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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36290-8.txt b/36290-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d3a7867 --- /dev/null +++ b/36290-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3708 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ormond, Volume II (of 3), by Charles Brockden +Brown + + +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: Ormond, Volume II (of 3) + or, The Secret Witness + + +Author: Charles Brockden Brown + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36290] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME II (OF 3)*** + + +E-text prepared by Andrea Ball, Christine Bell, & Marc D'Hooghe +(http://www.freeliterature.org) from page images generously made available +by the Google Books Library Project (http://books.google.com/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has the other two volumes of + this book. + Volume I: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36289 + Volume III: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36291 + + + Images of the original pages are available through + the the Google Books Library Project. See + http://books.google.com/books?id=RRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8 + + + + + +ORMOND; + +Or, + +The Secret Witness. + +by + +B. C. BROWN, + +Author of Wieland, or Transformation. + +In Three Volumes. + +VOL. II. + + +"Sæpe intereunt aliis meditantes necem." + + PHÆDRUS + +"Those who plot the destruction of others, very often fall, +themselves the victims." + + + + + + + +Philadelphia Printed, +London, Re-Printed for Henry Colburn, +English and Foreign Public Library, +Conduit-Street, Bond-Street. +1811. + + + + +ORMOND, + +OR THE + +SECRET WITNESS + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +On leaving Mr. Ormond's house, Constantia was met by that gentleman. He +saw her as she came out, and was charmed with the simplicity of her +appearance. On entering, he interrogated the servant as to the business +that brought her thither. + +"So," said he, as he entered the drawing-room, where Craig was seated, +"you have had a visitant. She came, it seems, on a pressing occasion, +and would be put off with nothing but a letter." + +Craig had not expected this address, but it only precipitated the +execution of a design that he had formed. Being aware of this or +similar accidents, he had constructed and related on a previous occasion +to Ormond a story suitable to his purpose. + +"Ay," said he, in a tone of affected compassion, "it is a sad affair +enough. I am sorry it is not in my power to help the poor girl. She is +wrong in imputing her father's misfortunes to me, but I know the source +of her mistake. Would to heaven it was in my flower to repair the wrongs +they have suffered not from me, but from one whose relationship is a +disgrace to me." + +"Perhaps," replied the other, "you are willing to explain this affair." + +"Yes, I wish to explain it. I was afraid of some such accident as this. +An explanation is due to my character. I have already told you my story. +I mentioned to you a brother of mine. There is scarcely thirteen months +difference in our ages. There is a strong resemblance between him and +me in our exterior, though I hope there is none at all in our minds. +This brother was a partner of a gentleman, the father of this girl, at +New York. He was a long time nothing better than an apprentice to Mr. +Dudley, but he advanced so much in the good graces of his master, that +he finally took him into partnership. I did not know till I arrived on +the continent the whole of his misconduct. It appears that he embezzled +the property of the house, and fled away with it, and the consequence +was, that his quondam master was ruined. I am often mistaken for my +brother, to my no small inconvenience: but all this I told you formerly. +See what a letter I just now received from this girl." + +Craig was one of the most plausible of men. His character was a standing +proof of the vanity of physiognomy. There were few men who could refuse +their confidence to his open and ingenuous aspect. To this +circumstance, perhaps, he owed his ruin. His temptations to deceive +were stronger than what are incident to most other men. Deception was so +easy a task, that the difficulty lay, not in infusing false opinions +respecting him, but in preventing them from being spontaneously imbibed. +He contracted habits of imposture imperceptibly. In proportion as he +deviated from the practice of truth, he discerned the necessity of +extending and systematizing his efforts, and of augmenting the original +benignity and attractiveness of his looks, by studied additions. The +further he proceeded, the more difficult it was to return. Experience +and habit added daily to his speciousness, till at length the world +perhaps might have been searched in vain for his competitor. + +He had been introduced to Ormond under the most favourable auspices. He +had provided against a danger which he knew to be imminent, by relating +his own story as if it were his brother's. He had, however, made +various additions to it, serving to aggravate the heinousness of his +guilt. This arose partly from policy, and partly from the habit of +lying, which was prompted by a fertile invention, and rendered +inveterate by incessant exercise. He interwove in his tale an intrigue +between Miss Dudley and his brother. The former was seduced, and this +man had employed his skill in chirographical imitation, in composing +letters from Miss Dudley to his brother, which sufficiently attested her +dishonour. He and his brother, he related, to have met in Jamaica, where +the latter died, by which meant his personal property and papers came +into his possession. + +Ormond read the letter which his companion presented to him on this +occasion. The papers which Craig had formerly permitted him to inspect +had made him familiar with her handwriting. The penmanship was, indeed, +similar, yet this was written in a spirit not quite congenial with that +which had dictated her letters to her lover. But he reflected that the +emergency was extraordinary, and that the new scenes through which she +had passed, had, perhaps, enabled her to retrieve her virtue and enforce +it. The picture which she drew of her father's distresses affected him +and his companion very differently. He pondered on it for some time in +silence; he then looked up, and with his usual abruptness said, "I +suppose you gave her something?" + +"No. I was extremely sorry that it was not in my power. I have nothing +but a little trifling silver about me. I I have no more at home than +will barely suffice to pay my board here, and my expenses to Baltimore. +Till I reach there I cannot expect a supply. I was less uneasy I confess +on this account, because I knew you to be equally willing and much more +able to afford the relief she asks." + +This Mr. Ormond had predetermined to do. He paused only to deliberate in +what manner it could, with most propriety, be done. He was always +willing, when he conferred benefits, to conceal the author. He was not +displeased when gratitude was misplaced, and readily allowed his +instruments to act as if they were principals. He questioned not the +veracity of Craig, and was, therefore, desirous to free him from the +molestation that was threatened in the way which had been prescribed. He +put a note of one hundred dollars into his hand, and enjoined him to +send it to the Dudleys that evening, or early the next morning. "I am +pleased," he added, "with the style of this letter: It can be of no +service to you; leave it in my possession." + +Craig would much rather have thrown it into the fire; but he knew the +character of his companion, and was afraid to make any objection to his +request. He promised to send, or carry the note the next morning, +before he set out on his intended journey. + +This journey was to Baltimore, and was undertaken so soon merely to +oblige his friend, who was desirous of remitting to Baltimore a +considerable sum in English guineas, and who had been for some time in +search of one who might execute this commission with fidelity. The offer +of Craig had been joyfully accepted, and next morning had been the time +fixed for his departure, a period the most opportune for Craig's designs +that could be imagined. To return to Miss Dudley. + +The sum that remained to her after the discharge of her debts would +quickly be expended. It was no argument of wisdom to lose sight of the +future in the oblivion of present care. The time would inevitably come +when new resources would be necessary. Every hour brought nearer the +period without facilitating the discovery of new expedients. She related +the recent adventure to her father. He acquiesced in the propriety of +her measures, but the succour that she had thus obtained consoled him +but little. He saw how speedily it would again be required, and was +hopeless of a like fortunate occurrence. + +Some days had elapsed, and Constantia had been so fortunate as to +procure some employment. She was thus engaged in the evening when they +were surprised by a visit from their landlord. This was an occurrence +that foreboded them no good. He entered with abruptness, and scarcely +noticed the salutations that he received. His bosom swelled with +discontent, which seemed ready to be poured out upon his two companions. +To the inquiry as to the condition of his health and that of his family, +he surlily answered: "Never mind how I am: none the better for my +tenants I think. Never was a man so much plagued as I have been; what +with one putting me off from time to time; what with another quarrelling +about terms, and denying his agreement, and another running away in my +debt, I expect nothing but to come to poverty--God help me!--at last. +But this was the worst of all. I was never before treated so in all my +life. I don't know what or when I shall get to the end of my troubles. +To be fobbed out of my rent and twenty-five dollars into the bargain! It +is very strange treatment, I assure you, Mr. Dudley." + +"What is it you mean?" replied that gentleman. "You have received your +dues, and--" + +"Received my dues, indeed! High enough too! I have received none of my +dues. I have been imposed upon. I have been put to very great trouble, +and expect some compensation. There is no knowing the character of one's +tenants. There is nothing but knavery in the world one would think. I'm +sure no man has suffered more by bad tenants than I have. But this is +the strangest treatment I ever met with. Very strange indeed, Dudley, +and I must be paid without delay. To lose my rent and twenty-five +dollars into the bargain, is too hard. I never met with the equal of +it--not I. Besides, I wou'dn't be put to all this trouble for twice the +sum." + +"What does all this mean, Mr. M'Crea? You seem inclined to scold; but I +cannot conceive why you came here for that purpose. This behaviour is +improper--" + +"No, it is very proper, and I want payment of my money. Fifty dollars +you owe me. Miss comes to pay me my rent as I thought. She brings me a +fifty-dollar note; I changes it for her, for I thought to be sure I was +quite safe: but, behold, when I sends it to the bank to get the money, +they sends me back word that it's forged, and calls on me, before a +magistrate, to tell them where I got it from. I'm sure I never was so +flustered in my life. I would not have such a thing for ten times the +sum." + +He proceeded to descant on his loss without any interruption from his +auditors, whom this intelligence had struck dumb. Mr. Dudley instantly +saw the origin and full extent of this misfortune. He was, nevertheless, +calm, and indulged in no invectives against Craig. "It is all of a +piece," said he: "our ruin is inevitable. Well then, let it come." + +After M'Crea had railed himself weary, he flung out of the house, +warning them that next morning he should distrain for his rent, and, at +the same time, sue them for the money that Constantia had received in +exchange for her note. + +Miss Dudley was unable to pursue her task. She laid down her needle, and +fixed her eyes upon her father. They had been engaged in earnest +discourse when their landlord entered. Now there was a pause of profound +silence, till the affectionate Lucy, who sufficiently comprehended this +scene, gave vent to her affliction in sobs. Her mistress turned to +her:-- + +"Cheer up, my Lucy. We shall do well enough, my girl. Our state is bad +enough, without doubt, but despair will make it worse." + +The anxiety that occupied her mind related less to herself than to her +father. He, indeed in the present instance, was exposed to prosecution. +It was he who was answerable for the debt, and whose person would be +thrown into durance by the suit that was menaced. The horrors of a +prison had not hitherto been experienced or anticipated. The worst evil +that she had imagined was inexpressibly inferior to this. The idea had +in it something of terrific and loathsome. The mere supposition of its +being possible was not to be endured. If all other expedients should +fail, she thought of nothing less than desperate resistance. No. It was +better to die than to go to prison. + +For a time she was deserted of her admirable equanimity. This, no doubt, +was the result of surprise. She had not yet obtained the calmness +necessary to deliberation. During this gloomy interval, she would, +perhaps, have adapted any scheme, however dismal and atrocious, which +her father's despair might suggest. She would not refuse to terminate +her own and her father's unfortunate existence by poison or the cord. + +This confusion of mind could not exist long; it gradually gave place to +cheerful prospects. The evil perhaps was not without its timely remedy. +The person whom she had set out to visit, when her course was diverted +by Craig, she once more resolved to apply to; to lay before him, without +reserve, her father's situation, to entreat pecuniary succour, and to +offer herself as a servant in his family, or in that of any of his +friends who stood in need of one. This resolution, in a slight degree, +consoled her; but her mind had been too thoroughly disturbed to allow +her any sleep during that night. + +She equipped herself betimes, and proceeded with a doubting heart to the +house of Mr. Melbourne. She was informed that he had risen, but was +never to be seen at so early an hour. At nine o'clock he would be +disengaged, and she would be admitted. In the present state of her +affairs this delay was peculiarly unwelcome. At breakfast, her suspense +and anxieties would not allow her to eat a morsel; and when the hour +approached she prepared herself for a new attempt. + +As she went out, she met at the door a person whom she recognized, and +whose office she knew to be that of a constable. Constantia had +exercised, in her present narrow sphere, that beneficence which she had +formerly exerted in a larger. There was nothing, consistent with her +slender means, that she did not willingly perform for the service of +others. She had not been sparing of consolation and personal aid in +many cases of personal distress that had occurred in her neighbourhood +Hence, as far as she was known, he was reverenced. + +The wife of their present visitant had experienced her succour and +sympathy, on occasion of the death of a favourite child. The man, +notwithstanding his office, was not of a rugged or ungrateful temper. +The task that was now imposed upon him he undertook with extreme +reluctance. He was somewhat reconciled to it by the reflection that +another might not perform it with that gentleness and lenity which he +found in himself a disposition to exercise on all occasions, but +particularly on the present. + +She easily guessed at his business, and having greeted him with the +utmost friendliness, returned with him into the house. She endeavoured +to remove the embarrassment that hung about him, but in vain. Having +levied what the law very properly calls a distress, he proceeded, after +much hesitation, to inform Dudley that he was charged with a message +from a magistrate, summoning him to come forthwith, and account for +having a forged banknote in his possession. + +M'Crea had given no intimation of this. The painful surprise that it +produced soon yielded to a just view of this affair. Temporary +inconvenience and vexation was all that could be dreaded from it. Mr. +Dudley hated to be seen or known. He usually walked out in the dusk of +evening, but limited his perambulations to a short space. At all other +times he was obstinately recluse. He was easily persuaded by his +daughter to allow her to perform this unwelcome office in his stead. He +had not received, nor even seen the note. He would have willingly spared +her the mortification of a judicial examination, but he knew that this +was unavoidable. Should he comply with this summons himself, his +daughter's presence would be equally necessary. + +Influenced by these considerations, he was willing that his daughter +should accompany the messenger, who was content that they should consult +their mutual convenience in this respect. This interview was to her not +without its terrors; but she cherished the hope that it might ultimately +conduce to good. She did not foresee the means by which this would be +effected, but her heart was lightened by a secret and inexplicable faith +in the propitiousness of some event that was yet to occur. This faith +was powerfully enforced when she reached the magistrate's door, and +found that he was no other than Melbourne, whose succour she intended to +solicit. She was speedily ushered, not into his office, but into a +private apartment, where he received her alone. + +He had been favourably prepossessed with regard to her character by the +report of the officer who, on being charged with the message, had +accounted for the regret which he manifested, by dwelling on the merits +of Miss Dudley. He behaved with grave civility, requested her to be +seated, and accurately scrutinized her appearance. She found herself not +deceived in her preconceptions of this gentleman's character, and drew a +favourable omen as to the event of this interview by what had already +taken place. He viewed her in silence for some time, and then, in a +conciliating tone, said:-- + +"It seems to me, madam, as if I had seen you before. Your face, indeed, +is of that kind which, when once seen, is not easily forgotten. I know +it is a long time since, but I cannot tell when or where. If you will +not deem me impertinent, I will venture to ask you to assist my +conjectures. Your name, as I am informed, is Acworth."--(I ought to have +mentioned that Mr. Dudley, on his removal from New York, among other +expedients to obliterate the memory of his former condition, and +conceal his poverty from the World, had made this change in his name.) + +"That, indeed," said the lady, "is the name which my father at present +bears. His real name is Dudley. His abode was formerly in Queen Street, +New York. Your conjecture, Sir, is not erroneous. This is not the first +time we have seen each other. I well recollect your having been at my +father's house in the days of his prosperity." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed Mr. Melbourne, starting from his seat in the +first impulse of his astonishment. "Are you the daughter of my friend +Dudley, by whom I have so often been hospitably entertained? I have +heard of his misfortunes, but knew not that he was alive, or in what +part of the world he resided. + +"You are summoned on a very disagreeable affair, but I doubt not you +will easily exculpate your father. I am told that he is blind, and that +his situation is by no means as comfortable as might be wished. I am +grieved that he did not confide in the friendship of those that knew +him. What could prompt him to conceal himself?" + +"My father has a proud spirit. It is not yet broken by adversity. He +disdains _to beg_, but I must now assume _that office_ for his sake. I +came hither this morning to lay before you his situation, and to entreat +your assistance to save him from a prison. He cannot pay for the poor +tenement he occupies; and our few goods are already under distress. He +has, likewise, contracted a debt. He is, I suppose, already sued on this +account, and must go to gaol, unless saved by the interposition of some +friend." + +"It is true," said Melbourne, "I yesterday granted a warrant against him +at the suit of Malcolm M'Crea. Little did I think that the defendant was +Stephen Dudley; but you may dismiss all apprehensions on that score. +That affair shall be settled to your father's satisfaction: meanwhile +we will, if you please, despatch this unpleasant business respecting a +counterfeit note received in payment from you by this M'Crea." + +Miss Dudley satisfactorily explained that affair. She stated the +relation in which Craig had formerly stood to her father, and the acts +of which he had been guilty. She slightly touched on the distresses +which the family had undergone during their abode in this city, and the +means by which she had been able to preserve her father from want. She +mentioned the circumstances which compelled her to seek his charity as +the last resource, and the casual encounter with Craig, by which she was +for the present diverted from that design. She laid before him a copy of +the letter she had written, and explained the result in the gift of the +note which now appeared to be a counterfeit. She concluded with stating +her present views, and soliciting him to receive her into his family, in +quality of a servant, or use his interest with some of his friends to +procure a provision of this kind. This tale was calculated deeply to +affect a man of Mr. Melbourne's humanity. + +"No," said he, "I cannot listen to such a request. My inclination is +bounded by my means. These will not allow me to place you in an +independent situation; but I will do what I can. With your leave, I will +introduce you to my wife in your true character. Her good sense will +teach her to set a just value on your friendship. There is no disgrace +in earning your subsistence by your own industry. She and her friends +will furnish you with plenty of materials; but if there ever be a +deficiency, look to them for a supply." + +Constantia's heart overflowed at this declaration. Her silence was more +eloquent than any words could have been. She declined an immediate +introduction to his wife, and withdrew; but not till her new friend had +forced her to accept some money. + +"Place it to account," said he. "It is merely paying you before hand, +and discharging a debt at the time when it happens to be most useful to +the creditor." + +To what entire and incredible reverses is the tenor of human life +subject! A short minute shall effect a transition from a state utterly +destitute of hope to a condition where, all is serene and abundant. The +path, which we employ all our exertions to shun, is often found, upon +trial, to be the true road to prosperity. + +Constantia retired from this interview with a heart bounding with +exultation. She related to her father all that had happened. He was +pleased on her account, but the detection of his poverty by Melbourne +was the parent of new mortification. His only remaining hope relative to +himself was that he should die in his obscurity, whereas, it was +probable that his old acquaintance would trace him to his covert. This +prognostic filled him with the deepest inquietude, and all the +reasonings of his daughter were insufficient to appease him. + +Melbourne made his appearance in the afternoon. He was introduced by +Constantia to her father. Mr. Dudley's figure was emaciated, and his +features corroded by his ceaseless melancholy. His blindness produced in +them a woeful and wildering expression. His dress betokened his penury, +and was in unison with the meanness of his habitation and furniture. The +visitant was struck with the melancholy contrast, which these +appearances exhibited, to the joyousness and splendour that he had +formerly witnessed. + +Mr. Dudley received the salutations of his guest with an air of +embarrassment and dejection. He resigned to his daughter the task of +sustaining the conversation, and excused himself from complying with the +urgent invitations of Melbourne, while, at the same time, he studiously +forebore all expressions tending to encourage any kind of intercourse +between them. + +The guest came with a message from his wife, who entreated Miss Dudley's +company to tea with her that evening, adding that she should be entirely +alone. It was impossible to refuse compliance with this request. She +cheerfully assented, and in the evening was introduced to Mrs. Melbourne +by her husband. + +Constantia found in this lady nothing that called for reverence or +admiration, though she could not deny her some portion of esteem. The +impression which her own appearance and conversation made upon her +entertainer was much more powerful and favourable. A consciousness of +her own worth, and disdain of the malevolence of fortune, perpetually +shone forth in her behaviour. It was modelled by a sort of mean between +presumption on the one hand, and humility on the other. She claimed no +more than what was justly due to her, but she claimed no less. She did +not soothe our vanity nor fascinate our pity by diffident reserves and +fluttering. Neither did she disgust by arrogant negligence, and +uncircumspect loquacity. + +At parting she received commissions in the way of her profession, which +supplied her with abundant and profitable employment. She abridged her +visit on her father's account, and parted from her new friend just early +enough to avoid meeting with Ormond, who entered the house a few minutes +after she had left it. + +"What pity," said Melbourne to him, "you did not come a little sooner. +You pretend to be a judge of beauty. I should like to have heard your +opinion of a face that has just left us." + +"Describe it," said the other. + +"That is beyond my capacity. Complexion, and hair, and eyebrows may be +painted, but these are of no great value in the present case. It is in +the putting them together that nature has here shown her skill, and not +in the structure of each of the parts, individually considered. Perhaps +you may at some time meet each other here. If a lofty fellow like you, +now, would mix a little common sense with his science, this girl might +hope for a husband, and her father for a natural protector." + +"Are they ill search of one or the other?" + +"I cannot say they are. Nay, I imagine they would hear any imputation +with more patience than that, but certain I am, they stand in need of +them. How much would it be to the honour of a man like you rioting in +wealth, to divide it with one, lovely and accomplished as this girl is, +and struggling with indigence!" + +Melbourne then related the adventure of the morning. It was easy for +Ormond to perceive that this was the same person of whom he already had +some knowledge; but there were some particulars in the narrative that +excited surprise. A note had been received from Craig, at the first +visit in the evening, and this note was for no more than fifty dollars. +This did not exactly tally with the information received from Craig. But +this note was forged. Might not this girl mix a little imposture with +her truth? Who knows her temptations to hypocrisy? It might have been a +present from another quarter, and accompanied with no very honourable +conditions. Exquisite wretch! Those whom honesty will not let live must +be knaves. Such is the alternative offered by the wisdom of society. + +He listened to the tale with apparent indifference. He speedily shifted +the conversation to new topics, and put an end to his visit sooner than +ordinary. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +I know no task more arduous than a just delineation of the character of +Ormond. To scrutinize and ascertain our own principles is abundantly +difficult. To exhibit these principles to the world with absolute +sincerity can hardly be expected. We are prompted to conceal and to +feign by a thousand motives; but truly to portray the motives, and +relate the actions of another, appears utterly impossible. The attempt, +however, if made with fidelity and diligence, is not without its use. + +To comprehend the whole truth with regard to the character and conduct +of another, may be denied to any human being, but different observers +will have, in their pictures, a greater or less portion of this truth. +No representation will be wholly false, and some, though not perfectly, +may yet be considerably exempt from error. + +Ormond was of all mankind the being most difficult and most deserving to +be studied. A fortunate concurrence of incidents has unveiled his +actions to me with more distinctness than to any other. My knowledge is +far from being absolute, but I am conscious of a kind of duty, first to +my friend, and secondly to mankind, to impart the knowledge I possess. + +I shall omit to mention the means by which I became acquainted with his +character, nor shall I enter, at this time, into every part of it. His +political projects are likely to possess an extensive influence on the +future condition of this western world. I do not conceive myself +authorized to communicate a knowledge of his schemes, which I gained, in +some sort, surreptitiously, or at least, by means of which he was not +apprised. I shall merely explain the maxims by which he was accustomed +to regulate his private deportment. + +No one could entertain loftier conceptions of human capacity than +Ormond, but he carefully distinguished between men in the abstract, and +men as they are. The former were beings to be impelled, by the breath of +accident, in a right or a wrong road, but whatever direction they should +receive, it was the property of their nature to persist in it. Now this +impulse had been given. No single being could rectify the error. It was +the business of the wise man to form a just estimate of things, but not +to attempt, by individual efforts, so chimerical an enterprise as that +of promoting the happiness of mankind. Their condition was out of the +reach of a member of a corrupt society to control. A mortal poison +pervaded the whole system, by means of which every thing received was +converted into bane and purulence. Efforts designed to ameliorate the +condition of an individual were sure of answering a contrary purpose. +The principles of the social machine must be rectified, before men can +be beneficially active. Our motives may be neutral or beneficent, but +our actions tend merely to the production of evil. + +The idea of total forbearance was not less delusive. Man could not be +otherwise than a cause of perpetual operation and efficacy. He was part +of a machine, and as such had not power to withhold his agency. +Contiguousness to other parts, that is, to other men, was all that was +necessary to render him a powerful concurrent. What then was the conduct +incumbent on him? Whether he went forward, or stood still, whether his +motives were malignant, or kind, or indifferent, the mass of evil was +equally and necessarily augmented. It did not follow from these +preliminaries that virtue and duty were terms without a meaning, but +they require us to promote our own happiness and not the happiness of +others. Not because the former end is intrinsically preferable, not +because the happiness of others is unworthy of primary consideration, +but because it is not to be attained. Our power in the present state of +things is subjected to certain limits. A man may reasonably hope to +accomplish his end when he proposes nothing but his own good: any other +point is inaccessible. + +He must not part with benevolent desire: this is a constituent of +happiness. He sees the value of general and particular felicity; he +sometimes paints it to his fancy, but if this be rarely done, it is in +consequence of virtuous sensibility, which is afflicted on observing +that his pictures are reversed in the real state of mankind. A wise man +will relinquish the pursuit of general benefit, but not the desire of +that benefit, or the perception of that in which this benefit consists, +because these are among the ingredients of virtue and the sources of +his happiness. + +Principles, in the looser sense of that term, have little influence on +practice. Ormond was, for the most part, governed, like others, by the +influences of education and present circumstances. It required a +vigilant discernment to distinguish whether the stream of his actions +flowed from one or the other. His income was large, and he managed it +nearly on the same principles as other men. He thought himself entitled +to all the splendour and ease which it would purchase, but his taste was +elaborate and correct. He gratified his love of the beautiful, because +the sensations it afforded were pleasing, but made no sacrifices to the +love of distinction. He gave no expensive entertainments for the sake of +exciting the admiration of stupid gazers, or the flattery or envy of +those who shared them. Pompous equipage and retinue were modes of +appropriating the esteem of mankind which he held in profound contempt. +The garb of his attendants was fashioned after the model suggested by +his imagination, and not in compliance with the dictates of custom. + +He treated with systematic negligence the etiquette that regulates the +intercourse of persons of a certain class. He every where acted, in this +respect, as if he were alone, or among familiar associates. The very +appellations of Sir, and Madam, and Mister, were, in his apprehension, +servile and ridiculous, and as custom or law had annexed no penalty to +the neglect of these, he conformed to his own opinions. It was easier +for him to reduce his notions of equality to practice than for most +others. To level himself with others was an act of condescension and not +of arrogance. It was of requisite to descend rather than to risk,--a +task the most easy, if we regard the obstacle flowing from the prejudice +of mankind, but far most difficult if the motive of the agent be +considered. + +That in which he chiefly placed his boast, was his sincerity. To this he +refused no sacrifice. In consequence of this, his deportment was +disgusting to weak minds, by a certain air of ferocity and haughty +negligence. He was without the attractions of candour, because he +regarded not the happiness of others, but in subservience to his +sincerity. Hence it was natural to suppose that the character of this +man was easily understood. He affected to conceal nothing. No one +appeared more exempt from the instigations of vanity. He set light by +the good opinions of others, had no compassion for their prejudices and +hazarded assertions in their presence which he knew would be, in the +highest degree, shocking to their previous notions. They might take it, +he would say, as they list. Such were his conceptions, and the last +thing he would give up was the use of his tongue. It was his way to give +utterance to the suggestions of his understanding. If they were +disadvantageous to him, the opinions of others, it was well. He did not +want to be regarded in any light but the true one. He was contented to +be rated by the world at his just value. If they esteemed him for +qualities which he did not possess, was he wrong in rectifying their +mistake: but in reality, if they valued him for that to which he had no +claim, and which he himself considered as contemptible, he must +naturally desire to show them their error, and forfeit that praise +which, in his own opinion, was a badge of infamy. + +In listening to his discourse, no one's claim to sincerity appeared less +questionable. A somewhat different conclusion would be suggested by a +survey of his actions. In early youth he discovered in himself a +remarkable facility in imitating the voice and gestures of others. His +memory was eloquently retentive, and these qualities would have rendered +his career, in the theatrical profession, illustrious, had not his +condition raised him above it. His talents were occasionally exerted for +the entertainment of convivial parties and private circles, but he +gradually withdrew from such scenes as he advanced in age, and devoted +his abilities to higher purposes. + +His aversion to duplicity had flowed from experience of its evils. He +had frequently been made its victim; inconsequence of this his temper +had become suspicious, and he was apt to impute deceit on occasions when +others, of no inconsiderable sagacity, were abundantly disposed to +confidence. One transaction had occurred in his life, in which the +consequences of being misled by false appearances were of the utmost +moment to his honour and safety. The usual mode of salving his doubt he +deeded insufficient, and the eagerness of his curiosity tempted him, +for, the first time, to employ, for this end, his talent at imitation. +He therefore assumed a borrowed character and guise, and performed his +part with so much skill as fully to accomplish life design. He whose +mask would have secured him from all other attempts, was thus taken +through an avenue which his caution had overlooked, and the hypocrisy of +his pretensions unquestionably ascertained. + +Perhaps, in a comprehensive view, the success of this expedient was +unfortunate. It served to recommend this method of encountering deceit, +and informed him of the extent of those powers which are so liable to be +abused. A subtlety much inferior to Ormond would suffice to recommend +this mode of action. It was defensible on no other principle than +necessity. The treachery of mankind compelled him to resort to it. If +they should deal in a manner as upright and explicit as himself, it +would be superfluous. But since they were in the perpetual use of +stratagems and artifices, it was allowable, he thought, to wield the +same arms. + +It was easy to perceive, however, that this practice was recommended to +him by other considerations. He was delighted with the power it +conferred. It enabled him to gain access, as if by supernatural means, +to the privacy of others, and baffle their profoundest contrivances to +hide themselves from his view. It flattered him with the possession of +something like omniscience. It was besides an art, in which, as in +others, every accession of skill was a source of new gratification. +Compared with this, the performance of the actor is the sport of +children. This profession he was accustomed to treat with merciless +ridicule, and no doubt some of his contempt arose from a secret +comparison between the theatrical species of imitation and his own. He +blended in his own person the functions of poet and actor, and his +dramas were not fictitious but real. The end that he proposed was not +the amusement of a playhouse mob. His were scenes in which hope and fear +exercised a genuine influence, and in which was maintained that +resemblance to truth so audaciously and grossly violated on the stage. + +It is obvious how many singular conjunctures must have grown out of this +propensity. A mind of uncommon energy like Ormond's, which had occupied +a wide sphere of action, and which could not fail of confederating its +efforts with those of minds like itself, must have given birth to +innumerable incidents, not unworthy to be exhibited by the most eloquent +historian. It is not my business to relate any of these. The fate of +Miss Dudley is intimately connected with him. What influence he obtained +over her destiny, in consequence of this dexterity, will appear in the +sequel. + +It arose from these circumstances, that no one was more impenetrable +than Ormond, though no one's real character seemed more easily +discerned. The projects that occupied his attention were diffused over +an ample space; and his instruments and coadjutors were culled from a +field, whose bounds were those of the civilized world. To the vulgar +eye, therefore, he appeared a man of speculation and seclusion, and was +equally inscrutable in his real and assumed characters. In his real, his +intents were too lofty and comprehensive, as well as too assiduously +shrouded from profane inspection for them to scan. In the latter, +appearances were merely calculated to mislead and not to enlighten. + +In his youth he had been guilty of the usual excesses incident to his +age and character. These had disappeared and yielded place to a more +regular and circumspect system of action. In the choice of his pleasures +he still exposed himself to the censure of the world. Yet there was more +of grossness and licentiousness in the expression of his tenets, than +in the tenets themselves. So far as temporance regards the maintenance +of health, no man adhered to its precepts with more fidelity, but he +esteemed some species of connection with the other sex as venial, which +mankind in general are vehement in condemning. + +In his intercourse with women he deemed himself superior to the +allurements of what is called love. His inferences were drawn from a +consideration of the physical propensities of a human being. In his +scale of enjoyments the gratifications which belonged to these were +placed at the bottom. Yet he did not entirely disdain them, and when +they could be purchased without the sacrifice of superior advantages, +they were sufficiently acceptable. + +His mistake on this head was the result of his ignorance. He had not +hitherto met with a female worthy of his confidence. Their views were +limited and superficial, or their understandings were betrayed by the +tenderness of their hearts. He found in them no intellectual energy, no +superiority to what he accounted vulgar prejudice, and no affinity with +the sentiments which he cherished with most devotion. Their presence had +been capable of exciting no emotion which he did not quickly discover to +be vague and sensual; and the uniformity of his experience at length +instilled into him a belief, that the intellectual constitution of +females was essentially defective. He denied the reality of that passion +which claimed a similitude or sympathy of minds as one of its +ingredients. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +He resided in New York some time before he took up his abode in +Philadelphia. He had some pecuniary concerns with a merchant of that +place. He occasionally frequented his house, finding, in the society +which it afforded him, scope for amusing speculation, and opportunities +of gaining a species of knowledge of which at that time he stood in +need. There was one daughter of the family, who of course constituted a +member of the domestic circle. + +Helena Cleves was endowed with every feminine and fascinating quality. +Her features were modified by the most transient sentiments, and were +the seat of a softness at all times blushful and bewitching. All those +graces of symmetry, smoothness, and lustre, which assemble in the +imagination of the painter when he calls from the bosom of her natal +deep the Paphian divinity, blended their perfections in the shape, +complexion, and hair of this lady. Her voice was naturally thrilling and +melodious, and her utterance clear and distinct. A musical education had +added to all these advantages the improvements of art, and no one could +swim in the dance with such airy and transporting elegance. + +It is obvious to inquire whether her mental were, in any degree, on a +level with her exterior accomplishments. Should you listen to her talk, +you would be liable to be deceived in this respect. Her utterance was so +just, her phrases so happy, and her language so copious and correct, +that the hearer was apt to be impressed with an ardent veneration of her +abilities, but the truth is, she was calculated to excite emotions more +voluptuous than dignified. Her presence produced a trance of the senses +rather than an illumination of the soul. It was a topic of wonder how +she should have so carefully separated the husk from the kernel, and he +so absolute a mistress of the vehicle of knowledge, with so slender +means of supplying it: yet it is difficult to judge but from comparison. +To say that Helena Cleves was silly or ignorant would be hatefully +unjust. Her understanding bore no disadvantageous comparison with that +of the majority of her sex; but when placed in competition with that of +some eminent females or of Ormond, it was exposed to the risk of +contempt. + +This lady and Ormond were exposed to mutual examination. The latter was +not unaffected by the radiance that environed this girl, but her true +character was easily discovered, and he was accustomed to regard her +merely as an object charming to the senses. His attention to her was +dictated by this principle. When she sung or talked, it was not +unworthy of the strongest mind to be captivated with her music and her +elocution: but these were the limits which he set to his gratifications. +That sensations of a different kind never ruffled his tranquillity must +not be supposed, but he too accurately estimated their consequences to +permit himself to indulge them. + +Unhappily the lady did not exercise equal fortitude. During a certain +interval Ormond's visits were frequent, and the insensibly contracted +for him somewhat more than reverence. The tenor of his discourse was +little adapted to cherish her hopes. In the declaration of his opinions +he was never withheld by scruples of decorum, or a selfish regard to his +own interest. His matrimonial tenets were harsh and repulsive. A woman +of keener penetration would have predicted from them the disappointment +of her wishes, but Helena's mind was uninured to the discussion of +logical points and the tracing of remote consequences. His presence +inspired feelings which would not permit her to bestow an impartial +attention on his arguments. It is not enough to say that his reasonings +failed to convince her: the combined influence of passion, and an +unenlightened understanding hindered her from fully comprehending them. +All she gathered was a vague conception of something magnificent and +vast in his character. + +Helena was destined to experience the vicissitudes of fortune. Her +father died suddenly and left her without provision. She was compelled +to accept the invitations of a kinswoman, and live, in some sort, a life +of dependence. She was not qualified to sustain this reverse of fortune +in a graceful manner. She could not bear the diminution of her customary +indulgences, and to these privations were added the inquietudes of a +passion which now began to look with an aspect of hopelessness. + +These events happened in the absence of Ormond. On his return he made +himself acquainted with them. He saw the extent of this misfortune to a +woman of Helena's character, but knew not in what manner it might be +effectually obviated. He esteemed it incumbent on him to pay her a visit +in her new abode. This token at least of respect or remembrance his duty +appeared to prescribe. + +This visit was unexpected by the lady. Surprise is the enemy of +concealment. She was oppressed with a sense of her desolate situation. +She was sitting in her own apartment in a museful posture. Her fancy was +occupied with the image of Ormond, and her tears were flowing at the +thought of their eternal separation, when he entered softly and +unperceived by her. A tap upon the shoulder was the first signal of his +presence. So critical an interview could not fail of unveiling the true +state of the lady's heart. Ormond's suspicions were excited, and these +suspicions speedily led to an explanation. + +Ormond retired to ruminate on this discovery. I have already mentioned +his sentiments respecting love. His feelings relative to Helena did not +contradict his principles, yet the image which had formerly been +exquisite in loveliness had now suddenly gained unspeakable attractions. +This discovery had set the question in a new light. It was of sufficient +importance to make him deliberate. He reasoned somewhat in the following +manner:-- + +"Marriage is absurd. This flows from the general and incurable +imperfection of the female character. No woman can possess that worth +which would induce me to enter into this contract, and bind myself, +without power of revoking the decree, to her society. This opinion may +possibly be erroneous, but it is undoubtedly true with respect to +Helena, and the uncertainty of the position in general will increase +the necessity of caution in the present case. That woman may exist whom +I should not fear to espouse. This is not her. Some accident may cause +our meeting. Shall I then disable myself, by an irrevocable obligation, +from profiting by so auspicious an occurrence?" + +This girl's society was to be enjoyed in one of two ways. Should he +consult his inclination there was little room for doubt. He had never +met with one more highly qualified for that species of intercourse which +he esteemed rational. No man more abhorred the votaries of +licentiousness. Nothing was more detectable to him than a mercenary +alliance. Personal fidelity and the existence of that passion of which +he had, in the present case, the good fortune to be the object, were +indispensable in his scheme. The union was indebted for its value on the +voluntariness with which it was formed, and the entire acquiescence of +the judgement of both parties in its rectitude. Dissimulation and +artifice were wholly foreign to the success of his project. If the lady +thought proper to assent to his proposal, it was well. She did so +because assent was more eligible than refusal. + +She would, no doubt, prefer marriage. She would deem it more conducive +to happiness. This was an error. This was an opinion, his reasons for +which he was at liberty to state to her; at least it was justifiable in +refusing to subject himself to loathsome and impracticable obligations. +Certain inconveniences attended women who set aside, on these occasions, +the sanction of law; but these were imaginary. They owed their force to +the errors of the sufferer. To annihilate them, it was only necessary to +reason justly; but allowing these inconveniences their full weight and +an indestructible existence, it was but a choice of evils. Were they +worse in this lady's apprehension than an eternal and hopeless +separation? Perhaps they were. If so, she would make her election +accordingly. He did nothing but lay the conditions before her. If his +scheme should obtain the concurrence of her unbiased judgement he should +rejoice. If not, her conduct should be influenced by him. Whatever way +she should decide, he would assist her in adhering to her decision, but +would, meanwhile, furnish her with the materials of a right decision. + +This determination was singular. Many will regard it as incredible. No +man it will be thought can put this deception on himself, and imagine +that there was genuine beneficence in a scheme like this. Would the lady +more consult her happiness by adopting than by rejecting it? There can +be but one answer. It cannot be supposed that Ormond, in stating this +proposal, acted with all the impartiality that he pretended; that he did +not employ fallacious exaggerations and ambiguous expedients; that he +did not seize every opportunity of triumphing over her weakness, and +building his success rather on the illusions of her heart than the +convictions of her understanding. His conclusions were specious but +delusive, and were not uninfluenced by improper biases; but of this he +himself was scarcely conscious, and it must be at least admitted that he +acted with scrupulous sincerity. + +An uncommon degree of skill was required to introduce this topic so as +to avoid the imputation of an insult. This scheme was little in unison +with all her preconceived notions. No doubt the irksomeness of her +present situation, the allurements of luxury and ease which Ormond had +to bestow, and the revival of her ancient independence and security, had +some share in dictating her assent. + +Her concurrence was by no means cordial and unhesitating. Remorse and +the sense of dishonour pursued her to her retreat, though chosen with a +view of shunning their intrusions; and it was only when the reasonings +and blandishments of her lover were exhibited, that she was lulled into +temporary tranquillity. + +She removed to Philadelphia. Here she enjoyed all the consolations of +opulence. She was mistress of a small but elegant mansion. She possessed +all the means of solitary amusement, and frequently enjoyed the company +of Ormond. These however were insufficient to render her happy. Certain +reflections might, for a time, be repressed as divested of their sting, +but they insinuated themselves at every interval, and imparted to her +mind a hue of rejection from which she could not entirely relieve +herself. + +She endeavoured to acquire a relish for the pursuits of literature, by +which her lonely hours might be cheered; but of this, even in the +blithsomeness and serenity of her former days, she was incapable; +--much more so now when she was the prey of perpetual inquietude. Ormond +perceived this change, not without uneasiness. All his efforts to +reconcile her to her present situation were fruitless. They produced a +momentary effect upon her. The softness of her temper and her attachment +to him would, at his bidding, restore her to vivacity and ease, but the +illumination seldom endured longer than his presence and the novelty of +some amusement with which he had furnished her. + +At his next visit, perhaps, he would find that a new task awaited him. +She indulged herself in no recriminations or invectives. She could not +complain that her lover had deceived her. She had voluntarily and +deliberately accepted the conditions prescribed. She regarded her own +disposition to repine as a species of injustice. She laid no claim to an +increase of tenderness. She hinted not a wish for a change of situation; +yet she was unhappy. Tears stole into her eyes, and her thoughts +wandered into gloomy reverie, at moments when least aware of their +reproach, and least willing to indulge them. + +Was a change to be desired? Yes; provided that change was equally +agreeable to Ormond, and should be seriously proposed by him: of this +she had no hope. As long as his accents rung in her ears, she even +doubted whether it were to be wished. At any rate, it was impossible to +gain his approbation to it. Her destiny was fixed. It was better than +the cessation of all intercourse, yet her heart was a stranger to all +permanent tranquillity. + +Her manners were artless and ingenuous. In company with Ormond her heart +was perfectly unveiled. He was her divinity, to whom every sentiment was +visible, and to whom she spontaneously uttered what she thought, because +the employment was pleasing; because he listened with apparent +satisfaction; and because, in fine, it was the same thing to speak and +to think in his presence. There was no inducement to conceal from him +the most evanescent and fugitive ideas. + +Ormond was not an inattentive or indifferent spectator of those +appearances. His friend was unhappy. She shrunk aghast from her own +reproaches and the censure of the world. This morbid sensibility he had +endeavoured to cure, but hitherto in vain. What was the amount of her +unhappiness? Her spirits had formerly been gay; but her gaiety was +capable of yielding place to soul-ravishing and solemn tenderness, after +sedateness was, at those times, the offspring not of reflection but of +passion. There still remained much of her former self. He was seldom +permitted to witness more than the traces of sorrow. In answer to his +inquiries, she, for the most part, described sensations that were gone, +and which she flattered herself and him would never return; but this +hope was always doomed to disappointment. Solitude infallibly conjured +up the ghost which had been laid, and it was plain that argument was no +adequate remedy for this disease. + +How far would time alleviate its evils? When the novelty of her +condition should disappear, would she not regard it with other eyes? By +being familiar with contempt, it will lose its sting; but is that to be +wished? Must not the character be thoroughly depraved before the scorn +of our neighbours shall become indifferent? Indifference, flowing from a +sense of justice, and a persuasion that our treatment is unmerited, is +characteristic of the noblest minds; but indifference to obloquy, +because we are habituated to it is a token of peculiar baseness. This, +therefore, was a remedy to be ardently deprecated. + +He had egregiously overrated the influence of truth and his own +influence. He had hoped that his victory was permanent. In order to the +success of truth, he was apt to imagine that nothing was needful but +opportunities for a complete exhibition of it. They that inquire and +reason with sufficient deliberateness and caution must inevitably +accomplish their end. These maxims were confuted in the present case. He +had formed no advantageous conceptions of Helena's capacity. His +aversion to matrimony arose from those conceptions; but experience had +shown him that his conclusions, unfavourable as they were, had fallen +short of the truth. Convictions, which he had conceived her mind to be +sufficiently strong to receive and retain, were proved to have made no +other than a momentary impression. Hence his objections to ally himself +to a mind inferior to his own were strengthened rather than diminished. +But he could not endure the thought of being instrumental to her +misery. + +Marriage was an efficacious remedy, but he could not as yet bring +himself to regard the aptitude of this cure as a subject of doubt. The +idea of separation sometimes occurred to him. He was not unapprehensive +of the influence of time and absence in curing the most vehement +passion, but to this expedient the lady could not be reconciled. He knew +her too well to believe that she would willingly adopt it. But the only +obstacle to this scheme did not flow from the lady's opposition. He +would probably have found upon experiment as strong an aversion to adopt +it in himself as in her. + +It was easy to see the motives by which he would be likely to be swayed +into a change of principles. If marriage were the only remedy, the +frequent repetition of this truth must bring him insensibly to doubt the +rectitude of his determinations against it. He deeply reflected on the +consequences which marriage involves. He scrutinised with the utmost +accuracy the character of his friend, and surveyed it in all its parts. +Inclination could not fail of having some influence on his opinions. The +charms of this favourite object tended to impair the clearness of his +view, and extenuate or conceal her defects. He entered on the +enumeration of her errors with reluctance. Her happiness, had it been +wholly disconnected with his own, might have had less weight in the +balance, but now, every time the scales were suspended, this +consideration acquired new weight. + +Most men are influenced in the formation of this contract, by regards +purely physical. They are incapable of higher views. They regard with +indifference every tie that binds them to their contemporaries, or to +posterity. Mind has no part in the motives that guide them. They choose +a wife as they choose any household movable, and when the irritation of +the senses has subsided, the attachment that remains is the offspring +of habit. + +Such were not Ormond's modes of thinking. His creed was of too +extraordinary a kind not to merit explication. The terms of this +contract were, in his eyes, iniquitous and absurd. He could not think +with patience of a promise which no time could annul, which pretended to +ascertain contingencies and regulate the future. To forego the liberty +of choosing his companion, and bind himself to associate with one whom +he despised; to raise to his own level whom nature had irretrievably +degraded; to avow and persist in his adherence to a falsehood, palpable +and loathsome to his understanding; to affirm that he was blind, when in +full possession of his senses; to shut his eyes and grope in the dark, +and call upon the compassion of mankind on his infirmity, when his +organs were in no degree impaired, and the scene around him was luminous +and beautiful,--was an height of infatuation that he could never +attain. And why should he be thus self-degraded? Why should he take a +laborious circuit to reach a point which, when attained, was trivial, +and to which reason had pointed out a road short and direct? + +A wife is generally nothing more than a household superintendent. This +function could not be more wisely vested than it was at present. Every +thing in his domestic system was fashioned on strict and inflexible +principles. He wanted instruments and not partakers of his +authority,--one whose mind was equal and not superior to the cogent +apprehension and punctual performance of his will; one whose character +was squared with mathematical exactness, to his situation. Helena, with +all her faults, did not merit to be regarded in this light. Her +introduction would destroy the harmony of his scheme, and be, with +respect to herself, a genuine debasement. A genuine evil would thus be +substituted for one that was purely imaginary. + +Helena's intellectual deficiencies could not be concealed. She was a +proficient in the elements of no science. The doctrine of lines and +surfaces was as disproportionate with her intellects as with those of +the mock-bird. She had not reasoned on the principles of human action, +nor examined the structure of society. She was ignorant of the past or +present condition of mankind. History had not informed her of the one, +nor the narratives of voyagers, nor the deductions of geography of the +other. The heights of eloquence and poetry were shut out from her view. +She could not commune in their native dialect with the sages of Rome and +Athens. To her those perennial fountains of wisdom and refinement were +sealed. The constitution of nature, the attributes of its author, the +arrangement of the parts of the external universe, and the substance, +modes of operation, and ultimate destiny of human intelligence, were +enigmas unsolved and insoluble by her. + +But this was not all. The superstructure could for the present be +spared. Nay, it was desirable that the province of rearing it should be +reserved for him. All he wanted was a suitable foundation; but this +Helena did not possess. He had not hitherto been able to create in her +the inclination or the power. She had listened to his precepts with +docility. She had diligently conned the lessons which he had prescribed, +but the impressions were as fleeting as if they had been made on water. +Nature seemed to have set impassable limits to her attainments. + +This indeed was an unwelcome belief. He struggled to invalidate it. He +reflected on the immaturity of her age. What but crude and hasty views +was it reasonable to expect at so early a period? If her mind had not +been awakened, it had proceeded, perhaps from the injudiciousness of +his plans, or merely from their not having been persisted in. What was +wanting but the ornaments of mind to render this being all that poets +have feigned of angelic nature? When he indulged himself in imaging the +union of capacious understanding with her personal loveliness, his +conceptions swelled to a pitch of enthusiasm, and it seemed as if no +labour was too great to be employed in the production of such a +creature. And yet, in the midst of his glowings, he would sink into +sudden dejection at the recollection of that which passion had, for a +time, excluded. To make her wise it would be requisite to change her +sex. He had forgotten that his pupil was a female, and her capacity +therefore limited by nature. This mortifying thought was outbalanced by +nature. Her attainments, indeed, were suitable to the imbecility of her +sex; but did she not surpass in those attainments, the ordinary rate of +women? They must not be condemned, because they are outshone by +qualities that are necessarily male births. + +Her accomplishments formed a much more attractive theme. He overlooked +no article in the catalogue. He was confounded at one time, and +encouraged at another, on remarking the contradictions that seemed to be +included in her character. It was difficult to conceive the +impossibility of passing that barrier which yet she was able to touch. +She was no poet. She listened to the rehearsal without emotion, or was +moved, not by the substance of the passage, by the dazzling image, or +the magic sympathy, but by something adscititious; yet, usher her upon +the stage, and no poet could wish for a more powerful organ of his +conceptions. In assuming this office, she appeared to have drank in the +very soul of the dramatist. What was wanting in judgement was supplied +by memory, in the tenaciousness of which she has seldom been rivalled. + +Her sentiments were trite and undigested, but were decorated with all +the fluences and melodies of elocution. Her musical instructor had been +a Sicilian, who had formed her style after the Italian model. This man +had likewise taught her his own language. He had supplied her chiefly +with Sicilian compositions, both in poetry and melody, and was content +to be unclassical, for the sake of the feminine and voluptuous graces of +his native dialect. + +Ormond was an accurate judge of the proficiency of Helena, and of the +felicity with which these accomplishments were suited to her character. +When his pupil personated the victims of anger and grief, and poured +forth the fiery indignation of Calista, or the maternal despair of +Constantia, or the self-contentions of Ipsipile, he could not deny the +homage which her talents might claim. + +Her Sicilian tutor had found her no less tractable as a votary of +painting. She needed only the education of Angelica to exercise as +potent and prolific a pencil. This was incompatible with her condition, +which limited her attainments to the element of this art. It was +otherwise with music. Here there was no obstacle to skill, and here the +assiduities of many years in addition to a prompt and ardent genius, set +her beyond the hopes of rivalship. + +Ormond had often amused his fancy with calling up images of excellences +in this art. He saw no bounds to the influence of habit, in augmenting +the speed and multiplying the divisions of muscular motion. The fingers, +by their form and size, were qualified to outrun and elude the most +vigilant eye. The sensibility of keys and wires had limits; but these +limits depended on the structure of the instrument, and the perfection +of its structure was proportioned to the skill of the artist. On +well-constructed keys and strings, was it possible to carry diversities +of movement and pressure too far? How far they could be carried was mere +theme of conjecture, until it was his fate to listen to the magical +performances of Helena, whose volant finger seemed to be self-impelled. +Her touches were creative of a thousand forms of _piano_, and of +numberless transitions from grave to quick, perceptible only to ears +like her own. + +In the selection and arrangement of notes there are no limits to +luxuriance and celerity. Helena had long relinquished the drudgery of +imitation. She never played but when there were motives to fervour, and +when she was likely to ascend without impediment, and to maintain for a +suitable period her elevation, to the element of new ideas. The lyrics +of Milton and of Metastasio she sung with accompaniments that never +tired, because they were never repeated. Her harp and clavichord +supplied her with endless combinations, and these, in the opinion of +Ormond, were not inferior to the happiest exertions of Handel and Arne. + +Chess was his favourite amusement. This was the only game which he +allowed himself to play. He had studied it with so much zeal and +success, that there were few with whom he deigned to contend. He was +prone to consider it as a sort of criterion of human capacity. He who +had acquired skill in this _science_ could not be infirm in mind; and +yet he found in Helena a competitor not unworthy of all his energies. +Many hours were consumed in this employment, and here the lady was +sedate, considerate, extensive in foresight, and fertile in expedients. + +Her deportment was graceful, inasmuch as it flowed from a consciousness +of her defects. She was devoid of arrogance and vanity, neither +imagining herself better than she was, and setting light by those +qualifications which she unquestionably possessed. Such was the mixed +character of this woman. + +Ormond was occupied with schemes of a rugged and arduous nature. His +intimate associates and the partakers of his confidence were imbued with +the same zeal and ardent in the same pursuits. Helena could lay no claim +to be exalted to this rank. That one destitute of this claim should +enjoy the privileges of his wife was still a supposition truly +monstrous. Yet the image of Helena, fondly loving him, and a model as he +conceived of tenderness and constancy, devoured by secret remorse, and +pursued by the scorn of mankind,--a mark for slander to shoot at, and an +outcast of society,--did not visit his meditations in vain. The rigour +of his principles began now to relent. + +He considered that various occupations are incident to every man. He +cannot be invariably employed in the promotion of one purpose. He must +occasionally unbend, if he desires that the springs of his mind should +retain their full vigour. Suppose his life were divided between business +and amusement. This was a necessary distribution, and sufficiently +congenial with his temper. It became him to select with skill his +sources of amusement. It is true that Helena was unable to participate +in his graver occupations: what then? In whom were blended so many +pleasurable attributes? In her were assembled an exquisite and delicious +variety. As it was, he was daily in her company. He should scarcely be +more so if marriage should take place. In that case, no change in their +mode of life would be necessary. There was no need of dwelling under the +same roof. His revenue was equal to the support of many household +establishments. His personal independence would remain equally +inviolable. No time, he thought, would diminish his influence over the +mind of Helena, and it was not to be forgotten that the transition would +to her be happy. It would reinstate her in the esteem of the world, and +dispel those phantoms of remorse and shame by which she was at present +persecuted. + +These were plausible considerations. They tended at least to shake his +resolutions. Time would probably have completed the conquest of his +pride, had not a new incident set the question in a new light. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +The narrative of Melbourne made a deeper impression on the mind of his +guest than was at first apparent. This man's conduct was directed by the +present impulse; and, however elaborate his abstract notions, he seldom +stopped to settle the agreement between his principles and actions. The +use of money was a science like every other branch of benevolence, not +reducible to any fixed principles. No man, in the disbursement of money, +could say whether he was conferring a benefit or injury. The visible and +immediate effects might be good, but evil was its ultimate and general +tendency. To be governed by a view to the present rather than the future +was a human infirmity from which he did not pretend to be exempt. This, +though an insufficient apology for the conduct of a rational being, was +suitable to his indolence, and he was content in all cases to employ it. +It was thus that he reconciled himself to beneficent acts, and +humourously held himself up as an object of censure, on occasions when +most entitled to applause. + +He easily procured information as to the character and situation of the +Dudleys. Neighbours are always inquisitive, and happily, in this case, +were enabled to make no unfavourable report. He resolved without +hesitation to supply their wants. This he performed in a manner truly +characteristic. There was a method of gaining access to families, and +marking them in their unguarded attitudes, more easy and effectual than +any other: it required least preparation and cost least pains; the +disguise, also, was of the most impenetrable kind. He had served a sort +of occasional apprenticeship to the art, and executed its functions with +perfect ease. It was the most entire and grotesque metamorphosis +imaginable. It was stepping from the highest to the lowest rank in +society, and shifting himself into a form as remote from his own as +those recorded by Ovid. In a word, it was sometimes his practice to +exchange his complexion and habiliments for those of a negro and a +chimney-sweep, and to call at certain doors for employment. This he +generally secured by importunities, and the cheapness of his services. + +When the loftiness of his port, and the punctiliousness of his nicety +were considered, we should never have believed--what yet could be truly +asserted--that he had frequently swept his own chimneys, without the +knowledge of his own servants.[1] It was likewise true, though equally +incredible, that he had played at romps with his scullion, and listened +with patience to a thousand slanders on his own character. + +[1] Similar exploits are related of Count de la Lippe and +Wortley Montague. + +In this disguise he visited the house of Mr. Dudley. It was nine o'clock +in the morning. He remarked with critical eyes, the minutest +circumstance in the appearance and demeanour of his customers, and +glanced curiously at the house and furniture. Every thing was new and +every thing pleased. The walls, though broken into roughness by +carelessness or time, were adorned with glistening white. The floor, +though loose and uneven, and with gaping seams, had received all the +improvements which cloth and brush could give. The pine tables, rush +chairs, and uncurtained bed, had been purchased at half price, at +vendue, and exhibited various tokens of decay; but care and neatness and +order were displayed in their condition and arrangement. + +The lower apartment was the eating and sitting room. It was likewise +Mr. Dudley's bed chamber. The upper room was occupied by Constantia and +Lucy. Ormond viewed every thing with the accuracy of an artist, and +carried away with him a catalogue of every thing visible. The faded form +of Mr. Dudley, that still retained its dignity, the sedateness, graceful +condescension, and personal elegance of Constantia, were new to the +apprehension of Ormond. The contrast between the house and its +inhabitants rendered the appearance more striking. When he had finished +his task he retired, but returning in a quarter of an hour, he presented +a letter to the young lady. He behaved as if by no means desirous of +eluding her interrogatories, and, when she desired him to stay, readily +complied. The letter, unsigned, and without superscription, was to this +effect:-- + +"The writer of this is acquainted with the transaction between Thomas +Craig and Mr. Dudley. The former is debtor to Mr. Dudley in a large +sum. I have undertaken to pay as much of this debt, and at such times, +as suits my convenience. I have had pecuniary engagements with Craig. I +hold myself, in the sum enclosed, discharging so much of his debt. The +future payments are uncertain, but I hope they will contribute to +relieve the necessities of Mr. Dudley." + +Ormond had calculated the amount of what would be necessary for the +annual subsistence of this family on the present frugal plan. He had +regulated his disbursements accordingly. + +It was natural to feel curiosity as to the writer of this epistle. The +bearer displayed a prompt and talkative disposition. He had a staring +eye and a grin of vivacity forever at command. When questioned by +Constantia, he answered that the gentleman had forbidden him to mention +his name or the place where he lived. Had he ever met with the same +person before? O yes. He had lived with him from a child. His mother +lived with him still, and his brothers. His master had nothing for him +to do at home, so he sent him out sweeping chimneys, taking from him +only half the money that he earned that way. He was a very good master. + +"Then the gentleman had been a long time in the city?" + +"O yes. All his life he reckoned. Ho used to live in Walnut Street, but +now he's moved down town." Here he checked himself, and added,--"But I +forgets. I must not tell where he livest. He told me I must'nt." + +"He has a family and children, I suppose?" + +"O yes. Why, don't you know Miss Hetty and Miss Betsy? There again! I +was going to tell the name, that he said I must not tell." + +Constantia saw that the secret might be easily discovered, but she +forbore. She disdained to take advantage of this messenger's imagined +simplicity. She dismissed him with some small addition to his demand, +and with a promise always to employ him in this way. + +By this mode Ormond had effectually concealed himself. The lady's +conjectures, founded on this delusive information, necessarily wandered +widely from the truth. The observations that he had made during this +visit afforded his mind considerable employment. The manner in which +this lady had sustained so cruel a reverse of fortune, the cheerfulness +with which she appeared to forego all the gratifications of affluence, +the skill with which she selected her path of humble industry, and the +steadiness with which she pursued it, were proofs of a moral +constitution, from which he supposed the female sex to be debarred. The +comparison was obvious between Constantia and Helena, and the result was +by no means advantageous to the latter. Was it possible that such a one +descended to the level of her father's apprentice? That she sacrificed +her honour to a wretch like that? This reflection tended to repress the +inclination he would otherwise have felt for cultivating her society, +but it did not indispose him to benefit her in a certain way. + +On his next visit to his "Bella Siciliana," as he called her, he +questioned her as to the need in which she might stand of the services +of a seamstress; and being informed that they were sometimes wanted, he +recommended Miss Acworth to her patronage. He said that he had heard her +spoken of in favourable terms by the gossips at Melbourne's. They +represented her as a good girl, slenderly provided for, and he wished +that Helena would prefer her to all others. + +His recommendation was sufficient. The wishes of Ormond, as soon as they +became known, became hers. Her temper made her always diligent in search +of novelty. It was easy to make work for the needle. In short, she +resolved to send for her the next day. The interview accordingly took +place on the ensuing morning, not without mutual surprise, and, on the +part of the fair Sicilian, not without considerable embarrassment. + +This circumstance arose from their having changed their respective +names, though from motives of a very different kind. They were not +strangers to each other, though no intimacy had ever subsisted between +them. Each was merely acquainted with the name, person, and general +character of the other. No circumstance in Constantia's situation tended +to embarrass her. Her mind had attained a state of serene composure, +incapable of being ruffled by an incident of this kind. She merely +derived pleasure from the sight of her old acquaintance. The aspect of +things around her was splendid and gay. She seemed the mistress of the +mansion, and her name was changed. Hence it was unavoidable to conclude +that she was married. + +Helena was conscious that appearances were calculated to suggest this +conclusion. The idea was a painful one. She sorrowed to think that this +conclusion was fallacious. The consciousness that her true condition was +unknown to her visitant, and the ignominiousness of that truth, gave an +air of constraint to her behaviour, which Constantia ascribed to a +principle of delicacy. + +In the midst of reflections relative to herself, she admitted some share +of surprise at the discovery of Constantia in a situation so inferior to +that in which she had formerly known her. She had heard, in general +terms of the misfortunes of Mr Dudley, but was unacquainted with +particulars; but this surprise, and the difficulty of adapting her +behaviour to circumstances, was only in part the source of her +embarrassment, though by her companion it was wholly attributed to this +cause. Constantia thought it her duty to remove it by open and +unaffected manners. She therefore said, in a sedate and cheerful tone, +"You see me, Madam, in a situation somewhat unlike that in which I +formerly was placed. You will probably regard the change as an unhappy +one; but, I assure you, I have found it far less so than I expected. I +am thus reduced not by my own fault. It is this reflection that enables +me to conform to it without a murmur. I shall rejoice to know that Mrs. +Eden is as happy as I am." + +Helena was pleased with this address, and returned an answer full of +sweetness. She had not in her compassion for the fallen, a particle of +pride. She thought of nothing but the contrast between the former +situation of her visitant and the present. The fame of her great +qualities had formerly excited veneration, and that reverence was by no +means diminished by a nearer scrutiny. The consciousness of her own +frailty meanwhile diffused over the behaviour of Helena a timidity and +dubiousness uncommonly fascinating. She solicited Constantia's +friendship in a manner that showed she was afraid of nothing but denial. +An assent was eagerly given, and thenceforth a cordial intercourse was +established between them. + +The real situation of Helena was easily discovered. The officious person +who communicated this information, at the same time cautioned Constantia +against associating with one of tainted reputation. This information +threw some light upon appearances. It accounted for that melancholy +which Helena was unable to conceal. It explained that solitude in which +she lived, and which Constantia had ascribed to the death or absence of +her husband. It justified the solicitous silence she had hitherto +maintained respecting her own affairs, and which her friend's good sense +forbade her to employ any sinister means of eluding. + +No long time was necessary to make her mistress of Helena's character. +She loved her with uncommon warmth, though by no means blind to her +defects. She formed no expectations from the knowledge of her character, +to which this intelligence operated as a disappointment. It merely +excited her pity, and made her thoughtful how she might assist her in +repairing this deplorable error. + +This design was of no ordinary magnitude. She saw that it was previously +necessary to obtain the confidence of Helena. This was a task of easy +performance. She knew the purity of her own motives and the extent of +her powers, and embarked in this undertaking with full confidence of +success. She had only to profit by a private interview, to acquaint her +friend with what she knew, to solicit a complete and satisfactory +disclosure, to explain the impressions which her intelligence produced, +and to offer her disinterested advice. No one knew better how to couch +her ideas in words suitable to the end proposed by her in imparting +them. + +Helena was at first terrified, but the benevolence of her friend quickly +entitled her to confidence and gratitude that knew no limits. She had +been deterred from unveiling her heart by the fear of exciting contempt +or abhorrence; but when she found that all due allowances were +made,--that her conduct was treated as erroneous in no atrocious or +inexpiable degree, and as far front being insusceptible of remedy,--that +the obloquy with which she had been treated found no vindicator or +participator in her friend, her heart was considerably relieved. She had +been long a stranger to the sympathy and intercourse of her own sex. Now +this good, in its most precious form, was conferred upon her, and she +experienced an increase rather than diminution of tenderness, in +consequence of her true situation being known. + +She made no secret of any part of her history. She did full justice to +the integrity of her lover, and explained the unforced conditions on +which she had consented to live with him. This relation exhibited the +character of Ormond in a very uncommon light. His asperities wounded, +and his sternness chilled. What unauthorised conceptions of matrimonial +and political equality did he entertain! He had fashioned his treatment +of Helena on sullen and ferocious principles. Yet he was able, it +seemed, to mould her, by means of them, nearly into the creature that he +wished. She knew too little of the man justly to estimate his character. +It remained to be ascertained whether his purposes were consistent and +upright, or were those of a villain and betrayer. + +Meanwhile what was to be done by Helena? Marriage had been refused op +plausible pretences. Her unenlightened understanding made her no match +for her lover. She would never maintain her claim to nuptial privileges +in his presence, or, if she did, she would never convince him of their +validity. + +Were they indeed valid? Was not the disparity between them incurable? A +marriage of minds so dissimilar could only be productive of misery +immediately to him, and, by a reflex operation, to herself. She could +not be happy in a union that was the source of regret to her husband. +Marriage, therefore, was not possible, or if possible, was not, perhaps, +to be wished. But what was the choice that remained? + +To continue in her present situation was not to be endured. Disgrace was +a dæmon that would blast every hope of happiness. She was excluded from +all society but that of the depraved. Her situation was eminently +critical. It depended, perhaps, on the resolution she should now form +whether she would be enrolled among the worst of mankind. Infamy is the +worst of evils. It creates innumerable obstructions in the paths of +virtue. It manacles the hand, and entangles the feet that are active +only to good. To the weak it is an evil of much greater magnitude. It +determines their destiny; and they hasten to merit that reproach, which, +at first it may be, they did not deserve. + +This connection is intrinsically flagitious. Helena is subjected by it +to the worst ills that are incident to humanity, the general contempt of +mankind, and the reproaches of her own conscience. From these there is +but one method from which she can hope to be relieved. The intercourse +must cease. + +It wad easier to see the propriety of separation, than to project means +for accomplishing it. It was true that Helena loved; but what quarter +was due to this passion when divorced from integrity? Is it not in every +bosom a perishable sentiment? Whatever be her warmth, absence will +congeal it. Place her in new scenes, and supply her with new associates. +Her accomplishments will not fail to attract votaries. From these she +may select a conjugal companion suitable to her mediocrity of talents. + +But alas! what power on earth can prevail on her to renounce Ormond? +Others may justly entertain this prospect, but it must be invisible to +her. Besides, is it absolutely certain that either her peace of mind or +her reputation will be restored by this means? In the opinion of the +world her offences cannot, by any perseverance in penitence, be +expiated. She will never believe that separation will exterminate +her passion. Certain it is that it will avail nothing to the +re-establishment of her fame. But if it were conducive to these ends, +how chimerical to suppose that she will ever voluntarily adopt it! If +Ormond refuse his concurrence, there is absolutely an end to hope. And +what power on earth is able to sway his determinations? At least, what +influence was it possible for her to obtain over them? + +Should they separate, whither should she retire? What mode of +subsistence should she adopt? She has never been accustomed to think +beyond the day. She has eaten and drank, but another has provided the +means. She scarcely comprehends the principle that governs the world, +and in consequence of which nothing can be gained but by giving +something in exchange for it. She is ignorant and helpless as a child, +on every topic that relates to the procuring of subsistence. Her +education has disabled her from standing alone. + +But this was not all. She must not only be supplied by others, but +sustained in the enjoyment of a luxurious existence. Would you bereave +her of the gratifications of opulence? You had better take away her +life. Nay, it would ultimately amount to this. She can live but in one +way. + +At present she is lovely, and, to a certain degree, innocent; but expose +her to the urgencies and temptations of want, let personal pollution be +the price set upon the voluptuous affluences of her present condition, +and it is to be feared there is nothing in the contexture of her mind to +hinder her from making the purchase. In every respect therefore the +prospect was an hopeless one,--so hopeless, that her mind insensibly +returned to the question which she had at first dismissed with very +slight examination,--the question relative to the advantages and +probabilities of marriage. A more accurate review convinced her that +this was the most eligible alternative. It was, likewise, most easily +effected. The lady, of course, would be its fervent advocate. There did +not want reasons why Ormond should finally embrace it. In what manner +appeals to his reason of his passion might most effectually be made she +knew not. + +Helena was not qualified to be her own advocate. Her unhappiness could +not but be visible to Ormond. He had shown himself attentive and +affectionate. Was it impossible that, in time, he should reason himself +into a spontaneous adoption of this scheme? This, indeed, was a slender +foundation for hope, but there was no other on which she could build. + +Such were the meditations of Constantia on this topic. She was deeply +solicitous for the happiness of her friend. They spent much of their +time together. The consolations of her society were earnestly sought by +Helena; but to enjoy them, she was for the most part obliged to visit +the former at her own dwelling. For this arrangement, Constantia +apologized by saying, "You will pardon my requesting you to favour me +with your visits, rather than allowing you mine. Every thing is airy +and brilliant within these walls. There is, besides, an air of seclusion +and security about you that is delightful. In comparison, my dwelling is +bleak, comfortless, and unretired, but my father is entitled to all my +care. His infirmity prevents him from amusing himself, and his heart is +cheered by the mere sound of my voice, though not addressed to him. The +mere belief of my presence seems to operate as an antidote to the +dreariness of solitude; and, now you know my motives, I am sure you will +not only forgive but approve of my request." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +When once the subject had been introduced, Helena was prone to descant +upon her own situation, and listened with deference to the remarks and +admonitions of her companion. Constantia did not conceal from her any of +her sentiments. She enabled her to view her own condition in its true +light, and set before her the indispensable advantages of marriage, +while she, at the same time, afforded her the best directions as to the +conduct she ought to pursue in order to effect her purpose. + +The mind of Helena was thus kept in a state of perpetual and uneasy +fluctuation. While absent from Ormond, or listening to her friend's +remonstrances, the deplorableness of her condition arose in its most +disastrous hues before her imagination. But the spectre seldom failed +to vanish at the approach of Ormond. His voice dissipated every +inquietude. + +She was not insensible of this inconstancy. She perceived and lamented +her own weakness. She was destitute of all confidence in her own +exertions. She could not be in the perpetual enjoyment of his company. +Her intervals of tranquillity, therefore, were short, while those of +anxiety and dejection were insupportably tedious. She revered, but +believed herself incapable to emulate the magnanimity of her monitor. +The consciousness of inferiority, especially in a case like this, in +which her happiness so much depended on her own exertions, excited in +her the most humiliating sensations. + +While indulging in fruitless melancholy, the thought one day occurred to +her, why may not Constantia be prevailed upon to plead my cause? Her +capacity and courage are equal to any undertaking. The reasonings that +are so powerful in my eyes, would they he trivial and futile in those of +Ormond? I cannot have a more pathetic and disinterested advocate. + +This idea was cherished with uncommon ardour. She seized the first +opportunity that offered itself to impart it to her friend. It was a +wild and singular proposal, and was rejected at the first glance. This +scheme, so romantic and impracticable as it at first seemed, appeared to +Helena in the most plausible colours. She could not bear to relinquish +her new-born hopes. She saw no valid objection to it. Every thing was +easy to her friend, provided her sense of duty and her zeal could be +awakened. The subject was frequently suggested to Constantia's +reflections. Perceiving the sanguineness of her friend's confidence, and +fully impressed with the value of the end to be accomplished, she +insensibly veered to the same opinion. At least the scheme was worthy +of a candid discussion before it was rejected. + +Ormond was a stranger to her. His manners were repulsive and austere. +She was a mere girl. Her personal attachment to Helena was all that she +could plead in excuse for taking part in her concerns. The subject was +delicate. A blunt and irregular character like Ormond might throw an air +of ridicule over the scene. She shrunk from the encounter of a +boisterous and manlike spirit. + +But were not these scruples effeminate and puerile? Had she studied so +long in the school of adversity, without conviction of the duty of a +virtuous independence? Was she not a rational being, fully imbued with +the justice of her cause? Was it not ignoble to refuse the province of a +vindicator of the injured, before any tribunal, however tremendous or +unjust? And who was Ormond, that his eye should inspire terror? + +The father or brother of Helena might assume the office without +indecorum. Nay, a mother or sister might not be debarred from it. Why +then should she, who was actuated by equal zeal, and was engaged, by +ties stronger than consanguinity, in the promotion of her friend's +happiness. It is true she did not view the subject in the light in which +it was commonly viewed by brothers and parents. It was not a gust of +rage that should transport her into his presence. She did not go to +awaken his slumbering conscience, and to abash him in the pride of +guilty triumph, but to rectify deliberate errors, and to change his +course by the change of his principles. It was her business to point out +to him the road of duty and happiness, from which he had strayed with no +sinister intentions. This was to be done without raving and fury; but +with amicable soberness, and in the way of calm and rational +remonstrance. Yet, there were scruples that would not be shut out, and +continually whispered to her, "What an office is this for a girl and a +stranger to assume!" + +In what manner should it be performed? Should an interview be sought, +and her ideas be explained without confusion or faltering, undismayed by +ludicrous airs or insolent frowns. But this was a point to be examined. +Was Ormond capable of such behaviour? If he were, it would be useless to +attempt the reformation of his errors. Such a man is incurable and +obdurate. Such a man is not to be sought as the husband of Helena; but +this, surely, is a different being. + +The medium through which she had viewed his character was an ample one, +but might not be very accurate. The treatment which Helena had received +from him, exclusive of his fundamental error, betokened a mind to which +she did not disdain to be allied. In spite of his defects, she saw that +their elements were more congenial, and the points of contact between +this person and herself more numerous than between her and Helena, whose +voluptuous sweetness of temper, and mediocrity of understanding excited +in her bosom no genuine sympathy. + +Every thing is progressive in the human mind. When there is leisure to +reflect, ideas will succeed each other in a long train, before the +ultimate point be gained. The attention must shift from one side to the +other of a given question many times before it settles. Constantia did +not form her resolutions in haste; but when once formed, they were +exempt from fluctuation. She reflected before she acted, and therefore +acted with consistency and vigour. She did not apprize her friend of her +intention. She was willing that she should benefit by her interposition, +before she knew it was employed. + +She sent her Lucy with a note to Ormond's house. It was couched in these +terms:-- + + "Constantia Dudley requests an interview with Mr. Ormond. Her + business being of some moment, she wishes him to name an hour when + most disengaged." + +An answer was immediately returned that at three o'clock, in the +afternoon, he should be glad to see her. + +This message produced no small surprise in Ormond. He had not withdrawn +his notice from Constantia, and had marked, with curiosity and +approbation, the progress of the connexion between the two women. The +impressions which he had received from the report of Helena were not +dissimilar to those which Constantia had imbibed, from the same quarter, +respecting himself; but he gathered from them no suspicion of the +purpose of a visit. He recollected his connection with Craig. This lady +had had an opportunity of knowing that some connection subsisted between +them. He concluded that some information or inquiry respecting Craig +might occasion this event. As it was, it gave him considerable +satisfaction. It would enable him more closely to examine one, with +respect to whom he entertained great curiosity. + +Ormond's conjecture was partly right. Constantia did not forget her +having traced Craig to this habitation. She designed to profit by the +occasion which this circumstance afforded her, of making some inquiry +respecting Craig, in order to introduce, by suitable degrees, a more +important subject. + +The appointed hour having arrived, he received her in his drawing-room. +He knew what was due to his guest. He loved to mortify, by his +negligence, the pride of his equals and superiors, but a lower class had +nothing to fear from his insolence. Constantia took the seat that was +offered to her, without speaking. She had made suitable preparations for +this interview, and her composure was invincible. The manners of her +host were by no means calculated to disconcert her. His air was +conciliating and attentive. + +She began with naming Craig, as one known to Ormond, and desired to be +informed of his place of abode. She was proceeding to apologise for this +request, by explaining, in general terms, that her father's infirmities +prevented him from acting for himself, that Craig was his debtor to a +large amount, that he stood in need of all that justly belonged to him, +and was in pursuit of some means of tracing Craig to his retreat. Ormond +interrupted her, examining, at the same time, with a vigilance somewhat +too unsparing, the effects which his words should produce upon her:-- + +"You may spare yourself the trouble of explaining. I am acquainted with +the whole affair between Craig and your family. He has concealed from me +nothing. I know _all_ that has passed between you." + +In saying this, Ormond intended that his looks and emphasis should +convey his full meaning. In the style of her comments he saw none of +those corroborating symptoms that he expected:-- + +"Indeed! He has been very liberal of his confidence. Confession is a +token of penitence; but, alas! I fear he has deceived you. To be sincere +was doubtless his true interest, but he is too much in the habit of +judging superficially. If he has told you all, there is, indeed, no need +of explanation. This visit is, in that case, sufficiently accounted for. +Is it in your power, Sir, to inform us whither he has gone?" + +"For what end should I tell you? I promise you you will not follow him. +Take my word for it, he is totally unworthy of you. Let the past be no +precedent for the future. If you have not made that discovery yourself, +I have made it for you. I expect at least to be thanked for my trouble." + +This speech was unintelligible to Constantia. Her looks betokened a +perplexity unmingled with fear or shame. + +"It is my way," continued he, "to say what I think. I care little for +consequences. I have said that I know _all_. This will excuse me for +being perfectly explicit. That I am mistaken is very possible; but I am +inclined to place that matter beyond the reach of a doubt. Listen to me, +and confirm me in the opinion I have already formed of your good sense, +by viewing, in a just light, the unreservedness with which you are +treated. I have something to tell, which, if you are wise, you will not +be offended at my telling so roundly. On the contrary you will thank me, +and perceive that my conduct is a proof of my respect for you. The +person whom you met here is named Craig, but, as he tells me, is not the +man you look for. This man's brother--the partner, of your father, and, +as he assured me, your own accepted and illicitly-gratified lover--is +dead." + +These words were uttered without any extenuating hesitation or +depression of tone. On the contrary, the most offensive terms were drawn +out in the most deliberate and emphatic manner. Constantia's cheeks +glowed, and her eyes sparkled with indignation, but she forbore to +interrupt. The looks with which she listened to the remainder of the +speech showed that she fully comprehended the scene, and enabled him to +comprehend it. He proceeded:-- + +"This man is a brother of that. Their resemblance in figure occasioned +your mistake. Your father's debtor died, it seems, on his arrival at +Jamaica. There he met with this brother, and bequeathed to him his +property and papers. Some of these papers are in my possession. They are +letters from Constantia Dudley, and are parts of an intrigue, which, +considering the character of the man, was not much to her honour. Such +was this man's narrative told to me some time before your meeting with +him at his house. I have right to judge in this affair; that is, I have +a right to my opinion. If I mistake, (and I half suspect myself,) you +are able, perhaps, to rectify my error; and in a case like this +doubtless you will not want the inclination." + +Perhaps if the countenance of this man had not been characterized by the +keenest intelligence, and a sort of careless and overflowing good-will, +this speech might have produced different effects. She was prepared, +though imperfectly, for entering into his character. He waited for an +answer, which she gave without emotion:-- + +"You were deceived. I am sorry for your own sake that you are. He must +have had some end in view, in imposing these falsehoods upon you, which +perhaps they have enabled him to accomplish. As to myself, this man can +do me no injury. I willingly make you my judge. The letters you speak of +will alone suffice to my vindication. They never were received from me, +and are forgeries. That man always persisted till he made himself the +dupe of his own artifices. That incident in his plot, on the +introduction of which he probably the most applauded himself, will most +powerfully operate to defeat it. + +"Those letters never were received from me, and are forgeries. His skill +in imitation extended no farther in the present case than my +handwriting. My model of thinking and expression were beyond the reach +of his mimicry." + +When she had finished, Osmond spent a moment in ruminating. "I perceive +you are right," said he. "I suppose he has purloined from me two hundred +guineas, which I entrusted to his fidelity. And yet I received a letter; +but that may likewise be a forgery. By my soul," continued he, in a tone +that had more of satisfaction than disappointment in it, "this fellow +was an adept at his trade. I do not repine. I have bought the +exhibition at a cheap rate. The pains that he took did not merit a less +recompense. I am glad that he was contented with so little. Had he +persisted he might have raised the price far above its value. 'Twill be +lamentable if he receive more than he stipulated for,--if, in his last +purchase, the gallows should be thrown into the bargain. May he have the +wisdom to see that a halter, though not included in his terms, is only a +new instance of his good fortune! But his cunning will hardly carry him +thus far. His stupidity will, no doubt, prefer a lingering to a sudden +exit. + +"But this man and his destiny are trifles. Let us leave them to +themselves. Your name is Constantia. 'Twas given you, I suppose, that +you might be known by it. Pr'ythee, Constantia was this the only purpose +that brought you hither? If it were, it has received as ample a +discussion as it merits. You _came_ for this end, but will remain, I +hope, for a better one. Haying dismissed Craig and his plots, let us now +talk of each other." + +"I confess," said the lady, with an hesitation she could not subdue, +"this was not my only purpose. One much more important has produced this +visit." + +"Indeed! pray let me know it. I am glad that so trivial an object as +Craig did not occupy the first place in your thoughts. Proceed, I +beseech you." + +"It is a subject on which I cannot enter without hesitation,--a +hesitation unworthy of me." + +"Stop," cried Ormond, rising and touching the bell; "nothing like time +to make a conquest of embarrassment. We will defer this conference six +minutes, just while we eat our dinner." + +At the same moment a servant entered, with two plates and the usual +apparatus for dinner. On seeing this she rose, in some hurry, to +depart:--"I thought, sir, you were disengaged? I call at some other +hour." + +He seized her hand, and held her from going, but with an air by no means +disrespectful. "Nay," said he, "what is it that scares you away? Are you +terrified at the mention of victuals? You must have fasted long when it +comes to that. I told you true. I am disengaged, but not from the +obligation of eating and drinking. No doubt _you_ have dined. No reason +why _I_ should go without my dinner. If you do not choose to partake +with me, so much the better. Your temperance ought to dispense with two +meals in an hour. Be a looker-on; or, if that will not do, retire into +my library, where in six minutes, I will be with you, and lend you my +aid in the arduous task of telling me what you came with an intention of +telling." + +This singular address disconcerted and abashed her. She was contented to +follow the servant silently into an adjoining apartment. Here she +reflected with no small surprise on the behaviour of this man. Though +ruffled, she was not heartily displeased with it. She had scarcely time +to collect herself, when he entered. He immediately seated her, and +himself opposite to her. He fixed his eyes without scruple on her face. +His gaze was steadfast, but not insolent or oppressive. He surveyed her +with the looks with which he would have eyed a charming portrait. His +attention was occupied with what he saw, as that of an artist is +occupied when viewing a madonna of Rafaello. At length he broke +silence:-- + +"At dinner I was busy in thinking what it was you had to disclose. I +will not fatigue you with my guesses. They would he impertinent, as long +as the truth is going to be disclosed." He paused, and then +continued:--"But I see you cannot dispense with my aid. Perhaps your +business relates to Helena. She has done wrong, and you wish me to +rebuke the girl." + +Constantia profited by this opening, and said, "Yes, she has done wrong. +It is true my business relates to her. I came hither as a suppliant in +her behalf. Will you not assist her in recovering the path from which +she has deviated? She left it from confiding more in the judgement of +her guide than her own. There is one method of repairing the evil. It +lies with you to repair that evil." + +During this address the gaiety of Ormond disappeared. He fixed his eyes +on Constantia with new and even pathetic earnestness. "I guessed as +much," said he. I have often been deceived in my judgement of +characters. Perhaps I do not comprehend yours. Yet it is not little that +I have heard respecting you. Something I have seen. I begin to suspect a +material error in my theory of human nature. Happy will it be for Helena +if my suspicions be groundless. + +"You are Helena's friend. Be mine also, and advise me. Shall I marry +this girl or not? You know on what terms we live. Are they suitable to +our respective characters? Shall I wed this girl, or shall things remain +as they are? + +"I have an irreconcilable aversion to a sad brow and a sick bed. Helena +is grieved, because her neighbours sneer and point at her. So far she is +a fool; but that is a folly of which she never will be cured. Marriage, +it seems, will set all right. Answer me, Constantia, shall I marry?" + +There was something in the tone, but more in the tenor of this address +that startled her. There was nothing in this man but what came upon her +unaware. This sudden effusion of confidence was particularly unexpected +and embarrassing. She scarcely knew whether to regard it as serious or a +jest. On observing her indisposed to speak, he continued:-- + +"Away with these impertinent circuities and scruples. I know your +meaning. Why should I pretend ignorance, and put you to the trouble of +explanation? You came hither with no other view than to exact this +question, and furnish an answer. Why should not we come at once to the +point? I have for some time been dubious on this head. There is +something wanting to determine the balance. If you have that something, +throw it into the proper scale. + +"You err if you think this manner of addressing you is wild or improper. +This girl is the subject of discourse. If she was not to be so, why did +you favour me with this visit? You have sought me, and introduced +yourself. I have, in like manner, overlooked ordinary forms,--a +negligence that has been systematic with me, but, in the present case, +particularly justifiable by your example. Shame upon you, presumptuous +girl, to suppose yourself the only rational being among mankind. And +yet, if you thought so, why did you thus unceremoniously intrude upon my +retirements? This act is of a piece with the rest. It shows you to be +one whose existence I did not believe possible. + +"Take care. You know not what you have done. You came hither as Helena's +friend. Perhaps time may show that in this visit you have performed the +behest of her bitterest enemy. But that is out of season. This girl is +our mutual property. You are her friend; I am her lover. Her happiness +is precious in my eyes and in yours. To the rest of mankind she is a +noisome weed that cannot be shunned too cautiously, nor trampled on too +much. If we forsake her, infamy, that is now kept at bay, will seize +upon her, and, while it mangles her form, will tear from her her +innocence. She has no arms with which to contend against that foe. +Marriage will place her at once in security. Shall it be? You have an +exact knowledge of her strength and her weakness. Of me you know little. +Perhaps, before that question can be satisfactorily answered, it is +requisite to know the qualities of her husband. Be my character +henceforth the subject of your study. I will furnish you with all the +light in my power. Be not hasty in deciding; but, when your decision is +formed, let me know it." He waited for an answer, which she, at length, +summoned resolution enough to give:-- + +"You have come to the chief point which I had in view in making this +visit. To say truth, I came hither to remonstrate with you on +withholding that which Helena may justly claim from you. Her happiness +will be unquestionably restored, and increased by it. Yours will not be +impaired. Matrimony will not produce any essential change in your +situation. It will produce no greater or different intercourse than now +exists. Helena is on the brink of a gulf which I shudder to look upon. +I believe that you will not injure yourself by snatching her from it. I +am sure that you will confer an inexpressible benefit upon her. Let me +then persuade you to do her and yourself justice." + +"No persuasion," said Ormond, after recovering from a fit of +thoughtfulness, "is needful for this end: I only want to be convinced. +You have decided, but, I fear hastily. By what inscrutable influences +are our steps guided! Come, proceed in your exhortations. Argue with the +utmost clearness and cogency. Arm yourself with all the irresistibles of +eloquence. Yet you are building nothing. You are only demolishing. Your +argument is one thing. Its tendency is another; and is the reverse of +all you expect and desire. My assent will be refused with an obstinacy +proportioned to the force that you exert to obtain it, and to the just +application of that force." + +"I see," replied the lady, smiling and leaving her seat, "you can talk +in riddles, as well as other people. This visit has been too long. I +shall, indeed, be sorry, if my interference, instead of serving my +friend, has injured her. I have acted an uncommon, and, as it may seem, +an ambiguous part. I shall be contented with construing my motives in my +own way. I wish you a good evening." + +"'Tis false," cried he, sternly, "you do not wish it!" + +"How?" exclaimed the astonished Constantia. + +"I will put your sincerity to the test. Allow me to spend this evening +in your company; then it will be well spent, and I shall believe your +wishes sincere. Else," continued he, changing his affected austerity +into a smile, "Constantia is a liar." + +"You are a singular man. I hardly know how to understand you." + +"Well. Words are made to carry meanings. You shall have them in +abundance. Your house is your citadel. I will not enter it without +leave. Permit me to visit it when I please. But that is too much. It is +more than I would allow you. When will you permit me to visit you?" + +"I cannot answer when I do not understand. You clothe your thoughts in a +garb so uncouth, that I know not in what light they are to be viewed." + +"Well, now, I thought you understood my language, and were an +Englishwoman, but I will use another. Shall I have the honour" (bowing +with a courtly air of supplication) "of occasionally paying my respects +to you at your own dwelling? It would be cruel to condemn those who have +the happiness of knowing Miss Dudley, to fashionable restraints. At what +hour will she be least incommoded by a visitant?" + +"I am as little pleased with formalities," replied the lady, "as you +are. My friends I cannot see too often. They need to consult merely +their own convenience. Those who are not my friends I cannot see too +seldom. You have only to establish your title to that name, and your +welcome at all times is sure. Till then you must not look for it." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Here ended this conference. She had by no means suspected the manner in +which it would be conducted. All punctilios were trampled under foot by +the impetuosity of Ormond. Things were, at once, and without delay, +placed upon a certain footing. The point, which ordinary persons would +have employed months in attaining, was reached in a moment. While these +incidents were fresh in her memory, they were accompanied with a sort of +trepidation, the offspring at once of pleasure and surprise. + +Ormond had not deceived her expectations; but hearsay and personal +examination, however uniform their testimony may be, produce a very +different impression. In her present reflections, Helena and her lover +approached to the front of the stage, and were viewed with equal +perspicuity. One consequence of this was, that their characters were +more powerfully contrasted with each other, and the eligibility of +marriage appeared not quite so incontestable as before. + +Was not equality implied in this compact? Marriage is an instrument of +pleasure or pain in proportion as this equality is more or less. What +but the fascination of his senses is it that ties Ormond to Helena. Is +this a basis en which marriage may properly be built? + +If things had not gone thus far, the impropriety of marriage could not +be doubted; but, at present, there is a choice of evils, and that may +now be desirable which at a former period, and in different +circumstances, would have been clearly otherwise. + +The evils of the present connection are known; those of marriage are +future and contingent. Helena cannot be the object of a genuine and +lasting passion; another may; this is not merely possible; nothing is +more likely to happen. This event, therefore, ought to be included in +our calculation. There would be a material deficiency without it. What +was the amount of the misery that would in this case ensue? + +Constantia was qualified, beyond most others, to form an adequate +conception of this misery. One of the ingredients in her character was a +mild and steadfast enthusiasm. Her sensibilities to social pleasure, and +her conceptions of the benefits to flow from the conformity and +concurrence of intentions and wishes, heightening and refining the +sensual passion, were exquisite. + +There, indeed, were evils, the foresight of which tended to prevent +them; but was there wisdom in creating obstacles in the way of a +suitable alliance. Before we act, we must consider not only the misery +produced, but the happiness precluded by our measures. + +In no case, perhaps, is the decision of a human being impartial, or +totally uninfluenced by sinister and selfish motives. If Constantia +surpassed others, it was not because her motives were pure, but because +they possessed more of purity than those of others. Sinister +considerations flow in upon us through imperceptible channels, and +modify our thoughts in numberless ways, without our being truly +conscious of their presence. Constantia was young, and her heart was +open at a thousand pores, to the love of excellence. The image of Ormond +occupied the chief place in her fancy, and was endowed with attractive +and venerable qualities. A bias was hence created that swayed her +thoughts, though she knew not that they were swayed. To this might +justly be imputed some part of that reluctance which she now felt to +give Ormond to Helena. But this was not sufficient to turn the scale. +That which had previously mounted was indeed heavier than before; but +this addition did not enable it to outweigh its opposite. Marriage was +still the best upon the whole; but her heart was tortured to think that, +best as it was, it abounded with so many evils. + +On the evening of the next day, Ormond entered, with careless +abruptness, Constantia's sitting-apartment. He was introduced to her +father. A general and unrestrained conversation immediately took place. +Ormond addressed Mr. Dudley with the familiarity of an old acquaintance. +In three minutes, all embarrassment was discarded. The lady and her +visitant were accurate observers of each other. In the remarks of the +latter, (and his vein was an abundant one) there was a freedom and +originality altogether new to his hearers. In his easiest and +sprightliest sallies were tokens of a mind habituated to profound and +extensive views. His associations were forced on a comprehensive scale. + +He pretended to nothing, and studied the concealments of ambiguity more +in reality than in appearance. Constantia, however, discovered a +sufficient resemblance between their theories of virtue and duty. The +difference between them lay in the inferences arbitrarily deduced, and +in which two persons may vary without end, and yet never be repugnant. +Constantia delighted her companions by the facility with which she +entered into his meaning, the sagacity she displayed in drawing out his +hints, circumscribing his conjectures, and thwarting or qualifying his +maxims. The scene was generally replete with ardour and contention, and +yet the impression left on the mind of Ormond was full of harmony. Her +discourse tended to rouse him from his lethargy, to furnish him with +powerful excitements; and the time spent in her company seemed like a +doubling of existence. + +The comparison could not but suggest itself between this scene and that +exhibited by Helena. With the latter, voluptuous blandishments, musical +prattle, and silent but expressive homage, composed a banquet delicious +fur awhile, but whose sweetness now began to pall upon his taste. It +supplied him with no new ideas, and hindered him, by the lulling +sensations it inspired, from profiting by his former acquisitions. +Helena was beautiful. Apply the scale, and not a member was found +inelegantly disposed, or negligently moulded. Not a curve that was +blemished by an angle or ruffled by asperities. The irradiations of her +eyes were able to dissolve the knottiest fibres, and their azure was +serene beyond any that nature had elsewhere exhibited. Over the rest of +her form the glistening and rosy hues were diffused with prodigal +luxuriance, and mingled in endless and wanton variety. Yet this image +had fewer attractions even to the senses than that of Constantia. So +great is the difference between forms animated by different degrees of +intelligence. + +The interviews of Ormond and Constantia grew more frequent. The progress +which they made in acknowledgement of each other was rapid. Two +positions, that were favourite ones with him, were quickly subverted. He +was suddenly changed, from being one of the calumniators of the female +sex, to one of its warmest eulogists. This was a point on which +Constantia had ever been a vigorous disputant; but her arguments, in +their direct tendency, would never have made a convert of this man. +Their force, intrinsically considered, was nothing. He drew his +conclusions from incidental circumstances. Her reasonings might be +fallacious or valid, but they were composed, arranged, and delivered, +were drawn from such sources, and accompanied with such illustrations, +as plainly testified a manlike energy in the reasoner. In this indirect +and circuitous way her point was unanswerably established. + +"Your reasoning is bad," he would say: "every one of your conclusions is +false. Not a single allegation but may be easily confuted; and yet I +allow that your position is incontrovertibly proved by them. How +bewildered is that man who never thinks for himself! who rejects a +principle merely because the arguments brought in support of it are +insufficient! I must not reject the truth because another has +unjustifiably adopted it. I want to reach a certain hill-top. Another +has reached it before me, but the ladder he used is too weak to bear me. +What then? Am I to stay below on that account? No; I have only to +construct one suitable to the purpose, and of strength sufficient." + +A second maxim had never been confuted till now. It inculcated the +insignificance and hollowness of love. No pleasure he thought was to be +despised for its own sake. Every thing was good in its place, but +amorous gratifications were to be degraded to the bottom of the +catalogue. The enjoyments of music and landscape were of a much higher +order. Epicurism itself was entitled to more respect. Love, in itself, +was in his opinion of little worth, and only of importance as the source +of the most terrible of intellectual maladies. Sexual sensations +associating themselves, in a certain way, with our ideas, beget a +disease, which has, indeed, found no place in the catalogue, but is a +case of more entire subversion and confusion of mind than any other. The +victim is callous to the sentiments of honour and shame, insensible to +the most palpable distinctions of right and wrong, a systematic opponent +of testimony and obstinate perverter of truth. + +Ormond was partly right. Madness like death can be averted by no +foresight or previous contrivance; This probably is one of its +characteristics. He that witnesses its influence on another with most +horror, and most fervently deprecates its ravages, is not therefore more +safe. This circumstance was realized in the history of Ormond. + +This infatuation, if it may so be called, was gradual in its progress. +The sensations which Helena was now able to excite were of a new kind. +Her power was not merely weakened, but her endeavours counteracted their +own end. Her fondness was rejected with disdain, or borne with +reluctance. The lady was not slow in perceiving this change. The stroke +of death would have been more acceptable. His own reflections were too +tormenting to make him willing to discuss them in words. He was not +aware of the effects produced by this change in his demeanour, till +informed of it by herself. + +One evening he displayed symptoms of uncommon dissatisfaction. Her +tenderness was unable to dispel it. He complained of want of sleep. This +afforded a hint which she drew forth in one of her enchanting ditties. +Habit had almost conferred upon her the power of spontaneous poesy, and, +while she pressed his forehead to her bosom, she warbled forth a strain +airy and exuberant in numbers, tender and ecstatic in its imagery:-- + + Sleep, extend thy downy pinion + Hasten from thy cell with speed; + Spread around thy soft dominion; + Much those brows thy balmy presence need. + + Wave thy wand of slumberous power, + Moistened in Lethean dews, + To charm the busy spirits of the hour, + And brighten memory's malignant hues. + + Thy mantle, dark and starless, cast + Over my selected youth; + Bury in thy womb the mournful past, + And soften with thy dreams th' asperities of truth. + + The changeful hues of his impassioned sleep, + My office it shall be to watch the while; + With thee, my love, when fancy prompts, to weep, + And when thou smil'st, to smile. + + But sleep! I charge thee, visit not these eyes, + Nor raise thy dark pavilion here, + 'Till morrow from the cave of ocean arise, + And whisper tuneful joy in nature's ear. + + But mutely let me lie, and sateless gaze + At all the soul that in his visage sits, + While spirits of harmonious air-- + +Here her voice sunk, and the line terminated in a sigh. Her museful +ardours were chilled by the looks of Ormond. Absorbed in his own +thoughts, he appeared scarcely to attend to this strain. His sternness +was proof against her accustomed fascinations. At length she +pathetically complained of his coldness, and insinuated her suspicions +that his affection was transferred to another object. He started from +her embrace, and after two or three turns across the room, he stood +before her. His large eyes were steadfastly fixed upon her face. + +"Aye," said he, "thou hast guessed right. The love, poor as it was, that +I had for thee, is gone: henceforth thou art desolate indeed. Would to +God thou wert wise. Thy woes are but beginning; I fear they will +terminate fatally; if so, the catastrophe cannot come too quickly. + +"I disdain to appeal to thy justice, Helena, to remind thee of +conditions solemnly and explicitly assumed. Shall thy blood be upon thy +own head? No. I will bear it myself. Though the load would crush a +mountain, I will bear it. + +"I cannot help it; I make not myself; I am moulded by circumstances; +whether I shall love thee or not is no longer in my own choice. Marriage +if indeed still in my power. I may give thee any name, and share with +thee my fortune. Will these content thee? Thou canst not partake of my +love. Thou canst have no part in my tenderness. These, are reserved for +another more worthy than thou. + +"But no. Thy state is to the last degree forlorn, even marriage is +denied thee. Thou wast contented to take me without it,--to dispense +with the name of wife; but the being who has displaced thy image in thy +heart is of a different class. She will be to me a wife, or nothing; and +I must be her husband, or perish. + +"Do not deceive thyself, Helena. I know what it is in which thou hast +placed thy felicity. Life is worth retaining by thee but on one +condition. I know the incurableness of thy infirmity; but be not +deceived. Thy happiness is ravished from thee. The condition on which +thou consentedst to live is annulled. I love thee no longer. + +"No truth was ever more delicious; none was ever more detestable. I +fight against conviction, and I cling to it. That I love thee no longer +is at once a subject of joy, and of mourning. I struggle to believe +thee superior to this shock; that thou wilt be happy, though deserted by +me. Whatever be thy destiny, my reason will not allow me to be miserable +on that account. Yet I would give the world--I would forfeit every claim +but that which I hope upon the heart of Constantia--to be sure that thy +tranquillity will survive this stroke. + +"But let come what will, look no longer to me for offices of love. +Henceforth all intercourse of tenderness ceases,--perhaps all personal +intercourse whatever. But though this good be refused, thou art sure of +independence. I will guard thy ease and thy honour with a father's +scrupulousness. Would to Heaven a sister could be created by adoption! I +am willing, for thy sake, to be an impostor. I will own thee to the +world for my sister, and carry thee whither the cheat shall never be +detected. I would devote my whole life to prevarication and falsehood +for thy sake, if that would suffice to make thee happy." + +To this speech Helena had nothing to answer: her sobs and tears choked +all utterance. She hid her face with her handkerchief, and sat powerless +and overwhelmed with despair. Ormond traversed the room uneasily, +sometimes moving to and fro with quick steps, sometimes standing and +eyeing her with looks of compassion. At length he spoke:-- + +"It is time to leave you. This is the first night that you will spend in +dreary solitude. I know it will be sleepless and full of agony; but the +sentence cannot be recalled. Henceforth regard me as a brother. I will +prove myself one. All other claims are swallowed up in a superior +affection." In saying this, he left the house, and, almost without +intending it, found himself in a few minutes at Mr. Dudley's door. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The politeness of Melbourne had somewhat abated Mr. Dudley's aversion to +society. He allowed himself sometimes to comply with urgent invitations. +On this evening he happened to be at the house of that gentleman. Ormond +entered, and found Constantia alone. An interview of this kind was +seldom enjoyed, though earnestly wished for, by Constantia, who was +eager to renew the subject of her first conversation with Ormond. I have +already explained the situation of her mind. All her wishes were +concentred in the marriage of Helena. The eligibility of this scheme, in +every view which she took of it, appeared in a stronger light. She was +not aware that any new obstacle had arisen. She was free from the +consciousness of any secret bias. Much less did her modesty suspect +that she herself would prove an insuperable impediment to this plan. + +There was more than usual solemnity in Ormond's demeanour. After he was +seated, he continued, contrary to his custom, to be silent. These +singularities were not unobserved by Constantia. They did not, however, +divert her from her purpose. + +"I am glad to see you," said she. "We so seldom enjoy the advantage of a +private interview. I have much to say to you. You authorize me to +deliberate on your actions, and, in some measure, to prescribe to you. +This is a province which I hope to discharge with integrity and +diligence. I am convinced that Helena's happiness and your own can be +secured in one way only. I will emulate your candour, and come at once +to the point. Why have you delayed so long the justice that is due to +this helpless and lovely girl? There are a thousand reasons why you +should think of no other alternative. You have been pleased to repose +some degree of confidence in my judgement. Hear my full and deliberate +opinion. Make Helena your wife. This is the unequivocal prescription of +your duty." + +This address was heard by Ormond without surprise; but his countenance +betrayed the acuteness of his feelings. The bitterness that overflowed +his heart was perceptible in his tone when he spoke:-- + +"Most egregiously are you deceived. Such is the line with which human +capacity presumes to fathom futurity. With all your discernment you do +not see that marriage would effectually destroy me. You do not see that, +whether beneficial or otherwise in its effects, marriage is impossible. +You are merely prompting me to suicide: but how shall I inflict the +wound? Where is the weapon? See you not that I am powerless? Leap, say +you, into the flames. See you not that I am fettered? Will a mountain +move at your bidding? Sooner than I in the path which you prescribe to +me." + +This speech was inexplicable. She pressed him to speak less +enigmatically. Had he formed his resolution? If so, arguments and +remonstrances were superfluous. Without noticing her interrogatories, he +continued:-- + +"I am too hasty in condemning you. You judge, not against, but without +knowledge. When sufficiently informed, your decision will be right. Yet +how can you be ignorant? Can you for a moment contemplate yourself and +me, and not perceive an insuperable bar to this union?" + +"You place me," said Constantia, "in a very disagreeable predicament. I +have not deserved this treatment from you. This is an unjustifiable +deviation from plain dealing. Of what impediment do you speak. I can +safely say that I know of none." + +"Well," resumed he, with augmented eagerness, "I must supply you with +knowledge. I repeat, that I perfectly rely on the rectitude of your +judgement. Summon all your sagacity and disinterestedness and choose for +me. You know in what light Helena has been viewed by me. I have ceased +to view her in this light. She has become an object of indifference. +Nay, I am not certain that I do not hate her,--not indeed for her own +sake, but because I love another. Shall I marry her whom I hate, when +there exists one whom I love with unconquerable ardour?" + +Constantia was thunderstruck with this intelligence. She looked at him +with some expression of doubt. "How is this?" said she. "Why did you not +tell me this before?" + +"When I last talked with you on this subject I knew it not myself. It +has occurred since. I have seized the first occasion that has offered +to inform you of it. Say now, since such is my condition, ought Helena +to be my wife?" + +Constantia was silent. Her heart bled for what she foresaw would be the +sufferings and forlorn destiny of Helena. She had not courage to inquire +further into this new engagement. + +"I wait for your answer, Constantia. Shall I defraud myself of all the +happiness which would accrue from a match of inclination? Shall I put +fetters on my usefulness? This is the style in which you speak. Shall I +preclude all the good to others that would flow from a suitable +alliance? Shall I abjure the woman I love, and marry her whom I hate?" + +"Hatred," replied the lady, "is a harsh word. Helena has not deserved +that you should hate her. I own this is a perplexing circumstance. It +would be wrong to determine hastily. Suppose you give yourself to +Helena: will more than yourself be injured by it? Who is this lady? +Will she be rendered unhappy by a determination in favour of another? +This is a point of the utmost importance." + +At these words Ormond forsook his seat, and advanced close up to +Constantia:--"You say true. This is a point of inexpressible importance. +It would be presumption in me to decide. That is the lady's own +province. And now, say truly, are you willing to accept Ormond with all +his faults? Who but yourself could be mistress of all the springs of my +soul? I know the sternness of your probity. This discovery will only +make you more strenuously the friend of Helena. Yet why should you not +shun either extreme? Lay yourself out of view. And yet, perhaps the +happiness of Constantia is not unconcerned in this question. Is there no +part of me in which you discover your own likeness? Am I deceived, or is +it an incontrollable destiny that unites us?" + +This declaration was truly unexpected by Constantia. She gathered from +it nothing but excitements of grief. After some pause she said:--"This +appeal to me has made no change in my opinion. I still think that +justice requires you to become the husband of Helena. As to me, do you +think my happiness rests upon so slight a foundation? I cannot love but +when my understanding points out to me the propriety of love. Ever since +I have known you I have looked upon you as rightfully belonging to +another. Love could not take place in my circumstances. Yet I will not +conceal from you my sentiments. I am not sure that, in different +circumstances, I should not have loved. I am acquainted with your worth. +I do not look for a faultless man. I have met with none whose blemishes +were fewer. + +"It matters not, however, what I should have been. I cannot interfere, +in this case, with the claims of my friend. I have no passion to +struggle with. I hope, in every vicissitude, to enjoy your esteem, and +nothing more. There is but one way in which mine can be secured, and +that is by espousing this unhappy girl." + +"No!" exclaimed Ormond. "Require not impossibilities. Helena can never +be any thing to me. I should, with unspeakably more willingness, assail +my own life." + +"What," said the lady, "will Helena think of this sudden and dreadful +change? I cannot bear to think upon the feelings that this information +will excite." + +"She knows it already. I have this moment left her. I explained to her, +in a few words, my motives, and assured her of my unalterable +resolution. I have vowed never to see her more but as a brother; and +this vow she has just heard." + +Constantia could not suppress her astonishment and compassion at this +intelligence:--"No surely; you could not be so cruel! And this was done +with your usual abruptness, I suppose. Precipitate and implacable man! +Cannot you foresee the effects of this madness? You have planted a +dagger in her heart. You have disappointed me. I did not think you could +act so inhumanly." + +"Nay, beloved Constantia, be not so liberal of your reproaches. Would +you have me deceive her? She must shortly have known it. Could the truth +be told too soon?" + +"Much too soon," replied the lady, fervently. "I have always condemned +the maxims by which you act. Your scheme is headlong and barbarous. +Could not you regard with some little compassion that love that +sacrificed, for your unworthy sake, honest fame and the peace of virtue? +Is she not a poor outcast, goaded by compunction, and hooted at by a +malignant and misjudging world? And who was it that reduced her to this +deplorable condition? For whose sake did she willingly consent to brave +evils, by which the stoutest heart is appalled? Did this argue no +greatness of mind? Who ever surpassed her in fidelity and tenderness? +But thus has she been rewarded. I shudder to think what may be the +event. Her courage cannot possibly support her against treatment so +harsh, so perversely and wantonly cruel. Heaven grant that you are not +shortly made bitterly to lament this rashness!" + +Ormond was penetrated with these reproaches. They persuaded him for a +moment that his deed was wrong; that he had not unfolded his intentions +to Helena with a suitable degree of gentleness and caution. Little more +was said on this occasion. Constantia exhorted him, in the most earnest +and pathetic manner, to return and recant, or extenuate, his former +declarations. He could not be brought to promise compliance. When he +parted from her, however, he was half resolved to act as she advised. +Solitary reflection made him change this resolution, and he returned to +his own house. + +During the night he did little else than ruminate on the events of the +preceding evening. He entertained little doubt of his ultimate success +with Constantia. She gratified him in nothing, but left him every thing +to hope. She had hitherto, it seems, regarded him with indifference, but +this had been sufficiently explained. That conduct would be pursued, and +that passion be entertained, which her judgement should previously +approve. What then was the obstacle? It originated in the claims of +Helena. But what were these claims? It was fully ascertained that he +should never be united to this girl. If so, the end contemplated by +Constantia, and for the sake of which only his application was rejected, +could never be obtained. Unless her rejection of him could procure a +husband for her friend, it would, on her own principles, be improper and +superfluous. + +What was to be done with Helena? It was a terrible alternative to which +he was reduced:--to marry her or see her perish. But was this +alternative quite sure? Could not she, by time or by judicious +treatment, be reconciled to her lot? It was to be feared that he had not +made a suitable beginning: and yet, perhaps it was most expedient that a +hasty and abrupt sentence should be succeeded by forbearance and lenity. +He regretted his precipitation, and though unused to the melting mood, +tears were wrung from him by the idea of the misery which he had +probably occasioned. He was determined to repair his misconduct as +speedily as possible, and to pay her a conciliating visit the next +morning. + +He went early to her house. He was informed by the servant that her +mistress had not yet risen. "Was it usual," he asked, "for her to lie so +late?" "No," he was answered, "she never knew it happen before, but she +supposed her mistress was not well. She was just going into her chamber +to see what was the matter." + +"Why," said Ormond, "do you suppose that she is sick?" + +"She was poorly last night. About nine o'clock she sent out for some +physic to make her sleep." + +"To make her sleep?" exclaimed Ormond, in a fettering and affrighted +accent. + +"Yes: she said she wanted it for that. So I went to the 'pothecary's. +When I came back she was very poorly indeed. I asked her if I might not +sit up with her. 'No,' she said, 'I do not want anybody. You may go to +bed as soon as you please, and tell Fabian to do the same. I shall not +want you again.'" + +"What did you buy?" + +"Some kind of water,--laud'num I think they call it. She wrote it down, +and I carried the paper to Mr. Eckhart's, and he gave it to me in a +bottle, and I gave it to my mistress." + +"'Tis well: retire: I will see how she is myself." + +Ormond had conceived himself fortified against every disaster: he looked +for nothing but evil, and therefore, in ordinary cases, regarded its +approach without fear or surprise. Now, however, he found that his +tremors would not be stilled: his perturbations increased with every +step that brought him nearer to her chamber. He knocked, but no answer +was returned. He opened the door, advanced to the bed side, and drew +back the curtains. He shrunk from the spectacle that presented itself. +Was this the Helena that, a few hours before, was blithesome with health +and radiant with beauty? Her visage was serene, but sunken and pale. +Death was in every line of it. To his tremulous and hurried scrutiny +every limb was rigid and cold. + +The habits of Ormond tended to obscure the appearances, if not to deaden +the emotions of sorrow. He was so much accustomed to the frustration of +well-intended efforts, and confided so much in his own integrity, that +he was not easily disconcerted. He had merely to advert, on this +occasion, to the tumultuous state of his feelings, in order to banish +their confusion and restore himself to calm. "Well," said he, as he +dropped the curtain and turned towards another part of the room, "this, +without doubt, is a rueful spectacle. Can it be helped? Is there in man +the power of recalling her? There is none such in me. + +"She is gone: well then, she _is_ gone. If she were fool enough to die, +I am not fool enough to follow her. I am determined to live and be happy +notwithstanding. Why not? + +"Yet, this is a piteous night. What is impossible to undo, might be +easily prevented. A piteous spectacle! But what else, on an ampler +scale, is the universe? Nature is a theatre of suffering. What corner +is unvisited by calamity and pain? I have chosen as became me. I would +rather precede thee to the grave, than live to be thy husband. + +"Thou hast done my work for me. Thou hast saved thyself and me from a +thousand evils. Thou hast acted as seemed to thee best, and I am +satisfied. + +"Hast thou decided erroneously? They that know thee need not marvel at +that. Endless have been the proofs of thy frailty. In favour of this +last act something may be said. It is the last thou wilt ever commit. +Others only will experience its effects; thou hast, at least, provided +for thy own safety. + +"But what is here? A letter for me? Had thy understanding been as prompt +as thy fingers, I could have borne with thee. I can easily divine the +contents of this epistle." + +He opened it, and found the tenor to be as follows:-- + + "You did not use, my dear friend, to part with me in this manner. + You never before treated me so roughly. I am, sorry, indeed I am, + that I ever offended you. Could you suppose that I intended it? And + if you knew that I meant not offence, why did you take offence? + + "I'm very unhappy, for I have lost you, my friend. You will never + see me more, you say. That is very hard. I have deserved it + to-be-sure, but I do not know how it has happened. Nobody more + desired to please than I have done. Morning, noon, night, it was my + only study; but you will love me no more; you will see me no more. + Forgive me, my friend, but I must say it is very hard. + + "You said rightly; I do not wish to live without my friend. I have + spent my life happily heretofore. 'Tis true, these have been + transient uneasinesses, but your love was a reward and a cure for + every thing. I desired nothing better in this world. Did you ever + hear me murmur? No; I was not so unjust. My lot was happy, + infinitely beyond my deserving. I merited not to be loved by you. + Oh that I had suitable words to express my gratitude for your + kindness! but this last meeting,--how different from that which + went before? Yet even then there was something on your brow like + discontent, which I could not warble nor whisper away as I used to + do. But sad as this was, it was nothing like the last. + + "Could Ormond be so stern and so terrible? You knew that I would + die, but you need not have talked as if I were in the way, and as + if you had rather I should die than live. But one thing I rejoice + at; I am a poor silly girl, but Constantia is a noble and + accomplished one. Most joyfully do I resign you to her, my dear + friend. You say you love her. She need not be afraid of accepting + you. There will be no danger of your preferring another to her. It + was very natural and very right for you to prefer her to me. She + and you will be happy in each other. It is this that sweetens the + cup I am going to drink. Never did I go to sleep with more + good-will than I now go to death. Fare you well, my dear friend." + +This letter was calculated to make a deeper impression on Ormond than +even the sight of Helena's corpse. It was in vain, for some time, that +he endeavoured to reconcile himself to this event. It was seldom that he +was able to forget it. He was obliged to exert all his energies to +enable him to support the remembrance. The task was of course rendered +easier by time. + +It was immediately requisite to attend to the disposal of the corpse. He +felt himself unfit for this mournful office. He was willing to relieve +himself from it by any expedient. Helena's next neighbour was an old +lady, whose scruples made her shun all direct intercourse with this +unhappy girl; yet she had performed many acts of neighbourly kindness. +She readily obeyed the summons of Ormond, on this occasion, to take +charge of affairs till another should assert it. Ormond returned home, +and sent the following note to Constantia:-- + + "You have predicted aright. Helena is dead. In a mind like your's + every grief will be suspended, and every regard absorbed in the + attention due to the remains of this unfortunate girl. _I_ cannot + attend to them." + +Constantia was extremely shocked by this intelligence, but she was not +unmindful of her duty. She prepared herself, with mournful alacrity, for +the performance of it. Every thing that the occasion demanded was done +with diligence and care. Till this was accomplished, Ormond could not +prevail upon himself to appear upon the stage. He was informed of this +by a note from Constantia, who requested him to take possession of the +unoccupied dwelling and its furniture. + +Among the terms of his contract with Helena, Ormond had voluntarily +inserted the exclusive property of a house and its furniture in this +city, with funds adequate to her plentiful maintenance. These he had +purchased and transferred to her. To this he had afterwards added a +rural retreat, in the midst of spacious and well-cultivated fields, +three miles from Perth-Amboy, and seated on the right bank of the Sound. +It is proper to mention that this farm was formerly the property of Mr. +Dudley,--had been fitted up by him, and used as his summer abode during +his prosperity. In the division of his property it had fallen to one of +his creditors, from whom it had been purchased by Ormond. This +circumstance, in conjunction with the love which she bore to Constantia, +had suggested to Helena a scheme, which her want of foresight would, in +different circumstances, have occasioned her to overlook. It was that of +making her testament, by which she bequeathed all that she possessed to +her friend. This was not done without the knowledge and cheerful +concurrence of Ormond, who, together with Melbourne and another +respectable citizen, were named executors. Melbourne and his friend were +induced by their respect for Constantia to consent to this nomination. + +This had taken place before Ormond and Constantia had been introduced to +each other. After this event, Ormond had sometimes been employed in +contriving means for securing to his new friend and her father a +subsistence, more certain than the will of Helena could afford. Her +death he considered as an event equally remote and undesirable. This +event, however unexpectedly, had now happened, and precluded the +necessity of further consideration on this head. + +Constantia could not but accept this bequest. Had it been her wish to +decline it, it was not in her power, but she justly regarded the +leisure and independence thus conferred upon her, as inestimable +benefits. It was a source of unbounded satisfaction on her father's +account, who was once more seated in the bosom of affluence. Perhaps, in +a rational estimate, one of the most fortunate events that could have +befallen those persons, was that period of adversity through which they +had been doomed to pass. Most of the defects that adhered to the +character of Mr. Dudley, had, by this means, been exterminated. He was +now cured of those prejudices which his early prosperity had instilled, +and which had flowed from luxurious indigencies. He had learned to +estimate himself at his true value, and to sympathize with sufferings +which he himself had partaken. + +It was easy to perceive in what light Constantia was regarded by her +father. He never reflected on his relation to her without rapture. Her +qualities were the objects of his adoration. He resigned himself with +pleasure to her guidance. The chain of subordination and duties was +reversed. By the ascendancy of her genius and wisdom the province of +protection and the tribute of homage had devolved upon her. This had +resulted from incessant experience of the wisdom of her measures, and +the spectacle of her fortitude and skill in every emergency. + +It seemed as if but one evil adhered to the condition of this man. His +blindness was an impediment to knowledge and enjoyment, of which, the +utmost to be hoped was, that he should regard it without pungent regret, +and that he should sometimes forget it; that his mind should +occasionally stray into foreign paths, and lose itself in sprightly +conversations, or benign reveries. This evil, however, was by no means +remediless. + +A surgeon of uncommon skill had lately arrived from Europe. He was one +of the numerous agents and dependants of Ormond and had been engaged to +abdicate his native country for purposes widely remote from his +profession. The first use that was made of him was to introduce him to +Mr. Dudley. The diseased organs were critically examined, and the +patient was, with considerable difficulty, prevailed upon to undergo the +necessary operation. His success corresponded with Constantia's wishes, +and her father was once more restored to the enjoyment of light. + +These were auspicious events. Constantia held herself amply repaid by +them for all that she had suffered. These sufferings had indeed been +light, when compared with the effects usually experienced by others in a +similar condition. Her wisdom had extracted its sting from adversity, +and without allowing herself to feel much of the evils of its reign, +had employed it as an instrument by which the sum of her present +happiness was increased. Few suffered less in the midst of poverty, than +she. No one ever extracted more felicity from the prosperous reverse. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +When time had somewhat mitigated the memory of the late disaster, the +intercourse between Ormond and Constantia was renewed. The lady did not +overlook her obligations to her friend. It was to him that she was +indebted for her father's restoration to sight, and to whom both owed, +essentially, though indirectly, their present affluence. In her mind, +gratitude was no perverse or ignoble principle. She viewed this man as +the author of extensive benefits, of which her situation enabled her to +judge with more accuracy than others. It created no bias on her +judgement, or, at least, none of which she was sensible. Her equity was +perfectly unfettered; and she decided in a way contrary to his +inclination, with as little scruple as if the benefits had been +received, not by herself, but by him. She indeed intended his benefit, +though she thwarted his inclinations. + +She had few visitants beside himself. Their interviews were daily and +unformal. The fate of Helena never produced any reproaches on her part. +She saw the uselessness of recrimination, not only because she desired +to produce emotions different from those which infective is adapted to +excite, but because it was more just to soothe than to exasperate the +inquietudes which haunted him. + +She now enjoyed leisure. She had always been solicitous for mental +improvement. Any means subservient to this end were valuable. The +conversation of Ormond was an inexhaustible fund. By the variety of +topics and the excitement to reflection it supplied, a more plenteous +influx of knowledge was produced than could have flowed from any other +source. There was no end to the detailing of facts, and the canvassing +of theories. + +I have already said that Ormond was engaged in schemes of an arduous and +elevated nature. These were the topics of epistolary discussion between +him and a certain number of coadjutors, in different parts of the world. +In general discourse, it was proper to maintain a uniform silence +respecting these, not only because they involved principles and views +remote from vulgar apprehension, but because their success, in some +measure, depended on their secrecy. He could not give a stronger proof +of his confidence in the sagacity and steadiness of Constantia than he +now gave, by imparting to her his schemes, and requesting her advice and +assistance in the progress of them. + +His disclosures, however, were imperfect. What knowledge was imparted, +instead of appeasing, only tended to inflame her curiosity. His answers +to her inquiries were prompt, and, at first sight, sufficiently +explicit; but upon reconsideration, an obscurity seemed to gather round +them, to be dispelled by new interrogatories. These, in like manner, +effected a momentary purpose, but were sure speedily to lead into new +conjectures, and reimmerse her in doubts. The task was always new, was +always on the point of being finished, and always to be recommenced. + +Ormond aspired to nothing more ardently than to hold the reins of +opinion,--to exercise absolute power over the conduct of others, not by +constraining their limbs, or by exacting obedience to his authority, but +in a way of which his subjects should be scarcely conscious. He desired +that his guidance should control their steps, but that his agency, when +most effectual, should be least suspected. + +If he were solicitous to govern the thoughts of Constantia, or to +regulate her condition, the mode which he pursued had hitherto been +admirably conducive to that end. To have found her friendless and +indigent, accorded, with the most fortunate exactness, with his views. +That she should have descended to this depth, from a prosperous height, +and therefore be a stranger to the torpor which attends hereditary +poverty, and be qualified rightly to estimate and use the competence to +which, by this means, she was now restored, was all that his providence +would have prescribed. + +Her thoughts were equally obsequious to his direction. The novelty and +grandeur of his schemes could not fail to transport a mind ardent and +capacious as that of Constantia. Here his fortune had been no less +propitious. He did not fail to discover, and was not slow to seize, the +advantages flowing thence. By explaining his plans, opportunity was +furnished to lead and to confine her meditations to the desirable tract. +By adding fictitious embellishments, he adapted it with more exactness +to his purpose. By piecemeal and imperfect disclosures her curiosity +was kept alive. + +I have described Ormond at having contracted a passion for Constantia. +This passion certainly existed in his heart, but it must not be +conceived to be immutable, or to operate independently of all those +impulses and habits which time had interwoven in his character. The +person and affections of this woman were the objects sought by him, and +which it was the dearest purpose of his existence to gain. This was his +supreme good, though the motives to which it was indebted for its +pre-eminence in his imagination were numerous and complex. + +I have enumerated his opinions on the subject of wedlock. The question +will obviously occur, whether Constantia was sought by him with upright +or flagitious views. His sentiments and resolution on this head had for +a time fluctuated, but were now steadfast. Marriage was, in his eyes, +hateful and absurd as ever. Constantia was to be obtained by any means. +If other terms were rejected, he was willing, for the sake of this good, +to accept her as a wife; but this was a choice to be made only when +every expedient was exhausted for reconciling her to a compact of a +different kind. + +For this end he, prescribed to himself a path suited to the character of +this lady. He made no secret of his sentiments and views. He avowed his +love, and described, without scruple, the scope of his wishes. He +challenged her to confute his principles, and promised a candid audience +and profound consideration to her arguments. Her present opinions he +knew to be adverse to his own, but he hoped to change them by subtlety +and perseverance. His further hopes and designs he concealed from her. +She was unaware that if he were unable to effect a change in her creed, +he was determined to adopt a system of imposture,--to assume the guise +of a convert to her doctrines, and appear as devout as herself in his +notions of the sanctity of marriage. + +Perhaps it was not difficult to have foreseen the consequence of these +projects. Constantia's peril was imminent. This arose not only from the +talents and address of Ormond, but from the community of sentiment which +already existed between them. She was unguarded in a point where, if not +her whole yet doubtless her principal security and strongest bulwark +would have existed. She was unacquainted with religion. She was +unhabituated to conform herself to any standard but that connected with +the present life. Matrimonial as well as every other human duty, was +disconnected in her mind with any awful or divine sanction. She formed +her estimate of good and evil on nothing but terrestrial and visible +consequences. + +This defect in her character she owed to her father's system of +education. Mr. Dudley was an adherent to what he conceived to be true +religion. No man was more passionate in his eulogy of his own form of +devotion and belief, or in his invectives against atheistical dogmas; +but he reflected that religion assumed many forms, one only of which is +salutary or true, and that truth in this respect is incompatible with +infantile and premature instruction. + +To this subject it was requisite to apply the force of a mature and +unfettered understanding. For this end he laboured to lead away the +juvenile reflections of Constantia from religious topics, to detain them +in the paths of history and eloquence,--to accustom her to the accuracy +of geometrical deduction, and to the view of those evils that have +flowed in all ages, from mistaken piety. + +In consequence of this scheme, her habits rather than her opinions, were +undevout. Religion was regarded by her not with disbelief, but with +absolute indifference. Her good sense forbade her to decide before +inquiry, but her modes of study and reflection were foreign to, and +unfitted her for this species of discussion. Her mind was seldom called +to meditate on this subject, and when it occurred, her perceptions were +vague and obscure. No objects, in the sphere which she occupied, were +calculated to suggest to her the importance of investigation and +certainty. + +It becomes me to confess, however reluctantly, thus much concerning my +friend. However abundantly endowed in other respects, she was a stranger +to the felicity and excellence flowing from religion. In her struggles +with misfortune, she was supported and cheered by the sense of no +approbation but her own. A defect of this nature will perhaps be +regarded as of less moment when her extreme youth is remembered. All +opinion in her mind were mutable, inasmuch as the progress of her +understanding was incessant. + +It was otherwise with Ormond. His disbelief was at once unchangeable and +strenuous. The universe was to him a series of events, connected by an +undesigning and inscrutable necessity, and an assemblage of forms, to +which no beginning or end can be conceived. Instead of transient views +and vague ideas, his meditations, on religious points, had been intense. +Enthusiasm was added to disbelief, and he not only dissented but +abhorred. + +He deemed it prudent, however, to disguise sentiments which, if unfolded +in their full force, would wear to her the appearance of insanity. But +he saw and was eager to improve the advantage which his anti-nuptial +creed derived from the unsettled state of her opinions. He was not +unaware, likewise, of the auspicious and indispensable co-operation of +love. If this advocate were wanting in her bosom, all his efforts would +be in vain. If this pleader were engaged in his behalf, he entertained +no doubts of his ultimate success. He conceived that her present +situation, all whose comforts were the fruits of his beneficence, and +which afforded her no other subject of contemplation than himself, was +as favourable as possible to the growth of this passion. + +Constantia was acquainted with his wishes. She could not fail to see +that she might speedily be called upon to determine a momentous +question. Her own sensations, and the character of Ormond were, +therefore, scrutinized with suspicious attention. Marriage could be +justified in her eyes only by community of affections and opinions. She +might love without the sanction of her judgement; but, while destitute +of that sanction, she would never suffer it to sway her conduct. + +Ormond was imperfectly known. What knowledge she had gained flowed +chiefly from his own lips, and was therefore unattended with certainty. +What portion of deceit or disguise was mixed with his conversation could +be known only by witnessing his actions with her own eyes and comparing +his testimony with that of others. He had embraced a multitude of +opinions which appeared to her erroneous. Till these were rectified, and +their conclusions were made to correspond, wedlock was improper. Some of +these obscurities might be dispelled, and some of these discords be +resolved into harmony by time. Meanwhile it was proper to guard the +avenues to her heart, and screen herself from self-delusion. + +There was no motive to conceal her reflections on this topic from her +father. Mr. Dudley discovered, without her assistance, the views of +Ormond. His daughter's happiness was blended with his own. He lived but +in the consciousness of her tranquillity. Her image was seldom absent +from his eyes, and never from his thoughts. The emotions which it +excited sprung but in part from the relationship of father. It was +gratitude and veneration which she claimed from him, and which filled +him with rapture. + +He ruminated deeply on the character of Ormond. The political and +anti-theological tenets of this man were regarded, not merely with +disapprobation, but antipathy. He was not ungrateful for the benefits +which had been conferred upon him. Ormond's peculiarities of sentiment +excited no impatience, as long as he was regarded merely as a visitant. +It was only as one claiming to possess his daughter that his presence +excited, in Mr. Dudley, trepidation and loathing. + +Ormond was unacquainted with what was passing in the mind of Mr. Dudley. +The latter conceived his own benefactor and his daughter's friend to be +entitled to the most scrupulous and affable urbanity. His objections to +a nearer alliance were urged with frequent and pathetic vehemence only +in his private interviews with Constantia. Ormond and he seldom met. Mr. +Dudley, as soon as his sight was perfectly retrieved, betook himself +with eagerness to painting,--an amusement which his late privations had +only contributed to endear to him. + +Things remained nearly on their present footing for some months. At the +end of this period some engagement obliged Ormond to leave the city. He +promised to return with as much speed as circumstances would admit. +Meanwhile, his letters supplied her with topics of reflection. These +were frequently received, and were models of that energy of style which +results from simplicity of structure, from picturesque epithets, and +from the compression of much meaning into few words. His arguments +seldom imparted conviction, but delight never failed to flow from their +lucid order and cogent brevity. His narratives were unequalled for +rapidity and comprehensiveness. Every sentence was a treasury to +moralists and painters. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Domestic and studious occupations did not wholly engross the attention +of Constantia. Social pleasures were precious to her heart, and she was +not backward to form fellowships and friendships with those around her. +Hitherto she had met with no one entitled to an uncommon portion of +regard, or worthy to supply the place of the friend of her infancy. Her +visits were rare, and, as yet, chiefly confined to the family of Mr. +Melbourne. Here she was treated with flattering distinctions, and +enjoyed opportunities of extending as far as she pleased her connections +with the gay and opulent. To this she felt herself by no means inclined, +and her life was still eminently distinguished by love of privacy and +habits of seclusion. + +One morning, feeling an indisposition to abstraction, she determined to +drop in, for an hour, on Mrs. Melbourne. Finding Mrs. Melbourne's +parlour unoccupied, she proceeded unceremoniously to an apartment on the +second floor, where that lady was accustomed to sit. She entered, but +this room was likewise empty. Here she cast her eyes on a collection of +prints, copied from the Farnese collection, and employed herself for +some minutes in comparing the forms of Titiano and the Caracchi. + +Suddenly, notes of peculiar sweetness were wafted to her ear from +without. She listened with surprise, for the tones of her father's lute +were distinctly recognized. She hied to the window, which chanced to +look into a back court. The music was perceived to come from the window +of the next house. She recollected her interview with the purchaser of +her instrument at the music shop, and the powerful impression which the +stranger's countenance had made upon her. + +The first use she had made of her recent change of fortune was to +endeavour to recover this instrument. The music dealer, when reminded of +the purchase, and interrogated as to the practicability of regaining the +lute, for which she was willing to give treble the price, answered that +he had no knowledge of the foreign lady beyond what was gained at the +interview which took place in Constantia's presence. Of her name, +residence, and condition, he knew nothing, and had endeavoured in vain +to acquire knowledge. + +Now, this incident seemed to have furnished her with the information she +had so earnestly sought. This performer was probably the stranger +herself. Her residence so near the Melbournes, and in a house which was +the property of the magistrate, might be means of information as to her +condition, and perhaps of introduction to a personal acquaintance. + +While engaged in these reflections, Mrs. Melbourne entered the +apartment. Constantia related this incident to her friend, and stated +the motives of her present curiosity. Her friend willingly imparted what +knowledge she possessed relative to this subject. This was the sum. + +This house had been hired, previously to the appearance of the yellow +fever, by an English family, who left their native soil with a view to a +permanent abode in the new world. They had scarcely taken possession of +the dwelling when they were terrified by the progress of the epidemic. +They had fled from the danger; but this circumstance, in addition to +some others, induced them to change their scheme. An evil so unwonted as +pestilence impressed them with a belief of perpetual danger as long as +they remained on this side of the ocean. They prepared for an immediate +return to England. + +For this end their house was relinquished, and their splendid furniture +destined to be sold by auction. Before this event could take place, +application was made to Mr. Melbourne by a lady whom his wife's +description showed to be the same person of whom Constantia was in +search. She not only rented the house, but negotiated by means of her +landlord for the purchase of the furniture. + +Her servants were blacks, and all but one, who officiated as steward, +unacquainted with the English language. Some accident had proved her +name to be Beauvais. She had no visitants, very rarely walked abroad, +and then only in the evening with a female servant in attendance. Her +hours appeared to be divided between the lute and the pen. As to her +previous history or her present sources of subsistence, Mrs. +Melbourne's curiosity had not been idle, but no consistent information +was obtainable. Some incidents had given birth to the conjecture that +she was wife, or daughter, or sister of Beauvais, the partizan of +Brissot, whom the faction of Marat had lately consigned to the scaffold; +but this conjecture was unsupported by suitable evidence. + +This tale by no means diminished Constantia's desire of personal +intercourse. She saw no means of effecting her purpose. Mrs. Melbourne +was unqualified to introduce her, having been discouraged in all the +advances she had made towards a more friendly intercourse. Constantia +reflected, that her motives to seclusion would probably induce this lady +to treat others as her friend had been treated. + +It was possible, however, to gain access to her, if not as a friend, yet +as the original proprietor of the lute. She determined to employ the +agency of Roseveldt, the music-shopman, for the purpose of rebuying +this instrument. To enforce her application, she commissioned this +person, whose obliging temper entitled him to confidence, to state her +inducements for originally offering it for sale, and her motives for +desiring the repossession on any terms which the lady thought proper to +dictate. + +Roseveldt fixed an hour in which it was convenient for him to execute +her commission. This hour having passed, Constantia, who was anxious +respecting his success, hastened to his house. Roseveldt delivered the +instrument, which the lady, having listened to his pleas and offers, +directed to be gratuitously restored to Constantia. At first, she had +expressed her resolution to part with it on no account, and at no price. +Its music was her only recreation, and this instrument surpassed any she +had ever before seen, in the costliness and delicacy of its workmanship. +But Roseveldt's representations produced an instant change of +resolution, and she not only eagerly consented to restore it, but +refused to receive any thing in payment. + +Constantia was deeply affected by this unexpected generosity. It was not +her custom to be outstripped in this career. She now condemned herself +for her eagerness to regain this instrument. During her father's +blindness it was a powerful, because the only, solace of his melancholy. +Now he had no longer the same anxieties to encounter, and books and the +pencil were means of gratification always at hand. The lute therefore, +she imagined, could be easily dispensed with by Mr. Dudley, whereas its +power of consoling might be as useful to the unknown lady as it had +formerly been to her father. She readily perceived in what manner it +became her to act. Roseveldt was commissioned to redeliver the lute, and +to entreat the lady's acceptance of it. The tender was received without +hesitation, and Roseveldt dismissed without any inquiry relative to +Constantia. + +These transactions were reflected on by Constantia with considerable +earnestness. The conduct of the stranger, her affluent and lonely slate, +her conjectural relationship to the actors in the great theatre of +Europe, were mingled together in the fancy of Constantia, and +embellished with the conceptions of her beauty derived from their casual +meeting at Roseveldt's. She forgot not their similitude in age and sex, +and delighted to prolong the dream of future confidence and friendship +to take place between them. Her heart sighed for a companion fitted to +partake in all her sympathies. + +This strain, by being connected with the image of a being like herself, +who had grown up with her from childhood, who had been entwined with her +earliest affections, but from whom she had been severed from the period +at which her father's misfortunes commenced, and of whose present +condition she was wholly ignorant, was productive of the deepest +melancholy. It filled her with excruciating, and, for a time, +irremediable sadness. It formed a kind of paroxysm, which, like some +febrile affections, approach and retire without warning, and against the +most vehement struggles. + +In this mood her fancy was thronged with recollections of scenes in +which her friend had sustained a part. Their last interview was commonly +revived in her remembrance so forcibly as almost to produce a lunatic +conception of its reality. A ditty which they sung together on that +occasion flowed to her lips. If ever human tones were qualified to +convey the whole soul, they were those of Constantia when she sang:-- + + "The breeze awakes, the bark prepares, + To waft me to a distant shore: + But far beyond this world of cares + We meet again to part no more." + +These fits were accustomed to approach and to vanish by degrees. They +were transitory, but not unfrequent, and were pregnant with such +agonizing tenderness, such heart-breaking sighs, and a flow of such +bitter yet delicious tears, that it were not easily decided whether the +pleasure or the pain surmounted. When symptoms of their coming were felt +she hastened into solitude, that the progress of her feelings might +endure no restraint. + +On the evening of the day on which the lute had been sent to the foreign +lady, Constantia was alone in her chamber immersed in desponding +thoughts. From these she was recalled by Fabian, her black servant, who +announced a guest. She was loath to break off the thread of her present +meditations, and inquired with a tone of some impatience, who was the +guest. The servant was unable to tell; it was a young lady whom he had +never before seen; she had opened the door herself, and entered the +parlour without previous notice. + +Constantia paused at this relation. Her thoughts had recently been fixed +upon Sophia Westwyn. Since their parting four years before she had heard +no tidings of this woman. Her fears imagined no more probable cause of +her friend's silence than her death. This, however, was uncertain. The +question now occurred, and brought with it sensations that left her no +power to move:--was this the guest? + +Her doubts were quickly dispelled, for the stranger taking a light from +the table, and not brooking the servant's delays, followed Fabian to the +chamber of his mistress. She entered with careless freedom, and +presented to the astonished eyes of Constantia the figure she had met at +Roseveldt's, and the purchaser of her lute. + +The stranger advanced towards her with quick steps, and mingling tones +of benignity and sprightliness, said:-- + +"I have come to perform a duty. I have received from you to-day a lute +that I valued almost as my best friend. To find another in America, +would not, perhaps, be possible; but, certainly, none equally superb and +exquisite as this can be found. To show how highly I esteem the gift, I +have come in person to thank you for it."--There she stopped. + +Constantia could not suddenly recover from the extreme surprise into +which the unexpectedness of this meeting had thrown her. She could +scarcely sufficiently suppress this confusion to enable her to reply to +these rapid effusions of her visitant, who resumed with augmented +freedom:-- + +"I came, as I said, to thank you, but to say the truth that was not all, +I came likewise to see you. Having done my errand, I suppose I must go. +I would fain stay longer and talk to you a little. Will you give me +leave?" + +Constantia, scarcely retrieving her composure, stammered out a polite +assent. They seated themselves, and the visitant, pressing the hand she +had taken, proceeded in a strain so smooth, so flowing, sliding from +grave to gay, blending vivacity with tenderness, interpreting +Constantia's silence with such keen sagacity, and accounting for the +singularities of her own deportment in a way so respectful to her +companion, and so worthy of a steadfast and pure mind in herself, that +every embarrassment and scruple were quickly banished from their +interview. + +In an hour the guest took her leave. No promise of repeating her visit, +and no request that Constantia would repay it, was made. Their parting +seemed to be the last; whatever purpose having been contemplated +appeared to be accomplished by this transient meeting. It was of a +nature deeply to interest the mind of Constantia. This was the lady who +talked with Roseveldt, and bargained with Melbourne, and they had been +induced by appearances to suppose her ignorant of any language but +French; but her discourse, on the present occasion, was in English, and +was distinguished by unrivalled fluency. Her phrases and habits of +pronouncing were untinctured by any foreign mixture, and bespoke the +perfect knowledge of a native of America. + +On the next evening, while Constantia was reviewing this transaction, +calling up and weighing the sentiments which the stranger had uttered, +and indulging some regret at the unlikelihood of their again meeting, +Martinette (for I will henceforth call her by her true name) entered the +apartment as abruptly as before. She accounted for the visit merely by +the pleasure it afforded her, and proceeded in a strain even more +versatile and brilliant than before. This interview ended like the +first, without any tokens on the part of the guest, of resolution or +desire to renew it; but a third interview took place on the ensuing day. + +Henceforth Martinette became a frequent but hasty visitant, and +Constantia became daily more enamoured of her new acquaintance. She did +not overlook peculiarities in the conversation and deportment of this +woman. These exhibited no tendencies to confidence or traces of +sympathy. They merely denoted large experience, vigorous faculties, and +masculine attainments. Herself was never introduced, except as an +observer; but her observations on government and manners were profound +and critical. + +Her education seemed not widely different from that which Constantia had +received. It was classical and mathematical; but to this was added a +knowledge of political and military transactions in Europe during the +present age, which implied the possession of better means of information +than books. She depicted scenes and characters with the accuracy of one +who had partaken and witnessed them herself. + +Constantia's attention had been chiefly occupied by personal concerns. +Her youth had passed in contention with misfortune, or in the quietudes +of study. She could not be unapprised of contemporary revolutions and +wars, but her ideas concerning them were indefinite and vague. Her views +and her inferences on this head were general and speculative. Her +acquaintance with history was exact and circumstantial, in proportion as +she retired backward from her own age. She knew more of the siege of +Mutina than that of Lisle; more of the machinations of Cataline and the +tumults of Clodius, than of the prostration of the Bastile, and the +proscriptions of Marat. + +She listened, therefore, with unspeakable eagerness to this reciter, who +detailed to her, as the occasion suggested, the progress of action and +opinion on the theatre of France and Poland. Conceived and rehearsed as +this was with the energy and copiousness of one who sustained a part in +the scene, the mind of Constantia was always kept at the pitch of +curiosity and wonder. + +But, while this historian described the features, personal deportment, +and domestic character of Antoinette, Mirabeau and Robespierre, an +impenetrable veil was drawn over her own condition. There was a warmth +and freedom in her details, which bespoke her own co-agency in these +events, but was unattended by transports of indignation or sorrow, or by +pauses of abstraction, such as were likely to occur in one whose hopes +and fears had been intimately blended with public events. + +Constantia could not but derive humiliation from comparing her own +slender acquirements with those of her companion. She was sensible that +all the differences between them arose from diversities of situation. +She was eager to discover in what particulars this diversity consisted. +She was for a time withheld, by scruples not easily explained, from +disclosing her wishes. An accident, however, occurred to remove these +impediments. One evening this unceremonious visitant discovered +Constantia busily surveying a chart of the Mediterranean Sea. This +circumstance led the discourse to the present state of Syria and Cyprus. +Martinette was copious in her details. Constantia listened for a time; +and, when a pause ensued, questioned her companion as to the means she +possessed of acquiring so much knowledge. This question was proposed +with diffidence, and prefaced by apologies. + +"Instead of being offended by your question," replied the guest, "I only +wonder that it never before occurred to you. Travellers tell us much. +Volney and Mariti would have told you nearly all that I have told. With +these I have conversed personally, as well as read their books; but my +knowledge is, in truth, a species of patrimony. I inherit it." + +"Will you be good enough," said Constantia, "to explain yourself?" + +"My mother was a Greek of Cyprus. My father was a Slavonian of Ragusa, +and I was born in a garden at Aleppo." + +"That was a singular concurrence." + +"How singular? That a nautical vagrant like my father should sometimes +anchor in the Bay of Naples; that a Cyprian merchant should carry his +property and daughter beyond the reach of a Turkish sangjack, and seek +an asylum so commodious as Napoli; that my father should have dealings +with this merchant, see, love, and marry his daughter, and afterwards +procure from the French government a consular commission to Aleppo; that +the union should in due time be productive of a son and daughter,--are +events far from being singular. They happen daily." + +"And may I venture to ask if this be your history?" + +"The history of my parents. I hope you do not consider the place of my +birth as the sole or the most important circumstance of my life." + +"Nothing would please me more than to be enabled to compare it with +other incidents. I am apt to think that your life is a tissue of +surprising events. That the daughter of a Ragusan and Greek should have +seen and known so much; that she should talk English with equal fluency +and more correctness than a native; that I should now be conversing with +her in a corner so remote from Cyprus and Sicily, are events more +wonderful than any which I have known." + +"Wonderful! Pish! Thy ignorance, thy miscalculation of probabilities is +far more so. My father talked to me in Slavonic; my mother and her maids +talked to me in Greek. My neighbours talked to me in a medley of Arabic, +Syriac, and Turkish. My father's secretary was a scholar. He was as well +versed in Lysias and Xenophon as any of their contemporaries. He +laboured for ten years to enable me to read a language essentially the +same with that I used daily to my nurse and mother. Is it wonderful then +that I should be skilful in Slavonic, Greek, and the jargon of Aleppo? +To have refrained from learning was impossible. Suppose, a girl, prompt, +diligent, inquisitive, to spend ten years of her life partly in Spain, +partly in Tuscany, partly in France, and partly in England. With her +versatile curiosity and flexible organs would it be possible For her to +remain ignorant of each of these languages? Latin is the mother of them +all, and presents itself of course to her studious attention." + +"I cannot easily conceive motives which should lead you before the age +of twenty through so many scenes." + +"Can you not? You grew and flourished, like a frail mimosa, in the spot +where destiny had planted you. Thank my stars, I am somewhat better than +a vegetable. Necessity, it is true, and not choice, set me in motion, +but I am not sorry for the consequences." + +"Is it too much," said Constantia, with some hesitation, "to request a +detail of your youthful adventures?" + +"Too much to give, perhaps, at a short notice. To such as you my tale +might abound with novelty, while to others, more acquainted with +vicissitudes, it would be tedious and flat. I must be gone in a few +minutes. For that and for better reasons, I must not be minute. A +summary at present will enable you to judge how far a more copious +narrative is suited to instruct or to please you." + + +END OF VOL. II + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME II (OF 3)*** + + +******* This file should be named 36290-8.txt or 36290-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/2/9/36290 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Ormond, Volume II (of 3)</p> +<p> or, The Secret Witness</p> +<p>Author: Charles Brockden Brown</p> +<p>Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36290]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME II (OF 3)***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by Andrea Ball, Christine Bell, & Marc D'Hooghe<br /> + (<a href="http://www.freeliterature.org">http://www.freeliterature.org</a>)<br /> + from page images generously made available by<br /> + the Google Books Library Project<br /> + (<a href="http://books.google.com/">http://books.google.com/</a>)</h4> +<p> </p> +<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + Note: + </td> + <td> + Project Gutenberg also has the other two volumes of + this book.<br /> + <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36289/36289-h/36289-h.htm">Volume I</a>: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36289<br /> + <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36291/36291-h/36291-h.htm">Volume III</a>: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36291<br /> + <br /> + Images of the original pages are available through + the the Google Books Library Project. See + <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=RRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8"> + http://books.google.com/books?id=RRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8</a> + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<div class="center"> +<table style="margin: 0 auto" cellpadding="0"><tr><td> +<p class="small"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br /> +</p> +</td></tr> +</table> +</div> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1>ORMOND;</h1> + +<h3>OR,</h3> + +<h3><i>THE SECRET WITNESS.</i></h3> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>B.C. BROWN,</h2> + +<h4>AUTHOR OF WIELAND, OR TRANSFORMATION.</h4> + + +<h4><i>IN THREE VOLUMES.</i></h4> + +<h4>VOL. II.</h4> + + +<p class="center">"Sæpe intereunt aliis meditantes necem."</p> + +<p style="margin-left: 35em; font-size: 0.8em;">PHÆDRUS</p> + +<p class="center">"Those who plot the destruction of others, very often fall, +themselves the victims."</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h5>PHILADELPHIA PRINTED,</h5> + +<h5>LONDON, RE-PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN,</h5> + +<h5>ENGLISH AND FOREIGN PUBLIC LIBRARY,</h5> + +<h5>CONDUIT-STREET, BOND-STREET.</h5> + +<h5>1811</h5> + + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + + +<h4>TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE</h4> + +<h4>LADY CASTLEREAGH,</h4> + +<h4>THESE VOLUMES</h4> + +<h4>are respectfully inscribed,</h4> + +<h4>by her Ladyship's</h4> + +<h4>most obedient, and humble Servant,</h4> + +<h4>HENRY COLBURN.</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>ORMOND,</h3> + +<h4>OR THE</h4> + +<h4>SECRET WITNESS</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h3> + + +<p>On leaving Mr. Ormond's house, Constantia was met by that gentleman. He +saw her as she came out, and was charmed with the simplicity of her +appearance. On entering, he interrogated the servant as to the business +that brought her thither.</p> + +<p>"So," said he, as he entered the drawing-room, where Craig was seated, +"you have had a visitant. She came, it seems, on a pressing occasion, +and would be put off with nothing but a letter."</p> + +<p>Craig had not expected this address, but it only precipitated the +execution of a design that he had formed. Being aware of this or +similar accidents, he had constructed and related on a previous occasion +to Ormond a story suitable to his purpose.</p> + +<p>"Ay," said he, in a tone of affected compassion, "it is a sad affair +enough. I am sorry it is not in my power to help the poor girl. She is +wrong in imputing her father's misfortunes to me, but I know the source +of her mistake. Would to heaven it was in my flower to repair the wrongs +they have suffered not from me, but from one whose relationship is a +disgrace to me."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," replied the other, "you are willing to explain this affair."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I wish to explain it. I was afraid of some such accident as this. +An explanation is due to my character. I have already told you my story. +I mentioned to you a brother of mine. There is scarcely thirteen months +difference in our ages. There is a strong resemblance between him and +me in our exterior, though I hope there is none at all in our minds. +This brother was a partner of a gentleman, the father of this girl, at +New York. He was a long time nothing better than an apprentice to Mr. +Dudley, but he advanced so much in the good graces of his master, that +he finally took him into partnership. I did not know till I arrived on +the continent the whole of his misconduct. It appears that he embezzled +the property of the house, and fled away with it, and the consequence +was, that his quondam master was ruined. I am often mistaken for my +brother, to my no small inconvenience: but all this I told you formerly. +See what a letter I just now received from this girl."</p> + +<p>Craig was one of the most plausible of men. His character was a standing +proof of the vanity of physiognomy. There were few men who could refuse +their confidence to his open and ingenuous aspect. To this +circumstance, perhaps, he owed his ruin. His temptations to deceive +were stronger than what are incident to most other men. Deception was so +easy a task, that the difficulty lay, not in infusing false opinions +respecting him, but in preventing them from being spontaneously imbibed. +He contracted habits of imposture imperceptibly. In proportion as he +deviated from the practice of truth, he discerned the necessity of +extending and systematizing his efforts, and of augmenting the original +benignity and attractiveness of his looks, by studied additions. The +further he proceeded, the more difficult it was to return. Experience +and habit added daily to his speciousness, till at length the world +perhaps might have been searched in vain for his competitor.</p> + +<p>He had been introduced to Ormond under the most favourable auspices. He +had provided against a danger which he knew to be imminent, by relating +his own story as if it were his brother's. He had, however, made +various additions to it, serving to aggravate the heinousness of his +guilt. This arose partly from policy, and partly from the habit of +lying, which was prompted by a fertile invention, and rendered +inveterate by incessant exercise. He interwove in his tale an intrigue +between Miss Dudley and his brother. The former was seduced, and this +man had employed his skill in chirographical imitation, in composing +letters from Miss Dudley to his brother, which sufficiently attested her +dishonour. He and his brother, he related, to have met in Jamaica, where +the latter died, by which meant his personal property and papers came +into his possession.</p> + +<p>Ormond read the letter which his companion presented to him on this +occasion. The papers which Craig had formerly permitted him to inspect +had made him familiar with her handwriting. The penmanship was, indeed, +similar, yet this was written in a spirit not quite congenial with that +which had dictated her letters to her lover. But he reflected that the +emergency was extraordinary, and that the new scenes through which she +had passed, had, perhaps, enabled her to retrieve her virtue and enforce +it. The picture which she drew of her father's distresses affected him +and his companion very differently. He pondered on it for some time in +silence; he then looked up, and with his usual abruptness said, "I +suppose you gave her something?"</p> + +<p>"No. I was extremely sorry that it was not in my power. I have nothing +but a little trifling silver about me. I I have no more at home than +will barely suffice to pay my board here, and my expenses to Baltimore. +Till I reach there I cannot expect a supply. I was less uneasy I confess +on this account, because I knew you to be equally willing and much more +able to afford the relief she asks."</p> + +<p>This Mr. Ormond had predetermined to do. He paused only to deliberate in +what manner it could, with most propriety, be done. He was always +willing, when he conferred benefits, to conceal the author. He was not +displeased when gratitude was misplaced, and readily allowed his +instruments to act as if they were principals. He questioned not the +veracity of Craig, and was, therefore, desirous to free him from the +molestation that was threatened in the way which had been prescribed. He +put a note of one hundred dollars into his hand, and enjoined him to +send it to the Dudleys that evening, or early the next morning. "I am +pleased," he added, "with the style of this letter: It can be of no +service to you; leave it in my possession."</p> + +<p>Craig would much rather have thrown it into the fire; but he knew the +character of his companion, and was afraid to make any objection to his +request. He promised to send, or carry the note the next morning, +before he set out on his intended journey.</p> + +<p>This journey was to Baltimore, and was undertaken so soon merely to +oblige his friend, who was desirous of remitting to Baltimore a +considerable sum in English guineas, and who had been for some time in +search of one who might execute this commission with fidelity. The offer +of Craig had been joyfully accepted, and next morning had been the time +fixed for his departure, a period the most opportune for Craig's designs +that could be imagined. To return to Miss Dudley.</p> + +<p>The sum that remained to her after the discharge of her debts would +quickly be expended. It was no argument of wisdom to lose sight of the +future in the oblivion of present care. The time would inevitably come +when new resources would be necessary. Every hour brought nearer the +period without facilitating the discovery of new expedients. She related +the recent adventure to her father. He acquiesced in the propriety of +her measures, but the succour that she had thus obtained consoled him +but little. He saw how speedily it would again be required, and was +hopeless of a like fortunate occurrence.</p> + +<p>Some days had elapsed, and Constantia had been so fortunate as to +procure some employment. She was thus engaged in the evening when they +were surprised by a visit from their landlord. This was an occurrence +that foreboded them no good. He entered with abruptness, and scarcely +noticed the salutations that he received. His bosom swelled with +discontent, which seemed ready to be poured out upon his two companions. +To the inquiry as to the condition of his health and that of his family, +he surlily answered: "Never mind how I am: none the better for my +tenants I think. Never was a man so much plagued as I have been; what +with one putting me off from time to time; what with another quarrelling +about terms, and denying his agreement, and another running away in my +debt, I expect nothing but to come to poverty—God help me!—at last. +But this was the worst of all. I was never before treated so in all my +life. I don't know what or when I shall get to the end of my troubles. +To be fobbed out of my rent and twenty-five dollars into the bargain! It +is very strange treatment, I assure you, Mr. Dudley."</p> + +<p>"What is it you mean?" replied that gentleman. "You have received your +dues, and—"</p> + +<p>"Received my dues, indeed! High enough too! I have received none of my +dues. I have been imposed upon. I have been put to very great trouble, +and expect some compensation. There is no knowing the character of one's +tenants. There is nothing but knavery in the world one would think. I'm +sure no man has suffered more by bad tenants than I have. But this is +the strangest treatment I ever met with. Very strange indeed, Dudley, +and I must be paid without delay. To lose my rent and twenty-five +dollars into the bargain, is too hard. I never met with the equal of +it—not I. Besides, I wou'dn't be put to all this trouble for twice the +sum."</p> + +<p>"What does all this mean, Mr. M'Crea? You seem inclined to scold; but I +cannot conceive why you came here for that purpose. This behaviour is +improper—"</p> + +<p>"No, it is very proper, and I want payment of my money. Fifty dollars +you owe me. Miss comes to pay me my rent as I thought. She brings me a +fifty-dollar note; I changes it for her, for I thought to be sure I was +quite safe: but, behold, when I sends it to the bank to get the money, +they sends me back word that it's forged, and calls on me, before a +magistrate, to tell them where I got it from. I'm sure I never was so +flustered in my life. I would not have such a thing for ten times the +sum."</p> + +<p>He proceeded to descant on his loss without any interruption from his +auditors, whom this intelligence had struck dumb. Mr. Dudley instantly +saw the origin and full extent of this misfortune. He was, nevertheless, +calm, and indulged in no invectives against Craig. "It is all of a +piece," said he: "our ruin is inevitable. Well then, let it come."</p> + +<p>After M'Crea had railed himself weary, he flung out of the house, +warning them that next morning he should distrain for his rent, and, at +the same time, sue them for the money that Constantia had received in +exchange for her note.</p> + +<p>Miss Dudley was unable to pursue her task. She laid down her needle, and +fixed her eyes upon her father. They had been engaged in earnest +discourse when their landlord entered. Now there was a pause of profound +silence, till the affectionate Lucy, who sufficiently comprehended this +scene, gave vent to her affliction in sobs. Her mistress turned to +her:—</p> + +<p>"Cheer up, my Lucy. We shall do well enough, my girl. Our state is bad +enough, without doubt, but despair will make it worse."</p> + +<p>The anxiety that occupied her mind related less to herself than to her +father. He, indeed in the present instance, was exposed to prosecution. +It was he who was answerable for the debt, and whose person would be +thrown into durance by the suit that was menaced. The horrors of a +prison had not hitherto been experienced or anticipated. The worst evil +that she had imagined was inexpressibly inferior to this. The idea had +in it something of terrific and loathsome. The mere supposition of its +being possible was not to be endured. If all other expedients should +fail, she thought of nothing less than desperate resistance. No. It was +better to die than to go to prison.</p> + +<p>For a time she was deserted of her admirable equanimity. This, no doubt, +was the result of surprise. She had not yet obtained the calmness +necessary to deliberation. During this gloomy interval, she would, +perhaps, have adapted any scheme, however dismal and atrocious, which +her father's despair might suggest. She would not refuse to terminate +her own and her father's unfortunate existence by poison or the cord.</p> + +<p>This confusion of mind could not exist long; it gradually gave place to +cheerful prospects. The evil perhaps was not without its timely remedy. +The person whom she had set out to visit, when her course was diverted +by Craig, she once more resolved to apply to; to lay before him, without +reserve, her father's situation, to entreat pecuniary succour, and to +offer herself as a servant in his family, or in that of any of his +friends who stood in need of one. This resolution, in a slight degree, +consoled her; but her mind had been too thoroughly disturbed to allow +her any sleep during that night.</p> + +<p>She equipped herself betimes, and proceeded with a doubting heart to the +house of Mr. Melbourne. She was informed that he had risen, but was +never to be seen at so early an hour. At nine o'clock he would be +disengaged, and she would be admitted. In the present state of her +affairs this delay was peculiarly unwelcome. At breakfast, her suspense +and anxieties would not allow her to eat a morsel; and when the hour +approached she prepared herself for a new attempt.</p> + +<p>As she went out, she met at the door a person whom she recognized, and +whose office she knew to be that of a constable. Constantia had +exercised, in her present narrow sphere, that beneficence which she had +formerly exerted in a larger. There was nothing, consistent with her +slender means, that she did not willingly perform for the service of +others. She had not been sparing of consolation and personal aid in +many cases of personal distress that had occurred in her neighbourhood +Hence, as far as she was known, he was reverenced.</p> + +<p>The wife of their present visitant had experienced her succour and +sympathy, on occasion of the death of a favourite child. The man, +notwithstanding his office, was not of a rugged or ungrateful temper. +The task that was now imposed upon him he undertook with extreme +reluctance. He was somewhat reconciled to it by the reflection that +another might not perform it with that gentleness and lenity which he +found in himself a disposition to exercise on all occasions, but +particularly on the present.</p> + +<p>She easily guessed at his business, and having greeted him with the +utmost friendliness, returned with him into the house. She endeavoured +to remove the embarrassment that hung about him, but in vain. Having +levied what the law very properly calls a distress, he proceeded, after +much hesitation, to inform Dudley that he was charged with a message +from a magistrate, summoning him to come forthwith, and account for +having a forged banknote in his possession.</p> + +<p>M'Crea had given no intimation of this. The painful surprise that it +produced soon yielded to a just view of this affair. Temporary +inconvenience and vexation was all that could be dreaded from it. Mr. +Dudley hated to be seen or known. He usually walked out in the dusk of +evening, but limited his perambulations to a short space. At all other +times he was obstinately recluse. He was easily persuaded by his +daughter to allow her to perform this unwelcome office in his stead. He +had not received, nor even seen the note. He would have willingly spared +her the mortification of a judicial examination, but he knew that this +was unavoidable. Should he comply with this summons himself, his +daughter's presence would be equally necessary.</p> + +<p>Influenced by these considerations, he was willing that his daughter +should accompany the messenger, who was content that they should consult +their mutual convenience in this respect. This interview was to her not +without its terrors; but she cherished the hope that it might ultimately +conduce to good. She did not foresee the means by which this would be +effected, but her heart was lightened by a secret and inexplicable faith +in the propitiousness of some event that was yet to occur. This faith +was powerfully enforced when she reached the magistrate's door, and +found that he was no other than Melbourne, whose succour she intended to +solicit. She was speedily ushered, not into his office, but into a +private apartment, where he received her alone.</p> + +<p>He had been favourably prepossessed with regard to her character by the +report of the officer who, on being charged with the message, had +accounted for the regret which he manifested, by dwelling on the merits +of Miss Dudley. He behaved with grave civility, requested her to be +seated, and accurately scrutinized her appearance. She found herself not +deceived in her preconceptions of this gentleman's character, and drew a +favourable omen as to the event of this interview by what had already +taken place. He viewed her in silence for some time, and then, in a +conciliating tone, said:—</p> + +<p>"It seems to me, madam, as if I had seen you before. Your face, indeed, +is of that kind which, when once seen, is not easily forgotten. I know +it is a long time since, but I cannot tell when or where. If you will +not deem me impertinent, I will venture to ask you to assist my +conjectures. Your name, as I am informed, is Acworth."—(I ought to have +mentioned that Mr. Dudley, on his removal from New York, among other +expedients to obliterate the memory of his former condition, and +conceal his poverty from the World, had made this change in his name.)</p> + +<p>"That, indeed," said the lady, "is the name which my father at present +bears. His real name is Dudley. His abode was formerly in Queen Street, +New York. Your conjecture, Sir, is not erroneous. This is not the first +time we have seen each other. I well recollect your having been at my +father's house in the days of his prosperity."</p> + +<p>"Is it possible?" exclaimed Mr. Melbourne, starting from his seat in the +first impulse of his astonishment. "Are you the daughter of my friend +Dudley, by whom I have so often been hospitably entertained? I have +heard of his misfortunes, but knew not that he was alive, or in what +part of the world he resided.</p> + +<p>"You are summoned on a very disagreeable affair, but I doubt not you +will easily exculpate your father. I am told that he is blind, and that +his situation is by no means as comfortable as might be wished. I am +grieved that he did not confide in the friendship of those that knew +him. What could prompt him to conceal himself?"</p> + +<p>"My father has a proud spirit. It is not yet broken by adversity. He +disdains <i>to beg</i>, but I must now assume <i>that office</i> for his sake. I +came hither this morning to lay before you his situation, and to entreat +your assistance to save him from a prison. He cannot pay for the poor +tenement he occupies; and our few goods are already under distress. He +has, likewise, contracted a debt. He is, I suppose, already sued on this +account, and must go to gaol, unless saved by the interposition of some +friend."</p> + +<p>"It is true," said Melbourne, "I yesterday granted a warrant against him +at the suit of Malcolm M'Crea. Little did I think that the defendant was +Stephen Dudley; but you may dismiss all apprehensions on that score. +That affair shall be settled to your father's satisfaction: meanwhile +we will, if you please, despatch this unpleasant business respecting a +counterfeit note received in payment from you by this M'Crea."</p> + +<p>Miss Dudley satisfactorily explained that affair. She stated the +relation in which Craig had formerly stood to her father, and the acts +of which he had been guilty. She slightly touched on the distresses +which the family had undergone during their abode in this city, and the +means by which she had been able to preserve her father from want. She +mentioned the circumstances which compelled her to seek his charity as +the last resource, and the casual encounter with Craig, by which she was +for the present diverted from that design. She laid before him a copy of +the letter she had written, and explained the result in the gift of the +note which now appeared to be a counterfeit. She concluded with stating +her present views, and soliciting him to receive her into his family, in +quality of a servant, or use his interest with some of his friends to +procure a provision of this kind. This tale was calculated deeply to +affect a man of Mr. Melbourne's humanity.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "I cannot listen to such a request. My inclination is +bounded by my means. These will not allow me to place you in an +independent situation; but I will do what I can. With your leave, I will +introduce you to my wife in your true character. Her good sense will +teach her to set a just value on your friendship. There is no disgrace +in earning your subsistence by your own industry. She and her friends +will furnish you with plenty of materials; but if there ever be a +deficiency, look to them for a supply."</p> + +<p>Constantia's heart overflowed at this declaration. Her silence was more +eloquent than any words could have been. She declined an immediate +introduction to his wife, and withdrew; but not till her new friend had +forced her to accept some money.</p> + +<p>"Place it to account," said he. "It is merely paying you before hand, +and discharging a debt at the time when it happens to be most useful to +the creditor."</p> + +<p>To what entire and incredible reverses is the tenor of human life +subject! A short minute shall effect a transition from a state utterly +destitute of hope to a condition where, all is serene and abundant. The +path, which we employ all our exertions to shun, is often found, upon +trial, to be the true road to prosperity.</p> + +<p>Constantia retired from this interview with a heart bounding with +exultation. She related to her father all that had happened. He was +pleased on her account, but the detection of his poverty by Melbourne +was the parent of new mortification. His only remaining hope relative to +himself was that he should die in his obscurity, whereas, it was +probable that his old acquaintance would trace him to his covert. This +prognostic filled him with the deepest inquietude, and all the +reasonings of his daughter were insufficient to appease him.</p> + +<p>Melbourne made his appearance in the afternoon. He was introduced by +Constantia to her father. Mr. Dudley's figure was emaciated, and his +features corroded by his ceaseless melancholy. His blindness produced in +them a woeful and wildering expression. His dress betokened his penury, +and was in unison with the meanness of his habitation and furniture. The +visitant was struck with the melancholy contrast, which these +appearances exhibited, to the joyousness and splendour that he had +formerly witnessed.</p> + +<p>Mr. Dudley received the salutations of his guest with an air of +embarrassment and dejection. He resigned to his daughter the task of +sustaining the conversation, and excused himself from complying with the +urgent invitations of Melbourne, while, at the same time, he studiously +forebore all expressions tending to encourage any kind of intercourse +between them.</p> + +<p>The guest came with a message from his wife, who entreated Miss Dudley's +company to tea with her that evening, adding that she should be entirely +alone. It was impossible to refuse compliance with this request. She +cheerfully assented, and in the evening was introduced to Mrs. Melbourne +by her husband.</p> + +<p>Constantia found in this lady nothing that called for reverence or +admiration, though she could not deny her some portion of esteem. The +impression which her own appearance and conversation made upon her +entertainer was much more powerful and favourable. A consciousness of +her own worth, and disdain of the malevolence of fortune, perpetually +shone forth in her behaviour. It was modelled by a sort of mean between +presumption on the one hand, and humility on the other. She claimed no +more than what was justly due to her, but she claimed no less. She did +not soothe our vanity nor fascinate our pity by diffident reserves and +fluttering. Neither did she disgust by arrogant negligence, and +uncircumspect loquacity.</p> + +<p>At parting she received commissions in the way of her profession, which +supplied her with abundant and profitable employment. She abridged her +visit on her father's account, and parted from her new friend just early +enough to avoid meeting with Ormond, who entered the house a few minutes +after she had left it.</p> + +<p>"What pity," said Melbourne to him, "you did not come a little sooner. +You pretend to be a judge of beauty. I should like to have heard your +opinion of a face that has just left us."</p> + +<p>"Describe it," said the other.</p> + +<p>"That is beyond my capacity. Complexion, and hair, and eyebrows may be +painted, but these are of no great value in the present case. It is in +the putting them together that nature has here shown her skill, and not +in the structure of each of the parts, individually considered. Perhaps +you may at some time meet each other here. If a lofty fellow like you, +now, would mix a little common sense with his science, this girl might +hope for a husband, and her father for a natural protector."</p> + +<p>"Are they ill search of one or the other?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot say they are. Nay, I imagine they would hear any imputation +with more patience than that, but certain I am, they stand in need of +them. How much would it be to the honour of a man like you rioting in +wealth, to divide it with one, lovely and accomplished as this girl is, +and struggling with indigence!"</p> + +<p>Melbourne then related the adventure of the morning. It was easy for +Ormond to perceive that this was the same person of whom he already had +some knowledge; but there were some particulars in the narrative that +excited surprise. A note had been received from Craig, at the first +visit in the evening, and this note was for no more than fifty dollars. +This did not exactly tally with the information received from Craig. But +this note was forged. Might not this girl mix a little imposture with +her truth? Who knows her temptations to hypocrisy? It might have been a +present from another quarter, and accompanied with no very honourable +conditions. Exquisite wretch! Those whom honesty will not let live must +be knaves. Such is the alternative offered by the wisdom of society.</p> + +<p>He listened to the tale with apparent indifference. He speedily shifted +the conversation to new topics, and put an end to his visit sooner than +ordinary.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h3> + + +<p>I know no task more arduous than a just delineation of the character of +Ormond. To scrutinize and ascertain our own principles is abundantly +difficult. To exhibit these principles to the world with absolute +sincerity can hardly be expected. We are prompted to conceal and to +feign by a thousand motives; but truly to portray the motives, and +relate the actions of another, appears utterly impossible. The attempt, +however, if made with fidelity and diligence, is not without its use.</p> + +<p>To comprehend the whole truth with regard to the character and conduct +of another, may be denied to any human being, but different observers +will have, in their pictures, a greater or less portion of this truth. +No representation will be wholly false, and some, though not perfectly, +may yet be considerably exempt from error.</p> + +<p>Ormond was of all mankind the being most difficult and most deserving to +be studied. A fortunate concurrence of incidents has unveiled his +actions to me with more distinctness than to any other. My knowledge is +far from being absolute, but I am conscious of a kind of duty, first to +my friend, and secondly to mankind, to impart the knowledge I possess.</p> + +<p>I shall omit to mention the means by which I became acquainted with his +character, nor shall I enter, at this time, into every part of it. His +political projects are likely to possess an extensive influence on the +future condition of this western world. I do not conceive myself +authorized to communicate a knowledge of his schemes, which I gained, in +some sort, surreptitiously, or at least, by means of which he was not +apprised. I shall merely explain the maxims by which he was accustomed +to regulate his private deportment.</p> + +<p>No one could entertain loftier conceptions of human capacity than +Ormond, but he carefully distinguished between men in the abstract, and +men as they are. The former were beings to be impelled, by the breath of +accident, in a right or a wrong road, but whatever direction they should +receive, it was the property of their nature to persist in it. Now this +impulse had been given. No single being could rectify the error. It was +the business of the wise man to form a just estimate of things, but not +to attempt, by individual efforts, so chimerical an enterprise as that +of promoting the happiness of mankind. Their condition was out of the +reach of a member of a corrupt society to control. A mortal poison +pervaded the whole system, by means of which every thing received was +converted into bane and purulence. Efforts designed to ameliorate the +condition of an individual were sure of answering a contrary purpose. +The principles of the social machine must be rectified, before men can +be beneficially active. Our motives may be neutral or beneficent, but +our actions tend merely to the production of evil.</p> + +<p>The idea of total forbearance was not less delusive. Man could not be +otherwise than a cause of perpetual operation and efficacy. He was part +of a machine, and as such had not power to withhold his agency. +Contiguousness to other parts, that is, to other men, was all that was +necessary to render him a powerful concurrent. What then was the conduct +incumbent on him? Whether he went forward, or stood still, whether his +motives were malignant, or kind, or indifferent, the mass of evil was +equally and necessarily augmented. It did not follow from these +preliminaries that virtue and duty were terms without a meaning, but +they require us to promote our own happiness and not the happiness of +others. Not because the former end is intrinsically preferable, not +because the happiness of others is unworthy of primary consideration, +but because it is not to be attained. Our power in the present state of +things is subjected to certain limits. A man may reasonably hope to +accomplish his end when he proposes nothing but his own good: any other +point is inaccessible.</p> + +<p>He must not part with benevolent desire: this is a constituent of +happiness. He sees the value of general and particular felicity; he +sometimes paints it to his fancy, but if this be rarely done, it is in +consequence of virtuous sensibility, which is afflicted on observing +that his pictures are reversed in the real state of mankind. A wise man +will relinquish the pursuit of general benefit, but not the desire of +that benefit, or the perception of that in which this benefit consists, +because these are among the ingredients of virtue and the sources of +his happiness.</p> + +<p>Principles, in the looser sense of that term, have little influence on +practice. Ormond was, for the most part, governed, like others, by the +influences of education and present circumstances. It required a +vigilant discernment to distinguish whether the stream of his actions +flowed from one or the other. His income was large, and he managed it +nearly on the same principles as other men. He thought himself entitled +to all the splendour and ease which it would purchase, but his taste was +elaborate and correct. He gratified his love of the beautiful, because +the sensations it afforded were pleasing, but made no sacrifices to the +love of distinction. He gave no expensive entertainments for the sake of +exciting the admiration of stupid gazers, or the flattery or envy of +those who shared them. Pompous equipage and retinue were modes of +appropriating the esteem of mankind which he held in profound contempt. +The garb of his attendants was fashioned after the model suggested by +his imagination, and not in compliance with the dictates of custom.</p> + +<p>He treated with systematic negligence the etiquette that regulates the +intercourse of persons of a certain class. He every where acted, in this +respect, as if he were alone, or among familiar associates. The very +appellations of Sir, and Madam, and Mister, were, in his apprehension, +servile and ridiculous, and as custom or law had annexed no penalty to +the neglect of these, he conformed to his own opinions. It was easier +for him to reduce his notions of equality to practice than for most +others. To level himself with others was an act of condescension and not +of arrogance. It was of requisite to descend rather than to risk,—a +task the most easy, if we regard the obstacle flowing from the prejudice +of mankind, but far most difficult if the motive of the agent be +considered.</p> + +<p>That in which he chiefly placed his boast, was his sincerity. To this he +refused no sacrifice. In consequence of this, his deportment was +disgusting to weak minds, by a certain air of ferocity and haughty +negligence. He was without the attractions of candour, because he +regarded not the happiness of others, but in subservience to his +sincerity. Hence it was natural to suppose that the character of this +man was easily understood. He affected to conceal nothing. No one +appeared more exempt from the instigations of vanity. He set light by +the good opinions of others, had no compassion for their prejudices and +hazarded assertions in their presence which he knew would be, in the +highest degree, shocking to their previous notions. They might take it, +he would say, as they list. Such were his conceptions, and the last +thing he would give up was the use of his tongue. It was his way to give +utterance to the suggestions of his understanding. If they were +disadvantageous to him, the opinions of others, it was well. He did not +want to be regarded in any light but the true one. He was contented to +be rated by the world at his just value. If they esteemed him for +qualities which he did not possess, was he wrong in rectifying their +mistake: but in reality, if they valued him for that to which he had no +claim, and which he himself considered as contemptible, he must +naturally desire to show them their error, and forfeit that praise +which, in his own opinion, was a badge of infamy.</p> + +<p>In listening to his discourse, no one's claim to sincerity appeared less +questionable. A somewhat different conclusion would be suggested by a +survey of his actions. In early youth he discovered in himself a +remarkable facility in imitating the voice and gestures of others. His +memory was eloquently retentive, and these qualities would have rendered +his career, in the theatrical profession, illustrious, had not his +condition raised him above it. His talents were occasionally exerted for +the entertainment of convivial parties and private circles, but he +gradually withdrew from such scenes as he advanced in age, and devoted +his abilities to higher purposes.</p> + +<p>His aversion to duplicity had flowed from experience of its evils. He +had frequently been made its victim; inconsequence of this his temper +had become suspicious, and he was apt to impute deceit on occasions when +others, of no inconsiderable sagacity, were abundantly disposed to +confidence. One transaction had occurred in his life, in which the +consequences of being misled by false appearances were of the utmost +moment to his honour and safety. The usual mode of salving his doubt he +deeded insufficient, and the eagerness of his curiosity tempted him, +for, the first time, to employ, for this end, his talent at imitation. +He therefore assumed a borrowed character and guise, and performed his +part with so much skill as fully to accomplish life design. He whose +mask would have secured him from all other attempts, was thus taken +through an avenue which his caution had overlooked, and the hypocrisy of +his pretensions unquestionably ascertained.</p> + +<p>Perhaps, in a comprehensive view, the success of this expedient was +unfortunate. It served to recommend this method of encountering deceit, +and informed him of the extent of those powers which are so liable to be +abused. A subtlety much inferior to Ormond would suffice to recommend +this mode of action. It was defensible on no other principle than +necessity. The treachery of mankind compelled him to resort to it. If +they should deal in a manner as upright and explicit as himself, it +would be superfluous. But since they were in the perpetual use of +stratagems and artifices, it was allowable, he thought, to wield the +same arms.</p> + +<p>It was easy to perceive, however, that this practice was recommended to +him by other considerations. He was delighted with the power it +conferred. It enabled him to gain access, as if by supernatural means, +to the privacy of others, and baffle their profoundest contrivances to +hide themselves from his view. It flattered him with the possession of +something like omniscience. It was besides an art, in which, as in +others, every accession of skill was a source of new gratification. +Compared with this, the performance of the actor is the sport of +children. This profession he was accustomed to treat with merciless +ridicule, and no doubt some of his contempt arose from a secret +comparison between the theatrical species of imitation and his own. He +blended in his own person the functions of poet and actor, and his +dramas were not fictitious but real. The end that he proposed was not +the amusement of a playhouse mob. His were scenes in which hope and fear +exercised a genuine influence, and in which was maintained that +resemblance to truth so audaciously and grossly violated on the stage.</p> + +<p>It is obvious how many singular conjunctures must have grown out of this +propensity. A mind of uncommon energy like Ormond's, which had occupied +a wide sphere of action, and which could not fail of confederating its +efforts with those of minds like itself, must have given birth to +innumerable incidents, not unworthy to be exhibited by the most eloquent +historian. It is not my business to relate any of these. The fate of +Miss Dudley is intimately connected with him. What influence he obtained +over her destiny, in consequence of this dexterity, will appear in the +sequel.</p> + +<p>It arose from these circumstances, that no one was more impenetrable +than Ormond, though no one's real character seemed more easily +discerned. The projects that occupied his attention were diffused over +an ample space; and his instruments and coadjutors were culled from a +field, whose bounds were those of the civilized world. To the vulgar +eye, therefore, he appeared a man of speculation and seclusion, and was +equally inscrutable in his real and assumed characters. In his real, his +intents were too lofty and comprehensive, as well as too assiduously +shrouded from profane inspection for them to scan. In the latter, +appearances were merely calculated to mislead and not to enlighten.</p> + +<p>In his youth he had been guilty of the usual excesses incident to his +age and character. These had disappeared and yielded place to a more +regular and circumspect system of action. In the choice of his pleasures +he still exposed himself to the censure of the world. Yet there was more +of grossness and licentiousness in the expression of his tenets, than +in the tenets themselves. So far as temporance regards the maintenance +of health, no man adhered to its precepts with more fidelity, but he +esteemed some species of connection with the other sex as venial, which +mankind in general are vehement in condemning.</p> + +<p>In his intercourse with women he deemed himself superior to the +allurements of what is called love. His inferences were drawn from a +consideration of the physical propensities of a human being. In his +scale of enjoyments the gratifications which belonged to these were +placed at the bottom. Yet he did not entirely disdain them, and when +they could be purchased without the sacrifice of superior advantages, +they were sufficiently acceptable.</p> + +<p>His mistake on this head was the result of his ignorance. He had not +hitherto met with a female worthy of his confidence. Their views were +limited and superficial, or their understandings were betrayed by the +tenderness of their hearts. He found in them no intellectual energy, no +superiority to what he accounted vulgar prejudice, and no affinity with +the sentiments which he cherished with most devotion. Their presence had +been capable of exciting no emotion which he did not quickly discover to +be vague and sensual; and the uniformity of his experience at length +instilled into him a belief, that the intellectual constitution of +females was essentially defective. He denied the reality of that passion +which claimed a similitude or sympathy of minds as one of its +ingredients.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h3> + + +<p>He resided in New York some time before he took up his abode in +Philadelphia. He had some pecuniary concerns with a merchant of that +place. He occasionally frequented his house, finding, in the society +which it afforded him, scope for amusing speculation, and opportunities +of gaining a species of knowledge of which at that time he stood in +need. There was one daughter of the family, who of course constituted a +member of the domestic circle.</p> + +<p>Helena Cleves was endowed with every feminine and fascinating quality. +Her features were modified by the most transient sentiments, and were +the seat of a softness at all times blushful and bewitching. All those +graces of symmetry, smoothness, and lustre, which assemble in the +imagination of the painter when he calls from the bosom of her natal +deep the Paphian divinity, blended their perfections in the shape, +complexion, and hair of this lady. Her voice was naturally thrilling and +melodious, and her utterance clear and distinct. A musical education had +added to all these advantages the improvements of art, and no one could +swim in the dance with such airy and transporting elegance.</p> + +<p>It is obvious to inquire whether her mental were, in any degree, on a +level with her exterior accomplishments. Should you listen to her talk, +you would be liable to be deceived in this respect. Her utterance was so +just, her phrases so happy, and her language so copious and correct, +that the hearer was apt to be impressed with an ardent veneration of her +abilities, but the truth is, she was calculated to excite emotions more +voluptuous than dignified. Her presence produced a trance of the senses +rather than an illumination of the soul. It was a topic of wonder how +she should have so carefully separated the husk from the kernel, and he +so absolute a mistress of the vehicle of knowledge, with so slender +means of supplying it: yet it is difficult to judge but from comparison. +To say that Helena Cleves was silly or ignorant would be hatefully +unjust. Her understanding bore no disadvantageous comparison with that +of the majority of her sex; but when placed in competition with that of +some eminent females or of Ormond, it was exposed to the risk of +contempt.</p> + +<p>This lady and Ormond were exposed to mutual examination. The latter was +not unaffected by the radiance that environed this girl, but her true +character was easily discovered, and he was accustomed to regard her +merely as an object charming to the senses. His attention to her was +dictated by this principle. When she sung or talked, it was not +unworthy of the strongest mind to be captivated with her music and her +elocution: but these were the limits which he set to his gratifications. +That sensations of a different kind never ruffled his tranquillity must +not be supposed, but he too accurately estimated their consequences to +permit himself to indulge them.</p> + +<p>Unhappily the lady did not exercise equal fortitude. During a certain +interval Ormond's visits were frequent, and the insensibly contracted +for him somewhat more than reverence. The tenor of his discourse was +little adapted to cherish her hopes. In the declaration of his opinions +he was never withheld by scruples of decorum, or a selfish regard to his +own interest. His matrimonial tenets were harsh and repulsive. A woman +of keener penetration would have predicted from them the disappointment +of her wishes, but Helena's mind was uninured to the discussion of +logical points and the tracing of remote consequences. His presence +inspired feelings which would not permit her to bestow an impartial +attention on his arguments. It is not enough to say that his reasonings +failed to convince her: the combined influence of passion, and an +unenlightened understanding hindered her from fully comprehending them. +All she gathered was a vague conception of something magnificent and +vast in his character.</p> + +<p>Helena was destined to experience the vicissitudes of fortune. Her +father died suddenly and left her without provision. She was compelled +to accept the invitations of a kinswoman, and live, in some sort, a life +of dependence. She was not qualified to sustain this reverse of fortune +in a graceful manner. She could not bear the diminution of her customary +indulgences, and to these privations were added the inquietudes of a +passion which now began to look with an aspect of hopelessness.</p> + +<p>These events happened in the absence of Ormond. On his return he made +himself acquainted with them. He saw the extent of this misfortune to a +woman of Helena's character, but knew not in what manner it might be +effectually obviated. He esteemed it incumbent on him to pay her a visit +in her new abode. This token at least of respect or remembrance his duty +appeared to prescribe.</p> + +<p>This visit was unexpected by the lady. Surprise is the enemy of +concealment. She was oppressed with a sense of her desolate situation. +She was sitting in her own apartment in a museful posture. Her fancy was +occupied with the image of Ormond, and her tears were flowing at the +thought of their eternal separation, when he entered softly and +unperceived by her. A tap upon the shoulder was the first signal of his +presence. So critical an interview could not fail of unveiling the true +state of the lady's heart. Ormond's suspicions were excited, and these +suspicions speedily led to an explanation.</p> + +<p>Ormond retired to ruminate on this discovery. I have already mentioned +his sentiments respecting love. His feelings relative to Helena did not +contradict his principles, yet the image which had formerly been +exquisite in loveliness had now suddenly gained unspeakable attractions. +This discovery had set the question in a new light. It was of sufficient +importance to make him deliberate. He reasoned somewhat in the following +manner:—</p> + +<p>"Marriage is absurd. This flows from the general and incurable +imperfection of the female character. No woman can possess that worth +which would induce me to enter into this contract, and bind myself, +without power of revoking the decree, to her society. This opinion may +possibly be erroneous, but it is undoubtedly true with respect to +Helena, and the uncertainty of the position in general will increase +the necessity of caution in the present case. That woman may exist whom +I should not fear to espouse. This is not her. Some accident may cause +our meeting. Shall I then disable myself, by an irrevocable obligation, +from profiting by so auspicious an occurrence?"</p> + +<p>This girl's society was to be enjoyed in one of two ways. Should he +consult his inclination there was little room for doubt. He had never +met with one more highly qualified for that species of intercourse which +he esteemed rational. No man more abhorred the votaries of +licentiousness. Nothing was more detectable to him than a mercenary +alliance. Personal fidelity and the existence of that passion of which +he had, in the present case, the good fortune to be the object, were +indispensable in his scheme. The union was indebted for its value on the +voluntariness with which it was formed, and the entire acquiescence of +the judgement of both parties in its rectitude. Dissimulation and +artifice were wholly foreign to the success of his project. If the lady +thought proper to assent to his proposal, it was well. She did so +because assent was more eligible than refusal.</p> + +<p>She would, no doubt, prefer marriage. She would deem it more conducive +to happiness. This was an error. This was an opinion, his reasons for +which he was at liberty to state to her; at least it was justifiable in +refusing to subject himself to loathsome and impracticable obligations. +Certain inconveniences attended women who set aside, on these occasions, +the sanction of law; but these were imaginary. They owed their force to +the errors of the sufferer. To annihilate them, it was only necessary to +reason justly; but allowing these inconveniences their full weight and +an indestructible existence, it was but a choice of evils. Were they +worse in this lady's apprehension than an eternal and hopeless +separation? Perhaps they were. If so, she would make her election +accordingly. He did nothing but lay the conditions before her. If his +scheme should obtain the concurrence of her unbiased judgement he should +rejoice. If not, her conduct should be influenced by him. Whatever way +she should decide, he would assist her in adhering to her decision, but +would, meanwhile, furnish her with the materials of a right decision.</p> + +<p>This determination was singular. Many will regard it as incredible. No +man it will be thought can put this deception on himself, and imagine +that there was genuine beneficence in a scheme like this. Would the lady +more consult her happiness by adopting than by rejecting it? There can +be but one answer. It cannot be supposed that Ormond, in stating this +proposal, acted with all the impartiality that he pretended; that he did +not employ fallacious exaggerations and ambiguous expedients; that he +did not seize every opportunity of triumphing over her weakness, and +building his success rather on the illusions of her heart than the +convictions of her understanding. His conclusions were specious but +delusive, and were not uninfluenced by improper biases; but of this he +himself was scarcely conscious, and it must be at least admitted that he +acted with scrupulous sincerity.</p> + +<p>An uncommon degree of skill was required to introduce this topic so as +to avoid the imputation of an insult. This scheme was little in unison +with all her preconceived notions. No doubt the irksomeness of her +present situation, the allurements of luxury and ease which Ormond had +to bestow, and the revival of her ancient independence and security, had +some share in dictating her assent.</p> + +<p>Her concurrence was by no means cordial and unhesitating. Remorse and +the sense of dishonour pursued her to her retreat, though chosen with a +view of shunning their intrusions; and it was only when the reasonings +and blandishments of her lover were exhibited, that she was lulled into +temporary tranquillity.</p> + +<p>She removed to Philadelphia. Here she enjoyed all the consolations of +opulence. She was mistress of a small but elegant mansion. She possessed +all the means of solitary amusement, and frequently enjoyed the company +of Ormond. These however were insufficient to render her happy. Certain +reflections might, for a time, be repressed as divested of their sting, +but they insinuated themselves at every interval, and imparted to her +mind a hue of rejection from which she could not entirely relieve +herself.</p> + +<p>She endeavoured to acquire a relish for the pursuits of literature, by +which her lonely hours might be cheered; but of this, even in the +blithsomeness and serenity of her former days, she was incapable; +—much more so now when she was the prey of perpetual inquietude. Ormond +perceived this change, not without uneasiness. All his efforts to +reconcile her to her present situation were fruitless. They produced a +momentary effect upon her. The softness of her temper and her attachment +to him would, at his bidding, restore her to vivacity and ease, but the +illumination seldom endured longer than his presence and the novelty of +some amusement with which he had furnished her.</p> + +<p>At his next visit, perhaps, he would find that a new task awaited him. +She indulged herself in no recriminations or invectives. She could not +complain that her lover had deceived her. She had voluntarily and +deliberately accepted the conditions prescribed. She regarded her own +disposition to repine as a species of injustice. She laid no claim to an +increase of tenderness. She hinted not a wish for a change of situation; +yet she was unhappy. Tears stole into her eyes, and her thoughts +wandered into gloomy reverie, at moments when least aware of their +reproach, and least willing to indulge them.</p> + +<p>Was a change to be desired? Yes; provided that change was equally +agreeable to Ormond, and should be seriously proposed by him: of this +she had no hope. As long as his accents rung in her ears, she even +doubted whether it were to be wished. At any rate, it was impossible to +gain his approbation to it. Her destiny was fixed. It was better than +the cessation of all intercourse, yet her heart was a stranger to all +permanent tranquillity.</p> + +<p>Her manners were artless and ingenuous. In company with Ormond her heart +was perfectly unveiled. He was her divinity, to whom every sentiment was +visible, and to whom she spontaneously uttered what she thought, because +the employment was pleasing; because he listened with apparent +satisfaction; and because, in fine, it was the same thing to speak and +to think in his presence. There was no inducement to conceal from him +the most evanescent and fugitive ideas.</p> + +<p>Ormond was not an inattentive or indifferent spectator of those +appearances. His friend was unhappy. She shrunk aghast from her own +reproaches and the censure of the world. This morbid sensibility he had +endeavoured to cure, but hitherto in vain. What was the amount of her +unhappiness? Her spirits had formerly been gay; but her gaiety was +capable of yielding place to soul-ravishing and solemn tenderness, after +sedateness was, at those times, the offspring not of reflection but of +passion. There still remained much of her former self. He was seldom +permitted to witness more than the traces of sorrow. In answer to his +inquiries, she, for the most part, described sensations that were gone, +and which she flattered herself and him would never return; but this +hope was always doomed to disappointment. Solitude infallibly conjured +up the ghost which had been laid, and it was plain that argument was no +adequate remedy for this disease.</p> + +<p>How far would time alleviate its evils? When the novelty of her +condition should disappear, would she not regard it with other eyes? By +being familiar with contempt, it will lose its sting; but is that to be +wished? Must not the character be thoroughly depraved before the scorn +of our neighbours shall become indifferent? Indifference, flowing from a +sense of justice, and a persuasion that our treatment is unmerited, is +characteristic of the noblest minds; but indifference to obloquy, +because we are habituated to it is a token of peculiar baseness. This, +therefore, was a remedy to be ardently deprecated.</p> + +<p>He had egregiously overrated the influence of truth and his own +influence. He had hoped that his victory was permanent. In order to the +success of truth, he was apt to imagine that nothing was needful but +opportunities for a complete exhibition of it. They that inquire and +reason with sufficient deliberateness and caution must inevitably +accomplish their end. These maxims were confuted in the present case. He +had formed no advantageous conceptions of Helena's capacity. His +aversion to matrimony arose from those conceptions; but experience had +shown him that his conclusions, unfavourable as they were, had fallen +short of the truth. Convictions, which he had conceived her mind to be +sufficiently strong to receive and retain, were proved to have made no +other than a momentary impression. Hence his objections to ally himself +to a mind inferior to his own were strengthened rather than diminished. +But he could not endure the thought of being instrumental to her +misery.</p> + +<p>Marriage was an efficacious remedy, but he could not as yet bring +himself to regard the aptitude of this cure as a subject of doubt. The +idea of separation sometimes occurred to him. He was not unapprehensive +of the influence of time and absence in curing the most vehement +passion, but to this expedient the lady could not be reconciled. He knew +her too well to believe that she would willingly adopt it. But the only +obstacle to this scheme did not flow from the lady's opposition. He +would probably have found upon experiment as strong an aversion to adopt +it in himself as in her.</p> + +<p>It was easy to see the motives by which he would be likely to be swayed +into a change of principles. If marriage were the only remedy, the +frequent repetition of this truth must bring him insensibly to doubt the +rectitude of his determinations against it. He deeply reflected on the +consequences which marriage involves. He scrutinised with the utmost +accuracy the character of his friend, and surveyed it in all its parts. +Inclination could not fail of having some influence on his opinions. The +charms of this favourite object tended to impair the clearness of his +view, and extenuate or conceal her defects. He entered on the +enumeration of her errors with reluctance. Her happiness, had it been +wholly disconnected with his own, might have had less weight in the +balance, but now, every time the scales were suspended, this +consideration acquired new weight.</p> + +<p>Most men are influenced in the formation of this contract, by regards +purely physical. They are incapable of higher views. They regard with +indifference every tie that binds them to their contemporaries, or to +posterity. Mind has no part in the motives that guide them. They choose +a wife as they choose any household movable, and when the irritation of +the senses has subsided, the attachment that remains is the offspring +of habit.</p> + +<p>Such were not Ormond's modes of thinking. His creed was of too +extraordinary a kind not to merit explication. The terms of this +contract were, in his eyes, iniquitous and absurd. He could not think +with patience of a promise which no time could annul, which pretended to +ascertain contingencies and regulate the future. To forego the liberty +of choosing his companion, and bind himself to associate with one whom +he despised; to raise to his own level whom nature had irretrievably +degraded; to avow and persist in his adherence to a falsehood, palpable +and loathsome to his understanding; to affirm that he was blind, when in +full possession of his senses; to shut his eyes and grope in the dark, +and call upon the compassion of mankind on his infirmity, when his +organs were in no degree impaired, and the scene around him was luminous +and beautiful,—was an height of infatuation that he could never +attain. And why should he be thus self-degraded? Why should he take a +laborious circuit to reach a point which, when attained, was trivial, +and to which reason had pointed out a road short and direct?</p> + +<p>A wife is generally nothing more than a household superintendent. This +function could not be more wisely vested than it was at present. Every +thing in his domestic system was fashioned on strict and inflexible +principles. He wanted instruments and not partakers of his +authority,—one whose mind was equal and not superior to the cogent +apprehension and punctual performance of his will; one whose character +was squared with mathematical exactness, to his situation. Helena, with +all her faults, did not merit to be regarded in this light. Her +introduction would destroy the harmony of his scheme, and be, with +respect to herself, a genuine debasement. A genuine evil would thus be +substituted for one that was purely imaginary.</p> + +<p>Helena's intellectual deficiencies could not be concealed. She was a +proficient in the elements of no science. The doctrine of lines and +surfaces was as disproportionate with her intellects as with those of +the mock-bird. She had not reasoned on the principles of human action, +nor examined the structure of society. She was ignorant of the past or +present condition of mankind. History had not informed her of the one, +nor the narratives of voyagers, nor the deductions of geography of the +other. The heights of eloquence and poetry were shut out from her view. +She could not commune in their native dialect with the sages of Rome and +Athens. To her those perennial fountains of wisdom and refinement were +sealed. The constitution of nature, the attributes of its author, the +arrangement of the parts of the external universe, and the substance, +modes of operation, and ultimate destiny of human intelligence, were +enigmas unsolved and insoluble by her.</p> + +<p>But this was not all. The superstructure could for the present be +spared. Nay, it was desirable that the province of rearing it should be +reserved for him. All he wanted was a suitable foundation; but this +Helena did not possess. He had not hitherto been able to create in her +the inclination or the power. She had listened to his precepts with +docility. She had diligently conned the lessons which he had prescribed, +but the impressions were as fleeting as if they had been made on water. +Nature seemed to have set impassable limits to her attainments.</p> + +<p>This indeed was an unwelcome belief. He struggled to invalidate it. He +reflected on the immaturity of her age. What but crude and hasty views +was it reasonable to expect at so early a period? If her mind had not +been awakened, it had proceeded, perhaps from the injudiciousness of +his plans, or merely from their not having been persisted in. What was +wanting but the ornaments of mind to render this being all that poets +have feigned of angelic nature? When he indulged himself in imaging the +union of capacious understanding with her personal loveliness, his +conceptions swelled to a pitch of enthusiasm, and it seemed as if no +labour was too great to be employed in the production of such a +creature. And yet, in the midst of his glowings, he would sink into +sudden dejection at the recollection of that which passion had, for a +time, excluded. To make her wise it would be requisite to change her +sex. He had forgotten that his pupil was a female, and her capacity +therefore limited by nature. This mortifying thought was outbalanced by +nature. Her attainments, indeed, were suitable to the imbecility of her +sex; but did she not surpass in those attainments, the ordinary rate of +women? They must not be condemned, because they are outshone by +qualities that are necessarily male births.</p> + +<p>Her accomplishments formed a much more attractive theme. He overlooked +no article in the catalogue. He was confounded at one time, and +encouraged at another, on remarking the contradictions that seemed to be +included in her character. It was difficult to conceive the +impossibility of passing that barrier which yet she was able to touch. +She was no poet. She listened to the rehearsal without emotion, or was +moved, not by the substance of the passage, by the dazzling image, or +the magic sympathy, but by something adscititious; yet, usher her upon +the stage, and no poet could wish for a more powerful organ of his +conceptions. In assuming this office, she appeared to have drank in the +very soul of the dramatist. What was wanting in judgement was supplied +by memory, in the tenaciousness of which she has seldom been rivalled.</p> + +<p>Her sentiments were trite and undigested, but were decorated with all +the fluences and melodies of elocution. Her musical instructor had been +a Sicilian, who had formed her style after the Italian model. This man +had likewise taught her his own language. He had supplied her chiefly +with Sicilian compositions, both in poetry and melody, and was content +to be unclassical, for the sake of the feminine and voluptuous graces of +his native dialect.</p> + +<p>Ormond was an accurate judge of the proficiency of Helena, and of the +felicity with which these accomplishments were suited to her character. +When his pupil personated the victims of anger and grief, and poured +forth the fiery indignation of Calista, or the maternal despair of +Constantia, or the self-contentions of Ipsipile, he could not deny the +homage which her talents might claim.</p> + +<p>Her Sicilian tutor had found her no less tractable as a votary of +painting. She needed only the education of Angelica to exercise as +potent and prolific a pencil. This was incompatible with her condition, +which limited her attainments to the element of this art. It was +otherwise with music. Here there was no obstacle to skill, and here the +assiduities of many years in addition to a prompt and ardent genius, set +her beyond the hopes of rivalship.</p> + +<p>Ormond had often amused his fancy with calling up images of excellences +in this art. He saw no bounds to the influence of habit, in augmenting +the speed and multiplying the divisions of muscular motion. The fingers, +by their form and size, were qualified to outrun and elude the most +vigilant eye. The sensibility of keys and wires had limits; but these +limits depended on the structure of the instrument, and the perfection +of its structure was proportioned to the skill of the artist. On +well-constructed keys and strings, was it possible to carry diversities +of movement and pressure too far? How far they could be carried was mere +theme of conjecture, until it was his fate to listen to the magical +performances of Helena, whose volant finger seemed to be self-impelled. +Her touches were creative of a thousand forms of <i>piano</i>, and of +numberless transitions from grave to quick, perceptible only to ears +like her own.</p> + +<p>In the selection and arrangement of notes there are no limits to +luxuriance and celerity. Helena had long relinquished the drudgery of +imitation. She never played but when there were motives to fervour, and +when she was likely to ascend without impediment, and to maintain for a +suitable period her elevation, to the element of new ideas. The lyrics +of Milton and of Metastasio she sung with accompaniments that never +tired, because they were never repeated. Her harp and clavichord +supplied her with endless combinations, and these, in the opinion of +Ormond, were not inferior to the happiest exertions of Handel and Arne.</p> + +<p>Chess was his favourite amusement. This was the only game which he +allowed himself to play. He had studied it with so much zeal and +success, that there were few with whom he deigned to contend. He was +prone to consider it as a sort of criterion of human capacity. He who +had acquired skill in this <i>science</i> could not be infirm in mind; and +yet he found in Helena a competitor not unworthy of all his energies. +Many hours were consumed in this employment, and here the lady was +sedate, considerate, extensive in foresight, and fertile in expedients.</p> + +<p>Her deportment was graceful, inasmuch as it flowed from a consciousness +of her defects. She was devoid of arrogance and vanity, neither +imagining herself better than she was, and setting light by those +qualifications which she unquestionably possessed. Such was the mixed +character of this woman.</p> + +<p>Ormond was occupied with schemes of a rugged and arduous nature. His +intimate associates and the partakers of his confidence were imbued with +the same zeal and ardent in the same pursuits. Helena could lay no claim +to be exalted to this rank. That one destitute of this claim should +enjoy the privileges of his wife was still a supposition truly +monstrous. Yet the image of Helena, fondly loving him, and a model as he +conceived of tenderness and constancy, devoured by secret remorse, and +pursued by the scorn of mankind,—a mark for slander to shoot at, and an +outcast of society,—did not visit his meditations in vain. The rigour +of his principles began now to relent.</p> + +<p>He considered that various occupations are incident to every man. He +cannot be invariably employed in the promotion of one purpose. He must +occasionally unbend, if he desires that the springs of his mind should +retain their full vigour. Suppose his life were divided between business +and amusement. This was a necessary distribution, and sufficiently +congenial with his temper. It became him to select with skill his +sources of amusement. It is true that Helena was unable to participate +in his graver occupations: what then? In whom were blended so many +pleasurable attributes? In her were assembled an exquisite and delicious +variety. As it was, he was daily in her company. He should scarcely be +more so if marriage should take place. In that case, no change in their +mode of life would be necessary. There was no need of dwelling under the +same roof. His revenue was equal to the support of many household +establishments. His personal independence would remain equally +inviolable. No time, he thought, would diminish his influence over the +mind of Helena, and it was not to be forgotten that the transition would +to her be happy. It would reinstate her in the esteem of the world, and +dispel those phantoms of remorse and shame by which she was at present +persecuted.</p> + +<p>These were plausible considerations. They tended at least to shake his +resolutions. Time would probably have completed the conquest of his +pride, had not a new incident set the question in a new light.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + + +<p>The narrative of Melbourne made a deeper impression on the mind of his +guest than was at first apparent. This man's conduct was directed by the +present impulse; and, however elaborate his abstract notions, he seldom +stopped to settle the agreement between his principles and actions. The +use of money was a science like every other branch of benevolence, not +reducible to any fixed principles. No man, in the disbursement of money, +could say whether he was conferring a benefit or injury. The visible and +immediate effects might be good, but evil was its ultimate and general +tendency. To be governed by a view to the present rather than the future +was a human infirmity from which he did not pretend to be exempt. This, +though an insufficient apology for the conduct of a rational being, was +suitable to his indolence, and he was content in all cases to employ it. +It was thus that he reconciled himself to beneficent acts, and +humourously held himself up as an object of censure, on occasions when +most entitled to applause.</p> + +<p>He easily procured information as to the character and situation of the +Dudleys. Neighbours are always inquisitive, and happily, in this case, +were enabled to make no unfavourable report. He resolved without +hesitation to supply their wants. This he performed in a manner truly +characteristic. There was a method of gaining access to families, and +marking them in their unguarded attitudes, more easy and effectual than +any other: it required least preparation and cost least pains; the +disguise, also, was of the most impenetrable kind. He had served a sort +of occasional apprenticeship to the art, and executed its functions with +perfect ease. It was the most entire and grotesque metamorphosis +imaginable. It was stepping from the highest to the lowest rank in +society, and shifting himself into a form as remote from his own as +those recorded by Ovid. In a word, it was sometimes his practice to +exchange his complexion and habiliments for those of a negro and a +chimney-sweep, and to call at certain doors for employment. This he +generally secured by importunities, and the cheapness of his services.</p> + +<p>When the loftiness of his port, and the punctiliousness of his nicety +were considered, we should never have believed—what yet could be truly +asserted—that he had frequently swept his own chimneys, without the +knowledge of his own servants.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> It was likewise true, though equally +incredible, that he had played at romps with his scullion, and listened +with patience to a thousand slanders on his own character.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Similar exploits are related of Count de la Lippe and +Wortley Montague.</p></div> + +<p>In this disguise he visited the house of Mr. Dudley. It was nine o'clock +in the morning. He remarked with critical eyes, the minutest +circumstance in the appearance and demeanour of his customers, and +glanced curiously at the house and furniture. Every thing was new and +every thing pleased. The walls, though broken into roughness by +carelessness or time, were adorned with glistening white. The floor, +though loose and uneven, and with gaping seams, had received all the +improvements which cloth and brush could give. The pine tables, rush +chairs, and uncurtained bed, had been purchased at half price, at +vendue, and exhibited various tokens of decay; but care and neatness and +order were displayed in their condition and arrangement.</p> + +<p>The lower apartment was the eating and sitting room. It was likewise +Mr. Dudley's bed chamber. The upper room was occupied by Constantia and +Lucy. Ormond viewed every thing with the accuracy of an artist, and +carried away with him a catalogue of every thing visible. The faded form +of Mr. Dudley, that still retained its dignity, the sedateness, graceful +condescension, and personal elegance of Constantia, were new to the +apprehension of Ormond. The contrast between the house and its +inhabitants rendered the appearance more striking. When he had finished +his task he retired, but returning in a quarter of an hour, he presented +a letter to the young lady. He behaved as if by no means desirous of +eluding her interrogatories, and, when she desired him to stay, readily +complied. The letter, unsigned, and without superscription, was to this +effect:—</p> + +<p>"The writer of this is acquainted with the transaction between Thomas +Craig and Mr. Dudley. The former is debtor to Mr. Dudley in a large +sum. I have undertaken to pay as much of this debt, and at such times, +as suits my convenience. I have had pecuniary engagements with Craig. I +hold myself, in the sum enclosed, discharging so much of his debt. The +future payments are uncertain, but I hope they will contribute to +relieve the necessities of Mr. Dudley."</p> + +<p>Ormond had calculated the amount of what would be necessary for the +annual subsistence of this family on the present frugal plan. He had +regulated his disbursements accordingly.</p> + +<p>It was natural to feel curiosity as to the writer of this epistle. The +bearer displayed a prompt and talkative disposition. He had a staring +eye and a grin of vivacity forever at command. When questioned by +Constantia, he answered that the gentleman had forbidden him to mention +his name or the place where he lived. Had he ever met with the same +person before? O yes. He had lived with him from a child. His mother +lived with him still, and his brothers. His master had nothing for him +to do at home, so he sent him out sweeping chimneys, taking from him +only half the money that he earned that way. He was a very good master.</p> + +<p>"Then the gentleman had been a long time in the city?"</p> + +<p>"O yes. All his life he reckoned. Ho used to live in Walnut Street, but +now he's moved down town." Here he checked himself, and added,—"But I +forgets. I must not tell where he livest. He told me I must'nt."</p> + +<p>"He has a family and children, I suppose?"</p> + +<p>"O yes. Why, don't you know Miss Hetty and Miss Betsy? There again! I +was going to tell the name, that he said I must not tell."</p> + +<p>Constantia saw that the secret might be easily discovered, but she +forbore. She disdained to take advantage of this messenger's imagined +simplicity. She dismissed him with some small addition to his demand, +and with a promise always to employ him in this way.</p> + +<p>By this mode Ormond had effectually concealed himself. The lady's +conjectures, founded on this delusive information, necessarily wandered +widely from the truth. The observations that he had made during this +visit afforded his mind considerable employment. The manner in which +this lady had sustained so cruel a reverse of fortune, the cheerfulness +with which she appeared to forego all the gratifications of affluence, +the skill with which she selected her path of humble industry, and the +steadiness with which she pursued it, were proofs of a moral +constitution, from which he supposed the female sex to be debarred. The +comparison was obvious between Constantia and Helena, and the result was +by no means advantageous to the latter. Was it possible that such a one +descended to the level of her father's apprentice? That she sacrificed +her honour to a wretch like that? This reflection tended to repress the +inclination he would otherwise have felt for cultivating her society, +but it did not indispose him to benefit her in a certain way.</p> + +<p>On his next visit to his "Bella Siciliana," as he called her, he +questioned her as to the need in which she might stand of the services +of a seamstress; and being informed that they were sometimes wanted, he +recommended Miss Acworth to her patronage. He said that he had heard her +spoken of in favourable terms by the gossips at Melbourne's. They +represented her as a good girl, slenderly provided for, and he wished +that Helena would prefer her to all others.</p> + +<p>His recommendation was sufficient. The wishes of Ormond, as soon as they +became known, became hers. Her temper made her always diligent in search +of novelty. It was easy to make work for the needle. In short, she +resolved to send for her the next day. The interview accordingly took +place on the ensuing morning, not without mutual surprise, and, on the +part of the fair Sicilian, not without considerable embarrassment.</p> + +<p>This circumstance arose from their having changed their respective +names, though from motives of a very different kind. They were not +strangers to each other, though no intimacy had ever subsisted between +them. Each was merely acquainted with the name, person, and general +character of the other. No circumstance in Constantia's situation tended +to embarrass her. Her mind had attained a state of serene composure, +incapable of being ruffled by an incident of this kind. She merely +derived pleasure from the sight of her old acquaintance. The aspect of +things around her was splendid and gay. She seemed the mistress of the +mansion, and her name was changed. Hence it was unavoidable to conclude +that she was married.</p> + +<p>Helena was conscious that appearances were calculated to suggest this +conclusion. The idea was a painful one. She sorrowed to think that this +conclusion was fallacious. The consciousness that her true condition was +unknown to her visitant, and the ignominiousness of that truth, gave an +air of constraint to her behaviour, which Constantia ascribed to a +principle of delicacy.</p> + +<p>In the midst of reflections relative to herself, she admitted some share +of surprise at the discovery of Constantia in a situation so inferior to +that in which she had formerly known her. She had heard, in general +terms of the misfortunes of Mr Dudley, but was unacquainted with +particulars; but this surprise, and the difficulty of adapting her +behaviour to circumstances, was only in part the source of her +embarrassment, though by her companion it was wholly attributed to this +cause. Constantia thought it her duty to remove it by open and +unaffected manners. She therefore said, in a sedate and cheerful tone, +"You see me, Madam, in a situation somewhat unlike that in which I +formerly was placed. You will probably regard the change as an unhappy +one; but, I assure you, I have found it far less so than I expected. I +am thus reduced not by my own fault. It is this reflection that enables +me to conform to it without a murmur. I shall rejoice to know that Mrs. +Eden is as happy as I am."</p> + +<p>Helena was pleased with this address, and returned an answer full of +sweetness. She had not in her compassion for the fallen, a particle of +pride. She thought of nothing but the contrast between the former +situation of her visitant and the present. The fame of her great +qualities had formerly excited veneration, and that reverence was by no +means diminished by a nearer scrutiny. The consciousness of her own +frailty meanwhile diffused over the behaviour of Helena a timidity and +dubiousness uncommonly fascinating. She solicited Constantia's +friendship in a manner that showed she was afraid of nothing but denial. +An assent was eagerly given, and thenceforth a cordial intercourse was +established between them.</p> + +<p>The real situation of Helena was easily discovered. The officious person +who communicated this information, at the same time cautioned Constantia +against associating with one of tainted reputation. This information +threw some light upon appearances. It accounted for that melancholy +which Helena was unable to conceal. It explained that solitude in which +she lived, and which Constantia had ascribed to the death or absence of +her husband. It justified the solicitous silence she had hitherto +maintained respecting her own affairs, and which her friend's good sense +forbade her to employ any sinister means of eluding.</p> + +<p>No long time was necessary to make her mistress of Helena's character. +She loved her with uncommon warmth, though by no means blind to her +defects. She formed no expectations from the knowledge of her character, +to which this intelligence operated as a disappointment. It merely +excited her pity, and made her thoughtful how she might assist her in +repairing this deplorable error.</p> + +<p>This design was of no ordinary magnitude. She saw that it was previously +necessary to obtain the confidence of Helena. This was a task of easy +performance. She knew the purity of her own motives and the extent of +her powers, and embarked in this undertaking with full confidence of +success. She had only to profit by a private interview, to acquaint her +friend with what she knew, to solicit a complete and satisfactory +disclosure, to explain the impressions which her intelligence produced, +and to offer her disinterested advice. No one knew better how to couch +her ideas in words suitable to the end proposed by her in imparting +them.</p> + +<p>Helena was at first terrified, but the benevolence of her friend quickly +entitled her to confidence and gratitude that knew no limits. She had +been deterred from unveiling her heart by the fear of exciting contempt +or abhorrence; but when she found that all due allowances were +made,—that her conduct was treated as erroneous in no atrocious or +inexpiable degree, and as far front being insusceptible of remedy,—that +the obloquy with which she had been treated found no vindicator or +participator in her friend, her heart was considerably relieved. She had +been long a stranger to the sympathy and intercourse of her own sex. Now +this good, in its most precious form, was conferred upon her, and she +experienced an increase rather than diminution of tenderness, in +consequence of her true situation being known.</p> + +<p>She made no secret of any part of her history. She did full justice to +the integrity of her lover, and explained the unforced conditions on +which she had consented to live with him. This relation exhibited the +character of Ormond in a very uncommon light. His asperities wounded, +and his sternness chilled. What unauthorised conceptions of matrimonial +and political equality did he entertain! He had fashioned his treatment +of Helena on sullen and ferocious principles. Yet he was able, it +seemed, to mould her, by means of them, nearly into the creature that he +wished. She knew too little of the man justly to estimate his character. +It remained to be ascertained whether his purposes were consistent and +upright, or were those of a villain and betrayer.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile what was to be done by Helena? Marriage had been refused op +plausible pretences. Her unenlightened understanding made her no match +for her lover. She would never maintain her claim to nuptial privileges +in his presence, or, if she did, she would never convince him of their +validity.</p> + +<p>Were they indeed valid? Was not the disparity between them incurable? A +marriage of minds so dissimilar could only be productive of misery +immediately to him, and, by a reflex operation, to herself. She could +not be happy in a union that was the source of regret to her husband. +Marriage, therefore, was not possible, or if possible, was not, perhaps, +to be wished. But what was the choice that remained?</p> + +<p>To continue in her present situation was not to be endured. Disgrace was +a dæmon that would blast every hope of happiness. She was excluded from +all society but that of the depraved. Her situation was eminently +critical. It depended, perhaps, on the resolution she should now form +whether she would be enrolled among the worst of mankind. Infamy is the +worst of evils. It creates innumerable obstructions in the paths of +virtue. It manacles the hand, and entangles the feet that are active +only to good. To the weak it is an evil of much greater magnitude. It +determines their destiny; and they hasten to merit that reproach, which, +at first it may be, they did not deserve.</p> + +<p>This connection is intrinsically flagitious. Helena is subjected by it +to the worst ills that are incident to humanity, the general contempt of +mankind, and the reproaches of her own conscience. From these there is +but one method from which she can hope to be relieved. The intercourse +must cease.</p> + +<p>It wad easier to see the propriety of separation, than to project means +for accomplishing it. It was true that Helena loved; but what quarter +was due to this passion when divorced from integrity? Is it not in every +bosom a perishable sentiment? Whatever be her warmth, absence will +congeal it. Place her in new scenes, and supply her with new associates. +Her accomplishments will not fail to attract votaries. From these she +may select a conjugal companion suitable to her mediocrity of talents.</p> + +<p>But alas! what power on earth can prevail on her to renounce Ormond? +Others may justly entertain this prospect, but it must be invisible to +her. Besides, is it absolutely certain that either her peace of mind or +her reputation will be restored by this means? In the opinion of the +world her offences cannot, by any perseverance in penitence, be +expiated. She will never believe that separation will exterminate her +passion. Certain it is that it will avail nothing to the +re-establishment of her fame. But if it were conducive to these ends, +how chimerical to suppose that she will ever voluntarily adopt it! If +Ormond refuse his concurrence, there is absolutely an end to hope. And +what power on earth is able to sway his determinations? At least, what +influence was it possible for her to obtain over them?</p> + +<p>Should they separate, whither should she retire? What mode of +subsistence should she adopt? She has never been accustomed to think +beyond the day. She has eaten and drank, but another has provided the +means. She scarcely comprehends the principle that governs the world, +and in consequence of which nothing can be gained but by giving +something in exchange for it. She is ignorant and helpless as a child, +on every topic that relates to the procuring of subsistence. Her +education has disabled her from standing alone.</p> + +<p>But this was not all. She must not only be supplied by others, but +sustained in the enjoyment of a luxurious existence. Would you bereave +her of the gratifications of opulence? You had better take away her +life. Nay, it would ultimately amount to this. She can live but in one +way.</p> + +<p>At present she is lovely, and, to a certain degree, innocent; but expose +her to the urgencies and temptations of want, let personal pollution be +the price set upon the voluptuous affluences of her present condition, +and it is to be feared there is nothing in the contexture of her mind to +hinder her from making the purchase. In every respect therefore the +prospect was an hopeless one,—so hopeless, that her mind insensibly +returned to the question which she had at first dismissed with very +slight examination,—the question relative to the advantages and +probabilities of marriage. A more accurate review convinced her that +this was the most eligible alternative. It was, likewise, most easily +effected. The lady, of course, would be its fervent advocate. There did +not want reasons why Ormond should finally embrace it. In what manner +appeals to his reason of his passion might most effectually be made she +knew not.</p> + +<p>Helena was not qualified to be her own advocate. Her unhappiness could +not but be visible to Ormond. He had shown himself attentive and +affectionate. Was it impossible that, in time, he should reason himself +into a spontaneous adoption of this scheme? This, indeed, was a slender +foundation for hope, but there was no other on which she could build.</p> + +<p>Such were the meditations of Constantia on this topic. She was deeply +solicitous for the happiness of her friend. They spent much of their +time together. The consolations of her society were earnestly sought by +Helena; but to enjoy them, she was for the most part obliged to visit +the former at her own dwelling. For this arrangement, Constantia +apologized by saying, "You will pardon my requesting you to favour me +with your visits, rather than allowing you mine. Every thing is airy +and brilliant within these walls. There is, besides, an air of seclusion +and security about you that is delightful. In comparison, my dwelling is +bleak, comfortless, and unretired, but my father is entitled to all my +care. His infirmity prevents him from amusing himself, and his heart is +cheered by the mere sound of my voice, though not addressed to him. The +mere belief of my presence seems to operate as an antidote to the +dreariness of solitude; and, now you know my motives, I am sure you will +not only forgive but approve of my request."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h3> + + +<p>When once the subject had been introduced, Helena was prone to descant +upon her own situation, and listened with deference to the remarks and +admonitions of her companion. Constantia did not conceal from her any of +her sentiments. She enabled her to view her own condition in its true +light, and set before her the indispensable advantages of marriage, +while she, at the same time, afforded her the best directions as to the +conduct she ought to pursue in order to effect her purpose.</p> + +<p>The mind of Helena was thus kept in a state of perpetual and uneasy +fluctuation. While absent from Ormond, or listening to her friend's +remonstrances, the deplorableness of her condition arose in its most +disastrous hues before her imagination. But the spectre seldom failed +to vanish at the approach of Ormond. His voice dissipated every +inquietude.</p> + +<p>She was not insensible of this inconstancy. She perceived and lamented +her own weakness. She was destitute of all confidence in her own +exertions. She could not be in the perpetual enjoyment of his company. +Her intervals of tranquillity, therefore, were short, while those of +anxiety and dejection were insupportably tedious. She revered, but +believed herself incapable to emulate the magnanimity of her monitor. +The consciousness of inferiority, especially in a case like this, in +which her happiness so much depended on her own exertions, excited in +her the most humiliating sensations.</p> + +<p>While indulging in fruitless melancholy, the thought one day occurred to +her, why may not Constantia be prevailed upon to plead my cause? Her +capacity and courage are equal to any undertaking. The reasonings that +are so powerful in my eyes, would they he trivial and futile in those of +Ormond? I cannot have a more pathetic and disinterested advocate.</p> + +<p>This idea was cherished with uncommon ardour. She seized the first +opportunity that offered itself to impart it to her friend. It was a +wild and singular proposal, and was rejected at the first glance. This +scheme, so romantic and impracticable as it at first seemed, appeared to +Helena in the most plausible colours. She could not bear to relinquish +her new-born hopes. She saw no valid objection to it. Every thing was +easy to her friend, provided her sense of duty and her zeal could be +awakened. The subject was frequently suggested to Constantia's +reflections. Perceiving the sanguineness of her friend's confidence, and +fully impressed with the value of the end to be accomplished, she +insensibly veered to the same opinion. At least the scheme was worthy +of a candid discussion before it was rejected.</p> + +<p>Ormond was a stranger to her. His manners were repulsive and austere. +She was a mere girl. Her personal attachment to Helena was all that she +could plead in excuse for taking part in her concerns. The subject was +delicate. A blunt and irregular character like Ormond might throw an air +of ridicule over the scene. She shrunk from the encounter of a +boisterous and manlike spirit.</p> + +<p>But were not these scruples effeminate and puerile? Had she studied so +long in the school of adversity, without conviction of the duty of a +virtuous independence? Was she not a rational being, fully imbued with +the justice of her cause? Was it not ignoble to refuse the province of a +vindicator of the injured, before any tribunal, however tremendous or +unjust? And who was Ormond, that his eye should inspire terror?</p> + +<p>The father or brother of Helena might assume the office without +indecorum. Nay, a mother or sister might not be debarred from it. Why +then should she, who was actuated by equal zeal, and was engaged, by +ties stronger than consanguinity, in the promotion of her friend's +happiness. It is true she did not view the subject in the light in which +it was commonly viewed by brothers and parents. It was not a gust of +rage that should transport her into his presence. She did not go to +awaken his slumbering conscience, and to abash him in the pride of +guilty triumph, but to rectify deliberate errors, and to change his +course by the change of his principles. It was her business to point out +to him the road of duty and happiness, from which he had strayed with no +sinister intentions. This was to be done without raving and fury; but +with amicable soberness, and in the way of calm and rational +remonstrance. Yet, there were scruples that would not be shut out, and +continually whispered to her, "What an office is this for a girl and a +stranger to assume!"</p> + +<p>In what manner should it be performed? Should an interview be sought, +and her ideas be explained without confusion or faltering, undismayed by +ludicrous airs or insolent frowns. But this was a point to be examined. +Was Ormond capable of such behaviour? If he were, it would be useless to +attempt the reformation of his errors. Such a man is incurable and +obdurate. Such a man is not to be sought as the husband of Helena; but +this, surely, is a different being.</p> + +<p>The medium through which she had viewed his character was an ample one, +but might not be very accurate. The treatment which Helena had received +from him, exclusive of his fundamental error, betokened a mind to which +she did not disdain to be allied. In spite of his defects, she saw that +their elements were more congenial, and the points of contact between +this person and herself more numerous than between her and Helena, whose +voluptuous sweetness of temper, and mediocrity of understanding excited +in her bosom no genuine sympathy.</p> + +<p>Every thing is progressive in the human mind. When there is leisure to +reflect, ideas will succeed each other in a long train, before the +ultimate point be gained. The attention must shift from one side to the +other of a given question many times before it settles. Constantia did +not form her resolutions in haste; but when once formed, they were +exempt from fluctuation. She reflected before she acted, and therefore +acted with consistency and vigour. She did not apprize her friend of her +intention. She was willing that she should benefit by her interposition, +before she knew it was employed.</p> + +<p>She sent her Lucy with a note to Ormond's house. It was couched in these +terms:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>"Constantia Dudley requests an interview with Mr. Ormond. Her +business being of some moment, she wishes him to name an hour when +most disengaged."</p></blockquote> + +<p>An answer was immediately returned that at three o'clock, in the +afternoon, he should be glad to see her.</p> + +<p>This message produced no small surprise in Ormond. He had not withdrawn +his notice from Constantia, and had marked, with curiosity and +approbation, the progress of the connexion between the two women. The +impressions which he had received from the report of Helena were not +dissimilar to those which Constantia had imbibed, from the same quarter, +respecting himself; but he gathered from them no suspicion of the +purpose of a visit. He recollected his connection with Craig. This lady +had had an opportunity of knowing that some connection subsisted between +them. He concluded that some information or inquiry respecting Craig +might occasion this event. As it was, it gave him considerable +satisfaction. It would enable him more closely to examine one, with +respect to whom he entertained great curiosity.</p> + +<p>Ormond's conjecture was partly right. Constantia did not forget her +having traced Craig to this habitation. She designed to profit by the +occasion which this circumstance afforded her, of making some inquiry +respecting Craig, in order to introduce, by suitable degrees, a more +important subject.</p> + +<p>The appointed hour having arrived, he received her in his drawing-room. +He knew what was due to his guest. He loved to mortify, by his +negligence, the pride of his equals and superiors, but a lower class had +nothing to fear from his insolence. Constantia took the seat that was +offered to her, without speaking. She had made suitable preparations for +this interview, and her composure was invincible. The manners of her +host were by no means calculated to disconcert her. His air was +conciliating and attentive.</p> + +<p>She began with naming Craig, as one known to Ormond, and desired to be +informed of his place of abode. She was proceeding to apologise for this +request, by explaining, in general terms, that her father's infirmities +prevented him from acting for himself, that Craig was his debtor to a +large amount, that he stood in need of all that justly belonged to him, +and was in pursuit of some means of tracing Craig to his retreat. Ormond +interrupted her, examining, at the same time, with a vigilance somewhat +too unsparing, the effects which his words should produce upon her:—</p> + +<p>"You may spare yourself the trouble of explaining. I am acquainted with +the whole affair between Craig and your family. He has concealed from me +nothing. I know <i>all</i> that has passed between you."</p> + +<p>In saying this, Ormond intended that his looks and emphasis should +convey his full meaning. In the style of her comments he saw none of +those corroborating symptoms that he expected:—</p> + +<p>"Indeed! He has been very liberal of his confidence. Confession is a +token of penitence; but, alas! I fear he has deceived you. To be sincere +was doubtless his true interest, but he is too much in the habit of +judging superficially. If he has told you all, there is, indeed, no need +of explanation. This visit is, in that case, sufficiently accounted for. +Is it in your power, Sir, to inform us whither he has gone?"</p> + +<p>"For what end should I tell you? I promise you you will not follow him. +Take my word for it, he is totally unworthy of you. Let the past be no +precedent for the future. If you have not made that discovery yourself, +I have made it for you. I expect at least to be thanked for my trouble."</p> + +<p>This speech was unintelligible to Constantia. Her looks betokened a +perplexity unmingled with fear or shame.</p> + +<p>"It is my way," continued he, "to say what I think. I care little for +consequences. I have said that I know <i>all</i>. This will excuse me for +being perfectly explicit. That I am mistaken is very possible; but I am +inclined to place that matter beyond the reach of a doubt. Listen to me, +and confirm me in the opinion I have already formed of your good sense, +by viewing, in a just light, the unreservedness with which you are +treated. I have something to tell, which, if you are wise, you will not +be offended at my telling so roundly. On the contrary you will thank me, +and perceive that my conduct is a proof of my respect for you. The +person whom you met here is named Craig, but, as he tells me, is not the +man you look for. This man's brother—the partner, of your father, and, +as he assured me, your own accepted and illicitly-gratified lover—is +dead."</p> + +<p>These words were uttered without any extenuating hesitation or +depression of tone. On the contrary, the most offensive terms were drawn +out in the most deliberate and emphatic manner. Constantia's cheeks +glowed, and her eyes sparkled with indignation, but she forbore to +interrupt. The looks with which she listened to the remainder of the +speech showed that she fully comprehended the scene, and enabled him to +comprehend it. He proceeded:—</p> + +<p>"This man is a brother of that. Their resemblance in figure occasioned +your mistake. Your father's debtor died, it seems, on his arrival at +Jamaica. There he met with this brother, and bequeathed to him his +property and papers. Some of these papers are in my possession. They are +letters from Constantia Dudley, and are parts of an intrigue, which, +considering the character of the man, was not much to her honour. Such +was this man's narrative told to me some time before your meeting with +him at his house. I have right to judge in this affair; that is, I have +a right to my opinion. If I mistake, (and I half suspect myself,) you +are able, perhaps, to rectify my error; and in a case like this +doubtless you will not want the inclination."</p> + +<p>Perhaps if the countenance of this man had not been characterized by the +keenest intelligence, and a sort of careless and overflowing good-will, +this speech might have produced different effects. She was prepared, +though imperfectly, for entering into his character. He waited for an +answer, which she gave without emotion:—</p> + +<p>"You were deceived. I am sorry for your own sake that you are. He must +have had some end in view, in imposing these falsehoods upon you, which +perhaps they have enabled him to accomplish. As to myself, this man can +do me no injury. I willingly make you my judge. The letters you speak of +will alone suffice to my vindication. They never were received from me, +and are forgeries. That man always persisted till he made himself the +dupe of his own artifices. That incident in his plot, on the +introduction of which he probably the most applauded himself, will most +powerfully operate to defeat it.</p> + +<p>"Those letters never were received from me, and are forgeries. His skill +in imitation extended no farther in the present case than my +handwriting. My model of thinking and expression were beyond the reach +of his mimicry."</p> + +<p>When she had finished, Osmond spent a moment in ruminating. "I perceive +you are right," said he. "I suppose he has purloined from me two hundred +guineas, which I entrusted to his fidelity. And yet I received a letter; +but that may likewise be a forgery. By my soul," continued he, in a tone +that had more of satisfaction than disappointment in it, "this fellow +was an adept at his trade. I do not repine. I have bought the +exhibition at a cheap rate. The pains that he took did not merit a less +recompense. I am glad that he was contented with so little. Had he +persisted he might have raised the price far above its value. 'Twill be +lamentable if he receive more than he stipulated for,—if, in his last +purchase, the gallows should be thrown into the bargain. May he have the +wisdom to see that a halter, though not included in his terms, is only a +new instance of his good fortune! But his cunning will hardly carry him +thus far. His stupidity will, no doubt, prefer a lingering to a sudden +exit.</p> + +<p>"But this man and his destiny are trifles. Let us leave them to +themselves. Your name is Constantia. 'Twas given you, I suppose, that +you might be known by it. Pr'ythee, Constantia was this the only purpose +that brought you hither? If it were, it has received as ample a +discussion as it merits. You <i>came</i> for this end, but will remain, I +hope, for a better one. Haying dismissed Craig and his plots, let us now +talk of each other."</p> + +<p>"I confess," said the lady, with an hesitation she could not subdue, +"this was not my only purpose. One much more important has produced this +visit."</p> + +<p>"Indeed! pray let me know it. I am glad that so trivial an object as +Craig did not occupy the first place in your thoughts. Proceed, I +beseech you."</p> + +<p>"It is a subject on which I cannot enter without hesitation,—a +hesitation unworthy of me."</p> + +<p>"Stop," cried Ormond, rising and touching the bell; "nothing like time +to make a conquest of embarrassment. We will defer this conference six +minutes, just while we eat our dinner."</p> + +<p>At the same moment a servant entered, with two plates and the usual +apparatus for dinner. On seeing this she rose, in some hurry, to +depart:—"I thought, sir, you were disengaged? I call at some other +hour."</p> + +<p>He seized her hand, and held her from going, but with an air by no means +disrespectful. "Nay," said he, "what is it that scares you away? Are you +terrified at the mention of victuals? You must have fasted long when it +comes to that. I told you true. I am disengaged, but not from the +obligation of eating and drinking. No doubt <i>you</i> have dined. No reason +why <i>I</i> should go without my dinner. If you do not choose to partake +with me, so much the better. Your temperance ought to dispense with two +meals in an hour. Be a looker-on; or, if that will not do, retire into +my library, where in six minutes, I will be with you, and lend you my +aid in the arduous task of telling me what you came with an intention of +telling."</p> + +<p>This singular address disconcerted and abashed her. She was contented to +follow the servant silently into an adjoining apartment. Here she +reflected with no small surprise on the behaviour of this man. Though +ruffled, she was not heartily displeased with it. She had scarcely time +to collect herself, when he entered. He immediately seated her, and +himself opposite to her. He fixed his eyes without scruple on her face. +His gaze was steadfast, but not insolent or oppressive. He surveyed her +with the looks with which he would have eyed a charming portrait. His +attention was occupied with what he saw, as that of an artist is +occupied when viewing a madonna of Rafaello. At length he broke +silence:—</p> + +<p>"At dinner I was busy in thinking what it was you had to disclose. I +will not fatigue you with my guesses. They would he impertinent, as long +as the truth is going to be disclosed." He paused, and then +continued:—"But I see you cannot dispense with my aid. Perhaps your +business relates to Helena. She has done wrong, and you wish me to +rebuke the girl."</p> + +<p>Constantia profited by this opening, and said, "Yes, she has done wrong. +It is true my business relates to her. I came hither as a suppliant in +her behalf. Will you not assist her in recovering the path from which +she has deviated? She left it from confiding more in the judgement of +her guide than her own. There is one method of repairing the evil. It +lies with you to repair that evil."</p> + +<p>During this address the gaiety of Ormond disappeared. He fixed his eyes +on Constantia with new and even pathetic earnestness. "I guessed as +much," said he. I have often been deceived in my judgement of +characters. Perhaps I do not comprehend yours. Yet it is not little that +I have heard respecting you. Something I have seen. I begin to suspect a +material error in my theory of human nature. Happy will it be for Helena +if my suspicions be groundless.</p> + +<p>"You are Helena's friend. Be mine also, and advise me. Shall I marry +this girl or not? You know on what terms we live. Are they suitable to +our respective characters? Shall I wed this girl, or shall things remain +as they are?</p> + +<p>"I have an irreconcilable aversion to a sad brow and a sick bed. Helena +is grieved, because her neighbours sneer and point at her. So far she is +a fool; but that is a folly of which she never will be cured. Marriage, +it seems, will set all right. Answer me, Constantia, shall I marry?"</p> + +<p>There was something in the tone, but more in the tenor of this address +that startled her. There was nothing in this man but what came upon her +unaware. This sudden effusion of confidence was particularly unexpected +and embarrassing. She scarcely knew whether to regard it as serious or a +jest. On observing her indisposed to speak, he continued:—</p> + +<p>"Away with these impertinent circuities and scruples. I know your +meaning. Why should I pretend ignorance, and put you to the trouble of +explanation? You came hither with no other view than to exact this +question, and furnish an answer. Why should not we come at once to the +point? I have for some time been dubious on this head. There is +something wanting to determine the balance. If you have that something, +throw it into the proper scale.</p> + +<p>"You err if you think this manner of addressing you is wild or improper. +This girl is the subject of discourse. If she was not to be so, why did +you favour me with this visit? You have sought me, and introduced +yourself. I have, in like manner, overlooked ordinary forms,—a +negligence that has been systematic with me, but, in the present case, +particularly justifiable by your example. Shame upon you, presumptuous +girl, to suppose yourself the only rational being among mankind. And +yet, if you thought so, why did you thus unceremoniously intrude upon my +retirements? This act is of a piece with the rest. It shows you to be +one whose existence I did not believe possible.</p> + +<p>"Take care. You know not what you have done. You came hither as Helena's +friend. Perhaps time may show that in this visit you have performed the +behest of her bitterest enemy. But that is out of season. This girl is +our mutual property. You are her friend; I am her lover. Her happiness +is precious in my eyes and in yours. To the rest of mankind she is a +noisome weed that cannot be shunned too cautiously, nor trampled on too +much. If we forsake her, infamy, that is now kept at bay, will seize +upon her, and, while it mangles her form, will tear from her her +innocence. She has no arms with which to contend against that foe. +Marriage will place her at once in security. Shall it be? You have an +exact knowledge of her strength and her weakness. Of me you know little. +Perhaps, before that question can be satisfactorily answered, it is +requisite to know the qualities of her husband. Be my character +henceforth the subject of your study. I will furnish you with all the +light in my power. Be not hasty in deciding; but, when your decision is +formed, let me know it." He waited for an answer, which she, at length, +summoned resolution enough to give:—</p> + +<p>"You have come to the chief point which I had in view in making this +visit. To say truth, I came hither to remonstrate with you on +withholding that which Helena may justly claim from you. Her happiness +will be unquestionably restored, and increased by it. Yours will not be +impaired. Matrimony will not produce any essential change in your +situation. It will produce no greater or different intercourse than now +exists. Helena is on the brink of a gulf which I shudder to look upon. +I believe that you will not injure yourself by snatching her from it. I +am sure that you will confer an inexpressible benefit upon her. Let me +then persuade you to do her and yourself justice."</p> + +<p>"No persuasion," said Ormond, after recovering from a fit of +thoughtfulness, "is needful for this end: I only want to be convinced. +You have decided, but, I fear hastily. By what inscrutable influences +are our steps guided! Come, proceed in your exhortations. Argue with the +utmost clearness and cogency. Arm yourself with all the irresistibles of +eloquence. Yet you are building nothing. You are only demolishing. Your +argument is one thing. Its tendency is another; and is the reverse of +all you expect and desire. My assent will be refused with an obstinacy +proportioned to the force that you exert to obtain it, and to the just +application of that force."</p> + +<p>"I see," replied the lady, smiling and leaving her seat, "you can talk +in riddles, as well as other people. This visit has been too long. I +shall, indeed, be sorry, if my interference, instead of serving my +friend, has injured her. I have acted an uncommon, and, as it may seem, +an ambiguous part. I shall be contented with construing my motives in my +own way. I wish you a good evening."</p> + +<p>"'Tis false," cried he, sternly, "you do not wish it!"</p> + +<p>"How?" exclaimed the astonished Constantia.</p> + +<p>"I will put your sincerity to the test. Allow me to spend this evening +in your company; then it will be well spent, and I shall believe your +wishes sincere. Else," continued he, changing his affected austerity +into a smile, "Constantia is a liar."</p> + +<p>"You are a singular man. I hardly know how to understand you."</p> + +<p>"Well. Words are made to carry meanings. You shall have them in +abundance. Your house is your citadel. I will not enter it without +leave. Permit me to visit it when I please. But that is too much. It is +more than I would allow you. When will you permit me to visit you?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot answer when I do not understand. You clothe your thoughts in a +garb so uncouth, that I know not in what light they are to be viewed."</p> + +<p>"Well, now, I thought you understood my language, and were an +Englishwoman, but I will use another. Shall I have the honour" (bowing +with a courtly air of supplication) "of occasionally paying my respects +to you at your own dwelling? It would be cruel to condemn those who have +the happiness of knowing Miss Dudley, to fashionable restraints. At what +hour will she be least incommoded by a visitant?"</p> + +<p>"I am as little pleased with formalities," replied the lady, "as you +are. My friends I cannot see too often. They need to consult merely +their own convenience. Those who are not my friends I cannot see too +seldom. You have only to establish your title to that name, and your +welcome at all times is sure. Till then you must not look for it."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h3> + + +<p>Here ended this conference. She had by no means suspected the manner in +which it would be conducted. All punctilios were trampled under foot by +the impetuosity of Ormond. Things were, at once, and without delay, +placed upon a certain footing. The point, which ordinary persons would +have employed months in attaining, was reached in a moment. While these +incidents were fresh in her memory, they were accompanied with a sort of +trepidation, the offspring at once of pleasure and surprise.</p> + +<p>Ormond had not deceived her expectations; but hearsay and personal +examination, however uniform their testimony may be, produce a very +different impression. In her present reflections, Helena and her lover +approached to the front of the stage, and were viewed with equal +perspicuity. One consequence of this was, that their characters were +more powerfully contrasted with each other, and the eligibility of +marriage appeared not quite so incontestable as before.</p> + +<p>Was not equality implied in this compact? Marriage is an instrument of +pleasure or pain in proportion as this equality is more or less. What +but the fascination of his senses is it that ties Ormond to Helena. Is +this a basis en which marriage may properly be built?</p> + +<p>If things had not gone thus far, the impropriety of marriage could not +be doubted; but, at present, there is a choice of evils, and that may +now be desirable which at a former period, and in different +circumstances, would have been clearly otherwise.</p> + +<p>The evils of the present connection are known; those of marriage are +future and contingent. Helena cannot be the object of a genuine and +lasting passion; another may; this is not merely possible; nothing is +more likely to happen. This event, therefore, ought to be included in +our calculation. There would be a material deficiency without it. What +was the amount of the misery that would in this case ensue?</p> + +<p>Constantia was qualified, beyond most others, to form an adequate +conception of this misery. One of the ingredients in her character was a +mild and steadfast enthusiasm. Her sensibilities to social pleasure, and +her conceptions of the benefits to flow from the conformity and +concurrence of intentions and wishes, heightening and refining the +sensual passion, were exquisite.</p> + +<p>There, indeed, were evils, the foresight of which tended to prevent +them; but was there wisdom in creating obstacles in the way of a +suitable alliance. Before we act, we must consider not only the misery +produced, but the happiness precluded by our measures.</p> + +<p>In no case, perhaps, is the decision of a human being impartial, or +totally uninfluenced by sinister and selfish motives. If Constantia +surpassed others, it was not because her motives were pure, but because +they possessed more of purity than those of others. Sinister +considerations flow in upon us through imperceptible channels, and +modify our thoughts in numberless ways, without our being truly +conscious of their presence. Constantia was young, and her heart was +open at a thousand pores, to the love of excellence. The image of Ormond +occupied the chief place in her fancy, and was endowed with attractive +and venerable qualities. A bias was hence created that swayed her +thoughts, though she knew not that they were swayed. To this might +justly be imputed some part of that reluctance which she now felt to +give Ormond to Helena. But this was not sufficient to turn the scale. +That which had previously mounted was indeed heavier than before; but +this addition did not enable it to outweigh its opposite. Marriage was +still the best upon the whole; but her heart was tortured to think that, +best as it was, it abounded with so many evils.</p> + +<p>On the evening of the next day, Ormond entered, with careless +abruptness, Constantia's sitting-apartment. He was introduced to her +father. A general and unrestrained conversation immediately took place. +Ormond addressed Mr. Dudley with the familiarity of an old acquaintance. +In three minutes, all embarrassment was discarded. The lady and her +visitant were accurate observers of each other. In the remarks of the +latter, (and his vein was an abundant one) there was a freedom and +originality altogether new to his hearers. In his easiest and +sprightliest sallies were tokens of a mind habituated to profound and +extensive views. His associations were forced on a comprehensive scale.</p> + +<p>He pretended to nothing, and studied the concealments of ambiguity more +in reality than in appearance. Constantia, however, discovered a +sufficient resemblance between their theories of virtue and duty. The +difference between them lay in the inferences arbitrarily deduced, and +in which two persons may vary without end, and yet never be repugnant. +Constantia delighted her companions by the facility with which she +entered into his meaning, the sagacity she displayed in drawing out his +hints, circumscribing his conjectures, and thwarting or qualifying his +maxims. The scene was generally replete with ardour and contention, and +yet the impression left on the mind of Ormond was full of harmony. Her +discourse tended to rouse him from his lethargy, to furnish him with +powerful excitements; and the time spent in her company seemed like a +doubling of existence.</p> + +<p>The comparison could not but suggest itself between this scene and that +exhibited by Helena. With the latter, voluptuous blandishments, musical +prattle, and silent but expressive homage, composed a banquet delicious +fur awhile, but whose sweetness now began to pall upon his taste. It +supplied him with no new ideas, and hindered him, by the lulling +sensations it inspired, from profiting by his former acquisitions. +Helena was beautiful. Apply the scale, and not a member was found +inelegantly disposed, or negligently moulded. Not a curve that was +blemished by an angle or ruffled by asperities. The irradiations of her +eyes were able to dissolve the knottiest fibres, and their azure was +serene beyond any that nature had elsewhere exhibited. Over the rest of +her form the glistening and rosy hues were diffused with prodigal +luxuriance, and mingled in endless and wanton variety. Yet this image +had fewer attractions even to the senses than that of Constantia. So +great is the difference between forms animated by different degrees of +intelligence.</p> + +<p>The interviews of Ormond and Constantia grew more frequent. The progress +which they made in acknowledgement of each other was rapid. Two +positions, that were favourite ones with him, were quickly subverted. He +was suddenly changed, from being one of the calumniators of the female +sex, to one of its warmest eulogists. This was a point on which +Constantia had ever been a vigorous disputant; but her arguments, in +their direct tendency, would never have made a convert of this man. +Their force, intrinsically considered, was nothing. He drew his +conclusions from incidental circumstances. Her reasonings might be +fallacious or valid, but they were composed, arranged, and delivered, +were drawn from such sources, and accompanied with such illustrations, +as plainly testified a manlike energy in the reasoner. In this indirect +and circuitous way her point was unanswerably established.</p> + +<p>"Your reasoning is bad," he would say: "every one of your conclusions is +false. Not a single allegation but may be easily confuted; and yet I +allow that your position is incontrovertibly proved by them. How +bewildered is that man who never thinks for himself! who rejects a +principle merely because the arguments brought in support of it are +insufficient! I must not reject the truth because another has +unjustifiably adopted it. I want to reach a certain hill-top. Another +has reached it before me, but the ladder he used is too weak to bear me. +What then? Am I to stay below on that account? No; I have only to +construct one suitable to the purpose, and of strength sufficient."</p> + +<p>A second maxim had never been confuted till now. It inculcated the +insignificance and hollowness of love. No pleasure he thought was to be +despised for its own sake. Every thing was good in its place, but +amorous gratifications were to be degraded to the bottom of the +catalogue. The enjoyments of music and landscape were of a much higher +order. Epicurism itself was entitled to more respect. Love, in itself, +was in his opinion of little worth, and only of importance as the source +of the most terrible of intellectual maladies. Sexual sensations +associating themselves, in a certain way, with our ideas, beget a +disease, which has, indeed, found no place in the catalogue, but is a +case of more entire subversion and confusion of mind than any other. The +victim is callous to the sentiments of honour and shame, insensible to +the most palpable distinctions of right and wrong, a systematic opponent +of testimony and obstinate perverter of truth.</p> + +<p>Ormond was partly right. Madness like death can be averted by no +foresight or previous contrivance; This probably is one of its +characteristics. He that witnesses its influence on another with most +horror, and most fervently deprecates its ravages, is not therefore more +safe. This circumstance was realized in the history of Ormond.</p> + +<p>This infatuation, if it may so be called, was gradual in its progress. +The sensations which Helena was now able to excite were of a new kind. +Her power was not merely weakened, but her endeavours counteracted their +own end. Her fondness was rejected with disdain, or borne with +reluctance. The lady was not slow in perceiving this change. The stroke +of death would have been more acceptable. His own reflections were too +tormenting to make him willing to discuss them in words. He was not +aware of the effects produced by this change in his demeanour, till +informed of it by herself.</p> + +<p>One evening he displayed symptoms of uncommon dissatisfaction. Her +tenderness was unable to dispel it. He complained of want of sleep. This +afforded a hint which she drew forth in one of her enchanting ditties. +Habit had almost conferred upon her the power of spontaneous poesy, and, +while she pressed his forehead to her bosom, she warbled forth a strain +airy and exuberant in numbers, tender and ecstatic in its imagery:—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Sleep, extend thy downy pinion</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Hasten from thy cell with speed;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Spread around thy soft dominion;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Much those brows thy balmy presence need.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Wave thy wand of slumberous power,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Moistened in Lethean dews,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">To charm the busy spirits of the hour,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">And brighten memory's malignant hues.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Thy mantle, dark and starless, cast</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Over my selected youth;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Bury in thy womb the mournful past,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">And soften with thy dreams th' asperities of truth.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The changeful hues of his impassioned sleep,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">My office it shall be to watch the while;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">With thee, my love, when fancy prompts, to weep,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">And when thou smil'st, to smile.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">But sleep! I charge thee, visit not these eyes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Nor raise thy dark pavilion here,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">'Till morrow from the cave of ocean arise,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">And whisper tuneful joy in nature's ear.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">But mutely let me lie, and sateless gaze</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">At all the soul that in his visage sits,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">While spirits of harmonious air—</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Here her voice sunk, and the line terminated in a sigh. Her museful +ardours were chilled by the looks of Ormond. Absorbed in his own +thoughts, he appeared scarcely to attend to this strain. His sternness +was proof against her accustomed fascinations. At length she +pathetically complained of his coldness, and insinuated her suspicions +that his affection was transferred to another object. He started from +her embrace, and after two or three turns across the room, he stood +before her. His large eyes were steadfastly fixed upon her face.</p> + +<p>"Aye," said he, "thou hast guessed right. The love, poor as it was, that +I had for thee, is gone: henceforth thou art desolate indeed. Would to +God thou wert wise. Thy woes are but beginning; I fear they will +terminate fatally; if so, the catastrophe cannot come too quickly.</p> + +<p>"I disdain to appeal to thy justice, Helena, to remind thee of +conditions solemnly and explicitly assumed. Shall thy blood be upon thy +own head? No. I will bear it myself. Though the load would crush a +mountain, I will bear it.</p> + +<p>"I cannot help it; I make not myself; I am moulded by circumstances; +whether I shall love thee or not is no longer in my own choice. Marriage +if indeed still in my power. I may give thee any name, and share with +thee my fortune. Will these content thee? Thou canst not partake of my +love. Thou canst have no part in my tenderness. These, are reserved for +another more worthy than thou.</p> + +<p>"But no. Thy state is to the last degree forlorn, even marriage is +denied thee. Thou wast contented to take me without it,—to dispense +with the name of wife; but the being who has displaced thy image in thy +heart is of a different class. She will be to me a wife, or nothing; and +I must be her husband, or perish.</p> + +<p>"Do not deceive thyself, Helena. I know what it is in which thou hast +placed thy felicity. Life is worth retaining by thee but on one +condition. I know the incurableness of thy infirmity; but be not +deceived. Thy happiness is ravished from thee. The condition on which +thou consentedst to live is annulled. I love thee no longer.</p> + +<p>"No truth was ever more delicious; none was ever more detestable. I +fight against conviction, and I cling to it. That I love thee no longer +is at once a subject of joy, and of mourning. I struggle to believe +thee superior to this shock; that thou wilt be happy, though deserted by +me. Whatever be thy destiny, my reason will not allow me to be miserable +on that account. Yet I would give the world—I would forfeit every claim +but that which I hope upon the heart of Constantia—to be sure that thy +tranquillity will survive this stroke.</p> + +<p>"But let come what will, look no longer to me for offices of love. +Henceforth all intercourse of tenderness ceases,—perhaps all personal +intercourse whatever. But though this good be refused, thou art sure of +independence. I will guard thy ease and thy honour with a father's +scrupulousness. Would to Heaven a sister could be created by adoption! I +am willing, for thy sake, to be an impostor. I will own thee to the +world for my sister, and carry thee whither the cheat shall never be +detected. I would devote my whole life to prevarication and falsehood +for thy sake, if that would suffice to make thee happy."</p> + +<p>To this speech Helena had nothing to answer: her sobs and tears choked +all utterance. She hid her face with her handkerchief, and sat powerless +and overwhelmed with despair. Ormond traversed the room uneasily, +sometimes moving to and fro with quick steps, sometimes standing and +eyeing her with looks of compassion. At length he spoke:—</p> + +<p>"It is time to leave you. This is the first night that you will spend in +dreary solitude. I know it will be sleepless and full of agony; but the +sentence cannot be recalled. Henceforth regard me as a brother. I will +prove myself one. All other claims are swallowed up in a superior +affection." In saying this, he left the house, and, almost without +intending it, found himself in a few minutes at Mr. Dudley's door.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h3> + + +<p>The politeness of Melbourne had somewhat abated Mr. Dudley's aversion to +society. He allowed himself sometimes to comply with urgent invitations. +On this evening he happened to be at the house of that gentleman. Ormond +entered, and found Constantia alone. An interview of this kind was +seldom enjoyed, though earnestly wished for, by Constantia, who was +eager to renew the subject of her first conversation with Ormond. I have +already explained the situation of her mind. All her wishes were +concentred in the marriage of Helena. The eligibility of this scheme, in +every view which she took of it, appeared in a stronger light. She was +not aware that any new obstacle had arisen. She was free from the +consciousness of any secret bias. Much less did her modesty suspect +that she herself would prove an insuperable impediment to this plan.</p> + +<p>There was more than usual solemnity in Ormond's demeanour. After he was +seated, he continued, contrary to his custom, to be silent. These +singularities were not unobserved by Constantia. They did not, however, +divert her from her purpose.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you," said she. "We so seldom enjoy the advantage of a +private interview. I have much to say to you. You authorize me to +deliberate on your actions, and, in some measure, to prescribe to you. +This is a province which I hope to discharge with integrity and +diligence. I am convinced that Helena's happiness and your own can be +secured in one way only. I will emulate your candour, and come at once +to the point. Why have you delayed so long the justice that is due to +this helpless and lovely girl? There are a thousand reasons why you +should think of no other alternative. You have been pleased to repose +some degree of confidence in my judgement. Hear my full and deliberate +opinion. Make Helena your wife. This is the unequivocal prescription of +your duty."</p> + +<p>This address was heard by Ormond without surprise; but his countenance +betrayed the acuteness of his feelings. The bitterness that overflowed +his heart was perceptible in his tone when he spoke:—</p> + +<p>"Most egregiously are you deceived. Such is the line with which human +capacity presumes to fathom futurity. With all your discernment you do +not see that marriage would effectually destroy me. You do not see that, +whether beneficial or otherwise in its effects, marriage is impossible. +You are merely prompting me to suicide: but how shall I inflict the +wound? Where is the weapon? See you not that I am powerless? Leap, say +you, into the flames. See you not that I am fettered? Will a mountain +move at your bidding? Sooner than I in the path which you prescribe to +me."</p> + +<p>This speech was inexplicable. She pressed him to speak less +enigmatically. Had he formed his resolution? If so, arguments and +remonstrances were superfluous. Without noticing her interrogatories, he +continued:—</p> + +<p>"I am too hasty in condemning you. You judge, not against, but without +knowledge. When sufficiently informed, your decision will be right. Yet +how can you be ignorant? Can you for a moment contemplate yourself and +me, and not perceive an insuperable bar to this union?"</p> + +<p>"You place me," said Constantia, "in a very disagreeable predicament. I +have not deserved this treatment from you. This is an unjustifiable +deviation from plain dealing. Of what impediment do you speak. I can +safely say that I know of none."</p> + +<p>"Well," resumed he, with augmented eagerness, "I must supply you with +knowledge. I repeat, that I perfectly rely on the rectitude of your +judgement. Summon all your sagacity and disinterestedness and choose for +me. You know in what light Helena has been viewed by me. I have ceased +to view her in this light. She has become an object of indifference. +Nay, I am not certain that I do not hate her,—not indeed for her own +sake, but because I love another. Shall I marry her whom I hate, when +there exists one whom I love with unconquerable ardour?"</p> + +<p>Constantia was thunderstruck with this intelligence. She looked at him +with some expression of doubt. "How is this?" said she. "Why did you not +tell me this before?"</p> + +<p>"When I last talked with you on this subject I knew it not myself. It +has occurred since. I have seized the first occasion that has offered +to inform you of it. Say now, since such is my condition, ought Helena +to be my wife?"</p> + +<p>Constantia was silent. Her heart bled for what she foresaw would be the +sufferings and forlorn destiny of Helena. She had not courage to inquire +further into this new engagement.</p> + +<p>"I wait for your answer, Constantia. Shall I defraud myself of all the +happiness which would accrue from a match of inclination? Shall I put +fetters on my usefulness? This is the style in which you speak. Shall I +preclude all the good to others that would flow from a suitable +alliance? Shall I abjure the woman I love, and marry her whom I hate?"</p> + +<p>"Hatred," replied the lady, "is a harsh word. Helena has not deserved +that you should hate her. I own this is a perplexing circumstance. It +would be wrong to determine hastily. Suppose you give yourself to +Helena: will more than yourself be injured by it? Who is this lady? +Will she be rendered unhappy by a determination in favour of another? +This is a point of the utmost importance."</p> + +<p>At these words Ormond forsook his seat, and advanced close up to +Constantia:—"You say true. This is a point of inexpressible importance. +It would be presumption in me to decide. That is the lady's own +province. And now, say truly, are you willing to accept Ormond with all +his faults? Who but yourself could be mistress of all the springs of my +soul? I know the sternness of your probity. This discovery will only +make you more strenuously the friend of Helena. Yet why should you not +shun either extreme? Lay yourself out of view. And yet, perhaps the +happiness of Constantia is not unconcerned in this question. Is there no +part of me in which you discover your own likeness? Am I deceived, or is +it an incontrollable destiny that unites us?"</p> + +<p>This declaration was truly unexpected by Constantia. She gathered from +it nothing but excitements of grief. After some pause she said:—"This +appeal to me has made no change in my opinion. I still think that +justice requires you to become the husband of Helena. As to me, do you +think my happiness rests upon so slight a foundation? I cannot love but +when my understanding points out to me the propriety of love. Ever since +I have known you I have looked upon you as rightfully belonging to +another. Love could not take place in my circumstances. Yet I will not +conceal from you my sentiments. I am not sure that, in different +circumstances, I should not have loved. I am acquainted with your worth. +I do not look for a faultless man. I have met with none whose blemishes +were fewer.</p> + +<p>"It matters not, however, what I should have been. I cannot interfere, +in this case, with the claims of my friend. I have no passion to +struggle with. I hope, in every vicissitude, to enjoy your esteem, and +nothing more. There is but one way in which mine can be secured, and +that is by espousing this unhappy girl."</p> + +<p>"No!" exclaimed Ormond. "Require not impossibilities. Helena can never +be any thing to me. I should, with unspeakably more willingness, assail +my own life."</p> + +<p>"What," said the lady, "will Helena think of this sudden and dreadful +change? I cannot bear to think upon the feelings that this information +will excite."</p> + +<p>"She knows it already. I have this moment left her. I explained to her, +in a few words, my motives, and assured her of my unalterable +resolution. I have vowed never to see her more but as a brother; and +this vow she has just heard."</p> + +<p>Constantia could not suppress her astonishment and compassion at this +intelligence:—"No surely; you could not be so cruel! And this was done +with your usual abruptness, I suppose. Precipitate and implacable man! +Cannot you foresee the effects of this madness? You have planted a +dagger in her heart. You have disappointed me. I did not think you could +act so inhumanly."</p> + +<p>"Nay, beloved Constantia, be not so liberal of your reproaches. Would +you have me deceive her? She must shortly have known it. Could the truth +be told too soon?"</p> + +<p>"Much too soon," replied the lady, fervently. "I have always condemned +the maxims by which you act. Your scheme is headlong and barbarous. +Could not you regard with some little compassion that love that +sacrificed, for your unworthy sake, honest fame and the peace of virtue? +Is she not a poor outcast, goaded by compunction, and hooted at by a +malignant and misjudging world? And who was it that reduced her to this +deplorable condition? For whose sake did she willingly consent to brave +evils, by which the stoutest heart is appalled? Did this argue no +greatness of mind? Who ever surpassed her in fidelity and tenderness? +But thus has she been rewarded. I shudder to think what may be the +event. Her courage cannot possibly support her against treatment so +harsh, so perversely and wantonly cruel. Heaven grant that you are not +shortly made bitterly to lament this rashness!"</p> + +<p>Ormond was penetrated with these reproaches. They persuaded him for a +moment that his deed was wrong; that he had not unfolded his intentions +to Helena with a suitable degree of gentleness and caution. Little more +was said on this occasion. Constantia exhorted him, in the most earnest +and pathetic manner, to return and recant, or extenuate, his former +declarations. He could not be brought to promise compliance. When he +parted from her, however, he was half resolved to act as she advised. +Solitary reflection made him change this resolution, and he returned to +his own house.</p> + +<p>During the night he did little else than ruminate on the events of the +preceding evening. He entertained little doubt of his ultimate success +with Constantia. She gratified him in nothing, but left him every thing +to hope. She had hitherto, it seems, regarded him with indifference, but +this had been sufficiently explained. That conduct would be pursued, and +that passion be entertained, which her judgement should previously +approve. What then was the obstacle? It originated in the claims of +Helena. But what were these claims? It was fully ascertained that he +should never be united to this girl. If so, the end contemplated by +Constantia, and for the sake of which only his application was rejected, +could never be obtained. Unless her rejection of him could procure a +husband for her friend, it would, on her own principles, be improper and +superfluous.</p> + +<p>What was to be done with Helena? It was a terrible alternative to which +he was reduced:—to marry her or see her perish. But was this +alternative quite sure? Could not she, by time or by judicious +treatment, be reconciled to her lot? It was to be feared that he had not +made a suitable beginning: and yet, perhaps it was most expedient that a +hasty and abrupt sentence should be succeeded by forbearance and lenity. +He regretted his precipitation, and though unused to the melting mood, +tears were wrung from him by the idea of the misery which he had +probably occasioned. He was determined to repair his misconduct as +speedily as possible, and to pay her a conciliating visit the next +morning.</p> + +<p>He went early to her house. He was informed by the servant that her +mistress had not yet risen. "Was it usual," he asked, "for her to lie so +late?" "No," he was answered, "she never knew it happen before, but she +supposed her mistress was not well. She was just going into her chamber +to see what was the matter."</p> + +<p>"Why," said Ormond, "do you suppose that she is sick?"</p> + +<p>"She was poorly last night. About nine o'clock she sent out for some +physic to make her sleep."</p> + +<p>"To make her sleep?" exclaimed Ormond, in a fettering and affrighted +accent.</p> + +<p>"Yes: she said she wanted it for that. So I went to the 'pothecary's. +When I came back she was very poorly indeed. I asked her if I might not +sit up with her. 'No,' she said, 'I do not want anybody. You may go to +bed as soon as you please, and tell Fabian to do the same. I shall not +want you again.'"</p> + +<p>"What did you buy?"</p> + +<p>"Some kind of water,—laud'num I think they call it. She wrote it down, +and I carried the paper to Mr. Eckhart's, and he gave it to me in a +bottle, and I gave it to my mistress."</p> + +<p>"'Tis well: retire: I will see how she is myself."</p> + +<p>Ormond had conceived himself fortified against every disaster: he looked +for nothing but evil, and therefore, in ordinary cases, regarded its +approach without fear or surprise. Now, however, he found that his +tremors would not be stilled: his perturbations increased with every +step that brought him nearer to her chamber. He knocked, but no answer +was returned. He opened the door, advanced to the bed side, and drew +back the curtains. He shrunk from the spectacle that presented itself. +Was this the Helena that, a few hours before, was blithesome with health +and radiant with beauty? Her visage was serene, but sunken and pale. +Death was in every line of it. To his tremulous and hurried scrutiny +every limb was rigid and cold.</p> + +<p>The habits of Ormond tended to obscure the appearances, if not to deaden +the emotions of sorrow. He was so much accustomed to the frustration of +well-intended efforts, and confided so much in his own integrity, that +he was not easily disconcerted. He had merely to advert, on this +occasion, to the tumultuous state of his feelings, in order to banish +their confusion and restore himself to calm. "Well," said he, as he +dropped the curtain and turned towards another part of the room, "this, +without doubt, is a rueful spectacle. Can it be helped? Is there in man +the power of recalling her? There is none such in me.</p> + +<p>"She is gone: well then, she <i>is</i> gone. If she were fool enough to die, +I am not fool enough to follow her. I am determined to live and be happy +notwithstanding. Why not?</p> + +<p>"Yet, this is a piteous night. What is impossible to undo, might be +easily prevented. A piteous spectacle! But what else, on an ampler +scale, is the universe? Nature is a theatre of suffering. What corner +is unvisited by calamity and pain? I have chosen as became me. I would +rather precede thee to the grave, than live to be thy husband.</p> + +<p>"Thou hast done my work for me. Thou hast saved thyself and me from a +thousand evils. Thou hast acted as seemed to thee best, and I am +satisfied.</p> + +<p>"Hast thou decided erroneously? They that know thee need not marvel at +that. Endless have been the proofs of thy frailty. In favour of this +last act something may be said. It is the last thou wilt ever commit. +Others only will experience its effects; thou hast, at least, provided +for thy own safety.</p> + +<p>"But what is here? A letter for me? Had thy understanding been as prompt +as thy fingers, I could have borne with thee. I can easily divine the +contents of this epistle."</p> + +<p>He opened it, and found the tenor to be as follows:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>"You did not use, my dear friend, to part with me in this manner. +You never before treated me so roughly. I am, sorry, indeed I am, +that I ever offended you. Could you suppose that I intended it? And +if you knew that I meant not offence, why did you take offence?</p> + +<p>"I'm very unhappy, for I have lost you, my friend. You will never +see me more, you say. That is very hard. I have deserved it +to-be-sure, but I do not know how it has happened. Nobody more +desired to please than I have done. Morning, noon, night, it was my +only study; but you will love me no more; you will see me no more. +Forgive me, my friend, but I must say it is very hard.</p> + +<p>"You said rightly; I do not wish to live without my friend. I have +spent my life happily heretofore. 'Tis true, these have been +transient uneasinesses, but your love was a reward and a cure for +every thing. I desired nothing better in this world. Did you ever +hear me murmur? No; I was not so unjust. My lot was happy, +infinitely beyond my deserving. I merited not to be loved by you. +Oh that I had suitable words to express my gratitude for your +kindness! but this last meeting,—how different from that which +went before? Yet even then there was something on your brow like +discontent, which I could not warble nor whisper away as I used to +do. But sad as this was, it was nothing like the last.</p> + +<p>"Could Ormond be so stern and so terrible? You knew that I would +die, but you need not have talked as if I were in the way, and as +if you had rather I should die than live. But one thing I rejoice +at; I am a poor silly girl, but Constantia is a noble and +accomplished one. Most joyfully do I resign you to her, my dear +friend. You say you love her. She need not be afraid of accepting +you. There will be no danger of your preferring another to her. It +was very natural and very right for you to prefer her to me. She +and you will be happy in each other. It is this that sweetens the +cup I am going to drink. Never did I go to sleep with more +good-will than I now go to death. Fare you well, my dear friend."</p></blockquote> + +<p>This letter was calculated to make a deeper impression on Ormond than +even the sight of Helena's corpse. It was in vain, for some time, that +he endeavoured to reconcile himself to this event. It was seldom that he +was able to forget it. He was obliged to exert all his energies to +enable him to support the remembrance. The task was of course rendered +easier by time.</p> + +<p>It was immediately requisite to attend to the disposal of the corpse. He +felt himself unfit for this mournful office. He was willing to relieve +himself from it by any expedient. Helena's next neighbour was an old +lady, whose scruples made her shun all direct intercourse with this +unhappy girl; yet she had performed many acts of neighbourly kindness. +She readily obeyed the summons of Ormond, on this occasion, to take +charge of affairs till another should assert it. Ormond returned home, +and sent the following note to Constantia:—</p> + +<blockquote><p>"You have predicted aright. Helena is dead. In a mind like your's +every grief will be suspended, and every regard absorbed in the +attention due to the remains of this unfortunate girl. <i>I</i> cannot +attend to them."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Constantia was extremely shocked by this intelligence, but she was not +unmindful of her duty. She prepared herself, with mournful alacrity, for +the performance of it. Every thing that the occasion demanded was done +with diligence and care. Till this was accomplished, Ormond could not +prevail upon himself to appear upon the stage. He was informed of this +by a note from Constantia, who requested him to take possession of the +unoccupied dwelling and its furniture.</p> + +<p>Among the terms of his contract with Helena, Ormond had voluntarily +inserted the exclusive property of a house and its furniture in this +city, with funds adequate to her plentiful maintenance. These he had +purchased and transferred to her. To this he had afterwards added a +rural retreat, in the midst of spacious and well-cultivated fields, +three miles from Perth-Amboy, and seated on the right bank of the Sound. +It is proper to mention that this farm was formerly the property of Mr. +Dudley,—had been fitted up by him, and used as his summer abode during +his prosperity. In the division of his property it had fallen to one of +his creditors, from whom it had been purchased by Ormond. This +circumstance, in conjunction with the love which she bore to Constantia, +had suggested to Helena a scheme, which her want of foresight would, in +different circumstances, have occasioned her to overlook. It was that of +making her testament, by which she bequeathed all that she possessed to +her friend. This was not done without the knowledge and cheerful +concurrence of Ormond, who, together with Melbourne and another +respectable citizen, were named executors. Melbourne and his friend were +induced by their respect for Constantia to consent to this nomination.</p> + +<p>This had taken place before Ormond and Constantia had been introduced to +each other. After this event, Ormond had sometimes been employed in +contriving means for securing to his new friend and her father a +subsistence, more certain than the will of Helena could afford. Her +death he considered as an event equally remote and undesirable. This +event, however unexpectedly, had now happened, and precluded the +necessity of further consideration on this head.</p> + +<p>Constantia could not but accept this bequest. Had it been her wish to +decline it, it was not in her power, but she justly regarded the +leisure and independence thus conferred upon her, as inestimable +benefits. It was a source of unbounded satisfaction on her father's +account, who was once more seated in the bosom of affluence. Perhaps, in +a rational estimate, one of the most fortunate events that could have +befallen those persons, was that period of adversity through which they +had been doomed to pass. Most of the defects that adhered to the +character of Mr. Dudley, had, by this means, been exterminated. He was +now cured of those prejudices which his early prosperity had instilled, +and which had flowed from luxurious indigencies. He had learned to +estimate himself at his true value, and to sympathize with sufferings +which he himself had partaken.</p> + +<p>It was easy to perceive in what light Constantia was regarded by her +father. He never reflected on his relation to her without rapture. Her +qualities were the objects of his adoration. He resigned himself with +pleasure to her guidance. The chain of subordination and duties was +reversed. By the ascendancy of her genius and wisdom the province of +protection and the tribute of homage had devolved upon her. This had +resulted from incessant experience of the wisdom of her measures, and +the spectacle of her fortitude and skill in every emergency.</p> + +<p>It seemed as if but one evil adhered to the condition of this man. His +blindness was an impediment to knowledge and enjoyment, of which, the +utmost to be hoped was, that he should regard it without pungent regret, +and that he should sometimes forget it; that his mind should +occasionally stray into foreign paths, and lose itself in sprightly +conversations, or benign reveries. This evil, however, was by no means +remediless.</p> + +<p>A surgeon of uncommon skill had lately arrived from Europe. He was one +of the numerous agents and dependants of Ormond and had been engaged to +abdicate his native country for purposes widely remote from his +profession. The first use that was made of him was to introduce him to +Mr. Dudley. The diseased organs were critically examined, and the +patient was, with considerable difficulty, prevailed upon to undergo the +necessary operation. His success corresponded with Constantia's wishes, +and her father was once more restored to the enjoyment of light.</p> + +<p>These were auspicious events. Constantia held herself amply repaid by +them for all that she had suffered. These sufferings had indeed been +light, when compared with the effects usually experienced by others in a +similar condition. Her wisdom had extracted its sting from adversity, +and without allowing herself to feel much of the evils of its reign, +had employed it as an instrument by which the sum of her present +happiness was increased. Few suffered less in the midst of poverty, than +she. No one ever extracted more felicity from the prosperous reverse.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + + +<p>When time had somewhat mitigated the memory of the late disaster, the +intercourse between Ormond and Constantia was renewed. The lady did not +overlook her obligations to her friend. It was to him that she was +indebted for her father's restoration to sight, and to whom both owed, +essentially, though indirectly, their present affluence. In her mind, +gratitude was no perverse or ignoble principle. She viewed this man as +the author of extensive benefits, of which her situation enabled her to +judge with more accuracy than others. It created no bias on her +judgement, or, at least, none of which she was sensible. Her equity was +perfectly unfettered; and she decided in a way contrary to his +inclination, with as little scruple as if the benefits had been +received, not by herself, but by him. She indeed intended his benefit, +though she thwarted his inclinations.</p> + +<p>She had few visitants beside himself. Their interviews were daily and +unformal. The fate of Helena never produced any reproaches on her part. +She saw the uselessness of recrimination, not only because she desired +to produce emotions different from those which infective is adapted to +excite, but because it was more just to soothe than to exasperate the +inquietudes which haunted him.</p> + +<p>She now enjoyed leisure. She had always been solicitous for mental +improvement. Any means subservient to this end were valuable. The +conversation of Ormond was an inexhaustible fund. By the variety of +topics and the excitement to reflection it supplied, a more plenteous +influx of knowledge was produced than could have flowed from any other +source. There was no end to the detailing of facts, and the canvassing +of theories.</p> + +<p>I have already said that Ormond was engaged in schemes of an arduous and +elevated nature. These were the topics of epistolary discussion between +him and a certain number of coadjutors, in different parts of the world. +In general discourse, it was proper to maintain a uniform silence +respecting these, not only because they involved principles and views +remote from vulgar apprehension, but because their success, in some +measure, depended on their secrecy. He could not give a stronger proof +of his confidence in the sagacity and steadiness of Constantia than he +now gave, by imparting to her his schemes, and requesting her advice and +assistance in the progress of them.</p> + +<p>His disclosures, however, were imperfect. What knowledge was imparted, +instead of appeasing, only tended to inflame her curiosity. His answers +to her inquiries were prompt, and, at first sight, sufficiently +explicit; but upon reconsideration, an obscurity seemed to gather round +them, to be dispelled by new interrogatories. These, in like manner, +effected a momentary purpose, but were sure speedily to lead into new +conjectures, and reimmerse her in doubts. The task was always new, was +always on the point of being finished, and always to be recommenced.</p> + +<p>Ormond aspired to nothing more ardently than to hold the reins of +opinion,—to exercise absolute power over the conduct of others, not by +constraining their limbs, or by exacting obedience to his authority, but +in a way of which his subjects should be scarcely conscious. He desired +that his guidance should control their steps, but that his agency, when +most effectual, should be least suspected.</p> + +<p>If he were solicitous to govern the thoughts of Constantia, or to +regulate her condition, the mode which he pursued had hitherto been +admirably conducive to that end. To have found her friendless and +indigent, accorded, with the most fortunate exactness, with his views. +That she should have descended to this depth, from a prosperous height, +and therefore be a stranger to the torpor which attends hereditary +poverty, and be qualified rightly to estimate and use the competence to +which, by this means, she was now restored, was all that his providence +would have prescribed.</p> + +<p>Her thoughts were equally obsequious to his direction. The novelty and +grandeur of his schemes could not fail to transport a mind ardent and +capacious as that of Constantia. Here his fortune had been no less +propitious. He did not fail to discover, and was not slow to seize, the +advantages flowing thence. By explaining his plans, opportunity was +furnished to lead and to confine her meditations to the desirable tract. +By adding fictitious embellishments, he adapted it with more exactness +to his purpose. By piecemeal and imperfect disclosures her curiosity +was kept alive.</p> + +<p>I have described Ormond at having contracted a passion for Constantia. +This passion certainly existed in his heart, but it must not be +conceived to be immutable, or to operate independently of all those +impulses and habits which time had interwoven in his character. The +person and affections of this woman were the objects sought by him, and +which it was the dearest purpose of his existence to gain. This was his +supreme good, though the motives to which it was indebted for its +pre-eminence in his imagination were numerous and complex.</p> + +<p>I have enumerated his opinions on the subject of wedlock. The question +will obviously occur, whether Constantia was sought by him with upright +or flagitious views. His sentiments and resolution on this head had for +a time fluctuated, but were now steadfast. Marriage was, in his eyes, +hateful and absurd as ever. Constantia was to be obtained by any means. +If other terms were rejected, he was willing, for the sake of this good, +to accept her as a wife; but this was a choice to be made only when +every expedient was exhausted for reconciling her to a compact of a +different kind.</p> + +<p>For this end he, prescribed to himself a path suited to the character of +this lady. He made no secret of his sentiments and views. He avowed his +love, and described, without scruple, the scope of his wishes. He +challenged her to confute his principles, and promised a candid audience +and profound consideration to her arguments. Her present opinions he +knew to be adverse to his own, but he hoped to change them by subtlety +and perseverance. His further hopes and designs he concealed from her. +She was unaware that if he were unable to effect a change in her creed, +he was determined to adopt a system of imposture,—to assume the guise +of a convert to her doctrines, and appear as devout as herself in his +notions of the sanctity of marriage.</p> + +<p>Perhaps it was not difficult to have foreseen the consequence of these +projects. Constantia's peril was imminent. This arose not only from the +talents and address of Ormond, but from the community of sentiment which +already existed between them. She was unguarded in a point where, if not +her whole yet doubtless her principal security and strongest bulwark +would have existed. She was unacquainted with religion. She was +unhabituated to conform herself to any standard but that connected with +the present life. Matrimonial as well as every other human duty, was +disconnected in her mind with any awful or divine sanction. She formed +her estimate of good and evil on nothing but terrestrial and visible +consequences.</p> + +<p>This defect in her character she owed to her father's system of +education. Mr. Dudley was an adherent to what he conceived to be true +religion. No man was more passionate in his eulogy of his own form of +devotion and belief, or in his invectives against atheistical dogmas; +but he reflected that religion assumed many forms, one only of which is +salutary or true, and that truth in this respect is incompatible with +infantile and premature instruction.</p> + +<p>To this subject it was requisite to apply the force of a mature and +unfettered understanding. For this end he laboured to lead away the +juvenile reflections of Constantia from religious topics, to detain them +in the paths of history and eloquence,—to accustom her to the accuracy +of geometrical deduction, and to the view of those evils that have +flowed in all ages, from mistaken piety.</p> + +<p>In consequence of this scheme, her habits rather than her opinions, were +undevout. Religion was regarded by her not with disbelief, but with +absolute indifference. Her good sense forbade her to decide before +inquiry, but her modes of study and reflection were foreign to, and +unfitted her for this species of discussion. Her mind was seldom called +to meditate on this subject, and when it occurred, her perceptions were +vague and obscure. No objects, in the sphere which she occupied, were +calculated to suggest to her the importance of investigation and +certainty.</p> + +<p>It becomes me to confess, however reluctantly, thus much concerning my +friend. However abundantly endowed in other respects, she was a stranger +to the felicity and excellence flowing from religion. In her struggles +with misfortune, she was supported and cheered by the sense of no +approbation but her own. A defect of this nature will perhaps be +regarded as of less moment when her extreme youth is remembered. All +opinion in her mind were mutable, inasmuch as the progress of her +understanding was incessant.</p> + +<p>It was otherwise with Ormond. His disbelief was at once unchangeable and +strenuous. The universe was to him a series of events, connected by an +undesigning and inscrutable necessity, and an assemblage of forms, to +which no beginning or end can be conceived. Instead of transient views +and vague ideas, his meditations, on religious points, had been intense. +Enthusiasm was added to disbelief, and he not only dissented but +abhorred.</p> + +<p>He deemed it prudent, however, to disguise sentiments which, if unfolded +in their full force, would wear to her the appearance of insanity. But +he saw and was eager to improve the advantage which his anti-nuptial +creed derived from the unsettled state of her opinions. He was not +unaware, likewise, of the auspicious and indispensable co-operation of +love. If this advocate were wanting in her bosom, all his efforts would +be in vain. If this pleader were engaged in his behalf, he entertained +no doubts of his ultimate success. He conceived that her present +situation, all whose comforts were the fruits of his beneficence, and +which afforded her no other subject of contemplation than himself, was +as favourable as possible to the growth of this passion.</p> + +<p>Constantia was acquainted with his wishes. She could not fail to see +that she might speedily be called upon to determine a momentous +question. Her own sensations, and the character of Ormond were, +therefore, scrutinized with suspicious attention. Marriage could be +justified in her eyes only by community of affections and opinions. She +might love without the sanction of her judgement; but, while destitute +of that sanction, she would never suffer it to sway her conduct.</p> + +<p>Ormond was imperfectly known. What knowledge she had gained flowed +chiefly from his own lips, and was therefore unattended with certainty. +What portion of deceit or disguise was mixed with his conversation could +be known only by witnessing his actions with her own eyes and comparing +his testimony with that of others. He had embraced a multitude of +opinions which appeared to her erroneous. Till these were rectified, and +their conclusions were made to correspond, wedlock was improper. Some of +these obscurities might be dispelled, and some of these discords be +resolved into harmony by time. Meanwhile it was proper to guard the +avenues to her heart, and screen herself from self-delusion.</p> + +<p>There was no motive to conceal her reflections on this topic from her +father. Mr. Dudley discovered, without her assistance, the views of +Ormond. His daughter's happiness was blended with his own. He lived but +in the consciousness of her tranquillity. Her image was seldom absent +from his eyes, and never from his thoughts. The emotions which it +excited sprung but in part from the relationship of father. It was +gratitude and veneration which she claimed from him, and which filled +him with rapture.</p> + +<p>He ruminated deeply on the character of Ormond. The political and +anti-theological tenets of this man were regarded, not merely with +disapprobation, but antipathy. He was not ungrateful for the benefits +which had been conferred upon him. Ormond's peculiarities of sentiment +excited no impatience, as long as he was regarded merely as a visitant. +It was only as one claiming to possess his daughter that his presence +excited, in Mr. Dudley, trepidation and loathing.</p> + +<p>Ormond was unacquainted with what was passing in the mind of Mr. Dudley. +The latter conceived his own benefactor and his daughter's friend to be +entitled to the most scrupulous and affable urbanity. His objections to +a nearer alliance were urged with frequent and pathetic vehemence only +in his private interviews with Constantia. Ormond and he seldom met. Mr. +Dudley, as soon as his sight was perfectly retrieved, betook himself +with eagerness to painting,—an amusement which his late privations had +only contributed to endear to him.</p> + +<p>Things remained nearly on their present footing for some months. At the +end of this period some engagement obliged Ormond to leave the city. He +promised to return with as much speed as circumstances would admit. +Meanwhile, his letters supplied her with topics of reflection. These +were frequently received, and were models of that energy of style which +results from simplicity of structure, from picturesque epithets, and +from the compression of much meaning into few words. His arguments +seldom imparted conviction, but delight never failed to flow from their +lucid order and cogent brevity. His narratives were unequalled for +rapidity and comprehensiveness. Every sentence was a treasury to +moralists and painters.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h3> + + +<p>Domestic and studious occupations did not wholly engross the attention +of Constantia. Social pleasures were precious to her heart, and she was +not backward to form fellowships and friendships with those around her. +Hitherto she had met with no one entitled to an uncommon portion of +regard, or worthy to supply the place of the friend of her infancy. Her +visits were rare, and, as yet, chiefly confined to the family of Mr. +Melbourne. Here she was treated with flattering distinctions, and +enjoyed opportunities of extending as far as she pleased her connections +with the gay and opulent. To this she felt herself by no means inclined, +and her life was still eminently distinguished by love of privacy and +habits of seclusion.</p> + +<p>One morning, feeling an indisposition to abstraction, she determined to +drop in, for an hour, on Mrs. Melbourne. Finding Mrs. Melbourne's +parlour unoccupied, she proceeded unceremoniously to an apartment on the +second floor, where that lady was accustomed to sit. She entered, but +this room was likewise empty. Here she cast her eyes on a collection of +prints, copied from the Farnese collection, and employed herself for +some minutes in comparing the forms of Titiano and the Caracchi.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, notes of peculiar sweetness were wafted to her ear from +without. She listened with surprise, for the tones of her father's lute +were distinctly recognized. She hied to the window, which chanced to +look into a back court. The music was perceived to come from the window +of the next house. She recollected her interview with the purchaser of +her instrument at the music shop, and the powerful impression which the +stranger's countenance had made upon her.</p> + +<p>The first use she had made of her recent change of fortune was to +endeavour to recover this instrument. The music dealer, when reminded of +the purchase, and interrogated as to the practicability of regaining the +lute, for which she was willing to give treble the price, answered that +he had no knowledge of the foreign lady beyond what was gained at the +interview which took place in Constantia's presence. Of her name, +residence, and condition, he knew nothing, and had endeavoured in vain +to acquire knowledge.</p> + +<p>Now, this incident seemed to have furnished her with the information she +had so earnestly sought. This performer was probably the stranger +herself. Her residence so near the Melbournes, and in a house which was +the property of the magistrate, might be means of information as to her +condition, and perhaps of introduction to a personal acquaintance.</p> + +<p>While engaged in these reflections, Mrs. Melbourne entered the +apartment. Constantia related this incident to her friend, and stated +the motives of her present curiosity. Her friend willingly imparted what +knowledge she possessed relative to this subject. This was the sum.</p> + +<p>This house had been hired, previously to the appearance of the yellow +fever, by an English family, who left their native soil with a view to a +permanent abode in the new world. They had scarcely taken possession of +the dwelling when they were terrified by the progress of the epidemic. +They had fled from the danger; but this circumstance, in addition to +some others, induced them to change their scheme. An evil so unwonted as +pestilence impressed them with a belief of perpetual danger as long as +they remained on this side of the ocean. They prepared for an immediate +return to England.</p> + +<p>For this end their house was relinquished, and their splendid furniture +destined to be sold by auction. Before this event could take place, +application was made to Mr. Melbourne by a lady whom his wife's +description showed to be the same person of whom Constantia was in +search. She not only rented the house, but negotiated by means of her +landlord for the purchase of the furniture.</p> + +<p>Her servants were blacks, and all but one, who officiated as steward, +unacquainted with the English language. Some accident had proved her +name to be Beauvais. She had no visitants, very rarely walked abroad, +and then only in the evening with a female servant in attendance. Her +hours appeared to be divided between the lute and the pen. As to her +previous history or her present sources of subsistence, Mrs. +Melbourne's curiosity had not been idle, but no consistent information +was obtainable. Some incidents had given birth to the conjecture that +she was wife, or daughter, or sister of Beauvais, the partizan of +Brissot, whom the faction of Marat had lately consigned to the scaffold; +but this conjecture was unsupported by suitable evidence.</p> + +<p>This tale by no means diminished Constantia's desire of personal +intercourse. She saw no means of effecting her purpose. Mrs. Melbourne +was unqualified to introduce her, having been discouraged in all the +advances she had made towards a more friendly intercourse. Constantia +reflected, that her motives to seclusion would probably induce this lady +to treat others as her friend had been treated.</p> + +<p>It was possible, however, to gain access to her, if not as a friend, yet +as the original proprietor of the lute. She determined to employ the +agency of Roseveldt, the music-shopman, for the purpose of rebuying +this instrument. To enforce her application, she commissioned this +person, whose obliging temper entitled him to confidence, to state her +inducements for originally offering it for sale, and her motives for +desiring the repossession on any terms which the lady thought proper to +dictate.</p> + +<p>Roseveldt fixed an hour in which it was convenient for him to execute +her commission. This hour having passed, Constantia, who was anxious +respecting his success, hastened to his house. Roseveldt delivered the +instrument, which the lady, having listened to his pleas and offers, +directed to be gratuitously restored to Constantia. At first, she had +expressed her resolution to part with it on no account, and at no price. +Its music was her only recreation, and this instrument surpassed any she +had ever before seen, in the costliness and delicacy of its workmanship. +But Roseveldt's representations produced an instant change of +resolution, and she not only eagerly consented to restore it, but +refused to receive any thing in payment.</p> + +<p>Constantia was deeply affected by this unexpected generosity. It was not +her custom to be outstripped in this career. She now condemned herself +for her eagerness to regain this instrument. During her father's +blindness it was a powerful, because the only, solace of his melancholy. +Now he had no longer the same anxieties to encounter, and books and the +pencil were means of gratification always at hand. The lute therefore, +she imagined, could be easily dispensed with by Mr. Dudley, whereas its +power of consoling might be as useful to the unknown lady as it had +formerly been to her father. She readily perceived in what manner it +became her to act. Roseveldt was commissioned to redeliver the lute, and +to entreat the lady's acceptance of it. The tender was received without +hesitation, and Roseveldt dismissed without any inquiry relative to +Constantia.</p> + +<p>These transactions were reflected on by Constantia with considerable +earnestness. The conduct of the stranger, her affluent and lonely slate, +her conjectural relationship to the actors in the great theatre of +Europe, were mingled together in the fancy of Constantia, and +embellished with the conceptions of her beauty derived from their casual +meeting at Roseveldt's. She forgot not their similitude in age and sex, +and delighted to prolong the dream of future confidence and friendship +to take place between them. Her heart sighed for a companion fitted to +partake in all her sympathies.</p> + +<p>This strain, by being connected with the image of a being like herself, +who had grown up with her from childhood, who had been entwined with her +earliest affections, but from whom she had been severed from the period +at which her father's misfortunes commenced, and of whose present +condition she was wholly ignorant, was productive of the deepest +melancholy. It filled her with excruciating, and, for a time, +irremediable sadness. It formed a kind of paroxysm, which, like some +febrile affections, approach and retire without warning, and against the +most vehement struggles.</p> + +<p>In this mood her fancy was thronged with recollections of scenes in +which her friend had sustained a part. Their last interview was commonly +revived in her remembrance so forcibly as almost to produce a lunatic +conception of its reality. A ditty which they sung together on that +occasion flowed to her lips. If ever human tones were qualified to +convey the whole soul, they were those of Constantia when she sang:—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"The breeze awakes, the bark prepares,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">To waft me to a distant shore:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">But far beyond this world of cares</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">We meet again to part no more."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>These fits were accustomed to approach and to vanish by degrees. They +were transitory, but not unfrequent, and were pregnant with such +agonizing tenderness, such heart-breaking sighs, and a flow of such +bitter yet delicious tears, that it were not easily decided whether the +pleasure or the pain surmounted. When symptoms of their coming were felt +she hastened into solitude, that the progress of her feelings might +endure no restraint.</p> + +<p>On the evening of the day on which the lute had been sent to the foreign +lady, Constantia was alone in her chamber immersed in desponding +thoughts. From these she was recalled by Fabian, her black servant, who +announced a guest. She was loath to break off the thread of her present +meditations, and inquired with a tone of some impatience, who was the +guest. The servant was unable to tell; it was a young lady whom he had +never before seen; she had opened the door herself, and entered the +parlour without previous notice.</p> + +<p>Constantia paused at this relation. Her thoughts had recently been fixed +upon Sophia Westwyn. Since their parting four years before she had heard +no tidings of this woman. Her fears imagined no more probable cause of +her friend's silence than her death. This, however, was uncertain. The +question now occurred, and brought with it sensations that left her no +power to move:—was this the guest?</p> + +<p>Her doubts were quickly dispelled, for the stranger taking a light from +the table, and not brooking the servant's delays, followed Fabian to the +chamber of his mistress. She entered with careless freedom, and +presented to the astonished eyes of Constantia the figure she had met at +Roseveldt's, and the purchaser of her lute.</p> + +<p>The stranger advanced towards her with quick steps, and mingling tones +of benignity and sprightliness, said:—</p> + +<p>"I have come to perform a duty. I have received from you to-day a lute +that I valued almost as my best friend. To find another in America, +would not, perhaps, be possible; but, certainly, none equally superb and +exquisite as this can be found. To show how highly I esteem the gift, I +have come in person to thank you for it."—There she stopped.</p> + +<p>Constantia could not suddenly recover from the extreme surprise into +which the unexpectedness of this meeting had thrown her. She could +scarcely sufficiently suppress this confusion to enable her to reply to +these rapid effusions of her visitant, who resumed with augmented +freedom:—</p> + +<p>"I came, as I said, to thank you, but to say the truth that was not all, +I came likewise to see you. Having done my errand, I suppose I must go. +I would fain stay longer and talk to you a little. Will you give me +leave?"</p> + +<p>Constantia, scarcely retrieving her composure, stammered out a polite +assent. They seated themselves, and the visitant, pressing the hand she +had taken, proceeded in a strain so smooth, so flowing, sliding from +grave to gay, blending vivacity with tenderness, interpreting +Constantia's silence with such keen sagacity, and accounting for the +singularities of her own deportment in a way so respectful to her +companion, and so worthy of a steadfast and pure mind in herself, that +every embarrassment and scruple were quickly banished from their +interview.</p> + +<p>In an hour the guest took her leave. No promise of repeating her visit, +and no request that Constantia would repay it, was made. Their parting +seemed to be the last; whatever purpose having been contemplated +appeared to be accomplished by this transient meeting. It was of a +nature deeply to interest the mind of Constantia. This was the lady who +talked with Roseveldt, and bargained with Melbourne, and they had been +induced by appearances to suppose her ignorant of any language but +French; but her discourse, on the present occasion, was in English, and +was distinguished by unrivalled fluency. Her phrases and habits of +pronouncing were untinctured by any foreign mixture, and bespoke the +perfect knowledge of a native of America.</p> + +<p>On the next evening, while Constantia was reviewing this transaction, +calling up and weighing the sentiments which the stranger had uttered, +and indulging some regret at the unlikelihood of their again meeting, +Martinette (for I will henceforth call her by her true name) entered the +apartment as abruptly as before. She accounted for the visit merely by +the pleasure it afforded her, and proceeded in a strain even more +versatile and brilliant than before. This interview ended like the +first, without any tokens on the part of the guest, of resolution or +desire to renew it; but a third interview took place on the ensuing day.</p> + +<p>Henceforth Martinette became a frequent but hasty visitant, and +Constantia became daily more enamoured of her new acquaintance. She did +not overlook peculiarities in the conversation and deportment of this +woman. These exhibited no tendencies to confidence or traces of +sympathy. They merely denoted large experience, vigorous faculties, and +masculine attainments. Herself was never introduced, except as an +observer; but her observations on government and manners were profound +and critical.</p> + +<p>Her education seemed not widely different from that which Constantia had +received. It was classical and mathematical; but to this was added a +knowledge of political and military transactions in Europe during the +present age, which implied the possession of better means of information +than books. She depicted scenes and characters with the accuracy of one +who had partaken and witnessed them herself.</p> + +<p>Constantia's attention had been chiefly occupied by personal concerns. +Her youth had passed in contention with misfortune, or in the quietudes +of study. She could not be unapprised of contemporary revolutions and +wars, but her ideas concerning them were indefinite and vague. Her views +and her inferences on this head were general and speculative. Her +acquaintance with history was exact and circumstantial, in proportion as +she retired backward from her own age. She knew more of the siege of +Mutina than that of Lisle; more of the machinations of Cataline and the +tumults of Clodius, than of the prostration of the Bastile, and the +proscriptions of Marat.</p> + +<p>She listened, therefore, with unspeakable eagerness to this reciter, who +detailed to her, as the occasion suggested, the progress of action and +opinion on the theatre of France and Poland. Conceived and rehearsed as +this was with the energy and copiousness of one who sustained a part in +the scene, the mind of Constantia was always kept at the pitch of +curiosity and wonder.</p> + +<p>But, while this historian described the features, personal deportment, +and domestic character of Antoinette, Mirabeau and Robespierre, an +impenetrable veil was drawn over her own condition. There was a warmth +and freedom in her details, which bespoke her own co-agency in these +events, but was unattended by transports of indignation or sorrow, or by +pauses of abstraction, such as were likely to occur in one whose hopes +and fears had been intimately blended with public events.</p> + +<p>Constantia could not but derive humiliation from comparing her own +slender acquirements with those of her companion. She was sensible that +all the differences between them arose from diversities of situation. +She was eager to discover in what particulars this diversity consisted. +She was for a time withheld, by scruples not easily explained, from +disclosing her wishes. An accident, however, occurred to remove these +impediments. One evening this unceremonious visitant discovered +Constantia busily surveying a chart of the Mediterranean Sea. This +circumstance led the discourse to the present state of Syria and Cyprus. +Martinette was copious in her details. Constantia listened for a time; +and, when a pause ensued, questioned her companion as to the means she +possessed of acquiring so much knowledge. This question was proposed +with diffidence, and prefaced by apologies.</p> + +<p>"Instead of being offended by your question," replied the guest, "I only +wonder that it never before occurred to you. Travellers tell us much. +Volney and Mariti would have told you nearly all that I have told. With +these I have conversed personally, as well as read their books; but my +knowledge is, in truth, a species of patrimony. I inherit it."</p> + +<p>"Will you be good enough," said Constantia, "to explain yourself?"</p> + +<p>"My mother was a Greek of Cyprus. My father was a Slavonian of Ragusa, +and I was born in a garden at Aleppo."</p> + +<p>"That was a singular concurrence."</p> + +<p>"How singular? That a nautical vagrant like my father should sometimes +anchor in the Bay of Naples; that a Cyprian merchant should carry his +property and daughter beyond the reach of a Turkish sangjack, and seek +an asylum so commodious as Napoli; that my father should have dealings +with this merchant, see, love, and marry his daughter, and afterwards +procure from the French government a consular commission to Aleppo; that +the union should in due time be productive of a son and daughter,—are +events far from being singular. They happen daily."</p> + +<p>"And may I venture to ask if this be your history?"</p> + +<p>"The history of my parents. I hope you do not consider the place of my +birth as the sole or the most important circumstance of my life."</p> + +<p>"Nothing would please me more than to be enabled to compare it with +other incidents. I am apt to think that your life is a tissue of +surprising events. That the daughter of a Ragusan and Greek should have +seen and known so much; that she should talk English with equal fluency +and more correctness than a native; that I should now be conversing with +her in a corner so remote from Cyprus and Sicily, are events more +wonderful than any which I have known."</p> + +<p>"Wonderful! Pish! Thy ignorance, thy miscalculation of probabilities is +far more so. My father talked to me in Slavonic; my mother and her maids +talked to me in Greek. My neighbours talked to me in a medley of Arabic, +Syriac, and Turkish. My father's secretary was a scholar. He was as well +versed in Lysias and Xenophon as any of their contemporaries. He +laboured for ten years to enable me to read a language essentially the +same with that I used daily to my nurse and mother. Is it wonderful then +that I should be skilful in Slavonic, Greek, and the jargon of Aleppo? +To have refrained from learning was impossible. Suppose, a girl, prompt, +diligent, inquisitive, to spend ten years of her life partly in Spain, +partly in Tuscany, partly in France, and partly in England. With her +versatile curiosity and flexible organs would it be possible For her to +remain ignorant of each of these languages? Latin is the mother of them +all, and presents itself of course to her studious attention."</p> + +<p>"I cannot easily conceive motives which should lead you before the age +of twenty through so many scenes."</p> + +<p>"Can you not? You grew and flourished, like a frail mimosa, in the spot +where destiny had planted you. Thank my stars, I am somewhat better than +a vegetable. Necessity, it is true, and not choice, set me in motion, +but I am not sorry for the consequences."</p> + +<p>"Is it too much," said Constantia, with some hesitation, "to request a +detail of your youthful adventures?"</p> + +<p>"Too much to give, perhaps, at a short notice. To such as you my tale +might abound with novelty, while to others, more acquainted with +vicissitudes, it would be tedious and flat. I must be gone in a few +minutes. For that and for better reasons, I must not be minute. A +summary at present will enable you to judge how far a more copious +narrative is suited to instruct or to please you."</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p><b>END OF VOL. 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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: Ormond, Volume II (of 3) + or, The Secret Witness + + +Author: Charles Brockden Brown + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2011 [eBook #36290] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME II (OF 3)*** + + +E-text prepared by Andrea Ball, Christine Bell, & Marc D'Hooghe +(http://www.freeliterature.org) from page images generously made available +by the Google Books Library Project (http://books.google.com/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has the other two volumes of + this book. + Volume I: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36289 + Volume III: See http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36291 + + + Images of the original pages are available through + the the Google Books Library Project. See + http://books.google.com/books?id=RRgGAAAAQAAJ&oe=UTF-8 + + + + + +ORMOND; + +Or, + +The Secret Witness. + +by + +B. C. BROWN, + +Author of Wieland, or Transformation. + +In Three Volumes. + +VOL. II. + + +"Saepe intereunt aliis meditantes necem." + + PHAEDRUS + +"Those who plot the destruction of others, very often fall, +themselves the victims." + + + + + + + +Philadelphia Printed, +London, Re-Printed for Henry Colburn, +English and Foreign Public Library, +Conduit-Street, Bond-Street. +1811. + + + + +ORMOND, + +OR THE + +SECRET WITNESS + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +On leaving Mr. Ormond's house, Constantia was met by that gentleman. He +saw her as she came out, and was charmed with the simplicity of her +appearance. On entering, he interrogated the servant as to the business +that brought her thither. + +"So," said he, as he entered the drawing-room, where Craig was seated, +"you have had a visitant. She came, it seems, on a pressing occasion, +and would be put off with nothing but a letter." + +Craig had not expected this address, but it only precipitated the +execution of a design that he had formed. Being aware of this or +similar accidents, he had constructed and related on a previous occasion +to Ormond a story suitable to his purpose. + +"Ay," said he, in a tone of affected compassion, "it is a sad affair +enough. I am sorry it is not in my power to help the poor girl. She is +wrong in imputing her father's misfortunes to me, but I know the source +of her mistake. Would to heaven it was in my flower to repair the wrongs +they have suffered not from me, but from one whose relationship is a +disgrace to me." + +"Perhaps," replied the other, "you are willing to explain this affair." + +"Yes, I wish to explain it. I was afraid of some such accident as this. +An explanation is due to my character. I have already told you my story. +I mentioned to you a brother of mine. There is scarcely thirteen months +difference in our ages. There is a strong resemblance between him and +me in our exterior, though I hope there is none at all in our minds. +This brother was a partner of a gentleman, the father of this girl, at +New York. He was a long time nothing better than an apprentice to Mr. +Dudley, but he advanced so much in the good graces of his master, that +he finally took him into partnership. I did not know till I arrived on +the continent the whole of his misconduct. It appears that he embezzled +the property of the house, and fled away with it, and the consequence +was, that his quondam master was ruined. I am often mistaken for my +brother, to my no small inconvenience: but all this I told you formerly. +See what a letter I just now received from this girl." + +Craig was one of the most plausible of men. His character was a standing +proof of the vanity of physiognomy. There were few men who could refuse +their confidence to his open and ingenuous aspect. To this +circumstance, perhaps, he owed his ruin. His temptations to deceive +were stronger than what are incident to most other men. Deception was so +easy a task, that the difficulty lay, not in infusing false opinions +respecting him, but in preventing them from being spontaneously imbibed. +He contracted habits of imposture imperceptibly. In proportion as he +deviated from the practice of truth, he discerned the necessity of +extending and systematizing his efforts, and of augmenting the original +benignity and attractiveness of his looks, by studied additions. The +further he proceeded, the more difficult it was to return. Experience +and habit added daily to his speciousness, till at length the world +perhaps might have been searched in vain for his competitor. + +He had been introduced to Ormond under the most favourable auspices. He +had provided against a danger which he knew to be imminent, by relating +his own story as if it were his brother's. He had, however, made +various additions to it, serving to aggravate the heinousness of his +guilt. This arose partly from policy, and partly from the habit of +lying, which was prompted by a fertile invention, and rendered +inveterate by incessant exercise. He interwove in his tale an intrigue +between Miss Dudley and his brother. The former was seduced, and this +man had employed his skill in chirographical imitation, in composing +letters from Miss Dudley to his brother, which sufficiently attested her +dishonour. He and his brother, he related, to have met in Jamaica, where +the latter died, by which meant his personal property and papers came +into his possession. + +Ormond read the letter which his companion presented to him on this +occasion. The papers which Craig had formerly permitted him to inspect +had made him familiar with her handwriting. The penmanship was, indeed, +similar, yet this was written in a spirit not quite congenial with that +which had dictated her letters to her lover. But he reflected that the +emergency was extraordinary, and that the new scenes through which she +had passed, had, perhaps, enabled her to retrieve her virtue and enforce +it. The picture which she drew of her father's distresses affected him +and his companion very differently. He pondered on it for some time in +silence; he then looked up, and with his usual abruptness said, "I +suppose you gave her something?" + +"No. I was extremely sorry that it was not in my power. I have nothing +but a little trifling silver about me. I I have no more at home than +will barely suffice to pay my board here, and my expenses to Baltimore. +Till I reach there I cannot expect a supply. I was less uneasy I confess +on this account, because I knew you to be equally willing and much more +able to afford the relief she asks." + +This Mr. Ormond had predetermined to do. He paused only to deliberate in +what manner it could, with most propriety, be done. He was always +willing, when he conferred benefits, to conceal the author. He was not +displeased when gratitude was misplaced, and readily allowed his +instruments to act as if they were principals. He questioned not the +veracity of Craig, and was, therefore, desirous to free him from the +molestation that was threatened in the way which had been prescribed. He +put a note of one hundred dollars into his hand, and enjoined him to +send it to the Dudleys that evening, or early the next morning. "I am +pleased," he added, "with the style of this letter: It can be of no +service to you; leave it in my possession." + +Craig would much rather have thrown it into the fire; but he knew the +character of his companion, and was afraid to make any objection to his +request. He promised to send, or carry the note the next morning, +before he set out on his intended journey. + +This journey was to Baltimore, and was undertaken so soon merely to +oblige his friend, who was desirous of remitting to Baltimore a +considerable sum in English guineas, and who had been for some time in +search of one who might execute this commission with fidelity. The offer +of Craig had been joyfully accepted, and next morning had been the time +fixed for his departure, a period the most opportune for Craig's designs +that could be imagined. To return to Miss Dudley. + +The sum that remained to her after the discharge of her debts would +quickly be expended. It was no argument of wisdom to lose sight of the +future in the oblivion of present care. The time would inevitably come +when new resources would be necessary. Every hour brought nearer the +period without facilitating the discovery of new expedients. She related +the recent adventure to her father. He acquiesced in the propriety of +her measures, but the succour that she had thus obtained consoled him +but little. He saw how speedily it would again be required, and was +hopeless of a like fortunate occurrence. + +Some days had elapsed, and Constantia had been so fortunate as to +procure some employment. She was thus engaged in the evening when they +were surprised by a visit from their landlord. This was an occurrence +that foreboded them no good. He entered with abruptness, and scarcely +noticed the salutations that he received. His bosom swelled with +discontent, which seemed ready to be poured out upon his two companions. +To the inquiry as to the condition of his health and that of his family, +he surlily answered: "Never mind how I am: none the better for my +tenants I think. Never was a man so much plagued as I have been; what +with one putting me off from time to time; what with another quarrelling +about terms, and denying his agreement, and another running away in my +debt, I expect nothing but to come to poverty--God help me!--at last. +But this was the worst of all. I was never before treated so in all my +life. I don't know what or when I shall get to the end of my troubles. +To be fobbed out of my rent and twenty-five dollars into the bargain! It +is very strange treatment, I assure you, Mr. Dudley." + +"What is it you mean?" replied that gentleman. "You have received your +dues, and--" + +"Received my dues, indeed! High enough too! I have received none of my +dues. I have been imposed upon. I have been put to very great trouble, +and expect some compensation. There is no knowing the character of one's +tenants. There is nothing but knavery in the world one would think. I'm +sure no man has suffered more by bad tenants than I have. But this is +the strangest treatment I ever met with. Very strange indeed, Dudley, +and I must be paid without delay. To lose my rent and twenty-five +dollars into the bargain, is too hard. I never met with the equal of +it--not I. Besides, I wou'dn't be put to all this trouble for twice the +sum." + +"What does all this mean, Mr. M'Crea? You seem inclined to scold; but I +cannot conceive why you came here for that purpose. This behaviour is +improper--" + +"No, it is very proper, and I want payment of my money. Fifty dollars +you owe me. Miss comes to pay me my rent as I thought. She brings me a +fifty-dollar note; I changes it for her, for I thought to be sure I was +quite safe: but, behold, when I sends it to the bank to get the money, +they sends me back word that it's forged, and calls on me, before a +magistrate, to tell them where I got it from. I'm sure I never was so +flustered in my life. I would not have such a thing for ten times the +sum." + +He proceeded to descant on his loss without any interruption from his +auditors, whom this intelligence had struck dumb. Mr. Dudley instantly +saw the origin and full extent of this misfortune. He was, nevertheless, +calm, and indulged in no invectives against Craig. "It is all of a +piece," said he: "our ruin is inevitable. Well then, let it come." + +After M'Crea had railed himself weary, he flung out of the house, +warning them that next morning he should distrain for his rent, and, at +the same time, sue them for the money that Constantia had received in +exchange for her note. + +Miss Dudley was unable to pursue her task. She laid down her needle, and +fixed her eyes upon her father. They had been engaged in earnest +discourse when their landlord entered. Now there was a pause of profound +silence, till the affectionate Lucy, who sufficiently comprehended this +scene, gave vent to her affliction in sobs. Her mistress turned to +her:-- + +"Cheer up, my Lucy. We shall do well enough, my girl. Our state is bad +enough, without doubt, but despair will make it worse." + +The anxiety that occupied her mind related less to herself than to her +father. He, indeed in the present instance, was exposed to prosecution. +It was he who was answerable for the debt, and whose person would be +thrown into durance by the suit that was menaced. The horrors of a +prison had not hitherto been experienced or anticipated. The worst evil +that she had imagined was inexpressibly inferior to this. The idea had +in it something of terrific and loathsome. The mere supposition of its +being possible was not to be endured. If all other expedients should +fail, she thought of nothing less than desperate resistance. No. It was +better to die than to go to prison. + +For a time she was deserted of her admirable equanimity. This, no doubt, +was the result of surprise. She had not yet obtained the calmness +necessary to deliberation. During this gloomy interval, she would, +perhaps, have adapted any scheme, however dismal and atrocious, which +her father's despair might suggest. She would not refuse to terminate +her own and her father's unfortunate existence by poison or the cord. + +This confusion of mind could not exist long; it gradually gave place to +cheerful prospects. The evil perhaps was not without its timely remedy. +The person whom she had set out to visit, when her course was diverted +by Craig, she once more resolved to apply to; to lay before him, without +reserve, her father's situation, to entreat pecuniary succour, and to +offer herself as a servant in his family, or in that of any of his +friends who stood in need of one. This resolution, in a slight degree, +consoled her; but her mind had been too thoroughly disturbed to allow +her any sleep during that night. + +She equipped herself betimes, and proceeded with a doubting heart to the +house of Mr. Melbourne. She was informed that he had risen, but was +never to be seen at so early an hour. At nine o'clock he would be +disengaged, and she would be admitted. In the present state of her +affairs this delay was peculiarly unwelcome. At breakfast, her suspense +and anxieties would not allow her to eat a morsel; and when the hour +approached she prepared herself for a new attempt. + +As she went out, she met at the door a person whom she recognized, and +whose office she knew to be that of a constable. Constantia had +exercised, in her present narrow sphere, that beneficence which she had +formerly exerted in a larger. There was nothing, consistent with her +slender means, that she did not willingly perform for the service of +others. She had not been sparing of consolation and personal aid in +many cases of personal distress that had occurred in her neighbourhood +Hence, as far as she was known, he was reverenced. + +The wife of their present visitant had experienced her succour and +sympathy, on occasion of the death of a favourite child. The man, +notwithstanding his office, was not of a rugged or ungrateful temper. +The task that was now imposed upon him he undertook with extreme +reluctance. He was somewhat reconciled to it by the reflection that +another might not perform it with that gentleness and lenity which he +found in himself a disposition to exercise on all occasions, but +particularly on the present. + +She easily guessed at his business, and having greeted him with the +utmost friendliness, returned with him into the house. She endeavoured +to remove the embarrassment that hung about him, but in vain. Having +levied what the law very properly calls a distress, he proceeded, after +much hesitation, to inform Dudley that he was charged with a message +from a magistrate, summoning him to come forthwith, and account for +having a forged banknote in his possession. + +M'Crea had given no intimation of this. The painful surprise that it +produced soon yielded to a just view of this affair. Temporary +inconvenience and vexation was all that could be dreaded from it. Mr. +Dudley hated to be seen or known. He usually walked out in the dusk of +evening, but limited his perambulations to a short space. At all other +times he was obstinately recluse. He was easily persuaded by his +daughter to allow her to perform this unwelcome office in his stead. He +had not received, nor even seen the note. He would have willingly spared +her the mortification of a judicial examination, but he knew that this +was unavoidable. Should he comply with this summons himself, his +daughter's presence would be equally necessary. + +Influenced by these considerations, he was willing that his daughter +should accompany the messenger, who was content that they should consult +their mutual convenience in this respect. This interview was to her not +without its terrors; but she cherished the hope that it might ultimately +conduce to good. She did not foresee the means by which this would be +effected, but her heart was lightened by a secret and inexplicable faith +in the propitiousness of some event that was yet to occur. This faith +was powerfully enforced when she reached the magistrate's door, and +found that he was no other than Melbourne, whose succour she intended to +solicit. She was speedily ushered, not into his office, but into a +private apartment, where he received her alone. + +He had been favourably prepossessed with regard to her character by the +report of the officer who, on being charged with the message, had +accounted for the regret which he manifested, by dwelling on the merits +of Miss Dudley. He behaved with grave civility, requested her to be +seated, and accurately scrutinized her appearance. She found herself not +deceived in her preconceptions of this gentleman's character, and drew a +favourable omen as to the event of this interview by what had already +taken place. He viewed her in silence for some time, and then, in a +conciliating tone, said:-- + +"It seems to me, madam, as if I had seen you before. Your face, indeed, +is of that kind which, when once seen, is not easily forgotten. I know +it is a long time since, but I cannot tell when or where. If you will +not deem me impertinent, I will venture to ask you to assist my +conjectures. Your name, as I am informed, is Acworth."--(I ought to have +mentioned that Mr. Dudley, on his removal from New York, among other +expedients to obliterate the memory of his former condition, and +conceal his poverty from the World, had made this change in his name.) + +"That, indeed," said the lady, "is the name which my father at present +bears. His real name is Dudley. His abode was formerly in Queen Street, +New York. Your conjecture, Sir, is not erroneous. This is not the first +time we have seen each other. I well recollect your having been at my +father's house in the days of his prosperity." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed Mr. Melbourne, starting from his seat in the +first impulse of his astonishment. "Are you the daughter of my friend +Dudley, by whom I have so often been hospitably entertained? I have +heard of his misfortunes, but knew not that he was alive, or in what +part of the world he resided. + +"You are summoned on a very disagreeable affair, but I doubt not you +will easily exculpate your father. I am told that he is blind, and that +his situation is by no means as comfortable as might be wished. I am +grieved that he did not confide in the friendship of those that knew +him. What could prompt him to conceal himself?" + +"My father has a proud spirit. It is not yet broken by adversity. He +disdains _to beg_, but I must now assume _that office_ for his sake. I +came hither this morning to lay before you his situation, and to entreat +your assistance to save him from a prison. He cannot pay for the poor +tenement he occupies; and our few goods are already under distress. He +has, likewise, contracted a debt. He is, I suppose, already sued on this +account, and must go to gaol, unless saved by the interposition of some +friend." + +"It is true," said Melbourne, "I yesterday granted a warrant against him +at the suit of Malcolm M'Crea. Little did I think that the defendant was +Stephen Dudley; but you may dismiss all apprehensions on that score. +That affair shall be settled to your father's satisfaction: meanwhile +we will, if you please, despatch this unpleasant business respecting a +counterfeit note received in payment from you by this M'Crea." + +Miss Dudley satisfactorily explained that affair. She stated the +relation in which Craig had formerly stood to her father, and the acts +of which he had been guilty. She slightly touched on the distresses +which the family had undergone during their abode in this city, and the +means by which she had been able to preserve her father from want. She +mentioned the circumstances which compelled her to seek his charity as +the last resource, and the casual encounter with Craig, by which she was +for the present diverted from that design. She laid before him a copy of +the letter she had written, and explained the result in the gift of the +note which now appeared to be a counterfeit. She concluded with stating +her present views, and soliciting him to receive her into his family, in +quality of a servant, or use his interest with some of his friends to +procure a provision of this kind. This tale was calculated deeply to +affect a man of Mr. Melbourne's humanity. + +"No," said he, "I cannot listen to such a request. My inclination is +bounded by my means. These will not allow me to place you in an +independent situation; but I will do what I can. With your leave, I will +introduce you to my wife in your true character. Her good sense will +teach her to set a just value on your friendship. There is no disgrace +in earning your subsistence by your own industry. She and her friends +will furnish you with plenty of materials; but if there ever be a +deficiency, look to them for a supply." + +Constantia's heart overflowed at this declaration. Her silence was more +eloquent than any words could have been. She declined an immediate +introduction to his wife, and withdrew; but not till her new friend had +forced her to accept some money. + +"Place it to account," said he. "It is merely paying you before hand, +and discharging a debt at the time when it happens to be most useful to +the creditor." + +To what entire and incredible reverses is the tenor of human life +subject! A short minute shall effect a transition from a state utterly +destitute of hope to a condition where, all is serene and abundant. The +path, which we employ all our exertions to shun, is often found, upon +trial, to be the true road to prosperity. + +Constantia retired from this interview with a heart bounding with +exultation. She related to her father all that had happened. He was +pleased on her account, but the detection of his poverty by Melbourne +was the parent of new mortification. His only remaining hope relative to +himself was that he should die in his obscurity, whereas, it was +probable that his old acquaintance would trace him to his covert. This +prognostic filled him with the deepest inquietude, and all the +reasonings of his daughter were insufficient to appease him. + +Melbourne made his appearance in the afternoon. He was introduced by +Constantia to her father. Mr. Dudley's figure was emaciated, and his +features corroded by his ceaseless melancholy. His blindness produced in +them a woeful and wildering expression. His dress betokened his penury, +and was in unison with the meanness of his habitation and furniture. The +visitant was struck with the melancholy contrast, which these +appearances exhibited, to the joyousness and splendour that he had +formerly witnessed. + +Mr. Dudley received the salutations of his guest with an air of +embarrassment and dejection. He resigned to his daughter the task of +sustaining the conversation, and excused himself from complying with the +urgent invitations of Melbourne, while, at the same time, he studiously +forebore all expressions tending to encourage any kind of intercourse +between them. + +The guest came with a message from his wife, who entreated Miss Dudley's +company to tea with her that evening, adding that she should be entirely +alone. It was impossible to refuse compliance with this request. She +cheerfully assented, and in the evening was introduced to Mrs. Melbourne +by her husband. + +Constantia found in this lady nothing that called for reverence or +admiration, though she could not deny her some portion of esteem. The +impression which her own appearance and conversation made upon her +entertainer was much more powerful and favourable. A consciousness of +her own worth, and disdain of the malevolence of fortune, perpetually +shone forth in her behaviour. It was modelled by a sort of mean between +presumption on the one hand, and humility on the other. She claimed no +more than what was justly due to her, but she claimed no less. She did +not soothe our vanity nor fascinate our pity by diffident reserves and +fluttering. Neither did she disgust by arrogant negligence, and +uncircumspect loquacity. + +At parting she received commissions in the way of her profession, which +supplied her with abundant and profitable employment. She abridged her +visit on her father's account, and parted from her new friend just early +enough to avoid meeting with Ormond, who entered the house a few minutes +after she had left it. + +"What pity," said Melbourne to him, "you did not come a little sooner. +You pretend to be a judge of beauty. I should like to have heard your +opinion of a face that has just left us." + +"Describe it," said the other. + +"That is beyond my capacity. Complexion, and hair, and eyebrows may be +painted, but these are of no great value in the present case. It is in +the putting them together that nature has here shown her skill, and not +in the structure of each of the parts, individually considered. Perhaps +you may at some time meet each other here. If a lofty fellow like you, +now, would mix a little common sense with his science, this girl might +hope for a husband, and her father for a natural protector." + +"Are they ill search of one or the other?" + +"I cannot say they are. Nay, I imagine they would hear any imputation +with more patience than that, but certain I am, they stand in need of +them. How much would it be to the honour of a man like you rioting in +wealth, to divide it with one, lovely and accomplished as this girl is, +and struggling with indigence!" + +Melbourne then related the adventure of the morning. It was easy for +Ormond to perceive that this was the same person of whom he already had +some knowledge; but there were some particulars in the narrative that +excited surprise. A note had been received from Craig, at the first +visit in the evening, and this note was for no more than fifty dollars. +This did not exactly tally with the information received from Craig. But +this note was forged. Might not this girl mix a little imposture with +her truth? Who knows her temptations to hypocrisy? It might have been a +present from another quarter, and accompanied with no very honourable +conditions. Exquisite wretch! Those whom honesty will not let live must +be knaves. Such is the alternative offered by the wisdom of society. + +He listened to the tale with apparent indifference. He speedily shifted +the conversation to new topics, and put an end to his visit sooner than +ordinary. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +I know no task more arduous than a just delineation of the character of +Ormond. To scrutinize and ascertain our own principles is abundantly +difficult. To exhibit these principles to the world with absolute +sincerity can hardly be expected. We are prompted to conceal and to +feign by a thousand motives; but truly to portray the motives, and +relate the actions of another, appears utterly impossible. The attempt, +however, if made with fidelity and diligence, is not without its use. + +To comprehend the whole truth with regard to the character and conduct +of another, may be denied to any human being, but different observers +will have, in their pictures, a greater or less portion of this truth. +No representation will be wholly false, and some, though not perfectly, +may yet be considerably exempt from error. + +Ormond was of all mankind the being most difficult and most deserving to +be studied. A fortunate concurrence of incidents has unveiled his +actions to me with more distinctness than to any other. My knowledge is +far from being absolute, but I am conscious of a kind of duty, first to +my friend, and secondly to mankind, to impart the knowledge I possess. + +I shall omit to mention the means by which I became acquainted with his +character, nor shall I enter, at this time, into every part of it. His +political projects are likely to possess an extensive influence on the +future condition of this western world. I do not conceive myself +authorized to communicate a knowledge of his schemes, which I gained, in +some sort, surreptitiously, or at least, by means of which he was not +apprised. I shall merely explain the maxims by which he was accustomed +to regulate his private deportment. + +No one could entertain loftier conceptions of human capacity than +Ormond, but he carefully distinguished between men in the abstract, and +men as they are. The former were beings to be impelled, by the breath of +accident, in a right or a wrong road, but whatever direction they should +receive, it was the property of their nature to persist in it. Now this +impulse had been given. No single being could rectify the error. It was +the business of the wise man to form a just estimate of things, but not +to attempt, by individual efforts, so chimerical an enterprise as that +of promoting the happiness of mankind. Their condition was out of the +reach of a member of a corrupt society to control. A mortal poison +pervaded the whole system, by means of which every thing received was +converted into bane and purulence. Efforts designed to ameliorate the +condition of an individual were sure of answering a contrary purpose. +The principles of the social machine must be rectified, before men can +be beneficially active. Our motives may be neutral or beneficent, but +our actions tend merely to the production of evil. + +The idea of total forbearance was not less delusive. Man could not be +otherwise than a cause of perpetual operation and efficacy. He was part +of a machine, and as such had not power to withhold his agency. +Contiguousness to other parts, that is, to other men, was all that was +necessary to render him a powerful concurrent. What then was the conduct +incumbent on him? Whether he went forward, or stood still, whether his +motives were malignant, or kind, or indifferent, the mass of evil was +equally and necessarily augmented. It did not follow from these +preliminaries that virtue and duty were terms without a meaning, but +they require us to promote our own happiness and not the happiness of +others. Not because the former end is intrinsically preferable, not +because the happiness of others is unworthy of primary consideration, +but because it is not to be attained. Our power in the present state of +things is subjected to certain limits. A man may reasonably hope to +accomplish his end when he proposes nothing but his own good: any other +point is inaccessible. + +He must not part with benevolent desire: this is a constituent of +happiness. He sees the value of general and particular felicity; he +sometimes paints it to his fancy, but if this be rarely done, it is in +consequence of virtuous sensibility, which is afflicted on observing +that his pictures are reversed in the real state of mankind. A wise man +will relinquish the pursuit of general benefit, but not the desire of +that benefit, or the perception of that in which this benefit consists, +because these are among the ingredients of virtue and the sources of +his happiness. + +Principles, in the looser sense of that term, have little influence on +practice. Ormond was, for the most part, governed, like others, by the +influences of education and present circumstances. It required a +vigilant discernment to distinguish whether the stream of his actions +flowed from one or the other. His income was large, and he managed it +nearly on the same principles as other men. He thought himself entitled +to all the splendour and ease which it would purchase, but his taste was +elaborate and correct. He gratified his love of the beautiful, because +the sensations it afforded were pleasing, but made no sacrifices to the +love of distinction. He gave no expensive entertainments for the sake of +exciting the admiration of stupid gazers, or the flattery or envy of +those who shared them. Pompous equipage and retinue were modes of +appropriating the esteem of mankind which he held in profound contempt. +The garb of his attendants was fashioned after the model suggested by +his imagination, and not in compliance with the dictates of custom. + +He treated with systematic negligence the etiquette that regulates the +intercourse of persons of a certain class. He every where acted, in this +respect, as if he were alone, or among familiar associates. The very +appellations of Sir, and Madam, and Mister, were, in his apprehension, +servile and ridiculous, and as custom or law had annexed no penalty to +the neglect of these, he conformed to his own opinions. It was easier +for him to reduce his notions of equality to practice than for most +others. To level himself with others was an act of condescension and not +of arrogance. It was of requisite to descend rather than to risk,--a +task the most easy, if we regard the obstacle flowing from the prejudice +of mankind, but far most difficult if the motive of the agent be +considered. + +That in which he chiefly placed his boast, was his sincerity. To this he +refused no sacrifice. In consequence of this, his deportment was +disgusting to weak minds, by a certain air of ferocity and haughty +negligence. He was without the attractions of candour, because he +regarded not the happiness of others, but in subservience to his +sincerity. Hence it was natural to suppose that the character of this +man was easily understood. He affected to conceal nothing. No one +appeared more exempt from the instigations of vanity. He set light by +the good opinions of others, had no compassion for their prejudices and +hazarded assertions in their presence which he knew would be, in the +highest degree, shocking to their previous notions. They might take it, +he would say, as they list. Such were his conceptions, and the last +thing he would give up was the use of his tongue. It was his way to give +utterance to the suggestions of his understanding. If they were +disadvantageous to him, the opinions of others, it was well. He did not +want to be regarded in any light but the true one. He was contented to +be rated by the world at his just value. If they esteemed him for +qualities which he did not possess, was he wrong in rectifying their +mistake: but in reality, if they valued him for that to which he had no +claim, and which he himself considered as contemptible, he must +naturally desire to show them their error, and forfeit that praise +which, in his own opinion, was a badge of infamy. + +In listening to his discourse, no one's claim to sincerity appeared less +questionable. A somewhat different conclusion would be suggested by a +survey of his actions. In early youth he discovered in himself a +remarkable facility in imitating the voice and gestures of others. His +memory was eloquently retentive, and these qualities would have rendered +his career, in the theatrical profession, illustrious, had not his +condition raised him above it. His talents were occasionally exerted for +the entertainment of convivial parties and private circles, but he +gradually withdrew from such scenes as he advanced in age, and devoted +his abilities to higher purposes. + +His aversion to duplicity had flowed from experience of its evils. He +had frequently been made its victim; inconsequence of this his temper +had become suspicious, and he was apt to impute deceit on occasions when +others, of no inconsiderable sagacity, were abundantly disposed to +confidence. One transaction had occurred in his life, in which the +consequences of being misled by false appearances were of the utmost +moment to his honour and safety. The usual mode of salving his doubt he +deeded insufficient, and the eagerness of his curiosity tempted him, +for, the first time, to employ, for this end, his talent at imitation. +He therefore assumed a borrowed character and guise, and performed his +part with so much skill as fully to accomplish life design. He whose +mask would have secured him from all other attempts, was thus taken +through an avenue which his caution had overlooked, and the hypocrisy of +his pretensions unquestionably ascertained. + +Perhaps, in a comprehensive view, the success of this expedient was +unfortunate. It served to recommend this method of encountering deceit, +and informed him of the extent of those powers which are so liable to be +abused. A subtlety much inferior to Ormond would suffice to recommend +this mode of action. It was defensible on no other principle than +necessity. The treachery of mankind compelled him to resort to it. If +they should deal in a manner as upright and explicit as himself, it +would be superfluous. But since they were in the perpetual use of +stratagems and artifices, it was allowable, he thought, to wield the +same arms. + +It was easy to perceive, however, that this practice was recommended to +him by other considerations. He was delighted with the power it +conferred. It enabled him to gain access, as if by supernatural means, +to the privacy of others, and baffle their profoundest contrivances to +hide themselves from his view. It flattered him with the possession of +something like omniscience. It was besides an art, in which, as in +others, every accession of skill was a source of new gratification. +Compared with this, the performance of the actor is the sport of +children. This profession he was accustomed to treat with merciless +ridicule, and no doubt some of his contempt arose from a secret +comparison between the theatrical species of imitation and his own. He +blended in his own person the functions of poet and actor, and his +dramas were not fictitious but real. The end that he proposed was not +the amusement of a playhouse mob. His were scenes in which hope and fear +exercised a genuine influence, and in which was maintained that +resemblance to truth so audaciously and grossly violated on the stage. + +It is obvious how many singular conjunctures must have grown out of this +propensity. A mind of uncommon energy like Ormond's, which had occupied +a wide sphere of action, and which could not fail of confederating its +efforts with those of minds like itself, must have given birth to +innumerable incidents, not unworthy to be exhibited by the most eloquent +historian. It is not my business to relate any of these. The fate of +Miss Dudley is intimately connected with him. What influence he obtained +over her destiny, in consequence of this dexterity, will appear in the +sequel. + +It arose from these circumstances, that no one was more impenetrable +than Ormond, though no one's real character seemed more easily +discerned. The projects that occupied his attention were diffused over +an ample space; and his instruments and coadjutors were culled from a +field, whose bounds were those of the civilized world. To the vulgar +eye, therefore, he appeared a man of speculation and seclusion, and was +equally inscrutable in his real and assumed characters. In his real, his +intents were too lofty and comprehensive, as well as too assiduously +shrouded from profane inspection for them to scan. In the latter, +appearances were merely calculated to mislead and not to enlighten. + +In his youth he had been guilty of the usual excesses incident to his +age and character. These had disappeared and yielded place to a more +regular and circumspect system of action. In the choice of his pleasures +he still exposed himself to the censure of the world. Yet there was more +of grossness and licentiousness in the expression of his tenets, than +in the tenets themselves. So far as temporance regards the maintenance +of health, no man adhered to its precepts with more fidelity, but he +esteemed some species of connection with the other sex as venial, which +mankind in general are vehement in condemning. + +In his intercourse with women he deemed himself superior to the +allurements of what is called love. His inferences were drawn from a +consideration of the physical propensities of a human being. In his +scale of enjoyments the gratifications which belonged to these were +placed at the bottom. Yet he did not entirely disdain them, and when +they could be purchased without the sacrifice of superior advantages, +they were sufficiently acceptable. + +His mistake on this head was the result of his ignorance. He had not +hitherto met with a female worthy of his confidence. Their views were +limited and superficial, or their understandings were betrayed by the +tenderness of their hearts. He found in them no intellectual energy, no +superiority to what he accounted vulgar prejudice, and no affinity with +the sentiments which he cherished with most devotion. Their presence had +been capable of exciting no emotion which he did not quickly discover to +be vague and sensual; and the uniformity of his experience at length +instilled into him a belief, that the intellectual constitution of +females was essentially defective. He denied the reality of that passion +which claimed a similitude or sympathy of minds as one of its +ingredients. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +He resided in New York some time before he took up his abode in +Philadelphia. He had some pecuniary concerns with a merchant of that +place. He occasionally frequented his house, finding, in the society +which it afforded him, scope for amusing speculation, and opportunities +of gaining a species of knowledge of which at that time he stood in +need. There was one daughter of the family, who of course constituted a +member of the domestic circle. + +Helena Cleves was endowed with every feminine and fascinating quality. +Her features were modified by the most transient sentiments, and were +the seat of a softness at all times blushful and bewitching. All those +graces of symmetry, smoothness, and lustre, which assemble in the +imagination of the painter when he calls from the bosom of her natal +deep the Paphian divinity, blended their perfections in the shape, +complexion, and hair of this lady. Her voice was naturally thrilling and +melodious, and her utterance clear and distinct. A musical education had +added to all these advantages the improvements of art, and no one could +swim in the dance with such airy and transporting elegance. + +It is obvious to inquire whether her mental were, in any degree, on a +level with her exterior accomplishments. Should you listen to her talk, +you would be liable to be deceived in this respect. Her utterance was so +just, her phrases so happy, and her language so copious and correct, +that the hearer was apt to be impressed with an ardent veneration of her +abilities, but the truth is, she was calculated to excite emotions more +voluptuous than dignified. Her presence produced a trance of the senses +rather than an illumination of the soul. It was a topic of wonder how +she should have so carefully separated the husk from the kernel, and he +so absolute a mistress of the vehicle of knowledge, with so slender +means of supplying it: yet it is difficult to judge but from comparison. +To say that Helena Cleves was silly or ignorant would be hatefully +unjust. Her understanding bore no disadvantageous comparison with that +of the majority of her sex; but when placed in competition with that of +some eminent females or of Ormond, it was exposed to the risk of +contempt. + +This lady and Ormond were exposed to mutual examination. The latter was +not unaffected by the radiance that environed this girl, but her true +character was easily discovered, and he was accustomed to regard her +merely as an object charming to the senses. His attention to her was +dictated by this principle. When she sung or talked, it was not +unworthy of the strongest mind to be captivated with her music and her +elocution: but these were the limits which he set to his gratifications. +That sensations of a different kind never ruffled his tranquillity must +not be supposed, but he too accurately estimated their consequences to +permit himself to indulge them. + +Unhappily the lady did not exercise equal fortitude. During a certain +interval Ormond's visits were frequent, and the insensibly contracted +for him somewhat more than reverence. The tenor of his discourse was +little adapted to cherish her hopes. In the declaration of his opinions +he was never withheld by scruples of decorum, or a selfish regard to his +own interest. His matrimonial tenets were harsh and repulsive. A woman +of keener penetration would have predicted from them the disappointment +of her wishes, but Helena's mind was uninured to the discussion of +logical points and the tracing of remote consequences. His presence +inspired feelings which would not permit her to bestow an impartial +attention on his arguments. It is not enough to say that his reasonings +failed to convince her: the combined influence of passion, and an +unenlightened understanding hindered her from fully comprehending them. +All she gathered was a vague conception of something magnificent and +vast in his character. + +Helena was destined to experience the vicissitudes of fortune. Her +father died suddenly and left her without provision. She was compelled +to accept the invitations of a kinswoman, and live, in some sort, a life +of dependence. She was not qualified to sustain this reverse of fortune +in a graceful manner. She could not bear the diminution of her customary +indulgences, and to these privations were added the inquietudes of a +passion which now began to look with an aspect of hopelessness. + +These events happened in the absence of Ormond. On his return he made +himself acquainted with them. He saw the extent of this misfortune to a +woman of Helena's character, but knew not in what manner it might be +effectually obviated. He esteemed it incumbent on him to pay her a visit +in her new abode. This token at least of respect or remembrance his duty +appeared to prescribe. + +This visit was unexpected by the lady. Surprise is the enemy of +concealment. She was oppressed with a sense of her desolate situation. +She was sitting in her own apartment in a museful posture. Her fancy was +occupied with the image of Ormond, and her tears were flowing at the +thought of their eternal separation, when he entered softly and +unperceived by her. A tap upon the shoulder was the first signal of his +presence. So critical an interview could not fail of unveiling the true +state of the lady's heart. Ormond's suspicions were excited, and these +suspicions speedily led to an explanation. + +Ormond retired to ruminate on this discovery. I have already mentioned +his sentiments respecting love. His feelings relative to Helena did not +contradict his principles, yet the image which had formerly been +exquisite in loveliness had now suddenly gained unspeakable attractions. +This discovery had set the question in a new light. It was of sufficient +importance to make him deliberate. He reasoned somewhat in the following +manner:-- + +"Marriage is absurd. This flows from the general and incurable +imperfection of the female character. No woman can possess that worth +which would induce me to enter into this contract, and bind myself, +without power of revoking the decree, to her society. This opinion may +possibly be erroneous, but it is undoubtedly true with respect to +Helena, and the uncertainty of the position in general will increase +the necessity of caution in the present case. That woman may exist whom +I should not fear to espouse. This is not her. Some accident may cause +our meeting. Shall I then disable myself, by an irrevocable obligation, +from profiting by so auspicious an occurrence?" + +This girl's society was to be enjoyed in one of two ways. Should he +consult his inclination there was little room for doubt. He had never +met with one more highly qualified for that species of intercourse which +he esteemed rational. No man more abhorred the votaries of +licentiousness. Nothing was more detectable to him than a mercenary +alliance. Personal fidelity and the existence of that passion of which +he had, in the present case, the good fortune to be the object, were +indispensable in his scheme. The union was indebted for its value on the +voluntariness with which it was formed, and the entire acquiescence of +the judgement of both parties in its rectitude. Dissimulation and +artifice were wholly foreign to the success of his project. If the lady +thought proper to assent to his proposal, it was well. She did so +because assent was more eligible than refusal. + +She would, no doubt, prefer marriage. She would deem it more conducive +to happiness. This was an error. This was an opinion, his reasons for +which he was at liberty to state to her; at least it was justifiable in +refusing to subject himself to loathsome and impracticable obligations. +Certain inconveniences attended women who set aside, on these occasions, +the sanction of law; but these were imaginary. They owed their force to +the errors of the sufferer. To annihilate them, it was only necessary to +reason justly; but allowing these inconveniences their full weight and +an indestructible existence, it was but a choice of evils. Were they +worse in this lady's apprehension than an eternal and hopeless +separation? Perhaps they were. If so, she would make her election +accordingly. He did nothing but lay the conditions before her. If his +scheme should obtain the concurrence of her unbiased judgement he should +rejoice. If not, her conduct should be influenced by him. Whatever way +she should decide, he would assist her in adhering to her decision, but +would, meanwhile, furnish her with the materials of a right decision. + +This determination was singular. Many will regard it as incredible. No +man it will be thought can put this deception on himself, and imagine +that there was genuine beneficence in a scheme like this. Would the lady +more consult her happiness by adopting than by rejecting it? There can +be but one answer. It cannot be supposed that Ormond, in stating this +proposal, acted with all the impartiality that he pretended; that he did +not employ fallacious exaggerations and ambiguous expedients; that he +did not seize every opportunity of triumphing over her weakness, and +building his success rather on the illusions of her heart than the +convictions of her understanding. His conclusions were specious but +delusive, and were not uninfluenced by improper biases; but of this he +himself was scarcely conscious, and it must be at least admitted that he +acted with scrupulous sincerity. + +An uncommon degree of skill was required to introduce this topic so as +to avoid the imputation of an insult. This scheme was little in unison +with all her preconceived notions. No doubt the irksomeness of her +present situation, the allurements of luxury and ease which Ormond had +to bestow, and the revival of her ancient independence and security, had +some share in dictating her assent. + +Her concurrence was by no means cordial and unhesitating. Remorse and +the sense of dishonour pursued her to her retreat, though chosen with a +view of shunning their intrusions; and it was only when the reasonings +and blandishments of her lover were exhibited, that she was lulled into +temporary tranquillity. + +She removed to Philadelphia. Here she enjoyed all the consolations of +opulence. She was mistress of a small but elegant mansion. She possessed +all the means of solitary amusement, and frequently enjoyed the company +of Ormond. These however were insufficient to render her happy. Certain +reflections might, for a time, be repressed as divested of their sting, +but they insinuated themselves at every interval, and imparted to her +mind a hue of rejection from which she could not entirely relieve +herself. + +She endeavoured to acquire a relish for the pursuits of literature, by +which her lonely hours might be cheered; but of this, even in the +blithsomeness and serenity of her former days, she was incapable; +--much more so now when she was the prey of perpetual inquietude. Ormond +perceived this change, not without uneasiness. All his efforts to +reconcile her to her present situation were fruitless. They produced a +momentary effect upon her. The softness of her temper and her attachment +to him would, at his bidding, restore her to vivacity and ease, but the +illumination seldom endured longer than his presence and the novelty of +some amusement with which he had furnished her. + +At his next visit, perhaps, he would find that a new task awaited him. +She indulged herself in no recriminations or invectives. She could not +complain that her lover had deceived her. She had voluntarily and +deliberately accepted the conditions prescribed. She regarded her own +disposition to repine as a species of injustice. She laid no claim to an +increase of tenderness. She hinted not a wish for a change of situation; +yet she was unhappy. Tears stole into her eyes, and her thoughts +wandered into gloomy reverie, at moments when least aware of their +reproach, and least willing to indulge them. + +Was a change to be desired? Yes; provided that change was equally +agreeable to Ormond, and should be seriously proposed by him: of this +she had no hope. As long as his accents rung in her ears, she even +doubted whether it were to be wished. At any rate, it was impossible to +gain his approbation to it. Her destiny was fixed. It was better than +the cessation of all intercourse, yet her heart was a stranger to all +permanent tranquillity. + +Her manners were artless and ingenuous. In company with Ormond her heart +was perfectly unveiled. He was her divinity, to whom every sentiment was +visible, and to whom she spontaneously uttered what she thought, because +the employment was pleasing; because he listened with apparent +satisfaction; and because, in fine, it was the same thing to speak and +to think in his presence. There was no inducement to conceal from him +the most evanescent and fugitive ideas. + +Ormond was not an inattentive or indifferent spectator of those +appearances. His friend was unhappy. She shrunk aghast from her own +reproaches and the censure of the world. This morbid sensibility he had +endeavoured to cure, but hitherto in vain. What was the amount of her +unhappiness? Her spirits had formerly been gay; but her gaiety was +capable of yielding place to soul-ravishing and solemn tenderness, after +sedateness was, at those times, the offspring not of reflection but of +passion. There still remained much of her former self. He was seldom +permitted to witness more than the traces of sorrow. In answer to his +inquiries, she, for the most part, described sensations that were gone, +and which she flattered herself and him would never return; but this +hope was always doomed to disappointment. Solitude infallibly conjured +up the ghost which had been laid, and it was plain that argument was no +adequate remedy for this disease. + +How far would time alleviate its evils? When the novelty of her +condition should disappear, would she not regard it with other eyes? By +being familiar with contempt, it will lose its sting; but is that to be +wished? Must not the character be thoroughly depraved before the scorn +of our neighbours shall become indifferent? Indifference, flowing from a +sense of justice, and a persuasion that our treatment is unmerited, is +characteristic of the noblest minds; but indifference to obloquy, +because we are habituated to it is a token of peculiar baseness. This, +therefore, was a remedy to be ardently deprecated. + +He had egregiously overrated the influence of truth and his own +influence. He had hoped that his victory was permanent. In order to the +success of truth, he was apt to imagine that nothing was needful but +opportunities for a complete exhibition of it. They that inquire and +reason with sufficient deliberateness and caution must inevitably +accomplish their end. These maxims were confuted in the present case. He +had formed no advantageous conceptions of Helena's capacity. His +aversion to matrimony arose from those conceptions; but experience had +shown him that his conclusions, unfavourable as they were, had fallen +short of the truth. Convictions, which he had conceived her mind to be +sufficiently strong to receive and retain, were proved to have made no +other than a momentary impression. Hence his objections to ally himself +to a mind inferior to his own were strengthened rather than diminished. +But he could not endure the thought of being instrumental to her +misery. + +Marriage was an efficacious remedy, but he could not as yet bring +himself to regard the aptitude of this cure as a subject of doubt. The +idea of separation sometimes occurred to him. He was not unapprehensive +of the influence of time and absence in curing the most vehement +passion, but to this expedient the lady could not be reconciled. He knew +her too well to believe that she would willingly adopt it. But the only +obstacle to this scheme did not flow from the lady's opposition. He +would probably have found upon experiment as strong an aversion to adopt +it in himself as in her. + +It was easy to see the motives by which he would be likely to be swayed +into a change of principles. If marriage were the only remedy, the +frequent repetition of this truth must bring him insensibly to doubt the +rectitude of his determinations against it. He deeply reflected on the +consequences which marriage involves. He scrutinised with the utmost +accuracy the character of his friend, and surveyed it in all its parts. +Inclination could not fail of having some influence on his opinions. The +charms of this favourite object tended to impair the clearness of his +view, and extenuate or conceal her defects. He entered on the +enumeration of her errors with reluctance. Her happiness, had it been +wholly disconnected with his own, might have had less weight in the +balance, but now, every time the scales were suspended, this +consideration acquired new weight. + +Most men are influenced in the formation of this contract, by regards +purely physical. They are incapable of higher views. They regard with +indifference every tie that binds them to their contemporaries, or to +posterity. Mind has no part in the motives that guide them. They choose +a wife as they choose any household movable, and when the irritation of +the senses has subsided, the attachment that remains is the offspring +of habit. + +Such were not Ormond's modes of thinking. His creed was of too +extraordinary a kind not to merit explication. The terms of this +contract were, in his eyes, iniquitous and absurd. He could not think +with patience of a promise which no time could annul, which pretended to +ascertain contingencies and regulate the future. To forego the liberty +of choosing his companion, and bind himself to associate with one whom +he despised; to raise to his own level whom nature had irretrievably +degraded; to avow and persist in his adherence to a falsehood, palpable +and loathsome to his understanding; to affirm that he was blind, when in +full possession of his senses; to shut his eyes and grope in the dark, +and call upon the compassion of mankind on his infirmity, when his +organs were in no degree impaired, and the scene around him was luminous +and beautiful,--was an height of infatuation that he could never +attain. And why should he be thus self-degraded? Why should he take a +laborious circuit to reach a point which, when attained, was trivial, +and to which reason had pointed out a road short and direct? + +A wife is generally nothing more than a household superintendent. This +function could not be more wisely vested than it was at present. Every +thing in his domestic system was fashioned on strict and inflexible +principles. He wanted instruments and not partakers of his +authority,--one whose mind was equal and not superior to the cogent +apprehension and punctual performance of his will; one whose character +was squared with mathematical exactness, to his situation. Helena, with +all her faults, did not merit to be regarded in this light. Her +introduction would destroy the harmony of his scheme, and be, with +respect to herself, a genuine debasement. A genuine evil would thus be +substituted for one that was purely imaginary. + +Helena's intellectual deficiencies could not be concealed. She was a +proficient in the elements of no science. The doctrine of lines and +surfaces was as disproportionate with her intellects as with those of +the mock-bird. She had not reasoned on the principles of human action, +nor examined the structure of society. She was ignorant of the past or +present condition of mankind. History had not informed her of the one, +nor the narratives of voyagers, nor the deductions of geography of the +other. The heights of eloquence and poetry were shut out from her view. +She could not commune in their native dialect with the sages of Rome and +Athens. To her those perennial fountains of wisdom and refinement were +sealed. The constitution of nature, the attributes of its author, the +arrangement of the parts of the external universe, and the substance, +modes of operation, and ultimate destiny of human intelligence, were +enigmas unsolved and insoluble by her. + +But this was not all. The superstructure could for the present be +spared. Nay, it was desirable that the province of rearing it should be +reserved for him. All he wanted was a suitable foundation; but this +Helena did not possess. He had not hitherto been able to create in her +the inclination or the power. She had listened to his precepts with +docility. She had diligently conned the lessons which he had prescribed, +but the impressions were as fleeting as if they had been made on water. +Nature seemed to have set impassable limits to her attainments. + +This indeed was an unwelcome belief. He struggled to invalidate it. He +reflected on the immaturity of her age. What but crude and hasty views +was it reasonable to expect at so early a period? If her mind had not +been awakened, it had proceeded, perhaps from the injudiciousness of +his plans, or merely from their not having been persisted in. What was +wanting but the ornaments of mind to render this being all that poets +have feigned of angelic nature? When he indulged himself in imaging the +union of capacious understanding with her personal loveliness, his +conceptions swelled to a pitch of enthusiasm, and it seemed as if no +labour was too great to be employed in the production of such a +creature. And yet, in the midst of his glowings, he would sink into +sudden dejection at the recollection of that which passion had, for a +time, excluded. To make her wise it would be requisite to change her +sex. He had forgotten that his pupil was a female, and her capacity +therefore limited by nature. This mortifying thought was outbalanced by +nature. Her attainments, indeed, were suitable to the imbecility of her +sex; but did she not surpass in those attainments, the ordinary rate of +women? They must not be condemned, because they are outshone by +qualities that are necessarily male births. + +Her accomplishments formed a much more attractive theme. He overlooked +no article in the catalogue. He was confounded at one time, and +encouraged at another, on remarking the contradictions that seemed to be +included in her character. It was difficult to conceive the +impossibility of passing that barrier which yet she was able to touch. +She was no poet. She listened to the rehearsal without emotion, or was +moved, not by the substance of the passage, by the dazzling image, or +the magic sympathy, but by something adscititious; yet, usher her upon +the stage, and no poet could wish for a more powerful organ of his +conceptions. In assuming this office, she appeared to have drank in the +very soul of the dramatist. What was wanting in judgement was supplied +by memory, in the tenaciousness of which she has seldom been rivalled. + +Her sentiments were trite and undigested, but were decorated with all +the fluences and melodies of elocution. Her musical instructor had been +a Sicilian, who had formed her style after the Italian model. This man +had likewise taught her his own language. He had supplied her chiefly +with Sicilian compositions, both in poetry and melody, and was content +to be unclassical, for the sake of the feminine and voluptuous graces of +his native dialect. + +Ormond was an accurate judge of the proficiency of Helena, and of the +felicity with which these accomplishments were suited to her character. +When his pupil personated the victims of anger and grief, and poured +forth the fiery indignation of Calista, or the maternal despair of +Constantia, or the self-contentions of Ipsipile, he could not deny the +homage which her talents might claim. + +Her Sicilian tutor had found her no less tractable as a votary of +painting. She needed only the education of Angelica to exercise as +potent and prolific a pencil. This was incompatible with her condition, +which limited her attainments to the element of this art. It was +otherwise with music. Here there was no obstacle to skill, and here the +assiduities of many years in addition to a prompt and ardent genius, set +her beyond the hopes of rivalship. + +Ormond had often amused his fancy with calling up images of excellences +in this art. He saw no bounds to the influence of habit, in augmenting +the speed and multiplying the divisions of muscular motion. The fingers, +by their form and size, were qualified to outrun and elude the most +vigilant eye. The sensibility of keys and wires had limits; but these +limits depended on the structure of the instrument, and the perfection +of its structure was proportioned to the skill of the artist. On +well-constructed keys and strings, was it possible to carry diversities +of movement and pressure too far? How far they could be carried was mere +theme of conjecture, until it was his fate to listen to the magical +performances of Helena, whose volant finger seemed to be self-impelled. +Her touches were creative of a thousand forms of _piano_, and of +numberless transitions from grave to quick, perceptible only to ears +like her own. + +In the selection and arrangement of notes there are no limits to +luxuriance and celerity. Helena had long relinquished the drudgery of +imitation. She never played but when there were motives to fervour, and +when she was likely to ascend without impediment, and to maintain for a +suitable period her elevation, to the element of new ideas. The lyrics +of Milton and of Metastasio she sung with accompaniments that never +tired, because they were never repeated. Her harp and clavichord +supplied her with endless combinations, and these, in the opinion of +Ormond, were not inferior to the happiest exertions of Handel and Arne. + +Chess was his favourite amusement. This was the only game which he +allowed himself to play. He had studied it with so much zeal and +success, that there were few with whom he deigned to contend. He was +prone to consider it as a sort of criterion of human capacity. He who +had acquired skill in this _science_ could not be infirm in mind; and +yet he found in Helena a competitor not unworthy of all his energies. +Many hours were consumed in this employment, and here the lady was +sedate, considerate, extensive in foresight, and fertile in expedients. + +Her deportment was graceful, inasmuch as it flowed from a consciousness +of her defects. She was devoid of arrogance and vanity, neither +imagining herself better than she was, and setting light by those +qualifications which she unquestionably possessed. Such was the mixed +character of this woman. + +Ormond was occupied with schemes of a rugged and arduous nature. His +intimate associates and the partakers of his confidence were imbued with +the same zeal and ardent in the same pursuits. Helena could lay no claim +to be exalted to this rank. That one destitute of this claim should +enjoy the privileges of his wife was still a supposition truly +monstrous. Yet the image of Helena, fondly loving him, and a model as he +conceived of tenderness and constancy, devoured by secret remorse, and +pursued by the scorn of mankind,--a mark for slander to shoot at, and an +outcast of society,--did not visit his meditations in vain. The rigour +of his principles began now to relent. + +He considered that various occupations are incident to every man. He +cannot be invariably employed in the promotion of one purpose. He must +occasionally unbend, if he desires that the springs of his mind should +retain their full vigour. Suppose his life were divided between business +and amusement. This was a necessary distribution, and sufficiently +congenial with his temper. It became him to select with skill his +sources of amusement. It is true that Helena was unable to participate +in his graver occupations: what then? In whom were blended so many +pleasurable attributes? In her were assembled an exquisite and delicious +variety. As it was, he was daily in her company. He should scarcely be +more so if marriage should take place. In that case, no change in their +mode of life would be necessary. There was no need of dwelling under the +same roof. His revenue was equal to the support of many household +establishments. His personal independence would remain equally +inviolable. No time, he thought, would diminish his influence over the +mind of Helena, and it was not to be forgotten that the transition would +to her be happy. It would reinstate her in the esteem of the world, and +dispel those phantoms of remorse and shame by which she was at present +persecuted. + +These were plausible considerations. They tended at least to shake his +resolutions. Time would probably have completed the conquest of his +pride, had not a new incident set the question in a new light. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +The narrative of Melbourne made a deeper impression on the mind of his +guest than was at first apparent. This man's conduct was directed by the +present impulse; and, however elaborate his abstract notions, he seldom +stopped to settle the agreement between his principles and actions. The +use of money was a science like every other branch of benevolence, not +reducible to any fixed principles. No man, in the disbursement of money, +could say whether he was conferring a benefit or injury. The visible and +immediate effects might be good, but evil was its ultimate and general +tendency. To be governed by a view to the present rather than the future +was a human infirmity from which he did not pretend to be exempt. This, +though an insufficient apology for the conduct of a rational being, was +suitable to his indolence, and he was content in all cases to employ it. +It was thus that he reconciled himself to beneficent acts, and +humourously held himself up as an object of censure, on occasions when +most entitled to applause. + +He easily procured information as to the character and situation of the +Dudleys. Neighbours are always inquisitive, and happily, in this case, +were enabled to make no unfavourable report. He resolved without +hesitation to supply their wants. This he performed in a manner truly +characteristic. There was a method of gaining access to families, and +marking them in their unguarded attitudes, more easy and effectual than +any other: it required least preparation and cost least pains; the +disguise, also, was of the most impenetrable kind. He had served a sort +of occasional apprenticeship to the art, and executed its functions with +perfect ease. It was the most entire and grotesque metamorphosis +imaginable. It was stepping from the highest to the lowest rank in +society, and shifting himself into a form as remote from his own as +those recorded by Ovid. In a word, it was sometimes his practice to +exchange his complexion and habiliments for those of a negro and a +chimney-sweep, and to call at certain doors for employment. This he +generally secured by importunities, and the cheapness of his services. + +When the loftiness of his port, and the punctiliousness of his nicety +were considered, we should never have believed--what yet could be truly +asserted--that he had frequently swept his own chimneys, without the +knowledge of his own servants.[1] It was likewise true, though equally +incredible, that he had played at romps with his scullion, and listened +with patience to a thousand slanders on his own character. + +[1] Similar exploits are related of Count de la Lippe and +Wortley Montague. + +In this disguise he visited the house of Mr. Dudley. It was nine o'clock +in the morning. He remarked with critical eyes, the minutest +circumstance in the appearance and demeanour of his customers, and +glanced curiously at the house and furniture. Every thing was new and +every thing pleased. The walls, though broken into roughness by +carelessness or time, were adorned with glistening white. The floor, +though loose and uneven, and with gaping seams, had received all the +improvements which cloth and brush could give. The pine tables, rush +chairs, and uncurtained bed, had been purchased at half price, at +vendue, and exhibited various tokens of decay; but care and neatness and +order were displayed in their condition and arrangement. + +The lower apartment was the eating and sitting room. It was likewise +Mr. Dudley's bed chamber. The upper room was occupied by Constantia and +Lucy. Ormond viewed every thing with the accuracy of an artist, and +carried away with him a catalogue of every thing visible. The faded form +of Mr. Dudley, that still retained its dignity, the sedateness, graceful +condescension, and personal elegance of Constantia, were new to the +apprehension of Ormond. The contrast between the house and its +inhabitants rendered the appearance more striking. When he had finished +his task he retired, but returning in a quarter of an hour, he presented +a letter to the young lady. He behaved as if by no means desirous of +eluding her interrogatories, and, when she desired him to stay, readily +complied. The letter, unsigned, and without superscription, was to this +effect:-- + +"The writer of this is acquainted with the transaction between Thomas +Craig and Mr. Dudley. The former is debtor to Mr. Dudley in a large +sum. I have undertaken to pay as much of this debt, and at such times, +as suits my convenience. I have had pecuniary engagements with Craig. I +hold myself, in the sum enclosed, discharging so much of his debt. The +future payments are uncertain, but I hope they will contribute to +relieve the necessities of Mr. Dudley." + +Ormond had calculated the amount of what would be necessary for the +annual subsistence of this family on the present frugal plan. He had +regulated his disbursements accordingly. + +It was natural to feel curiosity as to the writer of this epistle. The +bearer displayed a prompt and talkative disposition. He had a staring +eye and a grin of vivacity forever at command. When questioned by +Constantia, he answered that the gentleman had forbidden him to mention +his name or the place where he lived. Had he ever met with the same +person before? O yes. He had lived with him from a child. His mother +lived with him still, and his brothers. His master had nothing for him +to do at home, so he sent him out sweeping chimneys, taking from him +only half the money that he earned that way. He was a very good master. + +"Then the gentleman had been a long time in the city?" + +"O yes. All his life he reckoned. Ho used to live in Walnut Street, but +now he's moved down town." Here he checked himself, and added,--"But I +forgets. I must not tell where he livest. He told me I must'nt." + +"He has a family and children, I suppose?" + +"O yes. Why, don't you know Miss Hetty and Miss Betsy? There again! I +was going to tell the name, that he said I must not tell." + +Constantia saw that the secret might be easily discovered, but she +forbore. She disdained to take advantage of this messenger's imagined +simplicity. She dismissed him with some small addition to his demand, +and with a promise always to employ him in this way. + +By this mode Ormond had effectually concealed himself. The lady's +conjectures, founded on this delusive information, necessarily wandered +widely from the truth. The observations that he had made during this +visit afforded his mind considerable employment. The manner in which +this lady had sustained so cruel a reverse of fortune, the cheerfulness +with which she appeared to forego all the gratifications of affluence, +the skill with which she selected her path of humble industry, and the +steadiness with which she pursued it, were proofs of a moral +constitution, from which he supposed the female sex to be debarred. The +comparison was obvious between Constantia and Helena, and the result was +by no means advantageous to the latter. Was it possible that such a one +descended to the level of her father's apprentice? That she sacrificed +her honour to a wretch like that? This reflection tended to repress the +inclination he would otherwise have felt for cultivating her society, +but it did not indispose him to benefit her in a certain way. + +On his next visit to his "Bella Siciliana," as he called her, he +questioned her as to the need in which she might stand of the services +of a seamstress; and being informed that they were sometimes wanted, he +recommended Miss Acworth to her patronage. He said that he had heard her +spoken of in favourable terms by the gossips at Melbourne's. They +represented her as a good girl, slenderly provided for, and he wished +that Helena would prefer her to all others. + +His recommendation was sufficient. The wishes of Ormond, as soon as they +became known, became hers. Her temper made her always diligent in search +of novelty. It was easy to make work for the needle. In short, she +resolved to send for her the next day. The interview accordingly took +place on the ensuing morning, not without mutual surprise, and, on the +part of the fair Sicilian, not without considerable embarrassment. + +This circumstance arose from their having changed their respective +names, though from motives of a very different kind. They were not +strangers to each other, though no intimacy had ever subsisted between +them. Each was merely acquainted with the name, person, and general +character of the other. No circumstance in Constantia's situation tended +to embarrass her. Her mind had attained a state of serene composure, +incapable of being ruffled by an incident of this kind. She merely +derived pleasure from the sight of her old acquaintance. The aspect of +things around her was splendid and gay. She seemed the mistress of the +mansion, and her name was changed. Hence it was unavoidable to conclude +that she was married. + +Helena was conscious that appearances were calculated to suggest this +conclusion. The idea was a painful one. She sorrowed to think that this +conclusion was fallacious. The consciousness that her true condition was +unknown to her visitant, and the ignominiousness of that truth, gave an +air of constraint to her behaviour, which Constantia ascribed to a +principle of delicacy. + +In the midst of reflections relative to herself, she admitted some share +of surprise at the discovery of Constantia in a situation so inferior to +that in which she had formerly known her. She had heard, in general +terms of the misfortunes of Mr Dudley, but was unacquainted with +particulars; but this surprise, and the difficulty of adapting her +behaviour to circumstances, was only in part the source of her +embarrassment, though by her companion it was wholly attributed to this +cause. Constantia thought it her duty to remove it by open and +unaffected manners. She therefore said, in a sedate and cheerful tone, +"You see me, Madam, in a situation somewhat unlike that in which I +formerly was placed. You will probably regard the change as an unhappy +one; but, I assure you, I have found it far less so than I expected. I +am thus reduced not by my own fault. It is this reflection that enables +me to conform to it without a murmur. I shall rejoice to know that Mrs. +Eden is as happy as I am." + +Helena was pleased with this address, and returned an answer full of +sweetness. She had not in her compassion for the fallen, a particle of +pride. She thought of nothing but the contrast between the former +situation of her visitant and the present. The fame of her great +qualities had formerly excited veneration, and that reverence was by no +means diminished by a nearer scrutiny. The consciousness of her own +frailty meanwhile diffused over the behaviour of Helena a timidity and +dubiousness uncommonly fascinating. She solicited Constantia's +friendship in a manner that showed she was afraid of nothing but denial. +An assent was eagerly given, and thenceforth a cordial intercourse was +established between them. + +The real situation of Helena was easily discovered. The officious person +who communicated this information, at the same time cautioned Constantia +against associating with one of tainted reputation. This information +threw some light upon appearances. It accounted for that melancholy +which Helena was unable to conceal. It explained that solitude in which +she lived, and which Constantia had ascribed to the death or absence of +her husband. It justified the solicitous silence she had hitherto +maintained respecting her own affairs, and which her friend's good sense +forbade her to employ any sinister means of eluding. + +No long time was necessary to make her mistress of Helena's character. +She loved her with uncommon warmth, though by no means blind to her +defects. She formed no expectations from the knowledge of her character, +to which this intelligence operated as a disappointment. It merely +excited her pity, and made her thoughtful how she might assist her in +repairing this deplorable error. + +This design was of no ordinary magnitude. She saw that it was previously +necessary to obtain the confidence of Helena. This was a task of easy +performance. She knew the purity of her own motives and the extent of +her powers, and embarked in this undertaking with full confidence of +success. She had only to profit by a private interview, to acquaint her +friend with what she knew, to solicit a complete and satisfactory +disclosure, to explain the impressions which her intelligence produced, +and to offer her disinterested advice. No one knew better how to couch +her ideas in words suitable to the end proposed by her in imparting +them. + +Helena was at first terrified, but the benevolence of her friend quickly +entitled her to confidence and gratitude that knew no limits. She had +been deterred from unveiling her heart by the fear of exciting contempt +or abhorrence; but when she found that all due allowances were +made,--that her conduct was treated as erroneous in no atrocious or +inexpiable degree, and as far front being insusceptible of remedy,--that +the obloquy with which she had been treated found no vindicator or +participator in her friend, her heart was considerably relieved. She had +been long a stranger to the sympathy and intercourse of her own sex. Now +this good, in its most precious form, was conferred upon her, and she +experienced an increase rather than diminution of tenderness, in +consequence of her true situation being known. + +She made no secret of any part of her history. She did full justice to +the integrity of her lover, and explained the unforced conditions on +which she had consented to live with him. This relation exhibited the +character of Ormond in a very uncommon light. His asperities wounded, +and his sternness chilled. What unauthorised conceptions of matrimonial +and political equality did he entertain! He had fashioned his treatment +of Helena on sullen and ferocious principles. Yet he was able, it +seemed, to mould her, by means of them, nearly into the creature that he +wished. She knew too little of the man justly to estimate his character. +It remained to be ascertained whether his purposes were consistent and +upright, or were those of a villain and betrayer. + +Meanwhile what was to be done by Helena? Marriage had been refused op +plausible pretences. Her unenlightened understanding made her no match +for her lover. She would never maintain her claim to nuptial privileges +in his presence, or, if she did, she would never convince him of their +validity. + +Were they indeed valid? Was not the disparity between them incurable? A +marriage of minds so dissimilar could only be productive of misery +immediately to him, and, by a reflex operation, to herself. She could +not be happy in a union that was the source of regret to her husband. +Marriage, therefore, was not possible, or if possible, was not, perhaps, +to be wished. But what was the choice that remained? + +To continue in her present situation was not to be endured. Disgrace was +a daemon that would blast every hope of happiness. She was excluded from +all society but that of the depraved. Her situation was eminently +critical. It depended, perhaps, on the resolution she should now form +whether she would be enrolled among the worst of mankind. Infamy is the +worst of evils. It creates innumerable obstructions in the paths of +virtue. It manacles the hand, and entangles the feet that are active +only to good. To the weak it is an evil of much greater magnitude. It +determines their destiny; and they hasten to merit that reproach, which, +at first it may be, they did not deserve. + +This connection is intrinsically flagitious. Helena is subjected by it +to the worst ills that are incident to humanity, the general contempt of +mankind, and the reproaches of her own conscience. From these there is +but one method from which she can hope to be relieved. The intercourse +must cease. + +It wad easier to see the propriety of separation, than to project means +for accomplishing it. It was true that Helena loved; but what quarter +was due to this passion when divorced from integrity? Is it not in every +bosom a perishable sentiment? Whatever be her warmth, absence will +congeal it. Place her in new scenes, and supply her with new associates. +Her accomplishments will not fail to attract votaries. From these she +may select a conjugal companion suitable to her mediocrity of talents. + +But alas! what power on earth can prevail on her to renounce Ormond? +Others may justly entertain this prospect, but it must be invisible to +her. Besides, is it absolutely certain that either her peace of mind or +her reputation will be restored by this means? In the opinion of the +world her offences cannot, by any perseverance in penitence, be +expiated. She will never believe that separation will exterminate +her passion. Certain it is that it will avail nothing to the +re-establishment of her fame. But if it were conducive to these ends, +how chimerical to suppose that she will ever voluntarily adopt it! If +Ormond refuse his concurrence, there is absolutely an end to hope. And +what power on earth is able to sway his determinations? At least, what +influence was it possible for her to obtain over them? + +Should they separate, whither should she retire? What mode of +subsistence should she adopt? She has never been accustomed to think +beyond the day. She has eaten and drank, but another has provided the +means. She scarcely comprehends the principle that governs the world, +and in consequence of which nothing can be gained but by giving +something in exchange for it. She is ignorant and helpless as a child, +on every topic that relates to the procuring of subsistence. Her +education has disabled her from standing alone. + +But this was not all. She must not only be supplied by others, but +sustained in the enjoyment of a luxurious existence. Would you bereave +her of the gratifications of opulence? You had better take away her +life. Nay, it would ultimately amount to this. She can live but in one +way. + +At present she is lovely, and, to a certain degree, innocent; but expose +her to the urgencies and temptations of want, let personal pollution be +the price set upon the voluptuous affluences of her present condition, +and it is to be feared there is nothing in the contexture of her mind to +hinder her from making the purchase. In every respect therefore the +prospect was an hopeless one,--so hopeless, that her mind insensibly +returned to the question which she had at first dismissed with very +slight examination,--the question relative to the advantages and +probabilities of marriage. A more accurate review convinced her that +this was the most eligible alternative. It was, likewise, most easily +effected. The lady, of course, would be its fervent advocate. There did +not want reasons why Ormond should finally embrace it. In what manner +appeals to his reason of his passion might most effectually be made she +knew not. + +Helena was not qualified to be her own advocate. Her unhappiness could +not but be visible to Ormond. He had shown himself attentive and +affectionate. Was it impossible that, in time, he should reason himself +into a spontaneous adoption of this scheme? This, indeed, was a slender +foundation for hope, but there was no other on which she could build. + +Such were the meditations of Constantia on this topic. She was deeply +solicitous for the happiness of her friend. They spent much of their +time together. The consolations of her society were earnestly sought by +Helena; but to enjoy them, she was for the most part obliged to visit +the former at her own dwelling. For this arrangement, Constantia +apologized by saying, "You will pardon my requesting you to favour me +with your visits, rather than allowing you mine. Every thing is airy +and brilliant within these walls. There is, besides, an air of seclusion +and security about you that is delightful. In comparison, my dwelling is +bleak, comfortless, and unretired, but my father is entitled to all my +care. His infirmity prevents him from amusing himself, and his heart is +cheered by the mere sound of my voice, though not addressed to him. The +mere belief of my presence seems to operate as an antidote to the +dreariness of solitude; and, now you know my motives, I am sure you will +not only forgive but approve of my request." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +When once the subject had been introduced, Helena was prone to descant +upon her own situation, and listened with deference to the remarks and +admonitions of her companion. Constantia did not conceal from her any of +her sentiments. She enabled her to view her own condition in its true +light, and set before her the indispensable advantages of marriage, +while she, at the same time, afforded her the best directions as to the +conduct she ought to pursue in order to effect her purpose. + +The mind of Helena was thus kept in a state of perpetual and uneasy +fluctuation. While absent from Ormond, or listening to her friend's +remonstrances, the deplorableness of her condition arose in its most +disastrous hues before her imagination. But the spectre seldom failed +to vanish at the approach of Ormond. His voice dissipated every +inquietude. + +She was not insensible of this inconstancy. She perceived and lamented +her own weakness. She was destitute of all confidence in her own +exertions. She could not be in the perpetual enjoyment of his company. +Her intervals of tranquillity, therefore, were short, while those of +anxiety and dejection were insupportably tedious. She revered, but +believed herself incapable to emulate the magnanimity of her monitor. +The consciousness of inferiority, especially in a case like this, in +which her happiness so much depended on her own exertions, excited in +her the most humiliating sensations. + +While indulging in fruitless melancholy, the thought one day occurred to +her, why may not Constantia be prevailed upon to plead my cause? Her +capacity and courage are equal to any undertaking. The reasonings that +are so powerful in my eyes, would they he trivial and futile in those of +Ormond? I cannot have a more pathetic and disinterested advocate. + +This idea was cherished with uncommon ardour. She seized the first +opportunity that offered itself to impart it to her friend. It was a +wild and singular proposal, and was rejected at the first glance. This +scheme, so romantic and impracticable as it at first seemed, appeared to +Helena in the most plausible colours. She could not bear to relinquish +her new-born hopes. She saw no valid objection to it. Every thing was +easy to her friend, provided her sense of duty and her zeal could be +awakened. The subject was frequently suggested to Constantia's +reflections. Perceiving the sanguineness of her friend's confidence, and +fully impressed with the value of the end to be accomplished, she +insensibly veered to the same opinion. At least the scheme was worthy +of a candid discussion before it was rejected. + +Ormond was a stranger to her. His manners were repulsive and austere. +She was a mere girl. Her personal attachment to Helena was all that she +could plead in excuse for taking part in her concerns. The subject was +delicate. A blunt and irregular character like Ormond might throw an air +of ridicule over the scene. She shrunk from the encounter of a +boisterous and manlike spirit. + +But were not these scruples effeminate and puerile? Had she studied so +long in the school of adversity, without conviction of the duty of a +virtuous independence? Was she not a rational being, fully imbued with +the justice of her cause? Was it not ignoble to refuse the province of a +vindicator of the injured, before any tribunal, however tremendous or +unjust? And who was Ormond, that his eye should inspire terror? + +The father or brother of Helena might assume the office without +indecorum. Nay, a mother or sister might not be debarred from it. Why +then should she, who was actuated by equal zeal, and was engaged, by +ties stronger than consanguinity, in the promotion of her friend's +happiness. It is true she did not view the subject in the light in which +it was commonly viewed by brothers and parents. It was not a gust of +rage that should transport her into his presence. She did not go to +awaken his slumbering conscience, and to abash him in the pride of +guilty triumph, but to rectify deliberate errors, and to change his +course by the change of his principles. It was her business to point out +to him the road of duty and happiness, from which he had strayed with no +sinister intentions. This was to be done without raving and fury; but +with amicable soberness, and in the way of calm and rational +remonstrance. Yet, there were scruples that would not be shut out, and +continually whispered to her, "What an office is this for a girl and a +stranger to assume!" + +In what manner should it be performed? Should an interview be sought, +and her ideas be explained without confusion or faltering, undismayed by +ludicrous airs or insolent frowns. But this was a point to be examined. +Was Ormond capable of such behaviour? If he were, it would be useless to +attempt the reformation of his errors. Such a man is incurable and +obdurate. Such a man is not to be sought as the husband of Helena; but +this, surely, is a different being. + +The medium through which she had viewed his character was an ample one, +but might not be very accurate. The treatment which Helena had received +from him, exclusive of his fundamental error, betokened a mind to which +she did not disdain to be allied. In spite of his defects, she saw that +their elements were more congenial, and the points of contact between +this person and herself more numerous than between her and Helena, whose +voluptuous sweetness of temper, and mediocrity of understanding excited +in her bosom no genuine sympathy. + +Every thing is progressive in the human mind. When there is leisure to +reflect, ideas will succeed each other in a long train, before the +ultimate point be gained. The attention must shift from one side to the +other of a given question many times before it settles. Constantia did +not form her resolutions in haste; but when once formed, they were +exempt from fluctuation. She reflected before she acted, and therefore +acted with consistency and vigour. She did not apprize her friend of her +intention. She was willing that she should benefit by her interposition, +before she knew it was employed. + +She sent her Lucy with a note to Ormond's house. It was couched in these +terms:-- + + "Constantia Dudley requests an interview with Mr. Ormond. Her + business being of some moment, she wishes him to name an hour when + most disengaged." + +An answer was immediately returned that at three o'clock, in the +afternoon, he should be glad to see her. + +This message produced no small surprise in Ormond. He had not withdrawn +his notice from Constantia, and had marked, with curiosity and +approbation, the progress of the connexion between the two women. The +impressions which he had received from the report of Helena were not +dissimilar to those which Constantia had imbibed, from the same quarter, +respecting himself; but he gathered from them no suspicion of the +purpose of a visit. He recollected his connection with Craig. This lady +had had an opportunity of knowing that some connection subsisted between +them. He concluded that some information or inquiry respecting Craig +might occasion this event. As it was, it gave him considerable +satisfaction. It would enable him more closely to examine one, with +respect to whom he entertained great curiosity. + +Ormond's conjecture was partly right. Constantia did not forget her +having traced Craig to this habitation. She designed to profit by the +occasion which this circumstance afforded her, of making some inquiry +respecting Craig, in order to introduce, by suitable degrees, a more +important subject. + +The appointed hour having arrived, he received her in his drawing-room. +He knew what was due to his guest. He loved to mortify, by his +negligence, the pride of his equals and superiors, but a lower class had +nothing to fear from his insolence. Constantia took the seat that was +offered to her, without speaking. She had made suitable preparations for +this interview, and her composure was invincible. The manners of her +host were by no means calculated to disconcert her. His air was +conciliating and attentive. + +She began with naming Craig, as one known to Ormond, and desired to be +informed of his place of abode. She was proceeding to apologise for this +request, by explaining, in general terms, that her father's infirmities +prevented him from acting for himself, that Craig was his debtor to a +large amount, that he stood in need of all that justly belonged to him, +and was in pursuit of some means of tracing Craig to his retreat. Ormond +interrupted her, examining, at the same time, with a vigilance somewhat +too unsparing, the effects which his words should produce upon her:-- + +"You may spare yourself the trouble of explaining. I am acquainted with +the whole affair between Craig and your family. He has concealed from me +nothing. I know _all_ that has passed between you." + +In saying this, Ormond intended that his looks and emphasis should +convey his full meaning. In the style of her comments he saw none of +those corroborating symptoms that he expected:-- + +"Indeed! He has been very liberal of his confidence. Confession is a +token of penitence; but, alas! I fear he has deceived you. To be sincere +was doubtless his true interest, but he is too much in the habit of +judging superficially. If he has told you all, there is, indeed, no need +of explanation. This visit is, in that case, sufficiently accounted for. +Is it in your power, Sir, to inform us whither he has gone?" + +"For what end should I tell you? I promise you you will not follow him. +Take my word for it, he is totally unworthy of you. Let the past be no +precedent for the future. If you have not made that discovery yourself, +I have made it for you. I expect at least to be thanked for my trouble." + +This speech was unintelligible to Constantia. Her looks betokened a +perplexity unmingled with fear or shame. + +"It is my way," continued he, "to say what I think. I care little for +consequences. I have said that I know _all_. This will excuse me for +being perfectly explicit. That I am mistaken is very possible; but I am +inclined to place that matter beyond the reach of a doubt. Listen to me, +and confirm me in the opinion I have already formed of your good sense, +by viewing, in a just light, the unreservedness with which you are +treated. I have something to tell, which, if you are wise, you will not +be offended at my telling so roundly. On the contrary you will thank me, +and perceive that my conduct is a proof of my respect for you. The +person whom you met here is named Craig, but, as he tells me, is not the +man you look for. This man's brother--the partner, of your father, and, +as he assured me, your own accepted and illicitly-gratified lover--is +dead." + +These words were uttered without any extenuating hesitation or +depression of tone. On the contrary, the most offensive terms were drawn +out in the most deliberate and emphatic manner. Constantia's cheeks +glowed, and her eyes sparkled with indignation, but she forbore to +interrupt. The looks with which she listened to the remainder of the +speech showed that she fully comprehended the scene, and enabled him to +comprehend it. He proceeded:-- + +"This man is a brother of that. Their resemblance in figure occasioned +your mistake. Your father's debtor died, it seems, on his arrival at +Jamaica. There he met with this brother, and bequeathed to him his +property and papers. Some of these papers are in my possession. They are +letters from Constantia Dudley, and are parts of an intrigue, which, +considering the character of the man, was not much to her honour. Such +was this man's narrative told to me some time before your meeting with +him at his house. I have right to judge in this affair; that is, I have +a right to my opinion. If I mistake, (and I half suspect myself,) you +are able, perhaps, to rectify my error; and in a case like this +doubtless you will not want the inclination." + +Perhaps if the countenance of this man had not been characterized by the +keenest intelligence, and a sort of careless and overflowing good-will, +this speech might have produced different effects. She was prepared, +though imperfectly, for entering into his character. He waited for an +answer, which she gave without emotion:-- + +"You were deceived. I am sorry for your own sake that you are. He must +have had some end in view, in imposing these falsehoods upon you, which +perhaps they have enabled him to accomplish. As to myself, this man can +do me no injury. I willingly make you my judge. The letters you speak of +will alone suffice to my vindication. They never were received from me, +and are forgeries. That man always persisted till he made himself the +dupe of his own artifices. That incident in his plot, on the +introduction of which he probably the most applauded himself, will most +powerfully operate to defeat it. + +"Those letters never were received from me, and are forgeries. His skill +in imitation extended no farther in the present case than my +handwriting. My model of thinking and expression were beyond the reach +of his mimicry." + +When she had finished, Osmond spent a moment in ruminating. "I perceive +you are right," said he. "I suppose he has purloined from me two hundred +guineas, which I entrusted to his fidelity. And yet I received a letter; +but that may likewise be a forgery. By my soul," continued he, in a tone +that had more of satisfaction than disappointment in it, "this fellow +was an adept at his trade. I do not repine. I have bought the +exhibition at a cheap rate. The pains that he took did not merit a less +recompense. I am glad that he was contented with so little. Had he +persisted he might have raised the price far above its value. 'Twill be +lamentable if he receive more than he stipulated for,--if, in his last +purchase, the gallows should be thrown into the bargain. May he have the +wisdom to see that a halter, though not included in his terms, is only a +new instance of his good fortune! But his cunning will hardly carry him +thus far. His stupidity will, no doubt, prefer a lingering to a sudden +exit. + +"But this man and his destiny are trifles. Let us leave them to +themselves. Your name is Constantia. 'Twas given you, I suppose, that +you might be known by it. Pr'ythee, Constantia was this the only purpose +that brought you hither? If it were, it has received as ample a +discussion as it merits. You _came_ for this end, but will remain, I +hope, for a better one. Haying dismissed Craig and his plots, let us now +talk of each other." + +"I confess," said the lady, with an hesitation she could not subdue, +"this was not my only purpose. One much more important has produced this +visit." + +"Indeed! pray let me know it. I am glad that so trivial an object as +Craig did not occupy the first place in your thoughts. Proceed, I +beseech you." + +"It is a subject on which I cannot enter without hesitation,--a +hesitation unworthy of me." + +"Stop," cried Ormond, rising and touching the bell; "nothing like time +to make a conquest of embarrassment. We will defer this conference six +minutes, just while we eat our dinner." + +At the same moment a servant entered, with two plates and the usual +apparatus for dinner. On seeing this she rose, in some hurry, to +depart:--"I thought, sir, you were disengaged? I call at some other +hour." + +He seized her hand, and held her from going, but with an air by no means +disrespectful. "Nay," said he, "what is it that scares you away? Are you +terrified at the mention of victuals? You must have fasted long when it +comes to that. I told you true. I am disengaged, but not from the +obligation of eating and drinking. No doubt _you_ have dined. No reason +why _I_ should go without my dinner. If you do not choose to partake +with me, so much the better. Your temperance ought to dispense with two +meals in an hour. Be a looker-on; or, if that will not do, retire into +my library, where in six minutes, I will be with you, and lend you my +aid in the arduous task of telling me what you came with an intention of +telling." + +This singular address disconcerted and abashed her. She was contented to +follow the servant silently into an adjoining apartment. Here she +reflected with no small surprise on the behaviour of this man. Though +ruffled, she was not heartily displeased with it. She had scarcely time +to collect herself, when he entered. He immediately seated her, and +himself opposite to her. He fixed his eyes without scruple on her face. +His gaze was steadfast, but not insolent or oppressive. He surveyed her +with the looks with which he would have eyed a charming portrait. His +attention was occupied with what he saw, as that of an artist is +occupied when viewing a madonna of Rafaello. At length he broke +silence:-- + +"At dinner I was busy in thinking what it was you had to disclose. I +will not fatigue you with my guesses. They would he impertinent, as long +as the truth is going to be disclosed." He paused, and then +continued:--"But I see you cannot dispense with my aid. Perhaps your +business relates to Helena. She has done wrong, and you wish me to +rebuke the girl." + +Constantia profited by this opening, and said, "Yes, she has done wrong. +It is true my business relates to her. I came hither as a suppliant in +her behalf. Will you not assist her in recovering the path from which +she has deviated? She left it from confiding more in the judgement of +her guide than her own. There is one method of repairing the evil. It +lies with you to repair that evil." + +During this address the gaiety of Ormond disappeared. He fixed his eyes +on Constantia with new and even pathetic earnestness. "I guessed as +much," said he. I have often been deceived in my judgement of +characters. Perhaps I do not comprehend yours. Yet it is not little that +I have heard respecting you. Something I have seen. I begin to suspect a +material error in my theory of human nature. Happy will it be for Helena +if my suspicions be groundless. + +"You are Helena's friend. Be mine also, and advise me. Shall I marry +this girl or not? You know on what terms we live. Are they suitable to +our respective characters? Shall I wed this girl, or shall things remain +as they are? + +"I have an irreconcilable aversion to a sad brow and a sick bed. Helena +is grieved, because her neighbours sneer and point at her. So far she is +a fool; but that is a folly of which she never will be cured. Marriage, +it seems, will set all right. Answer me, Constantia, shall I marry?" + +There was something in the tone, but more in the tenor of this address +that startled her. There was nothing in this man but what came upon her +unaware. This sudden effusion of confidence was particularly unexpected +and embarrassing. She scarcely knew whether to regard it as serious or a +jest. On observing her indisposed to speak, he continued:-- + +"Away with these impertinent circuities and scruples. I know your +meaning. Why should I pretend ignorance, and put you to the trouble of +explanation? You came hither with no other view than to exact this +question, and furnish an answer. Why should not we come at once to the +point? I have for some time been dubious on this head. There is +something wanting to determine the balance. If you have that something, +throw it into the proper scale. + +"You err if you think this manner of addressing you is wild or improper. +This girl is the subject of discourse. If she was not to be so, why did +you favour me with this visit? You have sought me, and introduced +yourself. I have, in like manner, overlooked ordinary forms,--a +negligence that has been systematic with me, but, in the present case, +particularly justifiable by your example. Shame upon you, presumptuous +girl, to suppose yourself the only rational being among mankind. And +yet, if you thought so, why did you thus unceremoniously intrude upon my +retirements? This act is of a piece with the rest. It shows you to be +one whose existence I did not believe possible. + +"Take care. You know not what you have done. You came hither as Helena's +friend. Perhaps time may show that in this visit you have performed the +behest of her bitterest enemy. But that is out of season. This girl is +our mutual property. You are her friend; I am her lover. Her happiness +is precious in my eyes and in yours. To the rest of mankind she is a +noisome weed that cannot be shunned too cautiously, nor trampled on too +much. If we forsake her, infamy, that is now kept at bay, will seize +upon her, and, while it mangles her form, will tear from her her +innocence. She has no arms with which to contend against that foe. +Marriage will place her at once in security. Shall it be? You have an +exact knowledge of her strength and her weakness. Of me you know little. +Perhaps, before that question can be satisfactorily answered, it is +requisite to know the qualities of her husband. Be my character +henceforth the subject of your study. I will furnish you with all the +light in my power. Be not hasty in deciding; but, when your decision is +formed, let me know it." He waited for an answer, which she, at length, +summoned resolution enough to give:-- + +"You have come to the chief point which I had in view in making this +visit. To say truth, I came hither to remonstrate with you on +withholding that which Helena may justly claim from you. Her happiness +will be unquestionably restored, and increased by it. Yours will not be +impaired. Matrimony will not produce any essential change in your +situation. It will produce no greater or different intercourse than now +exists. Helena is on the brink of a gulf which I shudder to look upon. +I believe that you will not injure yourself by snatching her from it. I +am sure that you will confer an inexpressible benefit upon her. Let me +then persuade you to do her and yourself justice." + +"No persuasion," said Ormond, after recovering from a fit of +thoughtfulness, "is needful for this end: I only want to be convinced. +You have decided, but, I fear hastily. By what inscrutable influences +are our steps guided! Come, proceed in your exhortations. Argue with the +utmost clearness and cogency. Arm yourself with all the irresistibles of +eloquence. Yet you are building nothing. You are only demolishing. Your +argument is one thing. Its tendency is another; and is the reverse of +all you expect and desire. My assent will be refused with an obstinacy +proportioned to the force that you exert to obtain it, and to the just +application of that force." + +"I see," replied the lady, smiling and leaving her seat, "you can talk +in riddles, as well as other people. This visit has been too long. I +shall, indeed, be sorry, if my interference, instead of serving my +friend, has injured her. I have acted an uncommon, and, as it may seem, +an ambiguous part. I shall be contented with construing my motives in my +own way. I wish you a good evening." + +"'Tis false," cried he, sternly, "you do not wish it!" + +"How?" exclaimed the astonished Constantia. + +"I will put your sincerity to the test. Allow me to spend this evening +in your company; then it will be well spent, and I shall believe your +wishes sincere. Else," continued he, changing his affected austerity +into a smile, "Constantia is a liar." + +"You are a singular man. I hardly know how to understand you." + +"Well. Words are made to carry meanings. You shall have them in +abundance. Your house is your citadel. I will not enter it without +leave. Permit me to visit it when I please. But that is too much. It is +more than I would allow you. When will you permit me to visit you?" + +"I cannot answer when I do not understand. You clothe your thoughts in a +garb so uncouth, that I know not in what light they are to be viewed." + +"Well, now, I thought you understood my language, and were an +Englishwoman, but I will use another. Shall I have the honour" (bowing +with a courtly air of supplication) "of occasionally paying my respects +to you at your own dwelling? It would be cruel to condemn those who have +the happiness of knowing Miss Dudley, to fashionable restraints. At what +hour will she be least incommoded by a visitant?" + +"I am as little pleased with formalities," replied the lady, "as you +are. My friends I cannot see too often. They need to consult merely +their own convenience. Those who are not my friends I cannot see too +seldom. You have only to establish your title to that name, and your +welcome at all times is sure. Till then you must not look for it." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Here ended this conference. She had by no means suspected the manner in +which it would be conducted. All punctilios were trampled under foot by +the impetuosity of Ormond. Things were, at once, and without delay, +placed upon a certain footing. The point, which ordinary persons would +have employed months in attaining, was reached in a moment. While these +incidents were fresh in her memory, they were accompanied with a sort of +trepidation, the offspring at once of pleasure and surprise. + +Ormond had not deceived her expectations; but hearsay and personal +examination, however uniform their testimony may be, produce a very +different impression. In her present reflections, Helena and her lover +approached to the front of the stage, and were viewed with equal +perspicuity. One consequence of this was, that their characters were +more powerfully contrasted with each other, and the eligibility of +marriage appeared not quite so incontestable as before. + +Was not equality implied in this compact? Marriage is an instrument of +pleasure or pain in proportion as this equality is more or less. What +but the fascination of his senses is it that ties Ormond to Helena. Is +this a basis en which marriage may properly be built? + +If things had not gone thus far, the impropriety of marriage could not +be doubted; but, at present, there is a choice of evils, and that may +now be desirable which at a former period, and in different +circumstances, would have been clearly otherwise. + +The evils of the present connection are known; those of marriage are +future and contingent. Helena cannot be the object of a genuine and +lasting passion; another may; this is not merely possible; nothing is +more likely to happen. This event, therefore, ought to be included in +our calculation. There would be a material deficiency without it. What +was the amount of the misery that would in this case ensue? + +Constantia was qualified, beyond most others, to form an adequate +conception of this misery. One of the ingredients in her character was a +mild and steadfast enthusiasm. Her sensibilities to social pleasure, and +her conceptions of the benefits to flow from the conformity and +concurrence of intentions and wishes, heightening and refining the +sensual passion, were exquisite. + +There, indeed, were evils, the foresight of which tended to prevent +them; but was there wisdom in creating obstacles in the way of a +suitable alliance. Before we act, we must consider not only the misery +produced, but the happiness precluded by our measures. + +In no case, perhaps, is the decision of a human being impartial, or +totally uninfluenced by sinister and selfish motives. If Constantia +surpassed others, it was not because her motives were pure, but because +they possessed more of purity than those of others. Sinister +considerations flow in upon us through imperceptible channels, and +modify our thoughts in numberless ways, without our being truly +conscious of their presence. Constantia was young, and her heart was +open at a thousand pores, to the love of excellence. The image of Ormond +occupied the chief place in her fancy, and was endowed with attractive +and venerable qualities. A bias was hence created that swayed her +thoughts, though she knew not that they were swayed. To this might +justly be imputed some part of that reluctance which she now felt to +give Ormond to Helena. But this was not sufficient to turn the scale. +That which had previously mounted was indeed heavier than before; but +this addition did not enable it to outweigh its opposite. Marriage was +still the best upon the whole; but her heart was tortured to think that, +best as it was, it abounded with so many evils. + +On the evening of the next day, Ormond entered, with careless +abruptness, Constantia's sitting-apartment. He was introduced to her +father. A general and unrestrained conversation immediately took place. +Ormond addressed Mr. Dudley with the familiarity of an old acquaintance. +In three minutes, all embarrassment was discarded. The lady and her +visitant were accurate observers of each other. In the remarks of the +latter, (and his vein was an abundant one) there was a freedom and +originality altogether new to his hearers. In his easiest and +sprightliest sallies were tokens of a mind habituated to profound and +extensive views. His associations were forced on a comprehensive scale. + +He pretended to nothing, and studied the concealments of ambiguity more +in reality than in appearance. Constantia, however, discovered a +sufficient resemblance between their theories of virtue and duty. The +difference between them lay in the inferences arbitrarily deduced, and +in which two persons may vary without end, and yet never be repugnant. +Constantia delighted her companions by the facility with which she +entered into his meaning, the sagacity she displayed in drawing out his +hints, circumscribing his conjectures, and thwarting or qualifying his +maxims. The scene was generally replete with ardour and contention, and +yet the impression left on the mind of Ormond was full of harmony. Her +discourse tended to rouse him from his lethargy, to furnish him with +powerful excitements; and the time spent in her company seemed like a +doubling of existence. + +The comparison could not but suggest itself between this scene and that +exhibited by Helena. With the latter, voluptuous blandishments, musical +prattle, and silent but expressive homage, composed a banquet delicious +fur awhile, but whose sweetness now began to pall upon his taste. It +supplied him with no new ideas, and hindered him, by the lulling +sensations it inspired, from profiting by his former acquisitions. +Helena was beautiful. Apply the scale, and not a member was found +inelegantly disposed, or negligently moulded. Not a curve that was +blemished by an angle or ruffled by asperities. The irradiations of her +eyes were able to dissolve the knottiest fibres, and their azure was +serene beyond any that nature had elsewhere exhibited. Over the rest of +her form the glistening and rosy hues were diffused with prodigal +luxuriance, and mingled in endless and wanton variety. Yet this image +had fewer attractions even to the senses than that of Constantia. So +great is the difference between forms animated by different degrees of +intelligence. + +The interviews of Ormond and Constantia grew more frequent. The progress +which they made in acknowledgement of each other was rapid. Two +positions, that were favourite ones with him, were quickly subverted. He +was suddenly changed, from being one of the calumniators of the female +sex, to one of its warmest eulogists. This was a point on which +Constantia had ever been a vigorous disputant; but her arguments, in +their direct tendency, would never have made a convert of this man. +Their force, intrinsically considered, was nothing. He drew his +conclusions from incidental circumstances. Her reasonings might be +fallacious or valid, but they were composed, arranged, and delivered, +were drawn from such sources, and accompanied with such illustrations, +as plainly testified a manlike energy in the reasoner. In this indirect +and circuitous way her point was unanswerably established. + +"Your reasoning is bad," he would say: "every one of your conclusions is +false. Not a single allegation but may be easily confuted; and yet I +allow that your position is incontrovertibly proved by them. How +bewildered is that man who never thinks for himself! who rejects a +principle merely because the arguments brought in support of it are +insufficient! I must not reject the truth because another has +unjustifiably adopted it. I want to reach a certain hill-top. Another +has reached it before me, but the ladder he used is too weak to bear me. +What then? Am I to stay below on that account? No; I have only to +construct one suitable to the purpose, and of strength sufficient." + +A second maxim had never been confuted till now. It inculcated the +insignificance and hollowness of love. No pleasure he thought was to be +despised for its own sake. Every thing was good in its place, but +amorous gratifications were to be degraded to the bottom of the +catalogue. The enjoyments of music and landscape were of a much higher +order. Epicurism itself was entitled to more respect. Love, in itself, +was in his opinion of little worth, and only of importance as the source +of the most terrible of intellectual maladies. Sexual sensations +associating themselves, in a certain way, with our ideas, beget a +disease, which has, indeed, found no place in the catalogue, but is a +case of more entire subversion and confusion of mind than any other. The +victim is callous to the sentiments of honour and shame, insensible to +the most palpable distinctions of right and wrong, a systematic opponent +of testimony and obstinate perverter of truth. + +Ormond was partly right. Madness like death can be averted by no +foresight or previous contrivance; This probably is one of its +characteristics. He that witnesses its influence on another with most +horror, and most fervently deprecates its ravages, is not therefore more +safe. This circumstance was realized in the history of Ormond. + +This infatuation, if it may so be called, was gradual in its progress. +The sensations which Helena was now able to excite were of a new kind. +Her power was not merely weakened, but her endeavours counteracted their +own end. Her fondness was rejected with disdain, or borne with +reluctance. The lady was not slow in perceiving this change. The stroke +of death would have been more acceptable. His own reflections were too +tormenting to make him willing to discuss them in words. He was not +aware of the effects produced by this change in his demeanour, till +informed of it by herself. + +One evening he displayed symptoms of uncommon dissatisfaction. Her +tenderness was unable to dispel it. He complained of want of sleep. This +afforded a hint which she drew forth in one of her enchanting ditties. +Habit had almost conferred upon her the power of spontaneous poesy, and, +while she pressed his forehead to her bosom, she warbled forth a strain +airy and exuberant in numbers, tender and ecstatic in its imagery:-- + + Sleep, extend thy downy pinion + Hasten from thy cell with speed; + Spread around thy soft dominion; + Much those brows thy balmy presence need. + + Wave thy wand of slumberous power, + Moistened in Lethean dews, + To charm the busy spirits of the hour, + And brighten memory's malignant hues. + + Thy mantle, dark and starless, cast + Over my selected youth; + Bury in thy womb the mournful past, + And soften with thy dreams th' asperities of truth. + + The changeful hues of his impassioned sleep, + My office it shall be to watch the while; + With thee, my love, when fancy prompts, to weep, + And when thou smil'st, to smile. + + But sleep! I charge thee, visit not these eyes, + Nor raise thy dark pavilion here, + 'Till morrow from the cave of ocean arise, + And whisper tuneful joy in nature's ear. + + But mutely let me lie, and sateless gaze + At all the soul that in his visage sits, + While spirits of harmonious air-- + +Here her voice sunk, and the line terminated in a sigh. Her museful +ardours were chilled by the looks of Ormond. Absorbed in his own +thoughts, he appeared scarcely to attend to this strain. His sternness +was proof against her accustomed fascinations. At length she +pathetically complained of his coldness, and insinuated her suspicions +that his affection was transferred to another object. He started from +her embrace, and after two or three turns across the room, he stood +before her. His large eyes were steadfastly fixed upon her face. + +"Aye," said he, "thou hast guessed right. The love, poor as it was, that +I had for thee, is gone: henceforth thou art desolate indeed. Would to +God thou wert wise. Thy woes are but beginning; I fear they will +terminate fatally; if so, the catastrophe cannot come too quickly. + +"I disdain to appeal to thy justice, Helena, to remind thee of +conditions solemnly and explicitly assumed. Shall thy blood be upon thy +own head? No. I will bear it myself. Though the load would crush a +mountain, I will bear it. + +"I cannot help it; I make not myself; I am moulded by circumstances; +whether I shall love thee or not is no longer in my own choice. Marriage +if indeed still in my power. I may give thee any name, and share with +thee my fortune. Will these content thee? Thou canst not partake of my +love. Thou canst have no part in my tenderness. These, are reserved for +another more worthy than thou. + +"But no. Thy state is to the last degree forlorn, even marriage is +denied thee. Thou wast contented to take me without it,--to dispense +with the name of wife; but the being who has displaced thy image in thy +heart is of a different class. She will be to me a wife, or nothing; and +I must be her husband, or perish. + +"Do not deceive thyself, Helena. I know what it is in which thou hast +placed thy felicity. Life is worth retaining by thee but on one +condition. I know the incurableness of thy infirmity; but be not +deceived. Thy happiness is ravished from thee. The condition on which +thou consentedst to live is annulled. I love thee no longer. + +"No truth was ever more delicious; none was ever more detestable. I +fight against conviction, and I cling to it. That I love thee no longer +is at once a subject of joy, and of mourning. I struggle to believe +thee superior to this shock; that thou wilt be happy, though deserted by +me. Whatever be thy destiny, my reason will not allow me to be miserable +on that account. Yet I would give the world--I would forfeit every claim +but that which I hope upon the heart of Constantia--to be sure that thy +tranquillity will survive this stroke. + +"But let come what will, look no longer to me for offices of love. +Henceforth all intercourse of tenderness ceases,--perhaps all personal +intercourse whatever. But though this good be refused, thou art sure of +independence. I will guard thy ease and thy honour with a father's +scrupulousness. Would to Heaven a sister could be created by adoption! I +am willing, for thy sake, to be an impostor. I will own thee to the +world for my sister, and carry thee whither the cheat shall never be +detected. I would devote my whole life to prevarication and falsehood +for thy sake, if that would suffice to make thee happy." + +To this speech Helena had nothing to answer: her sobs and tears choked +all utterance. She hid her face with her handkerchief, and sat powerless +and overwhelmed with despair. Ormond traversed the room uneasily, +sometimes moving to and fro with quick steps, sometimes standing and +eyeing her with looks of compassion. At length he spoke:-- + +"It is time to leave you. This is the first night that you will spend in +dreary solitude. I know it will be sleepless and full of agony; but the +sentence cannot be recalled. Henceforth regard me as a brother. I will +prove myself one. All other claims are swallowed up in a superior +affection." In saying this, he left the house, and, almost without +intending it, found himself in a few minutes at Mr. Dudley's door. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +The politeness of Melbourne had somewhat abated Mr. Dudley's aversion to +society. He allowed himself sometimes to comply with urgent invitations. +On this evening he happened to be at the house of that gentleman. Ormond +entered, and found Constantia alone. An interview of this kind was +seldom enjoyed, though earnestly wished for, by Constantia, who was +eager to renew the subject of her first conversation with Ormond. I have +already explained the situation of her mind. All her wishes were +concentred in the marriage of Helena. The eligibility of this scheme, in +every view which she took of it, appeared in a stronger light. She was +not aware that any new obstacle had arisen. She was free from the +consciousness of any secret bias. Much less did her modesty suspect +that she herself would prove an insuperable impediment to this plan. + +There was more than usual solemnity in Ormond's demeanour. After he was +seated, he continued, contrary to his custom, to be silent. These +singularities were not unobserved by Constantia. They did not, however, +divert her from her purpose. + +"I am glad to see you," said she. "We so seldom enjoy the advantage of a +private interview. I have much to say to you. You authorize me to +deliberate on your actions, and, in some measure, to prescribe to you. +This is a province which I hope to discharge with integrity and +diligence. I am convinced that Helena's happiness and your own can be +secured in one way only. I will emulate your candour, and come at once +to the point. Why have you delayed so long the justice that is due to +this helpless and lovely girl? There are a thousand reasons why you +should think of no other alternative. You have been pleased to repose +some degree of confidence in my judgement. Hear my full and deliberate +opinion. Make Helena your wife. This is the unequivocal prescription of +your duty." + +This address was heard by Ormond without surprise; but his countenance +betrayed the acuteness of his feelings. The bitterness that overflowed +his heart was perceptible in his tone when he spoke:-- + +"Most egregiously are you deceived. Such is the line with which human +capacity presumes to fathom futurity. With all your discernment you do +not see that marriage would effectually destroy me. You do not see that, +whether beneficial or otherwise in its effects, marriage is impossible. +You are merely prompting me to suicide: but how shall I inflict the +wound? Where is the weapon? See you not that I am powerless? Leap, say +you, into the flames. See you not that I am fettered? Will a mountain +move at your bidding? Sooner than I in the path which you prescribe to +me." + +This speech was inexplicable. She pressed him to speak less +enigmatically. Had he formed his resolution? If so, arguments and +remonstrances were superfluous. Without noticing her interrogatories, he +continued:-- + +"I am too hasty in condemning you. You judge, not against, but without +knowledge. When sufficiently informed, your decision will be right. Yet +how can you be ignorant? Can you for a moment contemplate yourself and +me, and not perceive an insuperable bar to this union?" + +"You place me," said Constantia, "in a very disagreeable predicament. I +have not deserved this treatment from you. This is an unjustifiable +deviation from plain dealing. Of what impediment do you speak. I can +safely say that I know of none." + +"Well," resumed he, with augmented eagerness, "I must supply you with +knowledge. I repeat, that I perfectly rely on the rectitude of your +judgement. Summon all your sagacity and disinterestedness and choose for +me. You know in what light Helena has been viewed by me. I have ceased +to view her in this light. She has become an object of indifference. +Nay, I am not certain that I do not hate her,--not indeed for her own +sake, but because I love another. Shall I marry her whom I hate, when +there exists one whom I love with unconquerable ardour?" + +Constantia was thunderstruck with this intelligence. She looked at him +with some expression of doubt. "How is this?" said she. "Why did you not +tell me this before?" + +"When I last talked with you on this subject I knew it not myself. It +has occurred since. I have seized the first occasion that has offered +to inform you of it. Say now, since such is my condition, ought Helena +to be my wife?" + +Constantia was silent. Her heart bled for what she foresaw would be the +sufferings and forlorn destiny of Helena. She had not courage to inquire +further into this new engagement. + +"I wait for your answer, Constantia. Shall I defraud myself of all the +happiness which would accrue from a match of inclination? Shall I put +fetters on my usefulness? This is the style in which you speak. Shall I +preclude all the good to others that would flow from a suitable +alliance? Shall I abjure the woman I love, and marry her whom I hate?" + +"Hatred," replied the lady, "is a harsh word. Helena has not deserved +that you should hate her. I own this is a perplexing circumstance. It +would be wrong to determine hastily. Suppose you give yourself to +Helena: will more than yourself be injured by it? Who is this lady? +Will she be rendered unhappy by a determination in favour of another? +This is a point of the utmost importance." + +At these words Ormond forsook his seat, and advanced close up to +Constantia:--"You say true. This is a point of inexpressible importance. +It would be presumption in me to decide. That is the lady's own +province. And now, say truly, are you willing to accept Ormond with all +his faults? Who but yourself could be mistress of all the springs of my +soul? I know the sternness of your probity. This discovery will only +make you more strenuously the friend of Helena. Yet why should you not +shun either extreme? Lay yourself out of view. And yet, perhaps the +happiness of Constantia is not unconcerned in this question. Is there no +part of me in which you discover your own likeness? Am I deceived, or is +it an incontrollable destiny that unites us?" + +This declaration was truly unexpected by Constantia. She gathered from +it nothing but excitements of grief. After some pause she said:--"This +appeal to me has made no change in my opinion. I still think that +justice requires you to become the husband of Helena. As to me, do you +think my happiness rests upon so slight a foundation? I cannot love but +when my understanding points out to me the propriety of love. Ever since +I have known you I have looked upon you as rightfully belonging to +another. Love could not take place in my circumstances. Yet I will not +conceal from you my sentiments. I am not sure that, in different +circumstances, I should not have loved. I am acquainted with your worth. +I do not look for a faultless man. I have met with none whose blemishes +were fewer. + +"It matters not, however, what I should have been. I cannot interfere, +in this case, with the claims of my friend. I have no passion to +struggle with. I hope, in every vicissitude, to enjoy your esteem, and +nothing more. There is but one way in which mine can be secured, and +that is by espousing this unhappy girl." + +"No!" exclaimed Ormond. "Require not impossibilities. Helena can never +be any thing to me. I should, with unspeakably more willingness, assail +my own life." + +"What," said the lady, "will Helena think of this sudden and dreadful +change? I cannot bear to think upon the feelings that this information +will excite." + +"She knows it already. I have this moment left her. I explained to her, +in a few words, my motives, and assured her of my unalterable +resolution. I have vowed never to see her more but as a brother; and +this vow she has just heard." + +Constantia could not suppress her astonishment and compassion at this +intelligence:--"No surely; you could not be so cruel! And this was done +with your usual abruptness, I suppose. Precipitate and implacable man! +Cannot you foresee the effects of this madness? You have planted a +dagger in her heart. You have disappointed me. I did not think you could +act so inhumanly." + +"Nay, beloved Constantia, be not so liberal of your reproaches. Would +you have me deceive her? She must shortly have known it. Could the truth +be told too soon?" + +"Much too soon," replied the lady, fervently. "I have always condemned +the maxims by which you act. Your scheme is headlong and barbarous. +Could not you regard with some little compassion that love that +sacrificed, for your unworthy sake, honest fame and the peace of virtue? +Is she not a poor outcast, goaded by compunction, and hooted at by a +malignant and misjudging world? And who was it that reduced her to this +deplorable condition? For whose sake did she willingly consent to brave +evils, by which the stoutest heart is appalled? Did this argue no +greatness of mind? Who ever surpassed her in fidelity and tenderness? +But thus has she been rewarded. I shudder to think what may be the +event. Her courage cannot possibly support her against treatment so +harsh, so perversely and wantonly cruel. Heaven grant that you are not +shortly made bitterly to lament this rashness!" + +Ormond was penetrated with these reproaches. They persuaded him for a +moment that his deed was wrong; that he had not unfolded his intentions +to Helena with a suitable degree of gentleness and caution. Little more +was said on this occasion. Constantia exhorted him, in the most earnest +and pathetic manner, to return and recant, or extenuate, his former +declarations. He could not be brought to promise compliance. When he +parted from her, however, he was half resolved to act as she advised. +Solitary reflection made him change this resolution, and he returned to +his own house. + +During the night he did little else than ruminate on the events of the +preceding evening. He entertained little doubt of his ultimate success +with Constantia. She gratified him in nothing, but left him every thing +to hope. She had hitherto, it seems, regarded him with indifference, but +this had been sufficiently explained. That conduct would be pursued, and +that passion be entertained, which her judgement should previously +approve. What then was the obstacle? It originated in the claims of +Helena. But what were these claims? It was fully ascertained that he +should never be united to this girl. If so, the end contemplated by +Constantia, and for the sake of which only his application was rejected, +could never be obtained. Unless her rejection of him could procure a +husband for her friend, it would, on her own principles, be improper and +superfluous. + +What was to be done with Helena? It was a terrible alternative to which +he was reduced:--to marry her or see her perish. But was this +alternative quite sure? Could not she, by time or by judicious +treatment, be reconciled to her lot? It was to be feared that he had not +made a suitable beginning: and yet, perhaps it was most expedient that a +hasty and abrupt sentence should be succeeded by forbearance and lenity. +He regretted his precipitation, and though unused to the melting mood, +tears were wrung from him by the idea of the misery which he had +probably occasioned. He was determined to repair his misconduct as +speedily as possible, and to pay her a conciliating visit the next +morning. + +He went early to her house. He was informed by the servant that her +mistress had not yet risen. "Was it usual," he asked, "for her to lie so +late?" "No," he was answered, "she never knew it happen before, but she +supposed her mistress was not well. She was just going into her chamber +to see what was the matter." + +"Why," said Ormond, "do you suppose that she is sick?" + +"She was poorly last night. About nine o'clock she sent out for some +physic to make her sleep." + +"To make her sleep?" exclaimed Ormond, in a fettering and affrighted +accent. + +"Yes: she said she wanted it for that. So I went to the 'pothecary's. +When I came back she was very poorly indeed. I asked her if I might not +sit up with her. 'No,' she said, 'I do not want anybody. You may go to +bed as soon as you please, and tell Fabian to do the same. I shall not +want you again.'" + +"What did you buy?" + +"Some kind of water,--laud'num I think they call it. She wrote it down, +and I carried the paper to Mr. Eckhart's, and he gave it to me in a +bottle, and I gave it to my mistress." + +"'Tis well: retire: I will see how she is myself." + +Ormond had conceived himself fortified against every disaster: he looked +for nothing but evil, and therefore, in ordinary cases, regarded its +approach without fear or surprise. Now, however, he found that his +tremors would not be stilled: his perturbations increased with every +step that brought him nearer to her chamber. He knocked, but no answer +was returned. He opened the door, advanced to the bed side, and drew +back the curtains. He shrunk from the spectacle that presented itself. +Was this the Helena that, a few hours before, was blithesome with health +and radiant with beauty? Her visage was serene, but sunken and pale. +Death was in every line of it. To his tremulous and hurried scrutiny +every limb was rigid and cold. + +The habits of Ormond tended to obscure the appearances, if not to deaden +the emotions of sorrow. He was so much accustomed to the frustration of +well-intended efforts, and confided so much in his own integrity, that +he was not easily disconcerted. He had merely to advert, on this +occasion, to the tumultuous state of his feelings, in order to banish +their confusion and restore himself to calm. "Well," said he, as he +dropped the curtain and turned towards another part of the room, "this, +without doubt, is a rueful spectacle. Can it be helped? Is there in man +the power of recalling her? There is none such in me. + +"She is gone: well then, she _is_ gone. If she were fool enough to die, +I am not fool enough to follow her. I am determined to live and be happy +notwithstanding. Why not? + +"Yet, this is a piteous night. What is impossible to undo, might be +easily prevented. A piteous spectacle! But what else, on an ampler +scale, is the universe? Nature is a theatre of suffering. What corner +is unvisited by calamity and pain? I have chosen as became me. I would +rather precede thee to the grave, than live to be thy husband. + +"Thou hast done my work for me. Thou hast saved thyself and me from a +thousand evils. Thou hast acted as seemed to thee best, and I am +satisfied. + +"Hast thou decided erroneously? They that know thee need not marvel at +that. Endless have been the proofs of thy frailty. In favour of this +last act something may be said. It is the last thou wilt ever commit. +Others only will experience its effects; thou hast, at least, provided +for thy own safety. + +"But what is here? A letter for me? Had thy understanding been as prompt +as thy fingers, I could have borne with thee. I can easily divine the +contents of this epistle." + +He opened it, and found the tenor to be as follows:-- + + "You did not use, my dear friend, to part with me in this manner. + You never before treated me so roughly. I am, sorry, indeed I am, + that I ever offended you. Could you suppose that I intended it? And + if you knew that I meant not offence, why did you take offence? + + "I'm very unhappy, for I have lost you, my friend. You will never + see me more, you say. That is very hard. I have deserved it + to-be-sure, but I do not know how it has happened. Nobody more + desired to please than I have done. Morning, noon, night, it was my + only study; but you will love me no more; you will see me no more. + Forgive me, my friend, but I must say it is very hard. + + "You said rightly; I do not wish to live without my friend. I have + spent my life happily heretofore. 'Tis true, these have been + transient uneasinesses, but your love was a reward and a cure for + every thing. I desired nothing better in this world. Did you ever + hear me murmur? No; I was not so unjust. My lot was happy, + infinitely beyond my deserving. I merited not to be loved by you. + Oh that I had suitable words to express my gratitude for your + kindness! but this last meeting,--how different from that which + went before? Yet even then there was something on your brow like + discontent, which I could not warble nor whisper away as I used to + do. But sad as this was, it was nothing like the last. + + "Could Ormond be so stern and so terrible? You knew that I would + die, but you need not have talked as if I were in the way, and as + if you had rather I should die than live. But one thing I rejoice + at; I am a poor silly girl, but Constantia is a noble and + accomplished one. Most joyfully do I resign you to her, my dear + friend. You say you love her. She need not be afraid of accepting + you. There will be no danger of your preferring another to her. It + was very natural and very right for you to prefer her to me. She + and you will be happy in each other. It is this that sweetens the + cup I am going to drink. Never did I go to sleep with more + good-will than I now go to death. Fare you well, my dear friend." + +This letter was calculated to make a deeper impression on Ormond than +even the sight of Helena's corpse. It was in vain, for some time, that +he endeavoured to reconcile himself to this event. It was seldom that he +was able to forget it. He was obliged to exert all his energies to +enable him to support the remembrance. The task was of course rendered +easier by time. + +It was immediately requisite to attend to the disposal of the corpse. He +felt himself unfit for this mournful office. He was willing to relieve +himself from it by any expedient. Helena's next neighbour was an old +lady, whose scruples made her shun all direct intercourse with this +unhappy girl; yet she had performed many acts of neighbourly kindness. +She readily obeyed the summons of Ormond, on this occasion, to take +charge of affairs till another should assert it. Ormond returned home, +and sent the following note to Constantia:-- + + "You have predicted aright. Helena is dead. In a mind like your's + every grief will be suspended, and every regard absorbed in the + attention due to the remains of this unfortunate girl. _I_ cannot + attend to them." + +Constantia was extremely shocked by this intelligence, but she was not +unmindful of her duty. She prepared herself, with mournful alacrity, for +the performance of it. Every thing that the occasion demanded was done +with diligence and care. Till this was accomplished, Ormond could not +prevail upon himself to appear upon the stage. He was informed of this +by a note from Constantia, who requested him to take possession of the +unoccupied dwelling and its furniture. + +Among the terms of his contract with Helena, Ormond had voluntarily +inserted the exclusive property of a house and its furniture in this +city, with funds adequate to her plentiful maintenance. These he had +purchased and transferred to her. To this he had afterwards added a +rural retreat, in the midst of spacious and well-cultivated fields, +three miles from Perth-Amboy, and seated on the right bank of the Sound. +It is proper to mention that this farm was formerly the property of Mr. +Dudley,--had been fitted up by him, and used as his summer abode during +his prosperity. In the division of his property it had fallen to one of +his creditors, from whom it had been purchased by Ormond. This +circumstance, in conjunction with the love which she bore to Constantia, +had suggested to Helena a scheme, which her want of foresight would, in +different circumstances, have occasioned her to overlook. It was that of +making her testament, by which she bequeathed all that she possessed to +her friend. This was not done without the knowledge and cheerful +concurrence of Ormond, who, together with Melbourne and another +respectable citizen, were named executors. Melbourne and his friend were +induced by their respect for Constantia to consent to this nomination. + +This had taken place before Ormond and Constantia had been introduced to +each other. After this event, Ormond had sometimes been employed in +contriving means for securing to his new friend and her father a +subsistence, more certain than the will of Helena could afford. Her +death he considered as an event equally remote and undesirable. This +event, however unexpectedly, had now happened, and precluded the +necessity of further consideration on this head. + +Constantia could not but accept this bequest. Had it been her wish to +decline it, it was not in her power, but she justly regarded the +leisure and independence thus conferred upon her, as inestimable +benefits. It was a source of unbounded satisfaction on her father's +account, who was once more seated in the bosom of affluence. Perhaps, in +a rational estimate, one of the most fortunate events that could have +befallen those persons, was that period of adversity through which they +had been doomed to pass. Most of the defects that adhered to the +character of Mr. Dudley, had, by this means, been exterminated. He was +now cured of those prejudices which his early prosperity had instilled, +and which had flowed from luxurious indigencies. He had learned to +estimate himself at his true value, and to sympathize with sufferings +which he himself had partaken. + +It was easy to perceive in what light Constantia was regarded by her +father. He never reflected on his relation to her without rapture. Her +qualities were the objects of his adoration. He resigned himself with +pleasure to her guidance. The chain of subordination and duties was +reversed. By the ascendancy of her genius and wisdom the province of +protection and the tribute of homage had devolved upon her. This had +resulted from incessant experience of the wisdom of her measures, and +the spectacle of her fortitude and skill in every emergency. + +It seemed as if but one evil adhered to the condition of this man. His +blindness was an impediment to knowledge and enjoyment, of which, the +utmost to be hoped was, that he should regard it without pungent regret, +and that he should sometimes forget it; that his mind should +occasionally stray into foreign paths, and lose itself in sprightly +conversations, or benign reveries. This evil, however, was by no means +remediless. + +A surgeon of uncommon skill had lately arrived from Europe. He was one +of the numerous agents and dependants of Ormond and had been engaged to +abdicate his native country for purposes widely remote from his +profession. The first use that was made of him was to introduce him to +Mr. Dudley. The diseased organs were critically examined, and the +patient was, with considerable difficulty, prevailed upon to undergo the +necessary operation. His success corresponded with Constantia's wishes, +and her father was once more restored to the enjoyment of light. + +These were auspicious events. Constantia held herself amply repaid by +them for all that she had suffered. These sufferings had indeed been +light, when compared with the effects usually experienced by others in a +similar condition. Her wisdom had extracted its sting from adversity, +and without allowing herself to feel much of the evils of its reign, +had employed it as an instrument by which the sum of her present +happiness was increased. Few suffered less in the midst of poverty, than +she. No one ever extracted more felicity from the prosperous reverse. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +When time had somewhat mitigated the memory of the late disaster, the +intercourse between Ormond and Constantia was renewed. The lady did not +overlook her obligations to her friend. It was to him that she was +indebted for her father's restoration to sight, and to whom both owed, +essentially, though indirectly, their present affluence. In her mind, +gratitude was no perverse or ignoble principle. She viewed this man as +the author of extensive benefits, of which her situation enabled her to +judge with more accuracy than others. It created no bias on her +judgement, or, at least, none of which she was sensible. Her equity was +perfectly unfettered; and she decided in a way contrary to his +inclination, with as little scruple as if the benefits had been +received, not by herself, but by him. She indeed intended his benefit, +though she thwarted his inclinations. + +She had few visitants beside himself. Their interviews were daily and +unformal. The fate of Helena never produced any reproaches on her part. +She saw the uselessness of recrimination, not only because she desired +to produce emotions different from those which infective is adapted to +excite, but because it was more just to soothe than to exasperate the +inquietudes which haunted him. + +She now enjoyed leisure. She had always been solicitous for mental +improvement. Any means subservient to this end were valuable. The +conversation of Ormond was an inexhaustible fund. By the variety of +topics and the excitement to reflection it supplied, a more plenteous +influx of knowledge was produced than could have flowed from any other +source. There was no end to the detailing of facts, and the canvassing +of theories. + +I have already said that Ormond was engaged in schemes of an arduous and +elevated nature. These were the topics of epistolary discussion between +him and a certain number of coadjutors, in different parts of the world. +In general discourse, it was proper to maintain a uniform silence +respecting these, not only because they involved principles and views +remote from vulgar apprehension, but because their success, in some +measure, depended on their secrecy. He could not give a stronger proof +of his confidence in the sagacity and steadiness of Constantia than he +now gave, by imparting to her his schemes, and requesting her advice and +assistance in the progress of them. + +His disclosures, however, were imperfect. What knowledge was imparted, +instead of appeasing, only tended to inflame her curiosity. His answers +to her inquiries were prompt, and, at first sight, sufficiently +explicit; but upon reconsideration, an obscurity seemed to gather round +them, to be dispelled by new interrogatories. These, in like manner, +effected a momentary purpose, but were sure speedily to lead into new +conjectures, and reimmerse her in doubts. The task was always new, was +always on the point of being finished, and always to be recommenced. + +Ormond aspired to nothing more ardently than to hold the reins of +opinion,--to exercise absolute power over the conduct of others, not by +constraining their limbs, or by exacting obedience to his authority, but +in a way of which his subjects should be scarcely conscious. He desired +that his guidance should control their steps, but that his agency, when +most effectual, should be least suspected. + +If he were solicitous to govern the thoughts of Constantia, or to +regulate her condition, the mode which he pursued had hitherto been +admirably conducive to that end. To have found her friendless and +indigent, accorded, with the most fortunate exactness, with his views. +That she should have descended to this depth, from a prosperous height, +and therefore be a stranger to the torpor which attends hereditary +poverty, and be qualified rightly to estimate and use the competence to +which, by this means, she was now restored, was all that his providence +would have prescribed. + +Her thoughts were equally obsequious to his direction. The novelty and +grandeur of his schemes could not fail to transport a mind ardent and +capacious as that of Constantia. Here his fortune had been no less +propitious. He did not fail to discover, and was not slow to seize, the +advantages flowing thence. By explaining his plans, opportunity was +furnished to lead and to confine her meditations to the desirable tract. +By adding fictitious embellishments, he adapted it with more exactness +to his purpose. By piecemeal and imperfect disclosures her curiosity +was kept alive. + +I have described Ormond at having contracted a passion for Constantia. +This passion certainly existed in his heart, but it must not be +conceived to be immutable, or to operate independently of all those +impulses and habits which time had interwoven in his character. The +person and affections of this woman were the objects sought by him, and +which it was the dearest purpose of his existence to gain. This was his +supreme good, though the motives to which it was indebted for its +pre-eminence in his imagination were numerous and complex. + +I have enumerated his opinions on the subject of wedlock. The question +will obviously occur, whether Constantia was sought by him with upright +or flagitious views. His sentiments and resolution on this head had for +a time fluctuated, but were now steadfast. Marriage was, in his eyes, +hateful and absurd as ever. Constantia was to be obtained by any means. +If other terms were rejected, he was willing, for the sake of this good, +to accept her as a wife; but this was a choice to be made only when +every expedient was exhausted for reconciling her to a compact of a +different kind. + +For this end he, prescribed to himself a path suited to the character of +this lady. He made no secret of his sentiments and views. He avowed his +love, and described, without scruple, the scope of his wishes. He +challenged her to confute his principles, and promised a candid audience +and profound consideration to her arguments. Her present opinions he +knew to be adverse to his own, but he hoped to change them by subtlety +and perseverance. His further hopes and designs he concealed from her. +She was unaware that if he were unable to effect a change in her creed, +he was determined to adopt a system of imposture,--to assume the guise +of a convert to her doctrines, and appear as devout as herself in his +notions of the sanctity of marriage. + +Perhaps it was not difficult to have foreseen the consequence of these +projects. Constantia's peril was imminent. This arose not only from the +talents and address of Ormond, but from the community of sentiment which +already existed between them. She was unguarded in a point where, if not +her whole yet doubtless her principal security and strongest bulwark +would have existed. She was unacquainted with religion. She was +unhabituated to conform herself to any standard but that connected with +the present life. Matrimonial as well as every other human duty, was +disconnected in her mind with any awful or divine sanction. She formed +her estimate of good and evil on nothing but terrestrial and visible +consequences. + +This defect in her character she owed to her father's system of +education. Mr. Dudley was an adherent to what he conceived to be true +religion. No man was more passionate in his eulogy of his own form of +devotion and belief, or in his invectives against atheistical dogmas; +but he reflected that religion assumed many forms, one only of which is +salutary or true, and that truth in this respect is incompatible with +infantile and premature instruction. + +To this subject it was requisite to apply the force of a mature and +unfettered understanding. For this end he laboured to lead away the +juvenile reflections of Constantia from religious topics, to detain them +in the paths of history and eloquence,--to accustom her to the accuracy +of geometrical deduction, and to the view of those evils that have +flowed in all ages, from mistaken piety. + +In consequence of this scheme, her habits rather than her opinions, were +undevout. Religion was regarded by her not with disbelief, but with +absolute indifference. Her good sense forbade her to decide before +inquiry, but her modes of study and reflection were foreign to, and +unfitted her for this species of discussion. Her mind was seldom called +to meditate on this subject, and when it occurred, her perceptions were +vague and obscure. No objects, in the sphere which she occupied, were +calculated to suggest to her the importance of investigation and +certainty. + +It becomes me to confess, however reluctantly, thus much concerning my +friend. However abundantly endowed in other respects, she was a stranger +to the felicity and excellence flowing from religion. In her struggles +with misfortune, she was supported and cheered by the sense of no +approbation but her own. A defect of this nature will perhaps be +regarded as of less moment when her extreme youth is remembered. All +opinion in her mind were mutable, inasmuch as the progress of her +understanding was incessant. + +It was otherwise with Ormond. His disbelief was at once unchangeable and +strenuous. The universe was to him a series of events, connected by an +undesigning and inscrutable necessity, and an assemblage of forms, to +which no beginning or end can be conceived. Instead of transient views +and vague ideas, his meditations, on religious points, had been intense. +Enthusiasm was added to disbelief, and he not only dissented but +abhorred. + +He deemed it prudent, however, to disguise sentiments which, if unfolded +in their full force, would wear to her the appearance of insanity. But +he saw and was eager to improve the advantage which his anti-nuptial +creed derived from the unsettled state of her opinions. He was not +unaware, likewise, of the auspicious and indispensable co-operation of +love. If this advocate were wanting in her bosom, all his efforts would +be in vain. If this pleader were engaged in his behalf, he entertained +no doubts of his ultimate success. He conceived that her present +situation, all whose comforts were the fruits of his beneficence, and +which afforded her no other subject of contemplation than himself, was +as favourable as possible to the growth of this passion. + +Constantia was acquainted with his wishes. She could not fail to see +that she might speedily be called upon to determine a momentous +question. Her own sensations, and the character of Ormond were, +therefore, scrutinized with suspicious attention. Marriage could be +justified in her eyes only by community of affections and opinions. She +might love without the sanction of her judgement; but, while destitute +of that sanction, she would never suffer it to sway her conduct. + +Ormond was imperfectly known. What knowledge she had gained flowed +chiefly from his own lips, and was therefore unattended with certainty. +What portion of deceit or disguise was mixed with his conversation could +be known only by witnessing his actions with her own eyes and comparing +his testimony with that of others. He had embraced a multitude of +opinions which appeared to her erroneous. Till these were rectified, and +their conclusions were made to correspond, wedlock was improper. Some of +these obscurities might be dispelled, and some of these discords be +resolved into harmony by time. Meanwhile it was proper to guard the +avenues to her heart, and screen herself from self-delusion. + +There was no motive to conceal her reflections on this topic from her +father. Mr. Dudley discovered, without her assistance, the views of +Ormond. His daughter's happiness was blended with his own. He lived but +in the consciousness of her tranquillity. Her image was seldom absent +from his eyes, and never from his thoughts. The emotions which it +excited sprung but in part from the relationship of father. It was +gratitude and veneration which she claimed from him, and which filled +him with rapture. + +He ruminated deeply on the character of Ormond. The political and +anti-theological tenets of this man were regarded, not merely with +disapprobation, but antipathy. He was not ungrateful for the benefits +which had been conferred upon him. Ormond's peculiarities of sentiment +excited no impatience, as long as he was regarded merely as a visitant. +It was only as one claiming to possess his daughter that his presence +excited, in Mr. Dudley, trepidation and loathing. + +Ormond was unacquainted with what was passing in the mind of Mr. Dudley. +The latter conceived his own benefactor and his daughter's friend to be +entitled to the most scrupulous and affable urbanity. His objections to +a nearer alliance were urged with frequent and pathetic vehemence only +in his private interviews with Constantia. Ormond and he seldom met. Mr. +Dudley, as soon as his sight was perfectly retrieved, betook himself +with eagerness to painting,--an amusement which his late privations had +only contributed to endear to him. + +Things remained nearly on their present footing for some months. At the +end of this period some engagement obliged Ormond to leave the city. He +promised to return with as much speed as circumstances would admit. +Meanwhile, his letters supplied her with topics of reflection. These +were frequently received, and were models of that energy of style which +results from simplicity of structure, from picturesque epithets, and +from the compression of much meaning into few words. His arguments +seldom imparted conviction, but delight never failed to flow from their +lucid order and cogent brevity. His narratives were unequalled for +rapidity and comprehensiveness. Every sentence was a treasury to +moralists and painters. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Domestic and studious occupations did not wholly engross the attention +of Constantia. Social pleasures were precious to her heart, and she was +not backward to form fellowships and friendships with those around her. +Hitherto she had met with no one entitled to an uncommon portion of +regard, or worthy to supply the place of the friend of her infancy. Her +visits were rare, and, as yet, chiefly confined to the family of Mr. +Melbourne. Here she was treated with flattering distinctions, and +enjoyed opportunities of extending as far as she pleased her connections +with the gay and opulent. To this she felt herself by no means inclined, +and her life was still eminently distinguished by love of privacy and +habits of seclusion. + +One morning, feeling an indisposition to abstraction, she determined to +drop in, for an hour, on Mrs. Melbourne. Finding Mrs. Melbourne's +parlour unoccupied, she proceeded unceremoniously to an apartment on the +second floor, where that lady was accustomed to sit. She entered, but +this room was likewise empty. Here she cast her eyes on a collection of +prints, copied from the Farnese collection, and employed herself for +some minutes in comparing the forms of Titiano and the Caracchi. + +Suddenly, notes of peculiar sweetness were wafted to her ear from +without. She listened with surprise, for the tones of her father's lute +were distinctly recognized. She hied to the window, which chanced to +look into a back court. The music was perceived to come from the window +of the next house. She recollected her interview with the purchaser of +her instrument at the music shop, and the powerful impression which the +stranger's countenance had made upon her. + +The first use she had made of her recent change of fortune was to +endeavour to recover this instrument. The music dealer, when reminded of +the purchase, and interrogated as to the practicability of regaining the +lute, for which she was willing to give treble the price, answered that +he had no knowledge of the foreign lady beyond what was gained at the +interview which took place in Constantia's presence. Of her name, +residence, and condition, he knew nothing, and had endeavoured in vain +to acquire knowledge. + +Now, this incident seemed to have furnished her with the information she +had so earnestly sought. This performer was probably the stranger +herself. Her residence so near the Melbournes, and in a house which was +the property of the magistrate, might be means of information as to her +condition, and perhaps of introduction to a personal acquaintance. + +While engaged in these reflections, Mrs. Melbourne entered the +apartment. Constantia related this incident to her friend, and stated +the motives of her present curiosity. Her friend willingly imparted what +knowledge she possessed relative to this subject. This was the sum. + +This house had been hired, previously to the appearance of the yellow +fever, by an English family, who left their native soil with a view to a +permanent abode in the new world. They had scarcely taken possession of +the dwelling when they were terrified by the progress of the epidemic. +They had fled from the danger; but this circumstance, in addition to +some others, induced them to change their scheme. An evil so unwonted as +pestilence impressed them with a belief of perpetual danger as long as +they remained on this side of the ocean. They prepared for an immediate +return to England. + +For this end their house was relinquished, and their splendid furniture +destined to be sold by auction. Before this event could take place, +application was made to Mr. Melbourne by a lady whom his wife's +description showed to be the same person of whom Constantia was in +search. She not only rented the house, but negotiated by means of her +landlord for the purchase of the furniture. + +Her servants were blacks, and all but one, who officiated as steward, +unacquainted with the English language. Some accident had proved her +name to be Beauvais. She had no visitants, very rarely walked abroad, +and then only in the evening with a female servant in attendance. Her +hours appeared to be divided between the lute and the pen. As to her +previous history or her present sources of subsistence, Mrs. +Melbourne's curiosity had not been idle, but no consistent information +was obtainable. Some incidents had given birth to the conjecture that +she was wife, or daughter, or sister of Beauvais, the partizan of +Brissot, whom the faction of Marat had lately consigned to the scaffold; +but this conjecture was unsupported by suitable evidence. + +This tale by no means diminished Constantia's desire of personal +intercourse. She saw no means of effecting her purpose. Mrs. Melbourne +was unqualified to introduce her, having been discouraged in all the +advances she had made towards a more friendly intercourse. Constantia +reflected, that her motives to seclusion would probably induce this lady +to treat others as her friend had been treated. + +It was possible, however, to gain access to her, if not as a friend, yet +as the original proprietor of the lute. She determined to employ the +agency of Roseveldt, the music-shopman, for the purpose of rebuying +this instrument. To enforce her application, she commissioned this +person, whose obliging temper entitled him to confidence, to state her +inducements for originally offering it for sale, and her motives for +desiring the repossession on any terms which the lady thought proper to +dictate. + +Roseveldt fixed an hour in which it was convenient for him to execute +her commission. This hour having passed, Constantia, who was anxious +respecting his success, hastened to his house. Roseveldt delivered the +instrument, which the lady, having listened to his pleas and offers, +directed to be gratuitously restored to Constantia. At first, she had +expressed her resolution to part with it on no account, and at no price. +Its music was her only recreation, and this instrument surpassed any she +had ever before seen, in the costliness and delicacy of its workmanship. +But Roseveldt's representations produced an instant change of +resolution, and she not only eagerly consented to restore it, but +refused to receive any thing in payment. + +Constantia was deeply affected by this unexpected generosity. It was not +her custom to be outstripped in this career. She now condemned herself +for her eagerness to regain this instrument. During her father's +blindness it was a powerful, because the only, solace of his melancholy. +Now he had no longer the same anxieties to encounter, and books and the +pencil were means of gratification always at hand. The lute therefore, +she imagined, could be easily dispensed with by Mr. Dudley, whereas its +power of consoling might be as useful to the unknown lady as it had +formerly been to her father. She readily perceived in what manner it +became her to act. Roseveldt was commissioned to redeliver the lute, and +to entreat the lady's acceptance of it. The tender was received without +hesitation, and Roseveldt dismissed without any inquiry relative to +Constantia. + +These transactions were reflected on by Constantia with considerable +earnestness. The conduct of the stranger, her affluent and lonely slate, +her conjectural relationship to the actors in the great theatre of +Europe, were mingled together in the fancy of Constantia, and +embellished with the conceptions of her beauty derived from their casual +meeting at Roseveldt's. She forgot not their similitude in age and sex, +and delighted to prolong the dream of future confidence and friendship +to take place between them. Her heart sighed for a companion fitted to +partake in all her sympathies. + +This strain, by being connected with the image of a being like herself, +who had grown up with her from childhood, who had been entwined with her +earliest affections, but from whom she had been severed from the period +at which her father's misfortunes commenced, and of whose present +condition she was wholly ignorant, was productive of the deepest +melancholy. It filled her with excruciating, and, for a time, +irremediable sadness. It formed a kind of paroxysm, which, like some +febrile affections, approach and retire without warning, and against the +most vehement struggles. + +In this mood her fancy was thronged with recollections of scenes in +which her friend had sustained a part. Their last interview was commonly +revived in her remembrance so forcibly as almost to produce a lunatic +conception of its reality. A ditty which they sung together on that +occasion flowed to her lips. If ever human tones were qualified to +convey the whole soul, they were those of Constantia when she sang:-- + + "The breeze awakes, the bark prepares, + To waft me to a distant shore: + But far beyond this world of cares + We meet again to part no more." + +These fits were accustomed to approach and to vanish by degrees. They +were transitory, but not unfrequent, and were pregnant with such +agonizing tenderness, such heart-breaking sighs, and a flow of such +bitter yet delicious tears, that it were not easily decided whether the +pleasure or the pain surmounted. When symptoms of their coming were felt +she hastened into solitude, that the progress of her feelings might +endure no restraint. + +On the evening of the day on which the lute had been sent to the foreign +lady, Constantia was alone in her chamber immersed in desponding +thoughts. From these she was recalled by Fabian, her black servant, who +announced a guest. She was loath to break off the thread of her present +meditations, and inquired with a tone of some impatience, who was the +guest. The servant was unable to tell; it was a young lady whom he had +never before seen; she had opened the door herself, and entered the +parlour without previous notice. + +Constantia paused at this relation. Her thoughts had recently been fixed +upon Sophia Westwyn. Since their parting four years before she had heard +no tidings of this woman. Her fears imagined no more probable cause of +her friend's silence than her death. This, however, was uncertain. The +question now occurred, and brought with it sensations that left her no +power to move:--was this the guest? + +Her doubts were quickly dispelled, for the stranger taking a light from +the table, and not brooking the servant's delays, followed Fabian to the +chamber of his mistress. She entered with careless freedom, and +presented to the astonished eyes of Constantia the figure she had met at +Roseveldt's, and the purchaser of her lute. + +The stranger advanced towards her with quick steps, and mingling tones +of benignity and sprightliness, said:-- + +"I have come to perform a duty. I have received from you to-day a lute +that I valued almost as my best friend. To find another in America, +would not, perhaps, be possible; but, certainly, none equally superb and +exquisite as this can be found. To show how highly I esteem the gift, I +have come in person to thank you for it."--There she stopped. + +Constantia could not suddenly recover from the extreme surprise into +which the unexpectedness of this meeting had thrown her. She could +scarcely sufficiently suppress this confusion to enable her to reply to +these rapid effusions of her visitant, who resumed with augmented +freedom:-- + +"I came, as I said, to thank you, but to say the truth that was not all, +I came likewise to see you. Having done my errand, I suppose I must go. +I would fain stay longer and talk to you a little. Will you give me +leave?" + +Constantia, scarcely retrieving her composure, stammered out a polite +assent. They seated themselves, and the visitant, pressing the hand she +had taken, proceeded in a strain so smooth, so flowing, sliding from +grave to gay, blending vivacity with tenderness, interpreting +Constantia's silence with such keen sagacity, and accounting for the +singularities of her own deportment in a way so respectful to her +companion, and so worthy of a steadfast and pure mind in herself, that +every embarrassment and scruple were quickly banished from their +interview. + +In an hour the guest took her leave. No promise of repeating her visit, +and no request that Constantia would repay it, was made. Their parting +seemed to be the last; whatever purpose having been contemplated +appeared to be accomplished by this transient meeting. It was of a +nature deeply to interest the mind of Constantia. This was the lady who +talked with Roseveldt, and bargained with Melbourne, and they had been +induced by appearances to suppose her ignorant of any language but +French; but her discourse, on the present occasion, was in English, and +was distinguished by unrivalled fluency. Her phrases and habits of +pronouncing were untinctured by any foreign mixture, and bespoke the +perfect knowledge of a native of America. + +On the next evening, while Constantia was reviewing this transaction, +calling up and weighing the sentiments which the stranger had uttered, +and indulging some regret at the unlikelihood of their again meeting, +Martinette (for I will henceforth call her by her true name) entered the +apartment as abruptly as before. She accounted for the visit merely by +the pleasure it afforded her, and proceeded in a strain even more +versatile and brilliant than before. This interview ended like the +first, without any tokens on the part of the guest, of resolution or +desire to renew it; but a third interview took place on the ensuing day. + +Henceforth Martinette became a frequent but hasty visitant, and +Constantia became daily more enamoured of her new acquaintance. She did +not overlook peculiarities in the conversation and deportment of this +woman. These exhibited no tendencies to confidence or traces of +sympathy. They merely denoted large experience, vigorous faculties, and +masculine attainments. Herself was never introduced, except as an +observer; but her observations on government and manners were profound +and critical. + +Her education seemed not widely different from that which Constantia had +received. It was classical and mathematical; but to this was added a +knowledge of political and military transactions in Europe during the +present age, which implied the possession of better means of information +than books. She depicted scenes and characters with the accuracy of one +who had partaken and witnessed them herself. + +Constantia's attention had been chiefly occupied by personal concerns. +Her youth had passed in contention with misfortune, or in the quietudes +of study. She could not be unapprised of contemporary revolutions and +wars, but her ideas concerning them were indefinite and vague. Her views +and her inferences on this head were general and speculative. Her +acquaintance with history was exact and circumstantial, in proportion as +she retired backward from her own age. She knew more of the siege of +Mutina than that of Lisle; more of the machinations of Cataline and the +tumults of Clodius, than of the prostration of the Bastile, and the +proscriptions of Marat. + +She listened, therefore, with unspeakable eagerness to this reciter, who +detailed to her, as the occasion suggested, the progress of action and +opinion on the theatre of France and Poland. Conceived and rehearsed as +this was with the energy and copiousness of one who sustained a part in +the scene, the mind of Constantia was always kept at the pitch of +curiosity and wonder. + +But, while this historian described the features, personal deportment, +and domestic character of Antoinette, Mirabeau and Robespierre, an +impenetrable veil was drawn over her own condition. There was a warmth +and freedom in her details, which bespoke her own co-agency in these +events, but was unattended by transports of indignation or sorrow, or by +pauses of abstraction, such as were likely to occur in one whose hopes +and fears had been intimately blended with public events. + +Constantia could not but derive humiliation from comparing her own +slender acquirements with those of her companion. She was sensible that +all the differences between them arose from diversities of situation. +She was eager to discover in what particulars this diversity consisted. +She was for a time withheld, by scruples not easily explained, from +disclosing her wishes. An accident, however, occurred to remove these +impediments. One evening this unceremonious visitant discovered +Constantia busily surveying a chart of the Mediterranean Sea. This +circumstance led the discourse to the present state of Syria and Cyprus. +Martinette was copious in her details. Constantia listened for a time; +and, when a pause ensued, questioned her companion as to the means she +possessed of acquiring so much knowledge. This question was proposed +with diffidence, and prefaced by apologies. + +"Instead of being offended by your question," replied the guest, "I only +wonder that it never before occurred to you. Travellers tell us much. +Volney and Mariti would have told you nearly all that I have told. With +these I have conversed personally, as well as read their books; but my +knowledge is, in truth, a species of patrimony. I inherit it." + +"Will you be good enough," said Constantia, "to explain yourself?" + +"My mother was a Greek of Cyprus. My father was a Slavonian of Ragusa, +and I was born in a garden at Aleppo." + +"That was a singular concurrence." + +"How singular? That a nautical vagrant like my father should sometimes +anchor in the Bay of Naples; that a Cyprian merchant should carry his +property and daughter beyond the reach of a Turkish sangjack, and seek +an asylum so commodious as Napoli; that my father should have dealings +with this merchant, see, love, and marry his daughter, and afterwards +procure from the French government a consular commission to Aleppo; that +the union should in due time be productive of a son and daughter,--are +events far from being singular. They happen daily." + +"And may I venture to ask if this be your history?" + +"The history of my parents. I hope you do not consider the place of my +birth as the sole or the most important circumstance of my life." + +"Nothing would please me more than to be enabled to compare it with +other incidents. I am apt to think that your life is a tissue of +surprising events. That the daughter of a Ragusan and Greek should have +seen and known so much; that she should talk English with equal fluency +and more correctness than a native; that I should now be conversing with +her in a corner so remote from Cyprus and Sicily, are events more +wonderful than any which I have known." + +"Wonderful! Pish! Thy ignorance, thy miscalculation of probabilities is +far more so. My father talked to me in Slavonic; my mother and her maids +talked to me in Greek. My neighbours talked to me in a medley of Arabic, +Syriac, and Turkish. My father's secretary was a scholar. He was as well +versed in Lysias and Xenophon as any of their contemporaries. He +laboured for ten years to enable me to read a language essentially the +same with that I used daily to my nurse and mother. Is it wonderful then +that I should be skilful in Slavonic, Greek, and the jargon of Aleppo? +To have refrained from learning was impossible. Suppose, a girl, prompt, +diligent, inquisitive, to spend ten years of her life partly in Spain, +partly in Tuscany, partly in France, and partly in England. With her +versatile curiosity and flexible organs would it be possible For her to +remain ignorant of each of these languages? Latin is the mother of them +all, and presents itself of course to her studious attention." + +"I cannot easily conceive motives which should lead you before the age +of twenty through so many scenes." + +"Can you not? You grew and flourished, like a frail mimosa, in the spot +where destiny had planted you. Thank my stars, I am somewhat better than +a vegetable. Necessity, it is true, and not choice, set me in motion, +but I am not sorry for the consequences." + +"Is it too much," said Constantia, with some hesitation, "to request a +detail of your youthful adventures?" + +"Too much to give, perhaps, at a short notice. To such as you my tale +might abound with novelty, while to others, more acquainted with +vicissitudes, it would be tedious and flat. I must be gone in a few +minutes. For that and for better reasons, I must not be minute. A +summary at present will enable you to judge how far a more copious +narrative is suited to instruct or to please you." + + +END OF VOL. II + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ORMOND, VOLUME II (OF 3)*** + + +******* This file should be named 36290.txt or 36290.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/2/9/36290 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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