edith, if you had +only reposed the same confidence in me, during those halcyon +days of our early friendship,—days that seem to me now as +far off, as dim and unreal, as those starry nights when I lay +in my little crib, dreaming of that mother whose face I never +saw, whose smile is one of the surprises and blessings reserved +for eternity,—how different my lot and yours might +have been! Why did you not trust me with your happy hopes, +your lover’s name and difficulties? How differently I would +have invested that fortune, which proved our common ruin, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_421' name='page_421'></a>421</span> +and doomed three lives to uselessness and woe. To-day you +might have proudly worn the name that I utterly detest; +and I, the outcast, the wanderer, the tireless, friendless waif, +drifting despairingly down the tide of time,—even I, the unloved, +might have been, not a solitary cumberer, not a household +upas,—but why taunt the hideous Actual with a blessed +and beautiful Impossible? Ah, truly, truly,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'><ins title='Added quote'>“‘What</ins> might have been, I know, is not:<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>What must be, must be borne;<br /> +But ah! what hath been will not be forgot,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Never, oh! never, in the years to follow!’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>She closed her eyes and seemed pondering the past, and +mutely the governess prayed that hallowed memories of their +former affection might soften her apparently petrified heart.</p> +<p>Edith saw a great change overspread the countenance, but +could not accurately interpret its import; and her own heart +began to beat the long-roll.</p> +<p>The heavy black eyelashes lying on Mrs. Gerome’s marble +cheeks glistened, trembled, and tears stole slowly across +her face. She raised her hand, but dropped it in her lap, +and frowned slightly and sighed. Then she lifted it once +more, and looking through the shining mist that magnified +her splendid eyes, she laid her fingers on the golden head of +the kneeling woman.</p> +<p>“You and I have innocently wronged and ruined each +other; you with your beauty, I with my accursed gold. Time +was when at your bidding I would have laid my throbbing +heart at your feet, provided I could thereby save you one +pang; for I loved you as women very rarely love one another. +But now, lonely and hopeless, I have lost the power, the capacity +to love anything, and I have no heart left in my bosom. +I acquit you of much for which I formerly held you responsible, +and I honor the purity of purpose that forbade your +receiving the visits or letters of him who must one day answer +for our worthless lives. I fully forgive you the suffering that +made me prematurely old; but my affection is as dead as all +my girlish hopes, and buried under the crushing years that +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_422' name='page_422'></a>422</span> +have dragged themselves over my poor, proud, pain-bleached +head. You are more fortunate, more enviable than I, for +you have the comforting anticipation of a speedy release, the +precious assurance that your torture will ere long be ended; +while I must front the prospect of perhaps fourscore and ten +years: for, despite my ivory skin and fever-blanched locks, I +am maddeningly healthy. Friend of my childhood, friend of +my happy, sunny, sinless days, I cordially congratulate you +on your approaching deliverance. God knows I would pay +you my fortune, if I could innocently and successfully inject +into my veins and lungs the poison that will soon rob you of +care and regret. If I was harsh to-day, forgive and forget it, +for nothing rankles in the grave; and now, Edith, go away +quickly, before I repent and recant the words I here utter. +God comfort you, Edith Dexter, and remember that I hold +you guiltless of my wrecked destiny.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Evelyn! add one thing more. Say, ‘Edith, I love +you.’”</p> +<p>A strangely mournful smile parted Mrs. Gerome’s perfect +lips over her dazzling teeth, as she pushed the kneeling figure +from her, and said coldly,—</p> +<p>“Rise, and leave me. I love no living thing, brute or +human, for even my faithful dog lies buried a few yards +hence. Maurice treated my warm, loving nature, as Tofana +did her unsuspecting victims, and for that slow poison there +is no antidote. The sole interest I have in life centres in my +art, and when death mercifully remembers me, some pictures +I have patiently wrought out will be given to the public; and +the next generation will, perhaps,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Hear the world applaud the hollow ghost,<br /> +Which blamed the living woman,’</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>and, smiling grimly in my coffin, I shall echo,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Hither to come, and to sleep,<br /> +Under the wings of renown.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Both rose, and the two so long divided faced each other +sorrowfully.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_423' name='page_423'></a>423</span></div> +<p>“Dear Evelyn, do not hug despair so stubbornly to your +bosom. You might brighten your solitary existence if you +would, and be comparatively happy in this lovely seaside +home.”</p> +<p>“You think ‘Solitude’ a very desirable and beautiful retreat? +Do you remember the gay raiment and glittering +jewels that covered the radiant bride of Giacopone di Todi? +One day an accident at a public festival mangled her mortally, +and when her gorgeous garments were torn off, lo!</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘A robe of sackcloth next the smooth, white skin.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>A sudden pallor crept over the delicate face of the governess, +and, folding her hands, she exclaimed with passionate +vehemence,—</p> +<p>“I cannot, I must not shrink from the chief object of my +visit here. I came not only to exonerate myself, but to plead +for poor Maurice.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Gerome started back, and the pitiless gleam came instantly +into her softened eyes.</p> +<p>“Do not mention his name again. I thought you had +neither seen nor heard from him.”</p> +<p>“I must plead his wretched cause, since he is denied the +privilege of appealing to your mercy. Evelyn, my friends +write me that he is almost in a state of destitution. Only +last night I received this letter, which I leave for your perusal, +and which assures me he is in want, and, moreover, is dangerously +ill. Who has the right, the privilege,—whose is the +duty, imperative and stern, to hasten to his bedside, to alleviate +his suffering, to provide for his needs? Yours, Evelyn +Carlyle, and yours alone. Where are the marriage-vows that +you snatched from my lips eight years ago, and eagerly took +upon your own? Did you not solemnly swear in the presence +of heaven and earth to serve him and keep him in sickness, +and, forsaking all others, to hold him from that day forward, +for better, for worse, until death did part ye? Oh, Evelyn! +do not scowl, and turn away. However unworthy, he is your +husband in the sight of God and man, and your wedding +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_424' name='page_424'></a>424</span> +oath calls you to him in this hour of his terrible need. Can +you sleep peacefully, knowing that he is tossing with paroxysms +of pain, and perhaps hungering and thirsting for that +which you could readily supply? If it were right,—if I dared, +I would hasten to him; but my conscience inexorably forbids +the thought, and consigns my heart to torture, for which +there is no name. You will tell me that you provided once, +twice, for all reasonable wants,—that he has recklessly +squandered liberal allowances. But will that satisfy your conscience, +while you still possess ample means to aid him? Will +you permit the man whose name you bear to live on other +charity than your own,—and finally, to fill a pauper’s grave? +Oh, Evelyn! was it for this that you took my darling, my idol, +from my clinging, loving arms? Will you see his body writhing +in the agony of disease, and his precious, immortal soul +in fearful jeopardy, while you stand afar off, surrounded by +every luxury that ingenuity can suggest, and gold purchase? +Oh, Evelyn! be merciful; do your duty. Like a brave, true, +though injured woman, go to Maurice, and strive to make +him comfortable; to lighten, by your pardon, his sad, heavily +laden heart. By your past, your memories of your betrothal, +your hopes of heaven, and above all, by your marriage vows, +I implore you to discharge your sacred duties.”</p> +<p>A bitter smile twisted the muscles about Mrs. Gerome’s +mouth, as she gazed into the quivering, eloquent face of her +companion, and listened to the impetuous appeal that poured +so pathetically over her burning lips.</p> +<p>“Edith, you amaze me. Is it possible that after all your +injuries you can cling so fondly, so madly, to the man who +slighted, and humiliated, and blighted you?”</p> +<p>“Ah! you are his wife, and I am the ridiculed and pitied +victim of his flirtation, so says the world; but my affection +outlives yours. Evelyn, I have loved him from the time +when I can first <ins title='Was recollet'>recollect</ins>; I loved him with a deathless devotion +that neither his unworthiness, nor time, nor eternity can +conquer; and to-day, I tell you that he is dear to me,—dear +to me as some precious corpse, over which a gravestone has +gathered moss for eight weary, dreary years. The angels in +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_425' name='page_425'></a>425</span> +heaven would not blush for the feeling in my heart towards +Maurice Carlyle; and the God who must soon judge me +will not condemn the pure and sacred love I cherish for the +only man who could ever have been my husband, but whom +I have resolutely refused to see, even when the world believed +you dead. I cannot go to him, and comfort, and provide for +him now; but, in the name of God, and your oath, and if not +for your own sake, at least for his and for mine, I ask you +once more, Evelyn Carlyle, will you hasten to your erring +but unhappy husband?”</p> +<p>Her scarlet cheeks and lips, her glowing brown eyes, and +waving yellow hair, formed a singular contrast to the colorless, +cold face of her listener; whose steely gaze was fixed on +the distant sea, that lay like a beryl mirror beneath the hazy +sky.</p> +<p>When the sound of the sweet but strained voice had died +away, Mrs. Gerome turned her eyes towards the governess, +and answered,—</p> +<p>“I will do my duty, no matter how revolting.”</p> +<p>“Thank God! When will you go?”</p> +<p>“If at all, at once.”</p> +<p>“Evelyn, when you come home, will you not let me see +you, now and then, and win my way back to my old place in +your dear heart? Oh! my pale, peerless darling, do not deny +me this.”</p> +<p>“Home? I have no home. My heart is grayer than my +head,—and your old niche is full of dust, and skeletons, and +murdered hopes. Let me see you no more in this world; and +perhaps in the Everlasting Rest I shall forget my hideous +past, which your face recalls.”</p> +<p>“Oh, my poor bruised darling! do not banish me,” wailed +the governess, endeavoring to fold her arms about the queenly +form, which silently but effectually held her back.</p> +<p>“At least, dear Evelyn, let me kiss you once more, in token +that you cherish no bitterness against me.”</p> +<p>“Good-by, Edith. I hold you innocent of my injuries. +May God help you, and call us both speedily to our dreamless +sleep under moss and marble.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_426' name='page_426'></a>426</span></div> +<p>She bent down, and with firm, icy lips, lightly touched the +forehead of the governess, and walked away, unheeding the +burst of tears with which the frigid caress was welcomed.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“And I think, in the lives of most women and men,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>There’s a moment when all would go smooth and even,<br /> +If only the dead could find out when<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>To come back, and be forgiven.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI' id='CHAPTER_XXXI'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Madam, are you aware that you breathe an infected atmosphere?—that +this building is assigned to small-pox cases? +Pray do not cross the threshold.”</p> +<p>The superintendent of the hospital laid aside his pipe, and +advanced to meet the stranger whose knock had startled him +from a <i>post-prandial</i> doze.</p> +<p>“I am not afraid of contagion, and came to see the patient +who was brought here yesterday from No. 139 Elm Street.”</p> +<p>“Have you a permit to visit here?”</p> +<p>“Yes; you will find it on this paper, given me by the proper +authorities.”</p> +<p>“What is the name of the person you desire to see?”</p> +<p>The superintendent opened a book that lay on the table +beside him, and drew his finger up and down the page.</p> +<p>“Maurice Carlyle.”</p> +<p>“Ah, yes,—I have it now. Maurice Carlyle, Ward 3,—cot +No. 7. Madam, may I ask,—”</p> +<p>“No, sir; I have no inclination to answer idle questions. +Will you show me the way, or shall I find it?”</p> +<p>“Certainly, I will conduct you; but I was about to remark +that a death has just occurred in Ward No. 3, and I am under +the impression that it was the Elm Street case. Madam, you +look faint; shall I bring you a glass of water?”</p> +<p>“No. Show me the body of the dead.”</p> +<p>“This way, if you please.”</p> +<p>He walked down a dim, low-vaulted passage, and paused at +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_427' name='page_427'></a>427</span> +the entrance of a room lined with cots, where the nurse was +slowly passing from patient to patient.</p> +<p>“Nurse, show this lady to cot No. 7.”</p> +<p>Swiftly the tall figure of the visitor glided down the room, +and placing her hand on the arm of the nurse, she said +huskily,—</p> +<p>“Where is the man who has just died? Quick! do not +keep me in suspense.”</p> +<p>“There, to the right; shall I uncover the face?”</p> +<p>Under the blue check coverlet that was spread smoothly +over the cot, the stiff outlines of a human form were clearly +defined; and, when the nurse stooped, the stranger put out +one arm and held him back, while her whole frame trembled +violently.</p> +<p>“Stop! be good enough to leave me.”</p> +<p>The attendant withdrew a few yards, and curiously watched +the queenly woman, who stood motionless, with her fingers +tightly interlaced.</p> +<p>She was dressed in a gray suit of some shining fabric, and +a long gossamer veil of the same hue hung over her features. +After a few seconds she swept back the veil, and, as she bent +forward, a stray sunbeam dipped through the closed shutters, +and flashed across a white horror-stricken face, crowned with +clustering braids of silver hair.</p> +<p>She shut her eyes an instant, grasped the coverlet, and drew +it down; then caught her breath, and looked at the dead.</p> +<p>It was a young, boyish face, horribly swollen and distorted, +and coarse red locks were matted around his brow and temples.</p> +<p>“Thank God, Maurice Carlyle still lives.”</p> +<p>She involuntarily raised her hands towards heaven, and +the expression of dread melted from her countenance.</p> +<p>Slowly and reverently she re-covered the corpse, and approached +the nurse.</p> +<p>“I am searching for my husband. Which cot is No. 7?”</p> +<p>“That on your left,—next to the dead.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Carlyle turned, and gazed at the bloated crimson mass +of disease that writhed on the narrow bed, and a long shudder +crept over her, as she endeavored to discover in that loathsome +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_428' name='page_428'></a>428</span> +hideous visage some familiar feature—some trace of the +manly beauty that once rendered it so fascinating.</p> +<p>The swollen blood-shot eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling, +and, while delirious muttering fell upon the ears of the visitor, +she saw that his cheeks were somewhat lacerated, and his +hands, partially confined, were tearing at the inflamed flesh.</p> +<p>She shivered with horror, and a groan broke from her pitying +heart.</p> +<p>“What an awful retribution! My God, have mercy upon +him! He is sufficiently punished.”</p> +<p>Drawing her perfumed lace handkerchief from her pocket, +she leaned over and wiped away the bloody foam that oozed +across his lips, and lifting his hot head turned it sufficiently +to expose the right ear, where a large mole was hidden by the +thick hair.</p> +<p>“Maurice Carlyle! But what a fearful wreck?”</p> +<p>She covered her eyes with her hand, and moaned.</p> +<p>The nurse came nearer, and said hesitatingly,—</p> +<p>“Madam, surely he is not your husband? His clothes are +almost in tatters, while yours are—ahem!—”</p> +<p>“Spare me all comments on the comparison. Can I obtain +a comfortable, quiet room, in this building, and have him removed +to it at once? You hesitate? I will compensate you +liberally, will pay almost any price for an apartment where he +can at least have silence and seclusion.”</p> +<p>“We can accommodate you, but of course if the patient is +carried from this ward to a private room, we shall be compelled +to charge extra.”</p> +<p>“Charge what you choose, only arrange the matter as +promptly as possible. How soon can you make the change?”</p> +<p>“In twenty minutes, madam.”</p> +<p>The nurse rang for an assistant, to whom the necessary instructions +were given, and in the <i>interim</i> Mrs. Carlyle leaned +against the cot, and brushed away the flies that buzzed about +the pitiable victims.</p> +<p>Two men carried the sufferer up a flight of steps, and ere +long he was transferred to a large comfortable bed in an airy, +well-furnished apartment.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_429' name='page_429'></a>429</span></div> +<p>The removal had not been completed more than an hour, +when the surgeon made his evening round, and followed the +patient to his new quarters.</p> +<p>He paused at sight of the elegantly dressed woman who sat +beside the bed, and said, stammeringly,—</p> +<p>“I am informed that No. 7 is your husband, and that you +have taken charge of his case, and intend to nurse him. Have +you had small-pox?”</p> +<p>“No, sir.”</p> +<p>“Madam, you run a fearful risk.”</p> +<p>“I fully appreciate the hazard, and am prepared to incur +it. Do you regard this case as hopeless?”</p> +<p>“Not altogether, though the probabilities are that it will +terminate fatally.”</p> +<p>“I have had too little experience to warrant my undertaking +the management of the case, and, while I intend to remain +here, I wish you to engage the services of some trustworthy +nurse who understands the treatment of this disease. Can +you recommend such a person?”</p> +<p>“Yes, madam; I can send you a man in whom I have entire +confidence, and fortunately he is not at present employed. +If you desire it, I will see him within the next hour, and give +him all requisite instructions about the patient.”</p> +<p>“Promptness in this matter will greatly oblige me, and I +wish to spare no expense in contributing to the comfort and +restoration of the sufferer. As I am utterly unknown to you, +I prefer to place in your hands a sufficient amount to defray +all incidental expenditures.”</p> +<p>She laid a roll of bills upon the table, and as Dr. Clingman +counted them, she added,—</p> +<p>“It is possible that I may be attacked by this disease, +though I have been repeatedly vaccinated; and if I should die, +please recollect that you will find in my purse a memorandum +of the disposition I wish made of my body,—also the address +of my agent and banker in New York City.”</p> +<p>With mingled curiosity and admiration the physician looked +at the pale, handsome woman, who spoke of death as coldly +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_430' name='page_430'></a>430</span> +and unconcernedly as of to-morrow’s sun, or next month’s +moon.</p> +<p>“Madam, allow me to ask if you have no friends in this +city,—no relatives nearer than New York?”</p> +<p>“None, sir. It is my wish that our conversation should be +confined to the symptoms and treatment of your patient.”</p> +<p>Dr. Clingman bowed, and, after writing minute instructions +upon a sheet of paper left on the mantelpiece, took his +departure.</p> +<p>Securing the door on the inside, Mrs. Carlyle threw aside +her bonnet and wrappings, and came back to the sufferer on +the bed.</p> +<p>Eight years of reckless excess and dissipation had obliterated +every vestige of manly beauty from features that disease +now rendered loathsome, and the curling hair and long beard +were unkempt and grizzled.</p> +<p>Leaning against the pillow, the lonely woman bent over to +scrutinize the distorted, burning face, and softly took into her +cool palms one hot and swollen hand, which in other days +she had admiringly stroked, and tenderly pressed against her +cheek and lips. How totally unlike that countenance, which, +handsome as Apollyon, had looked down at her on her bridal +day, and fondly whispered—“my wife.”</p> +<p>Memory mercilessly broke open sealed chambers in that +wretched woman’s heart, and out of one leaped a wail that +made her tremble and moan,—“Oh, Evelyn, my wife, forgive +your husband.”</p> +<p>Slowly compassion began to bridge the dark gulf of separation +and hate, and as the wife gazed at the writhing form of +her husband, her stony face softened, and tears gathered in +the large, mournful eyes.</p> +<p>“Ah, Maurice! This world has proved a huge cheat to +you and to me,—and well-nigh cost us all peace in the next +one. My husband, yet my bitterest foe,—my first, my last, +my only love! If I could recall one throb of the old affection, +one atom of the old worshipping tenderness and devotion,—but +it has withered; my heart is scorched and ashen,—and +neither love nor hope haunts its desolate ruins. Poor, polluted, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_431' name='page_431'></a>431</span> +down-trodden idol! Maurice—Maurice—my husband, +I have come. Evelyn, your wife, forgives you, as she hopes +for pardon at the hands of her God.”</p> +<p>Kneeling beside the bed, with her snowy fingers clasped +around his, she bowed her head, and humbly prayed for his +soul, and for her own; and, when the petition ended, that +peace which this world can never give,—which had so long +been exiled, fluttered back and brooded once more in her +storm-riven heart.</p> +<p>Softly she lifted and smoothed the long tangled hair +that clung to his forehead, and tears dripped upon his scarlet +face, as she said; brokenly,—</p> +<p>“<i>Till death us do part!</i> Poor Maurice! Deserted and +despised by your former parasites. After long years, my +vows bring me back in the hour of your need. God grant you +life, to redeem your past,—to save your sinful soul from +eternal ruin.”</p> +<p>Suns rose and set, weary days and solemn nights of vigil +succeeded each other, and tirelessly the wife and hired nurse +watched the progress of the dreadful disease. Occasionally +Mr. <ins title='Was Carlye'>Carlyle</ins> talked deliriously, and more than once the name +of Edith Dexter hung on his lips, and was coupled with +tenderer terms than were ever bestowed on the woman who +wore his own. Bending over his pillow, the pale watcher +heard and noted all, and a sad pitying smile curved her mouth +now and then, as she realized that the one holy love of this +man’s life triumphed over the wreck of fortune, health, and +hope, and kept its hold upon the heart that long years before +had sold itself to Lucifer.</p> +<p>Sleeplessly, faithfully, she went to and fro in that darkened +room, whose atmosphere was tainted by infection, and +at last she found her reward. The crisis was safely passed, +and she was assured the patient would recover.</p> +<p>The apartment was so dimly lighted that Mr. Carlyle took +little notice of his attendants, but one afternoon when the +nurse had gone to procure some refreshments, the sick man +turned on his pillow, and looked earnestly at the woman who +was engaged in writing at a table near the bed.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_432' name='page_432'></a>432</span></div> +<p>“Mrs. Smith.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Carlyle rose and approached him.</p> +<p>“Are you Mrs. Smith,—my landlady?”</p> +<p>“No, sir. I am merely your nurse.”</p> +<p>“My nurse? What is the matter with me?”</p> +<p>“Small-pox,—but the danger is now over.”</p> +<p>“Small-pox! Where did I catch it? Am I still in Elm +Street?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; you are in the hospital.”</p> +<p>Shading his inflamed eyes with his hand, he mused for some +moments, and she saw a perplexed and sorrowful expression +cross his features.</p> +<p>“Is there any danger of my dying?”</p> +<p>“That danger is past.”</p> +<p>“What is your name?”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Gerome.”</p> +<p>“Stand a little closer to me. I find I am almost blind. +Mrs. Gerome? Your voice is strangely like one that I have +not heard for many years,—and it carries me back,—back—to—” +He sighed, and pressed his fingers over his eyes.</p> +<p>After a few seconds, he said,—</p> +<p>“Do give me some water. I am as parched as Dives.”</p> +<p>She lifted his head and put the glass to his lips,—and +while he drank, his eyes searched her face, and lingered admiringly +on her beautiful hand.</p> +<p>“Are you a regular nurse at this hospital?”</p> +<p>“I am engaged for your case.”</p> +<p>“I see no pock-marks on your skin; it is as smooth as +ivory. Shall I escape as <ins title='Added quote and question mark'>lightly?”</ins></p> +<p>“It is impossible to tell. Here comes your dinner.”</p> +<p>He caught her arm, and gazed earnestly at her.</p> +<p>“Is your hair really so white, or is it merely an illusion +of my inflamed eyes?”</p> +<p>“There is not a dark hair in my head; it is as white as +snow.”</p> +<p>While the nurse prepared the food and arranged it on the +table, Mrs. Carlyle hastily collected several articles scattered +about the apartment, and softly opened the door.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_433' name='page_433'></a>433</span></div> +<p>Standing there a moment, she looked back at the figure +comfortably elevated on pillows, and a long sigh of relief +crossed her lips.</p> +<p>“Thank God! I have done my duty, and now he needs +me no longer. Next time I see your face, Maurice Carlyle, +I hope it will be at the last bar, in the final judgment; and +then may the Lord have mercy upon us both.”</p> +<p>The words were breathed inaudibly, and, closing the door +gently, she hurried down the steps and in the direction of +a small room which Dr. Clingman had converted into an +office.</p> +<p>As she entered, he looked up and pushed back his spectacles.</p> +<p>“What can I do for you?”</p> +<p>“A little thing, which will cost you no trouble, but will +greatly oblige me. Doctor, I have found you a kind and +sympathizing gentleman, and am grateful for the delicate +consideration with which you have treated me. Mr. Carlyle +is beyond danger, and I shall leave him in your care. When +he is sufficiently strong to be removed, I desire that you +will give him this letter, which contains a check payable +to his order. There, examine it, and be so good as to write +me a receipt.”</p> +<p>Silently he complied, and when she had re-enclosed the +check and sealed the envelope she placed it in his hand.</p> +<p>“Dr. Clingman, is there any other place to which small-pox +cases can be carried? To-day I have discovered some symptoms +of the disease in my own system, and I feel assured +I shall be ill before this time to-morrow.”</p> +<p>“My dear madam, why not remain here?”</p> +<p>“Because I do not wish to be discovered by Mr. Carlyle, +and forced to meet him again. I prefer to suffer, and, if +need be, die, alone and unknown.”</p> +<p>“If you will trust yourself to me, and to a faithful female +nurse whom I can secure, I promise you, upon my honor +as a gentleman, that I will allow no one else to see you, +living or dead. My dear madam, I beg you to reconsider, +and remain where I can watch over, and perhaps preserve +your life. I dreaded this. You are feverish now.”</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_434' name='page_434'></a>434</span></div> +<p>Wearily she swept her hand across her forehead, and a +dreary smile flitted over her wan features.</p> +<p>“My life is a worthless, melancholy thing, useless to +others, and a crushing burden to me; and I might as well lay +it down here as elsewhere. I accept your promise, Dr. +Clingman, and hope you will obtain a room in the quiet +and secluded portion of the building. If I should be so +fortunate as to die, do not forget the memorandum in this +purse. I leave my body in your care, my soul in the hands +of Him who alone can give it rest.”</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“The burden of my days is hard to bear,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>But God knows best;<br /> +And I have prayed,—but vain has been my prayer,—<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>For rest—for rest.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII' id='CHAPTER_XXXII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Miss Dexter, have you succeeded in seeing Mrs. Gerome +since her return?”</p> +<p>“No, sir; she obstinately refuses to admit me, though I +have called twice at the house. Yesterday I received a letter +in answer to several that I have addressed to her, all of which +she returned unopened. Since you have already learned so +much of our melancholy history, why should I hesitate to +acquaint you with the contents of her letter? You know +the object of her journey north, and I will read you the +result.”</p> +<p>The governess drew a letter from her pocket, and Dr. +Grey leaned his face on his hand and listened.</p> +<blockquote> +<p class='sig3'>“<span class='smcap'>Solitude</span>, <i>May 10th, 18—</i>.</p> +<p>“<i>Edith</i>,—No lingering vestige of affection, no remorseful +tenderness, prompted that mission from which I have recently +returned, and only the savage scourgings of implacable duty +could have driven me, like a galley-slave, to my hated task. +The victim of a horrible and disfiguring disease which so +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_435' name='page_435'></a>435</span> +completely changed his countenance that his own mother +would scarcely have recognized him,—and the tenant of a +charity hospital in the town of ——, I found that man who +has proved the Upas of your life and of mine. During his +delirium I watched and nursed him—not lovingly (how could +I?) but faithfully, kindly, pityingly. When all danger was +safely passed, and his clouded intellect began to clear itself, +I left him in careful hands, and provided an ample amount +for his comfortable maintenance in coming years. I spared +him the humiliation of recognizing in his nurse his injured +and despised wife; and, as night after night I watched beside +the pitiable wreck of a once handsome, fascinating, and +idolized man, I fully and freely forgave Maurice Carlyle +all the wrongs that so completely stranded my life. To-day +he is well, and probably happy, while he finds himself possessed +of means by which to gratify his extravagant tastes; +but how long his naturally fine constitution can hold at +bay the legion of ills that hunt like hungry wolves along +the track of reckless dissipation, God only knows.</p> +<p>“For some natures it is exceedingly difficult to forgive,—to +forget, impossible; and while my husband’s abject wretchedness +and degradation disarmed the hate that has for so +many years rankled in my heart, I could never again look +willingly upon his face. Edith, you and I have nothing +in common but miserable memories, which, I beg you to believe, +are sufficiently vivid, without the torturing adjunct +of your countenance; therefore, pardon me if I decline to +receive your visits, and return the letters that are quite +as welcome and cheering to my eyes as the little shoes and +garments of the long-buried dead to the mother, who would +fain look no more upon the harrowing relics. I do not +wish to be harsh, but I must be honest, and our intercourse +can never be renewed in this world.</p> +<p>“In bygone days, when I loved you so fondly and trusted +you so fully, it was my intention to share my fortune with +you; and, since I find that you have not forfeited my confidence +in the purity of your purposes, such is still my wish. +I enclose a draft on my banker, which I hope you will deem +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_436' name='page_436'></a>436</span> +sufficient to enable you to abandon the arduous profession +in which you have worn out your life. If I can feel assured +that I have been instrumental in contributing to the peace +and ease of the years that may yet be in store for you, it will +serve as one honeyed drop to sweeten the dregs of the cup +of woe I am draining. Edith, do not refuse the only aid +I can offer you in your loneliness; and accept the earnest +assurance that I shall be grateful for the privilege of promoting +your comfort. Affection and trust I have not, and +a few paltry thousands are all I am now able to bestow. By +the love you once professed, and in the name of that compassion +you should feel for me, I beg of you, despise not +the gift; and let the consciousness that I have saved you +from toil and fatigue quiet the soul and ease the heart of +a lonely woman, who has shaken hands with every earthly +hope. I have done my duty, my conscience is calm and contented, +and I sit wearily on the stormy shore of time, waiting +for the tide that will drift into eternity the desolate, proud +soul of</p> +<p class='sig2'>“<span class='smcap'>Vashti Carlyle.</span>”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Tears rolled over the governess’ cheeks, and, refolding the +letter, she said, sorrowfully,—</p> +<p>“My poor, heart-broken Vashti! She has resumed the +name which old Elsie gave her because it was her mother’s; +and how mournfully appropriate it has proved. I could +be happy if permitted to spend the residue of my days with +her; but she decrees otherwise, and I have no alternative but +submission to her imperious will.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey did not lift his face where the shadow of a +great, voiceless grief hung heavily, and his low tone indexed +deep and painful emotion, when he answered,—</p> +<p>“I sincerely deplore her unfortunate decision, for isolation +only augments the ills from which she suffers. Many +months have elapsed since I saw her last, but Robert Maclean +told me to-day that she was sadly changed in appearance, +and seemed in feeble health. She did not tell you that +she had been dangerously ill with varioloid, contracted while +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_437' name='page_437'></a>437</span> +nursing her husband. Although not in the least marked or +disfigured, the attack must have seriously impaired her +constitution, if all that Robert tells me be true. Since her +return, one month ago, she has not left her room.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, exert your influence in my behalf, and prevail +upon her to admit me.”</p> +<p>“Miss Dexter, you ascribe to me powers of persuasion +which, unfortunately, I do not possess; and Mrs. Carlyle’s +decree is beyond the reach of human agency. To the few +who are earnestly interested in her welfare, there remains +but one avenue of aid and comfort,—faithful, fervent prayer.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps you are not aware of the exalted estimate she +places on your character, nor of the value she attaches to +your opinions. Of all living beings, she told me she reverenced +and trusted you most; and you, at least, would not +be denied access to her presence.”</p> +<p>She could not see the tremor on his usually firm lips, nor +the pallor that overspread his face, and when he spoke his +grave voice did not betray the tumult in his aching heart.</p> +<p>“I am no longer a visitor at ‘Solitude,’ and shall not see +its mistress unless she requires my professional aid. While +I am very deeply interested in her happiness, I could never +consent to intrude upon her seclusion.”</p> +<p>“I know my days are numbered, and after a little while +I shall sleep well under the ancient cedars that shade the +head-stones of my father and mother; but I could die more +cheerfully, more joyfully, if Evelyn would only be comforted, +and accept some human friendship.”</p> +<p>“For some weeks you have seemed so much better that I +hoped warm weather would quite relieve and invigorate you. +Spend next winter in Cuba or Mexico, and it will probably +add many months, possibly years, to your life.”</p> +<p>She smiled, and shook her head.</p> +<p>“This beautiful springtime has temporarily baffled the +disease, but for me there can be no restoration. Day by +day I feel the ebbing of strength and energy, and the approach +of my deliverer, death; but I realize also, what the +Centaur uttered to Melampus, ‘I decline unto my last days +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_438' name='page_438'></a>438</span> +calm as the setting of the constellations; but I feel myself +perishing and passing quickly away, like a snow-wreath floating +on the stream.’”</p> +<p>As he looked at the thin, pure face where May sunshine +streamed warm and bright, and marked the perfect peace +that brooded over the changed features, Dr. Grey was reminded +of the lines that might have been written for her, +so fully were they suited to her case,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“I saw that one who lost her love in pain,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Who trod on thorns, who drank the loathsome cup;<br /> +The lost in night, in day was found again;<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>The fallen was lifted up.<br /> +They stood together in the blessed noon,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>They sang together through the length of days;<br /> +Each loving face bent sunwards, like a moon<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>New-lit with love and praise.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“My friend, the shadows are passing swiftly from your +life, and, in the mild radiance of its close, you can well afford +to forget the storms that clouded its dawn.”</p> +<p>“Forget? No, Dr. Grey, I neither endeavor nor desire +to forget the sorrows that first taught me the emptiness of +earthly things, the futility of human schemes,—that snapped +the frail reed of flesh to which I clung, and gave me, instead, +the blessed support, the immovable arm of an everlasting +God. Ah! that woman was deeply versed in the heart-lore +of her own sex, who wrote,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘When I remember something which I had,<br /> +But which is gone, and I must do without,<br /> +</p> +<hr class='tb' /> +<p class='cg'><br /> +When I remember something promised me,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>But which I never had, nor can have now,<br /> +Because the promiser we no more see<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>In countries that accord with mortal vow;<br /> +When I remember this, I mourn,—but yet<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>My happier days are not the days when I forget.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“If Mrs. Carlyle possessed a tithe of your faith and philosophy, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_439' name='page_439'></a>439</span> +how serene, how tranquilly useful her future years +might prove.”</p> +<p>“In God’s own good time her trials will be sanctified to +her eternal peace, and she will one day glide from grief to +glory, for she can claim the promise of our Lord, ‘The pure +in heart shall see God.’ No purer heart than Vashti Carlyle’s +throbs this side of the throne where seraphim and cherubim +hover.”</p> +<p>In the brief silence that succeeded, the governess observed +the unusually grave and melancholy expression of her companion’s +countenance, and asked, timidly,—</p> +<p>“Has anything occurred recently to distress or annoy you? +You look depressed.”</p> +<p>“I feel inexpressibly anxious about Salome, concerning +whose fate I can learn nothing that is comforting. In +reply to my letter, urging him to make every effort to ascertain +her locality and condition, Professor V—— writes, that +he is now a confirmed invalid, confined to his room, and unable +to conduct the search for his missing pupil. She left +Palermo on a small vessel bound for Monaco, and her farewell +note stated that all attempts to discover her retreat +would prove futile, as she was resolved to preserve her incognito, +and wished her friends in America to remain in +ignorance of her mode of life. Professor V—— surmises +that she is in Paris, but gives no good reason for the conjecture, +except that she possibly sought the best medical +advice for the treatment of her throat and recovery of her +voice. His last letter, received yesterday, informed me that +one of Salome’s most devoted admirers, a Bostonian of immense +wealth, was so deeply grieved by her inexplicable disappearance +that he was diligently searching for her in Leghorn +and Monaco. She left Palermo alone, and with a comparatively +empty purse.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, are you aware of the suspicions which Muriel +has long entertained with reference to Mr. Granville’s admiration +of Salome, and the efforts of the latter to encourage his +attentions?”</p> +<p>“I have very cogent reasons for believing that however +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_440' name='page_440'></a>440</span> +amenable to censure Mr. Granville doubtless is, Muriel’s +distrust of Salome is totally unjust. If she were capable +of the despicable course my ward is disposed to impute to +her, I should cease to feel any interest in her career or fate; +but I cherish the conviction that she would scorn to be +guilty of conduct so ignoble. Her defects of character I +shall neither deny nor attempt to palliate, but I trust her true +womanly heart as I trust my own manly honor; and a stern +sense of justice to the absent constrains me to vindicate her +from Muriel’s hasty and unfounded aspersions. So strong +is my faith in Salome’s conscientiousness, so earnest my +friendship for her, that since the receipt of Professor V——’s +letter I have determined to go immediately to Europe, and +if possible discover her retreat. My sister’s adopted child +must not and shall not suffer and struggle among strangers, +while I live to aid and protect her.”</p> +<p>Miss Dexter rose and laid her thin, feverish hand on his +arm, while embarrassment made her voice tremble slightly,—</p> +<p>“I am rejoiced to learn your decision, and God grant +you speedy success in your quest. Do not deem me presumptuous +or impertinent if, prompted by a sincere desire to see +you happy, I venture to say, that he who lightly values the +pure, tender, devoted love of such a woman as Salome Owen,—tramples +on treasures that would make his life affluent +and blessed—that neither gold can purchase nor royalty compel. +Under your guidance, moulded by your influence, she +would become a noble woman,—of whom any man might +justly be proud.”</p> +<p>Fearful that she had already incurred his displeasure, and +unwilling to meet his eye, she turned quickly and made her +escape through the open door.</p> +<p>In the bright glow of that lovely spring day, the calm face +of Ulpian Grey seemed scarcely older than on the afternoon +when he came to make the farm his home; and though paler, +and ciphered over by the leaden finger of anxiety, it indexed +little of the long, fierce strife, that conscience had waged +with heart.</p> +<p>Lighter and more impulsive natures expend themselves +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_441' name='page_441'></a>441</span> +in spasmodic and violent ebullitions, but the great deep of +this man’s serene character had never stirred, until the one +mighty love of his life had lashed it into a tempest that +tossed his hopes like sea-froth, and finally engulfed the only +rosy dream of wedded happiness that had ever flushed his +quiet, solitary, sedate existence.</p> +<p>Having kept his heart in holy subjection to the law of +Christ, he did not quail and surrender when the great temptation +rose, bearing the banner of insurrection; but sternly +and dauntlessly fronted the shock, and kept inviolate the +citadel, garrisoned by an invincible and consecrated will.</p> +<p>The yearning tenderness of his strong, tranquil soul, had +enfolded Mrs. Carlyle, drawing her more and more into +the penetralia of his affection; but from the hour in which +he learned her history he had torn away the clinging tendrils +of love,—had endeavored to expel her from his heart, and +to stifle its wail for the lost idol.</p> +<p>Week after week, month after month, he had driven every +day within sight of the blue smoke that curled above the +trees at “Solitude,” but never even for an instant checked +his horse to gaze longingly towards the Eden whence he had +voluntarily exiled himself.</p> +<p>There were hours when his heart ached for the sight of +that white face he had loved so madly, and the sound of the +mournfully sweet voice,—and his hand trembled at the +recollection of the soft, cold, snowy fingers, that once +thrilled his palms; but he treated these utterances of his +heart as mercilessly as the hunter who cheers his dogs in +the chase where the death-cry of the victim rings above bark +and halloo.</p> +<p>No wall of division, no sea of separation, would have proved +so effectual, so insurmountable, as his own firm resolve that +his earthly path should never cross that of one whom God’s +statutes had set apart until death annulled the decree. In +this torturing ordeal he was strengthened by the conviction +that he alone suffered for his folly,—that Mrs. Carlyle +was a stranger to feelings that robbed him of sleep, and +clouded his days,—that the heaving tide of his devoted love +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_442' name='page_442'></a>442</span> +had broken against her frozen heart as idly as the surges of +the sea that die in foam upon the dreary, mysterious ruins +of the Serapeon at Pozzuoli.</p> +<p>In the silent watches of the night, as he pondered the +brief, beautiful vision that had so completely fascinated +him, he reverently thanked God that the woman he loved +had never reciprocated his affection, and was not sitting in +the ashes of desolation, mourning his absence. Striving +to interest himself more and more in Stanley and Jessie, +who had become inordinately fond of him, his thoughts +continually reverted to Salome, and that subtle sympathy +which springs from the “fellow-being,” that makes us “wondrous +kind” to those whose pangs are fierce as ours, began +faintly and shyly, but surely, to assert itself. A shadowy, +intangible self-reproach brooded like a phantom over his +generous heart, when, amidst the uncertainty that seemed +to overhang the orphan’s fate, he remembered the numberless +manifestations of almost idolatrous affection which he +had coldly repulsed.</p> +<p>In the earnest interest that day by day deepened in the +absent girl, there was no pitiable vanity, no inflated self-love, +but a stern realization of the anguish and humiliation +that must now be her portion, and a magnanimous +eagerness to endeavor to cheer a heart whose severest woes +had sprung from his indifference.</p> +<p>More than a year had elapsed, and no letter had ever +reached him,—not even a message in her two brief epistles +to Stanley, and Dr. Grey missed the bright, perverse element +that no longer thwarted him at every turn.</p> +<p>He longed to see the proud, girlish face, with its flashing +eyes, and red lips, and the haughty toss of the large, handsome +head; and the angry tones of her voice would have been +welcome sounds in the house where she had so long tyrannized. +To-day, as Ulpian Grey sat in his own little sitting-room, +his eyes were fixed on a copy of Rembrandt’s <i>Nicholas +Tulp</i>, which hung over the mantelpiece; but the mysteries +of anatomy no longer riveted his attention, and his thoughts +were busy with memories of a fond though wayward girl, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_443' name='page_443'></a>443</span> +whom his indifference had driven to foreign lands,—to unknown +and fearful perils.</p> +<p>Through the windows stole the breath of Salome’s violets, +and the sweet, spicy odor of the Belgian honeysuckle that +she had planted and twined around the mossy columns that +supported the gallery; and with a sigh he closed his eyes, shut +out the anatomy of flesh, and began the dissection of emotions.</p> +<p>Could Salome’s radiant face brighten his home, and win his +heart from its devouring regret? Would it be possible for +him to give her the place whence he had ejected Mrs. Carlyle? +Could he ever persuade himself to call that fair, passionate +young thing, that capricious, obstinate, maliciously perverse +girl,—his wife?</p> +<p>Involuntarily he frowned, for while pity pleaded for the +refugee from home and happiness, the man’s honest nature +scouted all shams, and he acknowledged to himself that +he could never feel the need of her lips or hands,—could +never insult her womanhood, or degrade his own nature, by +folding to his heart one whose touch possessed no magnetism, +whose presence exerted no spell over his home.</p> +<p>Salome, his friend, his adopted sister, he wished to discover, +to claim, and restore to the household; but Salome, +his wife,—was a monstrous imaginary incubus that appalled +and repelled him.</p> +<p>The difficulties that presented themselves at the outset of +his search would have discouraged a less resolute temperament, +but it was part of his wise philosophy, that—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“We overstate the ills of life. We walk upon<br /> +The shadow of hills across a level thrown,<br /> +And pant like climbers.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>As a pitying older brother, he thought of Salome’s many +foibles,—of her noble intentions and ignoble executions,—of +her few feeble triumphs, her numerous egregious failures +in the line of duty; and loving Christian charity pleaded +eloquently for her, whispering to his generous soul, “We +know the ships that come with streaming pennons into the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_444' name='page_444'></a>444</span> +immortal ports; but we know little of the ships that have +taken fire on the way thither,—that have gone down at sea.”</p> +<p>What pure friendship could accomplish he would not withhold, +and life at the farm was not so attractive now that he +felt regret at the prospect of temporary absence.</p> +<p>The disappointment that had so rudely smitten to the +earth the one precious hope born of his acquaintance with +“Solitude,” had no power to embitter his nature,—to drape +the world in drab, or to shroud the future with gloom; and +though his noble face was sadder and paler, Christian faith +and resignation rang blessed chimes of peace in heart and +soul, and made his life a hallowed labor of love for the +needy and grief-stricken. To-day, as he sat alone at the south +window, he could overlook the fields of “Grassmere,” where +the rich promise of golden harvest “filled in all beauty and +fulness the emerald cup of the hills,” and the waving grain +rippled in light and shade like the billows of some distant +sunset sea. Basking in the balmy sunshine, and contemplating +his approaching departure for Europe, a sudden longing +seized him to look once more on the face of Vashti +Carlyle, before he bade farewell to his home.</p> +<p>She was in feeble health, and might not survive his absence, +and, moreover, what harm could result from one final +visit to “Solitude,”—from a few parting words to its desolate +mistress? She had sent a message through Robert, that +she would be glad to see Dr. Grey whenever he could find +leisure to call, and now hungry heart and soul cried out +savagely,—</p> +<p>“Why not? Why not?”</p> +<p>His heavy brows knitted a little, and his mouth grew rigid +as iron, but after some moments the lips relaxed, and with +a sad, patient smile, he repeated those stirring words of +Richter to Herman,—“Suffer like a man the Alp-pressure +of fate. Trust yourself upon the broad, shining wings of +your <i>faith</i>, and make them bear you over the Dead Sea, so +as not to fall spiritually dead within.”</p> +<p>“No, no, Ulpian Grey,—keep yourself ‘unspotted from +the world.’ Strangle that one temptation which borrows +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_445' name='page_445'></a>445</span> +the garments of an angel of light and mercy, and dogs you, +sleeping and waking. I will see her no more till death snaps +her fetters, and I can meet her in the presence of God, who +alone can know what separation costs me. May He grant +her strength to bear her lonely lot, and give me grace to be +patient even unto the end, bringing no reproach on the +sacred faith I profess.”</p> +<p>It was the final struggle between love and duty, and though +the vanquished heart wailed piteously, exultant conscience, +like Jupiter of old, triumphantly applauded, “Evan, evoe!”</p> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII' id='CHAPTER_XXXIII'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2> +</div> +<p>“Wanted!—Information of Salome Owen, who will confer +a favor on her friends, and secure a handsome legacy by +calling at No. — ——.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, for six months this advertisement has appeared +every morning in two of the most popular journals in +Paris, and as it has elicited no clew to her whereabouts, I +am reluctantly compelled to believe that she is no longer +in France.”</p> +<p><ins title='Removed quote'>Mr.</ins> Granville refolded the newspaper, and busied himself +in filling and lighting his meerschaum.</p> +<p>“By whom was that notice inserted?”</p> +<p>“By M. de Baillu, the agent and banker of Mr. Minge +of Boston, who was warmly and sincerely attached to your +<i>protégée</i>, and earnestly endeavored to marry her. When she +left Palermo, Mr. Minge came to this city and solicited my +aid in discovering her retreat.”</p> +<p>“Pardon me, but why did he apply to you?”</p> +<p>“Simply because he knew that I was an old acquaintance, +and he had seen me with her, when she first came from +America.”</p> +<p>“How did you ascertain her presence in Paris?”</p> +<p>“Accidentally; one night, at the opera, whither she accompanied +Professor V——, I recognized her, and of course +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_446' name='page_446'></a>446</span> +made myself known. To what shall I ascribe the honor of +this rigid cross-questioning?”</p> +<p>“To reasons which I shall very freely give you. But +first, permit me to beg that you will resume your narrative +at the point where I interrupted you. I wish to learn all +that can be told concerning Mr. Minge.”</p> +<p>“He was an elderly man of ordinary appearance, but extraordinary +fortune, and seemed completely fascinated by Salome’s +beauty. He offered a large reward to the police for +any clew that would enable him to discover her, and finally +found the physician whom she had consulted with reference +to some disease of the throat, which occasioned the loss of +her voice. He had prescribed for her several times, but +knew nothing of her lodging-place, as she always called at +his office; and finally, without assigning any reason, her +visits ceased. Mr. Minge redoubled his exertions, and at +last found her in one of the hospitals connected with a convent. +The Sisters of Charity informed him that one bleak +day when the rain was falling drearily, they chanced to see +a woman stagger and drop on the pavement before their +door, and, hurrying to her assistance, discovered that she +had swooned from exhaustion. A bundle of unfinished needlework +was hidden under her shawl, and they soon ascertained +that she was delirious from some low typhus fever that had +utterly prostrated her. For several weeks she was dangerously +ill, and was just able to sit up when Mr. Minge discovered +her. He told me that it was distressing and painful +beyond expression to witness her humiliation, her wounded +pride, her defiant rejection of his renewed offer of marriage. +One day he took his sister Constance and a minister of the +gospel to the hospital, and implored Salome to become his +wife, then and there. He said she wept bitterly, and thanked +him, thanked his sister also, but solemnly assured him she +could never marry any one,—she would sooner starve in +the—”</p> +<p><ins title='Removed quote'>Dr.</ins> Grey raised his hand, signalling for silence, and for +some moments he leaned his forehead against the chair +directly in front of him.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_447' name='page_447'></a>447</span></div> +<p>Mr. Granville cleared his throat several times, and loosened +his neck-tie, which seemed to impede his breathing.</p> +<p>“Shall I go on? There is little more to tell.”</p> +<p>“If you please, Granville.”</p> +<p>“Mr. Minge would not abandon the hope of finally persuading +her to accept his hand, but next day when he called +to inquire about her health, and to request the sisters to +watch her movements, and prevent her escape, he was shocked +to learn that she had disappeared the previous night, leaving +a few lines written in pencil on a handkerchief, in which +she had wrapped her superb suit of hair. They were addressed +to the Sisters of Charity, and briefly expressed her +gratitude for their kindness in providing for her wants, while +she assured them that as soon as possible she would return +and compensate them for their services in her behalf. Meantime, +knowing the high price of hair, she had carefully cut +off her own, which was unusually long and thick, and tendered +it in part payment. When she was taken into the building, +her nurse found concealed in her dress a very elegant watch, +bearing her name in diamond letters, and she requested that +the sisters would hold it in pawn, until she was able to +redeem it. During her illness, it had been locked up, and +they supposed she left it, fearing that an application for +it would arouse suspicions of her intended flight. Mr. Minge +bought the hair and handkerchief, and, after a liberal remuneration +for their care of the invalid, he took charge of the +watch, and left his address to be given her when she called +for her property. That her mind had become seriously +impaired, there can be little doubt, since nothing but insanity +can explain her refusal to accept one of the handsomest +estates in America. Unfortunately, a few days subsequent +to her departure from the hospital, Mr. Minge was taken +very violently ill with pneumonia, and died. Conscious of +his condition, he prepared a codicil to his will, and bequeathed +to Salome twenty-five thousand dollars, and an +elegant house and lot in New York City. He exacted from +his sister a solemn promise that she would leave no means +untried to ferret out the wanderer, to whom he was so devotedly +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_448' name='page_448'></a>448</span> +attached; and, should all efforts fail, at the expiration +of five years the legacy should revert to the hospital +which had sheltered her in the hour of her destitution. The +watch he left with his sister Constance; the hair, he ordered +buried with him. Three months have elapsed, and no tidings +have reached Miss Minge, who remains in Paris for the purpose +of complying with her brother’s dying request.”</p> +<p>“My poor, perverse Salome! To what desperate extremities +has she been reduced by her unfortunate wilfulness. +Gerard, will you tell me frankly your own conjecture concerning +her fate?”</p> +<p>“If alive, I believe she has left Europe.”</p> +<p>“Upon what do you base your supposition?”</p> +<p>“Mr. Minge was convinced that her attachment to some +one in America was the insurmountable barrier to his success +as a suitor; and, if so, she probably returned to her +native land. Dr. Grey, I will speak candidly to you of a +matter which has doubtless given you some disquiet. Muriel +informs me that you have no confidence in the sincerity of +my attachment to her, and that upon that fact is founded +your refusal to allow the consummation of our engagement, +so long as she continues your ward. I confess I am not +free from censure, but, while I have acted weakly, I am not +devoid of principle. Sir, I was strangely and powerfully attracted +to Salome Owen, and she exerted a species of fascination +over me which I scarcely endeavored to resist. In an +evil hour, infatuated by her face and her marvellous voice, +I was wild enough to offer her my hand, and resolved to ask +Muriel to release me. Dr. Grey, even at my own expense, +I wish to exonerate Salome, who never for an instant, by +word or look, encouraged my madness. She repulsed my +advances, refused every attention, and when I rashly uttered +words, which, I admit, were treasonable to Muriel, she almost +overwhelmed me with her fiery contempt and indignation,—threatening +to acquaint Muriel with my inconstancy, +and appealing to my honor as a gentleman to keep inviolate +my betrothal vows. Dr. Grey, if my heart temporarily wandered +from its allegiance to your ward, it was not Salome’s +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_449' name='page_449'></a>449</span> +fault, for in every respect her conduct towards me was that +of a noble, unselfish woman, who scorned to gratify her vanity +at the expense of another’s happiness. She shamed me out +of my folly, and her stern honesty and nobility saved me +from a brief and humiliating career of dishonorable duplicity. +Whether living or dead, I owe this tribute to the pure +character of Salome Owen.”</p> +<p>“Thank Heaven! I had faith in her. I believed her too +generous to stoop to a flirtation with the lover of her friend; +and, deplorable as was your own weakness, I am rejoiced, +Gerard, to find that you have conquered it. Tell Muriel +all that you have confided to me, and in her hands we will +leave the decision.”</p> +<p>“Do you intend to prosecute the search which has proved +so fruitless?”</p> +<p>“I do. She has not returned to America,—she is here +somewhere; and, living or dead, I must and will find her.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey seemed lost in perplexing thought for some time, +then drew a sheet of paper before him, and wrote, “Ulpian +Grey wishes to see Salome Owen, in order to communicate +some facts which will induce her return to her family; and +he hopes she will call immediately at No. Rue ——.”</p> +<p>“Gerard, please be so good as to have this inserted in all +the leading journals in the city; and give me the address +of Mr. Minge’s agent.”</p> +<p>At the expiration of a month, spent in the most diligent +yet unsuccessful efforts to obtain some information of the +wanderer, Dr. Grey began to feel discouraged,—to yield to +melancholy forebodings that an untimely death had ended +her struggles and suffering.</p> +<p>Once, while pacing the walks in the Champs-Elysées, he +caught a glimpse of a face that recalled Salome’s, and started +eagerly forward; but it proved that of a Parisian <i>bonne</i>, who +was romping with her juvenile charge.</p> +<p>Again, one afternoon, as he came out of the Church of St. +Sulpice, his heart bounded at sight of a woman who leaned +against the railing, and watched the play of the fountain. +When he approached her and peered eagerly into her countenance, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_450' name='page_450'></a>450</span> +blue eyes and yellow curls mocked his hopes. One +morning, while he walked slowly along the <i>Rue du Faubourg +St. Honoré</i>, his attention was attracted by the glitter of +pretty baubles in the <i>Maison de la Pensée</i>, and he entered +the establishment to purchase something for Jessie.</p> +<p>While waiting for his parcel, a woman came out of a rear +apartment and passed into the street, and, almost snatching +his package from the counter, he followed.</p> +<p>A few yards in advance was a graceful but thin figure, +clad in a violet-colored muslin, with a rather dingy silk +scarf wound around her shoulders. A straw hat, with a +wreath of faded pink roses, drooped over her face, and streamers +of black lace hung behind, while over the whole she had +thrown a thin gray veil.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had not seen a feature, but the <i>pose</i> of the shoulders, +the haughty poise of the head, the quick, nervous, elastic +step, and, above all, the peculiar, free, childish swinging of +the left arm, made his despondent heart throb with renewed +hope.</p> +<p>Keeping sufficiently near not to lose sight of her, he walked +on and on, down cross streets, up narrow alleys, towards a +quarter of the city with which he was unacquainted. The +woman never looked back, rarely turned her head, even to +glance at those who passed her, and only once she paused +before a flower-stall, and seemed to price a bunch of carnations, +which she smelled, laid down again, and then hurried +on.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey quickly paid for the cluster, and hastened after +her.</p> +<p>In turning a corner, she dropped a small parcel that she +had carried under her scarf, and as she stooped to pick it up, +her veil floated off. She caught it ere it reached the ground, +and when she raised her hands to spread it over her hat, the +loose open sleeves of her dress slipped back, and there, on +the left arm, was a long, zigzag scar, like a serpentine bracelet.</p> +<p>With great difficulty Dr. Grey stifled a cry of joy, and +waited until she had gained some yards in advance.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_451' name='page_451'></a>451</span></div> +<p>The woman was so absorbed in reverie that she did not +notice the steady tramp of her pursuer, but as the number +of persons on the street gradually diminished, he prudently +fell back, fearing lest her suspicion should be excited.</p> +<p>At a sudden bend in the crooked alley which she rapidly +threaded, he lost sight of her, and, running a few yards, he +turned the angle just in time to see the flutter of her dress +and scarf, as she disappeared through a postern, that opened +in a crumbling brick wall.</p> +<p>Above the gate a battered tin sign swung in the wind, and +dim letters, almost effaced by elemental warfare, announced, +“<i>Adčle Aubin, Blanchisseuse</i>.”</p> +<p>Dr. Grey passed through the postern, and found himself in +a narrow, dark court, near a tall, dingy, dilapidated house, +where a girl ten years of age sat playing with two ragged, untidy +children.</p> +<p>It was a dreary, comfortless, uninviting place, and a greenish +slime overspread the lower portions of the wall, and +coated the uneven pavement.</p> +<p>From the girl, who chatted with genuine French volubility +and freedom, Dr. Grey learned that her father was an attaché +of a barber-shop, and her mother a washer and renovater +of laces and embroideries. The latter was absent, and, in +answer to his inquiries, the child informed him that an +upper room in this cheerless building was occupied by a +young female lodger, who held no intercourse with its other +inmates.</p> +<p>Placing a five-franc piece in her hand, the visitor asked the +name of the lodger, but the girl replied that she was known +to them only as “<i>La Dentelličre</i>,” and lived quite alone in +the right-hand room at the top of the third flight of stairs.</p> +<p>The parley had already occupied twenty minutes, when Dr. +Grey cut it short by mounting the narrow, winding steps. +The atmosphere was close, and redolent of the fumes of dishes +not so popular in America as in France, and he saw that the +different doors of this old tenement were rented to lodgers who +cooked, ate, and slept in the same apartment. At the top of +the last dim flight of steps, Dr. Grey paused, almost out of +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_452' name='page_452'></a>452</span> +breath; and found himself on a narrow landing-place, fronting +two attic rooms. The one on the right was closed, but +as he softly took the bolt in his hand and turned it, there +floated through the key-hole the low subdued sound of a +sweet voice, humming “<i>Infelice</i>.”</p> +<p>It was not the deep, rich, melting voice, that had arrested +his drive when first he heard it on the beach, but a plaintive, +thrilling echo, full of pathos, yet lacking power; like the notes +of birds when moulting-season ends, and the warblers essay +their old strains. Cautiously he opened the door wide enough +to permit him to observe what passed within.</p> +<p>The room was large, low, and irregularly shaped, with +neither fire-place nor stove, and only one dormer window +opening to the south, and upon a wide waste of tiled roofs +and smoking chimneys. The floor was bare, except a strip +of faded carpet stretched in front of a small single bedstead; +and the additional furniture consisted of two chairs, a tall +table where hung a mirror, and a washstand that held beside +bowl and pitcher a candlestick and china cup. On the +table were several books, a plate and knife, and a partially +opened package disclosed a loaf of bread, some cheese, and an +apple.</p> +<p>In front of the window a piece of plank had been rudely +fastened, and here stood two wooden boxes containing a few +violets, mignonette, and one very luxuriant rose-geranium.</p> +<p>The faded blue cambric curtain was twisted into a knot, +and as it was now nearly noon, the sun shone in and made +a patch of gold on the stained and dusky floor.</p> +<p>On the bed lay the straw hat, garlanded with roses that had +lost their primitive tints, and before the window in a low +chair sat the lonely lodger.</p> +<p>On her knees rested a cushion, across which was stretched +a parchment pattern bristling with pins, and with bobbins +she was swiftly knitting a piece of gossamer lace, by throwing +the fine threads around the pins.</p> +<p>Over the floor floated her delicate lilac dress, and the sleeves +were looped back to escape the forest of pins.</p> +<p>Dr. Grey had only a three-quarter view of the face that +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_453' name='page_453'></a>453</span> +bent over the cushion, and though it was sadly altered in +every lineament,—was whiter and thinner than he had ever +seen it,—yet it was impossible to mistake the emaciated +features of Salome Owen.</p> +<p>The large, handsome head, had been shorn of its crown of +glossy braids that once encircled it like a jet tiara, and the +short locks clustered with childlike grace and beauty around +the gleaming white brow and temples.</p> +<p>There was not a vestige of color in the whilom scarlet +mouth, whose thin lines were now scarcely perceptible; and, +in the finer oval of her cheeks, and along the polished chin, +the purplish veins showed their delicate tracery. The hands +were waxen and almost transparent, and the figure was wasted +beyond the boundaries of symmetry.</p> +<p>In the knot of ribbon that fastened her narrow linen collar, +she had arranged a sprig of mignonette, that now dropped +upon the cushion as she bent over it. She paused, brushed it +off, and for a few seconds her beautiful hazel eyes were fixed +on the blue sky that bordered her window.</p> +<p>The whole expression of her countenance had changed, and +the passionate defiance of other days had given place to a sad, +patient hopelessness, touching indeed, when seen on her proud +features. Slowly she threw her bobbins, and a fragment of +“<i>Infelice</i>” seemed to drift across her trembling lips, that +showed some lines of bitterness in their time-chiselling.</p> +<p>As Dr. Grey watched her, tears which he could not restrain +trickled down his face, and he was starting forward, when she +said, as if communing with her own desolate soul,—</p> +<p>“I wonder if I am growing superstitious. Last night I +dreamed incessantly of Jessie and home, and to-day I cannot +help thinking that something has happened there. Home! +When people no longer have a home, how hard it is to forget +that blessed home which sheltered them in the early years. +Homeless! that is the dreariest word that human misery ever +conjectured or human language clothed. Never mind, Salome +Owen, when God snatched your voice from you, He became +responsible; and your claims are like the ravens and sparrows, +and He must provide. After all, it matters little where +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_454' name='page_454'></a>454</span> +we are housed here in the clay, and Hobbs was astute when he +selected for the epitaph on his tombstone, ‘This is the true +philosopher’s stone.’ Home! Ah, if I sadly missed my +heart’s home, here in the flesh, I shall surely find it up yonder +in the blessed land of blue.”</p> +<p>A tear glided down her cheek, glistened an instant on her +chin, and fell on her pattern. She brushed it away, and +smiled sorrowfully,—</p> +<p>“It is ill-omened to sprinkle bridal lace with tears. Some +day this fine web will droop around a bride’s white shoulders +and after a time it may serve to deck the cold limbs of some +dead child. If I could only have my shroud now, I would not +make lace a <i>desideratum</i>; serge or sackcloth would be welcome. +Patience,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> ‘What if the bread</p> +<p class='cg'>Be bitter in thine inn, and thou unshod<br /> +To meet the flints? At least it may be said,<br /> +Because the way is <i>short</i>, I thank thee, God!’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>She partially rose in her chair, and took from the table a +volume of poems. After some search, she found the desired +passage, and, rocking herself to and fro, she read it aloud in +a low, measured tone,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“O dreary life! we cry, ‘O dreary life!’<br /> +And still the generations of the birds<br /> +Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds<br /> +Serenely live, while we are keeping strife<br /> +With heaven’s true purpose in us, as a knife<br /> +Against which we may struggle! Ocean girds<br /> +Unslackened the dry land, savannah-swards<br /> +Unweary sweep,—hills watch unworn; and rife<br /> +Meek leaves drop yearly from the forest-trees,<br /> +To show above the unwasted stars that pass<br /> +In their old glory. ‘<i>O thou God of old,<br /> +Grant me some smaller grace than comes to these!<br /> +But even so much patience, as a blade of grass<br /> +Grows by, contented through the heat and cold.</i>’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_455' name='page_455'></a>455</span></div> +<p>The book slipped from her fingers and fell upon the floor, +and with a sob the girl bowed her head in her hands.</p> +<p>Quickly the intruder glided unseen into the room, and stood +at the back of her chair.</p> +<p>He knew she was praying, and almost <ins title='Was breathessly'>breathlessly</ins> waited +several minutes.</p> +<p>At last she raised her face, and while tears trembled on +her lashes, she said meekly,—</p> +<p>“I ought not to complain and repine. I will be patient +and trust God; for I can afford to suffer all through time, +provided I may spend eternity with Christ and Dr. Grey.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Salome! Thank God, we shall be separated neither +in time nor in eternity! Dear wanderer, come back to your +brother!”</p> +<p>He stepped before her, and involuntarily held out his arms.</p> +<p>She neither screamed nor fainted, but sprang to her feet, +and a rapture that beggars all description irradiated her +worn, weary, pallid face.</p> +<p>“Is it really you? Oh! a thousand times I have dreamed +that I saw you,—stood by you; but when I tried to touch +you, there was nothing but empty air! Oh, Dr. Grey!—my +Dr. Grey! Am I only dreaming, here in the sunshine, or is +it you bodily? Did you care for me a <i>little</i>? Did you come +to find <i>me</i>?”</p> +<p>She grasped his arm, swept her hands up and down his +sleeve, and then he saw her reel, and shut her eyes, and shudder.</p> +<p>“My poor child, I came to Paris solely to hunt for my +wayward Salome, and, thank God! I have found her.”</p> +<p>He put his arm around her, and placed her head against +his shoulder.</p> +<p>Ah, how his generous heart ached, as he noted the hungry +delight with which her splendid eyes lingered on his features, +and the convulsive tenacity with which she clung to him, +trembling with excess of joy that brought back carmine to her +wasted lips and carnation bloom to her blanched cheeks.</p> +<p>He heard her whispering, and knew it was a prayer of +thanksgiving for the blessing of his presence.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_456' name='page_456'></a>456</span></div> +<p>But very soon a change came over her sparkling, happy face, +like an inky cloud across a noon sky, and he felt a shiver stealing +through her form.</p> +<p>“Let me go! You said once, that when I came to Europe +to enter on my professional career, you wished never to touch +my hands again,—you would consider them polluted.”</p> +<p>“Dear Salome, I recant all those harsh, unjust words, +which were uttered when I was not fully aware of the latent +strength of your character. Since then, I have learned much +from Professor V——, and from Gerard Granville, that assures +me my noble friend is all I could desire her,—that she +has grandly conquered her faults, and is worthy of the admiration, +the perfect confidence, the earnest affection, which +her adopted brother offers her. Your pure, true heart makes +pure hands, and as such I reverently salute them.”</p> +<p>He took her hands, raised and kissed them respectfully, +tenderly.</p> +<p>She hid her burning face on his bosom, and there was a +short pause.</p> +<p>“Salome, sit down and let me talk to you of home,—your +home. Have you no questions to ask about your pet sister +and brother?”</p> +<p>He attempted to release himself, but she clung to him, and +clasping her arms around his neck, said in a strained, husky +tone,—</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, did you bring your—your wife to Paris?”</p> +<p>“I have no wife.”</p> +<p>She uttered a thrilling cry of delight, threw her head back, +and gazed steadily into his clear, calm, blue eyes.</p> +<p>“Oh, sir, they told me you had married Mrs. Gerome.”</p> +<p>He placed her in the chair, and kneeling down beside her, +took her quivering face in his palms and touched her forehead +softly with his lips.</p> +<p>“The only woman I ever wished to make my wife is bound +for life to a worthless husband. Salome, I loved her before I +knew this fact; and, since I learned (soon after your departure) +that she was separated from the man whom she had +wedded, I have not seen her, although she still resides at +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_457' name='page_457'></a>457</span> +‘Solitude.’ Salome, I shall never marry, and I ask you now +to come back to Jessie and Stanley, who will soon require +your care and guidance, for it is my intention to return to +the position in the U.S. naval service, which only Janet’s +feeble health induced me to resign. God bless you, dear child! +I wish you were indeed my own sister, for I am growing very +proud of my brave, honest friend,—my patient lace-weaver.”</p> +<p>The girl’s head sank lower and lower until it touched her +knees, and sobs rendered her words scarcely audible.</p> +<p>“If you deem me worthy to be called your friend, it is because +of your example, your influence. Oh, Dr. Grey,—but +for you,—but for my hope of meeting you in the kingdom +of Christ, I shudder to think what I might have been! Under +all circumstances I have been guided by what I imagined +would have been your wishes,—your advice; and my reward is +rich indeed! Your confidence, your approbation! Earth +holds no recompense half so precious.”</p> +<p>“Thank God! my prayers have been abundantly answered, +my highest hopes of your future fully realized. Henceforth, +let us with renewed energy labor faithfully in the vast, whitening +fields of Him who declares, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but +the laborers are few.’”</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“O human soul! as long as thou canst so<br /> +Set up a mark of everlasting light,<br /> +Above the howling senses’ ebb and flow,<br /> +To cheer thee and to right thee if thou roam,<br /> +Not with lost toil thou laborest through the night,<br /> +Thou makest the heaven thou hopest indeed thy home.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIV_SAD_CASE_OF_MANIA_A_POTU' id='CHAPTER_XXXIV_SAD_CASE_OF_MANIA_A_POTU'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2> +<h3>“SAD CASE OF MANIA A POTU.”</h3> +</div> +<p>“Watchman McDonough reports that late last night, he +picked up, on the sidewalk, the insensible body of Maurice +Carlyle, who showed some signs of returning animation after +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_458' name='page_458'></a>458</span> +his removal to Station House No. ——. A physician was +called in, and every effort made to save the unfortunate victim +of intemperance; but medical skill was inadequate to arrest +the work of many years of excess, and before daylight the +wretched man expired in dreadful convulsions. Coroner +Boutwell held an inquest on the body, and the verdict rendered +was ‘Death from <i>mania a potu</i>.’ Mr. Carlyle was well +known in this city, where for many years he was an ornament +to society, and a general favorite in the fashionable and +mercantile circle in which he moved. Of numbers who were +once the recipients of his bounty and hospitality, none offered +succor in the hour of adversity, and among all his former +friends none were found to cheer or pity in the last ordeal to +which flesh is subjected. The melancholy fate of Maurice +Carlyle furnishes another illustration of the mournful truth +that the wages of intemperance are destitution and desertion.”</p> +<p>Such was the startling announcement, which, under the +head of “Police Report,” Dr. Grey read and re-read in a +prominent New York paper that had accidentally remained +for some days unopened on his desk, and was dated nearly +a month previous. Locking the door of his office, he sat +down to collect his bewildered thoughts, and to quiet the tumult +in his throbbing heart.</p> +<p>During the two years that had drearily worn away since +his last interview with Mrs. Carlyle, he had sternly forbidden +his mind to dwell on its brief dream of happiness, and by +a life of unusually active benevolence endeavored to forget +the one episode which alone had power to disquiet and sadden +him.</p> +<p>He had philosophically schooled himself to the calm, unmurmuring +acceptance of his lonely destiny, and looked forward +to a life solitary yet not unhappy, although uncheered +by the love and companionship which every man indulges the +instinctive hope will sooner or later crown his existence.</p> +<p>Now heart and conscience, so long at deadly feud, suddenly +signalled a truce, clasped hands, embraced cordially. How +radiant the world looked,—with what wondrous glory the +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_459' name='page_459'></a>459</span> +future had in the twinkling of an eye robed itself. The +woman he had loved was stainless and free, and how could +she long resist the pleadings of his famished heart?</p> +<p>He would win her from cynicism and isolation, would melt +her frozen nature in the genial atmosphere of his pure and +constant affection, and interweave her aimless, sombre life +with the busy, silvery web of his own.</p> +<p>After forty years, God would grant him home, and wife, +and hearthstone peace.</p> +<p>What a flush and sparkle stole to this grave man’s olive +cheek, and calm, deep blue eyes!</p> +<p>Ah! how hungrily he longed for the touch of her hand, the +sight of her face; and, snatching his hat, he put the paper in +his pocket, and hurried towards “Solitude.”</p> +<p>In the holy hush of that hazy autumnal afternoon, nature—<i>Magna +Mater</i>,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“The altar-curtains of whose hills<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Are sunset’s purple air,”<br /> +“Who dips in the dim light of setting suns<br /> +The spacious skirts of that vast robe of hers<br /> +That widens ever in the wondrous west,”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>seemed slumbering and dreaming away the day.</p> +<p>The forests were gaudy in their painted shrouds of scarlet +and yellow leaves, and long, feathery flakes of purple bloom +nodded over crimson berries, emerald mosses, and golden-hearted +asters.</p> +<p>Only a few weeks previous, Dr. Grey had driven along that +road, and, while the echo of harvest <ins title='Was hmyns'>hymns</ins> rang on the hay-scented +air, had asked himself how men and women could +become so completely absorbed in temporal things, ignoring +the solemn and indisputable fact of the brevity of human life +and the restricted dominion of man,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Whose part in all the pomp that fills<br /> +The circuit of the summer hills<br /> +Is, that his grave is green.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_460' name='page_460'></a>460</span></div> +<p>But to-day all sober-hued reflections were exorcised by the +rapturous <i>Jubilate</i> that hope was singing through the sunlit +chambers of his happy heart; and when he entered the grounds +of “Solitude” they seemed bathed in that soft glamour, that +witching “light that never was on sea or land.”</p> +<p>As he sprang from his buggy and opened the little gate +leading into the <i>parterre</i>, Robert came slowly forward, bearing +a basket filled with a portion of the crimson apples that +flushed the orchard, just beyond the low hedge.</p> +<p>“You could not have chosen a better time to come, Dr. +Grey; and if I were allowed to have my way you would have +been here last night. Were you sent for at last, or was it a +lucky chance that brought you?”</p> +<p>“Merely an accident, as I received no summons. Robert, +how is your mistress?”</p> +<p>“God only knows, sir; I am sure I never can tell how she +really is. She has not seemed well since she took that journey +to the North, and for two weeks past she appears to have been +slipping down by inches into her grave. She neither eats nor +sleeps, and for the last three nights has not lain down,—so +old Ruth, the housekeeper, tells me. Yesterday I begged my +mistress to let me go for you, but she smiled that awful freezing +smile that strikes to the very marrow of my bones, worse +than December sleet,—and raised her finger so: and said, ‘At +your peril, Robert. Mind your orchard, man, and I will take +care of myself. I want neither doctors nor nurses, and only +desire that you, and Ruth, and Anna, will attend to your +respective duties and let me be quiet. All will soon be well +with me.’ I killed a partridge, had it nicely broiled, and carried +it to her; and she thanked me, and made a pretence of +eating the wing, just to please me; but when the waiter was +taken away to the kitchen, I found all the bird on the plate. +This morning, just before daylight, I heard her playing a +wild, mournful thing on the piano, that sounded like a dirge +or a wail; and Ruth says when she went into the parlor to +open the blinds, she found her praying, and thinks she was +on her knees for an hour. Please God! sometimes I wish she +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_461' name='page_461'></a>461</span> +was in heaven with my mother, for she will never see any +peace in this life.”</p> +<p>“What seems to be the disease?”</p> +<p>“Heart-ache.”</p> +<p>“You should have come and told me this long ago.”</p> +<p>“And pray to what purpose, Dr. Grey? She vowed she +would allow no human being to cross her threshold, except +the servants, and I would sooner undertake to curl a steel, or +make ringlets out of a pair of tongs, than bend her will when +once she takes a stand. Humph! My mistress is no willow +wand, and is about as easily moved as the church-steeple, or +the stone-tower of the lighthouse.”</p> +<p>“Has she recently received letters that contained tidings +which excited or distressed her?”</p> +<p>“A letter came last week, but I know nothing of its contents. +You need not go into the house if you wish to find her, +for about an hour and a half ago I saw her come out into the +grounds, and she never goes in till the lamps are lighted.”</p> +<p>An anxious look clouded for an instant Dr. Grey’s countenance, +but undaunted hope sang on of the hours of hallowed +communion that the future held, while in her invalid condition +he assumed the care and guardianship of his beloved; +and, turning into the lawn, he eagerly searched the winding +walks for some trace of her, some flutter of her garments, +some faint, subtle odor of orange-flowers or tube-roses.</p> +<p>Here and there clusters of purple, pink, and orange crysanthemums +flecked the lawn with color; and a flower-stand, +covered with china jars that held geraniums, seemed almost a +pyramid of flame, from the profusion of scarlet blooms.</p> +<p>The sun had gone down behind a waving line of low hills, +where,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Thinned to amber, rimmed with silver,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Clouds in the distance dwell,<br /> +Clouds that are cool, for all their color,<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Pure as a rose-lipped shell.<br /> +Fleets of wool in the upper heavens<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Gossamer wings unfurl;<br /> +Sailing so high they seem but sleeping<br /> +<span class='indent2'> </span>Over yon bar of pearl.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_462' name='page_462'></a>462</span></div> +<p>Still as crystal was the sapphire sea that mirrored that +quiet, sapphire sky, and not a murmur, not a ripple, stirred +the evening air or the yellow sands that stretched for miles +along the winding coast.</p> +<p>When Dr. Grey had partially crossed the lawn, he glanced +towards the marble temple that gleamed against the dark +background of deodars, and saw a woman sitting on the steps +of the tomb. Softly he approached and entered the mausoleum +by an arch on the opposite side, but, notwithstanding +his cautious tread, he startled a white pigeon that had perched +on the altar, where fresh violets, heliotrope, and snowy sprigs +of nutmeg-geranium were leaning over the <ins title='Was scallopped'>scalloped</ins> edge of +the Venetian glasses, and distilling perfume in their delicate +chalices.</p> +<p>Mrs. Carlyle had brought her floral tribute to the sepulchral +urn, and, having carefully arranged her daily Arkja, +had seated herself on the steps to rest.</p> +<p>From the two sentinel poplars that guarded the front, +golden leaves were sifting down on the marble floor, and +three or four had drifted upon the lap of the quiet figure, +while one, bright and rich as autumn gilding could make it, +rested like a crown on the silver waves that covered her head.</p> +<p>Down the shining steps trailed the folds of the white merino +robe, and around her shoulders was wrapped the blue crape +shawl, while a cluster of violets seemed to have slipped from +her fingers, and strewed themselves at random on her dress.</p> +<p>Softly Dr. Grey drew near, and his voice was tremulously +tender, as he said,—</p> +<p>“Mrs. Carlyle, no barrier divides us now.”</p> +<p>She did not speak, or turn her queenly head, and he laid +his hand caressingly on the glistening gray hair.</p> +<p>“My darling, my first and only love—my brave, beautiful +‘Agla,’ may I not tell you, at last, what conscience once forbade +my uttering?”</p> +<p>As motionless and silent as the sculptured poppies above +her, she took no notice of his passionate pleading, and +he sprang down one step directly in front of her.</p> +<p>The white face was turned to the sea, and the large, wide, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_463' name='page_463'></a>463</span> +wonderfully lovely yet mournful gray eyes were gazing fixedly +across the waste of water, at a filmy cloud as fine as lace, that +like a silver netting caught the full October moon which was +lifting itself in the pearly east.</p> +<p>The long black lashes did not droop, nor the steady eyes +waver, and with a horrible foreboding Dr. Grey seized her +hands. They were rigid and icy. He stooped, caught her to +his bosom, and pressed his lips to hers, but they were colder +than the marble column against which she leaned; for, one +hour before, Vashti Carlyle had fronted her God.</p> +<p>Alone in the autumn evening, sitting there with the golden +poplar leaves drifting over her, the desolate woman had held +her last communion with the watching ocean that hushed its +murmuring, to see her die; and, laying down the galling +burden of her sunless, dreary life, she had joyfully and <ins title='Was serenly'>serenely</ins> +“put on immortality” in that everlasting rest, where “there +was no more sea, no more death, neither shall there be any +more pain, for the former things are passed away.”</p> +<p>Ah! beautiful and holy was—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“That peaceful face wherein all past distress<br /> +Had melted into perfect loveliness.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='toprule' /> +<div class='chsp'> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXV' id='CHAPTER_XXXV'></a> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2> +</div> +<p>Since that October day when Ulpian Grey sat on the steps +of the tomb, holding in his arms the beautiful white form, +whom in life God had denied him the privilege of touching, +six months had drifted slowly; yet time had not softened the +blow, that, while almost crushing his tender, unselfish heart, +had no power to shake the faith which was so securely anchored +in Christ.</p> +<p>Among the papers found in Mrs. Carlyle’s desk was one containing +the request that Dr. Grey would superintend the erection +of a handsome monument over the remains of her husband, +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_464' name='page_464'></a>464</span> +whenever and wherever he chanced to die; and her will +provided that her fortune should be appropriated as the +nucleus of a relief fund for indigent painters.</p> +<p>Her own pictures, to which she had carefully affixed in +delicate violet ciphers the name “Agla,” she directed placed +on exhibition in a New York gallery, and ultimately sold for +the benefit of the orphans of artists. To Robert she bequeathed +a sum sufficient to maintain him in ease and comfort; +and to Dr. Grey her escritoire, piano, books, and the sapphire +ring she had always worn.</p> +<p>The latter was found in the silver casket, and had been +folded in a sheet of paper containing these words,—</p> +<p>“According to the teachings of the Buddhists, ‘the sapphire +produces equanimity and peace of mind, as well as +affording protection against envy and treachery. It produces +also prayer and reconciliation with the Godhead, and brings +more peace than any other gem of necromancy; <i>but he who +would wear it must lead a pure and holy life</i>.’ Finding my +sapphire asp mockingly inefficacious in its traditional talismanic +powers, I conclude that my melancholy career has been +a violation of the stipulated condition, and therefore bequeath +it to the only human being whom I deem worthy to wear it +with any hope of success.”</p> +<p>While awaiting orders from the naval department, Dr. Grey +purchased “Solitude,” whither he removed, with Muriel and +Miss Dexter, and temporarily established himself, until the +arrival of Mr. Granville.</p> +<p>Immediately after her return from Europe, Salome invested +a portion of Mr. Minge’s legacy in the site of the old mill +that had fallen to ruin. Here she built a small but tasteful +cottage <i>orné</i> on the spot where her father had died, and here, +with Jessie and Stanley, she proposed to spend her winters; +while Mark and Joel were placed at the “Grassmere Farm,” +a mile distant, and entrusted with its management until the +younger children should attain their majority.</p> +<p>Too proud to accept the home which Dr. Grey had tendered +her, Salome was earnestly endeavoring to imitate the noble +example of self-abnegation that lifted him so far above all +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_465' name='page_465'></a>465</span> +others whom she had ever known; and the most precious hope +of her life was to reach that exalted excellence which alone +could compel his admiration and respect.</p> +<p>From the day of Mrs. Carlyle’s death, the orphan had been +a comparatively happy woman, for jealousy could not invade +or desecrate the grave and its harmless sleeper; and Salome +fervently thanked God, that, since she was denied the blessing +of Dr. Grey’s love, at least she had been spared the torture +of seeing him the fond husband of another.</p> +<p>Time had deepened, but refined, purified, and consecrated +her unconquerable affection for the only man who had ever +commanded her reverence, and whose quiet influence had so +happily remoulded her wayward, fiery nature.</p> +<p>There were seasons when the old element of innate perversity +re-asserted itself, but the steady reproving gaze of his +clear, true eyes, or the warning touch of his hand on her head, +had sufficed to still the rising storm.</p> +<p>Conscientiously the passionate, exacting woman was striving +to bring her heart and life into subjection to the law,—into +conformity with the precepts of Christ; and though she +was impulsive, proud Salome still,—the glaring blemishes in +her character were gradually disappearing.</p> +<p>One bright balmy spring morning previous to the day appointed +for Muriel’s marriage, and for her guardian’s departure +for the fleet in Asiatic waters, where he had been assigned +to duty, Dr. Grey drove up the avenue of elms and +maples that led to Salome’s pretty villa; and as he ascended +the steps, Jessie sprang into his arms, and almost smothered +him with caresses.</p> +<p>“Oh, doctor! something so wonderful has happened,—you +never could guess, and I am as happy as a bee in a woodbine. +Sister will tell you.”</p> +<p>“Where is she?”</p> +<p>“In the parlor, waiting for you.”</p> +<p>The child ran off to join Stanley, who was trying a new +pony in the yard, and Dr. Grey went into the cool fragrant +room, which was fitted up with more taste than in earlier +years he would have ascribed to its owner.</p> +<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_466' name='page_466'></a>466</span></div> +<p>Salome sat before the open piano, and at his entrance raised +her face, which had been bowed almost to the ivory keys.</p> +<p>“Good morning, Dr. Grey. I am glad you have come to +rejoice with me, and I was just thanking God for the unexpected +restoration of my voice. Once when it seemed so necessary +to <ins title="Changed period to comma">me.</ins> He suddenly took it from me; and now, when +it is a mere luxury to own it, He as unexpectedly gives it to +me once more. Verily,—strange as it may appear, my voice +is really better than when Professor V—— pronounced it +the first contralto in Europe.”</p> +<p>She had risen to greet him, and as he retained her hand in +his, she stood close to him, looking earnestly into his face.</p> +<p>There were tears hanging like tremulous dewdrops on the +long jet under-lashes,—and the bright red in her polished +cheeks, and the crimson curves of her parted lips made a picture +pleasant to contemplate.</p> +<p>“My dear child, I do indeed cordially congratulate you. +God saw that your voice might possibly prove a snare and a +curse, by ministering to false pride and exaggerated vanity, +and in mercy and wisdom He temporarily deprived you of an +instrument that threatened you with danger. Now that you +are stronger, more prudent, and patient, He trusts you again +with one of the choicest blessings that can be conferred on a +woman. You have deserved to recover it, and I joyfully unite +my thanks with yours. Let me hear your voice once more.”</p> +<p>Trembling with excess of happiness, she sat down and sang +feelingly, eloquently, her favorite “<i>O mon Fernand</i>;” and, +as he listened, Dr. Grey looked almost wonderingly at the +beautiful flashing face, that had never seemed half so radiant +before. There was marvellous witchery in her rich round flexible +tones, that wound into the holy-of-holies of the man’s +great heart, and elevated his thoughts above the dross and +dust of earth.</p> +<p>When she ended, he placed his soft palm tenderly on her +head, and smoothed the glossy hair.</p> +<p>“I thank you inexpressibly. Sometimes when sad memories +oppress me, how I shall long to have you charm them +away by that magical spell that bears my thoughts from this +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_467' name='page_467'></a>467</span> +world to the next. There are some songs which you must +learn for my sake.”</p> +<p>Ah! at that moment, as she stood there robed in a soft +stainless white muslin, with a cluster of double pomegranate +flowers glowing in her silky hair, the girl was very lovely, +very attractive, so full of youthful grace, so winning in her +beautiful enthusiasm,—yet Ulpian Grey’s heart did not wander +for an instant from one who slept dreamlessly under the +sculptured urn on the marble altar of the mausoleum.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>“Why are the dead not dead? Who can undo<br /> +What time hath done? Who can win back the wind?<br /> +Beckon lost music from a broken lute?<br /> +Renew the redness of a last year’s rose?<br /> +Or dig the sunken sunset from the deep?”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>“Dr. Grey, if my voice can chase away one vexing thought, +one wearying care or melancholy memory, I shall feel that +I have additional reason to thank God for the precious gift.”</p> +<p>“I have not seen you look so happy for three years. Indeed, +my little sister, you have much for which to be grateful, +and in the midst of your blessings try to recollect those grand +words of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, ‘The soul is a God in +exile.’ My child, look to it that your expatriation ends with +the shores of time, for—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'>‘Yea, this is life; make this forenoon sublime,<br /> +This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,<br /> +And time is conquered, and thy crown is won.’”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>For some seconds Salome did not speak, for the shadow on +his countenance fell upon her heart, and looking reverently +up at him, she thought of Richter’s mournful <i>dictum</i>,—“Great +souls attract sorrows, as mountains tempests.”</p> +<p>“Dr. Grey, want of patience is the cause of half my difficulties +and defeats, and plunges me continually into the +slough of distrust and rebellious questioning. I find it so hard +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_468' name='page_468'></a>468</span> +to stand still, and let God do his will, and work in his own +way.”</p> +<p>“My dear Salome, patience is only practical faith, and +the want of it causes two-thirds of the world’s woes. I often +find it necessary to humble my own pride, and tame my restless +spirit by recurring to the last words of Schiller, ‘Calmer +and calmer! many difficult things are growing plain and clear +to me. Let us be patient.’ Child, sing me one song more, and +then come out and show me where you propose to place those +grape-arbors we spoke of yesterday. This is the last opportunity +I shall have to direct your workmen.”</p> +<p>An hour later Salome fastened a sprig of Grand Duke jasmine +in the button-hole of his coat,—shook hands with him +for the day, and though she smiled in recognition of his +final bow as he drove down the avenue, her thoughts were +busy with the dreaded separation that awaited her on the +morrow and, while her lips were mute, the cry of her heart +was,—</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “O Beloved, it is plain</p> +<p class='cg'>I am not of thy worth, nor for thy place.<br /> +And yet because I love thee, I obtain<br /> +From that same love this vindicating grace,<br /> +To live on still in love,—and yet in vain,—<br /> +To bless thee, yet renounce thee to thy <ins title='Added quote'>face.”</ins></p> +</td></tr></table> +<p>Dr. Grey spent the remainder of the day in visiting his +patients, and as he rode from cottage to hovel, bidding adieu +to those whose lives had so often been committed to his professional +guardianship, he was received with tearful eyes, and +trembling hands; and numerous benedictions were invoked +upon his head.</p> +<p>Silver threads were beginning to weave an aureola in his +chestnut hair, and the smooth white forehead showed incipient +furrows, but the deep blue eyes were as tranquil and +trusting as of yore, and full of tenderer light for the few he +loved, for all in suffering and bereavement.</p> +<p>With a sublime and increasing faith in the overruling wisdom +and mercy of God, he patiently and hopefully bore his +<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_469' name='page_469'></a>469</span> +loneliness and grievous loss,—comforting himself with the assurance +that, “the evening of life brings with it its lamp;” +and looking eagle-eyed across the storm-drenched plain of the +present to the gleaming jasper walls of the Eternal Beyond.</p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='center cg'><span class="dotspoem">...</span> “My wine has run</p> +<p class='cg'>Indeed out of my cup, and there is none<br /> +To gather up the bread of my repast<br /> +Scattered and trampled,—yet I find some good<br /> +In earth’s green herbs, and streams that bubble up,<br /> +Clear from the darkling ground,—content until<br /> +I sit with angels before better food.<br /> +Dear Christ! when thy new vintage fills my cup,<br /> +This hand shall shake no more, nor that wine spill.”</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='pb' /> +<div class='chsp' style='padding-top:0'> +<a name='POPULAR_COPYRIGHT_BOOKS_AT_MODERATE_PRICES' id='POPULAR_COPYRIGHT_BOOKS_AT_MODERATE_PRICES'></a> +<h1>Popular Copyright Books <br /><span class='smcaplc'>AT MODERATE PRICES</span></h1> +</div> +<p class='center'><b>Any of the following titles can be bought of your +bookseller at the price you paid for this volume</b></p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'><b>Alternative, The.</b> By George Barr McCutcheon.<br /> +<b>Angel of Forgiveness, The.</b> By Rosa N. Carey.<br /> +<b>Angel of Pain, The.</b> By E. F. Benson.<br /> +<b>Annals of Ann, The.</b> By Kate Trimble Sharber.<br /> +<b>Battle Ground, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<b>Beau Brocade.</b> By Baroness Orczy.<br /> +<b>Beechy.</b> By Bettina Von Hutten.<br /> +<b>Bella Donna.</b> By Robert Hichens.<br /> +<b>Betrayal, The.</b> By E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br /> +<b>Bill Toppers, The.</b> By Andre Castaigne.<br /> +<b>Butterfly Man, The.</b> By George Barr McCutcheon.<br /> +<b>Cab No. 44.</b> By R. F. Foster.<br /> +<b>Calling of Dan Matthews, The.</b> By Harold Bell Wright.<br /> +<b>Cape Cod Stories.</b> By Joseph C. Lincoln.<br /> +<b>Challoners, The.</b> By E. F. Benson.<br /> +<b>City of Six, The.</b> By C. L. Canfield.<br /> +<b>Conspirators, The.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>Dan Merrithew.</b> By Lawrence Perry.<br /> +<b>Day of the Dog, The.</b> By George Barr McCutcheon.<br /> +<b>Depot Master, The.</b> By Joseph C. Lincoln.<br /> +<b>Derelicts.</b> By William J. Locke.<br /> +<b>Diamonds Cut Paste.</b> By Agnes & Egerton Castle.<br /> +<b>Early Bird, The.</b> By George Randolph Chester.<br /> +<b>Eleventh Hour, The.</b> By David Potter.<br /> +<b>Elizabeth in Rugen.</b> By the author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden.<br /> +<b>Flying Mercury, The.</b> By Eleanor M. Ingram.<br /> +<b>Gentleman, The.</b> By Alfred Ollivant.<br /> +<b>Girl Who Won, The.</b> By Beth Ellis.<br /> +<b>Going Some.</b> By Rex Beach.<br /> +<b>Hidden Water.</b> By Dane Coolidge.<br /> +<b>Honor of the Big Snows, The.</b> By James Oliver Curwood.<br /> +<b>Hopalong Cassidy.</b> By Clarence E. Mulford.<br /> +<b>House of the Whispering Pines, The.</b> By Anna Katherine Green.<br /> +<b>Imprudence of Prue, The.</b> By Sophie Fisher.<br /> +<b>In the Service of the Princess.</b> By Henry C. Rowland.<br /> +<b>Island of Regeneration, The.</b> By Cyrus Townsend Brady.<br /> +<b>Lady of Big Shanty, The.</b> By Berkeley F. Smith.<br /> +<b>Lady Merton, Colonist.</b> By Mrs. Humphrey Ward.<br /> +<b>Lord Loveland Discovers America.</b> By C. N. & A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Love the Judge.</b> By Wymond Carey.<br /> +<b>Man Outside, The.</b> By Wyndham Martyn.<br /> +<b>Marriage of Theodora, The.</b> By Molly Elliott Seawell.<br /> +<b>My Brother’s Keeper.</b> By Charles Tenny Jackson.<br /> +<b>My Lady of the South.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Paternoster Ruby, The.</b> By Charles Edmonds Walk.<br /> +<b>Politician, The.</b> By Edith Huntington Mason.<br /> +<b>Pool of Flame, The.</b> By Louis Joseph Vance.<br /> +<b>Poppy.</b> By Cynthia Stockley.<br /> +<b>Redemption of Kenneth Galt, The.</b> By Will N. Harben.<br /> +<b>Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary, The.</b> By Anna Warner.<br /> +<b>Road to Providence, The.</b> By Maria Thompson Davies.<br /> +<b>Romance of a Plain Man, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<b>Running Fight, The.</b> By Wm. Hamilton Osborne.<br /> +<b>Septimus.</b> By William J. Locke.<br /> +<b>Silver Horde, The.</b> By Rex Beach.<br /> +<b>Spirit Trail, The.</b> By Kate & Virgil D. Boyles.<br /> +<b>Stanton Wins.</b> By Eleanor M. Ingram.<br /> +<b>Stolen Singer, The.</b> By Martha Bellinger.<br /> +<b>Three Brothers, The.</b> By Eden Phillpotts.<br /> +<b>Thurston of Orchard Valley.</b> By Harold Bindloss.<br /> +<b>Title Market, The.</b> By Emily Post.<br /> +<b>Vigilante Girl, A.</b> By Jerome Hart.<br /> +<b>Village of Vagabonds, A.</b> By F. Berkeley Smith.<br /> +<b>Wanted—A Chaperon.</b> By Paul Leicester Ford.<br /> +<b>Wanted: A Matchmaker.</b> By Paul Leicester Ford.<br /> +<b>Watchers of the Plains, The.</b> By Ridgwell Cullum.<br /> +<b>White Sister, The.</b> By Marion Crawford.<br /> +<b>Window at the White Cat, The.</b> By Mary Roberts Rhinehart.<br /> +<b>Woman in Question, The.</b> By John Reed Scott.<br /> +<b>Anna the Adventuress.</b> By E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br /> +<b>Ann Boyd.</b> By Will N. Harben.<br /> +<b>At The Moorings.</b> By Rosa N. Carey.<br /> +<b>By Right of Purchase.</b> By Harold Bindloss.<br /> +<b>Carlton Case, The.</b> By Ellery H. Clark.<br /> +<b>Chase of the Golden Plate.</b> By Jacques Futrelle.<br /> +<b>Cash Intrigue, The.</b> By George Randolph Chester.<br /> +<b>Delafield Affair, The.</b> By Florence Finch Kelly.<br /> +<b>Dominant Dollar, The.</b> By Will Lillibridge.<br /> +<b>Elusive Pimpernel, The.</b> By Baroness Orczy.<br /> +<b>Ganton & Co.</b> By Arthur J. Eddy.<br /> +<b>Gilbert Neal.</b> By Will N. Harben.<br /> +<b>Girl and the Bill, The.</b> By Bannister Merwin.<br /> +<b>Girl from His Town, The.</b> By Marie Van Vorst.<br /> +<b>Glass House, The.</b> By Florence Morse Kingsley.<br /> +<b>Highway of Fate, The.</b> By Rosa N. Carey.<br /> +<b>Homesteaders, The.</b> By Kate and Virgil D. Boyles.<br /> +<b>Husbands of Edith, The.</b> George Barr McCutcheon.<br /> +<b>Inez.</b> (Illustrated Ed.) By Augusta J. Evans.<br /> +<b>Into the Primitive.</b> By Robert Ames Bennet.<br /> +<b>Jack Spurlock, Prodigal.</b> By Horace Lorimer.<br /> +<b>Jude the Obscure.</b> By Thomas Hardy.<br /> +<b>King Spruce.</b> By Holman Day.<br /> +<b>Kingsmead.</b> By Bettina Von Hutten.<br /> +<b>Ladder of Swords, A.</b> By Gilbert Parker.<br /> +<b>Lorimer of the Northwest.</b> By Harold Bindloss.<br /> +<b>Lorraine.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>Loves of Miss Anne, The.</b> By S. R. Crockett.<br /> +<b>Marcaria.</b> By Augusta J. Evans.<br /> +<b>Mam’ Linda.</b> By Will N. Harben.<br /> +<b>Maids of Paradise, The.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>Man in the Corner, The.</b> By Baroness Orczy.<br /> +<b>Marriage A La Mode.</b> By Mrs. Humphry Ward.<br /> +<b>Master Mummer, The.</b> By E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br /> +<b>Much Ado About Peter.</b> By Jean Webster.<br /> +<b>Old, Old Story, The.</b> By Rosa N. Carey.<br /> +<b>Pardners.</b> By Rex Beach.<br /> +<b>Patience of John Moreland, The.</b> By Mary Dillon.<br /> +<b>Paul Anthony, Christian.</b> By Hiram W. Hays.<br /> +<b>Prince of Sinners, A.</b> By E. Phillips Oppenheim.<br /> +<b>Prodigious Hickey, The.</b> By Owen Johnson.<br /> +<b>Red Mouse, The.</b> By William Hamilton Osborne.<br /> +<b>Refugees, The.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Round the Corner in Gay Street.</b> By Grace S. Richmond.<br /> +<b>Rue: With a Difference.</b> By Rosa N. Carey.<br /> +<b>Set in Silver.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>St. Elmo.</b> By Augusta J. Evans.<br /> +<b>Silver Blade, The.</b> By Charles E. Walk.<br /> +<b>Spirit in Prison, A.</b> By Robert Hichens.<br /> +<b>Strawberry Handkerchief, The.</b> By Amelia E. Barr.<br /> +<b>Tess of the D’Urbervilles.</b> By Thomas Hardy.<br /> +<b>Uncle William.</b> By Jennette Lee.<br /> +<b>Way of a Man, The.</b> By Emerson Hough.<br /> +<b>Whirl, The.</b> By Foxcroft Davis.<br /> +<b>With Juliet in England.</b> By Grace S. Richmond.<br /> +<b>Yellow Circle, The.</b> By Charles E. Walk.</p> +</td></tr></table> +<p class='center padtop'><b>Any of the following titles can be bought of your +bookseller at 50 cents per volume</b></p> +<table summary=''><tr><td> +<p class='cg'><b>The Shepherd of the Hills.</b> By Harold Bell Wright.<br /> +<b>Jane Cable.</b> By George Barr McCutcheon.<br /> +<b>Abner Daniel.</b> By Will N. Harben.<br /> +<b>The Far Horizon.</b> By Lucas Malet.<br /> +<b>The Halo.</b> By Bettina von Hutten.<br /> +<b>Jerry Junior.</b> By Jean Webster.<br /> +<b>The Powers and Maxine.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>The Balance of Power.</b> By Arthur Goodrich.<br /> +<b>Adventures of Captain Kettle.</b> By Cutcliffe Hyne.<br /> +<b>Adventures of Gerard.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Arms and the Woman.</b> By Harold MacGrath.<br /> +<b>Artemus Ward’s Works</b> (extra illustrated).<br /> +<b>At the Mercy of Tiberius.</b> By Augusta Evans Wilson.<br /> +<b>Awakening of Helena Richie.</b> By Margaret Deland.<br /> +<b>Battle Ground, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<b>Belle of Bowling Green, The.</b> By Amelia E. Barr.<br /> +<b>Ben Blair.</b> By Will Lillibridge.<br /> +<b>Best Man, The.</b> By Harold MacGrath.<br /> +<b>Beth Norvell.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Bob Hampton of Placer.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Bob, Son of Battle.</b> By Alfred Ollivant.<br /> +<b>Brass Bowl, The.</b> By Louis Joseph Vance.<br /> +<b>Brethren, The.</b> By H. Rider Haggard.<br /> +<b>Broken Lance, The.</b> By Herbert Quick.<br /> +<b>By Wit of Women.</b> By Arthur W. Marchmont.<br /> +<b>Call of the Blood, The.</b> By Robert Hitchens.<br /> +<b>Cap’n Eri.</b> By Joseph C. Lincoln.<br /> +<b>Cardigan.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>Car of Destiny, The.</b> By C. N. and A. N. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine.</b> By Frank R. Stockton.<br /> +<b>Cecilia’s Lovers.</b> By Amelia E. Barr.<br /> +<b>Circle, The.</b> By Katherine Cecil Thurston (author of “The Masquerader,” “The Gambler”).<br /> +<b>Colonial Free Lance, A.</b> By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.<br /> +<b>Conquest of Canaan, The.</b> By Booth Tarkington.<br /> +<b>Courier of Fortune, A.</b> By Arthur W. Marchmont.<br /> +<b>Darrow Enigma, The.</b> By Melvin Severy.<br /> +<b>Deliverance, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<b>Divine Fire, The.</b> By May Sinclair.<br /> +<b>Empire Builders.</b> By Francis Lynde.<br /> +<b>Exploits of Brigadier Gerard.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Fighting Chance, The.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>For a Maiden Brave.</b> By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.<br /> +<br /> +<b>Fugitive Blacksmith, The.</b> By Chas. D. Stewart.<br /> +<b>God’s Good Man.</b> By Marie Corelli.<br /> +<b>Heart’s Highway, The.</b> By Mary E. Wilkins.<br /> +<b>Holladay Case, The.</b> By Burton Egbert Stevenson.<br /> +<b>Hurricane Island.</b> By H. B. Marriott Watson.<br /> +<b>In Defiance of the King.</b> By Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.<br /> +<b>Indifference of Juliet, The.</b> By Grace S. Richmond.<br /> +<b>Infelice.</b> By Augusta Evans Wilson.<br /> +<br /> +<b>Lady Betty Across the Water.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Lady of the Mount, The.</b> By Frederic S. Isham.<br /> +<b>Lane That Had No Turning, The.</b> By Gilbert Parker.<br /> +<b>Langford of the Three Bars.</b> By Kate and Virgil D. Boyles.<br /> +<b>Last Trail, The.</b> By Zane Grey.<br /> +<b>Leavenworth Case, The.</b> By Anna Katharine Green.<br /> +<b>Lilac Sunbonnet, The.</b> By S. R. Crockett.<br /> +<b>Lin McLean.</b> By Owen Wister.<br /> +<b>Long Night, The.</b> By Stanley J. Weyman.<br /> +<b>Maid at Arms, The.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>Man from Red Keg, The.</b> By Eugene Thwing.<br /> +<b>Marthon Mystery, The.</b> By Burton Egbert Stevenson.<br /> +<b>Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Millionaire Baby, The.</b> By Anna Katharine Green.<br /> +<b>Missourian, The.</b> By Eugene P. Lyle, Jr.<br /> +<b>Mr. Barnes, American.</b> By A. C. Gunter.<br /> +<b>Mr. Pratt.</b> By Joseph C. Lincoln.<br /> +<b>My Friend the Chauffeur.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>My Lady of the North.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Mystery of June 13th.</b> By Melvin L. Severy.<br /> +<b>Mystery Tales.</b> By Edgar Allan Poe.<br /> +<b>Nancy Stair.</b> By Elinor Macartney Lane.<br /> +<b>Order No. 11.</b> By Caroline Abbot Stanley.<br /> +<b>Pam.</b> By Bettina von Hutten.<br /> +<b>Pam Decides.</b> By Bettina von Hutten.<br /> +<b>Partners of the Tide.</b> By Joseph C. Lincoln.<br /> +<b>Phra the Phoenician.</b> By Edwin Lester Arnold.<br /> +<b>President, The.</b> By Afred Henry Lewis.<br /> +<b>Princess Passes, The.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Princess Virginia, The.</b> By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Prisoners.</b> By Mary Cholmondeley.<br /> +<b>Private War, The.</b> By Louis Joseph Vance.<br /> +<b>Prodigal Son, The.</b> By Hall Caine.<br /> +<br /> +<b>Quickening, The.</b> By Francis Lynde.<br /> +<b>Richard the Brazen.</b> By Cyrus T. Brady and Edw. Peple.<br /> +<b>Rose of the World.</b> By Agnes and Egerton Castle.<br /> +<b>Running Water.</b> By A. E. W. Mason.<br /> +<b>Sarita the Carlist.</b> By Arthur W. Marchmont.<br /> +<b>Seats of the Mighty, The.</b> By Gilbert Parker.<br /> +<b>Sir Nigel.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>Sir Richard Calmady.</b> By Lucas Malet.<br /> +<b>Speckled Bird, A.</b> By Augusta Evans Wilson.<br /> +<b>Spirit of the Border, The.</b> By Zane Grey.<br /> +<b>Spoilers, The.</b> By Rex Beach.<br /> +<b>Squire Phin.</b> By Holman F. Day.<br /> +<b>Stooping Lady, The.</b> By Maurice Hewlett.<br /> +<b>Subjection of Isabel Carnaby.</b> By Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler.<br /> +<b>Sunset Trail, The.</b> By Alfred Henry Lewis.<br /> +<b>Sword of the Old Frontier, A.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Tales of Sherlock Holmes.</b> By A. Conan Doyle.<br /> +<b>That Printer of Udell’s.</b> By Harold Bell Wright.<br /> +<b>Throwback, The.</b> By Alfred Henry Lewis.<br /> +<b>Trail of the Sword, The.</b> By Gilbert Parker.<br /> +<b>Treasure of Heaven, The.</b> By Marie Corelli.<br /> +<b>Two Vanrevels, The.</b> By Booth Tarkington.<br /> +<b>Up From Slavery.</b> By Booker T. Washington.<br /> +<b>Vashti.</b> By Augusta Evans Wilson.<br /> +<b>Viper of Milan, The</b> (original edition). By Marjorie Bowen.<br /> +<b>Voice of the People, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<b>Wheel of Life, The.</b> By Ellen Glasgow.<br /> +<br /> +<b>When Wilderness Was King.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>Where the Trail Divides.</b> By Will Lillibridge.<br /> +<b>Woman in Grey, A.</b> By Mrs. C. N. Williamson.<br /> +<b>Woman in the Alcove, The.</b> By Anna Katharine Green.<br /> +<b>Younger Set, The.</b> By Robert W. Chambers.<br /> +<b>The Weavers.</b> By Gilbert Parker.<br /> +<b>The Little Brown Jug at Kildare.</b> By Meredith Nicholson.<br /> +<b>The Prisoners of Chance.</b> By Randall Parrish.<br /> +<b>My Lady of Cleve.</b> By Percy J. Hartley.<br /> +<b>Loaded Dice.</b> By Ellery H. Clark.<br /> +<b>Get Rich Quick Wallingford.</b> By George Randolph Chester.<br /> +<b>The Orphan.</b> By Clarence Mulford.<br /> +<b>A Gentleman of France.</b> By Stanley J. Weyman.</p> +</td></tr></table> +<hr class='pb' /> + +<!-- generated by ppg.rb version: 3.21k2 --> +<!-- timestamp: 2010-03-12 20:53:00 -0500 --> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vashti, by Augusta J. 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